You can't hold me back! (oh.. yes you can)
A couple of weeks back I got serious about this Australian immigration thing. Now that Cam is affixed here in the USA, now I want to be able to get back to Oz. At that point we would have free reign to go wherever we liked with the freedom of birds. Up till now, I assumed marrying Cam was my ticket to get back in and override the ban that was put on my VISA almost two years ago now saying I could not come back for a total of 3 years.
So, I called the embassy.
I talked to a nice woman, whom I was thrilled had an Aussie accent, and told her about my situation, and the reasoning that I had been granted this ban when my Uni was handling my VISA extension in my behalf so I wouldn't have to go to the immigration department and wait in line all day. Had I have been told to go there, instead of just sending Sydney Uni a piece of paper, I would have done so. The Immigration building was only right down the street!
So the nice woman laid her cards on the table. I would have to fill out an application online stating my case and applying for Visa 676 which would essentially override my current ban. Having married an Australian citizen had no merit in this process. Once the application was submitted and approved I would still have to contact an immigration officer for final approval for admittance.
A few days ago, I received my reply. Australia said no. They still needed a bit more from me and if it was the country's best interest to let me back in. If I could not prove my worth I was labeled simply as a RISK. As much as I would love to pursue this issue, I would not win by saying that I was just misinformed or that the Uni messed up. And, obviously I have no other reason to go to Oz other than getting my tan back, therefore my argument is already been brushed off the table.
The 75$ fee isn't all that much to have gone to waste but I sure could have used it on something a bit more worth while if I was going to be told off so quickly. I was hoping Cam and I could get somewhere warm in the cold month of November but I guess we will have to go somewhere else!
Posted in: australia, chaosgurl, immigration on June 25, 2008 at at 12:50:00 PM