From September 2020 until now, we’ve been working on a work trip to Australia. Because BF will be working and AU isn’t allowing tourists due to covid, we applied for a permanent resident visa. The application was under the category of distinguished talent. In on the coattails.
The first part of the application was demonstrating why AU would be lucky to get BF. This meant his international colleagues wrote letters on his behalf. The second phase of the visa was criminal background checks, FBI checks, and proving we were in a long term relationship. Because we’re not married, we had to write a relationship declaration addressing the arc of our relationship, finances, social and family standing.
The next phase of the visa was a physical evaluation by a specific doctor in LA. Exhausted yet?
We got our tickets but 2 days before our departure, Victoria had a lock down. The sponsoring company scrambled to find alternative options so we showed up at LAX with 3 possible flights. The 1st one was canceled immediately. The 2nd option had us arriving in New Zealand, but no flight into AU so they would not let us on. The 3rd option worked. Whew.
So we’re waiting at the gate with 2 hours to spare. I’m writing this on my phone, please forgive typos.
