- Joined
- Aug 6, 2000
- Posts
- 3,546
- Reaction score
- 50
- Location
- Denver, Colorado
- AFL Club
- Essendon
- Other Teams
- GB Packers, STL Cards, PHI Flyers
Barely an hour after landing at Melbourne airport, I found myself in serious trouble with immigration authorities.
I suppose one of the consequences of Sept 11 is that now when entering customs they search EVERYTHING. This is my third time here, and I have never had to open up all of my luggage and have them look through it all previously. It is only natural that this time I had things to hide.
Basically, my fiancee and I (travelling together but going through customs separately) didn't want to tell them about our intent to get married and for me to stay here, because we were worried that we would look like queue-jumpers and that I would look like some stupid lovesick kid who was just going to rush myself into a doomed marriage just so I could abuse the system.
They searched my luggage and found my birth certificate as well as records of bank accounts I had closed plus receipt of money I had wired from home to an account I've had set up here since the last time I came over. It went from bad to worse when they searched her luggage and found her wedding dress.
They sent her home, without me, and gave her a phone number to call.
I was brought into a back room that looks like the police questioning room you see on every bad cliched TV cop show, with the desk and chairs, where two immigration officers proceeded to grill me for 15-20 minutes on what my true plans were and tape recorded the whole thing.
Then they gave me 10 minutes to build a case for myself. I had spent 24 consecutive hours either on an airplane or in an airport, had not showered in that long, had only slept five hours the previous night, and was coming down with some kind of flu. All of this on top of everything that was taking place at the airport. In that state of mind, I am completely amazed that I was able to think at all.
I stated my plan, my intentions, my reasons for not being fully upfront and managed to convince them that everything we have done is perfectly legal and that our relationship qualifies for de-facto status, and was able to submit proof of that if needed be. I also told them of the economic hardship that would ensue should I be sent home, considering the thousands and thousands of dollars our families have spent on wedding and travel plans.
Anyway, it worked, for they decided not to cancel my visa and to let me stay on my original ETA for up to 90 days. My marriage will be allowed to go through, and after that I will apply for residency.
Had they decided otherwise, I would have been deported, sent back home today and I would have not been allowed back in Australia for three full years. I would have had to cancel my wedding, my family would have had to call off their trip here next month, and my fiancee and I would have been split apart for an indefinite amount of time. Basically, I would have been really, really screwed.
I feel like just about the luckiest man alive today.
I suppose one of the consequences of Sept 11 is that now when entering customs they search EVERYTHING. This is my third time here, and I have never had to open up all of my luggage and have them look through it all previously. It is only natural that this time I had things to hide.
Basically, my fiancee and I (travelling together but going through customs separately) didn't want to tell them about our intent to get married and for me to stay here, because we were worried that we would look like queue-jumpers and that I would look like some stupid lovesick kid who was just going to rush myself into a doomed marriage just so I could abuse the system.
They searched my luggage and found my birth certificate as well as records of bank accounts I had closed plus receipt of money I had wired from home to an account I've had set up here since the last time I came over. It went from bad to worse when they searched her luggage and found her wedding dress.
They sent her home, without me, and gave her a phone number to call.
I was brought into a back room that looks like the police questioning room you see on every bad cliched TV cop show, with the desk and chairs, where two immigration officers proceeded to grill me for 15-20 minutes on what my true plans were and tape recorded the whole thing.
Then they gave me 10 minutes to build a case for myself. I had spent 24 consecutive hours either on an airplane or in an airport, had not showered in that long, had only slept five hours the previous night, and was coming down with some kind of flu. All of this on top of everything that was taking place at the airport. In that state of mind, I am completely amazed that I was able to think at all.
I stated my plan, my intentions, my reasons for not being fully upfront and managed to convince them that everything we have done is perfectly legal and that our relationship qualifies for de-facto status, and was able to submit proof of that if needed be. I also told them of the economic hardship that would ensue should I be sent home, considering the thousands and thousands of dollars our families have spent on wedding and travel plans.
Anyway, it worked, for they decided not to cancel my visa and to let me stay on my original ETA for up to 90 days. My marriage will be allowed to go through, and after that I will apply for residency.
Had they decided otherwise, I would have been deported, sent back home today and I would have not been allowed back in Australia for three full years. I would have had to cancel my wedding, my family would have had to call off their trip here next month, and my fiancee and I would have been split apart for an indefinite amount of time. Basically, I would have been really, really screwed.
I feel like just about the luckiest man alive today.
STEALTH!!!!!!! Geez!!!!!!! Glad it all worked out in the end, and welcome to Australia. 
FINALLY!!!!
