2013 DV Australian winners

[Petamiss]

Hi Aussies

Having a few probs on my end in Sydney getting ready for March interview...

For the Background Check - Did those who have been through it do an ink or livescan fingerprints? Also did you send them to Parramatta address or Canberra? I cant seem to make it work online on the APF online version so printed the forms to send manually with the prints - hoping that will be accepted!

Also, I was married after being selected in May last year (no this was not for the visa, we have been together a very long time and this was planned!) so now having issues around hubby getting everything sorted, they wont do a medical for him as he doesn't have a case number of his own?

Has anyone been through this and trying to add a partner after initial selection?

Thanks guys!

 

[dafang]

I did my Police check in Victoria. It was a one stop thing. They did the scans and sent it off the Canberra. I had the results in 3 weeks.

The scans were quite comprehensive. No ink.

I didn't bother with the online way.

I would check to see if NSW police checks incorporate AFP. The Victorian Police ones do.

 

[Petamiss]

Worked out why i was confused with the background check - i was on the AFP site instead of the NSW police site! That part is all sorted now! I went the livescan not ink so i hope that i right!

Anyone got any advice on my earlier marriage issue?

Thanks guys!

 

[AusGirl]

Hi AusGirl,

Thank you and I wish you all the best for your up and coming interview. I am planning the big move in May/June and heading for NYC!

Trust me, I was thinking the same thing. I was even imaging the old thumb going up you know where...but it isn't that bad. He does a quick physical check, nothing major. And all he asked was the drop the shorts and the underwear, he a quick look (no magnifying glass) and that was it. The physical is harmless.
You enter Dr Charles' office first for the physical check, then came the blood test then the X-Ray. About 3 weeks later, I picked up the results after getting 2 immunisations first and that was it.

Nothing to stress over.

Good luck again.

And pending you are successful with your interview which I am sure you will be, where would you be planning on settling?

Thanks for the info Riise! It definitely makes me feel a bit more at ease about the whole process

After my (hopefully) successful interview, I'm planning on moving to Utah in June. I have friends there, and actually just returned last March after spending a year over there studying, so it makes the big move seem a bit less daunting.

NYC will be an awesome place to move to! I went there on a girls weekend last year for my birthday and totally fell in love with the city. It definitely had me wanting to move there. One of my friends from Utah and I have even discussed moving there once she finishes school. Make sure you provide us with some updates on here on how your move goes. I'm sure everyone will love hearing about stories from the big apple!

 

[janetaylor101]

The AFP has said the check will likely take 20 to 25 working days from receipt

20 to 25 days!? Ah, this is nerve-wracking. I wasn't going to return to sydney to do the police check/medical exam, until about 20 days before my interview date.

Wondering if anyone can share how long they have had to wait to receive their police check, after the date they did it?
Do they just send like a hardcopy confirmation / printout of your check, to you directly?

Also, is the $175 fee correct?

If anyone has any recommendations for police stations in Sydney who know what they're doing with this, please share

Many thanks!

 

[Vichel]

20 to 25 days!? Ah, this is nerve-wracking. I wasn't going to return to sydney to do the police check/medical exam, until about 20 days before my interview date.

That's what they mentioned on their website and when we phoned them earlier in the month. However, we just got emails today from them, saying our police checks were done and would be sent out on the next AusPost delivery! So, a lot less time than what they said, which was a nice surprise. We mailed them off from Canada on the 4th of January, our credit cards were charged on the 19th of January, and 3 days later ... done! So everything's falling into place so nicely so far. Medical checks done, police checks from two countries done. Just waiting for the 7th of March now!

Wondering if anyone can share how long they have had to wait to receive their police check, after the date they did it?
Do they just send like a hardcopy confirmation / printout of your check, to you directly?

As I mentioned above, they sent an email saying it was done, which was a really considerate thing to do. Takes a lot off our mind!

Also, is the $175 fee correct?

It was $99 for us since we sent them fingerprints done elsewhere.

 

[skb72]

New and a little lost

HI am brand new to this site and was notified late of our selection, and my CASE number is 14XX so it looks like I am a long way off.

I have completed all the forms and sent them in and from looking around and wtih such a high case number, I get the feeling they may actually never get to me.

I have a husband and 4 kids and it looks like we all need the medical and that the husband and I must get police checks. Does anyone else have such a high case number ?

I was wondering if anyone has expereince of doing the process for a whole family and if the Visa got issued to the whole family, and I assume once you enter the US they actually give you your green card. Sorry silly questions probably but wanted to get some help

Helen

 

[Darlinghurst]

One-way flights

I don’t book many one-way flights, so planning my big move to NYC has surprised me. When booked from Australia, one-way flights from Sydney to mainland USA are typically more expensive than return flights. For instance, if booked today, a return trip SYD-JFK outbound on 18 July 2013 and back on 12 August 2013 would cost A$1,399 on the Qantas website, yet a one-way SYD-JFK on 18 July 2013 is A$1,688 on the same website. (They are both sale prices by the way, but the same is true even when they are not on sale.) Of course I could take buy the cheaper return flight and just not use the flight back. Or use the flight back later for my next visit down under, once I have settled in. But one of the benefits of living in the USA, is that flying to Australia return from the States is usually far cheaper than the other way around, so it would be pointless to keep flying between Australia and the USA on flights booked from Australia. The solution I am considering is use Hawaii as my POE. That is, to take a one-way flight to Honolulu on an Australian budget airline (for instance, A$539 + bags SYD-HNL on 18 July 2013 on Jetstar), and then take a one-way flight from Honolulu to NYC on an American airline (available, if booked today on Expedia’s site, from US$508 for a flight on 19 July 2013).

Point of entry

If I do decide to fly through Honolulu, I gather this would mean my POE would be Honolulu even though I am going to live in NYC. Which got me thinking: not all USA international airports are created equal. I have personally found Dallas Fort Worth to be well-run, comfortable and welcoming; but not so much LAX nor Miami. JFK won’t ever be my POE unless I do an around-the world the long way round. Does anyone think it matters whether your POE processing is in a friendly airport. I suppose it’s luck-of-the-draw when it comes to the individual immigration officer that will deal with you. Does anyone think any particular US airport is better than the others as preferred POE? Or does it simply not matter?

 

[dafang]

Darlinghurst.

Flying to Hawaii seems like a really good option. Thanks for the tip! I have been having the same dilema as you and that seems like a solution.

I haven't heard much about Immigration in Hawaii. Heard some rough stories about customs when in transit, but that is usually just the all round shock of the first encounter with US boarders.

 

[reality7]

I've had my share of hostile responses from US immigration in the secondary inspection area over the years

With an immigrant visa this time, anything other than 'welcome to the USA, here's your temporary greencard' will result in that individual's name and number being taken down and a formal complaint lodged.

 

[josh000]

With an immigrant visa this time, anything other than 'welcome to the USA, here's your temporary greencard' will result in that individual's name and number being taken down and a formal complaint lodged.

It doesn't work that way, even if you had a green card.

 

[Petamiss]

Grrrr Aus Post lost my background check!!!!

Hubbys arrived ok - mine missing in action!!

Cops wont send another until after 10 working days after they sent it... I am hoping when i ring back they will let me go out to Parramatta and pick it up... they said they will only send one more!!! So if Aus Post lose it again tough luck???

Anyone had theirs go missing?

Hope everyone one is getting along well!

 

[JESSJAME5]

Has anyone here had to do a Canadian police check, from Australia? I'm trying to figure out how to get it done - and cheaper.. Australian police check + Canadian police check is looking to cost me a fortune!

I found this site called fingerscan, you just get ink prints done by local police here and send it to them, and they scan it onto electronic prints? Then send it to RCMP & then it gets processed through electronic finger prints (done in 3 days) rather than ink prints which take 9-18+ weeks apparently.

Only problem is it's an extra $150 to get this site/company to make the ink ones electronic. Is there another way around this? Is there somewhere I can get electronic prints done instead? I'm so confused. I can't wait even 9 weeks for the cheaper ink result way.

 

[Vichel]

Has anyone here had to do a Canadian police check, from Australia? I'm trying to figure out how to get it done - and cheaper.. Australian police check + Canadian police check is looking to cost me a fortune!

I found this site called fingerscan, you just get ink prints done by local police here and send it to them, and they scan it onto electronic prints? Then send it to RCMP & then it gets processed through electronic finger prints (done in 3 days) rather than ink prints which take 9-18+ weeks apparently.

Only problem is it's an extra $150 to get this site/company to make the ink ones electronic. Is there another way around this? Is there somewhere I can get electronic prints done instead? I'm so confused. I can't wait even 9 weeks for the cheaper ink result way.

If you can't wait the 9 weeks, then I'd do whatever gets it done fastest. We had the same worry as you, but in the opposite - wondering if the AFP would get us our check in time, from Canada, but they were much faster than they said they would be.

The RCMP could surprise you and you could get your record check in less time but maybe not. We went to the local RCMP here last month and they confirmed it would take a long time so we went to a company that did it faster. From my experience in Australia and Canada, Australian government bureaucracy is amazingly efficient and fast. Canadian is ridiculously slow, everything takes such a long time - months for things that Oz can do in a couple of weeks or less.

Yes, it all costs money, this whole DV thing but much less than people going the other, more convoluted and longer routes to a Green Card. As they say, the Diversity Visa is the best visa money can't buy.

Good luck.

 

[Djack]

If you can't wait the 9 weeks, then I'd do whatever gets it done fastest. We had the same worry as you, but in the opposite - wondering if the AFP would get us our check in time, from Canada, but they were much faster than they said they would be.

The RCMP could surprise you and you could get your record check in less time but maybe not. We went to the local RCMP here last month and they confirmed it would take a long time so we went to a company that did it faster. From my experience in Australia and Canada, Australian government bureaucracy is amazingly efficient and fast. Canadian is ridiculously slow, everything takes such a long time - months for things that Oz can do in a couple of weeks or less.

Yes, it all costs money, this whole DV thing but much less than people going the other, more convoluted and longer routes to a Green Card. As they say, the Diversity Visa is the best visa money can't buy.

Good luck.

Vichel, How much did you pay for your canadian check?

 

[JESSJAME5]

If you can't wait the 9 weeks, then I'd do whatever gets it done fastest. We had the same worry as you, but in the opposite - wondering if the AFP would get us our check in time, from Canada, but they were much faster than they said they would be.

The RCMP could surprise you and you could get your record check in less time but maybe not. We went to the local RCMP here last month and they confirmed it would take a long time so we went to a company that did it faster. From my experience in Australia and Canada, Australian government bureaucracy is amazingly efficient and fast. Canadian is ridiculously slow, everything takes such a long time - months for things that Oz can do in a couple of weeks or less.

Yes, it all costs money, this whole DV thing but much less than people going the other, more convoluted and longer routes to a Green Card. As they say, the Diversity Visa is the best visa money can't buy.

Good luck.

I'm actually going family-based green card this time (shhh..), I've entered the DV lottery twice now no luck, had entered again for 2014 but then discovered in August that I could do family route ASAP as I turned 21 last year and we applied JUST in time before I had to wait 11+ years... but I couldn't find any type of group of support of Aussies doing a green card move so I just stuck to info from here everyone's so helpful!

I guess I'll have to go the third party expensive company to get the Canadian check, I've read some people say they've been waiting over 5 months for their check from RCMP. 9 weeks would be a blessing for them I'm sure.

 

[Vichel]

Vichel, How much did you pay for your canadian check?

Hey Djack, sorry but I don't have our receipt handy (we're on holiday) but I know we paid $234 for the two of us. That price included digital prints and the Canadian check, plus ink prints for the Aussie one. When I get back home, I will check the invoice. We went to Commissionaires, a private security company to get it done because we got discouraged by the RCMP telling us it would take months for them to do it. Commissionaires need to have you apply in person, so getting them to do it from overseas isn't possible. And neither do they send digital prints overseas and the AFP said it only accepted ink prints from overseas applicants.

 

[Vichel]

I'm actually going family-based green card this time (shhh..), I've entered the DV lottery twice now no luck, had entered again for 2014 but then discovered in August that I could do family route ASAP as I turned 21 last year and we applied JUST in time before I had to wait 11+ years... but I couldn't find any type of group of support of Aussies doing a green card move so I just stuck to info from here everyone's so helpful!

Hey, any way that works is fine by me. Yes, this forum is great for its helpfulness. The migration process is so complex and fraught with pitfalls that we need all the help we can get.

I guess I'll have to go the third party expensive company to get the Canadian check, I've read some people say they've been waiting over 5 months for their check from RCMP. 9 weeks would be a blessing for them I'm sure.

We were in a bit of a panicked state when we decided to start our police checks here in Canada and were told of the ludicrously long processing times. And we actually went there a week before I got the 2NL. The DV instructions for selectees site should probably recommend selectees go to outside companies for their checks, rather than the RCMP. In fact, the person we talked to at the RCMP recommended we do so. They're just too busy dealing with real criminals.

 

[JESSJAME5]

We were in a bit of a panicked state when we decided to start our police checks here in Canada and were told of the ludicrously long processing times. And we actually went there a week before I got the 2NL. The DV instructions for selectees site should probably recommend selectees go to outside companies for their checks, rather than the RCMP. In fact, the person we talked to at the RCMP recommended we do so. They're just too busy dealing with real criminals.

Crazy isn't it? I guess that's why the RCMP only charges I think $27 for their check, while the Australian finger print check here costs $174 I think it was... Going to cost me $150 all up to get my Canadian one through this company. Expensive! Just to be told I'm not a criminal, which I already knew! Haven't even got to the medicals yet...

 

[bella8188]

Hi all!

I'm getting in pretty late with all this. Anyway I checked on the 1st May and was surprised to find my case number was very low - under 50 - but I didn't end up sending my forms off til October, as I was actually in the US til then and I wasn't able to complete it while there.

I have my interview late next month, and just sent my police check off today. Pretty easy - and I am very glad they had the computer prints and not ink. The officer who did my prints said it'd only take 7-10 days for processing, which is good!

Biggest hassle at the moment is trying to get the medical booked, I've called a few times this week and still waiting on them to call me back. Can anyone tell me if I need to have the medical completed before the interview, or just before I arrive in the US?