Madhavi

Hi!

I am not sure if this is the right forum to ask this question but I had a question about my husband's PIO application. He is a USC born in Oregon. On his birth certificate, there is no mention of nationality for obvious reasons. However Travisa and Indian Consulate want his nationality on birth certificate. Any idea what to do?

Thanks!

- Madhavi

Awesome!!! Thanks for the replies guys :-)!

I did mark in my DS 230 to get the SSN but haven't received it. Guess we'll be going to the office soon!

Not sure if this is the right forum to ask this question but I landed in US on April 4th.. its 3 weeks and no sign of SSN card or Green Card/Immigrant Card?

Any idea what to do or where to follow up?

So just wanted to share with everyone my experience and give some tips.

1) Firstly, address on the letter was wrong! They said it was 315 Place d'Youville, Montreal.. but instead it is actually 1155 Rue St. Alexandre! Good thing I got there an hour early so I could go in time to the correct location before they opened the doors.

2) Its totally outdoors without a shade. I was super scared that it was going to rain but fortunately it didn't. So advice - make sure you were a jacket with a hoodie - do not take an umbrella as they may not let you take that in!!!

3) After the opened the doors, the guy wouldn't let me bring my bag in even though it wasn't oversized. He let some other people take their bags and that was just weird. I had to throw my bag away because I didn't want to go bad to the hotel just to leave a bag. So make sure you take your documents only in a plastic bag which they seemed to allow.

4) There is no storage or lockers at the Montreal Consulate so don't even think of getting MP3 Players, Cell Phones etc. The coffee shop nearby keeps your items for a $10-$15 charge for emergencies.

5) After the guy checked the bag, they asked me if I registered for my DHL, which I had.. but they never said anywhere that I needed to get the confirmation number..so I (and MANY other people) were sent back to get that number or to register as we can't take cell phones right. And since it was 7:30am and the office opens only at 8.. we had to just wait. Fortunately for me, I called my husband and he had the number handy so it wasn't so bad but the others were there till 8:20ish

6) After getting in, it was fairly quick for them to check my documents. It helps to have them all labeled with a post it and it makes it faster.

7) Then was the torturous wait for the interview. For some reason, they didn't seem to go in order. I was 4th in line but people who came after me went before. My theory is that if you have small kids, they interview you earlier. It was quite boring as there are no magazines and TV plays some weird movies. Advice: Take a book or a magazine with you because there is a good chance you are going to wait a while!!!!

8) Finally after being there for nearly 2 hours (since they checked my documents) I was called for the interview. It was very smooth.. She made me say the oath and then asked me 2 questions.. How come I travel a lot and how I met my husband. After that, she gave me the letter saying visa was approved. I timed it - it took 6 minutes from the time I took the oath! That made me super happy :-)

Overall it was an okay experience. I was not impressed about the fact that there were so many misleading information especially about location and DHL services. Hope this helps other Canadians :-)

If you want your visa you have to sign up for DHL delivery. http://usvisa-info.com/en-CA/selfservice/ss_country_welcome

Thanks! That helped :-)

Hi there,

I have my CR1 interview in Montreal on March 8 (OMG getting nervous already - only 2 weeks to go!!!!!!!!!). So I was reading the reviews and I am very glad to hear that it does not seem as painful as I thought. Hopefully mine also goes as smooth as it has for many of u!

I had a question regarding the DHL service. I haven't read any information about setting this up in any of the emails I have recieved from NVC or Montreal Consulate. I see that there was another thread with the same question: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/326565-montreal-us-consulate-specific-info-dhl/ but no answer.

So here are my questions.

1) What is this DHL service? My impression was that if interview goes on smoothly, they give you a visa letter on the spot.

2) If I do have to register for DHL, how can I do it? Is there any particular link.

3) What is Packet3? All I recieved was a e-letter from Montreal with my interview date & time. Is that packet-3?

4) Do I have to call Montreal and confirm my interview or is the letter good enough?

Thank you!

Same thing for me actually! I am a Canadian waiting for my interview for CR1 and I am going to visit my Hubby for Valentines day in 2 weeks! Praying that I wont have issues with the CBP either.

I am an Indian-born Canadian Citizen married to a USC. After hunting around for my birth certificate, my parents told me that it has my last name missing. It has all what the NVC states from the travel.state.gov website:

Your date of birth

Your place of birth

Names of both parents

Indication by the appropriate authority that it is an extract from the official records

Unfortunately, it only has my first name and no last name. What to do?

My parents live in UAE so they aren't even sure getting it attested by the local embassy will help. Ideas??

If it puts your mind at rest you can call but here is the excerpt from the website:

Police Records

Available, only if applicant is physically present in the UAE.

Police certificates may be obtained by any person, regardless of nationality, by personally appearing at the Central Police Headquarters located in the emirate of residence or former residence. When appearing to request a police certificate, the applicant should provide recent photographs, a letter from the requesting authority, the date of residence in the emirate, and their passport.

Not available by mail. Post recommends that consular officers waive the general requirement to obtain police certificates unless the applicant lives in the UAE.

Travel.state.gov link

Don't worry, in the case of UAE it will be a non issue.

Thanks beejay! I called NVC today and they confirmed that they don't need the PC from UAE!

As per the travel.state.gov website you will not need police cert from UAE if you are no longer residing there.

Thanks beejay! Do you think its better that I can NVC and confirm?

I am a Canadian living in Canada for the past 8 years and recently married an American Citizen. We are just gathering all documents for AOS and IV. Now I have been in Canada ever since I was 17 years old and I got the police certificate from here. However, I was in United Arab Emirates from the ages of 16-17. Is it very necessary to get the Police Certificate for UAE as well?

Problem is that it looks like it will take over a month to get all those documentation and will push back our case if we have to wait for another month. I have everything else ready to go.

Any advice?

Hi,

I had a couple of questions regarding this. I had applied for the I-130 and the I-129F for K3 in July. I am a Canadian living in Toronto, Canada and my husband is an American Citizen living in US.

1) On December 5, I received an email saying that both my I-130 and I-129 have been approved. What happens in this scenario? Will I enter US on a K3 or will my K3 be discarded as I-130 has already been approved and I am now in the IR1 route?

2) The email says that they have sent me a notification and further steps by mail. I haven't received anything. Should by husband be getting it? (He is currently on vacation in Toronto)

3) If this is now indeed the IR1 route, when I enter the US can I travel outside US or do I still need to file some more forms to travel out of country?

4) Typically, how long does it take to get an interview in Montreal and after we get the interview, how long does it take to get the visa?

Thanks for any help in advance!

Yes, both those are good. You'll want your employee letter to state your job and your expected return date. Also a lease/mortgage will be good

Just remember, no guarentee that you'll be admitted

good luck

In the event that I am not admitted (God Forbid), will that impact my current 130 application?

#1 question asked on this forum! Simply put, yes, BUT it comes down to the POE officer. So ensure you have ties to Canada AND a back up plan in case they deny you entry! Most have no problems, but 1 has to be prepared.

I thought the k3 process was dead? Really only makes sense if ur going through Vancouver.

Thanks for the advice!

Re: K3 process, that was the process our lawyer adviced to go for in April this year. Only after discovering this forum I realised that the process is dead. Oh well, we applied for 130 in July! Hope it will get clear soon!!!

Any of you have experience with the K3 and know how long it really takes? (start to end including interview)

Awesome!!! That makes me SO happy! Now the whole waiting process is a little bit better now that I can go visit him :-)!

I am a Canadian citizen and my husband lives in the states. We got married a few months ago and our K3 visa is in process now. I am reading different things on whether I can enter the US or not.

So can some one please clarify if I can enter the US or not.

Thanks!

I think the best proof I have is that I have a full time stable job here in Toronto. Will a letter from my employer help to convince the CO at the border that I am not planning to live in US but just going there for a holiday?

I also own property here. Does that help?

That is so confusing! Can I enter the US on a visit than atleast while my I-130 is in progress as I am on the Visa Waiver Program for US anyway being a Canadian?

So if I can't adjust my visa on a TN, if I get a job in the states while my K3 is in progress, can I move to the US for work?

I am Canadian citizen and currently waiting for my K3 visa (applied in July 2011). In the meantime, I am looking for jobs in the states. In the event that something works out, is it possible to get a TN visa while your I-130 is in process? If so, can I enter the states and then adjust my status after going there?

Thanks for any advice!

My cousin, who is an Indian citizen and currently a student in US (F-1 visa holder) wants to visit me in Toronto this Winter. Can she apply for a visit visa to enter Canada?

I think your case is more complicated - especially if you haven't met your husband before the marriage. I remember when filing for either spouse or fiance visa (k3/k1) they asked for circumstances of if you have met each other before marriage and all that.

If you don't have evidence to prove that, I think there is a strong possibility they will consider this marriage as fraud and done for immigration purposes.

Just make sure you have that covered for whatever visa you chose to apply for like pictures, emails, affadivits of people who know of your relationship (preferably non family) and who were there for the ceremony etc.

Because of that, it is better to just file for your marriage in India and then file for a K3. Just because I don't think you should risk the whole fiance route especially when you weren't really engaged or had a courtship period.

I had a similar dilemma. My husband is American and I am Canadian. After our courtship for 8 months we got engaged. We weren't sure if we should go through the fiance route to go to the US or the marriage route. Our friends who went through similar situation recommended K3 route to us. So we got legally married in Toronto - a small, intimate family ceremony and applied for a K3. We are doing a full Hindu marriage ceremony later this year. So according to the law, we are married and we use that in all our forms. But our formal religious marriage ceremony is only later this year.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Is there any chance the processing time depends on the citizenship of the spouse? Like does me being a Canadian help to speeden up the process?

On our research, it said that we have to apply for 130 and than 129F for a K3 visa

From the US immigration site:

You, the U.S. citizen sponsor, must first file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office that serves the area where you live. The USCIS will send a Notice of Action (Form I-797) receipt notice to inform you that it has received the petition. See the USCIS website under K-3/K-4 Nonimmigrant Visas for more information.

You must then file Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), for your foreign-citizen spouse and stepchildren. See Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) for information on where to file the petition for a K-3 visa.

After USCIS approves the petitions, they will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) for processing.

Hi,

I am a Canadian citizen and my husband is American. We got married in Toronto in May 2011. We applied for the I-130 in June and thn for I-129F in July. I know that it is still early (not even been 4 months) but was wondering how the processing times are?

I am hoping to move to US by February 2012. Is there any way to expediate the process?

Any advice is appreciated as I am already getting tired of the waiting game.

Thanks!