Keeley

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! We aren't shipping any furniture, but have opted to go with WorldBaggage.com to ship 3x30kg boxes. Obviously the shipment hasn't happened yet, but will in a couple weeks. Hopefully the reviews are accurate and it's smooth sailing!  

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! We aren't shipping any furniture, but have opted to go with WorldBaggage.com to ship 3x30kg boxes. Obviously the shipment hasn't happened yet, but will in a couple weeks. Hopefully the reviews are accurate and it's smooth sailing!  

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

As previously mentioned, in small loads shipping can be relatively expensive... I am currently using Conroy Removals to ship one piece of furniture, and 4 boxes.. cost us $2000. Previously I have shipped a 1cubic metre box myself from Melbourne to Alaska and the cost was $1600 all up... you may well find that buying extra baggage  allowance on your flight is more convenient and not that much more expensive.. it certainly saves the hassles of all the documentation required when sending unaccompanied goods 
PM me if you want .. 

Several options come to my mind. 
1)Give birth abroad and file CRBA which is super easy and takes about a month for the entire process up until getting the US passport. 
2)A full time job would offer health insurance for spouse and family members. 
3) Call Medi-care in your state and ask for assistance, they are lenient with pregnancy and children, sometimes there are programs they can put you in for the mean time
4) Look for an insurance agent instead of getting bombard with ads online, they are usually quite knowledgeable  

Might a separate travel insurance policy cover that one day?

I think you're probably right, which is so frustrating because my husband's interview was on the 16th and we received his visa on the 18th, so just missed it! 

Compression stockings acquired, and it's a 15-hour flight so will do lots of walking!
 
I know it's highly unlikely things would go wrong, but I'd rather pay a bit extra now than end up with thousands in hospital bills, so checking out my options!  

In my experience, when we moved back to the US earlier this year, the cutoff for insurance the following month was the 15th of the month prior and you have to pay for the full month. My assumption is if you wanted to be covered at any point in November, you would have had to enroll by October 15th. We were caught in this too and my husband was here for a month and a half without insurance, although thankfully nothing happened. I'm not sure if there is a way around it anymore 😕
Your best bet might be to push your flight up by a day so you arrive December 1st, if possible.  Good luck with your pregnancy  

And that's great! I've been an ER nurse for a long time usually people dont plan even 1% as well as you but if worse came to worst and the fit hit the shan I can't imagine a place would be so argumentative over what is likely to be a few hours in the end of things 

My husband was in a similar boat. He took what records he could find of prior vaccinations to his medical, and for the ones where he was missing, but fairly sure he'd had the vaccine (Pertussis, Tetanus and diptheria, and varicella) the doctor just had him get it again because that was cheaper than the blood screening to see if he was immune.

While it's great that you are trying so hard to be pro-active, if your doctor has determined that you are fit to fly try not to worry unnecessarily about the one day. Many health insurance plans could backdate if there was a need. 
 
Get some compression stockings, stay hydrated and try to walk to aisles every couple hours if it's a long flight 

Second what @missileman said: having a joint bank account has no impact on tax filing status. 
 
I think what you may be reading relates more to whether you should file a joint tax return (Married Filing Jointly) or a single tax return (Married Filing Separately or Head of Household). If you are married as at the end of the tax year, you have to select one of those three statuses (i.e., don't file as Single). There are special rules you have to meet in order to qualify for Head of Household and those are all available on the IRS website. This has also been discussed elsewhere on VisaJourney if you do a search. The status that is most beneficial to you will be dependent on your own situation, so if you're not sure, I would consider consulting with a US tax accountant.
 
In my case, I'm a US Citizen and my husband is applying for a CR-1 visa. He doesn't have a SSN or ITIN and we didn't want to apply for one. We both live together overseas and have only foreign income. I opted to file as Married Filing Separately so I wouldn't have to bother reporting his income. As he doesn't yet have residency or citizenship in the US and he has no US income, there is no obligation for us to report his income under this filing status. The one limitation was that we had to file my return by paper because most tax software will not let you leave the SSN/ITIN field blank for a spouse. On paper, I just wrote "N/A" in that field when I filed. The return was accepted without issue.
 
Again, I would recommend you consult with a US tax accountant to see what is best for your situation. Depending on the complexity of your income/assets, you might be able to prepare and file the return yourself after a consultation, but you may opt to have a professional do it.
 
Hope that helps!

Nothing from NVC still, 22 days it’s making me quite frustrated. Starting to think it’s unlikely I’ll get to be with my wife and our family at Thanksgiving. 

Even though I don't know when my date is 😅,  so my advice is potentially not so valid.
 
I got a display folder type file - made a cover sheet and ordered the documents as per the cover letter, with copies the embassy will keep in separate slips.  I also made an index page and got sticky tabs to divide out 'sections' of documents - i.e civil certificates, i864 etc .
 
I'm excited for you, so close now!

Your situation sounds pretty similar to mine and I am nearly at the end of this process (finally!) I am a US Citizen and have lived in Australia for the last 4ish years with my partner who is a dual Aus/UK citizen. We got married last November and filed immediately after.
 
To your questions, based on my experience:
 
1. Absolutely. We posted our I-130 package to the Chicago lockbox from Sydney. For peace of mind, we paid up for tracked shipment so we got delivery confirmation. The one thing that was annoying was the only payment they would accept (at least at the time) was a check from a US bank account. I didn't have any checks with me linked to my US checking account, so I had to transfer money to my parents who then brought a check with them when they came to the wedding so that we could pay the filing fee. A little convoluted, but we got there! If they still aren't accepting electronic payment, I'm sure there are other ways you can deal with this step.
 
2. Like @redvines said, assuming you can prove US domicile, you don't even have to move back to the US until your partner has a visa and you can go together. If you can't prove US domicile otherwise, you would need to go back to the US first. I'll get to more on this in response to your next question, though, as it seems like this question is more about the Affidavit of Support than domicile. We used my sister and her husband as joint sponsors because we don't have US income and our assets here are not quite there to meet the minimum requirement. The AUD/USD exchange rate is not helping at the moment! Is there anyone who would be willing to be a joint sponsor with your spouse? If so, that's an option! If not, then establishing that you have sufficient ongoing US income will be important in demonstrating you, as the sole sponsor, are above the minimum poverty threshold.
 
3. Yes, having a US bank account is beneficial. Based on your situation, it sounds like you have two options for proving domicile: 1) Proving you were only living in Australia temporarily or 2) Showing intent, in good faith, to reestablish domicile. Have a read of the I-864 instructions for Item Number 5: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864instr.pdf
For me, I went with option 1, because I never established permanent residency in Aus and have been here on a temporary skilled work visa. To provide evidence of this, I did the following:
Wrote a letter explaining the situation and listing out the documentary evidence I would provide, which included: A copy of my work visa showing an expiration date, demonstrating temporary Australian residence A copy of my voter profile obtained from my local elections office showing I have continued to vote in local, state and federal elections A copy of my bank statement and a letter from my bank stating I have maintained a bank account in good standing A copy of my current valid US drivers license A copy of my retirement statement fund showing my permanent US address A copy of my current CPA license demonstrating I have maintained professional US licensure while away A letter from my sister noting we have arranged to stay with her upon our return to the U.S. until we can find our own place The details of any similar letter you might write will be different, but that's just to give you some examples!
 
4. With the exception of a 1 hr consultation with an immigration attorney before we began the process we have not used any legal service/lawyer for any part of the process. I'm sure that whether you find a lawyer worth it or not is highly dependent on the specific lawyer used, but I have never wished we used one. None of the forms are very complicated (just long!) and while the process requires some time investment and organization, it's definitely doable on your own. Any question I've had I've been able to get answered on this forum, so use is as a resource. In retrospect, the initial advice we received from the attorney we consulted with turned out to be very wrong (the lady told us she had seen I-130 approvals be turned around in 1 month recently, while ours took 7) but again, that is probably luck of the draw in consulting with the wrong attorney.
 
Good luck with your process!

That is amazing thanks Keely. I didn't go back so far and didn't realise beyond 10 or 11 days was normal 😅
 
I've called NVC a few times, I don't think there are any issues, just very impatiently waiting. It's a holiday Monday so we'll be at 20 days Tuesday and hopefully hear something then. 

This will give away just how obsessive I have been about tracking my case's progress and attempting to predict when this thing will be done, but....here goes anyway.
 
While I was waiting for my case complete, I put together a spreadsheet with everyone on VJ who had an interview scheduled in Sydney in the last 6-8months to look at recent averages for different stages of the process. I only included people who populated their timeline throughout the process, so it's not a very big population (9 VJ members who populated both case complete date and recive instruction and interview letter date between March and October.) The stats for this little population for number of days between CC and receiving an interview date are:
 
Mean: 18 days
Median: 16 days
Minimum: 10 days
Maximum: 29 days
 
So I think you're okay at 17 days! I'm sure you'll hear soon. It may just be down the timing of when they schedule interviews? If you haven't already, you could always call NVC just to make sure there are no issues. Wishing you good luck and hoping you hear very soon!

You're the BEST Keeley!!!! Sorry just got this today...I have been working flat out too, and I had my Flu and MMR shots today.  I will get my Dip, Tetanus, pertrusis, and Polio, and Hep B in 3 weeks.  The needles hurt so much.  I will be on the lookout for your Consulate Experience for sure :)

Congrats on your interview date! So, it looks like you're applying for K-1 visa? From what I've seen, they *typically* seem to book one Tuesday per month for K-1s and a different Tuesday per month for IR-1/CR-1s, but I have seen the odd one that is on a random date, so who knows! I'm sure it depends on demand. Good luck at the interview!

When you get your confirmation email from the Sydney Consulate after your interview is scheduled, they will send you a Document Cover Sheet that lists everything you need to bring. I have included a screenshot of the one they sent me. I assume this is the same for all IR-1/CR-1 visas, but I would just double-check the one they send you once you receive it!
 
Essentially, we are taking originals and copies of everything we submitted on CEAC. Just as a precaution, I will also take a copy of the I-130 package and supporting documents as well as some recent photos. I don't think those last two items are strictly necessary, but I'm paranoid and don't want to risk falling into the Administrative Processing black hole! 
 
I'm not sure if you've already found this website, but here's some additional info on the Sydney consulate: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/SYD_Sydney.html
 
Please note that they specifically stated on my cover sheet and in the email they sent that IR-1/CR-1 visa applicants do NOT need to bring a 3kg Express Post envelope, but rather that a 500g A4 size one is acceptable. I believe this is because they are no longer posting you the sealed packet after the visa is approved. Everything is being processed electronically now, so all they need to post is the applicant's passport.
 
I think that's everything...I'll let you know if I think of anything else! And I'll be sure to share my review of my experience after the 16th when we are (hopefully) celebrating!  
 

 
 

I really hope I get 1 week's notice only 😅
 

SUPER CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
I hope you, hubby, and baby all the best for the future
Thanks too for your input.  Much appreciated.

So, I am actually quite lucky as I am here with my husband in Australia. We’ve been living here together for the last few years, so we have not had to endure the separation that so many people going through this process have! Our reason for wanting to get back ASAP is I’m expecting a baby and we really want to be back in the US before she gets here in January. I hope the NVC and interview process is very speedy for you!
 
I did call the NVC every day or two while waiting for the case number and once after submitting our documents to make sure we hadn’t missed anything. I’m not convinced calling did any good, though, other than making me feel like I was doing something and not just waiting! 

Thanks! My husband is the applicant and we have a flight booked at the end of November. His medical was fine! He did need some vaccinations, but not too many, tdap and MMR, I think?
 
The DS 260 is not difficult at all, it's just information gathering. You need address history for the past 15 years, need to know the applicant's parents' place of birth, that kind of thing. I know the IV application is long, but they do have page by page screenshots of all the questions, so you can read through and see what you might have to provide. I think the address history was the only thing that would have held us up had we not read through in advance, but I can't remember for sure!