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DV 2020 Oceania Selectees

Best of luck to all you guys travelling, it really must be a difficult thing to organize right now. Heck it was tough enough pre-covid.

Vaccine is close I think, so hopefully things start to settle down at least a little in a few months!

I work in a police station as an essential worker in Austin so you can imagine my fun this year with covid, black lives matter protests etc. Certainly makes life interesting. No regrets though!
 
Bob22 said:
Best of luck to all you guys travelling, it really must be a difficult thing to organize right now. Heck it was tough enough pre-covid.

Vaccine is close I think, so hopefully things start to settle down at least a little in a few months!

I work in a police station as an essential worker in Austin so you can imagine my fun this year with covid, black lives matter protests etc. Certainly makes life interesting. No regrets though!
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Oh wow @Bob22 - keep safe. Good to hear from a fellow DV19'er
 
Hello Everyone,

Congratulations on receiving your Immigrant Visa. I got mine approved as well. My visa will be expiring in February 2021 so I am very nervous about it. I heard that due to presidential proclamation, incoming immigrants are banned till December 31st. Therefore, I assume we can travel to USA from the 1st January 2021. What if Donald Trump extends this proclamation again? is there any possibility? If no, then can I book my tickets for January without hesitation?

Thanks.
 
Th0r said:
Hello Everyone,

Congratulations on receiving your Immigrant Visa. I got mine approved as well. My visa will be expiring in February 2021 so I am very nervous about it. I heard that due to presidential proclamation, incoming immigrants are banned till December 31st. Therefore, I assume we can travel to USA from the 1st January 2021. What if Donald Trump extends this proclamation again? is there any possibility? If no, then can I book my tickets for January without hesitation?

Thanks.
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It is possible he extends it while he can. We probably will not know until 31 Dec. You may want to wait and see, or you may prefer to book a ticket for sometime after the new president’s inauguration on Jan 20, or otherwise make sure you book a ticket that you can change.
 
Wishaluckfj said:
Has anyone bought air tickets from Oceania yet ?
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I will be purchasing mine end of this month. Since I am from Fiji, the only option I was advised is the Air New Zealand flight from Fiji - Auckland and then Auckland to LAX. I have another transit to Seattle from LAX.

How about you, have you booked your ticket? And what route are you planning on taking?
 
SusieQQQ said:
It is possible he extends it while he can. We probably will not know until 31 Dec. You may want to wait and see, or you may prefer to book a ticket for sometime after the new president’s inauguration on Jan 20, or otherwise make sure you book a ticket that you can change.
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Thank you Ma'am. I will keep that in mind. I will most probably go with the flexible fare option so changes can be acceptable, just to be on the safe side.
 
Reckon there will be any wiggle room with having to move within a year of activation with what's happening with Corona? Or safe to just rip the band-Aid off and do it?

I still have no idea where im moving. All I know is I have to do it by March 16. And I am stressssssed.
 
Hevgibbs said:
Reckon there will be any wiggle room with having to move within a year of activation with what's happening with Corona? Or safe to just rip the band-Aid off and do it?

I still have no idea where im moving. All I know is I have to do it by March 16. And I am stressssssed.
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Just to clarify - this may be what you meant but the way you stated it could be misleading for others unfamiliar with the rules - the requirement is for a green card holder to not be absent from the US for longer than one year (it is not specifically tied to “activation”, and days are counted from the day you leave the US which for some people is weeks or even months after “activation“).
As Aidyn says, no wiggle room. Have seen a couple of gov websites specifically say the rules still apply regardless of coronavirus. Example

  • Will USCIS consider the current COVID-19 situation as an exceptional circumstance and allow affected LPRs presently outside of the U.S. to retain their LPR status?
There has not been an announcement or policy exception issued by USCIS regarding this issue. LPRs who have stayed outside of the United States for more than one year, or longer than the validity of their Re-Entry Permits, are generally considered to have abandoned their LPR status.

https://tm.usembassy.gov/information-for-lprs-green-card-holders-during-covid-19/ , I have seen similar on a few other embassy sites.
 
Hello! Hope everyone is having a nice holiday.

Questions for anyone who is making the move just shy of 12 months this year or recently during the pandemic.
Did you get a travel exemption? What info do you need to provide? Or do you just say you’re not coming back?
And have you had trouble with immigration entering the US so close to a year?
 
Hevgibbs said:
Hello! Hope everyone is having a nice holiday.

Questions for anyone who is making the move just shy of 12 months this year or recently during the pandemic.
Did you get a travel exemption? What info do you need to provide? Or do you just say you’re not coming back?
And have you had trouble with immigration entering the US so close to a year?
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I think you still need to apply for an exemption to leave Australia but all you need to say is that you are moving permanently.
 
Just heard the news that Trump has extended the ban again!!! Till March 31st. My visa will expire by then
 
I’ve been seeing that people are getting denied travel exemptions despite the fact they have GCs and tick leaving for more than 3 months.

My anxiety is through the roof. Can I get some advice on this please. I will be applying for ours next week.
 
Hevgibbs said:
I’ve been seeing that people are getting denied travel exemptions despite the fact they have GCs and tick leaving for more than 3 months.

My anxiety is through the roof. Can I get some advice on this please. I will be applying for ours next week.
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We had no issues getting the exemption from Home Affairs. Ticked the box for leaving for more than 3 months and had the approval the next morning.
 
Hevgibbs said:
Did you just show your green cards? Anything else?
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We showed green cards, evidence of our fare being a one way ticket, airnbn booking which is for 4 months, letter showing job offer, evidence of our house sale in Aus and the invoice from the removalist company shipping our belongings to the US.
 
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