Canadian Guilt?

[Krikit 1,163]

Whoops! I just saw Tracy's post. Make that two guilt-ridden poll takers!

[Jay & Beverly 0]

I'm still under the impression the backlog in Montreal is continuing -- aside from the 9 couples that received notification last week.

Guilty? No... but being hassled by a difficult consulate almost sounds more appealing than being ignored by Montreal. Doubly frustrating considering the six week difference between CSC and VSC between NOA1 and NOA2 and the 70 day difference between Vancouver and Montreal.

Sorry... my biological clock is ticking... =)

[Downtoride 0]

Why in the world would i feel guilty? that is one of the luxuries of living in two countries that have i guess what you can call a certain trust for each other... to me its just a perk. Think of it this way, if you work at a certain store you get certain discounts that the average person won't get. Would you feel guilty?

Beyond that others countries have bigger issues such as fraud and what not, such as some MENA countries I'm sure if the States had a better track record with some of these countries it wouldn't be such a big problem. But immigration has a big burden to carry, think about how many people try and come here on false visa and how immigration has to somehow figure out who are really in love, and come here wanting to get married and live a happy life. And those who would really love to do harm to U.S. I can't feel guilt or fault them for doing the best they can in keeping everybody who lives and comes here to live safe. So if that means a little extra effort on their part then I'm fine with that even if its me when i get put in secondary for "further" evaluation when crossing the boarder. It's just them doing a job. I'm not trying to start a debate just answering the question.

On the other end it sucks for People who have to wait that much longer but we all have a wait and if all is good then you will be blessed to come here.

[Sprailenes 47]

I don't feel guilty but I understand what you're saying.

Of course I have read some horror stories here too in the Canadian forum. We have our share of obstacles too. I think we're lucky that we are so close to the US, and it is a little easier to visit (with your proven ties of course) but I don't feel guilt about it.

[Malrothien 6]

No guilt here. This is my second trip through immigration (me from the US to Canada) so I don't have many feelings beyond apathy and frustration with the process.

[SapphireDreams 71]

I know exactly what the OP means...I don't feel guilty persay but I can see we have some advantages over some other countries. while doing AOS and now ROC in the US....I have it pretty easy, I already speak english. I have seen folks with less then perfect english who are treated disrespectfully at the immigration office. I think it must be just an added layer of frustration to be learning english on top of everything else going on. Yes, they chose it, but you all know what I mean.

In my daily dealings, absolutely no one pegs me as an immigrant, because I 'fit in' (whatever that means in their little minds).....so yah, we have it pretty easy start to finish. we don't have to bribe anyone, no one thinks we Cdns are trying to 'just get a GC'... we don't have to travel too far through uncivilized territory or anything else (unless you call downtown Montreal the wilderness )

I agree with you. It's pretty much been a breeze for me to move here and "fit in" with no problems. My educations translated perfectly, I have the exact same if not better job here and people would never know I was an immigrant unless I told them. Living in a place with a lot of immigrants (both legal and illegal) I can see how much harder it can be once they move here.

That being said, I don't feel bad about the actual immigration process itself. It's an expensive, long process that is not easy regardless of whether or not we have an easier time getting through the interview.

[Necrotica 0]

No, although I may be biased because we went through hell in the K1 process with Montréal.

Does anyone else feel a little guilty sometimes, thinking about how easy we generally get through compared to the nightmares we read about in the Central and South American consulates, not to even MENTION the MENA (Middle East, North Africa) area? I mean, the worst things we have to worry about is a couple-month backlog at Montreal and accidentally leaving the US without an AP document! That's like nothing! Do we have it too easy?

[lgg 2]

No. No guilt it all -- there are proven reasons as to why some consulates are more difficult to get through than others -- I feel bad for innocent people getting caught in that quagmire, but it exists for a reason. ANd it's not like getting our visa as Canadians is a total cake walk either.

So no. No guilt here and that's odd for me as a lapsed catholic....

[Arabella 4]

No. Not in the least.

Indeed, I'm of the mind that it could / should be even easier for two first-world nations that have such a close allegiance.

I'm reminded of the situation in Australia and New Zealand -- two completely distinct countries, separated by a 1500 mile sea, yet they have a "Trans-Tasman Agreement" that allows a citizen of one to live and work freely in the other, with adequate documentation. I'd love to see something like that between Canada and the United States, though I am well aware that there is virtually no likelihood of that happening in this day and age.

But I'm not about to feel guilty for the difficulties faced by other countries. I'm just glad to be Canadian.

Apparently it's the same with Norway. One of my guild mates posted this recently:

"It is really a shame that you have to go through all that since Canadians and Americans are basically neighbors. Over here, Norwegians can live and work in Sweden, and Swedes can do the same thing over here in Norway. Now, if a Swede and a Norwegian were to fall in love and get married it would only take a week of paper work. Actually you can just sign the papers, move over, then pretend you are officially married until it's final one week later.

Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland all live under the same roof. It's only called immigration if you're from a country that is not chained with Norway's borders."

I wish Canada and the US had an agreement like this.

My future father in law told me on Tuesday that America is paranoid about anyone coming into the country. He travels a lot in Europe, and he says all they do is scan his passport and let him in based on his history in the computer. He says whenever he goes to the State, he gets grilled by the border patrol.

I told him we had reason to be more cautious, and he pointed out that we aren't the only country to be attacked by terrorits, or even as much as some other countries. I think he has a point . . .

[trailmix 77]

No, no guilt here, can't think of a reason why we would feel guilty.

There are people in the Canada forum who have been waiting for months - because of suspected terrorist motives? Questions about the validity of their marriage? No. Because the CO in Montreal didn't 'feel' that the U.S. citizen had proven reestablishing domicile.

Spouses and Spouses and their children have been separated because of this. Forced to quit their job here, if they had one, move away from their Spouse and children and relocate to the U.S. first, getting a job, paying for 2 places to live. Asked to relinquish their Canadian permanent residency.

There is no cake walk here.

How many other potential immigrants have to travel 3,600 kms for their interview? Are their any?

[Flames9_RN 358]

I'm probably in the minority, as i feel we have it easy!! Through my travels have come across a lot of sad situations! I imagine many don't get the opportunity to travel to see their spouse or even communicate daily with the spouse. Here I was back in Canada with everything I needed and more, had a great job, saw my wife every month, (more would be nicer,lol) but really had nothing to complain about. Had food/beer in my fridge, all was good. And I am a very "me" kind of person and not religious in any ways. I just know others have it worse, boo hoo for me that the process isnt super fats just because I'm Canadian! lol But that my opinion which I'm sure isn't shared my 99% of others,lol

[kizza 1]

No. No guilt it all -- there are proven reasons as to why some consulates are more difficult to get through than others -- I feel bad for innocent people getting caught in that quagmire, but it exists for a reason. ANd it's not like getting our visa as Canadians is a total cake walk either.

So no. No guilt here and that's odd for me as a lapsed catholic....

Exactly!

And there are people from my group of filers who's fiances are already done with the process and arriving in the US (from countries that are considered relatively high-fraud), while Im still waiting on my NOA2.

Bad luck on my part... but regardless, even if I had gotten my NOA2 at the same time as everybody else, there is no way I'd even be scheduled for an interview in Mtl right now.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

No, no guilt here, can't think of a reason why we would feel guilty.

There are people in the Canada forum who have been waiting for months - because of suspected terrorist motives? Questions about the validity of their marriage? No. Because the CO in Montreal didn't 'feel' that the U.S. citizen had proven reestablishing domicile.

Spouses and Spouses and their children have been separated because of this. Forced to quit their job here, if they had one, move away from their Spouse and children and relocate to the U.S. first, getting a job, paying for 2 places to live. Asked to relinquish their Canadian permanent residency.

There is no cake walk here.

How many other potential immigrants have to travel 3,600 kms for their interview? Are their any?

Yeah, those are some great points.

As most folks here know, I have NO resentment over the amount of time I've / we've had to wait for our interviews, nor over the process itself. I understand the need for the process, and realistically, I think it has a way of strengthening one's marriage / relationship. I mean seriously...how many marital hardships will rival the 7-10 month wait for unification?

Having said all of that though, Canadians DO have to go through a lot -- often more than other countries. The overall wait times are longer (for CR-1s, at least), and we have the same level of security checks as countries that are known to harbor terrorists... Logistically, there's something odd about that. And this is for spouses of citizens!

I'm also a firm believer in having a solid grasp of the language of the country one is moving to prior to actually moving. I know some people disagree with me on this, but I find it rather disrespectful to not make the effort to better integrate with one's potential new home by learning how to converse with its citizens! I know for a fact that if I was moving to Germany, Pakistan, Peru etc., I'd learn the language first. So I don't have much sympathy for those who get hassled by U.S. Immigration for not being able to effectively communicate...

I'm still shaking my head a little bit over how people can feel guilty for such a thing. I respect the stance, but I truly can't understand it.

[TimandJoyce 1]

One of my husband's co-workers (a spanish speaking US citizen) is currently house-hunting. The realtor they were dealing with asked them if they had their greencard.

First, you moronic twit...... not all home buyers in the US are American citizens.

Secondly, you simpleminded pinhead..... you don't require citizenship to purchase property here.

Lastly, you brainless bonehead..... having an accent doesn't make you an illegal.

That realtor is now their ex-realtor.

I think that realtor needs to do a little homework!

No...I don't feel guilty. I didn't choose the nationality I am, although I'm certainly proud to be Canadian. But like others have mentioned, I hate the way that others get "drilled" and can take a while, although, I do understand, for good reason. I totally understand the US has to be careful.

I hope those that have been waiting quite a while to be reunited will have a quick and painless journey.

[Dan and Ali 3]

I don't feel guilty at all about the process, or how "easy" Canadians have it. The fact that a CR-1 applicant has to wait months and months for an interview while I was allowed to request my interview day in Vancouver ... now THAT makes me feel guilty!

I recognise the need for the immigration process from Canada to the US and while I do respect it, but I also wish that Canada and the US had an agreement similar to Australia/New Zealand or Europe. I do feel bad for people from other countries who have a harder time getting through, but like lgg said ... it is like that for a reason. I would suggest you take a read of the "Effects of Major Family Changes to Immigration" forum ... reading some of the posts on there and the terrible experiences people have of fraud, abuse, etc really made me realise why certain places are looked at with higher scrunity. It sounds awful, but obviously USCIS is aware of that and act on it accordingly.