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DV 2017 OC Selectees

I don't know. We were getting off the plane and asked if we could throw it out and the hostess said no, we could throw it out in immigration. So he held his sick bag until immigration.

That was a sh*te Qantas flight generally. Two false starts on the runway. Almost non-existent service. And the plane rocked like a cradle the whole way.
 
Jasse said:
Big thanks to this forum. Visa approved in April. Going to SF for 2 weeks and LA for 1 week. Activation POE is San Francisco.

Questions:
(1) when I visit the SSA office in San Francisco to get a SSN - can SSA office send the SSN to a Virginia address instead of a California address ?
(2) can green card be sent to Virginia (as per DS260)? But I plan to live in California.
(3) can a 2 year re-entry permit be sent to Virginia as well? Even though I plan to stay in California.
(4) is there a physical address mail redirection service thing available in California? I need one to prove my address for mail purposes.
(5) open a bank account. Do I need proof of address to open an account with Chase Bank or Bank of America? I have seen in this forum that BOA doesn't need proof of address (correct)?
(6) I have an Australian Amex card - thinking of global transfer to a US Amex. When should I contact the US Amex? Do Amex want proof of address and SSN for Amex global transfer? How long does Amex card take to send? Can they send card to a Virginia address?
(7) I plan to apply for a 2 year re-entry permit in December (on my second US trip); should I do anything in the first activation trip to prepare for this re-entry permit? I can't settle in the US for 2.5 years as I'm a uni student in Australia and 2.5 more years to go.
(8) I don't have anyone i know in California. A distant cousin lives in Virginia, and the GC should arrive in Virginia address. I can't bear cold weather so will ultimately settle on the west coast.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

1. Why do you want to do this? Didn't you check the box for SSN on your DS260?
2. Yes.
3. Unsure what you mean by "sent to". Where will you be?
4. Probably, use google..
5. Chase requires proof of address.
6. Ask an Aussie
7. Sounds like it might be easier just to transfer to a US degree...
9. Not a question. Don't live in SF city itself and parts of the foggy peninsula if you're after sun, though. The east bay is hot and sunny. Or go to SoCal.
 
Jasse said:
Big thanks to this forum. Visa approved in April. Going to SF for 2 weeks and LA for 1 week. Activation POE is San Francisco.

Questions:
(1) when I visit the SSA office in San Francisco to get a SSN - can SSA office send the SSN to a Virginia address instead of a California address ?
(2) can green card be sent to Virginia (as per DS260)? But I plan to live in California.
(3) can a 2 year re-entry permit be sent to Virginia as well? Even though I plan to stay in California.
(4) is there a physical address mail redirection service thing available in California? I need one to prove my address for mail purposes.
(5) open a bank account. Do I need proof of address to open an account with Chase Bank or Bank of America? I have seen in this forum that BOA doesn't need proof of address (correct)?
(6) I have an Australian Amex card - thinking of global transfer to a US Amex. When should I contact the US Amex? Do Amex want proof of address and SSN for Amex global transfer? How long does Amex card take to send? Can they send card to a Virginia address?
(7) I plan to apply for a 2 year re-entry permit in December (on my second US trip); should I do anything in the first activation trip to prepare for this re-entry permit? I can't settle in the US for 2.5 years as I'm a uni student in Australia and 2.5 more years to go.
(8) I don't have anyone i know in California. A distant cousin lives in Virginia, and the GC should arrive in Virginia address. I can't bear cold weather so will ultimately settle on the west coast.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Check page 74 of this forum for Amex Global Transfer info.
 
guestgulkan said:
You could try using a UPS store mailbox, but some banks won't accept them.

UPS stores will happily forward your mail to Australia. I've been doing it for years.
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Curious as to what organisations or which bank(s) if any would accept these?

Couldn't find the price on the website - says it depends on the store. Could you give a rough estimate?

Thanks
 
lottic said:
Curious as to what organisations or which bank(s) if any would accept these?

Couldn't find the price on the website - says it depends on the store. Could you give a rough estimate?
Click to expand...

Capital One is very liberal with postal addresses. Don't try it with Bank of America.

~$250 a year. Make sure you tell them you want your mail forwarded to Australia and that they take your Australian postal address, email address and get a copy of your credit/debit card (might require US debit card?). This way they can forward all your mail and deduct it from your card. They'll send you an email when some mail arrives and you just tell them to forward it and give the oz address. Or you can email them after a few months to ask them to look.

You're dealing with a human store owner not a big corporation so they're normally really good. One time I even got the UPS store guy to open an iphone I received, activate the sim / phone, then re-package and mail it. I told him to bill me an extra $20 service fee and he refused.
 
^^ I've only had experience with a couple of UPS stores (albeit a good number of times each) but agree, they tend to be very friendly and helpful.
 
guestgulkan said:
Capital One is very liberal with postal addresses. Don't try it with Bank of America.

~$250 a year. Make sure you tell them you want your mail forwarded to Australia and that they take your Australian postal address, email address and get a copy of your credit/debit card (might require US debit card?). This way they can forward all your mail and deduct it from your card. They'll send you an email when some mail arrives and you just tell them to forward it and give the oz address. Or you can email them after a few months to ask them to look.

You're dealing with a human store owner not a big corporation so they're normally really good. One time I even got the UPS store guy to open an iphone I received, activate the sim / phone, then re-package and mail it. I told him to bill me an extra $20 service fee and he refused.
Click to expand...

That sounds great. Thanks for the tips @guestgulkan !
 
RejectedSpark said:
For me, I didn't really do anything with the ustraveldocs website, apart from register. The time and date of your interview is set by the 2NL; the ustraveldocs website seems to be just a way to register your email address for communication...? Not sure. But this was the steps that I went through:

Received 2NL
Registered with ustraveldocs
Received email from consulate asking to confirm attendance
Responded to consulate to confirm I would attend

And that was it.
Click to expand...

I had a similar experience, I didn't register my appointment date/time with ustraveldocs. The appointment was set in the 2NL.

I received an email from the Sydney consulate asking to confirm attendance, I responded then then received a reply.

Afterwards I logged into ustraveldocs and couldn't see my appointment on the ustraveldocs portal so I sent a message asking if my appointment is in fact confirmed and they replied 2 business days later confirming the appointment is as scheduled.
 
Hey is anyone following up with that spreadsheet for all the DV2017 selectees? I think the girl that was originally going to update the list isn't interested in her green card anymore
 
TomPerth said:
I had a similar experience, I didn't register my appointment date/time with ustraveldocs. The appointment was set in the 2NL.

I received an email from the Sydney consulate asking to confirm attendance, I responded then then received a reply.

Afterwards I logged into ustraveldocs and couldn't see my appointment on the ustraveldocs portal so I sent a message asking if my appointment is in fact confirmed and they replied 2 business days later confirming the appointment is as scheduled.
Click to expand...

My theory - the USTraveldocs site is integrated with their computer system somehow and saves them some typing.
 
Anyone activating in the last 2 weeks of September? Tickets to the US (any state) are so much more expensive compared to early sept and early october ... Just a heads up
 
I have a few questions about the medical I was hoping someone could shed some light on:

1. They (the panel doctor) asked for Australian passport photos but I thought the documentation from the embassy states US passport photos for both the medical and interview? Did others end up giving Australian passport photos to the doctor and US passport photos to the US consulate interviewer?

2. After the medical, what sort of documents do they put in the envelope? I am getting it sent to me back by post and am concerned the contents could get damaged. e.g. Australia post person bends envelope. Has anyone has their medical report documents mailed to them? Should I be concerned?

3. Visa validity - my friend had his medical done one week prior to his US consulate interview and it seems they only gave him 5 months from the interview date rather than somewhere between 5 and 6 months. Is this the case for others? I am doing my medical about 26 days before the interview date, so should I expect 5 months to activate the visa?

Thank you.

-Tom
 
TomPerth said:
I have a few questions about the medical I was hoping someone could shed some light on:

1. They (the panel doctor) asked for Australian passport photos but I thought the documentation from the embassy states US passport photos for both the medical and interview? Did others end up giving Australian passport photos to the doctor and US passport photos to the US consulate interviewer?

2. After the medical, what sort of documents do they put in the envelope? I am getting it sent to me back by post and am concerned the contents could get damaged. e.g. Australia post person bends envelope. Has anyone has their medical report documents mailed to them? Should I be concerned?

3. Visa validity - my friend had his medical done one week prior to his US consulate interview and it seems they only gave him 5 months from the interview date rather than somewhere between 5 and 6 months. Is this the case for others? I am doing my medical about 26 days before the interview date, so should I expect 5 months to activate the visa?

Thank you.

-Tom
Click to expand...

1. Yes - you might need photos for both steps.
2. No concern. Relax.
3. Typically it is medical date + 6 months
 
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