Speaking of medicals, I'm going for mine today. A medical is much less stressful than the upcoming interview but yet, I'm nervous. Geez, in what state am I going to be for my interview!

Don't worry you'll be fine - Mary was nervous before she went it but it went really smoothly.

I'm reminded of the medical I went through when I applied for my naturalization - it was more of a formality than a real serious medical. Mostly taking history, some blood, x-ray etc. Unless you have something really bad I doubt it will be an issue. I think that they are looking for any conditions which are serious enough to either be infectious or eventually a drain on medicare. Although I cant imagine why since we pay of all our own health insurance.

This waiting for a interview date is driving us crazy! According to all the other time lines posted here - it should he here this week. Fingers crossed!!!

Anyone else here got an interview date yet? We just emailed the embassy again....

Nope, no date yet. I'm not too concerned about it yet though. It hasn't been a month since I mailed back my forms and checklist and from what I've seen, I've set my mind to it taking at least one month. I'll start worrying if it takes longer than that.

In the meantime, I'm keeping busy checking what I'll need for the following steps. Lots of stuff but at least I'll be with my darling then so it'll be easier.

It seems like everyone seems to get their date around the same time every month, around the middle of the month. I've also read a couple posts on here from 2006 that talk about how they all thought that they assigned the interviews around the same time every month all at once.

I could be wrong, but seems to hold a pattern.

I agree with you, SapphireDreams. Now that you mention it, I remember reading that too. If they assign dates in the middle of the month though, since I sent it at the beginning of August (on the 6th and it was delivered on the 7th), shouldn't I have received it yet?

Anyway, we'll see. Like I said, I won't worry about it for now. However, if they assign a date in mid-September only, I hope it won't delay my interview too much. My darling and I have planned on him coming to pick me up and my stuff with his truck and trailer. Won't be able to do that if the snow starts and then it'll mean more expenses 'cause I'll have to hire movers

So if that is the case then it looks like I won't be receiving an interview date till Mid September and my interview will probably be scheduled for mid October? I really really don't want to get stuck driving to Texas in the snow. I'm having to hold off as long as possible though in order to make money to pay off bills I'm leaving behind. Aiming for a December 27th wedding. I know that's not very convenient for people but I can't stand not being with Amy and the kids anymore.

HOLY CRAP!

We just got a response from our last email. This is it in its entirety:

You are on the waiting list for at least 6 months to book you a date

Everyone else is getting their dates in 2-4 months! What do you think this means?! Did we piss them off or is it just a stock answer!?!

I can't imagine waiting ANOTHER 6 MONTHS!!!!!

I checked the papers I got from the Consulate and it says "Processing time for the K-1 visa at this office is estimated at four to six months from receipt of this checklist at our office to interview date." So yeah, I guess it's safe to assume it's a stock answer. Six months is probably the longest it has taken them to process everything and they're just playing it safe. The date on the form says it was updated in December 2007 and back then, according to the waiting list here on VJ, it took about five months to get the interview (June to November, for instance). A few months later it went down to three months. It goes on for a while between one to three months and the latest ones only had a one month wait. I'm thinking we should get something in September.

I think it's safe to assume it'll be about a 3 month wait for an interview.

In terms of assigning dates once a month, if yours was delivered on the Thursday the 7th, you may have gone into a pile of applications in the next batch, they maybe have let's just say decided the interviews on the Monday and you may have just missed the cut off. This is all just speculation.

I noticed from the chart last year that there weren't very many interviews in December/January. A lot of people waiting until February for an interview.

I'm hoping for an interview in March, but I don't plan on moving until earliest April so I'm trying to be patient, lol.

Thanks. We are hoping that its just that and we haven't been singled out. We'll report it ASAP if we get it.

Actually, if Dec/Jan had no interviews, or at least no VJ interviews, they may be on a lighter staff load due to vacations etc. Might be the same for August. With luck they will start ramping up between now and November.

I just checked the mail....and I got an interview date!! !!!





NOT!



Sorry...had to do that


I am already going crazy over here.

This is where I start praying for the favor of the Lord. (and forgivness for the lame joke)

Thanks a bunch

I've never been through so much pain and suffering at the hands of a government agency before. And all this time people are going up to Mary and asking "why haven't you moved yet" since shes been talking about it since we filed waaaaaaay back in February. Honestly sometimes I think those people who had to wait in jail up to a year in order to reunite with their families back during the Angel/Ellis Island days are a cakewalk compared to the psychological torture we seem to be going through This is the future of immigration? Those of us who want to do things legally since we want to honor the laws of the country we are moving to are treated like this, while illegals stream across the border and are able to be with their families right away - and get free stuff to boot. its almost like the law abiding get punished. All we want is to be with our loved ones, in a reasonable amount of time.

Anyways, thanks for the SHOCK! Hope this week gets us our dates crossing fingers...!

Happy Monday. Anyone checked their mail yet? Here's hoping we ALL get our letters this week, and interviews mid-September - fingers crossed...

Only mail I got today was from the Canadian Government wanting their taxes paid. Greedy peoples.

OK - So I came to a realization today which makes me feel dumb. I bet everyone else knew this but me.

Since I'm such a geek, I took all of the VJ dates and threw them in a spreadsheet and munched all the numbers up. What I found is that when you get and receive packet 3 makes no difference to the speed with which you get your interview date. Your interview date is tied to your NOA2 date, not your packet 3 response.

How did I find this? I threw all the K1 VJ Montreal time lines into a spreadsheet and found that the interview date is consistently 3-4 months (between 83-124 days) after the noa2 date, while the differences between the packet 3 date and the interview date fluctuated widely. I came to the conclusion that sending packet 3 in sooner or later makes no difference to the eventual interview date.

So - packet 4 for us should be here within the next 4 weeks, for an interview date within the next 6 weeks. Our noa2 was 6/6.

So the short answer is - add 3-4 months to your noa2 date for an estimate of your interview date. This is what I use : http://timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html

Thanks...Carl

Interesting. If this is the way it works, it means I could have my interview anywhere between September 25 and October 25. I sure am hoping for September or early October though. Anything later will make it hard for my sweetheart to come pick me up with the trailer. Not sure we'll want to risk it with the snow in November. We'll see.

Amy just shared a rumor with me that someone just got an interview date for Montreal. Who was it??

Not us. Did you get yours?

I don't see ANY September or October K1 MTL bookings yet. Could this be true?

Nope I didn't get mine yet....she said she saw it on VJ this morning that someone got their interview date and I been searching all day for it to see if my timeline matches up with theirs...still havent' found it. I think she's pulling my chain hehe

I see other visa types but no K1s yet. I think I'll be calling NVC soon. All we need is a date. One stinking date! And the world will be alright.

Well, I just emailed NVC and MTL again since I tried to call NVC but was not able to get through. Maybe I will try again after 6pm ET as they suggest. Sigh.

No date here either. I'm trying to be as calm as possible about this since it hasn't been a month yet that I sent my stuff back but it's getting harder to do so.

Let's make a promise here to let each other know as soon as we get a date. As far as I can tell, it looks like it's only the three of us waiting for a K-1 interview in Montreal.

Looks like she's right...but not only did the other couple already get an interview date...they also already went to the interview and got approved http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=47274 They were expedited.

So not kewl

I know. and now apparently the appointment letters are getting lost in the mail. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=148604
Apparently the Whites got expedited due to someone being deployed.

Yes, it's not cool that they got expedited while we're still waiting (wouldn't it be cool if everybody got expedited processing? ), but at the same time I'm glad for them so they can be together before he's deployed. I do admire all those guys and gals who go out there, risking their lives, for our security.

I sent an email to the Consulate today saying I sent my forms and checklist at the beginning of August and wondering if an interview date has been set. I'll keep you posted when I get a reply.

Hi Folks

For the time being my CR1 is still stuck at NVC waiting for my Australian Police Clearance and Original Date of Birth Certificate ...

Do you know how long it takes the Montreal Consulate to schedule your interview once your case reaches them ? Is it the same for CR1 and K1

All inputs are highly appreciated

Thanks

Wingsforever

Here's a general timeline for CR-1's. Once completed at NVC, its been taking about 2-3 months to get an interview date. Much faster than the previous 4-6 months.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry2185142

Thanks cattattude, Just read about ur interview experience, Great review

According to the stats, there are only 3 interviews in Sept booked so far. All IR-1/CR-1s

Maybe they take most of September off, since we should be getting appointment letters by now if the interviews are this month

I looked at last years numbers - there were 14 interviews in August, 3 in September, and 16 in October.

Sigh.

Guess we're looking at an interview date in October at the soonest then. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

I got a reply to the email I sent to the Consulate. The answer: "Your on a 2-4 month waiting list for a date" (yes, they made a typo). Much better than what is stated in Packet 3 where they say the wait is four to six months.

One has to keep in mind, only a small fraction of visa applicants are on VJ!

I guess we DID piss them off. Our response was 6 months about a month ago. And we haven't gotten any email responses since.

Thanks Flames9,Waitforever,Pandora01

Waitforever: Where are u getting these stats from?..Is it from the timelines posted here or some other Montreal Consulate Link ?

If it from stats here on VJ then they may not be accurate ...

My case will leave NVC only end of this month i think , As my australian police clearance is going to take about 15 days more ..etc etc...

So I am looking to get a case complete early October ...

Being extremely positive, I am going to say that I will get an early Nov Date for the Interview



Thanks again

Wingsforever

Hi there: Since I'm such a geek, I exported all of the K1 MTL timelines over the last year into a Google Docs sheet. I then calculated the time between NOA2 and the interview, and between Packet 3 and the interview, then between Packet 3 and Packet 4, then between Packet 4 and the interview. I then took an average of those days since Januaru 2008. Here are the average times:

Between NOA2 and Interview: 104.55 days
Between Packet 3 and Packet 4: 39.3
Between Packet 3 and Interview: 71.3 days
Between Packet 4 and Interview: 25 days

Right now we sit here:
Days From NOA2: 91
Days From Packet 3: 57

So we are way over average for Packet 4 delivery, but still in line with NOA2 delivery. It doesn't help that the last set of folks who got their interview got their packet 4 in less than a month. Of course, looking at the stats from last year also tells us that 14 interviews for any visa type were held in August, 3 in September, and 16 in October. So that tells me that September is either a month where they are short staffed due to vacations and don't schedule many interviews, or there is some other reason why they don't do a lot of interviews in September. So its possible that we missed the cutoff for August and are now in this dead period until they gear up for October interviews. Maybe the staff that does the interviews is all lounging on a beach in Greece this month.

Of course it would be nice if we could get some real answers from the consulate, then maybe a. people wouldn't keep bugging them for a status if they just set our expectations and communicated properly b. we wouldn't feel like we were staring into a black hole c. we could actually try and get on with our lives and plan our moves, wedding etc. I've sent repeated emails to the consulate, they replied to one and now seem to be ignoring me. Considering email is the only way they seem to want to communicate with us - I think all of their paperwork says don't call us just email us - I think the customer "service" is exceptionally poor.

And yeah, I know these stats just reflect VJers, but its probably proportional to the real number.

alright folks.. I know I've been away for a while with the wedding and all but I thought I'd spend some solid time on the spreadsheet today...

as always, the chart is just for Montreal K1 & K3 visas only...
the link is in my signature...

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pjs...HOCavn_ONGctqIg

Alright everyone. I confirmed that MTL is at least not ignoring our emails. I sent them an email asking about the validity period expiring before the interview and we got the standard one line response:

"Please wait & we will revalidate the visa the day of the interview "

So this is good and bad: they will revalidate, which is good, but bad in that it sounds like they are looking to extend the wait times out again. So now I'm thinking October for all of us

I replied again and asked if they have certain months where they do more than others, they responded with a "thank you" but did not let on either way.

I'll keep you posted the moment we get any word.

All my info got deleted off the chart

today is my bday...I was hoping to get a nice letter in the mail today. That would have been a great bday gift. Amy called me this morning and sang a happy bday to me awww hehe

Well, perhaps dear WaitForever, if you had said this sooner, I would have had my parents go and kick their butts!
They're on their way back to Montreal now, so too late.


Do try and breathe.
I know I know...how challenging it is to wait.
Hey, I had to keep looking up that word in the dictionary...and still!!!!!!!!!!!
Know that nothing makes sense when it comes to immigration and so, you are left with a couple of choices:

go around in circles scream and shout
or
understand that that is insanity as is this process.

What can I tell you.
I have said time and again I do not believe borders should exist.
We are all human beings born on this planet.
We are residents of Earth damn it!
Why do we have to prove ourselves to travel and/or live somewhere else?

Ahem...I do digress.

Still, I believe you understand the spirit of this message.
It is intended to say that we all care and we all hope that the paperwork comes through lickety split!

Weird.. adding it now

Happy BDay!

wwooo congratz liz !

Liz - My info got deleted too and on line 40 there's a -6 in the Still Waiting column

ChasingAmy - Happy birthday!

THe -6 is there because it takes about a week for montreal to enter you into their computer from when you send it...
so I always add 7 days.
unless you call montreal in 2 weeks and ask them what day the file was entered into the system.. for those few folks, i use that date.

I'll fix the other bo-bo when I get home =)

technically "working" =)

Ok, thanks Liz
Didn't know I could ask for the date I entered the waiting list.

Its so nice to see my name on that spreadsheet finally

So do you guys recommend calling NVC to find out when it gets there and leaves, or should I just wait for the letter...and if I do call, how long do you figure I wait? I'll be down in the States next week anyway, so I was thinking it looks like it left VSC on Wed or Thursday...so next friday give them a ring?

Oh, and I saw someone mention about 3-4 months to interview from NOA2...which would put me between Dec1 and Jan1 (gross, holiday time :S) - Do you think they will just leave it until mid Jan or is there a historic trend of picking up before the holiday?

I sound like such a noob compared to all you pros

<3 Jen

another update..
thanks for all the PM's and posts to let me know about little mistakes =)

Bump. Still no appointment letter. Also, no one on VJ reports any interviews in October yet. Still only 3 interviews at MTL this month listed. 2 interviews in VAN as well. Maybe September is a quiet month all around.

My only comfort in this, is that I'm next in line before WaitForever! lol I emailed the embassy a few days ago but have received no reply as to the date of our interview. Maybe they've decided just to let me in jk.