British Expats - My feel-good story

Hello everyone,

I thought that I'd drop by and share my feel-good story with my fellow prospective immigrants:

By the grace of God, I received my grant letter on the morning of 20 OCT 2011. Frankly, I was extremely surprised as just 20 days earlier, my case officer advised me that security clearance could take upon 12 months. Here is my time line:

Note: I applied indenpendetly, didn't go thorugh an agent. but I reserached for around 2 months daily on the internet for all the documents that I would need and be prepared. It paid off.

Lodgement date: 30th November 2009
Country: Pakistan
Visa type: 175 Skilled Independent.
IELTS: R7,W7,L7,S7
Occupation: Electrical Engineer (ASCO 2125-11)

SEPT 2009. Applied for South Australia State Sponsorship. REJECTED
NOV 2009. Case lodged with the DIAC.
AUG 2010. Received an inquiry email from DIAC regarding my job, as I worked through a third-party contractor.
SEPT 2010. Applied for Queensland and Victoria State Sponsorship. BOTH REJECTED.
DEC 2010. Got married.
FEB 2011. Sent my wife’s passport details to DIAC.
MAR 2011. Received medicals from DIAC.
MAY 2011. Medicals and spouse’s requirements cleared. (Such as IELTS).
SEPT 2011. Sent an email to DIAC for case update. Case officer advised security clearance could take up to 12 months.
OCT 2011. RECEIVED THE GRANT LETTER.
Feb 2012: Moved to Australia and loving it !!!!

Here are the obstacles that I faced while applying:

1) I overstayed in USA for over 9 years. My FBI report stated a charge of “NON-IMMIGRANT STATUS VIOLATOR”. However, I didn't hide it from my case officer. My advice for future applicants: DO NOT HIDE ANYTHING FROM DIAC. If they find out that you are being dishonest on your application, it will complicate the matters even further and a possible rejection is headed your way.

2) After marriage, my wife found out that she has thyroid. Again, we didn't hide it and declared it on the medical forms. I thought it was a big deal, but we were cleared.

Please contact me if you require any assistance, I'd help as much as I can after what I've been through this long and tedious process, but very rewarding in the end.

LEO