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http://www.matesupover.com/Main/Immi...es.htm#Fiancee

Immigration experiences are all different. People use different immigration processes depending on their circumstances and even those using the same processes can have entirely unique experiences. Some people from the Mates Up-Over community have contributed their immigration experience in the hope that it might help a new Aussie expat, not only with the legal confusion, but also with the frustration and (at times) helplessness that can be a huge part of getting started.

If you are a new Aussie expat moving to America, or even an Aussie looking for some help, advice, and support, these stories may help. Names on these stories have been with-held for privacy reasons, but if you'd like to get in contact with any of them, please email me and I will put you in contact with the appropriate person.


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A Special Thanks to those of you who have contributed your immigration experience. If anyone else would like to add their experience to this page, please use the submission form below.
Lastly, thanks so much to Cyn, who had the difficult job of collecting and editing these stories. Thanks Cyn!!

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K1 & K2 Fiancee' Visas
Visa Lottery
Visa Waiver - Spousal Visas
Exchange (work) Visas



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K1and K2 Fianc(e)e Visa
After the two of us decided that we wanted to be together, we needed to find out what was the best way to go about it! We looked at hundreds of different sites and I even went as far as seeing an Immigration Agent in Adelaide. He was very little help and very costly ($120.00 p/h) for my one and only visit!

We decided that the K1 visa was the way to go. Through this process my Fiance would sponsor my son and myself out to live withhim in America.

My fiance sent the first lot of paper work (he down loaded the I-129F Form from the US Immigration website) in early Feb and received approval notification in March.

Then I waited (although you can contact the consulate directly and ask for the Fiance package) for my package to be sent to me. Hey, these are scary times and all filled with uncertainties but if you take it step by step and do all that is asked, and in the way that is asked, then it will go very well for you! I received my package in April and proceeded to fill them out.

First step is the Biographical Information they want you to fill out; immigration want addresses of where you have lived back to the age of 16 and other info such as work history, school history, previous marriages if any. A lot of questions to be answered but nothing very difficult either! This data needs to be sent to the US Immigration office you are dealing with in Australia, as soon as possible, for them to process your case.

The package you are sent requires you to supply the following:

Passport: that has at least six months validity beyond the issuance date.
Birth Certificates: A certified copy of the birth certificate of each person named in the application is required.
Police Certificates: Each applicant 16 years of over is required to submit a police certificate from the police authorities of each state, country (if you have lived for a year) since the age of 16 (cost in SA $86.00). A friend of mine needed a police check from England which took a little while!
Court and Prison records: Persons convicted of a crime must obtain a certified copy of court and prison record.
Military Records: Certified copy of military record.
Photographs: Immigration photographs:
Marriage Certificates: If you have been married previously (certified copy).
Evidence of Support: Your fiancé more than likely will be providing this information (which they will need to send to you).
Medical Examination: Chest X-ray(cost in SA at the time, $50.00), Examination ( adult $100.00, child $50.00), Blood test (Free through Medicare, otherwise $200).
With the medical exam, you are required to use Immigration doctors that the American embassy will send you a list of. In Adelaide there are only two, our exam was over in about 10 minutes! We were asked a bunch of questions, blood pressure taken, stomach felt for anything abnormal and that was it. Painless! Although I needed to have all my immunizations done again as there weren't any records of mine as a child. You will be given a list of what is immunizations are needed.

Evidence of Relationship: Gather as much info as you can on this! For my interview in Sydney I brought photos (but not boxes of them!), phone bills (I picked out one every couple of months for about 3 years to show the length of time we had been talking), e-mails (the not so personal ones) , cards, letters from my fiance to me and letters that he and my son had sent each other to show that those two also had a relationship as well! The lady beside me at the interview even had a newspaper clipping of her engagement announcement! I had a lot less than those around me but I had a little of all areas, which was more than acceptable at the interview.

Children: With bringing children to another country you need additional information. For passports it takes two parents to sign the papers unless one parent has had nothing (absolutely nothing) to do with the child. I also made sure that my ex signed a Statutory Declaration stating that he was allowing my son to go and reside in the US. It made the going a lot smoother for us.

In the mail you will receive a time and date for your interview (I received this at the end of June). My interview set for August 5th at 10 am. BUTTERFLIES!!!

Interview: D-Day! Expect to be nervous on this day but also know that those around you are going to be as well! Make sure you have everything in order of how they want your papers to be in ( this is a MUST!). You will be asked to go to two windows and be interviewed by two separate people. One lady just looked through my papers, told me everything was in order and to sit and wait. Lady number two wanted more from us, she asked a lot of questions about Jim and myself and even asked my son a lot of questions. Actually she seemed more interested in my son than me. Then when you are told to sit and wait while they get your visa ready, what an incredible, heady feeling!!

The cost of the visas themselves were $123.00 each.

I just wanted to add that in the process of gathering data and information about your life, there are mountains of paperwork in which to get through and there isn't a set time line in which immigration will get back to you. Your life will be put on hold, you will be in the process of downsizing your life (ours was reduced to 4 suitcases) maybe even move from the home you are in, till the interview time. This can be a very stressful time, but that is quite normal! Don't give up, take it one step at a time and even though it is difficult, in no time at all, you will be with that person that makes your life just so wonderful!

Good luck future fellow K1 and K2 visa applicants!



K1 Fianc(e)e Visa
After we decided we wanted to get married and live in the US my fiance and I had to find out what Immigration required from us. I have a cousin who came to the US and married on a Visa Waiver and had all kinds of problems because they didn't inform Immigration so I knew I had to have some kind of special Visa but didn't know what. I did a search for US Immigration and found their website and information on the K1 Fianc(e)e Visa which, seemed logically to be the one we needed. I sent a link to my fiance and he down loaded the Fiancee Petition form and sent it to Immigration in September 2002.

About two weeks later my fiance received a Confirmation of Receipt from Immigration. The document had a number on it that we could use to check our petition status on the INS website. It also said that this type of petition takes 70 to 90 days to process.

Early in October I contacted the US Consulate in Sydney via email to try and find out what to do next. The Consulate advise they would send out a package so I could begin work on the required documents. The package arrived on October 25th and I started working my way through it.

The first item on the list was the Biological Information. Immigration provides identical four forms with questions on where you have lived, work history, schooling and other basics about yourself.

I filled in the forms and sent them back to the Consulate as soon as I could then started on the other forms in the package which was then to hold onto until my interview at the Sydney Consulate. The forms were as follows:

Medical - the toughest part of this for me was trying to gather medical records with evidence of vaccinations. It helps if you can get a hold of your baby records but unfortunately my mother didn't have mine anymore. I tried contacting all the medical centres I had attended over the years without much success. Eventually I decided to make my appointment with a doctor from the list Immigration provided. These doctors are only in capital cities so I had to make the three hour drive to Melbourne to see Dr Okraglik in December 2002.

The medical exam involved filling in forms on my general medical history, a chest x-ray to check for TB, blood test tocheck for HIV/AIDS and another blood test to look for antibodies for the diseases I couldn't prove I was immunised against (I ended up having to have a couple of shots because not everything showed up in the test).

I suffer slight hearing loss in one ear and because of this had to see a specialist before Dr Okraglik would issue the medical report. I couldn't get in to see him until January 2003 and when he examined me all he found that I had slight hearing loss in one ear. I got the specialist to write a report which I faxed to the Melbourne doctor. I received the Immigration doctors report in the mail a couple of days later.

Police Report - For this I had to visit my local Police Station and have fingerprints taken. These were then sent by the Police to the state Records Services Branch to be checked. One month later I received the Police Certificate by mail.


Evidence of Support - This form is basically so Immigration has evidence showing that you have income allowing you to live in the US until they allow you to find employment. My fiance would be supporting my financially so he downloaded an Affidavit of Support form from the Immigration website, filled it in and had it notarised then sent it over to me.

Evidence of Relationship - I had loads of letters and email from my fiance and photos from my trip to the US to visit him. I gathered these and photocopied them for Immigration. If you have phone bills make copies of them too.

There were additional forms for things like Military Service and previous marriages but none of these applied to us. I did have to have my Passport, Certified copy of my Birth Certificate and Passport Photos in order before my interview too.

The time waiting to hear from Immigration was extremely painful and frustrating for us. The 70 to 90 days we were told it would take to process our application came and went. We tried contacting Immigration to find out what was going on. They refused to give information via email and phoning them meant spending hours on hold before eventually speaking to someone who was always very vague in answering questions and would get you off the phone as quickly as they could. We were both a mess. Not only did my fiance and I miss each other terribly but I felt like my life was on hold. It was like I was in a kind of no man's land. My life in Australia was winding down but I couldn't begin my life in the US. I had a garage sale, packed up what was left of my belongings, gave my cat to a neighbour and moved in with some of my long-suffering family and waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally on April 16 my fiance received a Notice of Action from Immigration! This notified us that they had approved his petition and forwarded information to the National Visa Center for processing. This processing should take 2 to 4 weeks (we weren't going to hold our breath this time) after which, NVC would forward information to the US Consulate in Sydney. Then I would be contacted by the Consulate regarding an interview.

May 5, 2003 - I received a phonecall from the US Consulate advising that they had received information from the NVC in the US. They requested that I advise by fax or mail when I had my documents ready for an interview. I faxed my response immediately after the phonecall (I'd had the documents ready for months) .


One week later the US Consulate in Sydney sent notification by mail to me to advise that they had set my interview for June 17, 2003. Finally it was all happening! I remember shaking with excitement and nerves as I read and re-read the letter.

On June 17 I flew to Sydney to attend my interview. I was extremely nervous because I had heard a couple of horror stories about the Immigration Officers. I made sure that all my documents were in the exact order requested by Immigration as someone told me that was something they were extremely fussy about.

I arrived at the MLC Building and after several security checks upon entering the MLC Building and then at the floor the Consulate is on went to the first window and handed over my documents to the officer who checked everything was in order and told me to sit and wait to be called to the second window.

The second office asked questions about when and how we met, our wedding plans, etc. She seemed to be more concerned about firing questions at me than listening to what I had to say. After the questions she told me to sit back down and wait to be called again. When she called me back she handed me my Passport and an envelope to give to Immigration Officers when I entered the US. The time taken from me entering the Consulate Office to me leaving with my Visa was one hour (I had previously been told it took all day). About half of this time was spent in the waiting room. I don't think I have ever smiled as hard as I did walking out of the US Consulate that day!

I flew to Seattle on June 25th. At US Immigration in Vancouver (my entry point to the US) the officer took the envelope and checked it's contents then stamped my Passport and I-94 (Departure) Form.

After we married my fiance and I went to Immigration in Seattle to apply for adjustment of status (again we down loaded the form from the INS website) and separately, apply for employment authorisation (I was given that form at the Consulate in Sydney). We had previously been advised to arrive at Immigration early to be sure of entry. We got to Immigration at 6am (office opens at 7am) and were 10th in line. The officer we handed the forms to advised that employment authorisation should be given in 60 to 90 days (only took about six weeks for me). Status adjustment time was not advised.


Toward the end of September I got a letter from Immigration letting me know that my Work Authorisation Application had been approved and I could get my card on October 6th. On that day we went to the immigration office, I was photographed, fingerprinted and autographed. The immigration officer gave me my Work Authorisation Card and I was now legally allowed to find employment in the US.

On December 24th we received a letter from Immigration stating that our Permanent Residency interview would be on January 23rd, 2004. We took the letter received to Immigration and were taken into an interview room. The officer took the documents we had with us (bank statements, rent agreement and other evidence of relationship) and put them in a file. He asked for copies of Ron's last three tax returns which we did not have as they weren't listed on the letter as required. The officer gave us a letter saying that these documents are to be brought in within 30 days and said the Greencard will be issued when the documents are brought in.

Two weeks later we took the extra documents requested along with the letter given to us on our previous visit to Immigration. We saw another officer who took the documents and said Permanent Residency will be granted once cleared with the FBI. We were told that this could take up to four months which was disappointing news.

On February 23rd we received a letter from Immigration welcoming me to the US. It advises that my Greencard should arrive within 3 weeks. Four days later we got another two letters the same as the first one and... MY GREENCARD!!! YAY!!! No more INS for two years!!!

The K1 Fianc(e)e Visa process is not easy because of the time involved. For us it was the only option and that's why we used it. If you are an American/Australian couple wanting to live in the US after you marry, I would strongly recommend looking at other options like the DCF or Spousal Visa. If, like us, you don't have any other choice, just remind yourself of why you are going through this process. It is so worth it! All that waiting is just a memory and now I get to spend time with my love every day. Life couldn't be better!



Visa Waiver - Spousal Visa
I'd been married before, and had been separated a year at the time we met. It seems we met at a time when neither of us were even looking for a relationship. He was happy living the single life, I was happy and busy looking after 2 kids, and too, was enjoying being on my own. I cant even begin to count the amount of times I'd joked with friends and family about how the very last thing I needed in my life was a man! Didn't particularly want one, didn't have time for one, life was good!

We met online in December, 1998, and by the end of January we were talking daily, on the phone as well as on the computer. We knew right from the start that we were destined to be together. Here we were, quite literally an entire world apart, yet we were quickly developing our own little world where we were very much together. He became a part of my daily routine - get up, read the email he'd sent me overnight and reply to it, get the kids off to school, go to work, count the hours until I could get home again and check email. After the mad dinnertime/homework/bath-time rush, the kids would be settled for the night, and so would I! ) Straight to the computer, where he'd be waiting for me in the chatroom where we had met. We'd talk for a little while online, and inevitably, end up spending the rest of the night on the phone.
In April we decided to meet in Sydney. Seeing him was like seeing someone I'd loved and known all my life. He didn't even say Hi. Just walked up and gave me the biggest kiss. He joked later that he really wanted to get that kiss in, in case I took one look at him and run in the other direction...lol.
Our 3rd day in Sydney, he proposed on the steps of the Sydney Opera House ... this was it. If we didn't know it before, we certainly knew it now ... somehow, some way, we WERE going to be together. After 3 amazing weeks together, he had to return to the USA to work. Only someone who's been in our situation and had to say goodbye understands how it feels at that airport, and in the weeks afterwards.

It was going to be easy... I was going to pack up my 2 kids, and jump on an airplane to fly into the arms of my wonderful man, awaiting me here in the USA. Oh, how wrong we were. Neither of us had any experience or even knew anyone who had been through the whole immigration fiasco, and trying to navigate their website was like trying to drive blindfolded.

We really started researching all of our immigration options, and it seemed that every way we read about and looked at was not only going to be hugely expensive, but was going to take months and months to process. Added to all of this was the fact that the father of my children more than likely wouldn't give permission for them to leave the country. Never mind that he never saw them and paid no child support ... He had "rights". I asked him for a divorce, and he said that he'd be doing the world a favour by preventing me from marrying again (yeah, real nice guy) . This whole dream of moving to the USA was really starting to look like it was going to stay forever a dream.

My man started talking about moving to Australia. Regardless of who was going to move where, the main goal was to be together. Where was just geography. At this point we really didn't care where we lived. We knew that until I was divorced, we couldn't even start any sort of proceedings with immigration... Hours upon hours of research later, we came to realise that Mexico is one of the few countries in the world where a non resident can apply for a single party divorce, and you don't even have to go there in person! $900USD and 2 weeks later, I had my divorce decree in my hand (and no, I didn't make any effort to find my ex and let him know he was now divorced ... I'm actually still not sure even now whether he realises he's divorced... hehe)


7 months after we'd gotten engaged, I flew to the USA for a 3 week holiday with him. Our second day here, we had a huge and emotional talk about how impossible it all seemed. We then got to talking about how we were already engaged, so why not just get married? That very afternoon we applied for a marriage license, and were married 3 days later. We still had no clue how long it was going to take for us to be able to be together, or where we'd end up living.

While I was still holidaying in the USA, we went to the INS office and asked about our options. They informed me I'd have to return to Australia, while my husband petitioned here on my behalf. The application would then be forwarded to the American Consulate in Australia, where I would have to attend an interview, and then it would all be finalised. The time frame we were looking at was around a year, and I wouldn't have been able to come back into the USA while it was processing. We walked out of there, looked at each other and both said "No way!".

After 3 gorgeous weeks in the USA, we found ourselves back at the airport for yet another tearful goodbye. This one was even worse than the first time, and I wouldn't have thought that was possible. I kept hoping for something like that scene out of "The Wedding Singer" ... you know, where Adam Sandler shows up in the aisle of the plane complete with a guitar? Well, it didn't happen. Instead I ended up crying all the way back to Australia and the poor bugger in the seat next to me didn't really know quite what to do other than pat me on the shoulder every couple of hours and whisper that it's ok.

Back in Australia, I just couldn't seem to settle back into the daily routine of my life. I was tearful, tired and just felt ill. It wasn't like me to be so emotional and lethargic. I worried that maybe I was suffering from depression, something I'd never had an issue with before. I made an appointment to go see a Doctor, and walked out of there with a positive pregnancy test. Ahhhhh, that's what was making me so crazy!

We'd talked about the possibility of me and the girls just coming back to the USA for a holiday and staying, but everywhere we'd read that if you enter on the visa waiver, you can't change your status. This seemed wrong to us, here I was married to an American citizen and expecting a baby. There just had to be an easier way.


At the end of January we threw caution to the wind, booked our tickets, and decided that for whatever we had coming at us, we'd fight it together once I was here. We entered on the visa waiver and I told the nice man at customs I was here to visit family and friends for 3 weeks. Our entire lives were packed into 5 suitcases, and I was terrified he'd see through my story. After a smart-ass comment about my amount of luggage, and an equally smart ass comment from me, about how he'd obviously never travelled from one end of the world to the other with small children, he stamped those passports and we were in!

After a couple of weeks, we called INS and told them that I'd come to visit him for a holiday, and that we just couldn't bare the thought of another goodbye, what could we do? The lady on the end of the phone was worth her weight in gold. She cheerfully informed us she'd send us the packet so I could adjust my status, gave us her direct phone number, and told us not to hesitate to call if we had any problems. After all the research and heartache, could it all be SO easy? We filed to adjust status in May, right before the 3 months from the visa waiver were up. Three months later, I attended that first interview for my Employment Authorisation.

Meanwhile, we moved to a different state, and therefore had to deal with a different office. It seems this made a huge difference in processing times. They transferred everything over, messed up our change of address etc, and just generally behaved like the BCIS we've all come to *cough cough* love and adore... yeahhhh.

Finally the appointment arrived for our fingerprints. By now we were starting to realise that the messing up on their part may be working to our advantage. If they kept taking so long with everything, the chances were good we were going to have had our second wedding anniversary by the time the interview came around, which would mean we'd skip the 2 year conditional greencard, and get right to the 10 year one. Sure enough, December 2001, 25 months after we'd gotten married, our interview letter arrived. We were scheduled for Feb of 2002, and it wouldn't happen fast enough.


The interview, for all the nerves and anticipation, felt more like a friendly chat with a really nice American guy. He was really interested in where I was from, and told me he'd spent some time in the South Pacific on vacation several years prior. All the while he was talking, he was also writing. I'm looking at this huge folder we'd bought with us, that contained everything from photos to utility bills, to bank statements, to engagement cards, just wondering when he's going to ask us some proof that we were legitimate. Eventually he asked us for copies of our tax return, a bank statement and nothing else. He hands us back our passports, informed us that the stamp in them acts as a temporary greencard, and that our greencards will be out to us within 6 months. Wow! He also strongly encouraged me to look at applying for citizenship when the time came, and informed me that if I apply, then the children automatically get citizenship too. For all the hassles we'd had with BCIS over the years, I must say that anytime we had reason to be face to face actually talking to someone, they were beyond friendly, genuinely interested in our culture, and very helpful.

To anyone out there facing what we've been through ... As overwhelming as it is, don't lose hope. The old saying "where there's a will, there's a way" really does hold true. If I'd known about Matesupover prior to arriving in the USA, everything would have seemed so much easier for us. No amount of research equals being able to talk openly with someone who's already been through it all, and who is prepared to help you out and answer all of your questions. Thanks Rose and Steve, for providing us with such an awesome community!



Visa Waiver - Spousal Visa
My husband and I used the "frowned upon" I-130 immigration process, although we didn't know it was not an approved method at the time. In fact, we didn't know until months later. Here's our story.

In September of 1997, we met on the Internet, were immediately attracted to each other, and kept up communications via email, ICQ, and phone. In January of 1998, I had holidays coming up and we decided we'd meet in New Orleans and spend some time together. We spent three weeks together and knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with each other. Going back to Australia was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do.

From that time on, we discussed all sorts of ways we could be together. We looked at immigration websites, not knowing if I would move to America, or if he would move to Australia. The immigration processes totally boggled our minds because we couldn't seem to find a process that suited our situation (little did we know at the time that there isn't one).

In June of 1998, I had long-service leave due to me at work, so I decided to take 3 months of it in America. Coming in through customs in LAX was a bit hairy. The woman in customs said, "Are you planning to get married while you are here?" Given that was not our plans, I quite truthfully said no, but I pretty much got the message that I shouldn't tell her about him either. I just said I was visiting a friend. Her main concern was that I had enough money to last me 3 months. I gave her some major attitude at the time; not knowing any better, because I thought it was none of her business. I was lucky enough to be let through despite being belligerent.

Wow, being together again was like coming home. We decided we didn't EVER want to be apart again. We decided that we'd live together for a couple of years, but that we'd go to an immigration lawyer to see what we could do about me being in America legally.

Boy, what a shock we got! The immigration lawyer said that if our main objective was to never be apart again (which it was), then we should immediately go out and get married, and then come back and see him. So stunned, a week later we were married - and it didn't hurt a bit! Our marriage was six weeks after I'd arrived in the U.S.

We went back and saw the immigration lawyer again, and he gave us all the forms we needed to begin the change of status process. He said it was very important to have our application in to the INS before my tourist visa ran out, so that I wouldn't be illegal at any stage. The forms were daunting. I can't remember now what we had to have, but they are all listed on the USCIS web site for the I-130 visa.

Apart from the USCIS forms, we had to have birth certificates, our marriage certificate, prior marriage and divorce certificates, photos, income tax returns for the last three years, and my new husband had to have proof of American citizenship. I'm sure there was other stuff, but I've forgotten now.

We got our package sent off to the USCIS after having the stamp of approval from our lawyer. We sent it by certified mail so that it would have to be signed for, and the receipt sent to us. We got that receipt back before my tourist visa ran out, so I was never classed as "illegal" which was important to us. Now it was a case of sitting back and waiting.


I can't remember in which order things happened, but I know I got my work authorization, and social security card next. That was about 3 months later. Both of those were pretty painless, and I was very pleased to finally have some sort of "legality" and know that my application was really being processed.

At that time, we moved from one state to another, and in the process of that move I had my purse stolen. In my purse were my new work permit and social security card, among other things. To make things worse, because we'd moved states I was now under the jurisdiction of another INS office. I couldn't even apply for another work permit until my records had been sent to the new USCIS office. The mode of transporting documents between states is strapped to the back of a turtle. No joke, it took six months to transfer my records, and in that time I was not allowed to work because I didn't have the physical work permit. Finally my records were transferred, and I could then re-apply for the EAD (work permit), so that took another couple of months, then another two weeks for a new SS card. I got a job straight away.

Not terribly long after that, we had our final USCIS interview (the one that everyone dreads). This is where we found out that the USCIS really doesn't care which immigration process you've used. All they care about is that you are genuine and not trying to commit fraud.

We took in loads of stuff that showed that we were genuine … photos, documents that proved that we did live together, old letters and cards, anything and everything we thought they may be interested in. It turns out that the only thing they wanted to see was our pay slips. That really is different for every person though, and I'm sure it has a lot to do with the methods of each USCIS interviewer. They did ask a couple of questions that demonstrated we had intimate knowledge of each other's personal lives (they asked us both questions about each others children).

The interview only took about 20 minutes and my passport was duly stamped so that I could move in and out of the country freely until my greencard arrived. Because I'd been in the U.S. for over 2 years by this stage, I was issued an unconditional (10 year) greencard. It arrived about 2 weeks later. After the interview, we went out and celebrated that this long, painful process was finally over.


I don't know if I'd recommend our immigration process to anyone else or not. I don't think I'd change how we did things, because it met with our primary goal of not ever being apart again. I think I'd have to say that if the DCF or Fiancée' visas are possible, then they are the more acceptable and probably faster processes. If like us, you just decide you don't want to be apart again, even for the "DCF/Fiancée visa wait", then the I-130 is NOT illegal. I have come to realize that it's not the INS that frowns upon the I-130 process so much as other people who did it differently and think it's "not fair".

All the USCIS cares about is that you are not using the I-130 for fraudulent purposes, and that you are genuinely in love.

Lastly, I've now been in the U.S. for 5 ½ years and I've just applied for American Citizenship. Yes, that means dealing with the USCIS again, but it will be the very last time! That in itself makes it worthwhile. I would not have contemplated this had Australia not changed their legislation on dual citizenship, but seeing as I can have both now, then I don't have a problem with it at all. I now have two homes and will be equally as welcome in both!



Visa Lottery
My husband and I won our Green Cards in 1999 in the DV1 Visa Lottery.

To give you an idea of our background, we had just left the bush in Western Qld and NSW so that he could learn to fly a helicopter. He has spent 12 months getting time up back in the bush in 1997 before coming to the coast of Queensland and teaching people to fly with Becker Helicopters.

One of the students at a course he was taking was talking about the Green Card Lottery and we didn't have a clue what he meant, so we asked (along with the rest of the class)and he gave us a phone number for the United States Consulate in Sydney. We called the number asking for information and received an 11 page fax in return.

Upon reading the fax, we realized that we had to be very particular in following their directions. We sent an envelope in with only our names and address I think. This was sent to the USA. It had to be a specific size and the information inside and outside had to be placed exactly as they requested. We each sent an envelope and promptly forgot all about it, thinking we wouldn't have a chance in a million years as there was over 10 million people applying world wide.

From memory I believe 4000 are issued in the zone that included Australia. New Zealand and New Guinea were also included, I am not sure what other countries came into the same zone as Australia.

About 6 months later we received a letter back to say that our application had made it through the first round and to send a multitude of information about ourselves dating back to when Noah was a boy.

6 Months later yet again, we received a letter to say we had to be in Sydney at such and such a time with proof of our vaccinations, chest X-rays, a medical certificate from a Dr on their approved list, evidence of our financial situation, a statement from the Police Department, photo's taken precisely as they ask, we had to face slightly to the left with our right ear showing, no hair touching our ear etc. I was growing my hair out at this stage and couldn't get it off my ear, they made me on the day of the interview to go get more photo's or lose the opportunity, I nearly cut it off trying to get it off my damned ear. I can't remember what else we needed to have, but they were very specific on documents required at the interview.

The interview itself was stressful, basically they were checking our paperwork and credentials to be sure we fitted the visa requirements. We were told to pay for the administration fee and application fee up front. This came to about AUD$1500 for the two of us and when we handed over that money it was like pulling teeth, we still weren't convinced we had got in yet. There was a moment when it all hung in the balance when they queried our experience but thankfully they let it go.


They then asked us to sit back down, so we did. Not to long went past and we were called up again and this guy was wonderful. He asked what our plans were and what we intended to do for work. Fergus said he hoped to fly over there and the guy said they needed pilots. He asked us when we were going to go, and we said we didn't know. We asked if we were approved and he said yes…. We nearly split ourselves. He was so casual and we were so stressed. We got the stamp of approval and were told we had 6 months to arrive in the USA.

Talk about walk out in a DAZE. We were shell shocked. Jumped on the plane back home and took about a week to get wrapped around the idea that we were going to the USA.

We were approved December 1999 and arrived March 2000. The worst of the whole process was once we arrived and waiting at LAX INS counter. There were tonnes of other families there from all over the world with the exact same paperwork in hand. We had 2 suitcases each and our hearts in our throats. It was a piece of cake, we were stamped and away we went.

The stamps in our passports said that we were approved to work, but when we arrived at the Social Security office in Tucson Arizona to get our SSN, we were told we couldn't work until we received our cards. They said it could be up to six weeks. We couldn't afford to wait, so we ended up doing some day work around Tucson for an agency that you turn up at 5am to get a job for the day, you got a cheque at the end of the day for that days work. This saved us. Not very glamorous, but kept us sane.

From there we both got jobs in Alaska for companies that were happy to put us on, but wouldn't pay us until we got our SSN cards. It was at least nine weeks before we got them, a long wait. We both had accommodation with our jobs and some food provided, so we were lucky. I can't imagine being a family and waiting in a city paying rent and all the peripheral costs associated while we waited for those cards.

The requirements of the Green Card are that we can go home for no longer than 12 months without prior arrangements with the INS to come back or we will lose the cards. We are also required to keep them updated with our current address. As for coming and going to Canada or home, its easy and much simpler than worrying about visa's and stamps. The Green Card is for 10 years, however I gather its not that difficult to renew it at the end of that time when you have won it on the DV Lottery.


So that's our story of the DV program. We were extremely fortunate and very thankful for the opportunity. For my husband, there is a wealth of flying over here and so much more opportunity than ever in that industry with the experience that he has gained over here. He couldn't get a decent start in bigger helicopters in Australia because there are so few and so many ex military pilots wanting the same jobs, so America has really been a golden opportunity for us.

We now have a 4 month old dual citizen baby. He was born in Alaska and I am excited for the opportunities he will have in the future. We plan to start the process to our Citizenship in 2005.



Greencard Lottery
This is the green card which is "won" in the green card lottery. Basically, you send in a form which has your name, address and phone number on it. Your application is pooled with other applications from the same region (Oceana for Australia). Names are then drawn out of a hat (actually, it is all done electronically) and the successful applicants notified around March the following year.

When I applied for the green card lottery, the paperwork had to be received by the Department of State within a one month period (September-October). Now the information is submitted electronically. You can do this yourself, or you can use one of the many companies which are set up specifically to ensure that all of your paper work is in order and received at the appropriate time. Applications for the lottery which are not in the required format, are automatically thrown out. The company I used was dvlottery.com. My brother also used this company. We both won our green cards in the lottery.

If you are already in the USA on a different type of visa, you have two options. You can either stay in the USA and apply for an adjustment of status, or you can go back to Australia for consular processing. Consular processing is by far the easiest, and fastest way to go. You will need to allow about a month in Australia so that you can have the appropriate medical tests done. I organized everything from the USA, then flew home for the medical test, had a little holiday while waiting for the results, then went on to Sydney for my "interview". The interview took about 10 minutes and the rest of the paperwork and financial stuff took about 20 minutes. I was out of the Consulate in about 30 minutes with my passport stamped and my temporary visa in my hand. On returning to the USA, the customs official told me it would take up to 9 months to receive the actual green card. It arrived in less than a week!

Anyone wanting to apply for the green card lottery really should do so. I think applicants from the Oceana region have fairly good odds. The green card that you get is a 10 year green card - so no conditional 2 years which accompany marriage! There are heaps of websites on the internet that tell you all about the lottery and there are plenty of people who have won it and can tell their story. So, go for it!



J1 Visa (Work Visa)
The J1 visa is a non-immigrant "exchange" visa. These visas are commonly used by students at all academic levels, research scholars and professional trainees in the medical and allied fields. In many cases, recipients of the J1 visa must return to their own country for 2 years following the expiration of their visa before being allowed to apply for an immigrant visa. However, I have yet to come across another Australian postdoctoral fellow on a J1 visa who was restricted by this rule. I have come across postdocs from other countries (ie Spain), who were initially restricted by this rule, but who were able to apply for and obtain a waiver from their governments and were subsequently allowed to stay on in the USA.

For me, the process of obtaining the J1 visa was simple. My sponsoring academic institution in the USA organized all of the appropriate paperwork. I took it to the US consulate in Melbourne and had my visa issued with a few days. The J2 visa is the spouse visa. People who enter the USA on a J2 visa are told they cannot work. However, this is not strictly true. A J2 visa holder can apply for a work permit once in the USA. A letter must accompany the application stating the reasons why the J2 recipient should be allowed to work. This needs to be a carefully worded letter stating that the income of the J1 recipient is sufficient to support the J2 recipient. Reasons for the J2 visa holder to want to work might be to enable that person to continue to maintain their professional skills.