the options

1. declined
2. work to residence visa
3. granted

those are the three options we are faced with now. mike just had his phone interview with our case officer. it was about a half an hour long, and apparently, went well. he was downstairs talking, and i was upstairs trying to sneak a listen. i was anxious to hear what they were talking about...

here is a summary of the questions asked:

-why do you want to move to nz? how did you choose nz?
-how will you try to assimilate?
-are you aware of the cost of living, and the housing market?
-are you aware of the job market? do you have any offers for work yet? have you signed up with a recruiter?
-how are you researching nz and the job markets there?
-which area of nz do you want to live?
-do you know anyone living in nz?
-how have you prepared your friends and family for your moving away?

mike did a good job. he says that he felt good with all his answers, and there was no question that stumped him, or that he did not have an appropriate answer for. i knew he would do a great job. he just has a passionate and positively infectious personality. he says that the case officer seemed satisfied with all the reasons for us wanting to move to new zealand.

bottom line is that of the three options, the case officer said that being declined is "highly unlikely". (mike thought this would be a good title for my blog).

i want to know the final answer now, but like most good things, there is waiting involved. the case officer says that he will make a decision in 2-3 weeks! it is hard to believe that we will know exactly what we are doing in just under a month. we are glad that the process is running smoothly, and faster than we thought. we will actually know if we are able to go for sure at just about the time we thought we were going to get assigned a case officer. so, there is much to be happy about in our current situation.

so, the phone call was at 7AM our time, so i think mike will be crashing and burning later on today. but i am so proud of him. honestly, he is the reason that everything has been set up and going without a hitch. he has been on top of the whole process, from the eoi to the ita to this interview. and he is the one that has researched and planned all the logistics of actually getting there. he is the one that is on top of everything. i have definitely been riding his coat tails. although, i would like to think that i am contributing in a motivating, financial, and optimistic manner.

so, here's hoping that the next 2-3 weeks go quickly, but not so fast that i have no time to appreciate life, or get anything done....like pack!