DIMIA called my boss! Sender: CarrussHello, Could not believe it but yesterday, my boss got a call from DIMIA asking loads of questions about me and the work I do (Hairdresser) at his place. He said they grilled him...
Hi and welcome to the forum. You will get lots of useful info and advice here throughout this process, however it does take a while. You might like to take a deep breath and resign yourself to the fact this will be a long haul- for us it was a year from when we decided to go for it to when we got the visa.
You may also like to think about using an agent - Go Matilda were ours and have many recommendations on this forum. You can do it all by email.
Key priorities are to get your skills recognised and make sure your aunt is both willing to sponsor - and that she is eligible to butture - they are not the same thing. She will need to earn approx $38K in each of the last two tax years to butture - more if you or she has dependent children, and she will need to have tax returns to prove it. Otherwise you will need to persuade someone else to butture who does meet the criteria - more info from DIMIA website.
The 139 is being withdrawn at some point this year and replaced by a temp visa. While the 139 is clearly more flexible, the temp visa will not be a disaster if you want to live in a designated area close to your relatives. If you don't and you are concerned about the timescale have you checked out if you would have the points for a normal send visa?
Suggest you make good use of an agent - worth it in peace of mind terms - and settle down for a long wait!
Scotty
--
