• Hello Members, This forums is for DV lottery visas only. For other immigration related questions, please go to our forums home page, find the related forum and post it there.

DV 2016 OC Selectees

I don't think there is a need per se but, since the ustraveldocs.com site is so utterly useless for DV applicants, I certainly sent an email to them, just to confirm that we were all good to go. If you want peace of mind, it does no harm to email them. They are a pretty friendly and helpful consulate.
 
EmilyW said:
Sydney is a pretty relaxed consulate (relatively speaking) and there shouldn't be an issue changing appointments, but bear in mind there is a chance that they may not be able to reschedule you for a little while and there is always the risk - however minute - that they won't be able to reschedule at all or until very late in the fiscal year (which has its own set of risks, especially if you get put into AP for whatever reason).

If you can, I wouldn't change it. If you can't, the sooner you can let the consulate know, the sooner they can identify a potential gap to fit you into.
Click to expand...

Ugh yeah I know, I really though it was all going to work out but I'll be out of the country during the appointment but I got in touch the second my 2NL came in, so fingers crossed it will all work out.
 
I got my interview on 2nd Februay :D It's sooo sooon. OC7xx. I keep hearing people talk about ustraveldocs what is this? Do i need this or will it help me at all.
 
mlily1224 said:
I got my interview on 2nd Februay :D It's sooo sooon. OC7xx. I keep hearing people talk about ustraveldocs what is this? Do i need this or will it help me at all.
Click to expand...
I am not sure about the requirements in individual countries but for that extra peace of mind, I went ahead and created an account for the Primary applicant in my case. It was not used in my country, Fiji, as we collect our passport in person the following day but it does contain a section to choose delivery address for passports; not sure if this is used by the embassy as return address of passport and docs in countries where courier is used for delivery. I say go ahead and create an account - it's free; does not take much time and does not harm your case in any way.
 
LazyDoggie said:
I am not sure about the requirements in individual countries but for that extra peace of mind, I went ahead and created an account for the Primary applicant in my case. It was not used in my country, Fiji, as we collect our passport in person the following day but it does contain a section to choose delivery address for passports; not sure if this is used by the embassy as return address of passport and docs in countries where courier is used for delivery. I say go ahead and create an account - it's free; does not take much time and does not harm your case in any way.
Click to expand...

Okay thanks :) Congrats about getting through and moving soon! :) I don't know it hasn't said anything about it being a requirement (my interview is in New Zealand) but not sure, anyway I might try and create an account anyways.
 
mlily1224 said:
I got my interview on 2nd Februay :D It's sooo sooon. OC7xx. I keep hearing people talk about ustraveldocs what is this? Do i need this or will it help me at all.
Click to expand...

You will get an email from the consulate asking you to create a ustraveldocs.com account. This is how you confirm that you are going to attend your consulate interview. Only problem is that the website isn't set up for dv-ers (at least it wasn't when we went through the process) so I ended up selecting that we were non-immigrant visa applicants, just so that all our details could be entered.
 
Okay hmm. Sounds weird -_- how soon after sending you the email that tells you that you have updates avaliable on the dv lottery site do they send you that email?
 
Yep. We were the first month to go through the ustraveldocs.com for Sydney and it was a nightmare because we were told to register and yet it isn't set up / geared to diversity lottery winners.
 
EmilyW said:
I don't think there is a need per se but, since the ustraveldocs.com site is so utterly useless for DV applicants, I certainly sent an email to them, just to confirm that we were all good to go. If you want peace of mind, it does no harm to email them. They are a pretty friendly and helpful consulate.
Click to expand...

Many thanks EmilyW, as always. Are you still on track to move as planned?
 
EmilyW said:
We are! The house has been sold (and settled). We move into a short stay apartment next week and then, first week of February, we have a one way ticket out of Melbourne. All very exciting. And very hectic.
Click to expand...

Wow! Exciting!!

Is there a particular reason why you're heading to NC? Do you have family there? We're in the process of shortlisting places we might consider. I haven't given much thought to NC but I hear Charlotte and Raleigh are actually quite nice.
 
MelbourneBen said:
Wow! Exciting!!

Is there a particular reason why you're heading to NC? Do you have family there? We're in the process of shortlisting places we might consider. I haven't given much thought to NC but I hear Charlotte and Raleigh are actually quite nice.
Click to expand...

My brother and his wife are in Boston but are planning a move down to NC in the next few years once they start a family.

For us, we had a list of 'requirements' about where we wanted to live and the only two cities that met those requirements were Portland, Oregon and Charlotte. Once we found out that it rains alot in Portland - and that my hair could not possibly cope - Charlotte it was. We did look at Raleigh as an option. I really liked it but my husband thought it was a bit sterile and lacking personality (then, he's a bogan and has too much personality so I'm not sure he's a good judge of anything).

Also, Charlotte (and NC generally) has a great expat community that is pretty welcoming.
 
Very exciting @EmilyW, looking forward to hearing how everything goes for you. I leave at the end of Feb which everybody I know thinks is "so soon," but it still feels like ages away to me! I'm absolutely itching to get there.

I have a couple of questions I'm hoping one of the experts on here will be able to kindly answer. :D

1) If I enter the US before April 15, but don't earn any US-based income before then - I still need to file a tax return anyway, correct?
2) I understand that new immigrants will be able to apply for health insurance outside of the open enrolment period as becoming an LPR I'm sure is a qualifying life event. Does anybody know whether the health insurance would start right away after purchasing, or not until the beginning of the following month, or does it depend on the company?

Thanks y'all! (Getting into the American spirit - I've already started saying happy holidays instead of merry xmas to people).
 
violetion said:
Very exciting @EmilyW, looking forward to hearing how everything goes for you. I leave at the end of Feb which everybody I know thinks is "so soon," but it still feels like ages away to me! I'm absolutely itching to get there.

I have a couple of questions I'm hoping one of the experts on here will be able to kindly answer. :D

1) If I enter the US before April 15, but don't earn any US-based income before then - I still need to file a tax return anyway, correct?
2) I understand that new immigrants will be able to apply for health insurance outside of the open enrolment period as becoming an LPR I'm sure is a qualifying life event. Does anybody know whether the health insurance would start right away after purchasing, or not until the beginning of the following month, or does it depend on the company?

Thanks y'all! (Getting into the American spirit - I've already started saying happy holidays instead of merry xmas to people).
Click to expand...

1. The US tax year is the calendar year,it is only that returns are filed in April. So if you enter at any time in 2015 you need to file in April 2016, etc.
2. Ours began the following month, no idea if this is standard or if some companies allow pro-rata payments for early starts.
 
violetion said:
Very exciting @EmilyW, looking forward to hearing how everything goes for you. I leave at the end of Feb which everybody I know thinks is "so soon," but it still feels like ages away to me! I'm absolutely itching to get there.

I have a couple of questions I'm hoping one of the experts on here will be able to kindly answer. :D

1) If I enter the US before April 15, but don't earn any US-based income before then - I still need to file a tax return anyway, correct?
2) I understand that new immigrants will be able to apply for health insurance outside of the open enrolment period as becoming an LPR I'm sure is a qualifying life event. Does anybody know whether the health insurance would start right away after purchasing, or not until the beginning of the following month, or does it depend on the company?

Thanks y'all! (Getting into the American spirit - I've already started saying happy holidays instead of merry xmas to people).
Click to expand...
No seriously you can still say Merry Christmas:) Been there 10 years. I have been here for a month now (I mean back here) and it's great not having to worry about visa stuffs anymore.:) :)
 
Linda Linda2 said:
No seriously you can still say Merry Christmas:) Been there 10 years. I have been here for a month now (I mean back here) and it's great not having to worry about visa stuffs anymore.:) :)
Click to expand...

Of course, there are large minorities of people who are not Christian and appreciate "happy holidays".
 
SusieQQQ said:
1. The US tax year is the calendar year,it is only that returns are filed in April. So if you enter at any time in 2015 you need to file in April 2016, etc.
2. Ours began the following month, no idea if this is standard or if some companies allow pro-rata payments for early starts.
Click to expand...

Thanks Susie, good to know I won't have to worry about a tax return for the coming deadline.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top