I-129F recieved the NOA1 - Beneficary (Canada) Question

[Clifford27 11]

Hi Everyone,

Myself and my Fiance have filed our I-129F and recieved our NOA1 this week.

My Fiance lives in California and I am in Canada.

The question I have is while we are waiting on the NOA2 so we can start the K1 process on my end in Canada is there anything I can do to help speed up the process once we have the NOA2?

I know that I will require a criminal check and medicals. Can this be done in advance so that when the packet comes its already done? OR do I need to wait before I can do anything in Canada?

Also when I was filling out the timeline info it asked for the US Embassy info. There is not one listed for Toronto, Canada. Why is that?

Cheers

[Pitaya 2,576]

Hi Everyone,

Myself and my Fiance have filed our I-129F and recieved our NOA1 this week.

My Fiance lives in California and I am in Canada.

The question I have is while we are waiting on the NOA2 so we can start the K1 process on my end in Canada is there anything I can do to help speed up the process once we have the NOA2? Getting your paperwork/documents in order for the visa interview may help some.

I know that I will require a criminal check and medicals. Can this be done in advance so that when the packet comes its already done? OR do I need to wait before I can do anything in Canada? Follow the Guide, see link below, review regional forum threads

Also when I was filling out the timeline info it asked for the US Embassy info. There is not one listed for Toronto, Canada. Why is that? Take a look at the link below.

Cheers

Welcome to the forum.

easily accessible at the top of the forum page. In particular, the K1 Guide and the K1 Flowchart:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow

Check in at the Canada Regional Forum: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/93-canada/

Canada interviewing consulate info: http://vancouver.usconsulate.gov/visas/fiance-visas.html

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[ricnally 258]

Are you in Toronto? If so, you will interview in Montreal for K-1.

[Clifford27 11]

Are you in Toronto? If so, you will interview in Montreal for K-1.

Yes I am located in Toronto. So I am going to have to drive to Montreal for an interview? when there is an Embassy in Toronto?

That makes no sense and is a real pain considering the time of year.

[Pitaya 2,576]

If you are given lemons, make some delicious lemonade.

My wife and stepson had to travel over 1,900 km, a > 5 hour jet flight, from her home to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China for their K1/K2 visa interview. There is a US consulate in her provincial capital (~350km away), but only the US consulate in Guangzhou processes K1 visas. I made the > 10,000 km trip from Seattle to Guangzhou to be with my future family at this critical time in our immigration journey. That was in June, the weather was unbearable, 35 degrees C. and 95% humidity. We managed to have a great time together, and had a successful visa interview.

Enjoy some lemonade.

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

First world problems. Just be happy it's only Toronto to Montreal and not Winnipeg or Regina that you're from.

[jfgk1987 303]

Yes I am located in Toronto. So I am going to have to drive to Montreal for an interview? when there is an Embassy in Toronto?

That makes no sense and is a real pain considering the time of year.

The only two Consulates that process K-1s in Canada are Vancouver and Montreal. My husband drove the 5 hours and I drove 6 hours from NY, I told him to select an interview date on a Friday so we could make a fun weekend out of it (he got a 221G but it was still fun).

Lucky for you your file will go to CSC. Assuming you get your NOA2 in ~30 days generally the time from NOA2 => Interview is 2-3 months. This depends on a few things; how long it takes CSC to ship your case to the NVC, how backed up the NVC is, how fast Montreal processes your paperwork, if there are interview slots open when it's your time to schedule...I'm sure there's some stuff I forgot.

So if your process is quick and smooth, you're looking at a February-March interview. The weather still kind of sucks in Quebec around that time of the year, if you're really concerned about it I suppose you could try to schedule an interview for April.

[Clifford27 11]

The only two Consulates that process K-1s in Canada are Vancouver and Montreal. My husband drove the 5 hours and I drove 6 hours from NY, I told him to select an interview date on a Friday so we could make a fun weekend out of it (he got a 221G but it was still fun).

Lucky for you your file will go to CSC. Assuming you get your NOA2 in ~30 days generally the time from NOA2 => Interview is 2-3 months. This depends on a few things; how long it takes CSC to ship your case to the NVC, how backed up the NVC is, how fast Montreal processes your paperwork, if there are interview slots open when it's your time to schedule...I'm sure there's some stuff I forgot.

So if your process is quick and smooth, you're looking at a February-March interview. The weather still kind of sucks in Quebec around that time of the year, if you're really concerned about it I suppose you could try to schedule an interview for April.

So the form we got in the mail this week the I-797C is considered the NOA1 correct? it has a notice date of Nov 13, 2014

The next step for us is what? do we keep checking the site and something will be mailed to the Petitioner or Me (Beneficiary)?

As for pushing the interview back because of weather no chance. I will book the first one possible as I want to get to California ASAP.

The interview is just myself correct? my Wife to be that lives in California doesn't have to fly in for it also does she?

The email stated that it was being sent to CSC which from what you have said is a good thing....

Thanks

[jfgk1987 303]

So the form we got in the mail this week the I-797C is considered the NOA1 correct? it has a notice date of Nov 13, 2014

The next step for us is what? do we keep checking the site and something will be mailed to the Petitioner or Me (Beneficiary)?

As for pushing the interview back because of weather no chance. I will book the first one possible as I want to get to California ASAP.

The interview is just myself correct? my Wife to be that lives in California doesn't have to fly in for it also does she?

The email stated that it was being sent to CSC which from what you have said is a good thing....

Thanks

Yes, the I-797C is the NOA1, the I-797 is the NOA2. If your fiancee filled out a G1145 (I think that's the one...) USCIS will send her text and email updates on the case, though every so often this doesn't work and a hard copy of something (either an RFE or NOA2) might show up in the mailbox unannounced. You can also use your case number to check the USCIS website, it can get addictive and sometimes it doesn't always update so try not to get anxious over it. USCIS will generally only send mail to the U.S. petitioner, not the beneficiary, and to add to that only the U.S. petitioner can call USCIS and inquire about the case if they need to. The interview is for only the beneficiary, but if your fiancee wants to join you she can. For the interview it is best to book the first thing you see if there are none available so definitely try to do that, hopefully you'll have two months of open slots like we did!

[Clifford27 11]

Yes, the I-797C is the NOA1, the I-797 is the NOA2. If your fiancee filled out a G1145 (I think that's the one...) USCIS will send her text and email updates on the case, though every so often this doesn't work and a hard copy of something (either an RFE or NOA2) might show up in the mailbox unannounced. You can also use your case number to check the USCIS website, it can get addictive and sometimes it doesn't always update so try not to get anxious over it. USCIS will generally only send mail to the U.S. petitioner, not the beneficiary, and to add to that only the U.S. petitioner can call USCIS and inquire about the case if they need to. The interview is for only the beneficiary, but if your fiancee wants to join you she can. For the interview it is best to book the first thing you see if there are none available so definitely try to do that, hopefully you'll have two months of open slots like we did!

Thanks for the info. I actually went and created an account on the USCIS site and had added the case # and have email and mobile updated select.

Fingers crossed that the process goes smooth and quick.

Once we have more info I will be back probably with more questions.... Because it sounds like I can't do much right now to help me be prepared...

Thanks

[jfgk1987 303]

Thanks for the info. I actually went and created an account on the USCIS site and had added the case # and have email and mobile updated select.

Fingers crossed that the process goes smooth and quick.

Once we have more info I will be back probably with more questions.... Because it sounds like I can't do much right now to help me be prepared...

Thanks

Actually there's something you can do, do you have your vaccination records? You need to bring them to the medical so the MD can verify that you've had all the required shots you need. I'm at work and I don't have the link for the Canadian Panel Physicians, but if you Google that it should come up and you'll see everything you should have or need. If you find that you need to get shots, get them for free from your family physician, they won't do it at the medical and you don't want to do it here in the US. If you have no idea where your records are you can go to your family physician and get a titre test done (my husband had to do this, results take 3 weeks) to see what you're immune to, and bring that to the medical in place of your missing records.

Edited November 19, 2014 by jfgk1987

[ricnally 258]

Another thing is your criminal record check. The Canadian one is quick to get--probably only a week or so (try the commissionaires), but if you've lived in other countries, they can sometimes take awhile, so it's good to get them in advance. I had to get one from Japan and it took 3 months.