Australian PR vs GreenCard Req for an advise

Hi

Good to hear the comments on Australia & USA.

I stayed in Australia for four years (did my degree & worked for 18months) before coming here. The reason to come here is I got married with my uncle's daughter who is here. I thought i would work here for a while (because of responsibities back home)before moving to Australia permanently.

Having lived in both countries, I would say that if you want peaceful and good life...Australia is the best. If you think about money, ofcourse US dollar has more value.

Please...do not think that Australia is the racist country. Having lived in four years I didn't find any racism there(i was in sydney, brisbane & canberra). Racism is everywhere, even in in india too. just go to some of the north indian states and see how they treat south indians. and vice versa.

Coming to the five years validity: The five year validity starts from the day your visa is stamped, NOT from the day you enter in Australia.

You have to live for two years in Australia to get Citizenship. So during the first five years, you can go and live there for two years continously and get Aus.passport OR you can go there before the expiry of the fiveyears and stay there for two years to get citizenship.

Finally i would say that Australia is beautiful country to live in and enjoy many benefits. Mentally you will be better off in Australia than USA. Here if you loose the job, you are back to square one and mentally you will be down. I have seen the people(my friends) who have gone though very bad situation and one of them went back to india. This kind of uncertinety you do not see in Australia.

Many matured economies like USA will go though tough times in future. All the manufacturing is going to shift to developing countries...also the service industry, because of cost benefits. And you see many companies will fall down or acquired by other companies. And the life would be very touch because of the comforts and living standards. Even if you get greencard and you don't have job then it is very difficult to live. Once upon a time US is great country to live (still is), but now there is lot of competition for survival.

The above all my own opinion. Goodluck to you all.
 
Great thread

There are a lot of questions and answers, most of which are covered here already.

I will try to keep this simple, stop me if this sounds complicated!

:D



The 5 yr scenario.

You are given 5 yrs for the Oz PR. You need to spend at least 2 yrs in that period to have any chance of renewal. Having said that, I kind of disagree! What would happen for example if you were aborad for 4 yrs and returned. In the remaining yr you went to the INS in Oz and requested a renewal? I would hazard a guess that since you are IN the country and gave assurances that you would not leave, then you would be given the benefit of the doubt. If, for example, you were aborad and asked the same question, they would probably say "Use it or lose it" - meaning come back and all is forgiven, else, forget it. There is some IF ... ELSEIF logic for you!

The quandry you face is if you came back to Oz, well, what now about the US GC? That would face certain extinction. Now if you gambled and stayed in the US, received your GC and then hurried back to Oz to renew your Oz PR - stayed there and fullfilled the time gain citizenship, well, again you lose your US GC.

What do you do? :confused:

I think ultimately you need to determine which place makes you happier. I am extremely fortunate. Why? Well a couple of reasons ...

1) British subject
2) I have immediate family both in Oz and here in the States
3) I am probably 2 months away from my GC (rd 8/31/01).

So my reasons to return to Oz and stay here in the US are profound. I know full well, that if I stay here, get the GC and ultimately citizenship (dual citizenship I might add because I am already a citizen of UK) - by default I will relinquish my Oz PR.

What if I wanted to return to Oz some day? I would face an uphill battle because I 'turned my back on Oz' - because of the GC. BUT ... I have immediate family there, I already had a PR so maybe, if I proved I would be a drain on the welfare (acquiring cash here in the US for example) - I might have a chance.

Again - you must answer the question why would you stay here in the US or vice versa.

Benefits

This is somewhat complicated and I don't have all the answers. You get medicare, which is a basic form of free medical, but forgive the pun, it comes with a price! Doctors/dentists do not have to abide by the cap on benefits that Medicare allows. Meaning that a procedure that might cost $100, Medicare might pay $50 ... You pay the excess. There are HMOs but they are expensive and not at all guaranteed to give full coverage. Also with Medicare, you might to wait for procedures, whereas if you have a HMO coverage, you will probably get in quicker.

But you get 4 weeks vacation ...

Understand clearly people, I dearly love Oz, but the economy is not like the US. It is a much tighter market - when a recession hits, it hurts. Whereas, here in the US you have a much better chance to relocate somewhere else and start afresh. In Oz? Sydney and Melbourne are major players but here in US ... You get the picture.

Rascism and all that.

Look, wherever you go to you will face the same stuff. Maybe, because I am white, I felt it less. I did receive a torrent of abuse from one drunk Aborigine - and therein lies a somewhat funny story. One day, on a train, an Aborigine (I use the term in the best possible taste), was harassing a young couple. They shuffled in their seats and where looking nervous. I intervened and began striking a conversation with the guy. Hearing that I was not from Oz he asked the inevitable and I fell into an unsuspecting trap. I said I was British and spend many years in South Africa ... He nailed me on the spot and lambasted me for being a Nazi (he did not know I am Jewish) and slung abuses at me for supporting Apartheid. I could not win and eventually he got off the train ... I had learnt my lesson!!

Last week, I was with my girl friend in Idaho, she was involved with a major project with the Nez Perce Indian Tribe, coming out with a doll and books (Kaya) - I have never met a more humble and spiritual group of people.

To the point! I have my heart here in the US ... I have a brother in NYC. I also have my mum and sister in Oz - for the time being I am happy to relinquish my Oz PR and concern myself with the US GC.

To all ...

There will always be compelling reasons in terms of Oz and US ... Both are wonderful, compelling countries to live in. To juggle an Oz PR and US GC truly is waste of time and energy.

Ultimately you need to choose!

Good luck and feel free to pose further questions.
 
Dual US - Australian citizenship

Is it possible to have dual US-Australian citizenship?
For example, if one gets his green card, applies for the Oz PR,
gets the US citizenship and then goes to Australia to get
it's citizenship (within the five year period)? How would both countries look at such an attempt?





Val
 
TO: Yougotme007:

I noticed your discussion in yhis thread, and I am in the same boat as you.

If you return to here, please post your message. Thanks
 
process to apply for aus. gc

HI guys: if your us graduate with 10 years IT experince. what is the pocess to apply or req for Aust. green card. Appriciate it.
 
Immigration Australia.

In short and general - Australian Immigration needs to verify, if skilled:
1. Last 4 years of employment (pay stubs, reference letters etc) at the time of PR application is lodged.
2. Proof of english knowledge for all adult candidates (e.g. you and spouse) ( If you are not from a english nation(e.g UK, Ireland,USA) or donot have a college level degree from one of these countries then need to pass a IELTS (search web with those words or visit http://www.ielts.org/ ) with 7 out of 10. (My case they accepted a TOEFL score of 225 out of 300.
3. Should be qualified under one of the specified categories for employment which is in demand in Australia. An austrlian embassy near you can provide such a list.
4. They require you to have the minimum marks set by the immigration, which comes along with the application. This immiigration application can be obtained from the Auatralian embassy near you.
5. Application Fee. (Refer to the website or call a Austrlian consulate/Embassy near you.

Further details can be obtained by visiting http://www.immi.gov.au/

Good luck.
 
Australian PR Extension :

I have stayed only 3 months after getting my PR and was out of oz for all 4.7 months ..
Recently i was able to renew my PR after seeing the the advice from Steve .I have exactly done the same as suggested by Steve .

"
I wrote to the Australian INS indicating that I was gathering valuable experience whilst in the USA (IT work) and I would certainly be quite marketable when I come back to Australia. Also - now don\'t laugh - I mentioned in my letter that I missed Rugby+Cricket and how proud I was of the Australian world champions!!"

After writing a letter to oz as mentioned in the above quotes ,i have received a letter from oz . embassy asking to estabilsh personal,employment or business ties ....

I then have given all the contacts of my friends as my personal ties and told them i would like to open up business in oz.with all my exp. ... I recently got my PR extended for another 5 yrs .....

Hope my exp. will help


Thanks a Million Steve ..the info was very useful .:) Keep Posting .
 
Australian PR extension

Hi vkankata,

I read your threads. I really appreciate your views and information. It would be really great if you could advice me on my case.

I did my MBA from Australia in 2003 and applied for PR there after. I was approved for PR in April 2004. But i left the country in August 2004 and moved to India. i worked in India for about 4 years & now recently came to US on H1B. I don't want to loose my Australian residency. My PR is valid till April 2009. So is there any way i could extend my Australian PR.

Please help me out .

Thanks,
Nitz
 
Nitz you have to go back to OZ ASAP and try to be there as long as possible in order to extedn the PR for another period of time -I would not suggest that you should start eventual process for AUS citizenship now because it might surface that you actualy did not contribute to AUS nothing in the maner of taxes or beign there -so you need to go back and be physicly present there for extended period of time (at least 6 months before your PR EXPIRES );that is the only way -they might give you hard time but they HAVE to extend the PR for another period of time (lets hope it will be for another 5 year period but it could be "provisional extention for say 1 year only under condition that you can have to reside at least 8 months in AUS ) ; also you have to give them some explenation why you did go back to INDIA aftr obtaining the PR -you might use the "job experinace which would enchance my AUS prospects for employment "+ planing to open the business in OZ etc.(same as the guy abowe mentioned );But you have to decide which country has more apeal to you -I would definitely suggest AUS - it will be difficult for you to continue sitting on 3 chairs ;
 
At this point, where is the best place to live USA or OZ?
Please share your experiences... I have to pick one by the end of the year.
 
well as someone cited earlier, both are waste of time and money but again it depends on where you come from.
These two countries have two different way of living. Income cash flow in US is great. but spendflow (health/insurance etc) is also great. the balance will be based on your family size. If the current economy problems continue, you should look for aus as compared to US. US is going to be more and more immigrant unfriendly in a recession period. I personally feel they are becoming a old world thinkers(not communists) and driving out the american dream.

If you live in australia, you make more on tangible assets than pure take home cash and little spending on health care. Thats why I said they are different. In Australia, you will always be peaceful (I can promise you) and enjoy the life. but ofcourse you may not have that Merc in your garage or biggest house or dine out every other day. because certainly australian economy works different (you have all that federal funded programs like medicare/retirement etc). so there will be less worries on the long term. australian social security is much better than US. also if you worry about your retirement during baby boomer period, aus may be relatively better.

At the end of the day you choose one and stick to it. remmber to take enough money if you plan to go to australia. then you will havea smooth transition.
 
Thank you.. I just started my Natz process in US. I got my post grad degree here in US, I have a stable job, a nice car and bought a house last year. However, my wife (just married) is OZ and wants me to come and join her there because she is still in school and transferring is complicated.
I dont have any family and any strong ties here so relocating wont affect me after I get my Citizenship and can always come back.
I dont mind life in OZ either, I have been there and also lived in london in the past. And I also dont mind letting go of my house and big car for an apt and small car in Sydney.
With the way the economy is going in US, I dont feel its a good place to be especially if you have no close relative you can rely on when things get bad.
Though it may seem that I am ok here but I feel my life is without meaning at this point and want to live for something. Its been boring of late.
I would like to to hear from someone who has had to make such a move and what their experience was and where they would rather live.
We dont plan to live in Aus permanently. We hope to come back to US after a while.
 
Hi.....Australian Residency extension

Thanks for ur earlier advise....After i heard from you, i moved to Australia in march 2009. Since then i have been living here & working in Melbourne. Though i would like to renew or extend my PR now. Could u plz let me know what kind of letter should I write to Immigration. I have my employment details & bank statement & could arrange few letters from my friends for reference.

Your reply would b highly appreciated ..
Thanks
Nitz






kolja said:
Nitz you have to go back to OZ ASAP and try to be there as long as possible in order to extedn the PR for another period of time -I would not suggest that you should start eventual process for AUS citizenship now because it might surface that you actualy did not contribute to AUS nothing in the maner of taxes or beign there -so you need to go back and be physicly present there for extended period of time (at least 6 months before your PR EXPIRES );that is the only way -they might give you hard time but they HAVE to extend the PR for another period of time (lets hope it will be for another 5 year period but it could be "provisional extention for say 1 year only under condition that you can have to reside at least 8 months in AUS ) ; also you have to give them some explenation why you did go back to INDIA aftr obtaining the PR -you might use the "job experinace which would enchance my AUS prospects for employment "+ planing to open the business in OZ etc.(same as the guy abowe mentioned );But you have to decide which country has more apeal to you -I would definitely suggest AUS - it will be difficult for you to continue sitting on 3 chairs ;
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