Random K1 questions........

[C <3 C 1]

Just a little over 40 days until I leave to have my medical and interview, so I have a few last ends to sew up......

How do I get my vehicle across the border, when do I cancel my Canadian insurance??

Does anyone know the average time it takes to receive your Visa in the mail?? I have read as long as a month and as short as a week......

I need to transfer my children into an American school in which their school year ends a month before it does here??? How does this work, I really don't want to wait 3 more months to move, but I don't want them to have to repeat a grade either :/

I also read you cannot change your name the day you get married, you have to wait, is this true??

[Inky 1,111]

You have to order a compliance letter and your car has to meet the compliance standards. You get it from the company ei ford, VW etc.

I changed my name the day i got married, why cant you? its changed by getting married and you use your marriage certificate for proof.

I canceled my car insurance after being in the US and registering my car to the state etc - my insurance company covered my car while i was in the US for a while, not all companys do this so check with your company to see if they will buffer your coverage while you are trying to register and get coverage in the USA.

[pocheros 101]

It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to receive your visa in the mail. The amount of time it takes can be very random. Check out this thread http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/302129-waiting-for-our-passports-from-montreal/ for information on picking up your visa and a poll on wait times.

Yes, you can change your name the day you get married. Note that most people just "assume" the name of their spouse when they get married and use the marriage certificate to change their name on other documents, it's not the same as a "legal" name change that would erase your maiden name but for all intents and purposes yes you can change your name when you get married

[Ontarkie 14,268]

Can't help you with the car part, but i can give you what we did when it came to the kids.

I changed my name right away also.

Ok what ages/grades are your kids.

My younger kids were in grade 5&7 when we moved in May, schools were still going on here for a few more weeks. We did try to get them in so they would at least make a few friends but the schools didn't want to bother. Anyways the schools back in Canada were still going on till the end of June and when school was out they actually mailed us their report cards. It stated that they passed and what their grades where etc. It was really nice of the schools. We had no issues at all getting them set up for the next years grade. My older two were in 9&10 and were going into 10&11 with no problems, except the oldest in grade 11 the one counselor he had was a to b!tch and didn't want to grant him his math and english credits because she didn't like his grades even though it clearly showed he passed them. Ok I'm rambling so I will stop now.

I really don't think you will have much of a problem, we just have really bad schools here in our town.

[C <3 C 1]

Thank you all for the info I will look into the compliance letter, and insurance :/ sooooo much to remember!

My kids are 9 and 11, I hope they can move with a pass, fingers crossed I will contact the school once they say "YES"

I'm glad I can change my name right away, I wouldn't feel right without his name

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Thank you all for the info I will look into the compliance letter, and insurance :/ sooooo much to remember!

My kids are 9 and 11, I hope they can move with a pass, fingers crossed I will contact the school once they say "YES"

I'm glad I can change my name right away, I wouldn't feel right without his name

Younger is probably better, like Ontarkie I had a highschooler and they were a little wishy washy on what credits they would be giving her for certain completed courses, but it worked out fine. Your husband-to-be should contact the local school they'll be attending and find out from the counselling department what you need to get from your own school board (ie: transcript ). My daugher's Cdn cousellor called and emailed her new counsellor, it really helped the transition between schools.

If they can attend school even for a week or two at the end it would be so beneficial from the point of view that they might meet a couple people to hang out with over the summer. I didn't look to see where you're moving but in our area there are many community pools associated with the HOA's so there's a nice pool to go to everyday, or you could find out about the county pool and otehr summer camps...good luck!

[Moomin 292]

Kathryn41 put up a whole list of things to do before leaving regarding Canadians where she mentions about the car(vehicle). I have no knowledge about it But it's worth looking at; http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/347629-moving-to-the-us-summary-list/page__p__5107991#entry5107991

Edited January 30, 2012 by moomin

[Flames9_RN 358]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/191858-canada-immigration-guide/