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DV 2015 Oceania winners

Essey said:
I was wondering about this, whether to bother bringing my degrees or not as well, even though I have my VCE Certificate and results. So basically would you say don't bother with the tertiary education documents if you've met the normal education requirements?
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Essey it doest sound like you will need the tertiary. Remember the requirement is to "complete year 12 or the equivalent". In saying that it cant do any harm to be over prepared can it? Whatever makes you feel confident and mentally prepared I say. Im going armed to the hilt. Mind you I am apply differently through work.
 
Essey said:
I was wondering about this, whether to bother bringing my degrees or not as well, even though I have my VCE Certificate and results. So basically would you say don't bother with the tertiary education documents if you've met the normal education requirements?
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I think the best approach is take everything you have but only produce enough to meet the requirement and provide more if asked. If for instance you qualify on high school, but listed a University, you may be asked for the Uni stuff anyway (it helps with the overall picture of your ability to succeed in the relocation).
 
tonis said:
Yahoo, we've just been pre approved for a mortgage when we arrive in the US next January!
Just shows it can be done, even with no credit rating.
Will just have to pay mortgage insurance for the first year, and after 12months and a decent credit score we will refinance :)
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Can you tell us how you did this?
 
ozimattskey said:
I heard 9 people get interviewed before me and when asked a question Id say half nearly all over answered and got themselves into a riddle about their documents and why theyre are providing a certain document when it wasnt actually necessary.
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I gave similar advice this time last year. I sat through one extremely loud, awkward interview where the woman scrambled to give details that the interviewing officer didn't ask for, tripped herself up constantly on her entry and exit dates for trips to the U.S. that year, gave overly detailed answers about her financial support and constantly sounded like she was three words from putting her foot so far into her mouth that she'd get a "no" on the spot.

I can't remember now what the result was for her, but it was great for me: it taught me right there on the spot to answer simply, give the consular official only as much information as they require, and shut the hell up for the rest of it.
 
Crawf33 said:
I gave similar advice this time last year. I sat through one extremely loud, awkward interview where the woman scrambled to give details that the interviewing officer didn't ask for, tripped herself up constantly on her entry and exit dates for trips to the U.S. that year, gave overly detailed answers about her financial support and constantly sounded like she was three words from putting her foot so far into her mouth that she'd get a "no" on the spot.

I can't remember now what the result was for her, but it was great for me: it taught me right there on the spot to answer simply, give the consular official only as much information as they require, and shut the hell up for the rest of it.
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Imagine all the selectees that never have the chance to experience the greatness of this forum. I'd venture to say a lot of those are the bumbling, long-winded folks in the interviews. Glad to be part of this group I say
 
tonis said:
Yahoo, we've just been pre approved for a mortgage when we arrive in the US next January!
Just shows it can be done, even with no credit rating.
Will just have to pay mortgage insurance for the first year, and after 12months and a decent credit score we will refinance :)
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That's good. Since you are already locked in to your area, I can see why you would want to do that. Just watch how much you pay for the PMI and other mortgage costs such as points. All that can be costly.

For me - I was happy to rent for a year while we got used to the areas. I'm glad we did. We had been mildly considering Berkeley but I took my wife there the other day and she literally could not wait to get out of there. I'm very happy with where we found ourselves and really pleased with the school etc - but I would not have chosen to live here in the first place.

Have you looked at Mountain House? I hear nice things about it.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Can you tell us how you did this?
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I contacted a mortgage broker (imortgage) and told them what we wanted to do.
We have a large deposit, but also needed 1 payslip, SSN and Green Card, which we can produce soon after our arrival in Jan 15.
She told me that we would qualify for a FHA loan and this involves paying mortgage insurance as a lump sum and a % on top of the monthly payment. This would need to be paid for the life of the loan. However to get around this we will refinance in 12months once we get a decent credit score.
PM me is you want to know more. :)
 
You're right Simon, I wouldnt suggest buying straight off the bat for everyone.
We decided to buy mainly because house prices in Tracy are going up so quickly.
We're going for the 15 year FHA load as this keeps the PMI costs down.
We have spent a lot of time in Tracy and are very particular about where we want to live, Mountain House is on the list of prefered areas.
Of course we will need lots of garaging, so it wont be an easy find.
Luckly we can stay with our close friends till we find something. :)
 
OC_EMS said:
Where in Gods name did you read you had to scan and send??????????
Settle petal and go back to that page, take a big sip of coffee and re read slowly and calmly.
Remember to read the instructions that apply to 2015 applicants NOT 2014. If I remember correctly the are listed on the same page

Also you may find Britsimons web page helpful. He's done an awesome job. Im going to nominate hime for a Nobel prize:D http://britsimonsays.com/
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Haha, thanks. I read it on the first page of the DS-260 form...the instructions page....definitely 2015. I had always thought we just take our docs with us to interview but this one threw me for a loop.
I've had my coffee so feeling better ☕️
 
This is what it says on the instructions page.

  1. Provide true and complete answers to all questions you are asked. Failure to provide an answer to a question that is applicable to you may result in your application being rejected.
  2. Please have all of your required documentation with you while completing this form as it will be helpful for some of the questions.
  3. Your answers must be in English and must use English characters, unless you are specifically directed to provide an answer in your native alphabet. Applications submitted in any language other than English may be rejected. Letters like ñ, é, ü, ç are not recognized by the system. Please enter words like Muñoz or Sémonin as Munoz or Semonin, unless otherwise asked.
  4. Review all the information you entered for accuracy.
  5. We recommend that you print or email the confirmation page for your records before you exit the application. Do not mail the confirmation page to KCC. You should bring your confirmation page with you to your visa interview.
  6. If your case IS processing electronically, please scan and email your documents to:KCCDV@state.gov
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Point 6 is the one of interest.

Given, however, that a few OCers have happily got their approval without doing this, I think it's safe to say it's not necessary?
 
EmilyW said:
This is what it says on the instructions page.



Point 6 is the one of interest.

Given, however, that a few OCers have happily got their approval without doing this, I think it's safe to say it's not necessary?
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Thanks for pasting in the actual text, makes things easier.... and if others have made it through we are probably safe.
 
EmilyW said:
This is what it says on the instructions page.



Point 6 is the one of interest.

Given, however, that a few OCers have happily got their approval without doing this, I think it's safe to say it's not necessary?
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Thanks Emily, Good lord how bizarre! I dont remember seeing that. Perhaps I was under the influence at the time.:confused: I wonder what else Ive missed lol
Emily now I am just curious..... can you post the link to that page I cant find it on the state.gov
 
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Guys, stop stressing about the section of the DS-260 form that talks about emailing documents. It's not applicable to DV applicants. The DS-260 form is used by various categories of IV applicants, they simply forgot to remove that section when they modified the form for DV use.
 
tonis said:
You're right Simon, I wouldnt suggest buying straight off the bat for everyone.
We decided to buy mainly because house prices in Tracy are going up so quickly.
We're going for the 15 year FHA load as this keeps the PMI costs down.
We have spent a lot of time in Tracy and are very particular about where we want to live, Mountain House is on the list of prefered areas.
Of course we will need lots of garaging, so it wont be an easy find.
Luckly we can stay with our close friends till we find something. :)
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Yep understood on the reasoning. However with two lots of closing costs in a year and the PMI, that mortgage is going to be expensive. I kept myself calm about the rising house prices but not selling the house in the UK, and then by hoping I could buy a building lot to "lock in" my house price. Both those things came through for me, so it was a good gamble.

I know exactly what you mean about garages. My neighbours are hot rod nuts, one has 7 garages and the other has 13! The one with 13 is selling me the land and us going to be my builder - so I am hoping he'll help me with a hot rod/classic car later!
 
Sm1smom said:
Guys, stop stressing about the section of the DS-260 form that talks about emailing documents. It's not applicable to DV applicants. The DS-260 form is used by various categories of IV applicants, they simply forgot to remove that section when they modified the form for DV use.
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Thanks mom, no stress here just curious really as Id not come across such instructions. Didnt think it was applicable to us. Cheers for the confirmation.:)
 
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