Is there any canadian like me that is kind of upset to have to go through all that crap since 1991 due to fact that other countries been "visa frauding" United States????

Its ridiculous in my opinion...but oh well just needed to let go some steam i guess hehe

Canadians are special ? I think not. My fiancee is real and we are going to have to wait 9- 11 months for our visa. So suck it up and join the club. Plus its damn cheap to visit Canada during the wait, try saving the money to fly to china on a regular basis, then post again.

Now there really isn't any need for that kind of attitude..

No, there isn't; however, I can understand the frustration presented in it. The OP gave the impression that "since Canadians are such-and-such way, they shouldn't have to jump through the same hoops as everyone else." That's bound to rub some people the wrong way. After all, Canada is a foreign country (as many Canadians are so fond of reminding Americans), so it only makes sense that Canadians are subject to the same processes that every other foreign national is as well.

I agree, super rude.

Does (or did it) bother me? Not at all. One could make arguments that maybe certain countries should get special treatment,and some other (maybe communist ones) should be way down the list! But I think everyone should be treated the same. We planned accordingly and wasn't in a huge rush. Were not running a dash, in it for the marathon!

Deadpool you are right....I understand that the process needs to be the same for all countries to be fair but I guess some Canadians feel that since we are neighbours to the states and have a "relationship" that we should have it easier....whatever, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Being rude is uncalled for though

It is easy for Canadians to forget that Canada and the US are indeed totally separate and individually sovereign nations. I had that point brought home to me a number of years ago when I was driving across the border for a day's visit. As some of you may know, Quebec did not issue birth certificates until fairly recently and having been born in Quebec, I had no birth certificate. When I reached the border, the guard asked for my birth certificate and I carefully explained that Quebec had not issued one. She bluntly informed me that she did not care what Quebec did or did not do; the US was a foreign country and if I was a Canadian requesting admission to the US, I needed to prove I was a Canadian citizen for her to allow me to enter as a Canadian. It was an abrupt awakening for me - but she was absolutely right. I had assumed that as a Canadian I had a certain right to expect Americans to treat me as special at the border. I am grateful to that border guard for setting me straight - and for allowing me to cross after all on the meager identification that I had. I never made that mistake again. Quebec shortly afterwards did start issuing retroactive birth certificates and I obtained one.

Canada is indeed a foreign country and the US has every right to request whatever documentation they require from foreign nationals - regardless of what country they come from, including Canada. We are not Americans - we are Canadians. There is a difference. The privileges of being a Canadian are available to us - in Canada.

well said kathyrn

Nicely put
I've had so many people say to me "You need to do what?? It's the States!!! We are Canadians, why is it so hard?" and I'm like...it's another country...we are Canadian, it's another country, it's that simple.

Welcome to the Canada forum!

That's why I moved the thread here..

OP would get eaten alive out there

OMG I think I recognize that person from the illegal immigrants in Canada OT thread!!

I'm frightened!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHARK!!!!

cmon...its only since 1991 that Canada have to go through visa application...before that we had the rights to get married without any problems but now all the suspicion coming from other countries fraud is now on our shoulders...n yeah i am frustrated.....


Is china would get upset about my comment ??? why such a hurry to trow a fit if there isnt anyone "guilty"??

Oh and by the way ...my question was address to canadians ......haha

That's why you should post such q's in the Canadian Forum next time..

I moved the post here for you.

Attention K-Mart Shoppers

no not rude,just a response to a very arrogant and descending post, and if your going to quote me, qoute it all so its in context please.

I actually never responded directly to your post, I was agreeing with Liz.

I was just trying to indicate the part that I thought had the attitude, the rest didn't.

Hence, me not quoting it.

and I don't like really long quotes so I removed the rest. I didn't change any of your words.

And I, and I'm sure a few others, didn't find it arrogant nor condescending, simply misguided.

It goes both ways too. I know several Americans who were deemed inadmissible to Canada for previous crimes and they were pissed and ranted about how they had a right to go there despite their criminal records...

actually I don't think that its unreasonable to think that Canadian/American couples should have an easier time. A reasonably large chunk of us can just cross the border and look for work under NAFTA, no long application process or interview involved. And (this is me opening a huge can of worms) we are much more likely to just meet during non-visa-mediated encounters. I'd suggest that there is a much lower proportion of Can/Am marriage based immigration fraud because of this closeness. (actually I don't think that marriage based immigration fraud is as prevalent as is depicted in the media, regardless of the country)

The process is ridiculously long, but I'd be happy if they'd just stop making us go to Montreal or Vancouver for a pointless 3 minute interview. If they'd waive the interviews for the typical Can/Am couple they'd solve the backlog and acknowledge the close relationship between the two countries.

agreed

I second that!

maybe to make the interview feel like something is on the line, they should make it harder. have it where your spouse has to attend, put you in seperate rooms, and then ask 100 questions, and your spouse has to get 99 correct! lol

Flames, are you crazy?!?!?!?! LMAO

I'm already done,so I think it is a good idea,lol (not) For mtl/van, the interview is such a waste for many, they ask you a few simple questions and thats that!! Why can't they just phone ya!! I'm sure they ar ein with the airlines and hotels, get a partial cut of their profits,lol

Totally agree!

Nick and I have already talked about this..lol it's so far in advance but we are going to make the trip together...we're excited, I love Montreal and he's never seen it....we'll make it not such a waste of time. Yep, I'm sure they get a piece of that money pie!!!! sigh!

Oh really? And then I suppose other 'friendly nation' consulates should waive the interview requirment as well?

Where do you draw the line?

Sort of. On the other hand, the first time C. used a passport to enter the U.S. was *after* his I-129F had been approved. There's a lot he can do as a Canadian that recognizes the close relationship between Canada and the U.S. Work visas, longer maximum stay per year, that sort of thing. It's not a problem for older Canadians to own homes in the U.S. and travel there. Canada's already not in the same category as China.

Has there ever been a Canadian-American couple on VJ denied for proof of relationship? (Definitely not true of Guangzhou, and certainly no one is told to get another Canadian if their girl or guy gets denied.) Anyone else think it's weird that Ron is so dangerous he can't get a fiance visa but a waiver for a weekend visit isn't a big deal? I think that's patently nuts.

There needs to be some oversight, but I'd be fine with an arrangement that entailed that Canadian-American couples either didn't need the fiance visa (but would necessarily have a green card interview), or received one without an interview. The interview for us was a complete joke, to the extent I have to wonder if they're silently sniggering at all the couples that bother with it rather than just driving down one day and 'spontaneously' getting married.

While I like that this post was moved to the Cdn. forum, I believe my relief was only that "we" Canadians not all be painted in such a negative manner. Frankly, I find the OP's question/comment not very tactful, and I was and am embarrassed when Canadians show such attitude. Yes, to each their own, free speech, all that jazz, but I get annoyed when it's assumed that because we live right next to the USA, that we should be afforded special privilages. Are those special privliages afforded to Mexican's? They are bordering the US as well.

I also believe this post is going to get bashed regardless of which forum it's on as word spreads.

Carla

Kathyrn, as always you are always eloquent in your responses. I too often respond emotionally top posts. Thanks for putting things in perspective for me!

I agree.

There's a good argument for drawing it at Canada. Very open border, six months visitation permitted. (Just like we draw lines at Canada for, say, requiring passport travel until very recently.)

But I'd be fine with a system rather like the UK for any VWP country. Send in the paperwork, no interview requirement, you're good to go. It took my friend three weeks, start to finish, to get an 'unmarried partner visa' to the UK,.

lol, oh ya, it will be locked soon enough, sigh!! Maybe we should set up a password to get into each countries forum,lol better yet, have to conduct a phone interview,lol Or simply a 10 page paper on why the Calgary Flames are the best team in the NHL!

Visiting is visiting. It's not immigrating.

Anytime a citizen of another nation chooses to live here, there should be a different bar of admissability.

Canadians are no more entitled than anyone else in that regard.

And insofar as visa processing IN the UK, that is a function of NUMBERS. There are simply fewer people moving there than here. Hence paperwork moves more quickly.




Pardon me for buggering into 'your' forum.

It's not just numbers that made her visa faster, rebeccajo. She didn't have to get a medical or an interview, either.

Plus, the K-1 is a non-immigrant visa; the 'immigrating' portion happens later, and Canadian or British citizen would still have to go through that. Or here's another way you could do it. It's possible to apply for work visas at the border. If an interview is so important, have an approved I-129F, and allow the border patrol to conduct the interviews and grant the visa much in the same way the (non-immigrant, dual intent) L-1 or the TN visas are.

I don't know who the 'she' is you are referring to - I am obviously unfamiliar with this story.

So the K1 is a non-immigrant visa. Does that mean if you are Canadian that visa should be administered in a different manner than it is for citizens of another nation?

Full story: friends of mine, one American, one UK, met in grad school. He proposed last April. They filed the paperwork so she could come this fall to the UK where he has a postdoc. Start to finish for her 'visa journey': three weeks. No interview, no medical, just a few pieces of paper plus her birth certificate. No requirement that they marry in 90 days. I think her visa is multiple entry and good for two years.

As to your question about the visa being administered in another manner -- why not? C.'s never had to apply for a tourist visa, either. Neither, I suspect, did your husband. It's not unprecedented for countries to have different relationships with some countries rather than others. The UK, Canada, and Australia & NZ have a closer relationship than that of the U.S. and those countries. Is that unfair? Not really -- they have a long and shared history.

And given that AOS is what gives someone the right to work and stay, not the K-1, I wouldn't see much wrong with a system that said, essentially, you can adjust status based on marriage off of the VWP without having to demonstrate a lack of immigrant intent. Cuts down on the paperwork, still doesn't give anyone the right to stay without AOS and means a faster process for everyone else who actually needs the K-1 to get their partner here.

Point is however, that there are in fact many illegal Canadians in the US, just as there are illegal Mexicans, Iranians, Greeks, Russians, Chinese etc etc etc...ergo, if you want to live in the US legally you have to endure the whole legal process of it. Regardless of a relationship between your home country that may or may not be tenuous at best lately. We're not "best friends" anymore. Even if we are attached at the hip. Long gone are the days of Brian Mulroney and Ronald Regan sitting eating jelly beans at a fireside summit. Now its more like George and Steven glowering at each other from each end of a very long table and arguing over passport requirements. Get used to it, cuz its only going to get worse.

As to your friend's process - you are correct. That is the UK immigration process. For EVERYONE. Not just 'friendly' nations.

The K1 was originally created to speed up what used to be a very lengthy spousal visa process. The two visa types (spousal and fiance) are nearing equalization in speed of processing. I do suspect to possibly see the K1 eliminated at some time - at least as we know it. Whether or not any change is allowed for residents of 'friendly' nations, time will tell.

The fact the K1 is non-immigrant is moot. There is immigrant intent written all over it and as such beneficiaries of the visa should be screened equally. It was only created to allow the couple to be together while a lengthy adjustment process was completed - rather than be separated. Rather than grumble about how long it takes for your Canadian K1, consider that you could be forced to wait for a spousal visa.

Besides, as Reba says - don't expect things to get any easier in today's political climate. These days, the word 'immigrant' is practically equal to the words 'illegal immigrant' in the minds of many people. As someone moving to this nation, immigrants are viewed as taking jobs from Americans. Just because your SO is Canadian doesn't make them any more loved than the brown-skinned guy down the street cutting grass.

My husband is from a VWP nation. I never for one second (then or now) would expect his immigration to be handled any differently than someone from anywhere else on this planet. True, I was amazed at how two developed nations couldn't clear my husbands background check in less than 17 months. But beyond that, asking for preferred status based upon nation of birth smacks of entitlement to me.

Aside from Canada, are there any other consulates where you have to travel 5000 km to the interview (in my Husband's case)??

Edit: Did I mention he will have a reindeer carrying his tucker bag as he is going on foot?

umm, i travelled 3167km, from Darwin to Sydney, in Australia. (thats air distance), probably closer to 6000kms by road. Sydney is the only consulate in Australia that does K1 interviews,...so your not alone my friend!!

The fact there are only two places for interviews for such a physically large nation IS ridiculous.

My husband had to fly from Northern Ireland to London TWICE for his medical and his interview. There is no place for residents of NI to interview on the Emerald Isle. While it wasn't 5000 miles, it was an inconvenience nonetheless.

That's still 2000 km short, you might have to detour to Melbourne - not to get too picky but that is only because we live in Calgary, if someone is coming from Vancouver it's over 9,000 km.

I guess my point is, the thing I find most annoying is that we only have one consulate in this entire (huge) country that does interviews for IR1/CR1. Even the woman we were speaking to at the Calgary consulate said she couldn't understand why they don't do interviews here anymore.

As for preferential treatment in terms of actual immigration paperwork - don't want it, don't need it, don't expect it.

There is no consulate in Darwin is there?

Thats only 1968 miles! A good dog team will have ya there before supper time!!

no, no consulate in Darwin,.....