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DV 2021 Oceania Selectees

Archer87 said:
Hi everybody!

My family and I arrived in Dallas about 36 hours ago, and I thought I'd update on our journey.

Upon arrival at DFW airport we followed the signs to the "foreign nationals" line where there was an estimated wait of <2 minutes. It turned out to be more like 15 to get to the head of the queue due to two people head of us having issues, and when we got to the head of the line the Homeland Security officer took our biometrics and without any questions ushered us in to the secondary screening room.

My wife nervously asked why we were taken aside to that room and I answered honestly: "I don't know, maybe we're about to be rejected and deported and maybe he thinks we'll be more comfortable waiting here where there's seats, a soda vending machine, and a little playground for kids". It turns out it was the latter (thankfully!) because after about 30 minutes waiting we were called up to the desk and the officer tossed our passports through the hole, said "there you go", and pointed us at the door. No questions, not even "is the mailing address for your green card and SSN still the same?" (fortunately it is!).

So now we're in our AirBnB getting over the exhaustion from the flights. Tomorrow we go shopping for all the necessities - bank account, cell phone, car, etc.

I've got a couple of interviews for work this week so its all going really well.

One question: does anybody know how I can check the progress of the SSN and green card issuance? I assume there's a website or something...
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Congrats - this is very exciting!
 
People who have headed over to USA already - what's a ballpark figure for the amount of money you spent for this process? I've set aside 5k for the interview, medical fee's, health insurance, flights and moving over for a month/accommodation/food. I'm wondering if this is enough?
 
jacknz99 said:
People who have headed over to USA already - what's a ballpark figure for the amount of money you spent for this process? I've set aside 5k for the interview, medical fee's, health insurance, flights and moving over for a month/accommodation/food. I'm wondering if this is enough?
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A lot of factors depend on total cost, for example Single applicant, or family.

Medical Fees, NZ from what people are saying is around $800, in AUS, mine was done for $500, Flight cost will also depend on time and where you are going through. Same with accomodation/transport and living expenses in the USA. West coast & East Coast are a lot more expensive then mid west for example.

$5k probably wont last a month if you are including it for interview, medical fees, and flights and health insurance.
 
jacknz99 said:
People who have headed over to USA already - what's a ballpark figure for the amount of money you spent for this process? I've set aside 5k for the interview, medical fee's, health insurance, flights and moving over for a month/accommodation/food. I'm wondering if this is enough?
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I came over with a little over 10k usd and after buying a cheap car and furniture and rent for 2 months I don’t have a lot left. 5k sounds like misery tbh. 10k minimum I think.
 
AshleyMarleyNZ said:
I came over with a little over 10k usd and after buying a cheap car and furniture and rent for 2 months I don’t have a lot left. 5k sounds like misery tbh. 10k minimum I think.
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Great, thanks. The flight was so cheap for me $700 ish to LA but yeah didn't think about a car. How much was your health insurance in USA per month?
 
Archer87 said:
I paid AU$4500 for six weeks in an AirBnB plus AU$4750 for flights. Add in the taxi to the AirBnB and the first day of meals and thats AU$10,000 to get through arrival and the first 24 hours.
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Hey, thanks for sharing - I am assuming you are a family? What are you paying in health insurance per month in USA per adult?
 
Green&Gold said:
A lot of factors depend on total cost, for example Single applicant, or family.

Medical Fees, NZ from what people are saying is around $800, in AUS, mine was done for $500, Flight cost will also depend on time and where you are going through. Same with accomodation/transport and living expenses in the USA. West coast & East Coast are a lot more expensive then mid west for example.

$5k probably wont last a month if you are including it for interview, medical fees, and flights and health insurance.
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Thnks for this feedback - I'm going over solo. Haven't had alot of work due to covid hence, I want to stick to a budget but I do have alot of savings. I allocated $1500 to fees (medical, interview), flight was $700..then I have $2800 for living costs and health insurance for the first month. I am 100% sure I can get a job within 2-3 weeks due to my profession and I live on yachts so don't need to buy furniture - but might need to rent a car while job hunting.
 
jacknz99 said:
Thnks for this feedback - I'm going over solo. Haven't had alot of work due to covid hence, I want to stick to a budget but I do have alot of savings. I allocated $1500 to fees (medical, interview), flight was $700..then I have $2800 for living costs and health insurance for the first month. I am 100% sure I can get a job within 2-3 weeks due to my profession and I live on yachts so don't need to buy furniture - but might need to rent a car while job hunting.
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But what if your SSN doesn’t arrive in the post like mine? It happens to A LOT of people. I’ve been in the country 6 weeks now and only just got my SSN after my third trip to the SSA office. Even if you don’t encounter the issues that I did, you have to wait 3 weeks to contact them if you don’t receive it, and offices are appointment only at the moment due to COVID. Some offices have months long waits for appointments. You have to plan for contingencies, or you might find yourself up shit creek without a paddle.
 
AshleyMarleyNZ said:
But what if your SSN doesn’t arrive in the post like mine? It happens to A LOT of people. I’ve been in the country 6 weeks now and only just got my SSN after my third trip to the SSA office. Even if you don’t encounter the issues that I did, you have to wait 3 weeks to contact them if you don’t receive it, and offices are appointment only at the moment due to COVID. Some offices have months long waits for appointments. You have to plan for contingencies, or you might find yourself up shit creek without a paddle.
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Thanks for bringing this to my attention - I didn't know this was a possibility. I am getting it send to a good family friends home in LA, they have been living there for 35 years so I assume all mail will arrive at their house safely? Is the SSN triggered to be sent once you've landed into USA? If so, whats the estimate time it takes to arrive once sent?
 
jacknz99 said:
Thnks for this feedback - I'm going over solo. Haven't had alot of work due to covid hence, I want to stick to a budget but I do have alot of savings. I allocated $1500 to fees (medical, interview), flight was $700..then I have $2800 for living costs and health insurance for the first month. I am 100% sure I can get a job within 2-3 weeks due to my profession and I live on yachts so don't need to buy furniture - but might need to rent a car while job hunting.
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Have you looked into the actual cost of renting an Airbnb or long stay hotel for a month?
 
jacknz99 said:
Thanks for bringing this to my attention - I didn't know this was a possibility. I am getting it send to a good family friends home in LA, they have been living there for 35 years so I assume all mail will arrive at their house safely? Is the SSN triggered to be sent once you've landed into USA? If so, whats the estimate time it takes to arrive once sent?
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Anywhere from 1 week to never arriving. Even if the address is correct sometimes they just don’t show up in the post. That’s exactly what happened to another kiwi who entered the country on her IV around the same time as me. No mistakes on address, just didn’t show up.
RE: renting a car, it’s eyewateringly expensive at the moment. Like, $500 USD a week is probably hopeful lol. Airbnb has gotten stupidly expensive too.
 
AshleyMarleyNZ said:
Anywhere from 1 week to never arriving. Even if the address is correct sometimes they just don’t show up in the post. That’s exactly what happened to another kiwi who entered the country on her IV around the same time as me. No mistakes on address, just didn’t show up.
RE: renting a car, it’s eyewateringly expensive at the moment. Like, $500 USD a week is probably hopeful lol. Airbnb has gotten stupidly expensive too.
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Oh, there is a massive shortage of rental cars at the moment so yes they are crazy prices
 
AshleyMarleyNZ said:
Anywhere from 1 week to never arriving. Even if the address is correct sometimes they just don’t show up in the post. That’s exactly what happened to another kiwi who entered the country on her IV around the same time as me. No mistakes on address, just didn’t show up.
RE: renting a car, it’s eyewateringly expensive at the moment. Like, $500 USD a week is probably hopeful lol. Airbnb has gotten stupidly expensive too.
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I can confirm, there is currently a rental car shortage as a lot of rental car companies sold inventory during last year. Since they havent been able to replenish inventory, it has become extremely expensive. An example a month ago a friend spent 2 hours in line in Philaldephia airport for their rental car to which they were turned away because it was given to someone else (they had a booking). This resulted in a 40min long uber ride which was expensive.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Have you looked into the actual cost of renting an Airbnb or long stay hotel for a month?
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I think I will stay with my friend for a week and then going into a cheap hostel, I'll just be waiting it out until my ssn arrives. Hostels are about 30 a night which im sweet with, don't need anything to flash
AshleyMarleyNZ said:
Anywhere from 1 week to never arriving. Even if the address is correct sometimes they just don’t show up in the post. That’s exactly what happened to another kiwi who entered the country on her IV around the same time as me. No mistakes on address, just didn’t show up.
RE: renting a car, it’s eyewateringly expensive at the moment. Like, $500 USD a week is probably hopeful lol. Airbnb has gotten stupidly expensive too.
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Damn, didn't think about the car rentals having a shortage, thanks for the heads up. Which health insurance company did you go with? The ones I've been looking at are pretty pricey but I know worth the money
Green&Gold said:
I can confirm, there is currently a rental car shortage
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Are you over there right now? Whats the situation with employment and how easy it is to find a job? I image that is also hard due to heaps of small businesses shutting down. I'm a bit nervous to leave little ol NZ where things are relatively running smoothly here lol
 
jacknz99 said:
I think I will stay with my friend for a week and then going into a cheap hostel, I'll just be waiting it out until my ssn arrives. Hostels are about 30 a night which im sweet with, don't need anything to flash
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Are they? I thought the one my daughter stayed at in LA was more. Just watch the area you’re in. Yeah, if you’re looking for very basic accommodation & don’t mind sharing you should be ok.
 
I never got sent a SSN until I went to the local administrative office myself, even though I’d asked for one to be assigned to me. So I’d just go ahead and do that — what’s the point in waiting for something that might never arrive?
 
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