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DV 2015 Oceania winners

EmilyW said:
I'm having mine this week, so just under four weeks before the interview. We're planning on going away at Easter for a holiday and didn't want to rush anything. Otherwise, I would have allowed three weeks (2 weeks plus contingency in case anything goes wrong)

I think the advice from the consulate is that you can have your medical around the time of interview but, if the consulate doesn't have the medical results at the time of interview, they won't finalise your case. They will just pend final approval of the visa contingent upon receipt of the medicals. IMO.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure @GANDT-SYD had his medicals a week before the interview, so perhaps ask him how he did it? If you can get it all done in the space of a week, medicals and interviews, that might work?
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Where are you going for your medicals EmilyW? Do you have kids to take along and get theirs too? I will be interested to hear how it all goes :) I know you will get through with flying colours but of course nerve wracking as well!

I agree on the plan of 3 weeks prior to interview to allow for any problems and also you want it close enough to interview so it is valid for the longest amount of time.
 
Deb7a said:
Thanks @eskimokisses & @alwaysrose123, I too am pleased to be poised to leave. I know compared to some I have had a very short experience with the whole dv lottery, being a first time selectee with a good number. But for me (like all the others I guess) I have made some agonizing decisions, none of them easy. Some of them damn painful. I have had my doubts and second guessing, but I am following this through to the end now. And I had a destination picked out when I entered the lottery, near some friends in Minnesota, but I have since secured a job in Colorado, so now that's where I'm going. I will see how it goes. If I don't like it I'll move on. The whole point of the exercise is to explore and live the dream, good or bad. With only me to consider I figure I can be very portable and cheap to run.
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It is a huge journey for all the DV applicants to go on from the first application to finding out if you were selected and then the whole long process. But such an adventure :)

I think that is important as well to try different places and what we thought might have been a good fit might not be the final destination, but sounds like you have that covered Deb7a

Where abouts in Colorado are you going to? If we are successful we are thinking about Colorado but still undecided this early on. I did live in North Carolina as an exchange student when I was 15/16 years old so I am a little partial to there but we kind of want to go somewhere that is cool and snowy :)
 
eskimokisses said:
Where are you going for your medicals EmilyW? Do you have kids to take along and get theirs too? I will be interested to hear how it all goes :) I know you will get through with flying colours but of course nerve wracking as well!

I agree on the plan of 3 weeks prior to interview to allow for any problems and also you want it close enough to interview so it is valid for the longest amount of time.
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We're in Melbourne and are going to the Bridge Street Clinic in Port Melbourne.

We have two boys so they will be going for medicals too (albeit they won't need the xrays or blood tests). I'm taking the older one and myself on Wednesday and the husband and the younger one are going on Thursday. The kids are more excited about having a day off from school!

FYI, we are planning on settling in Cornelius, North Carolina. Just outside of Charlotte so I can commute, but still out in the country and near Lake Norman.

Thanks for your kind wishes @alwaysrose123. Very much appreciated!
 
eskimokisses said:
It is a huge journey for all the DV applicants to go on from the first application to finding out if you were selected and then the whole long process. But such an adventure :)

I think that is important as well to try different places and what we thought might have been a good fit might not be the final destination, but sounds like you have that covered Deb7a

Where abouts in Colorado are you going to? If we are successful we are thinking about Colorado but still undecided this early on. I did live in North Carolina as an exchange student when I was 15/16 years old so I am a little partial to there but we kind of want to go somewhere that is cool and snowy :)
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I am going to Pueblo. I don't think that's the prettiest of places. Its south of Colorado Springs. That is where my job is though, and I know a couple of people there (my boss and her family) so it will be a good start. My boss has also offered me to stay in her house for as long as I need so I am very lucky. I want my own place ASAP though as I'm eager to be independent. I have been thinking on South Carolina but I think it is too far from Australia. So maybe down the track I will cast my sights on south west Oregon maybe. I'll have to check it out.
 
EmilyW said:
We're in Melbourne and are going to the Bridge Street Clinic in Port Melbourne.

We have two boys so they will be going for medicals too (albeit they won't need the xrays or blood tests). I'm taking the older one and myself on Wednesday and the husband and the younger one are going on Thursday. The kids are more excited about having a day off from school!

FYI, we are planning on settling in Cornelius, North Carolina. Just outside of Charlotte so I can commute, but still out in the country and near Lake Norman.

Thanks for your kind wishes @alwaysrose123. Very much appreciated!
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May I ask how old your boys are EmilyW? Are they excited about the whole process? I have two girls (almost 4 years and 9 year old) obviously we are not telling them anything yet at this point in the journey just in case we are not even selected.

Cornelius NC is beautiful :) actually North Carolina is such a beautiful state. I lived in Arden (basically Asheville NC) people are very friendly and welcoming in the south! I am excited for you he he.
 
I had my medical well in advance of my interview, about 4 weeks, but my paperwork was sent to the consulate the next day. So its not a long procedure unless there are issues. Not that they do much to discover issues. I guess you just want to be syphilis free and have clear lungs.

Does anybody now how you find your receipt number to check the progress of visa? I cant find a 13 digit number anywhere. I'm trying to log in to the myUSCIS website, but cant get past this point.
 
My boys are 9 (nearly 10) and 8. They are excited but the 9 year old, in particular, is worried about making new friends in the US. He has had the same group of mates since 3 year old kinder and I guess there are no friends like the friends you have when you're a child!

The younger one cares nowt. He's pretty gregarious and makes friends wherever he goes. He's more excited about expanding his Skylanders Collection once he gets to the US. The priorities of a small child, right?
 
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EmilyW said:
My boys are 9 (nearly 10) and 8. They are excited but the 9 year old, in particular, is worried about making new friends in the US. He has had the same group of mates since 3 year old kinder and I guess there are no friends like the friends you have when you're a child!

The younger one cares nowt. He's pretty gregarious and makes friends wherever he goes. He's more excited about expanding his Skylanders Collection once he gets to the US. The priorities of a small child, right?
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So funny EmilyW your youngest one....he is like mum my Skylander dreams are coming true lol :p

I think my eldest would be a bit like your eldest as she is a little bit of a worrier but the littlest one has the out going personality and loves adventures! The good thing is your eldest can stay in touch online with his group of friends and who knows they might come to visit one day when they are older :)
 
CBDK said:
Only one of us in current in May? Congrats @Aucklander
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And me!

For those that remember, I sought advice on how to 'charge myself' to my parents country of origin (NZ) as I happened to be born in UK while my parents were living there temporarily. I've since had a lawyer produce, sign and stamp affadavits and parents Visa/Passports etc - so fingers crossed this will be enough to get me through!
 
Deb7a said:
I am going to Pueblo. I don't think that's the prettiest of places. Its south of Colorado Springs. That is where my job is though, and I know a couple of people there (my boss and her family) so it will be a good start. My boss has also offered me to stay in her house for as long as I need so I am very lucky. I want my own place ASAP though as I'm eager to be independent. I have been thinking on South Carolina but I think it is too far from Australia. So maybe down the track I will cast my sights on south west Oregon maybe. I'll have to check it out.
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I haven't been to Pueblo before but have been to Colorado Springs which was great. Also loved going to Pikes Peak near there. What a bonus to already have job lined up Deb7a and a place to stay until you get on your feet. That is huge!!

Oregon looks beautiful too :)
 
That's what I keep telling him @eskimokisses but he's not yet convinced. I told him, if nothing else, he's very handsome and, combined with his accent, he should be a hit. And he's excited by the American cars. He's a rev head like his dad: they even have a spreadsheet comparing cars, mileage, power etc and spend each night arguing over relative merits.

@reeko, I was thinking about how you were doing. Good on you for doing all that work, mate! If we learned one thing from that Aussie who did it a few years back, a mountain of evidence and a positive attitude counts for alot. I remember him saying that you didn't need 100% proof but a preponderance of evidence / balance of probabilities. You've certainly prepared for the battle and, IMO, you will win the war for Team OC2015!
 
sorry but I was wondering whether u had to list every address that you've ever stayed at in nz... in the ds260?

and have to list your maiden name and if u were married b4.... do u have to list that tooo?
 
You have to list every address you've lived at since age 16, regardless of country. This doesn't include holiday destinations etc, but wherever you have held a residence. So my husband has lived in two countries and had to list addresses for both.

You have to list all names you've been known by. When you do your police checks, the checks have to include all names.
 
EmilyW said:
That's what I keep telling him @eskimokisses but he's not yet convinced. I told him, if nothing else, he's very handsome and, combined with his accent, he should be a hit. And he's excited by the American cars. He's a rev head like his dad: they even have a spreadsheet comparing cars, mileage, power etc and spend each night arguing over relative merits.
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My teenager was also so worried for similar reasons, and she's been fine. More than fine! But of course it's natural to worry...

alwaysrose123 said:
sorry but I was wondering whether u had to list every address that you've ever stayed at in nz... in the ds260?

and have to list your maiden name and if u were married b4.... do u have to list that tooo?
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Not to sound too blunt, but you are stressing an awful lot about a lottery you have yet to win, and will have plenty of time for all this if you do...
 
For those who are going for interviews shortly, I've converted the Sydney checklist from PDF into Word and have uploaded it to the Dropbox file. This might be of use for those who are obsessed with neatness and/or those with alot of addresses (like me).

And thanks @SusieQQQ for your comment. I do worry that I'm uprooting the kids from a pretty happy life here for the unknown, but I figure they will thank us for the adventure when they're older and/or maintain a spirit of adventure themselves as they transition into adulthood.
 
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Hi Suzzie....May is not that far away.... I am in the middle of writing school reports and part time at uni... I do need to think ahead... and plan ahead even if its just a mental note... I do need to plan these things if it doesn't happen this year that's fine but if it does I don't want to stress... my work load is huge... but if I just do a little each day then it all is worthwhile. there are 5 of us and if I have to list every place ive have ever lived that will take me a week to fill in... so better prepare now each day 5 mins... that's heaps plus I don't remember the addresses, I will have to visit each house... I am just like this, ... mother of three I work 50- 60 hours a week, not forgetting all the extras.. and I could win, I was born in Fiji.. so I have good chances. I don't take anything lightly....I want to do things right the first time. That's just me. AND I WILL WIN.
 
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alwaysrose123 said:
May is not that far away.... I am in the middle of writing school reports and part time at uni... I do need to think ahead... and plan ahead even if its just a mental note... I do need to plan these things if it doesn't happen this year that's fine but if it does I don't want to stress... my work load is huge... but if I just do a little each day then it all is worthwhile. there are 5 of us and if I have to list every place ive have ever lived that will take me a week to fill in... so better prepare now each day 5 mins... that's heaps plus I don't remember the addresses, I will have to visit each house... I am just like this, I am super organised... have to be...
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I'd think that if you have a huge workload rather spend your time on dealing with stuff you know you need to do rather than planning on winning a lottery...but each to their own.
 
EmilyW said:
And thanks @SusieQQQ for your comment. I do worry that I'm uprooting the kids from a pretty happy life here for the unknown, but I figure they will thank us for the adventure when they're older and/or maintain a spirit of adventure themselves as they transition into adulthood.
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Yeah that's always the contradiction or rather trade off with kids - short term upheaval for long term gain. But I'm sure you will all be fine!!!
 
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