Cheetah7

With this in mind, I reckon we can safely assume that DIMA could well have read the info he posted as opposed to someone from this site reporting him. After all, the members you see viewing the site are only a fraction of the amount of people that read it.

Take care Tony, thanks for the help you have given and I hope you get yourself back on here soon.

I am off to worry about my visa, medicals and all things to do with Australia

Luma

George

Thanks for taking the time to write this - it anwers a few questions.

Tony

Good luck with the re-registration process. Hope it all goes well



QUOTE=George Lombard]Hi Guys,

I also hope that Tony will come back, would save me the time answering what I can while Jeremy is intermittent in his support.

I think that Tony is going through re-registration as a migration agent and that involves a considerable amount of work as well as signing the pledge on the MARA code of conduct with respect to professional indemnity insurance, maintaining compulsory professional development, maintaining appropriate professional relations between agents etc, etc. While not a registered agent he certainly had the freedom to skate around a lot of those issues including the re-registration cost, the downside is that as a registered agent one has to be circumspect about the amount of advice you can give without adequate information on client circumstances.

And of course Tony spent a lot of time here, more than any commercial agent could ever justify. So I think the whole experience proves that if DIMIA were to put a duty case officer online to answer enquiries, then many people would benefit. But unless someone is prepared to fund such a position then market forces rule, and obviously Tony can command a reasonable salary for the advice he can give, given his skill level.

So I've asked him to be in contact when his registration is organised. But if he wants to earn a quid he wouldn't be able to devote the same amount of time to this forum.

Cheers,

George Lombard

www.austimmigration.com.au[/QUOTE]

lacey21

DIMIA need to read this website and I also suggested they put a duty Case Officer on here. I think it would help and seeing as this is the most professional and well informed site I have found then this happening for future applicants would be great.

Now back to reality lol

lace xx

Cheetah7

I dont want to come back to reality, its cold

saraliz

There was a DIMA representative on here answering questions, once upon a time... unfortunately it didn't last long. See http://groups.google.com/group/misc....7a12f371349a5c for his last post on the misc.immigration.australia+nz newsgroup (which feeds into BritishExpats... think this was in the days before BE existed!).

Cheetah7

I initially imagined DIMA type people and TRA type people to be really harsh and pedantic.

But at the end of the day, they are all just doing their jobs and a hard one it must be too.

And I shall save a special place for both in my next story

My waiting game for visa application has just begun and I am determined not to even think about case officers and time frames.

I have told myself that they will do it when its my turn, go through our application and what will be will be, nothing personal (I hope), something that wont be rushed.

I shall continue to enjoy other peoples timeframes and success stories and hopefully one day, will have one of my own.

lacey21

You can contact Tony on [email protected].


hugs Lace xx

jonjon

very true

Fionast

My god. I can't believe I missed his thread. That is so Sh!t what happened to him. I had been wondering where he'd been.

Tony if your out there reading this come back we all miss you. You could just PM us with your advise that way any info that makes it way onto the site hasn't come from you!

Come back Welsh Tony

paulf

Tony was a great help and a great person to ease the worries of many people on this site, a Virtual Hero in the madness of immigration.

glennandkate

And how long do you think that will last PP?

Cheetah7

Actually, it lasted about an hour from when I wrote it.

I have now fallen into the trap that I said I wouldnt.

I feel fed up, extremely down, as though everything has stood still and my life is now firmly on the hook that is officially called 'on hold'.

And if we are talking panic/worry well where do I start?

Will WA give us STNI? If not options go down, I keep emailing it to agent and it doesnt appear that its attaching properly as I got an email last night saying they still hadnt got my form.

Will hubby get 6.5 in each component of his IELTS? if not and STNI doesnt come off, then we are stuffed.

Will DIMA check the larger of the companies hubby has worked for? If they do and get a new person in HR who may be quite rude and too busy to help, then we are stuffed.

Will I pass the medical with asthma? I have a fine pair of lungs on me and good lung capacity? Still doesnt stop me worrying.

I have the potential if things dont go our way, I wouldnt be able to get any more stuffed if I tried.

So in answer to your question, my vow of serenity and calmness lasted about an hour.

And that is BEFORE I have a CO.

Oh well.

lacey21

Yeah but.. where is Welsh Tony?

Alison1967

P HIMSELF L AT US PROBABLY

Its not the same without him, where's our star! so hit keiths lager as no vodka or wine in!

Ali x

sk686

Why is DIMA ASPC mad that someone highlighted the discrepancies in processing times between the 5 regional teams? Shouldn't they get their act together and reduce those discrepancies, instead of trying to shut people up as if it is some kind of national secret?

In the US, immigration lawyers regularly publish the discrepancies in the various USCIS Service Centers, and it is public information! That puts pressure on them to reduce backlogs, and that has worked as Service Center Directors made reducing backlogs a priority. Over the last several years, backlogs have reduced in several areas making processing more consistent.

In a democracy like Australia, such information should also be public under Australia's Freedom of Information Act, instead of the "Hush Hush" mentality they now like to work under.