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DV 2015 Oceania winners

Oh man, tell me about it. Right up until the time I handed over those documents at the Consulate, I second guessed everything.

In your case, you're golden. @CC1 and a few others have had exactly what your wife has and they were fine.
 
Hey everyone

Would I be wise to apply for a re-entry permit POE? I am worried it might take more than a year to sell the house and finish up with work etc. (It shouldn't but I like to be well prepared for just in case) apparently I can only apply for reentry permit while in the usa.

Thanks everyone
 
Hey everyone

Would I be wise to apply for a re-entry permit POE? I am worried it might take more than a year to sell the house and finish up with work etc. (It shouldn't but I like to be well prepared for just in case) apparently I can only apply for reentry permit while in the usa.

Thanks everyone

How long are you planning on staying for your activation visit?

Yes, the re-entry permit (Form I-131) has to be applied for whilst in the US. Apparently it can take 6-8 weeks to get your biometrics appointment for the re-entry permit. USCIS states application form should be submitted no sooner than 60 days before date of travel.

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/B5en.pdf

I have heard of people somehow getting their biometric appointment prioritised though, getting it done sooner than 6 weeks, but I'm not sure how they managed that.
 
How long are you planning on staying for your activation visit?

Yes, the re-entry permit (Form I-131) has to be applied for whilst in the US. Apparently it can take 6-8 weeks to get your biometrics appointment for the re-entry permit. USCIS states application form should be submitted no sooner than 60 days before date of travel.

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/B5en.pdf

I have heard of people somehow getting their biometric appointment prioritised though, getting it done sooner than 6 weeks, but I'm not sure how they managed that.


I am only staying for a week for the activation.

Hope to move permanently to the states within a year but if the house and everything doesn't sell, I am worried it will risk my green card LPR status and will be asked to surrender it.

If I just go ahead and get the re-entry permit that will give me more time just in case. Thanks for your help :)
 
I am only staying for a week for the activation.

Hope to move permanently to the states within a year but if the house and everything doesn't sell, I am worried it will risk my green card LPR status and will be asked to surrender it.

If I just go ahead and get the re-entry permit that will give me more time just in case. Thanks for your help :)

If you plan on applying for a re-entry permit, then you better plan on staying in the U.S. for more than 1 week when you make your activation trip.

A re-entry permit is not something you apply for at the POE, and it certainly takes much more than a week to get approved. Admittedly you can arrange for the re-entry permit to be sent to the U.S. embassy in Australia for pick up whenever it's ready, which means you don't have to stay in the U.S. until it's ready. You however have to wait and do the biometric before you can leave, and it could take anywhere between 1-3 months to get the biometric notice.
 
I am only staying for a week for the activation.

Hope to move permanently to the states within a year but if the house and everything doesn't sell, I am worried it will risk my green card LPR status and will be asked to surrender it.

If I just go ahead and get the re-entry permit that will give me more time just in case. Thanks for your help :)

As Sm1smom has said, you won't be able to get a re-entry permit arranged with only 1 week in the US. May want to arrange a plan-B in regards to wrapping up your affairs within that 12 months.
 
I tried to ring thru to the approved doctors to book our medical since our interview is in June and got told that the consulate needs to email them the forms . We can't book a medical ourselves. This is in auckland .
Has anyone else had a similar experience . I thought the applicants we supposed to get their medical organised themselves before turning up for an interview.
Can someone advice please
 
The official requirements don't mention anything about validity of the certificate, only:



So I guess the only issue may surround the "Cover the entire period of the applicant's residence in that area" part, in that if the certificate is too old, it may be deemed to not cover a sufficiently recent period of residence.

Perhaps Britsimon can advise better, but I'd imagine that less than 6 months wouldn't be an issue, especially if you explain your reasoning at the interview (if the matter is raised).
@Aucklander, check out this link:

http://newzealand.usembassy.gov/dv_lottery.html



If you don't have the original, I think you can get copies from NZQA: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/

TLDR; you're all good. Don't stress.

Thanks for the link. I completed sixth form but I had jumped a year and due to death in family I couldn't pass all my school cert exams, I then went on and did a bridging course, 6th form equivalent. I'm don't think I could go on education grounds, so if selected I will need to go through work and training! I will have to contact the nzqa. But will NZAQ have details from the mid 90's?

I have one other concern, my husband was found with drugs, when he was a teenager, only did it once, he was drunk as well and put in the cell for one night. He has never touched alcohol since then or hasntad any intoxicating substance, will this be a problem for us when I go to fill his ds-260? will this be a problem for us? it happened over 25 years. do I mention this in the form at all? I'm the PA, and have a clean slate.

One other issue, I have been on maternity leave since oct 2013 and I know it is required to have 2 years experience in the last 5 years? will this be a problem, I have been working since 2006, full time, until oct 2013.

I would appreciate any advice or suggestion. Thanks in advance
 
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Thanks for the link. I completed sixth form but I had jumped a year and due to death I couldn't pass all my school cert exams, I then went on and did a bridging course, 6th form equivalent. I'm don't think I could go on education grounds, so if selected I will need to go through work and training! I will have to contact the nzqa. But will NZAQ have details from the mid 90's?

I have one other concern, my husband was found with drugs, when he was a teenager, only did it once, he was drunk as well and put in the cell for one night. He has never touched alcohol since then or hasntad any intoxicating substance, will this be a problem for us when I go to fill his ds-260? will this be a problem for us? it happened over 25 years. do I mention this in the form at all? I'm the PA, and have a clean slate.

One other issue, I have been on maternity leave since oct 2013 and I know it is required to have 2 years experience in the last 5 years? will this be a problem, I have been working since 2006, full time, until oct 2013.

I would appreciate any advice or suggestion. Thanks in advance
I happen to just check the site mentioned, ther isn't any link. :(
 
@Maisy, they don't accept equivalents so, you're right, you wouldn't qualify on education.

You only need two years work experience in an acceptable job, so I think you should be fine.

As for the drugs, just get a police check done. My husband had been thrown into the drunk tank as a uni student and he couldn't remember (because he was drunk) whether he had been arrested or not. Turned out he hadn't but we got the check done regardless before we completed the DS260.

At any rate, you still have a few days before you find out if you have won and a further five months before the interviews begin. So don't panic yet!
 
@Maisy, they don't accept equivalents so, you're right, you wouldn't qualify on education.

You only need two years work experience in an acceptable job, so I think you should be fine.

As for the drugs, just get a police check done. My husband had been thrown into the drunk tank as a uni student and he couldn't remember (because he was drunk) whether he had been arrested or not. Turned out he hadn't but we got the check done regardless before we completed the DS260.

At any rate, you still have a few days before you find out if you have won and a further five months before the interviews begin. So don't panic yet!
Hi Emily, thank you for your prompt rely. After you had your husbands check done and the report came back , did you mention it in the ds 260?
 
I told my husband , if there a problem because of him, I will leave him behind, LOL. after all he should have told me this before we got married.
 
I'd get the police check done and address it then. The DS260 asks if you have been arrested, cautioned, convicted. If he has, then he has to admit that.

But, like I said with my husband, he had no idea whether he'd been arrested. He knew he hadn't been cautioned or convicted but he still got the check done before we filled in the DS260 just to be sure.

If your husband was over 18, it will show up on the check (the check they require is a complete check which will show all spent and unspent offences). If he was under 18, it may not show up at all - hence I'd get the check done just to be sure.

And, if in doubt, just be honest. They prefer honesty than a lie.
 
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