wally

so my daughter is activating her Visa today. In fact, will be getting on a plane in Detroit right now.

I thought I'd pass on an interesting tidbit for those that wonder if they MUST activate their Visa's if crossing the border. Apparently not. My daughter took a quick trip across the Windsor/Michigan border yesterday. At customs, they looked at her passport and asked if she was activating the Visa and she said 'no, I'm only in Detroit for 2 hours'. And they let her in.

My daughter lost hers. We applied for a new one on Feb. 22 and paid $370. She had biometrics on March 24th and just received the new card tocay, April 27th. Be sure to use the tear off portion of the document that the 10 year card came on with your application. This might speed it along.

continuation from my previous posts.

April 8th, the congressman's office calls my husband and says the Visa is approved. My husband's all excited but all I can think was DID THEY MAIL IT? So I called and was told the Visa was issued.

Today, my daughter received it. Wow, what a sense of relief. I've booked her ticket and she'll arrive in 2 weeks. I was real worried cause Montreal didn't have a self-addressed expresspost envelope cause of all the mailing back and forth of her passport. I'm so so grateful our congressman's office was so supportive and addressed all of my concerns right away.

She told me that the border agents at Detroit even told her they'd be so happy whenever she got it so they didn't have to pull her into secondary to quiz her when she crossed for her internship. They've been listening to her say 'the visa's in the mail' since January.

Well good luck to everyone else.

In general, it is mandatory for the child who turns 14 to apply for a new card. By law, an LPR should carry valid proof of legal residency, meaning the green card should technically be unexpired. If you are going to naturalize anytime soon and have no travel plans, you can just wait for that and apply for a U.S. passport for your 14 year old after you get your naturalization certificate. If you plan on traveling, then it would be advisable to get the card renewed as it can cause problems at the border. There are accounts of children who failed to get a new card when they turned 14 having no problems at the border or POE. However, I would not risk having an invalid green card now that border screenings are getting tighter and tighter.

Thank you for all the great answers. It's just unfortunate I missed the 30 day window from his birthday but not complaining, only paid the biometrics for him when we removed conditions anyway. So my plan is to get off this immigration roller coaster and apply for citizenship and let my son fall under derivative status. Ultimately I would have gotten US passports for us both.

Since we are travelling to Canada in June, I did ask if it would be a problem at the border...whether his current PR card is still valid and they reassured me twice that as long as it was not expired we were good to go.

Well here we are updating again. I should be titling this post as "Don't lose hope".

As of today's date my daughter still does not have her Visa in hand. The Montreal Consulate has my daughter's renewed passport since early Dec. On Dec. 24th, 2009 she received a voicemail stating that her Visa is approved and the Montreal Consulate pending 2 more documents...we were to fax a current I-864 and a copy of our marriage certificate. That person wished her a Merry Christmas and congratulated her. We faxed both documents on Jan. 6. We were hoping to not fall into the holiday period. In Feb. my daughter emailed Montreal for a status inquiry..standard response..waiting 2 weeks..blah blah blah. In early March I sent an email and received the same response. I waited two weeks than contacted our congressman's office and faxed the release of information document to them. I waited another week before starting the phone calls. No answer...no answer. Remember now, my daughter's medical, police check etc. are expiring at the end of April. We are talking just weeks.

Finally, Friday March 26th I somehow get through by phone to the Washington DC office of our congressman. A wonderful lady there informs me that since the new Health Care Reform was voted on, they have been inudated with faxes, emails, calls and are having a heck of a time sorting through all that. She requests that I scan and email the release of info doc. directly to her and to call her as soon as I do it some she can look at it. She does that and then informs me she will forward it to the local immigration person in our state. She apologizes that I would not get a response from him at the end of 'this business day'.

Monday, March 29th I receive an email from the local immigration aide to state that he has made a written inquiry to Montreal followed up with a voicemail.

Thursday, April 1, I email the local aide asking for a status report. He responds the next day stating he will let us know when he hears anything. I respond with what would he consider a reasonable time before he would make another inguiry since we are now talking 'days' before my daughter's documents expire.

Monday, April 5th he responds stating he has made another written inquiry and follow up voicemail and would give them to the end of the week. If he didn't hear anything by then, he would contact the State Dept.'s liason in Washington DC.

Tuesday, April 6th, my husband gets a phone call from the aide saying Montreal phoned him and said they would give him an answer by the end of the week. I'm panicking cause I'm thinking 'just an answer? We need the Visa'. My husband reiterates the time crunch and the aide reassured him that if the Visa is not issued by the end of April, Montreal said there was not a concern with any documents expiring. I don't feel confident of this answer.

Tuesday April 6th, 4:00pm, my husband receives a call from the aide requesting we scan and email the I-864 and marriage certificate immediately to him. And that's where we stand. Will let you know how this roller coaster ends.

quote name='wally' date='04 December 2009 - 04:09 PM' timestamp='1259960971' post='3542275']

well, here I am again with an update. My previous post from May 09 is below.

About a month after my daughter sent forth her medical to Montreal, she received a letter stating her medical was not complete and that she had to go back for a more thorough examination. I can't remember what was needed but she and I decided that she had to tackle the marijuana issue. She called the Dr.'s office but they themselves were not sure what was required either. So, as usual, my daughter has her own timeline and decided she wanted to work in a resort in another province for the summer...virtually putting everything to a halt until she got back to school. I guess there's lots of extra time then. In the meanwhile, she got 2 drug tests and contacted people for character reference letters. This included professors, her rugby coach, her supervisor at work and friends. She said it was hard and embarrassing but she explained why she needed the letters and asked them to write about her performance, behaviour, lack of drug use etc. She also chose people who had known her for more than 2 years. None of these letters were notarized. In early Sept. when she got back to school she got the first available appt. with the doctor which was in Oct. 09. I guess the fact that she had to have a discussion with the doctor made it a harder appt. to book. That went well and the doctor said he still wasn't sure what the consulate wanted but would send her a copy of his report as well. He would not give her a timeline.

Fast forward to the last week of Nov. My daughter had not heard a word. I am now becoming concerned because her passport expires in May 2010. We know they will not issue a Visa if the passport is less than 6 months from expiry so I emailed the consulate (to the same operator that sent me emails)..expressing my concern. My daughter also emails the medical office to check on the status.

Two days later my daughter has an urgent voicemail requesting she call a number and name at the Consulate. She calls and they tell her that they have approved the Visa pending a copy of our 2008 tax return. This is to be faxed with URGENT and the agent's name written across the top. And that since her passport is close to expiry, they would be sending her her current passport so she could renew it and then send it back to them with a self -addressed envelope so they could put the VISA in it. They told her to act with urgency because her medical and police check will expire in April and she must enter the US before then. She was told that since there is such a back log of mail at the consulate, she was to label her mail to them as urgent and with the agent's name. She is very fortunate that her final exam is before the expiry date in April so we won't have the worry of her entering then going back to finish school.

Currently my daughter is waiting for her new passport. She received the old one a couple of days after the phone call.

It is hard to explain my relief and finally feeling like the immigration path is close to the end. Mind you, she'll have to remove conditions but still.

Oh and I also like to note that my daughter crosses the border 3 times a week for an internship at a Detroit hosp. for school. She is doing this using her driver's license only. Go figure.

Good luck to you all.

\PREVIOUS POST

I have not actively posted for a while and since we are back on the immigration boat, thought others might find my information helpful.

My two children and myself immigrated in 2005 to be with my second husband. We all now have our 10 year permanent resident card. My oldest kid received a 3 year ban from immigrating at the interview because she admitted to experimenting with marijauna during that previous summer. This was during her medical. I had no idea. She was 17 years old at the interview. She received a section 212 () (1). We were told she had to do drug tests, look at rehab. etc. Many tears were shed, discussions were held as to whether the rest of us would go ahead and move. The bottom line was she did not really want to move...wanted to graduate with her high school friends, wanted to stay near her dad. We all knew the petition could be restarted after the ban was over with. The concern was that we would have to act fast as she turns 21 a few months after the ban was over.

Okay, in the last 3 years, she has gone on to university....completing her 3rd year this past April. We wanted her to visit so applied for permission for a nonimmigrant to visit..Form I-192 back in 2006. She was sent a request for fingerprints. Of course she was way too busy with school and friends and whatever else to get those done despite two requests from US customs and border protection. I started getting upset with her cause I wanted her to visit. We had been to Canada 4 times the first year we were here and it was getting costly. Plus I had sent that huge fee with the I-192. Well, confession time...she goes to U of Windsor which is right on the Michigan border. She had joined the Detroit rugby club and in fact had been crossing over 2-3 times a week for practices and games. How you say? Each and every time she crossed, she was pulled into secondary and GRILLED. Each and every time she was permitted to enter. I told her she was taking a huge risk in obtaining a worse ban. She thought not. At Christmas of 2007, I bought her a flight to visit for 2 weeks. She brought evidence of school, part-time job, rental agreement. She was taken into secondary at Pearson airport and GRILLED. They let her enter. In fact, after a few weeks of going back and forth at Michigan, the border agents began to recognize her and the grilling was not as long...20 min. instead of close to an hour. In the last 12 months, she has gone to Florida, Tennesee, Indiana and who knows where else for rugby tournaments.

Well, the 3 years were up in October 2008 and we started discussing where she wanted to live. She wants to come here. We were also trying to time it so that she could complete her degree in Windsor in spring of 2010. I had some concern about her turning 21 this June so in March I contacted the Montreal Embassy via email asking what steps I had to take to re-open the petition. (not knowing where to start, I called USCIS and NVC. they told me I had to contact Montreal) They responded in a couple of days stating they would review her file and requested current addresses and phone numbers. After a couple of more days they sent another email requesting (copied from email):

(1) A new Medical Exam (see attachment for new locations) show them

this email as our request for the new medical

2) Valid passport

3) New Police Cert- Canada

4) Completed and signed DS-230 Part I & II, you may down load it

from: <a href="http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html" target="_blank">http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html</a>

5) Self addressed Express post envelope (12 inches wide X 15 inches

long) purchased at Canada post.

6) 2 New Pictures (passport style photos)

and a money order for $400 USD.

We have everything completed. She has her police check and is picking up her medical tomorrow and will send the package through the day after. I have voiced my concern with her regarding drug testing...rehab...etc. but in her wisdom and her research has decided that those are only recommendations and not a must-do. I want to state now that she does not do drugs. She learned a harsh lesson back in 2005.

So now we are playing the waiting game once more. I feel encouraged that Montreal is requesting a self-addressed Express post envelope and that she has to send in her passport. I'm thinking and hoping there will not be another interview but we'll cross that bridge if we have to.

She is all stressed about her final school year...where and how but I told her we can't worry about that until we see what happens from Montreal. The 'where' might be a moot point if Montreal is slow in their final decision.

I'll update as we hear anything new.

We received our 10 PR cards in March 09. He turned 14 in Aug. 09. Don't I find out recently that he now needs a new card cause he turned 14. I sent the I-90 in last month with the $80 biometric fee. It's rejected for wrong fees sent. I called and am told because we are out of the 30 day window of when he turned 14 that I now need to send $370 instead. What I'd ike an opinion on is....since his current PR card is good until he is 16 (from what I understand), should I apply for US Citizenship and spend $675 plus whatever other fees if there are any, knowing that he will naturalize under me or get him just renew his PR card. It seems like an easy answer but I think I'm hoping that his 10 year card is still good for 10 years and I can catch a break from paying anymore fees and it didn't occur to me that every 10 years we'd have to pay more fees.

US citizenship is not a problem, just procrastinating on more paperwork, fees and travelling 6 hours for the closest test.

when we did ROC, we did not notice a wrong address (they transposed the 2 and the 5 in our address) until we were at the biometrics appt. In fact, they were the one that caught it. I called in the correction. After that, I stilled received a RFE telling me I lived in another state. I called in and they said I had to respond to the RFE just because I received one. I had to resend all my documents PLUS notarized letters proving I lived in my state for the previous 3 years. I got the 10 year card shortly afterward.

Our 90 day window for filing our I-751 starts ticking on Jan 9th, 2010 but we received what I would call a reminder letter but it was on the rude side. We haven't had to deal with them for almost two years now and that part has been nice. I noticed for whatever reasons that our home address was incorrect and missing the space number. I called them and they tell me I have to write a letter to the local office or request in INFO pass. You got to be kidding me! More than likely it was just an 'oops' on the missing number but just having to go through a dog a pony show for this is truly unbelievable. It reminds me of everything that is wrong with our government.

Things could be worse but for something so simple they make it so hard. I can hardly wait to send in our I-751 so the games can begin all over again.

Good luck to all,

Charlie

well, here I am again with an update. My previous post from May 09 is below.

About a month after my daughter sent forth her medical to Montreal, she received a letter stating her medical was not complete and that she had to go back for a more thorough examination. I can't remember what was needed but she and I decided that she had to tackle the marijuana issue. She called the Dr.'s office but they themselves were not sure what was required either. So, as usual, my daughter has her own timeline and decided she wanted to work in a resort in another province for the summer...virtually putting everything to a halt until she got back to school. I guess there's lots of extra time then. In the meanwhile, she got 2 drug tests and contacted people for character reference letters. This included professors, her rugby coach, her supervisor at work and friends. She said it was hard and embarrassing but she explained why she needed the letters and asked them to write about her performance, behaviour, lack of drug use etc. She also chose people who had known her for more than 2 years. None of these letters were notarized. In early Sept. when she got back to school she got the first available appt. with the doctor which was in Oct. 09. I guess the fact that she had to have a discussion with the doctor made it a harder appt. to book. That went well and the doctor said he still wasn't sure what the consulate wanted but would send her a copy of his report as well. He would not give her a timeline.

Fast forward to the last week of Nov. My daughter had not heard a word. I am now becoming concerned because her passport expires in May 2010. We know they will not issue a Visa if the passport is less than 6 months from expiry so I emailed the consulate (to the same operator that sent me emails)..expressing my concern. My daughter also emails the medical office to check on the status.

Two days later my daughter has an urgent voicemail requesting she call a number and name at the Consulate. She calls and they tell her that they have approved the Visa pending a copy of our 2008 tax return. This is to be faxed with URGENT and the agent's name written across the top. And that since her passport is close to expiry, they would be sending her her current passport so she could renew it and then send it back to them with a self -addressed envelope so they could put the VISA in it. They told her to act with urgency because her medical and police check will expire in April and she must enter the US before then. She was told that since there is such a back log of mail at the consulate, she was to label her mail to them as urgent and with the agent's name. She is very fortunate that her final exam is before the expiry date in April so we won't have the worry of her entering then going back to finish school.

Currently my daughter is waiting for her new passport. She received the old one a couple of days after the phone call.

It is hard to explain my relief and finally feeling like the immigration path is close to the end. Mind you, she'll have to remove conditions but still.

Oh and I also like to note that my daughter crosses the border 3 times a week for an internship at a Detroit hosp. for school. She is doing this using her driver's license only. Go figure.

Good luck to you all.

\PREVIOUS POST

I have not actively posted for a while and since we are back on the immigration boat, thought others might find my information helpful.

My two children and myself immigrated in 2005 to be with my second husband. We all now have our 10 year permanent resident card. My oldest kid received a 3 year ban from immigrating at the interview because she admitted to experimenting with marijauna during that previous summer. This was during her medical. I had no idea. She was 17 years old at the interview. She received a section 212 () (1). We were told she had to do drug tests, look at rehab. etc. Many tears were shed, discussions were held as to whether the rest of us would go ahead and move. The bottom line was she did not really want to move...wanted to graduate with her high school friends, wanted to stay near her dad. We all knew the petition could be restarted after the ban was over with. The concern was that we would have to act fast as she turns 21 a few months after the ban was over.

Okay, in the last 3 years, she has gone on to university....completing her 3rd year this past April. We wanted her to visit so applied for permission for a nonimmigrant to visit..Form I-192 back in 2006. She was sent a request for fingerprints. Of course she was way too busy with school and friends and whatever else to get those done despite two requests from US customs and border protection. I started getting upset with her cause I wanted her to visit. We had been to Canada 4 times the first year we were here and it was getting costly. Plus I had sent that huge fee with the I-192. Well, confession time...she goes to U of Windsor which is right on the Michigan border. She had joined the Detroit rugby club and in fact had been crossing over 2-3 times a week for practices and games. How you say? Each and every time she crossed, she was pulled into secondary and GRILLED. Each and every time she was permitted to enter. I told her she was taking a huge risk in obtaining a worse ban. She thought not. At Christmas of 2007, I bought her a flight to visit for 2 weeks. She brought evidence of school, part-time job, rental agreement. She was taken into secondary at Pearson airport and GRILLED. They let her enter. In fact, after a few weeks of going back and forth at Michigan, the border agents began to recognize her and the grilling was not as long...20 min. instead of close to an hour. In the last 12 months, she has gone to Florida, Tennesee, Indiana and who knows where else for rugby tournaments.

Well, the 3 years were up in October 2008 and we started discussing where she wanted to live. She wants to come here. We were also trying to time it so that she could complete her degree in Windsor in spring of 2010. I had some concern about her turning 21 this June so in March I contacted the Montreal Embassy via email asking what steps I had to take to re-open the petition. (not knowing where to start, I called USCIS and NVC. they told me I had to contact Montreal) They responded in a couple of days stating they would review her file and requested current addresses and phone numbers. After a couple of more days they sent another email requesting (copied from email):

(1) A new Medical Exam (see attachment for new locations) show them

this email as our request for the new medical

2) Valid passport

3) New Police Cert- Canada

4) Completed and signed DS-230 Part I & II, you may down load it

from: http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html

5) Self addressed Express post envelope (12 inches wide X 15 inches

long) purchased at Canada post.

6) 2 New Pictures (passport style photos)

and a money order for $400 USD.

We have everything completed. She has her police check and is picking up her medical tomorrow and will send the package through the day after. I have voiced my concern with her regarding drug testing...rehab...etc. but in her wisdom and her research has decided that those are only recommendations and not a must-do. I want to state now that she does not do drugs. She learned a harsh lesson back in 2005.

So now we are playing the waiting game once more. I feel encouraged that Montreal is requesting a self-addressed Express post envelope and that she has to send in her passport. I'm thinking and hoping there will not be another interview but we'll cross that bridge if we have to.

She is all stressed about her final school year...where and how but I told her we can't worry about that until we see what happens from Montreal. The 'where' might be a moot point if Montreal is slow in their final decision.

I'll update as we hear anything new.

yup, thanks all

the last three years weren't so bad as she went away to school. Funny enough, she has seen more of the US than I have. I think it's most interesting that she was permitted to enter at all. The second last time she entered, the border agent told her to go to Montreal and get the 'red flag' removed off her passport as the ban is over. That way she wouldn't be questionned anymore. About a month before the ban was over, one border agent told her she should have never been able to enter but since it was so near the end he let her in.

I am impressed with the response so fast from Montreal. We'll see what happens when they get the package.

I have not actively posted for a while and since we are back on the immigration boat, thought others might find my information helpful.

My two children and myself immigrated in 2005 to be with my second husband. We all now have our 10 year permanent resident card. My oldest kid received a 3 year ban from immigrating at the interview because she admitted to experimenting with marijauna during that previous summer. This was during her medical. I had no idea. She was 17 years old at the interview. She received a section 212 () (1). We were told she had to do drug tests, look at rehab. etc. Many tears were shed, discussions were held as to whether the rest of us would go ahead and move. The bottom line was she did not really want to move...wanted to graduate with her high school friends, wanted to stay near her dad. We all knew the petition could be restarted after the ban was over with. The concern was that we would have to act fast as she turns 21 a few months after the ban was over.

Okay, in the last 3 years, she has gone on to university....completing her 3rd year this past April. We wanted her to visit so applied for permission for a nonimmigrant to visit..Form I-192 back in 2006. She was sent a request for fingerprints. Of course she was way too busy with school and friends and whatever else to get those done despite two requests from US customs and border protection. I started getting upset with her cause I wanted her to visit. We had been to Canada 4 times the first year we were here and it was getting costly. Plus I had sent that huge fee with the I-192. Well, confession time...she goes to U of Windsor which is right on the Michigan border. She had joined the Detroit rugby club and in fact had been crossing over 2-3 times a week for practices and games. How you say? Each and every time she crossed, she was pulled into secondary and GRILLED. Each and every time she was permitted to enter. I told her she was taking a huge risk in obtaining a worse ban. She thought not. At Christmas of 2007, I bought her a flight to visit for 2 weeks. She brought evidence of school, part-time job, rental agreement. She was taken into secondary at Pearson airport and GRILLED. They let her enter. In fact, after a few weeks of going back and forth at Michigan, the border agents began to recognize her and the grilling was not as long...20 min. instead of close to an hour. In the last 12 months, she has gone to Florida, Tennesee, Indiana and who knows where else for rugby tournaments.

Well, the 3 years were up in October 2008 and we started discussing where she wanted to live. She wants to come here. We were also trying to time it so that she could complete her degree in Windsor in spring of 2010. I had some concern about her turning 21 this June so in March I contacted the Montreal Embassy via email asking what steps I had to take to re-open the petition. (not knowing where to start, I called USCIS and NVC. they told me I had to contact Montreal) They responded in a couple of days stating they would review her file and requested current addresses and phone numbers. After a couple of more days they sent another email requesting (copied from email):

(1) A new Medical Exam (see attachment for new locations) show them

this email as our request for the new medical

2) Valid passport

3) New Police Cert- Canada

4) Completed and signed DS-230 Part I & II, you may down load it

from: http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html

5) Self addressed Express post envelope (12 inches wide X 15 inches

long) purchased at Canada post.

6) 2 New Pictures (passport style photos)

and a money order for $400 USD.

We have everything completed. She has her police check and is picking up her medical tomorrow and will send the package through the day after. I have voiced my concern with her regarding drug testing...rehab...etc. but in her wisdom and her research has decided that those are only recommendations and not a must-do. I want to state now that she does not do drugs. She learned a harsh lesson back in 2005.

So now we are playing the waiting game once more. I feel encouraged that Montreal is requesting a self-addressed Express post envelope and that she has to send in her passport. I'm thinking and hoping there will not be another interview but we'll cross that bridge if we have to.

She is all stressed about her final school year...where and how but I told her we can't worry about that until we see what happens from Montreal. The 'where' might be a moot point if Montreal is slow in their final decision.

I'll update as we hear anything new.

we also did the same thing, mailed the AR11 but didn't think about my husband (sponsor) having to send in notice too and we were a year at the new address.

I sent in his change of address at the same time as my removal of conditions. On the cover letter of my package, I wrote that I didn't know..blah blah blah and that I have sent his change in. I was concerned that our evidence spanning over two years showed two different addresses. We received an NOA from his address change. We ended up getting an RFE cause of a typo (see my old post) but I'm not sure the RFE wasn't somehow related to the address update as who knows which department processes first.

Anyway, all is well. No fines, no penalties. Sent in my petition in late Sept 07...card received in March 08.

You'll be fine.

my daughter is also entering college next year.

not all scholarships are merit based but those are likely the ones she's applied for since I think athletic scholarships would have been already offered.

when we sent in our FAFSA, we sent them to the three colleges my daughter had been accepted to.

each college sends out a financial aid package. did your daughter receive a financial package from the other college she was accepted to?

also, this link has a ton of information: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financ...d-scholarships/

We got the emails yesterday and I'm sure glad to be done with this phase.

Sept. 07--petition sent in to Nebraska, 40 something pages...almost all co-mingled stuff like tax transcripts, insurances, paystubs, beneficiary stuff.. etc.

Oct. 07--received the one year extension letter and found out we were transferred to California

Nov. 07--biometrics...here Homeland Security found a typo on our address, a 5 switched for a 2. We never noticed it and we live in such a dinky town I'm sure our mail lady delivers by name only.

Nov. 07--I corrected the address online and after two weeks called in to confirm the correction.

late Nov. 07--received NOA with address correction from typo error

Dec. 12, 2007--RFE....according to their records I lived in another state...They wanted the usual evidence PLUS at least 2 affidavits from people that have known me SINCE the date I moved here.

Dec. sometime--called the customer service line to ask how could I be listed as living in another state when I never did...this is the response from the guy on the phone after checking my file.."why do they keep doing that?!..(sigh)...you will have to do what the RFE asks for just because you were sent it" I got the feeling when the person who originally keyed in my info did a typo and rather than investigate the error, just sent out an RFE.

Feb. 14, 2008--sent back the same package, included some more evidence, the NOA typo letter and 3 affidavits. I got one from a customer service lady I deal with at my bank who opened up our accounts and my kids' accounts. I got one from our mortgage guy...he has also become a good friend. I felt I had to prove I lived here versus proving a bonafide relationship. I also got one from a parent of one of the kids' my son hung around with when we first moved here.

March 6, 2008--Card production ordered.

good luck to everyone else

the number on the letter is 1-800-375-5283

if I remember correctly, it's the same Customer Service line that is on USCIS's website. I think I also had to give the WAC # as well.

my son and I got appointments on different days and since it's an hour and half drive, I sent in a request to get them scheduled together. It's clear on the appt. letter how to reschedule. However, after about a week and I didn't hear an answer, I called the 1-800 line. They told me what the new date was (which was about 3 weeks after the original) and to take my original appt. letters.

Good thing I called, the letter with the new date arrived a couple of days after the appointment.

for my daughter, I sent her school transcripts, any medical/ dental bills with her name on them, statements from her bank account, a copy of our car insurance showing she in an insuree and she works part-time so I also sent paystubs. Also, I sent a copy of my husband's medical insurance showing her as being insured.

same here.. im not at that point yet but will be eventually. for everything else you had to pay a seperate fee for each child...visa,medical,passport. i wouldnt doubt it if they require the same for the rest of the procudures.

my daughter entered about a week outside my window of eligibility to remove conditions. I had to send a separate I-751 plus fees just for her. She received her own letter of extention and her own biometric appointment.

my son, who entered with me is riding on my petition...I only had to send a separate biometric fee for him

Hi Friends!

We just found out that we should have filed a I-130 for my wife's daughter (both in the Philippines) along with the I-130 we filed for mom. That means another 2-4 months of waiting for my step-daughter's I-130 to be processed to catch up with her mom's.

So her mom's I-130 is sitting at the NVC waiting for me to submit the I-864 (support docs) and pay the $380 for the DS 230. However I am told to wait on this until the I-130 for my step-daughter gets to the NVC too.

Here's the question. Should we just not submit the I-130 for my step daughter since Laguna Niguel is processing our I-129F at this moment? If they received the paperwork around July 2007, isn't the processing time 180 days from then meaning they should have it approved or disapproved by February 2008? Would it be faster and easier to wait for the decision on the I-129F or submit the I-130 for my step-daughter and follow that process until it reaches NVC too?

I'm sorry if this might sound a bit confusing but the reason we are waiting to file the I-130 is that her daughter may need to get a revised birth certificate and that might take some extra time too!

Thanks for any advice and help in advance!

Scott in AZ

we went through the same process...in that we did not realize the kids' had to have their own I-130s. We got all messed up on derivative status cause we also filed the I-129.

Anyway, we followed through on the I-130. My petition was months ahead of the kids. I actually had an interview scheduled at the consulate when my kids were still at NVC. I had their NOAs but no approval. We had not received the requests for I-864 or DS-230 for them yet. On the USCIS website, they were linked to me. Long story short, with many calls to the consulate, emails back and forth....the kids' petitions were fast forwarded and they interviewed at the same time as me. The consulate accepted all documentation that the petitions required and we paid all outstanding fees there as well.

My suggestion is to take care of the birth certificate problem (if there is one). I don't know but don't you need it for the I-129 anyway? Then decide to send in the I-130 for the step-daughter if your 1-129 is not skipping along.

There is a true benefit to the CR1/CR2 if you decide to wait besides the savings in fees and it was real nice to have an almost 2 year break from anymore immigration paperwork.

gee, I hadn't really thought of why I was getting my pic taken....DUH on me. It was done in Fargo, ND so I'm sure there were wind gusts of about 50 mph prior to me entering the building and I couldn't have been bothered to check it prior to my pic....so well I guess it would be a typical photo of someone from ND. Geesh!!!

Thanks for that Misa...

hey, you have your biometrics in Fargo? I'm in Jamestown and thought we had to go to Minnesota.

my 16 year old daughter did not want to move with me and my son right away, she was mid-semester in grade 11. So I allowed her to stay behind but made sure she didn't have the same comforts of my home, that is, I boarded her with friends. She had to prepare most of her own meals and her own laundry, get herself to school and around town etc... all I did was give her some cash when needed. All during this time I told her repeatedly that we missed her and she needed to be with her mother. But I never demanded that she come. And it did help that my friends thought she should also move to us. During the break between semesters, she told me she was ready...that day I bought a flight for me to go get her and a flight for her to come back. She was here within a week. It was months later when she admitted that she missed us terribly.

Is she all that happy here? She's coming up on Removing Conditions and she's glad that she's here with us but it's been a tough transition.

And oh yeah, don't be like us and have her enter too far away from your entry date...we moved in Oct and she moved in Feb. We have to file a whole other petition for her to Remove Conditions and pay the whole fee again.

I went to Medisys, Toronto...there was some confusion with my kids' medicals...they didn't have their interview letter but they had an interview date. (When I booked the appts. I confirmed with Medisys that they would do them w/o the letter.) The receptionist call MTL on a DIRECT LINE to confirm the kids could be done. And now I remember, our case was complicated so MTL asked to speak to me to clarify details and then they confirmed with the receptionist to go ahead with the medicals.

I called Dr. Seiden's office a couple of weeks ago and asked what I needed to set up the medical appointment. They said just the case number. So, I called back today with the case number. She asked which visa we were applying for. I told her. She got dh's info and asked if she could call me back. She called back about 2 minutes later and said that they can't do the medical until we get the interview date. She said she just called Immigration and they told her not to do the medical yet, until the date is set.

What is up with that?? I thought some of you were able to get your medical before your appt. was set. I know it's no rush and we have time. I just figured it was one more thing we could get out of the way.

Then the lady at the Doctor's office lied!

Carla

please add us:

service center-NSC, petition received 9-28-07

well now, welcome to the flatlands of ND

I moved here with my kids when we immigrated. We live in Jamestown and go to Fargo for the big shopping excursions. Our little town is only 15,000 and it's quite a change from the city of 300K we came from. You are right about the fishing...we can go from home and have our boat in the Jamestown Reservoir in about 15 min. Hence our nickname...wally---walleye. If I had to have a complaint, it's the freakin wind..it's relentless. And it's so funny about traffic jams...if we're backed up 4 or 5 cars at the local Walmart, my husband's flipping out. Instead of saying 'thank you', are you saying 'you betcha!' yet? Geez, I'm so acclimated to this little town, Fargo seems like a big city to me now.

my father sent me a cheque in US dollars. He uses TD bank and I think their affiliate bank is Wells Fargo, in Toronto.

I may be mistaken but I think you cannot netfile from US. I had to mail my Canadian one in to a specific address for out of Canada returns. Check the specs of your software before buying.