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DV 2016 OC Selectees

violetion said:
Crazy to think I've now almost been here for seven months. I have just officially found my first real job in Hollywood (and pretty much my first actual job out of college as well) which I'm very excited about. I managed to land an internship straight away when I got here and that finished end of June, so it's taken me a few months to get something permanent, but persistence is key I've found! I actually think being an Aussie worked to my advantage in the interview since she seemed to be impressed that I was ambitious enough about making it in the entertainment biz to move all the way across the pacific.

I feel unbelievably lucky to be here doing this and I think when coming over here it's easy to get caught up with achieving more and moving up, but it's important to remember to stop and think that just being here is an achievement in itself. So when anyone inevitably moving struggles with finding their feet and getting work, it's important not to be too hard on oneself!
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Congrats, violetion! Well done.
That must be a dream come true! :D
 
Quiwi said:
Hi, I'm planning to move April next year which will be a few months before my 1 year date since activation back in May.
In the mean time I was going to travel to the US and check out a few places to live etc for a couple of weeks before coming back here and sorting things for the big move.
Will I be allowed to do that? Read about re-entry permits but they're only for if I would be out of the USA for over a year. I'd only be out for 6 months before doing the full move, will they have issues with me doing so? Would my GC be at risk?
Thanks :)
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That is no problem.
 
Does anyone know how I can get my receipt number for when I ordered my physical Card?

I printed the confirmation page and it doesn't have the receipt number on it.

I'm moving to the US in Jan, but I have my sisters wedding in early march and worried I wont have my physical card to travel back to Australia for the wedding.

I activated my VISA on 10 Feb, so my passport VISA in my understanding is only valid until 10 Feb,

Any advice?
 
trezonk said:
Does anyone know how I can get my receipt number for when I ordered my physical Card?

I printed the confirmation page and it doesn't have the receipt number on it.

I'm moving to the US in Jan, but I have my sisters wedding in early march and worried I wont have my physical card to travel back to Australia for the wedding.

I activated my VISA on 10 Feb, so my passport VISA in my understanding is only valid until 10 Feb,

Any advice?
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I'm a bit confused about you saying you "ordered" it. Card production is triggered when you enter the US on an immigrant visa. The only delay for receiving it will be if you delayed paying your green card fee. Assuming you didn't wait till the last couple of months to pay the green card fee, you should have received it months ago - have you followed up with uscis at all?
 
Hey Susie,

I mean when I paid for my green card, I didn't get a receipt number.

Yeah, I haven't received my physical card, and wanting to follow it up, but the only way it seems I can do that is if I fill in the form requiring the receipt number. I put in a general query from (cant remember exactly what it was called) but they said they don't email receipt numbers. I tried calling the help number, but couldn't navigate the menus to be able to talk to someone.

Hope this helps
 
trezonk said:
Hey Susie,

I mean when I paid for my green card, I didn't get a receipt number.

Yeah, I haven't received my physical card, and wanting to follow it up, but the only way it seems I can do that is if I fill in the form requiring the receipt number. I put in a general query from (cant remember exactly what it was called) but they said they don't email receipt numbers. I tried calling the help number, but couldn't navigate the menus to be able to talk to someone.

Hope this helps
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When did you pay, before you left Australia?

There's a thread on using ELIS to track green production, it's changed since my day but the last few pages may have some info for you on how to get your receipt number - others there have successfully done so. Suggest you scan it and see if it helps - go towards the end as the early pages are the old system. http://forums.immigration.com/threads/tracking-gc-delivery-via-uscis-elis.317222/
 
Hi, everyone! I've been here in the US over 6 months now and I still don't have my permanent residence card. I called them on my first months about my green card and they said that there was a delay in their system that they could not release my green card.
Another concern of mine is the immigrant fee receipt. I know I have paid it before I went here. Does anyone know where can I access my immigrant fee receipt number? I called them and they said that I must have this receipt number before they can provide service for me. Can someone post a sample photo of immigrant receipt fee so that I can find the specific form I have here?
Thank You!
 
juanpaulo1998 said:
Hi, everyone! I've been here in the US over 6 months now and I still don't have my permanent residence card. I called them on my first months about my green card and they said that there was a delay in their system that they could not release my green card.
Another concern of mine is the immigrant fee receipt. I know I have paid it before I went here. Does anyone know where can I access my immigrant fee receipt number? I called them and they said that I must have this receipt number before they can provide service for me. Can someone post a sample photo of immigrant receipt fee so that I can find the specific form I have here?
Thank You!
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Most people have been able to contact USCIS and get USCIS to look up their payment and provide the receipt number.
 
Britsimon said:
3. Some people do that - but at some point you need to show you are putting down roots in the USA.
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I wondered how many pages the thread would have added since I last looked in, but it seems it ran aground just one post after I last visited! I guess the election was a surprise for more than a few of us...

But I'm popping back to ask about how events this year may have affected this ^^ post of Simon's that I remembered. I did my activation trip in September last year, and am weighing up making sure I get over for good before my entry date, vs going over for a week or two in August to do some apartment hunting, job applying, picking up my physical green card and SS from the friends that are holding them, and opening a bank account -- then coming back for 5-10 weeks to wrap up affairs here. In a more cautious climate around immigration, would having that sort of evidence that I was setting up my permanent residence, plus the bountiful cloak of white privilege, be enough to cover any questions about returning after my 12-month cut-off?

(I realised nobody has definite answers to this, but any general thoughts would be welcome.)
 
innerwestern said:
I wondered how many pages the thread would have added since I last looked in, but it seems it ran aground just one post after I last visited! I guess the election was a surprise for more than a few of us...
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More likely the fact that as a 2016 thread it's totally out of date now...the 2018 ones are already in action.
 
I think you'd be better making the next trip a one-way final trip, as opposed to another short one. If you do decide to do another short trip, make sure your obligations are in order (i.e. that you've filed your taxes for 2016 at a minimum).
 
EmilyW said:
I think you'd be better making the next trip a one-way final trip, as opposed to another short one. If you do decide to do another short trip, make sure your obligations are in order (i.e. that you've filed your taxes for 2016 at a minimum).
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Filing tax was another of the the things I was planning to do on the theoretical "establishing" trip to show evidence, yes* - as I understand it, with the Australian tax year ending in July, I won't have group certs and lodging paperwork for tax paid over here until then, and it'd be much safer to take those to a US tax person to file & walk me through the details than to try & figure out online myself.

Thanks for your advice Emily, and thanks Susie - I'll happily take my question to the 2018 thread if it wouldn't be out of place.

*(also having another, one-way, flight into the US booked.)
 
innerwestern said:
Filing tax was another of the the things I was planning to do on the theoretical "establishing" trip to show evidence, yes* - as I understand it, with the Australian tax year ending in July, I won't have group certs and lodging paperwork for tax paid over here until then, and it'd be much safer to take those to a US tax person to file & walk me through the details than to try & figure out online myself.

Thanks for your advice Emily, and thanks Susie - I'll happily take my question to the 2018 thread if it wouldn't be out of place.

*(also having another, one-way, flight into the US booked.)
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So you activated last year but haven't filed 2016 taxes yet?

US tax people can't really help with the different tax years btw. You just need to do the calculations yourself of what the relevant portion for the US is, and keep notes on how you did that in case the IRS decides to follow up (knock on wood, they didn't with me even through some quite complex issues). Unless you're super earning, the few months of the year that you were resident probably falls within the foreign income exemption anyway re tax owing.

I think there's an automatic filing extension if you're still currently residing overseas, as you're obviously some months past the main filing deadline already; it wasn't something I felt entirely comfortable using as, well, you're officially saying that you're residing outside the US. We did use it our first year but I'm going to be nervous about it until I've naturalized...

I agree with Emily that popping over for a week to activate, waiting nearly a year then popping back in for another couple of weeks before leaving again is probably not going to be looked on well, regardless of who the president is. I can almost guarantee you that at best you'll get a lecture from CBP about residence requirements and a notation in your passport that you have been so advised. Your activation trip should have been used already to start showing ties, not waiting for another almost whole year to do so and to be frank, after a year the excuse (to CBP, don't worry about me) about still needing to tie things up is going to sound thin, unless there were serious unanticipated things happening like serious illness.

* the point about the 2018 thread was simply that you shouldn't be surprised that no one is still writing on a two year old thread...these kind of questions are more suited to a "been there done that" type of thread than selectees still getting organized for interview/reporting on those etc thread.
 
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SusieQQQ said:
... still needing to tie things up is going to sound thin, unless there were serious unanticipated things happening like serious illness.
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(Aging & for-several-months incapacitated parental issues during the year, hoping on another month being a final (after several years trying) shot at convincing / helping her to move out of a big, falling-apart suburban house into something manageable for the future. Not an excuse I'd think was a concern of CBP, but personally concerned about trying to resolve before I'm no longer here to do anything.)
 
Whatever you may or may not think "concerns" CBP, you do need to realize that (1) your travel history, especially if you only intend to go back for a couple of weeks, plus (2) the fact that it sounds like you didn't do any of the usual things like open bank accounts on your activation trip, and moreover taking into account (3) the fact that you haven't yet filed 2016 taxes, is almost certain to raise flags to the officer admitting you. None of these on their own sounds like someone serious about residency, all 3 put together even more so. It's not us you need to convince with reasons or excuses. You do need imo to expect some serious questions on your entry attempt. As Emily indicated already, the best option to you now is to go back on a one way ticket and not appear to be arriving for another two week stint.
 
I meant not their concern as in yes, they wouldn't be swayed by it, as it doesn't relate to them - vs having been a problem and significant diversion for me. That old post of Simon's just bubbled to my mind as my intended departure approached with this still hanging unresolved. Thank you both, especially for the urging re taxes - non-immigrant Americans I've spoken to had universally recommended not trying to file without a professional.
 
Definitely do not file taxes without a professional's. I don't know how those who use Turbo Tax are declaring their superannuation and foreign bank accounts, nor how they are complying with FBAR requirements. Especially when it comes to getting citizenship down the road, it's better to keep your nose clean and have someone knowledgeable do your taxes.
 
innerwestern said:
I meant not their concern as in yes, they wouldn't be swayed by it, as it doesn't relate to them - vs having been a problem and significant diversion for me. That old post of Simon's just bubbled to my mind as my intended departure approached with this still hanging unresolved. Thank you both, especially for the urging re taxes - non-immigrant Americans I've spoken to had universally recommended not trying to file without a professional.
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EmilyW said:
Definitely do not file taxes without a professional's. I don't know how those who use Turbo Tax are declaring their superannuation and foreign bank accounts, nor how they are complying with FBAR requirements. Especially when it comes to getting citizenship down the road, it's better to keep your nose clean and have someone knowledgeable do your taxes.
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Indeed. You don't have to be face to face with a professional to use one. I never met the first tax person who submitted my part-year-resident tax return for me (it was someone recommended by someone I knew, though.)
Although, FBAR is dead easy to fill in yourself, I don't see a need to get a professional to do that?

I don't want to sound overly harsh (though, I might) but - you've had almost a year to think about all these things - and they are not the type of things you should be rushing to do at the last minute if you want to do them properly. I'd suggest taking a step back, look at your situation objectively, and do what needs to be done properly. That includes deciding on how you approach your next trip and, if it's another short stay, what you'd do if CBP "offers" for you to hand back your green card. Unlikely but not impossible.
 
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