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DV 2016 OC Selectees

I've never heard of anyone using a guarantor? Your options may be slightly more limited re some landlords who have a surfeit of applicants and rigid requirements but I know plenty people who arrived with no credit record and managed to rent (and yes, decent places!) Where are you headed, gemka?
 
Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone knew much about getting a re-entry permit? Our plans have changed slightly, and as a result, I think I'll need to organise a re-entry permit as we'll be wanting to stay outside the US for longer than a year. Does anyone one know roughly how long we'd need to be in the US to organise the permit? Can it be done in most cities? If we went to the US for about a month, do you think we'd be able to get everything organised? As far as I'm aware, you only need to physically be present to file the form and do the biometrics; I believe you can be outside the US whilst it is processed.

We DEFINITELY want to move to the US but just want to delay the move for a little bit.

If it makes any difference, our GC's were activated in Hawaii on 28 February 2016.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ben
 
Hey all - quick Q - arrived in the US around 2 weeks ago and a week ago, moved into an apartment in SF

with regards to advising the USCIS of change of address, does this also send the green card to the new address? in my case, i'd prefer it still get sent to my friend's house. In short, should I still submit the change of address? any tips?

Thanks!
 
EmilyW said:
We have HSBC accounts purely because they will transfer your Australian credit score across. And it's worked a treat. Within a month of being here, our scores were in the 700s. But we have also used used the account to wire money across as HSBC's premium offering meets the rates the brokers offer on the Australian dollar.

Having said that....Day 1 of getting here, you can open bank accounts (Bank of America don't care if you don't have your SSN yet) and get yourself a secured credit card. That's an easy way to build your credit fast. HSBC have a very limited branch network here which makes doing your day to day banking near impossible.

We have Bank of American accounts for our day to day and are now just keeping the HSBC open until all our money is transferred across. We have loved HSBC. We made contact with an Australian working for HSBC in New York who facilitated everything for us. It made the transition very easy.
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Hi Emily,
Thank you for your message and information. Very useful, as always.

One last question-I promise.

I am planning on moving to New York. I am going to fly to NYC and activate my Green Card and SS.

Do I then need to stay in the country for a period of time before leaving? ie was wanting to have a short holiday before I start the job hunt etc...

Thank you again for your assistance.

Hugh
 
I'd been so focused on getting through the whole DV process I never really sat down and thought fully about all the things involved if I ever got past my interview stage :p
Freaking out a little internally.
But I'm thankful there's heaps of information here from all you wonderful people to help me through :)

So, flying to Hawaii in 3 weeks to activate (yay) and have a couple days to myself to celebrate :D

Then I'm planning to move by the end of the year hopefully :)
 
BossEisley said:
Hey all - quick Q - arrived in the US around 2 weeks ago and a week ago, moved into an apartment in SF

with regards to advising the USCIS of change of address, does this also send the green card to the new address? in my case, i'd prefer it still get sent to my friend's house. In short, should I still submit the change of address? any tips?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Submitting a change of address online via USCIS does not seem to affect where your card gets sent judging by past reports (from people who had hoped it would). Remember you need to let USCIS know of change of address within 10 days of moving. You can do so online.
 
HughAustralia said:
Hi Emily,
Thank you for your message and information. Very useful, as always.

One last question-I promise.

I am planning on moving to New York. I am going to fly to NYC and activate my Green Card and SS.

Do I then need to stay in the country for a period of time before leaving? ie was wanting to have a short holiday before I start the job hunt etc...

Thank you again for your assistance.

Hugh
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You can get off the plane, activate and then come home again the same day. You don't have to stay for a specific period, although it's worth using the activation trip to open bank accounts and speak to prospective employers. I had lunches with my contacts and their contacts and met with recruitment agencies, just so that, when I eventually moved, the job search would not be as daunting.
 
SusieQQQ said:
I've never heard of anyone using a guarantor? Your options may be slightly more limited re some landlords who have a surfeit of applicants and rigid requirements but I know plenty people who arrived with no credit record and managed to rent (and yes, decent places!) Where are you headed, gemka?
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Thanks @SusieQQQ - we're moving to NYC and I've heard a lot about how insanely competitive the rental market is there, and that you basically need to give them your firstborn to get an apartment. But it's nice to hear you guys say you think it can be done!
 
Britsimon said:
Well the smart move would be to try that - regardless of what anyone here "thinks". You really shouldn't need a guarantor. Get printouts of Australian credit reports (do the same with driving and insurance records BTW to get lower insurance premiums). When looking for an apartment, you can show cash in the bank, the Aus credit reports and so on. For many landlords that will be enough.
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Thanks @Britsimon :) I'll definitely get all of the credit and insurance reports ready. Man, in Melbourne it's like, 'I want to live in this house', and the landlord says, 'cool'. That's about as formal as it gets!!
 
SusieQQQ said:
Submitting a change of address online via USCIS does not seem to affect where your card gets sent judging by past reports (from people who had hoped it would). Remember you need to let USCIS know of change of address within 10 days of moving. You can do so online.
Click to expand...

Thanks Susie :)

on this page, https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange - i notice that it has options for a pending case - I presume if I haven't received the GC yet, then I am a pending case? I'm just wondering, for the next step there are about thirty different 'form types', do you know which form type a DV GC is?
 
BossEisley said:
Thanks Susie :)

on this page, https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange - i notice that it has options for a pending case - I presume if I haven't received the GC yet, then I am a pending case? I'm just wondering, for the next step there are about thirty different 'form types', do you know which form type a DV GC is?
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I stand corrected but afaik you do not have a pending case - I understand that to be one in which a decision has yet to be made ( for example having an active adjustment of status application filed but not decided on yet). So once you choose no, I am sure the form is simple. I remember it being exceptionally straightforward.

Also, once you have entered all (unconditional) GCs are equal. DV or something else, principal or derivative, once you have a GC they are all equal so DV is now irrelevant to you except as a fun conversation topic :)
 
SusieQQQ said:
I stand corrected but afaik you do not have a pending case - I understand that to be one in which a decision has yet to be made ( for example having an active adjustment of status application filed but not decided on yet). So once you choose no, I am sure the form is simple. I remember it being exceptionally straightforward.

Also, once you have entered all (unconditional) GCs are equal. DV or something else, principal or derivative, once you have a GC they are all equal so DV is now irrelevant to you except as a fun conversation topic :)
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ah ok :) that makes sense now. i'll just submit as non pending and yes that is a lot simpler form. thanks for your help!
 
Hi guys,

We had our interview yesterday in Sydney - everything went well and really smoothly, no questions asked other than what is your profession.

We did not get our visas approved on the spot (a bit sad when I saw the yellow sheet) because my wife's medical report was missing some info (she was caught drinking and driving 4 years back thus that info should have been reflected in report some where). However the case officer said it was all good and we would get our visas as soon as they got the missing info (they kept our passports - which I assume is good). The whole process took around 1 hour (we got there at 8:30am) however as we left we so way too more people so I'm guessing we were in the first groping. They seemed not to care about CVs and other documents other than the requirements....

Lucky enough the doctor is based in Martin place (5 minutes from the consulate) and really a nice lady so we ran to her place and got everything sorted yesterday. Thus the consulate should be receiving the amended report today.

We saw a person being rejected because some issues around the country of origin - he was from South Africa but put down Australia (or something like that). Another family was doing the process and it seemed to be going well for them.

I want to thank all of you guys - your advice and tips helped us get through this (very much appreciated it)


Many thanks ;););)
 
Carlos/Maria said:
Hi guys,

We had our interview yesterday in Sydney - everything went well and really smoothly, no questions asked other than what is your profession.

We did not get our visas approved on the spot (a bit sad when I saw the yellow sheet) because my wife's medical report was missing some info (she was caught drinking and driving 4 years back thus that info should have been reflected in report some where). However the case officer said it was all good and we would get our visas as soon as they got the missing info (they kept our passports - which I assume is good). The whole process took around 1 hour (we got there at 8:30am) however as we left we so way too more people so I'm guessing we were in the first groping. They seemed not to care about CVs and other documents other than the requirements....

Lucky enough the doctor is based in Martin place (5 minutes from the consulate) and really a nice lady so we ran to her place and got everything sorted yesterday. Thus the consulate should be receiving the amended report today.

We saw a person being rejected because some issues around the country of origin - he was from South Africa but put down Australia (or something like that). Another family was doing the process and it seemed to be going well for them.

I want to thank all of you guys - your advice and tips helped us get through this (very much appreciated it)


Many thanks ;););)
Click to expand...


Congrats!
 
Carlos/Maria said:
Hi guys,

We had our interview yesterday in Sydney - everything went well and really smoothly, no questions asked other than what is your profession.

We did not get our visas approved on the spot (a bit sad when I saw the yellow sheet) because my wife's medical report was missing some info (she was caught drinking and driving 4 years back thus that info should have been reflected in report some where). However the case officer said it was all good and we would get our visas as soon as they got the missing info (they kept our passports - which I assume is good). The whole process took around 1 hour (we got there at 8:30am) however as we left we so way too more people so I'm guessing we were in the first groping. They seemed not to care about CVs and other documents other than the requirements....

Lucky enough the doctor is based in Martin place (5 minutes from the consulate) and really a nice lady so we ran to her place and got everything sorted yesterday. Thus the consulate should be receiving the amended report today.

We saw a person being rejected because some issues around the country of origin - he was from South Africa but put down Australia (or something like that). Another family was doing the process and it seemed to be going well for them.

I want to thank all of you guys - your advice and tips helped us get through this (very much appreciated it)


Many thanks ;););)
Click to expand...

Yes the denial was someone born in South Africa, but holding Australian citizenship. Zero chance of approval.
 
Britsimon said:
Yes the denial was someone born in South Africa, but holding Australian citizenship. Zero chance of approval.
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SusieQQQ said:
These cases constantly amaze me. Why don't people just read the darn instructions????
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The ones that puzzle me more are those that apply (and get selected), with no real intention on following through. They tie up CN spots that could otherwise have (potentially) be given to someone that really wants to make the move.

Still, there's no helping different human natures I guess.
 
MattWatt said:
The ones that puzzle me more are those that apply (and get selected), with no real intention on following through. They tie up CN spots that could otherwise have (potentially) be given to someone that really wants to make the move.

Still, there's no helping different human natures I guess.
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Yeah but that's why they select more CNs, so that isn't an issue.
 
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