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DV 2022 OC Selectees

Congrats everyone!

Is it possible to transfer to Suva if you still haven't recieved a 2nl? I'm at NVC still.

I'm concerned Sydney won't be scheduling any more. I haven't noticed anyone get sent a 2nl for Sydney throughout this month. Has anyone heard of anyone recieving a September interview?
 
LisaMelb said:
Congrats everyone!

Is it possible to transfer to Suva if you still haven't recieved a 2nl? I'm at NVC still.

I'm concerned Sydney won't be scheduling any more. I haven't noticed anyone get sent a 2nl for Sydney throughout this month. Has anyone heard of anyone recieving a September interview?
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I would call Suva and ask if they will be scheduling any more interviews. They are super responsive and will probably be able to tell you if or when an interview might be
 
Hi Everyone, a couple of questions re arriving / staying and meeting the necessary criteria:

1) Do I need to arrive on a one way ticket? Or can I have a long range / flexible return to keep a flight home in my pocket?
2) If I'm wanting to travel for work a lot (music industry) I'm assuming I need to declare a residence, so if I don't take an ongoing rental, should I ask a friend to be my official residential address?

Thank you
 
This may not be the right place to post this/ appropriate for this forum but, I am going on vacation the start of September for 3 weeks, and figured i’d put the feelers out to see If any Aussies are planning on coming to LA in September and are looking for a place to stay for a few days/ week or two.

I pay rent monthly here so not looking to make $, i’d simply divide my monthly rent by days stayed. Studio Appt, space for 2 people max, as this is a public forum and i’ve never done air bnb, I’d want to do a video call first to hash everything out.

Located on the west side, 9km from LAX. If anyone if interested, you can PM me.
 
Freya said:
Hi Everyone, a couple of questions re arriving / staying and meeting the necessary criteria:

1) Do I need to arrive on a one way ticket? Or can I have a long range / flexible return to keep a flight home in my pocket?
2) If I'm wanting to travel for work a lot (music industry) I'm assuming I need to declare a residence, so if I don't take an ongoing rental, should I ask a friend to be my official residential address?

Thank you
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1. You don’t need to arrive on a one way ticket. Some airlines it’s even cheaper to buy return than one way.
2. Are you talking about traveling around the US, or going abroad a lot? The answer changes depending on the answer to this.
 
SusieQQQ said:
1. You don’t need to arrive on a one way ticket. Some airlines it’s even cheaper to buy return than one way.
2. Are you talking about traveling around the US, or going abroad a lot? The answer changes depending on the answer to this.
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1) Awesome that's great news
2) Probably US, but potentially UK/EU for a month or two at time

Thank you xx
 
Freya said:
1) Awesome that's great news
2) Probably US, but potentially UK/EU for a month or two at time

Thank you xx
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2. If you’re mostly traveling around the US, you don’t need an “official” permanent residence in any kind of sense of having to register an address like some countries have. However, you need a tax residence, you’ll need proof of residence to get a drivers license and/or state ID, and you may need it for banking and other services.
If by ”a month or two at a time” abroad you mean a month or two in …say a year, that’s fine. If you are constantly traveling in and out though, you may start getting questions by CBP about your actual residence. In that case, having your own actual sole use residence is much better than using a friend’s address, as the latter may make it look as though you are just using the green card as a super visa.
 
SusieQQQ said:
2. If you’re mostly traveling around the US, you don’t need an “official” permanent residence in any kind of sense of having to register an address like some countries have. However, you need a tax residence, you’ll need proof of residence to get a drivers license and/or state ID, and you may need it for banking and other services.
If by ”a month or two at a time” abroad you mean a month or two in …say a year, that’s fine. If you are constantly traveling in and out though, you may start getting questions by CBP about your actual residence. In that case, having your own actual sole use residence is much better than using a friend’s address, as the latter may make it look as though you are just using the green card as a super visa.
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Ok great, thank you so much. It's all just hypotheticals at the moment, but really helpful to understand what may or may not work
 
Ckb said:
This may not be the right place to post this/ appropriate for this forum but, I am going on vacation the start of September for 3 weeks, and figured i’d put the feelers out to see If any Aussies are planning on coming to LA in September and are looking for a place to stay for a few days/ week or two.

I pay rent monthly here so not looking to make $, i’d simply divide my monthly rent by days stayed. Studio Appt, space for 2 people max, as this is a public forum and i’ve never done air bnb, I’d want to do a video call first to hash everything out.

Located on the west side, 9km from LAX. If anyone if interested, you can PM me.
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Do you use the Aussies in LA and Australians in LA Facebook groups? People often rent out their spaces that way to fellow aussies or people that have a connection to others in those groups
 
I'm back from Fiji and was verbally approved from my interview in late July (I'm sending my passport in from Auustralia). I'll post more details of my experience in the coming days, but thanks to everyone here (mods and posters) who helped prepare me for this experience - it went incredibly smoothly and without any problems.
 
AUMatt said:
I think I may be the one person who did that. Suva responded almost immediately (as they do) & transferred me back to Sydney within 24 hours. I didn't hear from Sydney so I messaged them a couple of times & finally got a response about 3 weeks later. They accepted my case but warned me that there was no guarantee of an interview. From what I can see, Sydney have scheduled up to OC2115, but I don't think they've sent out a single 2NL since mid June. I think time is not on our side, so I'd definitely stick with Suva if you're 100% sure you want it.
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Actually, I transferred back to Sydney from Suva as well in the end, so that makes two of us.

I, too, got an immediate response from Suva and only several weeks later an email from Sydney asking if I was sure and warning me I possibly won't be seen before Sept 30 (even though Suva interjected by email to point out they'd already transferred the case file...)

My reasoning was very individual and I knew the risks, so similarly not recommending this route for anyone who's very dedicated to trying to get their GC, as it's looking very unlikely we'll get scheduled with Sydney at this stage.
 
Getmeouttahere said:
I'm back from Fiji and was verbally approved from my interview in late July (I'm sending my passport in from Australia). I'll post more details of my experience in the coming days, but thanks to everyone here (mods and posters) who helped prepare me for this experience - it went incredibly smoothly and without any problems.
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Arriving to Fiji

We flew into Fiji via Nadi International Airport. My wife and I had an internal flight booked 3 hours later to Suva from the domestic terminal – the international and domestic terminals are in the one location; exit the main entrance after collecting your bag(s) and walk two minutes down the path to the domestic terminal. We arrived 2.5 hours early and asked if we could take an earlier flight to Suva. Was told yes, no issue, so don’t be afraid to ask if this happens to you.

All visitors into Fiji must undertake a supervised rapid antigen test within 72 hours. These need to be pre-booked before leaving your country and are usually conducted at a tourist hotel or medical center.



Suva – Accommodation and transport

A taxi from Suva Airport to the city was $35FJD. Taxis are stationed right outside the exit, so ask how much the fare is prior to accepting a ride as prices can vary and can sometimes be negotiated. As we left Fiji, a fuel excise was introduced by the Government so taxi fares have increased by at least 20%.

Suva is not a tourist city, so accommodation options are geared towards business travellers and foreign diplomats. The two main hotels are IHG properties: Grand Pacific and Holiday Inn, both are situated next to each other on the water. Prices are similar but The Grand Pacific has a stronger business clientele while The Holiday Inn tends to cater to group tours. Both hotels have a pool and a good selection of food and beverages (but can be expensive). There are also various independent hotels and a few Air B&B options in the city as other posters here have mentioned here.

Travellers should be cautious walking around the central shopping district, you may be approached by locals wanting you to “see their store” and stubbornly refuse to take no for an answer. However, by enlarge, most locals are friendly and warm.

Taxis around the city are plentiful and cheap. For example, the cost from the Holiday inn to Epworth Medical Center was $4FJD. I recommend taking a taxi as the topography around the city (and Epworth) is steep, and the roads twist and turn into each other which can disorient a visitor.



Medical Appointment – Epworth Medical Center

It is important to call weeks ahead to reserve an appointment as this medical center is busy. We took the following documents to our medical on a Saturday morning:

  • DS260 confirmation page (with case number).
  • Email from Suva Consulate stating appointment details.
  • 4 x US size passport photos.
  • Immunisation history of all vaccines including Covid. This included serology reports, Covid international vaccine certificate and Australian Government immunisation history document.
Cost per person was $550FJD (cash only) including expedited processing to pick-up the report on the next business day (which was Monday for us).

The medical test first consisted of height, weight, and blood pressure measurements, and then an interview to ask things like whether we had any substance (alcohol/drug) dependence. After the interview was an eye test (one eye at a time) and then a doctor examined our chest (front and back) while we breathed. Then the doctor felt our abdomen, neck, and visually examined our tongue and eyes. One thing to note: we were told that applicants over the age of 45 years do not need to give a blood sample, while those under 45 year do. Not sure why, and we forgot to ask what the blood sample was for.

Finally, we went upstairs (the clinic is two-story) for a chest X-ray. At the conclusion of the medical assessment, we paid and then told to return at lunch time the following business day (which was Monday for us). Prior to collecting the medical report, I would advise to call ahead. They can work to “Fiji time” which means if your report is ready at 12pm, it may not arrive until 2pm. You will be handed a sealed envelope (DO NOT OPEN THIS) to provide to the consulate.



US DV Interview

Our interview was scheduled at 8am on a weekday, so factor in a half hour taxi ride from city area (or hotel) due to work and school traffic. Taxi to the embassy was $8FJD. Upon arriving at the front of the Embassy, we were instructed to announce ourselves to a security guard stationed at a car park next door. This car-park guard advised us that back-packs were not permitted into the Embassy and kindly offered to hold ours. There are other visa applicants in this car park area – usually individuals applying for a tourist visa - and we waited here until called up to the embassy.

Prior to entering the Embassy, we were instructed to wash hands, and then pass through 2 x security stations. At the first station, you are required to surrender your phone and can collect it upon exiting the Embassy. All staff who screened us were friendly and polite in a way that is unique to Fiji.

The interview area is a large waiting room (seats approx. 30 people) where individuals for other types of visas wait. We were called to a window up to hand over our documents:

  • Passport
  • Academic Certificates (of only the primary applicant). This was a high school certificate and university degree.
  • 2 x US size passport photos
  • Birth certificate (+ photocopy)
  • Marriage certificate (+ photocopy)
  • Australian Police Check
  • Medical Report
We then paid the fee (in FJD cash). Unsure if this can be paid by credit card – we didn’t take this chance.

After a 15-minute wait we were called to the window for our 4 minute interview. We were asked whether we had any history of trouble with the law (no), whether we had a history of drug/alcohol use (no) and then some light-hearted comments about my university degree. We were verbally approved after these questions and asked when we were leaving Fiji. We decided to take our passports with us, which was fine, and have posted them back via Pack and Send (thanks to the poster who recommended this service).

I have to emphasise how efficient and swift this process was due to the preparation we did, mainly due to the advice we read on this forum.

Happy to answer questions about the above. :)
 
RPSCHAND said:
Hi
So the NZ PC was sent directly to Suva consulate later on the day of my interview. This was done after 3 emails to the NZ vetting team.

NZ police vetting team apologised for the delay as it was requested 8 months a ago.

I received an email on 19 July to get the passport to the embassy asap. Which I did. On 20 July, got the visa /collected the passport at 11am and travelled back to Sydney on 21st.

Thank you and good luck .
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Hi there, was it single applicant?
 
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