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DV 2019 Oceania Selectees

Hi all, I just returned from activation trip so thought I’d share my experience abt processing at LAX for those with connecting flights. We booked the MEL – JFK flight with Qantas that included a 1 hour 50 min stopover in LAX. Just to let others know that the stopover is tight but it can be done!

Here is a detailed description if you feel like reading . . .
Leading up to the flight I called Qantas to explain our situation with our processing required in LAX etc and asked if we could get some assistance to have priority exiting the plane or expedite queues etc but there was nothing they could do. Also asked at check-in with same response. When you get off the plane there are Qantas staff handing out orange express passes for all those with connecting flights, in particular to JFK. Make sure you grab one of these! When you make your way up the stairs . . . along passage ways . . . down the stairs into immigration look for the orange signs for the express pass line. I asked an immigration officer that we are migrating & showed him the sealed packets etc but he didn’t care and pointed to the end of the queue. The queue is for the automated customs kiosk but it moves fast so when we got to the front I showed our packets to the next officer and was directed away from the kiosks to another queue. By this time we had 15 mins left until boarding of JFK flight started, but just had to be patient and work our way to front & when it was our turn at the booth the officer looked over our stuff and told us to wait on the side and another officer will collect us. By the time the other officer came our flight had already started boarding. We were walked over to a spare booth just further down where the officer opened the packets, checked our mailing address, stamped our visas in passport and sent us on our way. We then had to rush to baggage carousel and it was pretty much just our bags on there, so grabbed them and there were Qantas staff around that pointed us in the direction of bag drop off. There was another long queue to get to bag drop off but luckily I still had the orange express passes in my hand showed them to another officer and explained that my JFK flight was already boarding so we were allowed to go to the front of the line! Then we get to another section where there is a guy calling out “anyone on QF to JFK” we handed him our bags which he threw on a random conveyor belt to somewhere. Kept on running through to security check, had to queue up there again, passport is checked, go through security (note: shoes must be removed) then run to gate. We weren’t the last to board but there weren’t many behind us so probably had another 15 mins max before missing our flight.
Good luck everybody!

Hi everyone - for those who arrived into LAX in the morning as their activation trip, how long did it roughly take in the queue (and to be processed by the USCIS agent)?

I arrive at 7AM and am looking at booking an onward domestic flight. There's a 10.30AM option but I'm not sure if I'm taking a risk by not allowing enough time for processing (the other options are 12.30PM / 1.40PM)...

Also, for those booking/or have done the activation trip (and stayed around a month) and have returned back to Australia, did you consider a medical insurance plan? Simon's website was quite helpful in suggesting some companies that offer 'Green Card Insurance' but I have a frequent traveler insurance plan. It seems like I might be able to use this given that I still have Australian residency (an address, Medicare card, willingness to be repatriated to Australia) and my trip is under the 60 day period of cover... I'd be curious to hear if anyone has had any experiences or research into this!
 
The consular officer was very nice about it and I handed over my original Masters degree from Columbia University which he said was enough.

So just to clarify mate, the CO said the Masters degree was enough for the education criteria, without worrying about occupation/employment criteria?
 
Hi Guys

So did my activation trip yesterday via LAX and phew it was crazy but it’s done now #cheers

Activation Trip Report

Arrived in Lax via Brisbane at 17:20 yesterday afternoon. Flight was great aside from me not sleeping. We have to wait on the tarmac for our gate to clear as the plane before us is having issues.

Deplane at 17:45 and go straight through to customs. There are a lot, I mean a lot of folks lined up already but I remain positive and jump in line.

Am directed to go to the Immigragtion machines where I say to the girl that there is no section for me on the machine. She looks at the machine and asks me why I don’t have a visa (cue the urge to start hyperventilating) I say to her that’s why I’m here to activate my permanent residency. She directs me to the exit line.

Confused I stand in line there are probably around 600 people in line but I am thankful that it’s not the other cue which has well over 1000.

We wait and I resign myself to the fact that I’m going to more than likely miss my next flight.
We get to the front of the exit line only to see it joins up to the other cue mentioned above. Yup am really going to mis my other fight.

I get to the front of the line at 8:25 pm and the customs officer is nice but annoyed everyone hasn’t filled out the blue and white declaration form for food and money. He checks the draw and he doesn’t have any left so sends me back to get some thankfully I’m allowed to leave my bags and grab them.

He takes my finger prints and photo and tells me. To wait while he makes a phone call to get someone to come and grab me. He goes on a break after that.

25 mins later I’m still waiting and the officer returns he waved me over and says give me the packet you can go. I hand the packet to him and say is that it? He says yup. And I sprint a la Flo Jo to try and get on the next flight. Which I do thankfully.


So in summary.
4 hours of waiting in line at LAX
No taken to a second area to secondary processing
I’m a Legal Permanent Resident
 
*sidenote. The officer didn’t open the packet or check that my address was still good which it is by the way. He did stamp my passport though and write DV1 in it so that’s good.
 
Congrats mijoro!

Though I am confused when you say you didn’t have a visa? You had an immigrant visa, did it not scan in the machine or what?
 
I’ve been working on condensing all my worldly possessions into 2-3 boxes in preparation for my big move in January. Can anyone recommend a company to ship from Sydney to LA by sea?
 
I’ve been working on condensing all my worldly possessions into 2-3 boxes in preparation for my big move in January. Can anyone recommend a company to ship from Sydney to LA by sea?
I just used Pack and Send. Sent around 100 Kg for around $1000 AUD. Its expensive but super quick and got there in three days - it even beat me over. i looked into sea freight, but unless you have a pallet or a container it just seemed too much hassle. I am going to bring over a container in mid 2020!
 
Congrats mijoro!

Though I am confused when you say you didn’t have a visa? You had an immigrant visa, did it not scan in the machine or what?

The machine was for citizens lpr esta etc. as I hadn’t activated mine yet I didn’t know if it would scan. She just said go to the back of the line seeing as how I didn’t have a visa.
 
She just said go to the back of the line seeing as how I didn’t have a visa.

This is quite unusual. Are you saying the embassy did not put an immigrant visa on your passport when the passport was returned to you after your interview?
 
This is quite unusual. Are you saying the embassy did not put an immigrant visa on your passport when the passport was returned to you after your interview?
I think its just the machines that check your passport when you first arrive - I was told I didnt need to use them and just to join the queue to see the immigration officer.
I think the machine asks if you have a visa but doesnt recognise the status of our visas on first entry - we're not quite LPRs yet and we dont have an ESTA
 
I think its just the machines that check your passport when you first arrive - I was told I didnt need to use them and just to join the queue to see the immigration officer.
I think the machine asks if you have a visa but doesnt recognise the status of our visas on first entry - we're not quite LPRs yet and we dont have an ESTA

I know that. I understand you’re not yet a LPR until your immigrant visa gets validated and endorsed, which is when you officially become a LPR. And once that visa foil is endorsed, it is no longer a “visa” by the way, it becomes a temporary GC.

What I’m trying to understand (and I believe Susie too, since she asked a similar question) is how @Mijoro keeps saying she had no visa. I don’t get that.
 
The machine was for citizens lpr esta etc. as I hadn’t activated mine yet I didn’t know if it would scan. She just said go to the back of the line seeing as how I didn’t have a visa.
But..you did have a visa. That’s what I don’t understand.
 
The visa foils for immigrant visas are the same format as tourist, J visas, work visas, student visas etc. There are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of non tourist visas out there every month. I promise you the machines know how to read them all. That’s why they are called machine readable visas.
 
The visa foils for immigrant visas are the same format as tourist, J visas, work visas, student visas etc. There are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of non tourist visas out there every month. I promise you the machines know how to read them all. That’s why they are called machine readable visas.

Oh my, so, you learn something every day, in fact these kiosk machines do NOT read visas that are not standard B1/B2 or crew visas - only the machines on the CBP officer desks read those. So apologies for the earlier statement.
Still, mijoro had a visa in her passport ;)
 
Oh my, so, you learn something every day, in fact these kiosk machines do NOT read visas that are not standard B1/B2 or crew visas - only the machines on the CBP officer desks read those. So apologies for the earlier statement.
Still, mijoro had a visa in her passport ;)
Yes that was my understanding, its why they tell you that you can skip the automated machines when you first arrive. You are correct though, she (we all) have the visa in our passport - its the big beautiful sticker we all spend hours excitedly staring at when we first get it :cool:
 
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