Gj & Cathy

I am using Pack & Send...costs about $600 for 1 cubic meter to ship to Los Angeles.

Atm it takes 14 business days to update. Call them beyond that.

Oh Thanks Sukie!!!
 
It's me being paranoid now
Yay!!! Thanks that's really helpful pal

You will take a pre-addressed express envelope from AusPost.  Where you live in Australia makes a difference.  If you are in a major urban area (like a state capital) you will get it faster than if you are in the rural areas.
 
We are Queensland, the Gold Coast.  Interview on Tuesday.  In hand on Friday.  Because your interview is on Friday, I would assume it might not go to the post until Monday.  I'm willing to bet you will have it by the 21st barring any complications.
 
Sukie in NY

Even with immediate verbal approval, *every* passport is retained ("AP") by the consulate for at least a matter of a day or two.  And yes, AUS and NZ DO tend to courier the passports back within one week at the most.  Ours took 7 days, and that was only because Auckland received the medical the day after the interview.  Prolonged APs for AUS and NZ are rare.  I don't think I have ever seen one here.

I believe that it is different for EVERY COUNTRY...that is why this is a SYDNEY Specific question.  I appreciate your answers but I was hoping to hear from Aussies as they have a different experience altogether.  I have seen different countries having different timeframe.  I haven't seen any Aussie waiting for more than 6 days but just wanting to know RECENT experiences in the last 2 months. Only people who have received their passports back please. Thanks. Much appreciated.

I believe that it is different for EVERY COUNTRY...that is why this is a SYDNEY Specific question.  I appreciate your answers but I was hoping to hear from Aussies as they have a different experience altogether.  I have seen different countries having different timeframe.  I haven't seen any Aussie waiting for more than 6 days but just wanting to know RECENT experiences in the last 2 months. Only people who have received their passports back please. Thanks. Much appreciated.

It's not different, no one will be able to say exactly for how long they'll keep your passport, if everything goes ok then you'll have it in a few days (whatever the time the currier takes to deliver it which is not exact). If you are not approved immediatly but instead you get AP (administrative processing)  due to some requirement missing etc, then times can vary and there's no way to know for sure.

Ok

Normally it takes two to three working days for you to get your passport , but because of the circumstances of the administrative processing , a week for you to get your passport or probably more !

Is it contagious?  Otherwise no

Yay!!!! So, I’m scheduled for Dec 14 for my IV Interview. Any tips? Things to bring not included in the Document cover list?
 I’m scheduled at 8am. Nervous now.
Hopefully I get my passport and visa before Christmas too!

Gambatte!  YES - you will probably know the day of your interview.  I know we did.
 
Sukie

Technically we ALL go to AP after the officer says "yes".  We are in AP land from the time the officer enters a "yes" into the system until the visa foil is printed and placed into the passport.  In some offices, that takes 30 minutes.  In some, a superior officer has to "approve" the approval.  In some places, the visa foils are not printed but once a week. 
 
About three years ago, the whole visa foil printing process went out world-wide, and it took nearly a month to get it back online.
Sydney is fast.  Congrats on getting rescheduled!
 
Sukie in NY

I ended up writing them twice.   I was asking for permission to attend my spouse's interview, and needed an email reply that I could print and bring to the consulate.  I wrote 4 weeks in advance, and heard nothing.  So I wrote ONE week in advance, and told them I was sweating bullets (not really) and they got back to me within 24 hours!
 
So it seems to be hit or miss. 
 
If you have waited 6 working days, I think you can write again (be gentle) and ask again.
 
I actually think you'd be OK time-wise, but you never know...
 
Sukie in NY

Hi!  I'm a USC.  I lived in Japan when I first started on this website - and my childhood nickname was Sukie (pronounced soo-kee - not soo-kee-ay).  But because I loved my time in Japan, I love the nickname and kept it.  I answer to soo-kee-ay when I'm in Japan.
 
Actually, I'm also an Australian permanent resident, and yes, I had to provide a police clearance from the US, from Japan, and from Hong Kong when I got my PR in Australia.  My spouse is Australian, and had only lived in Australia prior to applying for her CR-1 visa to the US - so she only had to provide her Australian Police Report.
 
But...she had lived in both Queensland and Victoria, and NVC demanded a police clearance from both states - not realizing that police clearances were national in Australia.  I was pretty angry when that RFE came in - as it was clear no one had updated the "book" for the officers.  It delayed us by six weeks, which I was NOT happy about.
 
But now my spouse is through the process!  She became a USC in August.  I will have to wait a long while to get Australian citizenship, as the residency requirements are quite stringent and we are currently spending more time in the US than in Australia.
 
Good luck to you!
 
Sukie in NY

There is no actual time. Usually it takes few days, but it can be weeks or months if the petition gets stuck in AP.

Is the 7 day time frame the same for K1? My fiance interviews on December 14 and we are trying to get him here for Christmas...

I emailed! And kept putting my case number and everything in it. I think sometimes they reply the same day, other times 2 days...

I received my passport 6 days after my interview, with 1 of those days being a public holiday for the embassy (Thanksgiving).

Our interview was on a Tuesday, and we got her passport back on Friday.  We are on the Gold Coast in Queensland.  It can take up to a week for the consulate to answer your email - especially if it is not an immediate emergency.  You will be dependent upon Australia Post - so you might want to consider that.
 
Good luck!
 
Sukie in NY
 
 

Hello GJ and Cathy,
 We had our interview in December 2017 in Ghana. They kept my husbands passport till they approved his visa May 2018. 
I would suggest rescheduling your trip, but there maybe someone here from Australia that could give you a better time line.
 
Best of luck

No. 

When mine is posted it should still be next day (I'm in Perth metro area so express post has it within the range of next day guaranteed).  You can also track parcels that are express posted online with their tracking number.
 
I'm sure it will be fine but I'm really hoping it's soon so I can be back with my wife before our anniversary in early December, just waiting on the passport so I can book a flight out as soon as I have it.

I never called anyone I got an email saying visa granted and being sent in the mail