marcsred

I'm sorry you got the wrong impression - I did not disagree with you, but was completely lost as to where things should go. I even said that you were probably right when I realized (a bit late, but my mind was boggled with hours of research by the time I posted this) that, duh! the people who had been through this would be LIVING in America by now, haha. I'm sorry if you felt insulted. It was not my intention, I was just lost and wanted to make sure someone who knew would reply to my post (and since the original post that brought me to this site was listed under Australia, I thought it best to post there).

marcsred

Yup, I went on to that site you posted and got all the info that you said. I was just looking at how to go about submitting the forms (to see if there was a faster way than snail mail back and forth, which from another post, I see there is not...). Thanks again for the link!

ian-mstm

You seem to have a defeatist attitude. I'm certainly not in a position where "jetting off to Scotland" would be inexpensive... but that's why credit cards were invented.


Have you considered staying in Australia?

Ian

meauxna

If you are on a short timeline (you are hoping for him to move in May?) you are putting the horse a bit before the cart with driver's licenses and Police Certificates.
See if these pages help make the process clearer:

K1 Visa Flowchart

GUIDELINES FOR THE FILING OF THE 1-129F PETITION FOR A FIANCE(E) BY A US CITIZEN

They will get you to the relevant USCIS and DOS pages so you can get all of your documents in the order you'll need.

Noorah101

Apparantly, she has. This is from her other thread on the topic. Sounds like she's not quite sure yet where they want to settle down.

"Do you know if this has any effect on his obtaining Australian Citizenship? He and his whole family have been in Australia for 5 years now, and they become eligible for citizenship on Australia Day (January 26, 2008). We wouldn't want to ruin that by having them see he is trying to obtain American permanent residency. We're going to be living in America for at least a few months because even though my graduation ceremony is in May, I still have classes until December. We haven't decided whether we want to live in the States with my family, or in Australia with his, so after the long, expensive Australian Citizenship process, I know it would devastate him to lose the possibility of ever living near his family just so we could live near mine. I would feel incredibly guilty as well."


Rene

marcsred

I do not have a defeatest attitude, but when every bit of information I research is just another kick in the head, it's hard to stay optimistic. Over the course of the last two years of our relationship, my fiance and I have endured unbelievable hardship and personal tragedy. All we want to do is be together, and not just for 14 days, or 7 months, forever. With everything that has happened with my family since I have started university, graduating might be the single most triumphant moment of my life thus far, and it would mean the world to me if Marc (my fiance) could be there. If I had a defeatest attitude I would have been dead over three years ago. Just once, we want something to not be so much more complicated than it has to be.

Thank you, everyone, for continuing to provide your valuable insight - I'd be infinitely more lost than I am now without it.

marcsred

I'm only here on a student visa, and my only option for staying in Australia is to "Further Extend" my stay for a few months. Staying in Australia, unfortunately, is not an option for two reasons:

Without being able to work, it is way too expensive, and the cost of living here is so much more expensive than America as well. Additionally, I cannot take another leave of absence from uni without withdrawing myself from the university completely, and with only 2 semesters left on my degree, that is, while not *impossible*, completely idiotic considering what my fiance and I want for our future, and the expense that has been laid out so that I might be as far along as I am in my degree.

Would that it all were so simple.

marcsred

Thanks for the links, I'll have a look at them tomorrow. Right now I think I need to just step back for a while, take a deep breath, and study for my last exam of the semester, which is tomorrow. Does anyone know what one of the other posters meant when he said everything changed on the date of the fee increase? Is the change for the worse or better, since perhaps the back up was caused by mass people trying to submit their applications before they had to pay more? Trying to look at "everything" changing optimistically...

Thanks for tying that in - half of the time I'm not even sure what information I've provided to each forum.

Edit: Sheesh, to prove that point, I REALLY thought this was the other forum about the K-1 Visa...I HAVE TO take a step back now, haha.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Ian is candid enough to identify himself as a "Sanctimonious Prick." Through one of my daughters I have had the pleasure of meeting many young people for whom the phrase "its not rocket science" is a statement describing something difficult to understand. [I fully expect that at least one of them will one day "receive a phone call from Sweden."] They shake their heads when they ask me about US immigration law.

Good luck.

"The trouble is all inside your head she said to me. The answer is easy if you take it logically. I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free." Paul Simon

"Where is rpt where is task force thirty four? RR The world wonders" Chester Nimitz

augigi

The cost of living in Australia is SO not more expensive than the USA!

marcsred

My fiance's family home in Perth cost over $300,000 AUD, and it's about 1/4 the size of my family's home in Austin, Texas, which cost only $210,000. Right now it's worth around $300,000 AUD, but consider the size difference: 1,800 sq feet versus 3,950 sq feet, with a backyard easily twice the size.

We pay $1,376 a month for a one bedroom apartment in Brisbane that doesn't even have an oven, and has a 2 burner hotplate instead of a stove. That's more than I pay for rent in LA, which has a much higher cost of living than Austin, Texas. Nevermind that the mobile phone contracts are insane, as is the cost of internet, which is infinitely slower!

A packet of domestic cigarettes like Winfield Blues costs upward of $10, where in America you'd be hard pressed to find a place charging more than $5-$6 for a packet of Marlboros. And for a country that has such a celebrated drinking culture, I've never seen such high beer prices.

Forget about fruits and vegetables. That's the thing I miss most about America. Being able to go to the grocery store and buy heaps of deliciously fresh fruits and veggies without being charged $9 a kilo for grapes. And lastly, what's with the price of Coke at the supermarket? When it's not on special, you pay $19.99 for 24 cans!!! In America, the expensive name brands like Coke are three 12 packs for $10. That's 36 cans for half the price, not on special.

I've obviously lived most of my life in the States, but this is just as bad as when I lived in London! I was hoping I'd save money doing a semester out here, but it's cost me more than my semester in London, doing less!

I know this sounds ridiculous after all of that, but I do love Australia (I prefer Perth to Brisbane, by far) and have had a wonderful (albeit expensive) several months here. It's just that the absolutely insane prices for relatively little out here left me shell shocked. That was a big part of our consideration in where to settle - in America, you just get much more for your money in absolutely every aspect of living, and the variety is fantastic as well. I just can't see paying $3.76 for a can of refried beans for the rest of my life every time I want to make us some Mexican food for dinner!

snowbunny

I live in Austin, and oh how it's changed. You wouldn't be able to touch a 3,950 sq ft house within an hour's commute of downtown for $210,000..... not even if you lived in Bastrop or Georgetown or San Marcos.

The cost of groceries you cite is largely held down by government subsidy of American farmers and cheap produce picked by illegal immigrant labour or shipped in from South America where they use pesticides and herbicides that are banned here (but US agrichem companies sell them the stuff!).

Don't make the choice based on price alone. Make your choice on how happy you would be LIVING. It's a hell of a rat race here, especially if you plan on having a family.

augigi

Don't smoke then

I hear what you're saying, and of course some produce is expensive, but I totally disagree about housing etc. You have to compare apples with apples.

Also, regarding the rent, if you're paying $1376 a month with no stove in Brisbane, you are mad and getting ripped off something shocking!! I have been paying around $1150 a month on Sydney's north shore for a 5yo, 1BR apartment with gorgeous kitchen, balcony, elevator, underground parking etc. That is 10 mins drive from Sydney CBD.

marcsred

I have only been living out of Austin since June, so I'm pretty familiar with the prices. We love the atmosphere of Austin, as well as the awesome prices (though yes, even our house has jumped in value to nearly 300,000 AUD), which is why we're deciding to settle there.


Apples with apples? A house the size of our Austin home would be insanely expensive in Perth, hence my saying things are cheaper in Austin...The city is the same size and speed of Perth, so they're actually very much alike, which is why Marc loves it so much.

lofty79

Just to be clear – every piece of literature/paperwork I have ever read/received from the embassy has only ever asked for the PNC check, regardless of where you live/d in mainland Britain (NI being the only exception). It seems the embassy is only interested in this certificate. This was the case when I applied for a tourist visa, and now while applying for a K-1 (I’ve lived in Scotland since 2001).

However if I was you I’d play it safe and get both checks done (PNC and SCRO), especially as it doesn’t cost any extra. You will absolutely need the official PNC cert, whether you need the SCRO one also, remains to be seen.

Best of luck.