Transfer from Montreal to Vancouver?

[MichelleMcK 0]

My fiancé lives in Vancouver, but our attorney told us that we should send our petition to Montreal. Will my fiancé have to fly to Montreal for his interview? We really cannot afford this...

Our petition is at the California Service Center, so what would it take to get it changed to Vancouver?

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[Cassie 8]

Your attorney is completely wrong! Since your fiance lives in Vancouver, and you are filing for a fiance visa, your case will automatically be sent to Vancouver when California is finished with it and forwards it on. If you were married and filing for a spousal visa, that's when Montreal would come into play for you.

Personally, I worry for you, in that your attorney did not know one of the basics in this process. Is he/she familiar with dealing with US immigration?

[MichelleMcK 0]

I believe that she knows a lot about US immigration... before I hired her, I asked for the emails of her previous clients, and I got nothing but awesome reviews of her. If I were to do this over, I wouldnt have hired an attorney, but there is not much we can do now... I just hope she doesn't slow us down...

Can I call the CSC and ask them?

[erintoronto 0]

i hope this info helps. i found it here.

"The Consulate in Vancouver processes fiancé(e) cases for citizens of Canada, or aliens who are permanent residents. Individuals in Canada on student and/or employment authorization will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Such individuals must be authorized to remain in Canada for a continuous minimum period of six months (from the time the approved petition is received at the Consulate). Applicants must also be residing in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Yukon or the Northwest Territories. All other applicants in Canada are processed at the U.S. Consulate in Montreal."

i opted not to use an attorney as every single one that i spoke with seemed to give me a different answer *and* everything you need to know can be found online if you're willing to do a bit of investigative work.

best of luck with the process and if you are confused by your attorney, the folks at VJ have a wealth of knowledge that they're happily willing to share.

[Eric_and_Corinna 0]

It's not too late to get rid of your attorney. If you're happy with her, by all means keep her, but I have found the knowledgeable members on VJ to be far more helpful than my POS attorney was. I fired him and asked for half of our money back, as his fee included AOS and Consular help. Since he had only prepared my I-130 and I-129F stuff, (poorly, at that) he refunded half of his fee.

I wish I would have seen Visajourney before hiring that clown.

The choice is yours, but if your case doesn't have anything unusual, VJ is probably all you need

[MichelleMcK 0]

Thank you so much!! I will be emailing my atty to find out what she will do to fix this... I hope that our case will automatically go to Vancouver, even if I wrote Montreal on our petition...

[Flames9_RN 358]

To be blunt, ur attorney is a complete moron! It is obvious that ur attorney has not keeping up to date with inforamtion!!

1) u live in Vancouver, so why would one want to fork over $$$ to fly to Mtl (unless it was way faster)

2) Vancouver is way faster at handing out interviews than Mtl!!

Even if it does goto Mtl, one can email mtl and say hey I live in vancouver!! And they should send it to van

[MichelleMcK 0]

Ok, thank you! Yeah, I'm definitely feeling the same way... but I do think it's too late to fire her. We paid $500 for this:

http://www.4thelegalgroup.com/13.htm

Kinda depressing.

[Eric_and_Corinna 0]

Ok, thank you! Yeah, I'm definitely feeling the same way... but I do think it's too late to fire her. We paid $500 for this:

http://www.4thelegalgroup.com/13.htm

Kinda depressing.

$500 isn't too bad, actually. In my experience with Montreal, they're very good about emailing back, and will probably just tell you that your case will be going thru Vancouver anyway.

Vancouver seems to average a month for getting interviews scheduled, lately Montreal has been about 2 months. It used to be a much greater discrepency, but it appears that Montreal has gotten their act together.

The trick is getting through California

[MichelleMcK 0]

I know... California seems to be taking forever. Another thing that irks me? I looked on the USCIS website, and our petition should have gone to Nebraska, not Cali... grrr

[erintoronto 0]

Ok, thank you! Yeah, I'm definitely feeling the same way... but I do think it's too late to fire her. We paid $500 for this:

http://www.4thelegalgroup.com/13.htm

Kinda depressing.

$500 isn't too bad, actually. In my experience with Montreal, they're very good about emailing back, and will probably just tell you that your case will be going thru Vancouver anyway.

Vancouver seems to average a month for getting interviews scheduled, lately Montreal has been about 2 months. It used to be a much greater discrepency, but it appears that Montreal has gotten their act together.

The trick is getting through California

i agree, $500 isn't bad at all. i was hearing $1,500 up to $4,500 for the EXACT same services when i was trying to find an attorney.

yes, getting through california is certainly the first big step (and banging head off of the wall). but if you filed in late january or early february, you might hear something within the next few weeks (according to the timelines i'm seeing on VJ).

I know... California seems to be taking forever. Another thing that irks me? I looked on the USCIS website, and our petition should have gone to Nebraska, not Cali... grrr

actually, K1 (I-129F) applications from washington state are supposed to go to california. other types of I-129 apps go to vermont. there are detailed instructions on how to complete the I-129F application here and you'll see on page 5 that it's supposed to go to california

best of luck!

Edited May 26, 2008 by erinanddavid

[MichelleMcK 0]

Yeah, I know... I shopped around for attys, but I def do not think I am getting my moneys worth...

Here is where USCIS says Nebraska:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

Oh well, its already at California....

[wowswift 3]

Yeah, I know... I shopped around for attys, but I def do not think I am getting my moneys worth...

Here is where USCIS says Nebraska:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

Oh well, its already at California....

its supposed to be in cali. read the instructions on where to send http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-129Finstr.pdf

California Service Center Filings

File Form I-129F with the California Service Center if you live in:

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, or Wyoming.

edit..i see someone already posted the pdf lol but yeah, page 5 of the instructions say it goes to cali

Edited May 26, 2008 by wowswift

[MichelleMcK 0]

Ok, thanks. One less thing to worry about...

[MichelleMcK 0]

So this is the email that I received from my atty today:

1. You are looking at outdated information regarding service centers. Nebraska does not even process K visas anymore. Only california and vermont. See below

Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)

Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)

Effective July 30, 2007

If

And

Mail Form I-129F to

You are a U.S. citizen.

You are filing a K-1 petition for your fiancé(e) and you live in:

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

USCIS

California Service Center

P.O. Box 10130

Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-0130

For private couriers (non-USPS) deliveries:

USCIS

California Service Center

24000 Avila Road

2nd Floor, Room 2312

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

You are filing a K-1 petition for your fiancé(e)and you live in:

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware,Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

US Postal Service and private courier deliveries:

USCIS

Vermont Service Center

Attn: I-129F

75 Lower Welden Street

St. Albans, VT 05479-0001

You are filing a K-1 petition for your fiancé(e) and you live outside the United States.

California Service Center or the Vermont Service Center, depending on your last place of residence in the U.S. (see above for filing location).

You are filing a K-3 petition for your spouse.

The Service Center where the underlying I-130 petition is currently pending. Use the address listed on your most recent receipt notice or transfer notice and include a copy of that notice with your Form I-129F.

2. A K1 visa from Vancouver takes one year to process. From Montreal, about 6 months. Most clients choose the faster route. That was certainly your decision however

I am not sure what "incorrect information" you were given that you refer to in your email.

I do, however, appreciate your confidence in my ability. I am sure that it is easy to forget that I process over 1700 K visas per year - for a living.

Thanks and have a great day!

Karyn Duff, Esquire

I have read on here that Vancouver is much quicker than Montreal... which is true? I am getting confused...