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DV 2015 Oceania winners

Hi everyone, I'm in Paris right now having a little break after the final move a week ago. Re-entry using my passport visa was a breeze although they still took my fingerprints which I didn't think they still needed to do but maybe that's only after you get the green card itself.

Just a question about the passport visa; does anyone know what the deal is with the I-V expiry date? Mine says IV expires on 28 April 2015 down left hand corner , but it also says it serves as temporary I-551 evidencing per,aren't resident for 1 year. On my customs docs they all said I had to put 28 April 2015 as my visa expiry even though that's not correct, because of that. I don't know what that expiry date is, but Im concerned it would cause problems if I need to re-enter after April and still don't have my green card.
 
Essey said:
Hi everyone, I'm in Paris right now having a little break after the final move a week ago. Re-entry using my passport visa was a breeze although they still took my fingerprints which I didn't think they still needed to do but maybe that's only after you get the green card itself.

Just a question about the passport visa; does anyone know what the deal is with the I-V expiry date? Mine says IV expires on 28 April 2015 down left hand corner , but it also says it serves as temporary I-551 evidencing per,aren't resident for 1 year. On my customs docs they all said I had to put 28 April 2015 as my visa expiry even though that's not correct, because of that. I don't know what that expiry date is, but Im concerned it would cause problems if I need to re-enter after April and still don't have my green card.
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Your one time use visa expires April 28 (Probably limited by your medical). You had to enter before that date. However, the 1 year bit says something like "upon endorsement" meaning when you enter the visa proves you are an LPR for up to one year. If you fill out a form that needs your visa date, you actually don't have one. Look for i551 which us a green card - the endorsement of the visa serves as your i551 (If you want to think of it that way).
 
The way I think about it, is that the visa is magic :) and turns into a temporary green card on endorsement. This temporary green card is valid for one year from the date of entry stamp. There will be no problem entering on it.

As britsimon says, you no longer have a visa with validity to worry about - you are a permanent resident. If there are any airline questionnaires that you fill in for the flights to the U.S., be sure to mark that your country of residency is the US.

Btw I still have to do fingerprints even with a plastic green card.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Did you 'shop around' for DMV appointments? We found the wait times varied significantly at the ones around here so if you only checked one may be worth looking at some others.
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Yup :( Soonest is April 20. I believe it's because they introduced AB 60 in January so there's HEAPS of people applying for licences. Anyone know if dealerships will let us buy a car on a foreign licence?
 
SuicideBlonde said:
Yup :( Soonest is April 20. I believe it's because they introduced AB 60 in January so there's HEAPS of people applying for licences. Anyone know if dealerships will let us buy a car on a foreign licence?
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Obviously you have a bigger AB backlog there than we do here... it did make a difference but not that bad at all the DMVs. Delays ranged from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on DMV we looked at, hence my comment about 'shopping around'.

We had no problem buying or insuring cars on a foreign license in CA. Apparently insurance premiums go down when you get a local license - I am interested to see if that happens to us because judging by some forum discussions I've seen (elsewhere) we got very good rates (Geico). You will need proof of insurance before you can drive the car off the lot.
 
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No news on 2nls yet? I've looked at a lot of other threads and no reports from there either. Those who got theirs last month, from what I recall it was about 24th Jan you received it?
My house is getting emptier as we sell off furniture but no idea of interview date...feels so weird!
 
Britsimon said:
Your one time use visa expires April 28 (Probably limited by your medical). You had to enter before that date. However, the 1 year bit says something like "upon endorsement" meaning when you enter the visa proves you are an LPR for up to one year. If you fill out a form that needs your visa date, you actually don't have one. Look for i551 which us a green card - the endorsement of the visa serves as your i551 (If you want to think of it that way).
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Thanks Simon and Susie, I didnt know that was the date for activation, never really took notice of that as I'd always planned to activate asap. I'm not worried about immigration, more just the airlines who don't understand how the temporary thing works but seem to still be required to check visas! I even just got extra questioning by the airline to check in to my flight at Charles de Gaulle (Paris) because I didn't have my actual green card. Fingers crossed it comes sooner than later.
 
Well I got some good news yesterday! Called the KCC. They didn't give me my exact date or time but said that my interview was being scheduled for April and to expect an email (2NL) within the next two weeks. They're coming!
 
Essey said:
Thanks Simon and Susie, I didnt know that was the date for activation, never really took notice of that as I'd always planned to activate asap. I'm not worried about immigration, more just the airlines who don't understand how the temporary thing works but seem to still be required to check visas! I even just got extra questioning by the airline to check in to my flight at Charles de Gaulle (Paris) because I didn't have my actual green card. Fingers crossed it comes sooner than later.
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Some of the airlines are more au fait with the temporary green card than others, but just show them the wording at the bottom and that should work. If it doesn't, tell the counter person to call someone higher up. There will be someone around who understands how it works if they fly to the U.S.!
 
Kiel said:
Well I got some good news yesterday! Called the KCC. They didn't give me my exact date or time but said that my interview was being scheduled for April and to expect an email (2NL) within the next two weeks. They're coming!
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Nice!

What is the best time to call the KCC? I was on hold for 45 minutes the other night and had no choice but to give up (it was around midnight Sydney time on Tuesday night)...
 
@reeko, not sure if you did this but magic @Britsimon says to press '0' as soon as you call because you bypass all the menus and go straight to a KCC staff member. It took my husband less than a minute to get through, from memory, using that method.
 
reeko said:
Nice!

What is the best time to call the KCC? I was on hold for 45 minutes the other night and had no choice but to give up (it was around midnight Sydney time on Tuesday night)...
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There was bad weather there at the beginning of the week so they were understaffed. In a normal week the press 0 trick normally gets you on to one of the lovely ladies in a few shakes of a lambs tail.
 
CBDK said:
No news on 2nls yet? I've looked at a lot of other threads and no reports from there either. Those who got theirs last month, from what I recall it was about 24th Jan you received it?
My house is getting emptier as we sell off furniture but no idea of interview date...feels so weird!
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We got our 2NLs on Friday 23rd January for March interviews. Saved us a stressful long weekend. So I imagine yours will be any day now.
 
Kiel said:
Well I got some good news yesterday! Called the KCC. They didn't give me my exact date or time but said that my interview was being scheduled for April and to expect an email (2NL) within the next two weeks. They're coming!
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Next 2 weeks? I'm expecting it tomorrow...in 2 weeks time we'll nearly be ready for the next visa bulletin!
 
CBDK said:
Next 2 weeks? I'm expecting it tomorrow...in 2 weeks time we'll nearly be ready for the next visa bulletin!
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I reckon first thing tomorrow morning. It's Sunday there now.... So I think we will be hearing your yelps of joy shortly.
 
I hope so @Deb7a ...Sydney is doing what it can to kick me out now. Today my car totally conked out on my way to work. It only needed to last 4 more weeks before I sold it. On the bright side, I don't need to go through the shit fight of trying to sell it. The down side, I still have 4 weeks left of work which is on the other side of Sydney so still working out how I'm going to get there!
 
CBDK said:
I hope so @Deb7a ...Sydney is doing what it can to kick me out now. Today my car totally conked out on my way to work. It only needed to last 4 more weeks before I sold it. On the bright side, I don't need to go through the shit fight of trying to sell it. The down side, I still have 4 weeks left of work which is on the other side of Sydney so still working out how I'm going to get there!
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I feel confident tomorrow is your day. It's such a lovely good morning present. It's funny how things like that happen. My phone shat itself but I don't want to get a new one til I'm over there. So making do with an old iPhone. My damn car is due for rego and insurance and service 2 weeks before I go. It's probably not going to mean I get more for my car just easier to sell maybe. All my appliances are dying too. My fridge is on the way out. My microwave died. It's weird.
Good luck with working out your commute. That's a headache.
 
Oh no! It's almost funny...it's definitely a sign (a good one despite being well disguised)...I'm looking around the house to see what might be next to crack it!
 
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