Work permit about to expire, extend to visitor - still use consulate?

[ktshutt 2]

I have a unique situation that I'm hoping someone can relate to or shed some light.

My fiance is British but has been living in Canada on a one-year work permit while we apply for the K-1. The plan was always to process the K1 through the Montreal consulate and have him come to America straight from there, which a lawyer we spoke to said would be fine. Our 129F approval took longer than expected so we will not have the interview date before his Canadian work permit expires (we're expecting interview to be about 6-8 weeks past his work permit expirey date). He is unable to extend his work permit but has applied for a visitor visa to remain in Canada, which is valid for up to 6 months and he won't be able to work anymore but he at least will be able to remain in Canada legally and attend the interview in Montreal. My question is though - will the Montreal consulate allow him, a UK citizen, to apply for the K1 there while on visitor visa only, as opposed to a work permit or other Canadian visa?

We sent our packet 3 via email yesterday and got a reply today that they cannot continue to process his application until he sends proof of extension of his Canadian work permit since his current one is due to expire soon (his Canadian visitor visa is still pending but he should receive confirmation any day now).

Anything anyone has to say about this would be extremely helpful, thanks!

[Ontarkie 13,948]

Sorry he won't be able to get the K1 in Montreal, he will have to go back home. A visitors visa will not work.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

In that case you need to contact the Immigrant Visa Unit In London and have them make a request to Montreal that your case file be transferred.

The way to contact London is this online email form http://london.usembassy.gov/niv/visa_contact_form.html

Choose as your reason-- "My inquiry concerns immigrant visas and is not covered by information on your website"

Phoning DOES NOT WORK because you won't get to the right department. You will get the run around or crazy wrong info like reapply because you called the tourist visa people who don't get it.

Give all your details plus the story..names of both parties, birthdates, A-number, petition approval date (don't call it NOA2),...whatever will identify your case plus New UK address, email. Then when they reply, you can always ask further questions by replying to their email.

London procedures are here to help you. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/474161-london-k1-a-complete-guide/

Read all of it because a few changes are noted at the end because the posts can't be edited.

[ktshutt 2]

Thank you both for your responses. We did get an email from Montreal confirming that they will be unable to process his K1 under a visitor visa. Thanks a ton Nich-Nick for your links, your flow chart and detail is extremely helpful. I will get on to contacting London ASAP.

Do you or anyone know how long the transfer will take? Are we talking extra weeks or months you think? Also, not sure if you'll know this but will my fiancé need to fill out any new paperwork like the DS160 to change address or anything to reflect UK? He still plans on living in Canada as a visitor until he has a medical appointment booked in London, in which case he will fly back and remain in London with family until his interview and come to USA from there.

Thanks again for everyones thoughtful replies, much appreciated!

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

I have no clue how long the transfer will take. Not many transfer and they never come back and report when they do. Hoping you will bookmark this thread and update it. Okay? Thinking in terms of waiting on London to reply to you, London getting around to asking for your case, then Montreal getting around to sending it...well you know how that can go...s-l-o-w-l-y. But one can always hope.

You may get some special instructions from London, but I think a new DS-160 would be correct since you start it by picking a consulate. That way you know it goes to London instead of depending on it getting retrieved. And the address where they will mail your interview will be there in the new document. Less chance for something falling through the cracks. I would do it even if they say you don't have to.

[ktshutt 2]

Just providing an update: We contacted London Consulate via their online forum 5 days ago. They replied via email today saying the request has been made (confirmed when we check our MTL # CEAC status which reads "transfer in progress") and said that it typically takes 6-8 weeks for a transfer to be processed (ughhhh) and then we will get a letter in the mail when ready regarding next steps.

The email says we are able to respond to the email address (LondonInfoUnit@state.gov) so we plan to reply in a week or so to see if a London # has been assigned to our case in which we will then book a medical appointment. I called the NVC to see if they had a London # for us but the agent said they will only ever see the Montreal number since that's what it was when it left theif office and they will be unable to see it progress any further.

Will update here as we go along in the hopes that it might help someone else out there in a similar situation!

Edited September 9, 2014 by ktshutt

[ktshutt 2]

Just wanted to provide an update, as promised. After checking our CEAC status every day since we requested a transfer from Montreal to London, we received a "Ready" status exactly 8 weeks to the day the transfer was initiated. They had told us 6-8 weeks. Our case number stayed the same, we were not given a LND one, rather kept the MTL #.

Fiancé now has a medical appointment in London scheduled (called today, a Tues, and was given this Friday as appt option). We didn't wait to receive a letter in the mail, figured it would confirm what we already know. All docs are completed (DS-160, police checks, etc) so we know medical is next.

Hopefully not long until the interview!

[TBoneTX 43,404]

Thanks for the enlightening update, and good luck heading forward!

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Thanks for continuing to update. It is very helpful.