bextavaz

Don't move to Colorado just yet. It's on fire

Congratulations though, I have a bunch of friends that missed out

Great to read you're enjoying being "back home" :)Do you miss the US yet or are you still enjoying being back home too much?

oh, i am really jealous of you right now! lol. I hope you're enjoying it

It depends on several factors. With just a GC you shouldn't stay out more than 12 months or your GC is automatically revoked. Any period over 6 months however can be used against you in determining if you'd abandoned your status. HOWEVER if you also have a re-entry permit it's under 2 years. You still need to file taxes and all that though.

Correct... I'm planning on the 12mths atm... although, it's really going to depend on my "life position" next january, as to whether I make the jump back over the pond.. haha...

Well Aussies,

It has now been 1mth since I landed back in our awesome country, and OMG I'm enjoying it far too much.

Yes, it's far too expensive. Yes, there's no snow. Yes, trading hours are screwed... but new jobs, greater career prospects, more $, and my "chosen" family (close circle of friends) have just made it all that much better.

Maybe it was a good idea to get off the island for 1.5yrs...

Now to start pondering the decision... I spent 10yrs TOTAL trying to get a green card... do I really want to give up US permanent residency? Only time will tell...

Flights booked back to AUS for a couple of months... rofl. Employment contract earning infinitely more than US Companies helped, but it was certainly a tough decision.

In the interest of a working future, I feel it's for the best ;D

ps. no it is not my intention to "lose" my US permanent residency

I know you're all trying to get out of Australia, but it looks like I might be headed back to Aussieland for a few months.

Have a company that wants to give me a contract for less than 1yr for $11tybillion times more than what I'm earning in the USA... mwahaha

Brisbane/Gold Coast -> COOL-orado!

HELLO AUSTRALIA...

I've been neglecting you

Clearly I'm enjoying my time here in the USA far too much... even with the current state of the country... rofl.

Hope you and your families are all doing well... and I hope you'll all be celebrating Australia Day wherever you may be

I'm half tempted to ask for the day off so I can get the BBQ fired up and have some beers on the balcony... haha

<3 Bex.

Out of curiosity, has anyone here been in F2A before and then "aged out" into F1 because of the slow Visa Bulletin movement? It is a prospect that I dread.

My petition originally started as an F2A, but was upgraded to an F1 when my mother became a citizen. Dropped the wait time from ~9yrs to ~5yrs... or thereabouts

Hi bextavaz,Good for you! and congrats to you. You acted quickly when your priority date became current that's why you got the visa before the retrogression occurred. Most of us in this thread are still awaiting for our turns. How have your life been so far in the U.S?

Life in the USA is alright. I say that because yes I'm with my family, but in terms of my employment and my closest friends, they are "lacking". I'm 28, never went to university/college... basically straight out of high school into the workforce in AUS. I earn 1/3 of my AUS $$$ atm and it's a bit of a struggle.

That being said, I LOVE the fact that I get all of the seasons here. Seeing the leaves turn yellow and fall off the trees. Seeing it SNOW and be freezing in winter. Seeing all the wildlife come out and the trees turn green in spring and then the 95-100deg temps in summer. I do enjoy it here, there's just some parts that are a little "lackluster".

Deer bextavaz:Thank you very much for posting! Oh Yes… Finally …. A recent, successful and real F1 timeline!Some other F1’s and I have been asking people to give us some feed back on real F1 cases… and finally yours is the first one I see… Gives me hope.So It took you 5 years and 5 months (from March2005 to August2010) to finally have an Interview at the embassy. I guess you are living proof that it can be done in less than 5 1/2 years, although you got lucky with the fast forward movement that happened back in 2010 for category F1 and also you acted swiftly, for sure, just before retrogression hit us! …. Still it´s nice to hear from you!You realize 5 is your lucky number … right!

I gotta be honest, when I first joined VJ in the hope of finding out what time I would be waiting, I could not find anyone with a completed case similar to mine (and preferably from AUS). It's good to know that my timeline does give a bit more hope to the others that are now in the situation I was in back then

I was originally an F2A so I was losing hope (especially looking at the priority dates etc all the time and not seeing it move), but my case status got upgraded when my sponsor (mother) became a US Citizen. Guess it was all good timing haha!

ill also like to hear f1 comments...who have recently got their visas with what priority date? my case is also completed...lets hope that in october visa bul moves back to feb 06:(..i wonder if all ppl with priority date of 2004 and 05 got their visas?

Pretty sure my PD was March 23, 2005. As per my signature, I have CC'd, got my visa and have been in the USA for 1yr now *shrugs*

(I know my VJ profile says FB-1 visa, but all my paperwork had "F-1" as the visa *shrugs* )

One week until my first holiday out of the USA

Gotta love tax time.Its good on here. Im awaiting on my details to be forwarded to the NVC and get the OK to send my P3.I see you were from the Gold Coast too, Thats where Im from too Hope everything is working out over there

Seems a few of the Gold Coast population are defecting to the US... hahah. I have to say though, whilst I do sort of miss "home", I'm getting my fair share of Gold Coast weather at the moment - it's just that I'm not near a beach haha. Good luck with the NVC, they were a breeze when I went through

Hey Nick I lodged my etax on 2 July and it was in Mum's bank account on the 11th! She then transferred it through to the US.Ted and I are delighted to announce that our little girl, Isabella Joy, entered the world on Wednesday 20th July. She was 3 weeks early but I was having blood pressure issues so the Dr decided it was time. She is utterly gorgeous and between my accent, Bella's beauty and my husband's sense of humor we've had a fun few days at the birthing hospital. However we are very much looking forward to being discharged and going home today!!!

Congratulations on Isabella and good to hear you're all doing well

I figured it wouldn't be too long for tax to come through, it's always been 7-10 days since I started using etax. Was strange to say I'll probably never lodge one ever again in Aus though haha. Ah well, only working 2mths last year and paying $2k tax means I'm a low income earner and basically get 100% of it back... and then FINALLY I'll have my deposit for a car. Oh a day in the life.

Still haven't started studying yet, but it's in the works... Got the job, soon the car, then the career

Hooray! Lodged my last Australian Tax Return. Now to see if they actually send my NOA all the way to the USA...

Haven't been here for a while... how is the life of the past, current and future VJers?

if you dont mind me asking. I will be applying for a visa for my step daughter after she finishes UNI, at which time she will be right around 21. Why did your visa take so long at USCIS, from your time line it looks like it took 4 years from NOA1 till NOA 2, did they realy take that long to process the forms at USCIS ?

Not sure about "step" relatives - I'd say follow Vanessa's hints...

As for mine, the NOA1 -> NOA2 wait time is actually USCIS waiting for a visa number. When I received the NOA2 it actually said I would receive further paperwork regarding my visa app within 90days... and well, as you can see, that didn't happen until 13mths later

A side note to this: my mother filed the original petition as an LPR, and immediately after becoming a US Citizen, upgraded the status of my petition to be filed "as a citizen" which dropped the wait time significantly...

Boooo @ health insurance.

I'm currently screwed if anything happens (and I definitely tried hard whilst up in the snow for the season!).

Unfortunately, I can't sneak in on my mums, and well, I'm not "currently" employed... sooo I'm in the "you're f$&ked" bracket.

Thankfully I'm soon to be employed, so I can actually consider insurance etc (if not supplied by the company) haha.

Congrats on the job Nick

I'd like to know where on earth the last 7 months went. I landed end October and now it's June??? What the??? lol

I have a work at home job that's giving us some extra funds and the tasks vary every day. I'm now 7 months pregnant with a little girl due in about 9 weeks. Is getting very warm in Texas - thank goodness for air conditioning!!

Only thing I have left to do is deal with the Texas drivers license but haven't got that far yet. I know I had to wait for my green card which is now to hand. I think now I can just go down (reading from the website) and do a eyesight exam and that's it but could be wrong there. Am aiming for the motivation to deal with that one this month sometime. Have been driving on an Intl drivers license, been pulled up once and had no issues but now the green card has arrived I need to get my butt into gear.

Congrats to everyone on your recent approvals - great to see

Tell me about it, I landed mid september but then again, I also spent 5 months playing around in the snow, and that went super fast...

I was actually getting a bit worried about unemployment, but the funny thing is, I've only been unemployed for 1mth 1wk... ahahahah.

How silly of me.

Good luck with the bub and the DL... Going to buy a Grand Caravan to store all the kids?

Ooo Best Buy would be great!! You can hook me up with more Wii games Good luck! I'm sure you'll do great :DI've heard about this three interview thing and I kinda understand having 2 (one to get rid of the bad people and the second to be sure) but three?!I personally have had one interview with a job (best not mention actually what I do ) and the second was only because the guy I would be working for directly was unavailable that particular day (otherwise it just would have been the one). They're hiring me through an Agency so the agency already kinda "vetted" me I suppose, and then forward them my resume which they then carefully assess (as well as my skill test results and written references) and THEN they interview. I really thought I'd hear yesterday (he told me I'd hear in 24 hours and that it should be good news and that I would probably start next week) but NOTHING!! OMG I hate waiting. It's stressing me out! I kinda wanna call and be all "sooo?!" but I'm trying to play it cool when really I want to know at least by tomorrow because I need to go buy more work attire if I'm starting next week (just work shirts really and possibly a jacket) and lets be honest... the monies would be good!

BB's three is:

#1: HR

#2: Dept Supervisor

#3: GM of Store

I guess it makes sense to help the GM weed out all the ####### so he doesn't have to sit there with 20billion interviews, but man, it's just a retail job lol.

Question for those that are already in the US....how has everyone gone getting a US driver's license?I know it probably varies from state to state but I was just curious to see what other ppl have experienced. I've looked at the Texas state DMV website, but it really doesn't tell you anything if you have an international driver's license..only what to do if you have one from another US state.Sorry if this question has been asked before .

CO Drivers licence was simple for me:

Few days practice driving on the road, read the book, do the learners written test, book practical driving test, drive around for 20mins in practical test, get licence! (Note: this process took ~1mth from start to finish)

I'm not on a fiance type greencard though, so I don't know if that made my licence process easier

Lol. Well, after giving up calling back about my Best Buy interview, 2.5 wks later I get a phone call:

them: "hi nick, we just need to reschedule your interview if that's okay?"

me: "ummm, what interview exactly?"

them: "oh, no one called you to set up and interview?"

me: "no"

Useless

Anyway, third interview with the GM tomorrow. I still think it's ridiculous that you have to have 3 interviews for a retail store sales position. America interviews nothing like I was interviewed in Australia.

Hope you are all well, those that have interviews, have fun in the dungeon! Those who are just awaiting visas/travel dates may your journey continue being awesome

You know I agree. I don't think they REALLY care what you wear but part of me can't help but think that if you rocked up all dirty, or in clothes with rips or something that it gives a bad first impression and for something SO important (and how stressed you are before you realise how easy the interview really is) looking good or at least well-kept makes you feel a bit more confident.

I think most people hear "interview" and immediately know they'll be dressing up anyway

When I was in Dayton last time, on my birthday there was a game between Miami Dolphins (my old team from the 80's) & Cincinnati Bengals (guess they're my new team)... I soooo wanted to go, until I looked up the tickets and saw the prices LOL

Yeah, seats are quite ridiculous... thankfully mum has friends over here that do silly things like getting Season Passes to games etc, so we have "optioned" seats... haha

Ohhhh, i'm so excited to see a baseball game! Travis really wants me home by september so we can go and see one of the games that he wants to see together, lol

It was really amusing, albeit expensive, but you know... it was really expected

I'm expecting a call back from Best Buy tomorrow for my 3rd and final interview. Man US Retail employers are a pain if you just want a crappy job Seriously, 3 interviews?

I havent got NOA2 yet......but i've already bought an interview outfit, black dress pants, nice blouse and some nice ballet flats. dont know if that really helps since im female but i try, lol......i also colour coordinated my blouse with me folders of evidence etc but then im odd, lol

I went in jeans and a t-shirt... I really don't think they care

In other news, I went to my first ever baseball game last night... man it was fun... albeit expensive... HAHA...

Definitely recommended

Now I just gotta make it to an NFL game

Absolutely no issues. The GC is basically just your American ID. It says that you're permitted to enter the US without a visa. Any other entry to any other country is controlled by your passport. The GC doesn't give you any rights in any other country so it basically doesn't exist when you're entering other countries. So if any normal Australian/NZ citizen needs a visa then you need to get a visa.So you're gunna fly off to Singapore so you don't need a visa for a stay less than 30 days if you have an Aussie passport (here: http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/plan_flight/international_travel_information/visa_passport_information/ ). So you'll use your Aussie passport and keep your GC somewhere safe till you fly back to the US and flash your GC with your passport and are permitted entry.

I had a feeling this was going to be my answer, but just had to make sure

As I hold the same country passport as Nick and the green card, would I be correct in my assumption though Vanessa that when we re-enter the USA we have to go through the normal "tourist" lanes instead of the US "citizens" lane?Hey Nick have an awesome time in Singapore - I love that place!!!! I'd kill for a trip back down under right now but will have to wait til after baby is born

My NZ passport is approaching the "less than 6mths til end of valid date" so I'm in the process of getting it renewed. Can't wait til the holiday... seeing my aus buddies again is going to be awesome... Not sure when I'll make it back to AUS though... I'm avoiding thinking about it for now... haha

Nope It's a "US citizens and LPR" lane (that's what it's called last time I was there in Nov 2010) so you get to go in that one In fact when I came over on the K1 I was allowed in that lane too Was SO much faster than the visitor one

Woot! Thanks V Flying back through via Chicago, so I'm guessing I'll get lost and look like a tourist anyway

Question for you Aussies/Kiwis living in the USA and may be travelling out of the country on a "holiday"...

I hold an NZ passport and my Green Card, and I have a holiday booked to Singapore in September of this year (to go see the F1 with a couple of Aussie mates ).

Anyway, I'm wondering... am I going to get screwed re-entering the US, or will they (GC + PP) be sufficient to get back in?

Kind of wondering if anyone has experienced coming back in after visiting somewhere that *isn't* USA or where their passport is local to.

TY in advance

@curve: I remember when snowboarding was like that for me still... get thru those first 3 days and you're good to go after that though

I also still have to chuckle at all of you kids in here stressing about the process being like two to three months long

Anyone have any advice for shipping things here? He doesn't have too much to move, but like.. one sq meter of stuff is like $800+. That just seems like a lot to me!

I started a thread about that here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/293179-shipping-costs-aus-to-usa/ There's a few suggestions there and I would LOVE if people who reply here could reply there as well.I think $800 is pretty decent 'cause I was quoted $1000 and I thought that was good! Do you mind if I ask who you looked through?

As I posted in that thread, 126kg and just slightly less than 1m^3 was $830 (BNE Airport to Denver Airport)...

Anyway, as my season up here in the snow is almost over, I thought I'd come and share some entertaining animations of my snowboarding progress...

At the start of the season, I was sketchy on going down a blue (intermediate) run... the next two images are where I'm at now

If you're into snow holidays I most CERTAINLY recommend visiting ColoRADo (and in particular Copper Mountain)!

That's not too bad... who with?

Missed this...

http://www.freightbiz.com.au/

Carebear actually referred me, and his name was Roy from Tweed Heads, or somewhere nearby... I'm guessing he is a broker on behalf of the actual freight company though...