goldfish

My interview was yesterday and I was APPROVED I got there at 6:55am and there were 4 people in front of me. It is FREEZING outside. DRESS WARM! Other than that, it went exactly as expected from all the reviews I read. I don't really have anything valuable to add except for the fact that there really is nothing to worry about. As much as everyone said the interview was the easiest part, I was still super stressed out and nervous, but after it was done, I finally realized what everyone was talking about. I just hope this helps calm some upcoming interviewees nerves

I met some really nice fellow VJ'ers in line that were also approved. I didn't catch their user names though!?

Hi Crystal, I was right in front of you, thank you again for letting me back in line. Congratulations for your approval. Wish you and Tommy a great wedding and a wonderful life together!!

My husband and I rent a UHAUL, 17', Toronto to North Carolina. Truck rental, insurance, gas, hotel and food. Everything together probably cost us around $1,500. Mileage was close to 1500 Km. I am hardly 5' tall but I drove almost 1/3 of the trip. Before we got on the road, I joked about getting a brick tied to my foot so I could reach the gas pad. Did not need to do that.

I did not have a lot furniture (that's the main reason I thought we should try self moving), about 30 plastic containers/LCBO carton boxes of stuff, queen size bed & mattress & box, leather sofa (3 seat and love seat), TV Stand, some paintings.

Hi Zyg, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge on cross border tax issues with us.

I have a tax planning question and I would like to hear your opinion on this, if I could choose the date to become a US resident (that will be the official date I become a non-resident of Canada), either late December ex. 23 Dec 2011, or early Januaray ex. 3 Jan 2012, generally speaking, for my Canadian normal tax return and the exit return, simplicity wise , it is better to choose the later date i.e. 3 Jan 2012, am I right?

I look forward to your reply. Thank you very much in advance.

P.S. Any wisdom is welcome, please feel free to comment. Thank you.

I am contemplating driving to Montreal from Toronto for my interview. I am just wondering if anyone, who has done this before, would be kind enough to share your experience. Since you did it, in hindsight, would you have done it differently?

I have no families in Toronto for pick up or drop off to the Airport. I also plan to return to work the next day. Driving is cheaper, most importantly it gives a lot fexibility in terms of scheduling....I am a little concerned of the long driving and uncertainties on the road...traffic, weather etc...my interview date is towards end of November.

It would be great to hear someone who has done it before and confirms driving to Montreal is manageble.

Many thanks in advance for sharing your stories/thoughts.

Thank you all for your replies, I have filled out and printed a paper copy of DS-230, with the correct year of marriage, of course. I will bring that to my interview. Fingers crossed, all will be ok.

Just make sure when you bring the DS-230 for the interview that it has the right year and everything will be fine

Thank you, Saylin. Your comment definitely helps.

I don't think you should worry. The certificate will show the correct date.

Thanks. I hope that won't raise any eyebrows at the interview.

Another time being victim of the Murphy's law. I am a pretty meticulous and thourough person. Well, made a stupid typo filling DS-260, checked multiple times after yet still failed to catch it, that just baffles me.

I have already been given an interview date.

I wonder if anyone had similar experience and could let me know what's the best way to correct the typo?

Shall I wait until the interview or try to contact them before hand?

Boy, this is stressful.

Thank you for sharing if you had similar experience and had gone through the process already.

I was really surprised that mine was on November 7th. I was expecting early December since I just got CC on September 21st.

It always feels good when it's a nice surprise. Wish you smooth sail all from here.

I don't know how come my reply went under the wrong post in my first attempt.

Poncheros already answered for me!

My interview was booked for me through the consulate as I applied for a CR1 Visa.

I have been following the threads for VJ'ers that need to book interview dates through the website. It's horrible that its taking so long I hope all of you can book your interviews soon!

It always feels good when it's a nice surprise. Wish you smoothe sail all from here.

Mine is on 21 Nov. It is one and half months late than we would really have liked. Such is life. At least we have a date to work with now.

Sometimes I think they make you wait on purpose so that you will cherish each other even more after all these ordeal.

This is my third immigration. I swear this will be the last.

Yup!

Thanks. It's been hours since I sent the email. No reply yet. I will keep my fingers crossed.

I did mine over email as well, had everything scheduled within ten minutes.

The email address you used, is it Panel.Physicians@panelphysicians.com? Thank you.

It depends on who you called and where your medical is. I called the panel physicians (Dr Seiden's crowd) in Montreal the day I got my letter stating when my interview was. Almost FOUR WEEKS later and 3 or 4 messages left, I still hadn't heard from them. My wife emailed Medisys in Montreal just before the close of business one day and the first thing the next day they CALLED her back. She let me know and I made the appointment with them for my medical. Then about 3 days before I left, the other crowd called me. I didn't answer. They left a message but I didn't call them back. They couldn't bother calling me back in a timely manner, so I extended them the same courtesy. And from what I could find out, I saved myself $40-$50 by having my medical done at Medisys versus the Panel Physicians and I had the results just as quickly.

I know each case is different, but that was my experience. I personally recommend using Medisys if you're going to Montreal for your medical.

Thank you very much for your reply. I live in GTA area so it is more convennient that I do the medical in Toronto vs Montreal. I am now really concerned that how soon I can break through their "no answer" wall and book an appoitment. I need to have a flu shot and some other vaccine done within a certain time frame before the exam. I am also still working full time. So I really wish i could speak to someone on the phone and have a firm date for the medical. I am so looking forward to the day when all these are behind me...

they will call back usually within a day - they are very good about that. You don't have to leave multiple messages.

Thank you for your reply. Yeah, I just left one message. It's reassuring to hear that they do call you back. I am very anxious to know the exact date for the medical.

Not much has been posted about making a medical exam appointment. I have called many times and was directed to the voicemail all the time. Anyone had similar experience?

As long as you have the last few trips on the DS-230, they should be happy with the note afterwards about taking many trips without knowing the dates. And definitely bring a completed DS-230 with you as I doubt Montreal will have gotten used to the new system yet and stop requiring the DS-230.

As for the I-864, if you do EP (where you email the packages), then you NEED to bring the original AOS package with you as they'll request it at the interview. If you don't do EP and mail the AOS package in, then you don't need to bring a copy with you as they'll have it. But I will always suggest to bring a copy of EVERYTHING (I-130, AOS, IV, etc) in case of that very small chance they might ask for something or misplaced it or whatever. A quote I saw on VJ at the beginning of my immigration journey that I remembered throughout the process: "It is better to be over-prepared than even slightly under-prepared."

Thank you very much, Saylin. I am so glad that I asked you. I will ask my husband to mail me the I864 package asap. He actually filled out I864EZ rather than I864. I hope that is not going to be a problem. I hope he kept a copy of I-130 package. I will ask that from him too. Totally agree with you on the quote. Thanks again.

Just to be sure you know, you don't fill out the DS-230 at NVC. As a Canadian, you file the online DS-230 called the DS-260. On that form, it only asks for the last FIVE visits. So as long as you have those, you're good

Although, at the interview, you're probably going to need to bring a DS-230 as Montreal, as of now, still isn't used to the new online system. For that one, I just wrote on that question about seeing the supplemental sheet. I wrote the last 7 trips to the US, the ones I knew of the dates, and then made a note below it which said:

"I've also had multiple visits to the USAlasting around a month since I was young of which I don't recall the specificdates and don't have evidence/information of those crossings. Each time I havegone to visit the USA though, I have always been inspected by a United StatesCustoms and Border Protection officer upon entry."

You can take that if you want. Just make sure everything reflects your case.

Thank you very much, Saylin. I know of DS-260. I am just using DS-230 for preparation. It's good tip that I should bring a copy of DS-230 with me for the interview. I will keep that in mind.

It's good to know that it is acceptable that I don't remember the exacat dates and lengths of my many visits to US. Thank you for sharing your note. It's very helpful.

Now, I have another question. Hopefully this will be my last. Did you bring a copy of the I864 Package to your interview as well? Thank you, Saylin.

To have an interview date in October, you would have to have gotten a case complete in August. Unless you get really lucky and finish with NVC in the next few weeks and there's suddenly an opening at Montreal for a really early interview. Sorry to bring the bad news, but it looks like you won't be getting an interview till November or December.

No problem, I know not to have high expectations because things are not in my control. If I can't leave together with him, I will just have to stay behind and wait more patiently.

I have another question, Saylin. When filling out form DS-230, one question is asking to list dates of all previous visits to the United States. I have been to the US so many times across the years, for shopping, for visiting friends, for business meetings, I sure visited my husband (then was my boyfriend) many times....I don't remember all the dates....I presume this would be the case for many, how is this handled, any suggestions? Many thanks.

Hi...it all depends. It could be 6-12 mths. Examples... Speed of the USCIS center your case is at, NVC processing & mailing to embassy , & the processing plus scheduling of interview from the embassy.

Thank you, Fela's Girl.

The time it takes from case number to case complete will ALWAYS depend on how fast the person submits stuff and how fast NVC reviews them. Although, I have a spreadsheet going with NVC times, and the average so far is 66 days, so about 2 months.

As for the time from case complete to interview, for Canada, it's about 2 months. For myself, it was 54 days.

Thank you very much, Saylin. The spreadsheet is awesome! It's relieving to see if you stay on top of the game and don't waste any time on your end, it's possible to finish quickly. I am really hoping for an early October interview. My house closing date is on 27 Oct. My husband is coming to collect all my belongings, I would love to be collected at the same time as well. It would be heart breaking that he will have to leave again without me...

Dear Vjers, for CR1 visa processing, can anyone share with me how long does it take from Case number assigned to case complete (assuming no delay from your end), and how long does it take from case complete to interview? Many thanks.

Hi there, how long it will take to process Canadian Certified Criminal Record Check at the RCMP.

on the RCMP website it says 12 weeks !!!!

when do i need it ?? with the NVC or can i submit it to the embassy (interview day)

is that for real? any one had any experience with that

Thanks

Either one can send the DS-230 package. The Choice of Agent is only for the NVC to know where to send their correspondence to, either the petitioner or beneficiary. They don't care who sends the paperwork or payment to them.

Diana

Thank you very much, Diana.

Hi fellow vjers, I have been reading a lot on this website searching for guidance. My husband filed petition in April this year. We got NOA2 approval on 19 Jul. Still waiting for NVC number.

I think since we want to make things go faster (I am sure everyone wants), so we will designate my husband who is in US as the agent.

My question is who will assemble and send in the IV package?

As I have the originals of my birth certificate, police certificate, passport etc...which are required for the IV package. Should I send these to him before hand to save time?

Thank you.