IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public part 3

[Mintaftertaste 25]

2 minutes ago, Kai (CanadaDude) said:

 

 

But yeah, I have no idea whether that means we can expect more ILs for July. Honestly I've personally given up now, I'm banking on the border reopening sooner at this point...

 

I want to believe we will get a big batch of interviews-(I want to believe they will cover Sep-Oct-but I know its hard to say).

 

Also haven't watched the vids, but as of June 7 restriction in Montreal in particular are easing a little (moving from red to orange zone I believe- I am kind of done with the excuses at this point)

 

 

[Minnesota 30]

13 minutes ago, Kai (CanadaDude) said:

What's interesting is that for IR/CR they mentioned DQ dates from July-August are being interviewed this month.

 

I think this means they might be interviewing some of the rescheduled appointments for applicants previously unable to make it to their interviews (which tbh is the consulate's own doing because they provide such little notice). 

 

But yeah, I have no idea whether that means we can expect more ILs for July. Honestly I've personally given up now, I'm banking on the border reopening sooner at this point...

Agreed, it’s last minute when they give interviews and getting everything together can be tough!

[Riversong 420]

5 hours ago, State and Maine said:

She talked about the capacity and workplace safety due to government guidelines in Quebec and the US but they processed wayyyy more applications in the beginning of the year when covid numbers were insane as compared to now when the states are fully reopening and Quebec is one of the best provinces in regards to the covid situation. To me it’s just a bunch of lip service to say that they are openly communicating with us. 

Yup, I agree. They have processed WAY more when covid numbers were WAY higher. It makes no sense to me

[Nikasalts 10]

Hi guys

Do you know what I'll need to get US drivers license?

Am I going to need to have my Canadian license renewed? I have over 20 years of driving and insurance history but ICBC is becoming such a nuisance that I'm wondering if I have to renew my license in order to get an American one later on this year? Any info? 

Many thanks 

 

[DGF 730]

27 minutes ago, Nikasalts said:

Hi guys

Do you know what I'll need to get US drivers license?

Am I going to need to have my Canadian license renewed? I have over 20 years of driving and insurance history but ICBC is becoming such a nuisance that I'm wondering if I have to renew my license in order to get an American one later on this year? Any info? 

Many thanks 

 

It depends on what state you're moving to. You'll need to look up the DMV for your state to see what their requirements are as they all differ. 

[Kai G. Llewellyn 829]

3 hours ago, Nikasalts said:

Hi guys

Do you know what I'll need to get US drivers license?

Am I going to need to have my Canadian license renewed? I have over 20 years of driving and insurance history but ICBC is becoming such a nuisance that I'm wondering if I have to renew my license in order to get an American one later on this year? Any info? 

Many thanks 

 

You can get your ICBC driver history from here, it might be useful for your DMV/US Insurance: https://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/getting-licensed/Pages/Your-driving-record.aspx

 

I would suggest that you have a valid and unexpired BC Driver's License when you go to get your US DL as state DMV requirements may vary.

Edited June 5, 2021 by Kai (CanadaDude)

[chanel167 51]

I recently went to the RCMP to request a new police record and it only took 10 business days! They had originally told me it'll take at least 4 weeks, so I'm happy that it didn't take that long. Thank you to everyone who posted their timelines for new police records. It gave me a lot of hope 

[Lovewithoutborder 69]

Hi everyone,

 

quick update with good news and bad news and a couple questions. Warning long post incoming. 
 

I crossed the border yesterday at the Lynden WA point of entry. The crossing was a bit hectic to say the least. When I got there I told them I was activating a CR-1 and importing my vehicle. The officer told me I might not be able to import my vehicle because my wife’s name is also on the ownership (I added her just incase I had a long wait for my greencard/SSN so I could have her register it and insure it before my ICBC insurance expired) anyways, they tell me to take a seat and I was waiting for over an hour while I was within earshot of the officer trying to activate my CR-1. I don’t think he knew how to do it cause he called over another officer who called over another officer and so on and so on until there were 5 CBP officers talking amongst each other saying things like “do you remember how to do one of these?” “No that didn’t work... hmmm” and “oh I think that did it, hopefully that worked”. Finally after an hour the officer comes back to me and says my cr-1 has been activated but he was unable to import my vehicle because my wife wasn’t there however I can still drive my truck into the USA and just import it later. So my wife was currently on a flight to Seattle from California to meet me and drive down with me so I went to Seattle picked her up, drove back up to Lynden and went back and said okay she’s here now let’s import my truck. I dealt with a different CBP officer this time and he told me “well the other guy was wrong, you should be able to import your truck without your spouse here because your name is on it as an owner as well, however I can’t import it either because here on your compliance letter says that something with the airbag needs to be fixed.” So I look at the letter and sure enough at the bottom under all the other writing that says it meets DOT regulations it says “this vehicle cannot be imported do to such and such act such and such passenger airbag decal” so now I’ve wasted 6 hours driving all over Washington state and I still can’t import it. So I go to the local GM dealer and ask the service department about it, they say they can fix it but they can’t do it until Monday cause they need to wait for the part. Well that doesn’t work cause we’re on our way back down to Orange County. So we phone a GM dealer in California and explain the situation and ask them to order the part so I can get it fixed as soon as I get down there, the guy says that’s weird and offers to look into it further for us. He gets back to me later and says “I phoned GM Canada and the issue was a small recall with the passenger airbag and according to all of their records you have already gotten it repaired and your truck is all good to be imported.” So I tried to import my truck twice and couldn’t because of an issue that was already fixed but wasn’t stated on my compliance letter that it was already fixed. To say I was upset would be an understatement. Anyways, I’m in Central California now on my way down to OC tomorrow morning. I am sitting in my hotel and I go into my USCIS account and check the status of my greencard because the CBP officers who activated it didn’t give me a lot of hope that it was done correctly. It still says “you paid your immigrant fees on May 26 and your greencard will be produced and sent to you etc” the message hasn’t changed. Then above that it says “ I-551 Null submitted June 4 2021.”

 

My two questions are,

 

1: What does the I-551 null mean? The word null in there is making me nervous that something is wrong or somebody did something wrong and now I’m not going to get my greencard or SSN. Has anybody else had this? How long after POE does the original “you have paid your immigrant fees” message change?

 

2: Has anybody not imported their vehicle at the POE but instead did it later in SoCal? I’m trying to figure out where the hell im gunna be able to go to do the paperwork when I’m not at a POE. Maybe at a shipping port or an airport? Maybe the Mexico border? This whole process has been a nightmare and any advice would be extremely appreciated. 
 

The good news however, I am FINALLY in the USA and I don’t have to leave! My wife and I are together after months apart and that makes everything worth it! 
 

Thanks everyone, my apologies for the insanely long post.

[Riversong 420]

6 minutes ago, Lovewithoutborder said:

Hi everyone,

 

quick update with good news and bad news and a couple questions. Warning long post incoming. 
 

I crossed the border yesterday at the Lynden WA point of entry. The crossing was a bit hectic to say the least. When I got there I told them I was activating a CR-1 and importing my vehicle. The officer told me I might not be able to import my vehicle because my wife’s name is also on the ownership (I added her just incase I had a long wait for my greencard/SSN so I could have her register it and insure it before my ICBC insurance expired) anyways, they tell me to take a seat and I was waiting for over an hour while I was within earshot of the officer trying to activate my CR-1. I don’t think he knew how to do it cause he called over another officer who called over another officer and so on and so on until there were 5 CBP officers talking amongst each other saying things like “do you remember how to do one of these?” “No that didn’t work... hmmm” and “oh I think that did it, hopefully that worked”. Finally after an hour the officer comes back to me and says my cr-1 has been activated but he was unable to import my vehicle because my wife wasn’t there however I can still drive my truck into the USA and just import it later. So my wife was currently on a flight to Seattle from California to meet me and drive down with me so I went to Seattle picked her up, drove back up to Lynden and went back and said okay she’s here now let’s import my truck. I dealt with a different CBP officer this time and he told me “well the other guy was wrong, you should be able to import your truck without your spouse here because your name is on it as an owner as well, however I can’t import it either because here on your compliance letter says that something with the airbag needs to be fixed.” So I look at the letter and sure enough at the bottom under all the other writing that says it meets DOT regulations it says “this vehicle cannot be imported do to such and such act such and such passenger airbag decal” so now I’ve wasted 6 hours driving all over Washington state and I still can’t import it. So I go to the local GM dealer and ask the service department about it, they say they can fix it but they can’t do it until Monday cause they need to wait for the part. Well that doesn’t work cause we’re on our way back down to Orange County. So we phone a GM dealer in California and explain the situation and ask them to order the part so I can get it fixed as soon as I get down there, the guy says that’s weird and offers to look into it further for us. He gets back to me later and says “I phoned GM Canada and the issue was a small recall with the passenger airbag and according to all of their records you have already gotten it repaired and your truck is all good to be imported.” So I tried to import my truck twice and couldn’t because of an issue that was already fixed but wasn’t stated on my compliance letter that it was already fixed. To say I was upset would be an understatement. Anyways, I’m in Central California now on my way down to OC tomorrow morning. I am sitting in my hotel and I go into my USCIS account and check the status of my greencard because the CBP officers who activated it didn’t give me a lot of hope that it was done correctly. It still says “you paid your immigrant fees on May 26 and your greencard will be produced and sent to you etc” the message hasn’t changed. Then above that it says “ I-551 Null submitted June 4 2021.”

 

My two questions are,

 

1: What does the I-551 null mean? The word null in there is making me nervous that something is wrong or somebody did something wrong and now I’m not going to get my greencard or SSN. Has anybody else had this? How long after POE does the original “you have paid your immigrant fees” message change?

 

2: Has anybody not imported their vehicle at the POE but instead did it later in SoCal? I’m trying to figure out where the hell im gunna be able to go to do the paperwork when I’m not at a POE. Maybe at a shipping port or an airport? Maybe the Mexico border? This whole process has been a nightmare and any advice would be extremely appreciated. 
 

The good news however, I am FINALLY in the USA and I don’t have to leave! My wife and I are together after months apart and that makes everything worth it! 
 

Thanks everyone, my apologies for the insanely long post.

Congrats on making it home! I hope you are able to sort things out

 

[MorningGlow 20]

8 hours ago, Lovewithoutborder said:

How long after POE does the original “you have paid your immigrant fees” message change?

To give everyone an update on my husband time frames and answer the above::

 

applied for I-130 on 11/18/2019 

approved by USCIS on 7/13/2020

DQ by NVC on 8/18/2020

Interview on 5/3/2021/ went into AP

approved/issued on 5/5/2021

Passport received on 5/10/2021

POE on 5/11/2021

Paid $220 fee on 5/12/2021

SSN received on 5/18/2021

GC received today 6/5/2021

 

Took 3 weeks to change from fee paid to processing then one day to change to mailed then following day to provide tracking info. Initially said for Monday delivery but now changed to today. Safe to say after the interview things to start to pick up and move faster. 
 

My husband applied for his MI drivers license after receiving his SSN & was able to swap out his Canada license at the DMV with no issues. He tried to also retitle his car but did not have the import paperwork. Unfortunately we did not know we had to do this before hand. He called the border agents they did say he has two recalls and would have to fix those issues in Canada before importing. Safe to say he’s waiting until quarantine measures lighten up before crossing in again. He will be fully vaccinated today so if things change in Canada this will the last thing we have to worry about.

 

thanks to everyone on this forum, & good luck to those still waiting. 

[HD_BIRDS 121]

15 hours ago, Nikasalts said:

Hi guys

Do you know what I'll need to get US drivers license?

Am I going to need to have my Canadian license renewed? I have over 20 years of driving and insurance history but ICBC is becoming such a nuisance that I'm wondering if I have to renew my license in order to get an American one later on this year? Any info? 

Many thanks 

 

I recently got a driver's license in the US (though I have been living here for a year on work status). I had an expired Canadian license that I didn't need to renew. As long as I was willing to void my Canadian license, I was able to get a US one on the spot. You need proof of residence (bank statements mailed to your address in the US, lease with your name on it, etc), proof of eligibility to reside in the US (in this case it was the TN stamp in my passport), the Canadian license you are voiding, and the application. If you want to keep your Canadian license and also get a US one, you then need to do the written and road tests. It wasn't necessary for me. Trying to get an appointment at the DMV was truly a nightmare, and took several months. That said, I was able to drive on an expired Canadian license during that time as they relaxed the regulations during COVID due to the challenges in getting an appointment at the DMV. Once I actually had the appointment, getting the license was easy and only took 20 minutes.

Edited June 5, 2021 by HD_BIRDS

[YYZ&MIA 117]

11 hours ago, Lovewithoutborder said:

Hi everyone,

 

quick update with good news and bad news and a couple questions. Warning long post incoming. 
 

I crossed the border yesterday at the Lynden WA point of entry. The crossing was a bit hectic to say the least. When I got there I told them I was activating a CR-1 and importing my vehicle. The officer told me I might not be able to import my vehicle because my wife’s name is also on the ownership (I added her just incase I had a long wait for my greencard/SSN so I could have her register it and insure it before my ICBC insurance expired) anyways, they tell me to take a seat and I was waiting for over an hour while I was within earshot of the officer trying to activate my CR-1. I don’t think he knew how to do it cause he called over another officer who called over another officer and so on and so on until there were 5 CBP officers talking amongst each other saying things like “do you remember how to do one of these?” “No that didn’t work... hmmm” and “oh I think that did it, hopefully that worked”. Finally after an hour the officer comes back to me and says my cr-1 has been activated but he was unable to import my vehicle because my wife wasn’t there however I can still drive my truck into the USA and just import it later. So my wife was currently on a flight to Seattle from California to meet me and drive down with me so I went to Seattle picked her up, drove back up to Lynden and went back and said okay she’s here now let’s import my truck. I dealt with a different CBP officer this time and he told me “well the other guy was wrong, you should be able to import your truck without your spouse here because your name is on it as an owner as well, however I can’t import it either because here on your compliance letter says that something with the airbag needs to be fixed.” So I look at the letter and sure enough at the bottom under all the other writing that says it meets DOT regulations it says “this vehicle cannot be imported do to such and such act such and such passenger airbag decal” so now I’ve wasted 6 hours driving all over Washington state and I still can’t import it. So I go to the local GM dealer and ask the service department about it, they say they can fix it but they can’t do it until Monday cause they need to wait for the part. Well that doesn’t work cause we’re on our way back down to Orange County. So we phone a GM dealer in California and explain the situation and ask them to order the part so I can get it fixed as soon as I get down there, the guy says that’s weird and offers to look into it further for us. He gets back to me later and says “I phoned GM Canada and the issue was a small recall with the passenger airbag and according to all of their records you have already gotten it repaired and your truck is all good to be imported.” So I tried to import my truck twice and couldn’t because of an issue that was already fixed but wasn’t stated on my compliance letter that it was already fixed. To say I was upset would be an understatement. Anyways, I’m in Central California now on my way down to OC tomorrow morning. I am sitting in my hotel and I go into my USCIS account and check the status of my greencard because the CBP officers who activated it didn’t give me a lot of hope that it was done correctly. It still says “you paid your immigrant fees on May 26 and your greencard will be produced and sent to you etc” the message hasn’t changed. Then above that it says “ I-551 Null submitted June 4 2021.”

 

My two questions are,

 

1: What does the I-551 null mean? The word null in there is making me nervous that something is wrong or somebody did something wrong and now I’m not going to get my greencard or SSN. Has anybody else had this? How long after POE does the original “you have paid your immigrant fees” message change?

 

2: Has anybody not imported their vehicle at the POE but instead did it later in SoCal? I’m trying to figure out where the hell im gunna be able to go to do the paperwork when I’m not at a POE. Maybe at a shipping port or an airport? Maybe the Mexico border? This whole process has been a nightmare and any advice would be extremely appreciated. 
 

The good news however, I am FINALLY in the USA and I don’t have to leave! My wife and I are together after months apart and that makes everything worth it! 
 

Thanks everyone, my apologies for the insanely long post.

I dont know the answers to your questions but wow, what a story! Good luck with everything.

[ADW & JOP 146]

11 hours ago, Lovewithoutborder said:

Hi everyone,

 

quick update with good news and bad news and a couple questions. Warning long post incoming. 
 

I crossed the border yesterday at the Lynden WA point of entry. The crossing was a bit hectic to say the least. When I got there I told them I was activating a CR-1 and importing my vehicle. The officer told me I might not be able to import my vehicle because my wife’s name is also on the ownership (I added her just incase I had a long wait for my greencard/SSN so I could have her register it and insure it before my ICBC insurance expired) anyways, they tell me to take a seat and I was waiting for over an hour while I was within earshot of the officer trying to activate my CR-1. I don’t think he knew how to do it cause he called over another officer who called over another officer and so on and so on until there were 5 CBP officers talking amongst each other saying things like “do you remember how to do one of these?” “No that didn’t work... hmmm” and “oh I think that did it, hopefully that worked”. Finally after an hour the officer comes back to me and says my cr-1 has been activated but he was unable to import my vehicle because my wife wasn’t there however I can still drive my truck into the USA and just import it later. So my wife was currently on a flight to Seattle from California to meet me and drive down with me so I went to Seattle picked her up, drove back up to Lynden and went back and said okay she’s here now let’s import my truck. I dealt with a different CBP officer this time and he told me “well the other guy was wrong, you should be able to import your truck without your spouse here because your name is on it as an owner as well, however I can’t import it either because here on your compliance letter says that something with the airbag needs to be fixed.” So I look at the letter and sure enough at the bottom under all the other writing that says it meets DOT regulations it says “this vehicle cannot be imported do to such and such act such and such passenger airbag decal” so now I’ve wasted 6 hours driving all over Washington state and I still can’t import it. So I go to the local GM dealer and ask the service department about it, they say they can fix it but they can’t do it until Monday cause they need to wait for the part. Well that doesn’t work cause we’re on our way back down to Orange County. So we phone a GM dealer in California and explain the situation and ask them to order the part so I can get it fixed as soon as I get down there, the guy says that’s weird and offers to look into it further for us. He gets back to me later and says “I phoned GM Canada and the issue was a small recall with the passenger airbag and according to all of their records you have already gotten it repaired and your truck is all good to be imported.” So I tried to import my truck twice and couldn’t because of an issue that was already fixed but wasn’t stated on my compliance letter that it was already fixed. To say I was upset would be an understatement. Anyways, I’m in Central California now on my way down to OC tomorrow morning. I am sitting in my hotel and I go into my USCIS account and check the status of my greencard because the CBP officers who activated it didn’t give me a lot of hope that it was done correctly. It still says “you paid your immigrant fees on May 26 and your greencard will be produced and sent to you etc” the message hasn’t changed. Then above that it says “ I-551 Null submitted June 4 2021.”

 

My two questions are,

 

1: What does the I-551 null mean? The word null in there is making me nervous that something is wrong or somebody did something wrong and now I’m not going to get my greencard or SSN. Has anybody else had this? How long after POE does the original “you have paid your immigrant fees” message change?

 

2: Has anybody not imported their vehicle at the POE but instead did it later in SoCal? I’m trying to figure out where the hell im gunna be able to go to do the paperwork when I’m not at a POE. Maybe at a shipping port or an airport? Maybe the Mexico border? This whole process has been a nightmare and any advice would be extremely appreciated. 
 

The good news however, I am FINALLY in the USA and I don’t have to leave! My wife and I are together after months apart and that makes everything worth it! 
 

Thanks everyone, my apologies for the insanely long post.

You can try one of these local port of entries. https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/ca

 

Make sure you have the necessary forms ready. https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-218?language=en_US

 

I had a shipping company do this for me, but when I spoke with another shipping company who did not do the forms at the POE along the Canadian/US border, they said to do it locally. Since you are in OC, may as well try one of these local places nearest to you first.

 

Also, the process of registering your vehicle with the DMV sucks as well. Make sure you meet the requirements and see if you need to do the star station smog test prior to visiting the DMV (will save you an unnecessary trip of waiting only to realize you need to get one done beforehand)

 

Good luck!

[Nikasalts 10]

3 hours ago, HD_BIRDS said:

I recently got a driver's license in the US (though I have been living here for a year on work status). I had an expired Canadian license that I didn't need to renew. As long as I was willing to void my Canadian license, I was able to get a US one on the spot. You need proof of residence (bank statements mailed to your address in the US, lease with your name on it, etc), proof of eligibility to reside in the US (in this case it was the TN stamp in my passport), the Canadian license you are voiding, and the application. If you want to keep your Canadian license and also get a US one, you then need to do the written and road tests. It wasn't necessary for me. Trying to get an appointment at the DMV was truly a nightmare, and took several months. That said, I was able to drive on an expired Canadian license during that time as they relaxed the regulations during COVID due to the challenges in getting an appointment at the DMV. Once I actually had the appointment, getting the license was easy and only took 20 minutes.

This is great! Thank you

I definitely will be voiding Canadian license. 

I wonder if the fact you lived there for a year prior changed anything. Will try to look it up. 

Do you mind me asking what state have you moved to?

 

[Kai G. Llewellyn 829]

12 hours ago, Lovewithoutborder said:

I crossed the border yesterday at the Lynden WA point of entry. The crossing was a bit hectic to say the least. When I got there I told them I was activating a CR-1 and importing my vehicle. The officer told me I might not be able to import my vehicle because my wife’s name is also on the ownership (I added her just incase I had a long wait for my greencard/SSN so I could have her register it and insure it before my ICBC insurance expired) anyways, they tell me to take a seat and I was waiting for over an hour while I was within earshot of the officer trying to activate my CR-1. I don’t think he knew how to do it cause he called over another officer who called over another officer and so on and so on until there were 5 CBP officers talking amongst each other saying things like “do you remember how to do one of these?” “No that didn’t work... hmmm” and “oh I think that did it, hopefully that worked”. Finally after an hour the officer comes back to me and says my cr-1 has been activated but he was unable to import my vehicle because my wife wasn’t there however I can still drive my truck into the USA and just import it later. So

Hahaha, I'm not surprised that the Lynden PoE was scratching their heads...I've found them to be nice enough but if you're doing anything out of the norm they end up getting stuck very quickly and their knowledge has been quite limited in the past. I bet it's very rare for them to get a CR/IR visa through them, especially these days when people would probably avoid Lynden because there's no queues at the bigger ports right now.

 

Best of luck with your vehicle import, I think you can do a permanent import in California by visiting CBP at one of the international airports.

Edited June 5, 2021 by Kai (CanadaDude)