I thought you were probably the same Gem from my blog! I didn't ask just in case. ;) Good to see you here. So glad to hear you might be able to get the medical extended. I wondered if they would make exceptions for people who had no health issues whose medicals expired just a little while before they were ready to make a decision. That should be good news for some people!

Yes Inkhearted I do hope that news is calming to some or at least an avenue to explore.

Handed in AFP check today, and they confirmed in person we have a CO. Don't know who it is though. It's moving. Thats enough for right now.

An update on the FBI situation.

Last Thursday, they told us it was mailed on Tuesday (28th of jan).
Today, two different agents told me they have absolutely no record of it.

I have no idea what to think or do. I think today we will reprint all the forms, and pay fedex whatever they charge for the fastest delivery service they have with signed for delivery. I can't think of anything else to do.

We are just praying Immi don't reject because we can't deliver it in a reasonable timeframe :(

They won't reject. Make a copy of your application and keep a copy of the receipt from FedEx. You can scan these into immigration and let them know what's happened. My CO was extremely understanding of the FBI situation--sounded like she was as fed up with them as I was!

I would also get back on the phone with the FBI and ask for an explanation. I was told multiple things about mine and ended up getting a real answer eventually... if you mention that they told you it was sent out and then said there was no record, it's possible you could argue for some expedited processing. I'm not sure how that would go, but it's worth a try.

Hope you are able to get it soon! :(

Thank you for the reassurance Inkhearted. We are expecting the "please submit xyz" email from Immi on Monday.

How much did Fedex cost you? I'm seeing some pretty high quotes on the internet. Is it worth it or just ship via Australia Post Courier 2 day delivery?

We ended up sending by Australia Post because of the extra cost elsewhere. I would say it's probably worth it to submit via Australia Post because of that. Ours was something like $25 or so, but I can't remember exactly which envelope we sent off. I'd just ask someone at the post office for an envelope that will get your documents to the FBI quickly that you can also track, and they'll set you up! Fingers crossed for you.

For those playing along at home...

We received an email late Friday asking for more relationship evidence - despite being told that we were all OK on that front. We were headed out of town already so have spent today gathering:
Flight receipts
Hotel receipts
Photos of dinners
Receipts of dinners
Joint bank statements

Will turn these in soon.

FBI check arrived safely and is signed for (ended up going with Australia Post, cost around $45). Suppose we are in a 5-6 week long queue for that one to be processed, let alone sent.

Now just twiddling thumbs waiting.

I fully agree and think it is quite unfair that someone I know from work applied later at the same office (four months after we did) and got granted after 3 months while we are now at 13.

If they had a written rule to justify or explain it, sure. But the randomness of it seems unfair.

Whatever the reason was for their faster processing, just say it openly. Why make people guess? Was it just a lucky day? Case officer dependent? A better case? Are Italians processed quicker than Dutch people? Did the fact that he'd already been in Australia for three years speed it up? Was it REALLY random?

We lodged complete in July 2013. Fingers crossed.

Hi guys,

I thought I'd add my details to this!

I applied for an 820 partner visa on December 11th 2013. Was front loaded with medical/form 80/police checks

Bridging visa A and acknowledgement letters were sent to me December 12th 2013.

I am from the UK and my partner is Australian.... interested to see how long it takes!