e457, is the code for a certain type of visa Australian government issue to foreign workers. An equivalent to the H1B in the U.S. I guess.
Anyway, that is the visa I got/am going to get before I can enter the Ozland.
Notice I just use past and future tense at the same time? That is where the suspense part kicks in. Here is the story.
Two weeks ago an immigration officer emailed me, "I will grant the visa on Sept 25 because you're supposed to start (to work) on Oct 1st..."
Yahoo! Um.
Looks like they're going to give me the visa. But, wait a second, didn't I get a flight ticket for mid-Sept?!
So I forwarded the lady my flight itinerary and asked whether an early date was possible. Within 5 minutes, an email was in, saying, "yes." The new date is two days earlier than my departure date.
Splendid!
But, wait. She would grant the visa on that date--what did she mean? That is the earliest date I can enter Australia or that is the date I will see my actual visa?
Unfortunately it is the latter. Because there is a 14-hour time difference between the USA and Australia, actually I am not going to see this visa/visa equivalent the day before I leave!!!
To make it more suspending, the last email (with one sentence) from this officer was, "please check your email on that day."
Sketchy. What if something went wrong on that day? It would be too late to even change my flight ticket, not to mention I have to find a place to stay etc...
So, I "got" the visa because I was told so, but in practice I haven't really got it. Sign.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining, not much anyway, but to express my concern. I am impressed by Australians' efficiency during my application process in fact. It only took them three weeks to grant my visa (if that email did mean that) and that included a week to wait for my health examination to be delivered. In addition, everything was done on line; no long waiting lines and security checking points involved (everybody who has survived the visa application in China knows what I'm talking about).
At this point it seems there is nothing I can do except for keeping my figures, and everything else crossed.
To be continued, until the day before I'm leaving for the OZ...
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