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DV 2016 OC Selectees

We had our interview in Sydney this morning and we were approved! We're very happy indeed!! However, things didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped...

As I was born in the UK (as were my parents) I was obviously not eligible for the DV Lottery by myself, however, I have an Aussie wife. The officer started by asking me questions about where I was born, and then where my parents were born and each time I answered 'England' he started typing furiously. With every new question about England, I started to get a sinking feeling and then he then looked at me and said 'I'm sorry but you are ineligible for the DV Lottery and thus your application is denied'.

My heart beating at about 200bpm I answered 'WHAT!! Huh, I don't understand!!?? Through my wife I get 'cross chargeability'. I'm sure that's correct.' He looked at me puzzled and then walked off for a min or two and came back and told me that I was right and he had never heard of such a situation...

Luckily it was very straightforward from there and he informed us we were approved.

Is 'cross chargeability' such a rare situation? I thought it was fairly standard. It certainly wasn't his first day either. Luckily, though, I had done my research and knew the rules otherwise I could easily have been denied incorrectly.
 
We were also surprised as nobody else was approved whilst we were there. The first person we saw was a woman who had been rejected for some reason and was screaming and crying (not sure why she was rejected but she was yelling about her passport).

The other four or five people there were all put on AP as they were missing heaps of documents. Some didn't have police checks, others were missing education certs etc. I was surprised as I would have thought they would be better prepared for the interview.

Another woman was being interviewed at the same time as us, and judging by the tone, I do not believe it would have ended well for here. I heard her say she was in jail during 2015 and prior to that had been rejected admission into the US (she was turned back at the border). So I don't know for sure if she was approved or rejected, however, I would be surprised if she was approved.

Actually, as I type this, I can remember that one other woman was approved. She had just completed an MBA from Oxford, so I guess it is a little funny that if she wanted to live in the US she would need to apply via the DV Lottery.

Ben
 
MelbourneBen said:
We had our interview in Sydney this morning and we were approved! We're very happy indeed!! However, things didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped...

As I was born in the UK (as were my parents) I was obviously not eligible for the DV Lottery by myself, however, I have an Aussie wife. The officer started by asking me questions about where I was born, and then where my parents were born and each time I answered 'England' he started typing furiously. With every new question about England, I started to get a sinking feeling and then he then looked at me and said 'I'm sorry but you are ineligible for the DV Lottery and thus your application is denied'.

My heart beating at about 200bpm I answered 'WHAT!! Huh, I don't understand!!?? Through my wife I get 'cross chargeability'. I'm sure that's correct.' He looked at me puzzled and then walked off for a min or two and came back and told me that I was right and he had never heard of such a situation...

Luckily it was very straightforward from there and he informed us we were approved.

Is 'cross chargeability' such a rare situation? I thought it was fairly standard. It certainly wasn't his first day either. Luckily, though, I had done my research and knew the rules otherwise I could easily have been denied incorrectly.
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Jeez that must have been scary hearing them say the d-word. Even knowing you're okay, it's still so nerve-racking up there.

Congrats mate!
 
Did you have the guy with the beard? He's pretty no-nonsense and 'by the book' so I imagine anything outside his normal wheelhouse is unusual for him.

Sydney has always been a very relaxed consulate. On our interview day, there was only one day put into AP and that was because his police check hadn't come through. Everyone else passed.

I think, overall, the people who use this forum are always better prepared. Some of the mistakes people make are rudimentary errors that wouldn't happen if they read here. I know we would have been in trouble had we not read here. Even down to @AussieGemma telling us to have two copies of the marriage certificate rather than just the one for the principal. Little things make a difference I've found.

Good on you @MelbourneBen! Welcome to the US!
 
MelbourneBen said:
She had just completed an MBA from Oxford, so I guess it is a little funny that if she wanted to live in the US she would need to apply via the DV Lottery.

Ben
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Not at all. A big bone of contention in US immigration policy is that there is no "skilled migrant" route without company sponsorship for people like this.

Congratulations on your approval.
 
MelbourneBen said:
We had our interview in Sydney this morning and we were approved! We're very happy indeed!! However, things didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped...

As I was born in the UK (as were my parents) I was obviously not eligible for the DV Lottery by myself, however, I have an Aussie wife. The officer started by asking me questions about where I was born, and then where my parents were born and each time I answered 'England' he started typing furiously. With every new question about England, I started to get a sinking feeling and then he then looked at me and said 'I'm sorry but you are ineligible for the DV Lottery and thus your application is denied'.

My heart beating at about 200bpm I answered 'WHAT!! Huh, I don't understand!!?? Through my wife I get 'cross chargeability'. I'm sure that's correct.' He looked at me puzzled and then walked off for a min or two and came back and told me that I was right and he had never heard of such a situation...

Luckily it was very straightforward from there and he informed us we were approved.

Is 'cross chargeability' such a rare situation? I thought it was fairly standard. It certainly wasn't his first day either. Luckily, though, I had done my research and knew the rules otherwise I could easily have been denied incorrectly.
Click to expand...

Congratulations.

Cross charging isn't totally rare, but Sydney don't see many cases. They only do Tuesday mornings, maybe 400 interviews per year - so I guess one particular officer could be there for years without seeing a cross charging case. Glad you stood your ground - people that are not informed would have been denied wrongly....
 
MelbourneBen said:
We were also surprised as nobody else was approved whilst we were there. The first person we saw was a woman who had been rejected for some reason and was screaming and crying (not sure why she was rejected but she was yelling about her passport).

The other four or five people there were all put on AP as they were missing heaps of documents. Some didn't have police checks, others were missing education certs etc. I was surprised as I would have thought they would be better prepared for the interview.

Another woman was being interviewed at the same time as us, and judging by the tone, I do not believe it would have ended well for here. I heard her say she was in jail during 2015 and prior to that had been rejected admission into the US (she was turned back at the border). So I don't know for sure if she was approved or rejected, however, I would be surprised if she was approved.

Actually, as I type this, I can remember that one other woman was approved. She had just completed an MBA from Oxford, so I guess it is a little funny that if she wanted to live in the US she would need to apply via the DV Lottery.

Ben
Click to expand...

Congrats! I can't believe the CO didn't know about cross-charging. o_O Those rejections sound intense...
 
So when booking your flights, is it just an simple as booking a one way online? Or do we have to go to a travel agent and get something in particular done to the booking. I've just heard one way to the US is hard to book, but I'm trying to book my flight now and it seems as simple as any other flight.
 
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