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DV 2015 Oceania winners

Essey said:
So let me get this straight, Amex gave you the Centurion (Black) Card?? I thought they only gave those to people like Oprah and Richard Branson (racks brains for knowledge of NZ billionaires).
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LOL no, imagine being that rich !!
It was a business Amex
 
hopefulinnz said:
LOL no, imagine being that rich !!
It was a business Amex
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Amex cards didn't have predetermined spending limits as such, it was more based on regular patterns of spending and your ability to pay. So you could happily spend 10k on average month, but if one month that suddenly shot up to 25k you could expect a phone call at least.
 
EmilyW said:
Welcome ZShep!

To answer your questions:

1. I'm a 9XX too. Based on previous years, our interviews will be anywhere between March - May 2015. I don't think your location makes any difference. When our numbers become current, that's when we interview.....

Hey Emily and guys thanks for your answers they definitely helped.

Interesting the information you get around interview date as it seems to vary greatly. I guess like everyone selected it's hard not to think about it all the time!
I think I'll do the same thing as you Emily for my medical for the London medical clinic to bring the records of that as proof.
Regarding question number 4 - I think I'll leave my form as I submitted it, as is after I got my Australian Federal Police report back with nothing listed (I've had two court appearances in the past but was hoping they wouldn't show as they were very minor offences and no convictions etc were recorded)
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Well I was going to say, my Amex credit card certainly has a hard limit. As I understood, to get the no limit Centurion Card', you have to be personally invited by Amex and have some serious net worth. Is a 'charge' card, just like a debit card?
 
Oceanians,

As a former (returned) USA resident I have some advice. You should consider joining american frequent flyer programs before you leave so you can get big points for your pacific flight and initial hotel.

The american airline market has many players and they use a hub and spoke system to connect the country together. There are three global airline alliances, so join an airline for each one - it's free, but focus on a single alliance. The airline of focus should be a "hub" in your target city. For example, if you are moving to Charlotte - you join US Airways (American), Denver - United, Minneapolis - Delta etc.

Qantas isn't competitive, so continuing to use it on One World partners after you have moved is a bad idea. Use up your Qantas points then ditch it for AA. The American frequent flyer programs are far superior to QFF or NZ. A one way flight to asia on United was 17,000 points and $130, on Qantas 30,000? and $500. Rip off. You can use AA to book Qantas flights home anyway.

I know you are all busy collecting documents and stressing about visa bulletin and this won't help with your interview but if you have a good CN might as well do it while you're waiting.
 
guestgulkan said:
Oceanians,

As a former (returned) USA resident I have some advice. You should consider joining american frequent flyer programs before you leave so you can get big points for your pacific flight and initial hotel.

The american airline market has many players and they use a hub and spoke system to connect the country together. There are three global airline alliances, so join an airline for each one - it's free, but focus on a single alliance. The airline of focus should be a "hub" in your target city. For example, if you are moving to Charlotte - you join US Airways (American), Denver - United, Minneapolis - Delta etc.

Qantas isn't competitive, so continuing to use it on One World partners after you have moved is a bad idea. Use up your Qantas points then ditch it for AA. The American frequent flyer programs are far superior to QFF or NZ. A one way flight to asia on United was 17,000 points and $130, on Qantas 30,000? and $500. Rip off. You can use AA to book Qantas flights home anyway.

I know you are all busy collecting documents and stressing about visa bulletin and this won't help with your interview but if you have a good CN might as well do it while you're waiting.
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Good advice. I earned literally millions air miles and they come in useful to either upgrade tickets you buy or use them to purchase tickets. The latter option as become less attractive since they started charging taxes on the free tickets, but it was nice having the option. it is enerally accepted that people that travel on business are entitled to earn and keep the air miles on company paid flights, so depending on your job, that can really add up.
 
Hi all, thanks for your contributions to the forum, they have been very useful. Prior to finding this forum, I was completely mystified as to how the DV/interview process worked.

I'm lucky enough to have a low number OC2015....5xx and currently reside in Perth. In the DS-260 application form, there was the option to select Perth as the interview location. The Sydney consulate have stated on their website, and in an email to me that all visa interviews are conducted through Sydney. Can anyone shed more light on this?? It seems that either the form should not have listed Perth as an interview location, or Sydney are not aware that the Perth consulate will be doing interviews for 2015..

It would be awesome not having to travel to Sydney for the interview..

Thanks heaps = )

Email from US consulate in Sydney....
---------------------
Thank you for your email.


All immigrant visa interviews must be conducted in Sydney.


Thank you


U.S. Consulate General, Sydney

Immigrant Visa Unit (AT)

SydneyIV@state.gov
 
nzangeleyes said:
Hi all, thanks for your contributions to the forum, they have been very useful. Prior to finding this forum, I was completely mystified as to how the DV/interview process worked.

I'm lucky enough to have a low number OC2015....5xx and currently reside in Perth. In the DS-260 application form, there was the option to select Perth as the interview location. The Sydney consulate have stated on their website, and in an email to me that all visa interviews are conducted through Sydney. Can anyone shed more light on this?? It seems that either the form should not have listed Perth as an interview location, or Sydney are not aware that the Perth consulate will be doing interviews for 2015..

It would be awesome not having to travel to Sydney for the interview..

Thanks heaps = )

Email from US consulate in Sydney....
---------------------
Thank you for your email.


All immigrant visa interviews must be conducted in Sydney.


Thank you


U.S. Consulate General, Sydney

Immigrant Visa Unit (AT)

SydneyIV@state.gov
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Unfortunately I think the email sums it up - we have only heard of immigrant visa applications being processed at Sydney.
 
I was thinking of creating a check list of things to do prior to the interview and was hoping that someone else may have one as a guide. Something like...

1) complete DS-260 form
2) Education documents, Certified copy or original + photocopy (Take to interview)
3) Birth certificates, Certified copy or original + photocopy (Take to interview)
4) Police clearance certificates
5) etc...

The immigration website although useful doesn't list concisely or is a sometimes vague on certain items.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/diversity-visa/if-you-are-selected.html
 
Probably vague isn't the best word.. The website is actually clear as to what is required.

I'm just concerned that I will miss some little detail and jeopardise my chances. There are a lot of small things that need to be printed/copied/provided/checked. That's where a concise and detailed list could be handy.

I guess going through the website thoroughly should be good, and there is plenty of time between now and the interview to get every item in order.

Cheers Essey.
 
nzangeleyes said:
The consulate sends an extensive check list upon announcement of interview date.. Nice.
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Great, that should make things easy! Honestly the best thing you can do is go through it all yourself and do your own list which suits you. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable relying on someone else's list alone as I'd be worried something would be missing.

I think the one of the most valuable things you can get from other people on this forum are their interview experiences, which you can't really get from any of the information on the website. Hopefully I will be able to share mine at some point!
 
Boredom has led to this but what the heck... I made a list of the OC2015 winners in order of lowest to highest CN. It's like the AFL ladder without Collingwood being on top.

Ozimattskey - 6x
Essey - 4xx
nzangeleyes - 5xx
Aussiegemma - 6xx
EmilyW - 9xx
Zshep - 9xx
nycsteph - 13xx
Guestgulkan - 14xx
Japanaus - 14xx
Connectedspace - 15xx
Aussiecatherine - 16xx
Kellie - 17xx
MrKiwi - 18xx
hopefulinnz - 19xx
AussieInLDN - 21xx
Abbie - 22xx

Come on 5 o'clock. The pub is calling my name!!!!

And, before anyone says anything, I'm an auditor. Lists in order are what I do. :)
 
EmilyW said:
Boredom has led to this but what the heck... I made a list of the OC2015 winners in order of lowest to highest CN. It's like the AFL ladder without Collingwood being on top.

Ozimattskey - 6x
Essey - 4xx
nzangeleyes - 5xx
Aussiegemma - 6xx
EmilyW - 9xx
Zshep - 9xx
nycsteph - 13xx
Guestgulkan - 14xx
Japanaus - 14xx
Connectedspace - 15xx
Aussiecatherine - 16xx
Kellie - 17xx
MrKiwi - 18xx
hopefulinnz - 19xx
AussieInLDN - 21xx
Abbie - 22xx

Come on 5 o'clock. The pub is calling my name!!!!

And, before anyone says anything, I'm an auditor. Lists in order are what I do. :)
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Awesome love your work. Ill make sure I keep everyone posted on how my interview goes, which will hopefully be in October.
 
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