kelzm

I went to www.aig-is.com

They provide different types of insurance for visitors to the US or new immigrants. They do short stay and longstay insurance.

I sent them an email through the site and they were very prompt about getting back to me with quotes.

Congrats Emma! Look forward to hearing how the consulate goes for you.

Ruby - that photo of you and Jordan looks great. Russ did a great job of it. Must have been a nice surprise for Jordan!

Congrats Mark! That's fantastic news.

Kim I think June is on the cards, will keep my fingers crossed that it happens for you both. Not long now at all!

That sounds great Kim. Even though it does change your plans a little it's nice to see that Russell's whanau are making the trip to see the two of you finally able to be married. Plus a big bash with all the family and friends sounds fun, I'm sure the kiwi contigent will love it.

For myself, my wedding was very intimate - just the two of us and our two witnesses. We got married in California so my son wasn't able to be there, I'd promised him some other kind of ceremony that he could be at later on down the track.

Now I'm not so sure about that, however my son is still quite adamant that he wants us to do something, so we'll have to have some more discussion around that idea at some point!

Today I decided to visit the official NVC page info for my consulate. It was lucky that I did so as my consulate has changed in the last week from a standard post to appointment post processing, meaning that the form I sent to my husband with my signature is no longer correct (I'd only filled in part 1) and that I need to get all my documentation to him to send in, rather than taking it to my consulate.

I also noted that the initial instruction page now has the following statement:

Obtain and submit photographs that meet the Department of State's immigration requirements.

Link:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3190.html

Ohh wedding plans. Are you going to share or keeping them secret for a while?

I'm not sure about tracking packages... I guess so?

I still have quite a process to go through to get it to leave there though! We're still waiting for them to receive it, once they have they'll send out two more bills, and want to collect the biographical info before it's all sent to the consulate. Looks like that part of the process is taking about 3 - 5 months for most people.

You must be counting down the days Kim. It's March now, just a month more to go!

Yay. More kiwi couples joining the thread!

Mark - I bet you're going to be getting that NOA2 any day now.

I think for me it's still going to be a while. NVC still hasn't got my info from USCIS so.... waiting, again!

I haven't got that far yet. However my consulate has told me that I need to either have a notarised letter from my sons father or a court order proving custody. They did say that I can write a letter stating why I have the legal right to move my child and don't have either of these, it will then be up to the consulate officer to make a decision on whether to grant the visa.

Hello all,

Welcome to the new additions!

Things are pretty quiet here for me, visa wise. Back in the waiting game again. This time waiting till we can get some things sent in to NVC.

Good to hear that progress has started for you Ruby.

What an awesome picture Ruby. Hopefully soon you'll have one of you and Jordan together. I agree with Kim, it's definitely time to have that talk with Mum and Dad!

Kim - I had read on the consulate site that contact was by phone only. The other night I tried to find their info and ended up at the Wellington Embassy site which had this address for contacting the consulate: aucklandacs@state.gov

I found that here: http://newzealand.usembassy.gov/contact_us.html

Since that page didn't say not to email I took the chance.

The email was then forwarded to the IV section of the consulate who replied to me from this address: AucklandIV@state.gov

They didn't seem upset with me emailing instead of using the ($3.26 a minute) phone line. And I think it was easier to convey my questions that way also.

I hadn't seen that page, thanks Kim, very useful/

One thing though, it says that the consulate does not answer email. I actually emailed them a couple of nights ago to ask some questions for my son around custody and parental permission, as well as if I needed to be there for his interview.

They got back to me the next morning and asked a bunch of questions about my process as well. I told them my planned timeline, with an approval by August and they thought it was achievable. If you do have questions it's worth trying an email.

Very prompt answers, and pleasant emails. I feel quite positive about the Auckland consulate part of the journey!

Oh! Good work Kim, hopefully the other NZ couples will join in and let us know how things go at interviews. I'm very curious about the consulate and what kind of timeframes things move through there.

I am excited to move, but I've still got lots to sort out here in NZ. The most important thing is timing my move to be around school holidays for my son. I'm still unsure how long its going to take for me to get through NVC, I really hope I get approved by August so that I can make the September trip, otherwise I may have to reevaluate and leave it till December.

I want to bring him over for his first ever vist to the US right after I make the move, so he can see where I am, see the room that I'll set up for him and also we can have a great holiday (Disneyland!) before I get a job and end up with no vacation time.

I'm visiting in May (yay).

Hoping for a September move, if everything goes through smoothly I should be able to make that easily.

Sounds like everything went great Ruby. Great news that your parents liked him.

Hey ruby, congrats on having finished school! Must be nice to have that all sorted.

Kim - that's great news about the deed. I know people usually complain about government systems and processes but every now and then someone goes out of their way to do something that just helps make up for everything else. When we got married the celebrant also worked for the city council and as she knew we were going to put forms in to USCIS she had our certificate processed within a couple of days, instead of a couple of weeks.

You'll have to keep us updated with how everything goes. Sounds like Russ could be there pretty soon!

Congrats! Looks like they're making their way through the August group now.

congrats!

I think the planning issue is a very BIG thing for people to take notice of. If you go through the process and they find you had intent to immigrate from the beginning... ouch.

Well... I didn't read all the posts in the thread as they seemed rather off topic. What I did think is perhaps people are misunderstanding what you're asking.

If you're asking if you can file the I-130 while she is still visiting you, but she intends to leave, then yes. I myself took our application to the post office to mail it to USCIS. I then left the US to return to my home to wait for the processing.

It's perfectly legal to get the paperwork in motion, as long as she's intending to return home (and does so), it's when she remains that you could get into a sticky situation.

I haven't looked into this ruby, but are you able to apply for your K1 while you're still in the USA? Just wondering if you can do that in your last month or so, at least then when you return to NZ it'll shorten the wait?

Best of luck with that dinner!

Well done gogo, about time! You fought the good fight and it paid off.

Please can I be added.

Email approval for NOA2 2/19/2007

Great news Aisha. Congrats!

Thanks everyone! I had just settled myself to thinking it'd be March maybe even April before anything when my approval arrived.