Loke

I was under the impression that you're told at the interview if you pass, and that the next day, you can pick it up at the desk, or have it mailed to you.

Course, what I think happens and what actually DOES happens, tends to be 2 completly different things

I thought I had read somewhere that they are now only mailing them out, but I have read so many different things that it's possible I read it wrongly or just imagined it. If they will let me pick it up the next day I will spend an extra day in Sydney and pick it up myself just for peace of mind. Then there's only the issue of being gung-ho and booking the flight before I actually get my visa haha.

Can anyone tell me how long it takes to have the visa in my hand after the interview?

Is booking a flight for the 7th of July after an interview on the 3rd over-ambitious?

I'm working on the principle that if I know I am going to have everything in time then that's as good as having everything already...it's not strictly true but by the time the letter gets to them and they schedule my interview and mail the appointment I will have everything so I hope I can cut a week or two off the waiting time.

oh, by packet 3 I just meant the DS230 form...I must have been tired when I did that. But it does seem that the packets are different for K1 and K3. I didn't get a form to return with my document checklist, I was just asked to advise them in writing when I had collected everything. I have already told them I have done that, although I am still waiting on medical results and Rings' affidavit of support. I will have them both well before my interview is scheduled though. If the mail works the way it should...

It didn't/doesn't really hurt, just looks bad (so I thought I would share it with you all )

My police check certificate came today - I'm not a criminal - wohoo!

I opened it...I hope that wasn't a bad thing to do...

Congrats Sharyna on getting through your medical - I knew you would be fine, but I know how easy it is to get nervous beforehand....but it's over now and hopefully we both get interviews soon.

Kath - you've gone through all this work and made it over the pond - don't kill yourself driving mate! I only drove a little while I was there but it does take over all your concentration...I'm not sure if its worse than learning to drive for the first time or not. Instinct takes over with the mechanics of the car but you have to un-learn a lot of things that have become habit and re-adjust.

Look at what the vampire did to me in my medical the other day...

Kath - I didn't get anything except receipts from them yet but he has gone through all my vaccination records and it is all written there in the forms...due my my inadequately filled out baby vaccination book (damn those Pascoe Vale nurses in the 1970s! lol)I will need one more tetanus shot in september which he told me I can get in the States so it won't hinder my visa application but everything else is up to date. I don't pick up the results until next week though, and as I understand they will be sealed and I won't be able to see them until the interview.

Good luck with K Mart, it seems like you have been waiting forever to hear from them - I hope it comes soon for you.

Sharyna - I don't hate needles but after the last couple of months I think I have had enough to do me for a long time...still 2 due for tetanus and hep but at least those aren't for a few months. I'm sick of aching shoulders haha. You will be fine, I completely understand your dislike of the medical aspect but I am sure you will get through it okay.

lol, I have no idea if Dr Waks is guy or girl, but I'm sure if it's a him he'll be respectful of your modesty (actually I have no idea but I hope he will).

I'll spare a though for you in the morning while I nurse my bruised inner elbow from my blood test. She said she thought it might bruise and she was right. I liked my previous blood test a lot better than this one. 9 o'clock appointment?

I had thought that as a girl you'd escape that little unpleasantry, but Kath would know better than me about that.

It really was pretty impersonal though...I know I worried more than I needed to about the whole thing and I know it's pretty pointless trying to get you to worry less if you're anything like me, but the upside - if there is one - is that the whole thing is over in half an hour or so and it just flies by, things happened so fast that I didn't have time to think about one thing before it was on to the next thing.

You'll be okay.

hey loke!

thanks for your reply - yeah my birth certificate from the registry states everything and its signed for by some high dude there...

my medical is tomorrow..... i'm nervous.... 10.15am with Dr Waks.

nervous... very nervous.. i dont like doctors at all...

I can't speak for your individual doctor because I went to see Dr Okraglik, but my feeling was that he seemed to want to okay me. He went through all the questions about medical history etc very quickly and I almost felt silly say 'no' so many times so quickly haha. He was fairly thorough with the physical side of things but I just made sure I co-operated with everything he wanted and he seemed satisfied. All the people I spoke to were pretty nice and helpful with any questions I had. It did feel at times that I was being rushed through the process, but I guess that can be the experience with any doctor you don't know personally.

I discovered a way to see the medical form after he had filled it out by mistake, and I'm not necessarily recommending you do this, but I turned up at 9am on the dot (traffic killed me on the way in) and so he was ready to see me before I had the name and visa details filled in at the top of the sheets. So we did the exam and then he gave me back the paperwork to finish filling in (so of course I had a quick peek at what he wrote). I also forgot to take my photos with me so they gave the form back to me AGAIN this afternoon when I returned with my photos. It was actually reassuring to see all the boxes ticked in my favour and the normal examination comment at the bottom.

Again, not recommending it as a course of action and it may not be the same with all cases but it was pretty easy for me to look at the forms after the exam.

Good luck with it all Sharyna, I am sure it will all go well. I was really quite nervous leading up to it as well but once you get in there it is pretty much just a case of following instructions and there's nothing too scary about it (unless you count having another man check your testicles for lumps as scary...but you'll escape that one luckily )

Hi all,

it's been a while since I posted, life has been kind of hectic here lately.

Had my medical this morning. Poked and prodded and measured and weighed and answered a whole bunch of questions about illness, operations, my lifestyle and my family medical history. Got vampired (blood test) and x-rayed (twice, he didn't get my whole chest in the first one).

I wasn't done filling in the paperwork when he wanted to to the medical so he gave it back to me to complete after he had done the exam and I had a quick flick through looking at his notes...all the right boxes seemed to be ticked (or not ticked, in the places where you don't want ticks). At the end he noted "a nromal examination". So that seems to be good news as far as I can tell.

Have to go back this arvo because I didn't have my "baby nook" with me but he said if that looks okay when he sights it then I seem to have all the vaccinations I need (and I suspect a couple of others I didn't need too).

Congrats to everyone who seems to have things happening for them on the visa and job fronts, I have skimmed through but I don't have time to read properly because I have to head back out to the doctor before I go to work.

Sharyna - if you have a certificate stating that you changed the surname you use then I would suggest its a good idea to try to get a copy of it....if the certificate doesn't exist then you can't get it though, but I have been of the opinion all the way through this that if paperwork exists for something it's a good idea to have it, just in case.

Cheerio all and I hope you are all well and happy. Will be back later this week when the document-chasing process slows down a little.

miriam, first of all, my comments were not dictator like. if they had been i would have said, shut your mouth, you don't have a right to vent.

but since i'm not a dictator, you have a right to complain just like i have a right to criticize you. i'll state it again so that you can understand...it's not fair that the nvc changes the rules in the middle of everything without notifying anyone.

however, life isn't fair and you won't get any simpathy from me for complaining that your process could take an additional few weeks when you really haven't waited as long as others have. you're upset and want to express it? good for you. i say, keep things in perspective, it could be worse, a lot worse. you could be like xuemei who has been waiting for 10 months without a NOA2 approval and without an explanation as to why there is a delay.

this process is not fair, deal with it. even with this delay your case will be finished a lot faster than most so your whining is falling on deaf ears, at least mine.

you are right about this...this forum was not created so that you can read what you want to "hear". this forum is great for gathering and sharing information but not everyone is going to agree with you or even sympathize with you. you may not believe this but i sincerely hope that you can get the additional documents like i did quickly and send it to the nvc so that you can keep the process moving. while it stinks that the rules have changed, you aren't going to get a "poor baby" from me for having to wait a few more days

JK

I feel sorry for you.

Sorry that the pain of your own separation from your loved one is causing you to lash out at someone else.

Sorry that you are so wrapped up in your own life that the thought of anyone else being happy seems to hurt you

Sorry that you not only can't give support to someone else who needs it, but that you feel the need to stick the boots in while someone else is already hurt.

My wife and I have found a wonderful community here at Visajourney and the people here have helped us more than we could have hoped before we joined here. Our questions have been answered, our fears have been alleviated and most of all, when we have needed and asked for support it has been given. Quite frankly this astonishes me.

I honestly hope the best for you in your journey, and I hope that whatever hurt you suffer along the way will be paid for in love, joy and wonderful moments in your future. I don't think there is a person here who doesn't have some understanding of what it's like to be separated, to be robbed of days we could have had in the arms of our loved one. I wish I could see everyone here happy and fulfilled by their journey, but I know that the process we all go through causes pain that seems unnecessary.

But please don't take it out on someone else because it seems they might be getting a better deal than you. That is life - some people get luckier than others, some people work harder than others and some people simply deal with their pain better than others.

If you're upset, I think there are better ways to take out your frustration than by lashing out at someone else who is upset too. It's not our place to trivialise the hurt of another, and I am sure you're better than that.

i'll see if i can go to my GP - if i need boosts for those other ones i'll get them done.... i'm not chancing not getting the visa because of some boosts....

thats what i'll do - better safe then sorry....

thanks guys!! for your patience.

Hey Sharyna

All Good anything else that I can help you with,

please Feel Free to Ask any Questions,

If I can help another Aussie Get across the "Big Puddle"

to reunite them with their Loved Ones

I will try to Answer it, if not Kath is a Good Source Of Info (Kath the Guru)

Cheers

Paul

You're gold Hammy. So glad to have you around while we are going through our trial. Hope everything is happening for you the way you want it to and that you are well, happy, healthy and (what's another 'h'? - having fun?)...take care mate and all the best for you in your new life

thankyou Rings!!

ah ok so the assets thing refers to him...

okay... well thats fine... he owns a house, a car ..... and works full time at um NASA...

ok question people and pls bear with me...

on one of hampsters posts he wrote:

"when you reciever the brown envelope from the consulate, with all the info and your interview date..... look carefully at the medical paperwork, there is a page where the USA doctor signs, and the xray tech signs, and the person taking the blood tests signs as well. if your local doctor took the blood,remember to have him/her sign it and date it for when the blood was taken.."

ok now to my question:

what form is that?

the "medical examination for immigrant or refugee applicant page?"

or

medical history and physical examinaton worksheet?

or

chest xray and classification work sheet? (highly unlikely its this one)

or

vaccination documentation worksheet?

i just dont understand the medical giberrish...... i appreciate any direction...

last resort - get my doctor to sign all pages!!! lol....

For now, Hammy's post tells more than I can tell you. But my medical will happen on the 18th June and I will post here all I can about it. I believe at this stage that they will want to take a blood test and if you let them do that then you will have them sign as opposed to your local gp. If your local gp does any blood test you will need him/her to sign any documents realting to that. My own thoughts are that you should have whichever doctor is responsible sign and date any documents the result from that...you can't go wrong if you get everything signed and dated.

First...pardon please everyone, this is a drunk post...peach vodka is pretty sweet...

Cheese and Kisses (Katrina), my thoughts and hopes are with you...for your job hunting and for sorting out whatever needs to be sorted out for you and your love to be together. I hope you get to have that personal physical touch oon.

Sharyna - your journey seems to be matching ours closely, you are a few days ahead of us. Fingers crossed for the both of us in our efforts to get through this process. It's amazing how the feeling of being left hanging changes once that approval comes through and all of sudden things are happening again. I am suddenly looking at how to get everything organised instead of wondering if we will be approved. Anyone want to buy a fridge?

To everyone, but most especially Kath (I know how much support you have been to Rings and it means a lot to me) and Hammy - thank you for being with us through this journey and hoping for us when we struggled to hope, for supporting us when we struggled for strength, for believing in us when we struggled to believe. We are so grateful, and we will continue to lean on you all in times of need and we hope to be there to be leaned on for others who follow after us, in the same way you have remained to allow us to lean.

YAY Aussies and Americans (I dare not call them seppos in this thread ) this place has left me thinking all you Americans really are pretty cool people. At least those of you who have an Aussie love, anyway (I AM KIDDING! The Americans I met in Colorado all seem like really nice people)

Flu and pneumococcal done...I'm starting to feel like a pincushion....

Only pertussis and polio uncertain now and my doctor says they don't administer polio vaccine to adults here so I have to keep chasing my childhood immunisation records I guess.

Hey Loke,

I tried to track down my complete vaccination history but had little success.

I found that it is MUCH MUCH easier to get your family doctor to take blood and test for your immunity levels for all the vaccinations required of an adult. It was quick (took about a week for results to come back) and all I had to do was get my Dr to jab me with anything that was missing and I took the original record of my immunity along with a record of my recent jabs and that was it. Easy. I'd recommend that process to anyone with a sketchy vaccination history (with people having multiple doctors, school vaccinations etc. etc. its hard to get a record.)

I had a blood test for some things and I have the results with me now. Rings found me an old post of Hammy's where he listed the vaccinations I am likely to need so I am going back in the morning to organise the rest. I will still try to chase up the childhood stuff if I can but if I can't then at least I will have a reasonably comprehensive list. So far I'm good for measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, chickenpox, meningococcal and I am 2 out of 3 for my hep a and b jabs (and possibly diptheria too, I'm not so good with reading the test results haha). My understanding is I'm also going to need polio, flu, pertussis (just found out this is whooping cough - whoop whoop) and pneumococcal jabs.

I'm also calling Sydney in the morning and if they already have our petition and are getting ready to send me the forms, I will see if I can get my medical moved forward some. I doubt I will be able to sneak everything in before the July 31 fee hike deadline but it's worth a shot.

It's good you have some time b/w your medical and future interview!! I did my medical through Dr Okraglik a few weeks ago now. He and his staff took their time in preparing the report and sending it to me. I paid them $5 to send it express mail at my appoinmet. They finally sent it to me a 3 days before my interview after a few phone calls!!!!

The Doctor was very robotic, wasn't really interested in you as a patient. I had my physical done in less than 20mins, most of the time was just verbally confirming my medical history as per the forms. I had my blood work taken there and then I had to drive to a hospital near by to have x-rays done. If I remember correctly, you pay $100 when you make the appoinment and then $199 or $299 in cash to the Doctor before he commences the physical. This covers everything. Also, make sure you bring with your vaccination records from the day you were born. I didn't think I would need them and ended up driving back the next day!

If you are driving there, you can park your car in the multi level car park. It won't cost more than few $$ for the time you are there. There is hardly any off street parking because it is a uni campus. If you can't find the building go into the library and ask there. The medical clininc is hidden around the corner. I walked straight passed it the first time!

goodluck!

Thanks heaps for that, it's nice to have a bit of a heads up on what to expect. I'm getting my doctor to go through all the likely vaccinations with me beforehand and having jabs for anything it looks like I might need. I asked my mum about birth vaccination records a little while ago and she's struggling to find them but I will ask again, maybe I can go back to the original doctors to get new copies of the records.

Good luck to all of you in wherever you're up to, and I hope you hit some "good form" when it comes to any paperwork you need to do (YAY first bad pun on this site...)

I just booked with Dr Charles Okraglik at Monash for 9 am on the 16th July.

Just an FYI for anyone else, he is away from June 28 until July 13. Mid-July looks reasonable for us as it allows time for the approved petition to be forwarded to Sydney and for the forms I will need for the appointment to get out to me. I'm not sure about Dr Poppenbeck, but I know someone else posted in April that he was booked until the end of May so it's probably fair to assume he's reasonably busy at this time too.

Aww thanks everyone, we appreciate everything you guys have done for us and please know that our hopes are with you all as you travel your own journey, whether it be waiting for approval, getting everything in order for interviews or finding work on the other side of the pond etc...

Does anyone know who the USCIS approved doctors are in Melbourne? I'd like to try to book my medical asap as that seems to be the one thing that could cause delays.

So we have been moping and worrying and living in fear of being denied...and today Rings got a letter in the mail saying that the NVC received an approved I-129F petition on MAy 31st.

We are approved!

We haven't got our NOA2 yet but it seems there are a number of people in this position, with the backlog of paperwork CSC has experience due to the number of H-1B worker's visa applications received in early April. But at least now we know it is on its way, which is a bazillion times better than the uncertainty of not knowing if it is coming at all.

The letter says that the petition will be forwarded to the US Consulate in Sydney within a week. We are rapt, all smiling and laughing and this has made our day.

Thanks to everyone that offered support during our times of uncertainty, we have drawn a lot of strength from the positivity of you guys and we appreciate that having a place like this to share our worries and down moments is a genuine help in getting through when this whole process drains us.

I can't say it any better than my wife has said it.

I try to stay positive - not just for me but for Rings, who I love and cherish and worry about, and who I want to be strong for. I don't always succeed. Many of these days I feel like I am only half a person, trying to fill my days with things that might mean something to anyone else but to me they are just ways to get through the time while my life sits on somebody's desk waiting to be processed.

I know I should be thankful that we are on our way. I should be thankful that I have such a wonderful wife and so much to look forward to. I should be thankful that I have been given the chance to love and to be loved. I should be thankful my story hasn't yet become like some I have read here, including those of some of you who have posted here in this thread. I should be happy that I still have hope, and that I may be home by Christmas if everything goes smoothly.

My heart breaks for any of you who have had to wait, who have been questioned or denied even though your love is real. I do understand why the process is difficult, and why the US government needs to determine that relationships and marriages are genuine. But while I know that they are just being careful, I desperately wish that they could just see us together, just look at the love in our eyes and know that we are doing this because we cannot live without our love. I wish that I could make them understand the hurt that we go through every day that we are forced to wait.

I wish...

I wish so many things, but most of all I just wish I could begin my life with the girl I want to grow old with.

To all of you who hurt, who have been made to wait, who have been questioned and refused and who have had to justify your love to some government employee...I hope your life after this awful wait is filled with happiness and fulfilment, enough to wash away the pain that leads to the beginning of something truly magical.

Congrats Kath on your job, and good luck Hammy with your application. I'm happy for you guys that things are falling into place for you. And congratulations Moonie in anticipation of beginning your life together with your love. I'm sure it will be wonderful after this difficult wait.

Got my fingerprints done today for my police check. I got halfway in on the train and began worrying because I had left my passport and birth certificate on the desk at home, but all they wanted to see was my drivers licence so that was a relief. I was also expecting to walk away with ink all over my hands but they have a funky machine that takes all the prints digitally so it was a clean and painless process. One more thing organised and in a couple of weeks the results will come and it will be out of the way. Next week is blood test reults week...

Hi Everyone...

Here is a website me and Ron found for ordering Autralian goodies in the USA a bit expensive, but im sure its worth it for you Aussies to have a bit of home....

http://www.aussieproducts.com/products.asp?dept=31

I hope this helps.... there was heaps of stuff on this site..so enjoy.

Take Care

Katrina

No Cherry Ripes

Guess I'll have to start mailing tomorrow morning. So happy to see Barbecue Shapes there though, I was starting to have pre-withdrawal symptoms already...although the sacrifice becomes almost worthwhile when I remember watermelon vodka and fine fine margaritas.

Thanks everyone for your support. We are trying hard to be positive, and in my head I know that we need to be patient and our petition will be processed. I'm sure I'm not telling any of you anything new when I say it's difficult to maintain that patience though. I want to sincerely congratulate everyone who has had recent approval - it's hard not to wonder when ours will be done every time we see a new approval but that shouldn't take anything away from your happiness or from our happiness for you, and we are genuinely excited for everyone making progress in this journey we're all undertaking.

Leaving my love to return to Australia was so hard and I guess that contributes a lot to our mood as well, although again we're trying to remain positive and look at it as another step towards our future together. On the upside, Colorado is a beautiful place and I had a wonderful time there. I can't wait to begin my new life with the mountains greeting me each day (although I wish I could take a beach or two with me haha) and the people I met there seem like great people.

Thanks again to all of you here, I'm not sure how we would cope without the support and stories and useful advice from other people who are or have been in the same situation, it's comforting to know there's a place we can go when we need a friendly ear or a word of encouragement. You people rock.