bobsagetti

Mine changed to scheduled for an interview on October 18 and I still haven't received the letter (I'm also in Seattle).

Why not try filling it out by hand? Just print the form and then write the date in black ink.

Yeah I think that might be a better option, thanks. I was hoping to get it all done online but I guess I'll have to do it the old fashioned way.

Bobsagetti: has your EAD arrived yet?

Hi everyone,

It's been a busy past few weeks so I've only just checked back on here. Congrats to all of you who are making progress and also to Kim and Russ who are probably married by now.

Yes the EAD finally arrived about three weeks ago. Less than a week later Jasmine got offered a job in Virginia so we've just spent 10 days driving across the country and are now settling in here. I really like being close to DC as there's lots to see and do. They sure do have real winters though, not like southern Cal where we've been.

So now that we're settled I'm ramping up the job hunting and hope to get something this side of Xmas.

Good luck to the rest of you who are still waiting.

Hi,

I am also trying to fill in an AR-11 online but have struck a problem. I tried entering the I-94 date for the question 'if not a permanent resident, my stay in the U.S. expires on:' but because the date is in the past it wouldn't let me proceed.

The only expiration date in the future I have is for my EAD, so I'm tempted to put that just so it will let me submit the form. Has anyone else encountered this problem?

Congrats to Kim and Russ on your latest news! I hope things go smoothly from now for you guys.

Kiwiana: yeah health insurance is a big challenge (including for lots of Americans) and very confusing at first. It took me months to work it out when I was studying here (and I was doing a class on health economics!) It's not compulsory and you can certainly do user pays. That should be fine if you're healthy but won't cover anything catastrophic. I looked at Southern Cross's options (https://www.scti-online.co.nz/wo/public.aspx) but think the link Grant posted is much better for any emergencies (at first glance anyway).

A few more considerations: depending on your auto insurance your medical bills may be covered if you have a car accident (one of the most likely causes of serious injury). Also, once you're married if your spouse is working often you can tag on to their health insurance for a small amount. Finally, it's not uncommon to have a 'stand down' period once you start work whereby your health insurance doesn't kick in for three to six months, so that's something to keep in mind.

As for EAD, grrrr, longer than I'd like (and you all thought the waiting would be over). It seems that there are two paths once you send in your AOS: you either get transferred to the California Service Center or it goes to your local office. If you get the CSC then things seem to move much faster. For instance people who filed at the same time as us and were transferred are already getting their EAD. Needless to say we haven't been transferred and I'm still waiting (it's only been two months but it feels like longer because we took a while to file). I'm hopeful that it will arrive within the next three weeks. That seems to be a more common time line (2-3 months).

Hi everyone,

I just discovered this thread and it reminded me of all the stress of getting the K-1. I thought I'd add a few insights from someone who's here already.

For those of you wanting to get your Cal driver's license you probably won't be able to get it just based on your I-94 (entry card). Or if you can get one it will expire on the day your visa does (i.e. within 90 days) so it's probably a waste of money. You can use your NZ license for a year no problems. As soon as you have your EAD you'll be able to get a proper license.

Another tricky thing you might encounter is insurance for the car. Lots of places won't insure someone with an overseas license or will charge you ridiculous amounts of money for the privilege. We hunted around and found State Farm were a good option - we're paying about US$650 for six month's worth (sounds awful I know but not bad by Cal standards). If you can show a clean driving history for up to seven years you'll be able to save money so it's definitely worth getting a letter from your NZ insurance company or the NZ Transport Registry Centre before you leave.

If you're planning on filing your AOS quickly you can do all the paperwork while you're waiting for the marriage certificate to come through. We were a bit slack (read: recovering from all the wedding preparations) and didn't really get going until the certificate arrived, which slowed us down by a couple of weeks.

As has been said, most laptop power supplies are multivoltage so you'll only need a plug adaptor, not a voltage converter.

And yes, waiting for the EAD does get tiresome! At least the wait has been during a southern California summer (I feel for all of you who will arrive in winter).

Good luck with your applications.

Hi Everyone,

We filed our 129F in October and the check was cashed shortly after. After six weeks we still hadn't received our NOA1 and were beginning to get a bit worried. After calling USCIS we found out they don't post NOAs to overseas addresses (my fianceé and I are living in Auckland).

It hasn't cause too many problems as we have a case number and can track things online. Plus they'll reissue the NOA to my fianceé's parent's house.

I was really wondering if anyone else encountered this before? Nowhere does it say this on the 129F application or instructions. In fact, the instructions even tell you what to do if you're living outside the US!