Putting my ducks in a row!

[frenzyheart 2]

First off, I'd like to thank you all for being such a tremendous amount of help during our journey. The amount of questions you've answered for me, and the times where you've all re-assured me has been phenomenal. With that said, I ask for your help yet again.

We're leaving for Montreal on Friday, and I'd like some oversight to make sure I'm not forgetting anything!

Packet 4 (+ 1 copy)

Sealed Medical Exam (Do we need to bring the x-ray? I didn't think we had to, but you never know...)

Long form Birth Cert (+ 1 copy)

Police Cert (+ 1 copy)

Passport Photos x2

Passport (+ 1 color photocopy of bio page)

I-134 for me (+ 1 copy - no evidence going with this, as the only thing on there is my personal belongings Can't express how much I'm REALLY hoping that job pans out once I get home...)

I-134 for my grandfather (+ 1 copy - Evidence: 2007/2008/2009 Tax forms, W-2s from employment/SSI/pension, Letter from Employer, Home Ownership Assessment)

Updated Letter of Intent (+ 1 copy) (Do I just have him do this, or do we both need to make new ones?)

Assortment of cards we've given each other, plus a few random photos that were originally sent, as well as the originals of documents sent with original submission packet.

And of course, the 12x15 Xpresspost mailer, which we'll be picking up Friday on the way out of town.

I was thinking of making a cover letter for all of the Affidavit of Support stuff, since there's a lot there - I'm a bit OCD with the organizing; not sure if this would be necessary/welcomed or not, lol.

Any other thoughts/suggestions/etc? Do I have it all, or am I missing something? I can't seem to find anything that I'm missing, but better to have more opinions than just my own!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

[Bernie C 24]

We went through a different country and were required to have birth certificates and copies for each of us at the interview. You might want to double check if you need both the applicant and petitioner birth certificates for your interview.

Good Luck and Best Wishes

[Married2009 32]

I would make the cover letter for the I-134. I used a template off this site, and made a cover letter listing everything in the package I sent. Not sure if the Packet 4 has a cover letter or not. (We went the CR1/IR1 route). Good luck!

[Kimbear 53]

i didn't need any info from david like his bc etc, but he was there with me. i didn't bother with a cover letter, just had the i134 and stuff in a big clip for them organized by most recent to least, with updated job letter on top.

we did intent letters for each of us. the lady appreciated all the clips separating all of it, and the post its lol

[lilacvioletiris 11]

First off, I'd like to thank you all for being such a tremendous amount of help during our journey. The amount of questions you've answered for me, and the times where you've all re-assured me has been phenomenal. With that said, I ask for your help yet again.

We're leaving for Montreal on Friday, and I'd like some oversight to make sure I'm not forgetting anything!

Packet 4 (+ 1 copy)

Sealed Medical Exam (Do we need to bring the x-ray? I didn't think we had to, but you never know...)

Long form Birth Cert (+ 1 copy)

Police Cert (+ 1 copy)

Passport Photos x2

Passport (+ 1 color photocopy of bio page)

I-134 for me (+ 1 copy - no evidence going with this, as the only thing on there is my personal belongings Can't express how much I'm REALLY hoping that job pans out once I get home...)

I-134 for my grandfather (+ 1 copy - Evidence: 2007/2008/2009 Tax forms, W-2s from employment/SSI/pension, Letter from Employer, Home Ownership Assessment)

Updated Letter of Intent (+ 1 copy) (Do I just have him do this, or do we both need to make new ones?)

Assortment of cards we've given each other, plus a few random photos that were originally sent, as well as the originals of documents sent with original submission packet.

And of course, the 12x15 Xpresspost mailer, which we'll be picking up Friday on the way out of town.

I was thinking of making a cover letter for all of the Affidavit of Support stuff, since there's a lot there - I'm a bit OCD with the organizing; not sure if this would be necessary/welcomed or not, lol.

Any other thoughts/suggestions/etc? Do I have it all, or am I missing something? I can't seem to find anything that I'm missing, but better to have more opinions than just my own!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Looks good! Just make sure to write down the tracking number from the Xpresspost mailer so you can track it. Ours just got put in the mail today a week after the interview!

They only took the letter of intent from the U.S. citizen. The people in Montreal didn't want the letter of intent from my fiance' since he signed something else (maybe it was the 156K) that said he would marry me within 90 days. You will do fine! I can't wait to hear you tell us that you heard the magic words!

[frenzyheart 2]

Oops! Forgot to mention the DS-160 Confirmation page! Well, I have a whole copy of packet 3, so I'm sure that will work. I'm still up in the air about the Affidavit of Support cover page...

[slider100 8]

Good luck!

KnR aka slider100

[Colleens 40]

I only had letter of intent from the USC...didn't need one for myself. Also if you are planning on bringing cards as evidence, if any are the ones that play the little music clip...leave those behind. Since they have electronics in them, you will have to leave them at security and pick them up later!!! I had a couple in my folder and I had to check them at security!

[frenzyheart 2]

I keep panicking and going over all of my I-134 stuff... and maybe I can get some re-assurance:

I'm a student, and the economy has not been nice enough to grant me employment as of yet (so hoping that changes) so all that's on my I-134 form is personal assets, totalling about $18,000. (I own a car, several computers, other misc electronic equipment, etc... all I'd be willing to sell at a moments notice if we needed to.) I was lucky enough to get a trust fund at one point, but that money has long since been spent (hence the car and such, etc...), and thus can't be used (obviously, lol). My bank account doesn't have much going through it, so I didn't provide anything for that. Because of all this, we went with a co-sponsor.

After some drama surrounding my aunt/uncle, we decided to go with my grandfather. Here's what we have for him:

Between his part time job, pension and SSI, he makes approximately $41,000 a year. I did check to make sure pension/SSI counts as income, and was told that it does. To prove this, we provided tax stuff/W-2s for all three sources from the last three years. We also have a letter from his employer stating his position, date of hire, and how much he made last year, along with print outs of his yearly earnings since he started there (Only been a couple of years), all on a company letterhead.

For personal belongings, we put roughly $20,000, though we figured it was probably more than that.

He owns his home 100%, and it's valued at a little over $101,000. To prove this, we have a print out from the County Assessor's office showing location, size, and other miscellaneous property info (even tells us what the starting value was and how much it's gone up over the years).

According to the instructions for the form, it just says "provide ANY of the following", which leads me to believe that anything to prove what we put on the form will be sufficient. As he makes enough to cover himself, my grandmother and Matthew, we used that, his personal belongings, and his house; we didn't feel we needed to use any of his bank accounts, and as such, we don't have anything for that.

My question is: Are we going to be okay without any bank information? I'm seriously freaking out over this, and despite everyone around me telling me not to, I can't help it. Guess I'm hoping someone else didn't use it, and is willing to ease my troubled mind over it.

... ...

[brightskte 18]

I didn't include any bank information. As long as you or your co-sponsor makes 125% of the poverty guidelines for their household size you don't have to worry about bank stuff. That's really only if you are trying to fill a gap with what you've got in the bank. Oh, and just in case you missed it in our thread I had to use a co-sponsor, too. So I've been there!

I wouldn't do a cover letter for the I-134. It's just going to get thrown in the trash probably. You will be asked for your things in advance and as long as it is paper-clipped or something I don't see a need for a cover page. The woman actually tore off a couple of our paperclips and tossed them in the trash. But by all means, if you want to make it look pretty, go right ahead! I'm sure it'll be the prettiest I-134 there!

Hang in there girlie he's almost home!

Edited May 11, 2010 by Kayla*Mathew

[frenzyheart 2]

I didn't include any bank information. As long as you or your co-sponsor makes 125% of the poverty guidelines for their household size you don't have to worry about bank stuff. That's really only if you are trying to fill a gap with what you've got in the bank. Oh, and just in case you missed it in our thread I had to use a co-sponsor, too. So I've been there!

I wouldn't do a cover letter for the I-134. It's just going to get thrown in the trash probably. You will be asked for your things in advance and as long as it is paper-clipped or something I don't see a need for a cover page. The woman actually tore off a couple of our paperclips and tossed them in the trash. But by all means, if you want to make it look pretty, go right ahead! I'm sure it'll be the prettiest I-134 there!

Hang in there girlie he's almost home!

Thank you SO much Kayla!!!

As for it being the prettiest... you should see my expanding file folder. I'm a very colorful person in all aspects of my life, and my file folders are no exception!!!

[trailmix 77]

About tearing off the paperclips and tossing them in the trash - yes, it all depends on the CO on the day. One day I was at the Calgary consulate, my American citizenship is derivative. Long story short, it took me a year to prove it and all kinds of documents. But anyway, I showed up at the consulate one day (I was there several times) and I was dealing with the supervisor, so I had decided that this would be easier to explain if I did a family tree of sorts - nothing fancy, just a basic name tree. As soon as she saw it she shoved the paper my way and said she didn't need it.

So the thing is, while we think we are being helpful, they have egos too and they know their jobs and they don't really want our help (well some of them)

[frenzyheart 2]

Okay guys and gals, we are HERE. It's t-minus 24 hours and counting and ... I'm the most calm I've been in weeks, amazingly enough. I want to run over everything once more -- maybe just to keep my sanity, and because I believe I do have everything now, LOL:

To get into the consulate:

My passport

Matthew's passport

Interview Letter

To give at the window:

Matthew's passport & copy of bio page

Birth certificate & copy

Police certificate & copy

My updated Letter of Intent

Affidavit of Support & Supporting Evidence

DS-160 Confirmation Page

Medical Envelope

XPressPost Mailer (12x15)

$131 USD

I've written down the Tracking Number from my mailer (three times thus far, LOL) and plan to be there around 6:15 tomorrow morning. For the first time, I actually feel prepared and ready for this. The only thing that I'm worried about is a) that I don't have a job RIGHT NOW and b) that I don't have medical insurance RIGHT NOW. These are things that are being remedied upon returning to the US. The only reason I don't have the medical insurance right now is because I haven't needed it, but I do have access to a plan through my mother's doctor's office, haha. The job... well.. meh. Haha.

Thank you again, everyone, for all of your help!!!!

[lilacvioletiris 11]

Okay guys and gals, we are HERE. It's t-minus 24 hours and counting and ... I'm the most calm I've been in weeks, amazingly enough. I want to run over everything once more -- maybe just to keep my sanity, and because I believe I do have everything now, LOL:

To get into the consulate:

My passport

Matthew's passport

Interview Letter

To give at the window:

Matthew's passport & copy of bio page

Birth certificate & copy

Police certificate & copy

My updated Letter of Intent

Affidavit of Support & Supporting Evidence

DS-160 Confirmation Page

Medical Envelope

XPressPost Mailer (12x15)

$131 USD

Thank you again, everyone, for all of your help!!!!

I think you also need 2 passport pictures in color 2x2. It was on the packet 3 list, I think. You can get them in a little booth in the consulate if you can't get them before hand (but you probably have them and just didn't say it here).

[frenzyheart 2]

I think you also need 2 passport pictures in color 2x2. It was on the packet 3 list, I think. You can get them in a little booth in the consulate if you can't get them before hand (but you probably have them and just didn't say it here).

LOL Yeah, I have them. In fact, I had to keep moving the envelope containing them to type out that list. SIGH. It's too early, I think, haha. I do have them, though.