[Hessesprincess]

Hello all,

I was just wondering about the processing times for the pmv. Any Americans on here who have gone this route? How long was it before you were granted your visa? Any denied for weird reasons? I hope to have all of my documentation up front when I apply. Thanks!

 

[Mania]

Lots of history can be found here - about 200 pages worth

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/27105-pmv-309-timeline-washington-d-c.html

 

[Skybluebrewer]

Definitely follow that thread Mania posted but honestly, wait times can vary so much there's really no way to tell. Especially with recent changes to the way they'll be handling applications, I'm hoping we might see a reduction in wait times.

A friend of mine is nearly at 10 months and was asked to leave Oz for her 300 grant. So about 9-12 months at the moment from the US. That will most likely change once you're in the waiting game.

 

[Hessesprincess]

Definitely follow that thread Mania posted but honestly, wait times can vary so much there's really no way to tell. Especially with recent changes to the way they'll be handling applications, I'm hoping we might see a reduction in wait times.
gt
A friend of mine is nearly at 10 months and was asked to leave Oz for her 300 grant. So about 9-12 months at the moment from the US. That will most likely change once you're in the waiting game.

Is there anything i can do to prevent being denied? The only thing I know we don't have is a joint bank account. I haven't been there for long enough periods to set one up. We are going to do this; we're going to save up to get our own place, get married, have kids, just not yet. I don't want to be denied the visa

 

[Skybluebrewer]

Easiest way not to be denied? Submit all required documentation as soon as possible after applying. Prepare your application and you can easily upload it all the same day you apply.

Relationship evidence for a 300 is not the same as de facto/spouse partner visas. My partner and I had no joint account, no joint finances, had never lived together (we don't count his short holiday visits as officially living together even though he stayed in my apartment), didn't share a lease, and had no joint ownership of anything. We clearly lived in two separate countries and had a long distance relationship. The combining of things came after the 300 grant once I migrated to Australia.

The key is to prove you've met in person at least once since turning 18, upload a NOIM or letter from a celebrant to prove you intend to marry, and give what proof you have of your relationship being genuine.

Of course you'll need the other things on the checklist like FBI check, state checks for any state you've spent 3 months in in the 12 months months prior to applying, at least 2 F888s, F80, background check for your sponsor, etc.

 

[Hessesprincess]

Easiest way not to be denied? Submit all required documentation as soon as possible after applying. Prepare your application and you can easily upload it all the same day you apply.

Relationship evidence for a 300 is not the same as de facto/spouse partner visas. My partner and I had no joint account, no joint finances, had never lived together (we don't count his short holiday visits as officially living together even though he stayed in my apartment), didn't share a lease, and had no joint ownership of anything. We clearly lived in two separate countries and had a long distance relationship. The combining of things came after the 300 grant once I migrated to Australia.

The key is to prove you've met in person at least once since turning 18, upload a NOIM or letter from a celebrant to prove you intend to marry, and give what proof you have of your relationship being genuine.

Of course you'll need the other things on the checklist like FBI check, state checks for any state you've spent 3 months in in the 12 months months prior to applying, at least 2 F888s, F80, background check for your sponsor, etc.

Thank you so much! You've really put my mind at ease

 

[292905]

Easiest way not to be denied? Submit all required documentation as soon as possible after applying. Prepare your application and you can easily upload it all the same day you apply.

Relationship evidence for a 300 is not the same as de facto/spouse partner visas. My partner and I had no joint account, no joint finances, had never lived together (we don't count his short holiday visits as officially living together even though he stayed in my apartment), didn't share a lease, and had no joint ownership of anything. We clearly lived in two separate countries and had a long distance relationship. The combining of things came after the 300 grant once I migrated to Australia.

The key is to prove you've met in person at least once since turning 18, upload a NOIM or letter from a celebrant to prove you intend to marry, and give what proof you have of your relationship being genuine.

Of course you'll need the other things on the checklist like FBI check, state checks for any state you've spent 3 months in in the 12 months months prior to applying, at least 2 F888s, F80, background check for your sponsor, etc.

Interesting, I didn't realize this was the case with your app. I have similar circumstances, though my partner did live with me for about 8 months, but we kept both our apartments and had no co-mingled finances. I traveled to Oz 3 times for over a month each trip. I also have tried to build a convincing case with all other dots crossed off and a (hopefully) crystal clear presentation. 5 months today so waiting game continues....

 

[Skybluebrewer]

Interesting, I didn't realize this was the case with your app. I have similar circumstances, though my partner did live with me for about 8 months, but we kept both our apartments and had no co-mingled finances. I traveled to Oz 3 times for over a month each trip. I also have tried to build a convincing case with all other dots crossed off and a (hopefully) crystal clear presentation. 5 months today so waiting game continues....

We had also known each other for over a decade and dated at the beginning of that before rekindling as older adults once we were in positions that enabled us to be together in the same country. Previously, he tried to get me to move to Oz but I worked hard to get into my university of choice and honestly wasn't brave enough to leave everything behind. Oh how cheap our partner visa would have been back then!

A friend of a good friend of mine has recently been asked to leave Oz for the 300 grant. They had very little relationship history and no combined anything and still managed to get the 300. They met online and had only seen each other twice in person and had no issues with the visa. I think the 300 is really more about proving your relationship is genuine and that you intend to marry because you want to be together, and supplying the required documents.

It's almost too easy to get. That's why I never understand why people who are engaged with limited or no de facto evidence don't go for it more often, especially if they can't register their relationship. That's what it is intended for! But some people choose the more difficult route because it saves them $1170. To each their own.

 

[292905]

I also recently came across a DIBP publication of waiting times and fees from a few years ago. Kind of like the bitcoin, wish I had bought in then..

Interesting that similar visa’s in the US and Canada are still much cheaper. Given whats happening in the States these days, the Aussies may put us on the high risk category.

 

[Hessesprincess]

We had also known each other for over a decade and dated at the beginning of that before rekindling as older adults once we were in positions that enabled us to be together in the same country. Previously, he tried to get me to move to Oz but I worked hard to get into my university of choice and honestly wasn't brave enough to leave everything behind. Oh how cheap our partner visa would have been back then!

A friend of a good friend of mine has recently been asked to leave Oz for the 300 grant. They had very little relationship history and no combined anything and still managed to get the 300. They met online and had only seen each other twice in person and had no issues with the visa. I think the 300 is really more about proving your relationship is genuine and that you intend to marry because you want to be together, and supplying the required documents.

It's almost too easy to get. That's why I never understand why people who are engaged with limited or no de facto evidence don't go for it more often, especially if they can't register their relationship. That's what it is intended for! But some people choose the more difficult route because it saves them $1170. To each their own.

So you can apply for the prospective marriage visa, go to Australia on a tourist visa, they'll tell you when you need to leave and then you can come back once it's granted?

 

[Skybluebrewer]

So you can apply for the prospective marriage visa, go to Australia on a tourist visa, they'll tell you when you need to leave and then you can come back once it's granted?

Yep! I came on an ETA, the person I know applied for and came over on a 462 W&HV while waiting.

You only need to be offshore for the grant, so it doesn't matter where you fly to from Oz, as long as you fly somewhere. They recommend leaving for 3-5 days to allow time for the grant to go through.

 

[Hessesprincess]

Yep! I came on an ETA, the person I know applied for and came over on a 462 W&HV while waiting.

You only need to be offshore for the grant, so it doesn't matter where you fly to from Oz, as long as you fly somewhere. They recommend leaving for 3-5 days to allow time for the grant to go through.

Can you add things to your application after you've submitted it or is that a bad idea? I figured we'd get the bulk stuff out of the way (NOIM, police checks, health checks, passport photos, proof we've met) but once I came to Oz, I'd get the little things together. Ill get it all done first if I have to

 

[Skybluebrewer]

Can you add things to your application after you've submitted it or is that a bad idea? I figured we'd get the bulk stuff out of the way (NOIM, police checks, health checks, passport photos, proof we've met) but once I came to Oz, I'd get the little things together

You shouldn't apply unless you have everything you need. You want to upload everything required including relationship evidence as soon as you have access to the upload section.

You can choose to upload additional evidence after you get to Oz but there's no telling if they'll even consider it.

I did update them once I had been in Oz for a couple of months to show them things we'd done since applying but our initial app had everything already bar what we'd done together since applying.

 

[Hessesprincess]

You shouldn't apply unless you have everything you need. You want to upload everything required including relationship evidence as soon as you have access to the upload section.

You can choose to upload additional evidence after you get to Oz but there's no telling if they'll even consider it.

I did update them once I had been in Oz for a couple of months to show them things we'd done since applying but our initial app had everything already bar what we'd done together since applying.

Okay, did you use a migration agent or just did it on your own?

 

[Skybluebrewer]

On our own, but using DIBP publications and this forum for help interpreting it. You can read the partner migration booklet but it's out of date and I wouldn't recommend following anything other than the DIBP website for your visa for the updated checklist.

I browsed this forum as a guest for maybe 6 months before we applied. It really helped reading through other people's threads that had the same questions we did. We had a pretty good handle on the process by the time we applied.

 

[Hessesprincess]

On our own, but using DIBP publications and this forum for help interpreting it. You can read the partner migration booklet but it's out of date and I wouldn't recommend following anything other than the DIBP website for your visa for the updated checklist.f

I browsed this forum as a guest for maybe 6 months before we applied. It really helped reading through other people's threads that had the same questions we did. We had a pretty good handle on the process by the time we applied.

Is there a better shot of getting it granted if we have an agent?

 

[Skybluebrewer]

In the sense that a proper RMA shouldn't make any mistakes, then yes.

I can tell you, it would have been nice for the peace of mind. One of the several RMAs that frequent this forum certainly wouldn't set you up for failure. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't even bother submitting the app unless you met the requirements.

I see it this way: If you felt comfortable changing your own oil and oil filter on your car, it would be cheaper to do so. If you've never done it before and you're not confident in doing it yourself, you'd just pay a professional to do it for you.

 

[Hessesprincess]

In the sense that a proper RMA shouldn't make any mistakes, then yes.

I can tell you, it would have been nice for the peace of mind. One of the several RMAs that frequent this forum certainly wouldn't set you up for failure.

I see it this way: If you felt comfortable changing your own oil agnd oil filter on your car, it would be cheaper to do so. If you've never done it before and you're not confident in doing it yourself, you'd just pay a professional to do it for you.

Can you pay them in one hour portions like one hour twice a week? I get payed minimum wage. I know it might be a slow process but still

 

[Skybluebrewer]

Can you pay them in one hour portions like one hour twice a week? I get payed minimum wage

No idea how their charges work and they each may be different. At the very least, contact them for a consult. Westley, Nick, and Mark are three that come to mind right now. Just check just about any of the threads (except waiting rooms) and they have contact info in their signatures.

 

[Skybluebrewer]

Just realized there's a sticky thread now.

RMAs: http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/252474-registered-migration-agents.html