configuration

Thanks hugglebuggles.

Hi all,

I've searched through the topics related to doing a medical in Toronto. Most of my questions were answered, but here are 3 that were not:

1. It used to be the case that Seiden's was the only place to do a medical in Toronto. But the lastest info from the Montreal consulate now lists a second doctor: Lyndon Mascarenhas (no website). Has anyone done their medical there? Any reviews of the place?

2. Seiden's website says that we need a Tetatnus Diptheria (TD) booster shot if there are no records of Tetanus shots during childhood. I do not have my childhood records for tetanus. My question is: is a simple TD booster enough, or do we need TDAP? I have titre test results for the other diseases.

3. Just to be clear: we do the test and then the results are given to us in 2 days? So the doctor does not send test results directly to the consulate? My plan had been to do the test the day before my interview (i.e. drive up to Montreal immediately after the test), but I guess I need to leave at least 2 days (or maybe 3 to be safe) in between to pick up the results. Can anyone confirm?

Thanks!

Since you don't need to send the NOA2 to NVC or need it at the interview, no, it's not necessary to have received. It's just good to have for your records.

Thanks Saylin,

I'm sure I will receive it eventually, but good to know that it is not an absolutely critical document, so I can stop worrying too much about it.

How important is it to receive the physical NOA2?

I ask because our case status was updated 2 weeks ago to show that the I-130 was approved. We're still waiting for the NVC to receive the case. But we have not yet received the NOA2 in the mail. Yesterday we got an email from USCIS saying that something they sent us was returned to them. Not sure why, we always get mail at this address, including from USCIS in the past. We're assuming this is the NOA2. So we contacted USCIS and asked them to resend.

But I was wondering whether it really matters if we receive the NOA2 in the mail or not. Since I am in Canada, I can do electronic processing from this point on. Does it matter if the hard copy of the NOA2 never reaches us? Could this delay sending the case to NVC?

Thanks.

Interesting, thanks for the detailed story.

I often go down to visit my wife (we have a CR-1 application in process). Never been a problem so far, thanks in large part to Nexus. But good to know about what can set off flags.

See my post on this subject here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/371288-i-need-your-suggestions/page__view__findpost__p__5420682

The answer to 1) is you can keep your Canadian PR until you become a US PR or move to the US on a K1, since in any case you have to live in Canada until that time- you cannot move to the US simply on the basis that you have a pending application. You can probably keep your Canadian PR for a while after getting your US PR, depending on if you are able to satisfy residency requirements. See the link above for more details. It is almost impossible that you will be able to satisfy these requirements all the way until you receive US citizenship.

In response to 2): yes, as long as US border agents allow you in, which depends on you showing that you maintain a residence in Canada and have sufficient ties to that country.

In response to 3) No. There is no need for you to return to your birth country for any reason.

Good luck.

This is not an issue at all. CBP rarely stamp Canadian passports, and any immigration official or CBP officer who would ever ask to see your fiance's passport will know this.

It's actually a much needed and long overdue project. The Ambassador bridge carries most of the US-Canada trade in goods- more than all other bridges/ports between the US and Canada combined. That too for the countries that have the largest trading relationship in the world.

Yet the bridge is privately owned, and the owner charges high tariffs for all freight vehicles (not surprising, since he has a monopoly).

Building a new, publicly owned bridge will dramatically reduce dependence on the Ambassador bridge. It should lower trade costs, but also provide a good backup in case of anything happening to the Ambassador. THink of that bridge being destroyed or inoperable and you'll see that US-Canada trade will come to a standstill.

Didn't mean this post to sound like an advertisement. But really, there is no good reason to oppose construction of a new bridge at Detroit.

Thanks, Pocheros.

I have lived outside Canada (India) so technically I also need a second police record from India. However, the Indian consulate does not provide police records to foreign citizens living outside India, as the US State department states, so I cannot get a police record from there.

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/canada/303578/montreal/packet4-montreal.pdf

If you look at step 4 you will see: Each visa applicant aged 16 years or older must submit a police certificate from every

country where he/she resided for at least 6 months after the age of 16.

You only need to obtain the one police check. Just ensure that the National Database or CPIC is checked and it's annotated on your certificate.

Many thanks for that link!

Hi all,

I am gathering documents for the upcoming NVC stage (should be there in about a month). The main thing I have to work on is police record checks. I currently live in Toronto but had lived in Vancouver for about 5 years (as an adult).

I know that some VJers have recommended using Commissionaires as an efficient and quick way to get police certificates, rather than going through the RCMP. My question: do I need to get separate records from Vancouver as well as Toronto? Or will a single police record from the Commissionaires here in Toronto be enough? The US State Dept website says I "must obtain a police certificate from the local police authority if I lived in a different part of your country of nationality for more than 6 months". That certainly applies to me.

Any suggestions from others who have had to do this?

Thanks.

I can't really help with your other questions but NO you cannot be a PR of both Canada and the US. You have to pick one, in this case you're giving up your Canadian PR status. You CEASE to be a PR of Canada the day you enter the US and activate your visa.

This is simply not true. It is possible to be a permanent resident of both countries for a short period of time, although eventually it will become mathematically impossible to satisfy residency requirements in both countries. But neither country has any rule against being a PR of the other. Indeed, the Canadian citizenship application (which you fill in after being a PR of Canada for 3 years) specifically asks if you are also a PR of any ohter country. if so, they will review your application carefully to ensure that you have met Canada's residency requirement (and this might delay the process) but if they are satisfied that you do, you can legally proceed to acquire Canadian citizenship.

The only point at which it is feasible to consider being a PR of both countries is if you are close to acquiring citizenship of one, and plan to continue living in the other. This was the case with a colleague of mine who was a Canadian PR, applied for and received a US green card, was able to navigate residency requirements in both countries for a few months until his Canadian citizenship application was approved, and then moved permanently to the US.

Ok, thanks for the reply.

Hi there,

I'm a bit confused about whether I need a police certificate of India. I was born in India, but I live in Canada and have become a Canadian citizen, so had to give up my Indian passport. The US State department says that India does not provide police certificates for foreign citizens living outside of India. On the other hand, the Indian consulate here in Toronto appears to be willing to provide a police certificate upon application. I say that because they have an application form on their website and they ask for country of citizenship (I assume that if they only provide these for Indian citizens then they would not need to ask this question).

This may not be the best place to ask this question, since I am guessing most posters here live in India, but please let me know if you can suggest what I should do.

Thanks.

I am in almost exactly the same situation as you. I wouldn't worry too much. Here's what you should know.

First, in principle, any visitor to the US can be denied entry at any time, for reasons entirely up to the discretion of the border agent. The odds are a lot lower if you are (a) a Canadian citizen, (b) a Nexus card holder and © someone with an obvious job or education to return to Canada for. I have all these three, and have never faced any problems, either before I was married (when my wife and I were just dating), or now, post-marriage, when we travel to see each other. Always travel with documents showing that you have a home and life in Canada to which you must return.

Second, for now it doesn't seem as though there is any point in your spouse filing a I-130 peition for you to immigrate to the US (which in any case can only happen after the marriage) because it is not clear that you will live in the US long-term. If you are matched to the US in the future, apply at that point.

Third, it's a bit of a tricky situation for the next few months before you are married. Until that point, your girlfriend/future wife is your fiance, and border agents may be concerned that you are traveling to the US solely to get married and then adjust status to stay there. You may occasionally need to convince them that even though you do plan to get married, and that the wedding will be in the US, your intention is not to stay in the US after marriage and immigrate permanently. Use the documents from point one above to make your case.

Overall, Nexus makes life easy, and even when I tell agents that I am going to visit my wife for a short period they usually just wave me through without any further questions. Good luck!

My suggestion is to check out the Flyertalk forum on Nexus membership: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-canada-aeroplan/760859-nexus-information-thread.html

Almost 300 pages of excellent info. The most recent posts will give you an idea of how long the current waits are. By the way, I am a Nexus member and will be coming up for renewal soon. I am trying to follow the current wait times because there are reports that they have increased in recent months.

Forget about the K3 visa. It is obsolete. What you need is the CR-1 visa. Read the guides to get a sense of how a USC can petition for his/her spouse to come to the US.

I can't say anything about the divorce laws and how that impacts your marriage eligibility for the CR-1.

Regarding everything else, I am in a similar position to yours. Recently married, my wife is the USC and I am a Canadian citizen and we also dated for about 6 years before getting married. We filed for the CR-1 visa about a month ago. Once you are approved and receive the visa there is no need to obtain an EAD since you will be a permanent resident of the US immediately. In the meantime, though, don't assume that you can come and go from the US as you please. All entries to the US are at the discretion of the border agent and you can expect the scrutiny to increase somewhat once you have a spouse who lives in the US and it becomes clear that you eventually intend to immigrate to the US. Although Canadians generally have a much easier time of this than citizens of other countries, there are stories on this forum of Canadians being denied entry repeatedly. Much of this comes down to your showing sufficient ties to Canada.

Good luck in this long process!

I see. Thanks for the reply.

From what I understand, though, she is still allowed to take $800 worth of goods tax and duty free back with her to the US. Would there be any issue in my giving her $800 worth of goods to take back with her? (I suppose we would have to make some guess as to the fair market value).

Thanks.

Hi,

My wife and I are in the early stages of our CR-1 petition. We hope to get the visa by October or November. She is the USC, I am a Canadian citizen.

When we do get the visa, I will move to the US immediately. However, we are moving into a new place in her city this summer (before my green card comes through). Our plan is to combine all the belongings from our two separate apartments. I will help her move, and will try to be down there as much as possible during the summer and early Fall, but will be careful to maintain my residence in Canada and not to overstay at any point.

My question: is it feasible for us to move some of my belongings to the new place in the US, even before the visa is issued? We were thinking of moving some furniture and kitchen stuff, which are currently in my apartment. I cannot take the items down myself because I will not yet be a US resident. Can I 'gift' these to my wife, and can she then hire a moving company or PODS to move these items from Canada to the US? Would there be any tax or customs implications for her in this case? All items are used and have been in my possession for a few years. In the eyes of the CBP, does the fact that we are married imply that items that belong to me automatically belong to her too (and perhaps are tax exempt in that case)? To be clear, she is not a Canadian resident.

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Spousal visas grant the green card on entry and they can work as soon as they have an SSN with the stamp in their passport.

I'm aware of that. OP wants to know if there is a quick way for her husband to be able to live and work in the US. My suggestion was a way for him to do so without waiting 8-10 months for a IR-1 visa.

Can he obtain work (i.e. have a job offer in hand) before you move? If so, a TN-visa may be a quick option for now. Maybe others can correct me on this, because I'm not sure if you can adjust status to permanent residence from a TN visa, or if they will give your husband a TN visa if you already have a pending I-130 petition on his behalf.

Wow, I just read that wiki page. Amazing!

Thanks for the info, Darnell. Now I am completely confident that it is not a problem to occasionally be away from my postal mail. I'll make sure to do EP for everything.

Thanks for your replies, all. I think, based on your advice, I will be comfortable relying mostly on electronic notifications, especially as we won't be away from our mail for too long at any given time.

One last thing: I'm guessing that when the process reaches the consulate stage, it is much more important for me (i.e. the beneficiary) to be checking my mailbox regularly? Would this be true even if my spouse is the agent? If the USC is the agent, would the embassy send communication to that person, or would they insist on directly communicating only with the beneficiary (who is in the same country)?

Thanks.

Hi,

My fiance and I will soon be married and will file the I-130 petition for a CR-1 visa for me. I live in Canada, she lives in the US. Over the next few months, we will try to spend as much time together as possible, to the extent our jobs permit it. This may mean me spending a few weeks or months with her in the US, and her spending a similar amount of time with me in Canada. Until I get the visa, of course, at which point I will move to to the US.

I'm trying to get a sense of how much information is transmitted by the NVC or USCIS via regular mail, as opposed to electronic mail. There will be long periods when neither of us can check our regular mail at home since we will be away. Does this matter? Is any information sent by regular mail also automatically available online through our accounts?

Of course, I know that the NVC and the consulate will at some point send me important documents regarding the interview, and I will make sure to receive those. But I am talking about things like requests for more information, etc. which I suppose they could send to either her or to me, depending on the nature of the request.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

It is definitely worth applying. I got my Nexus while I was still a Canadian PR, and was not a citizen or resident of the US. Technically, even PR status is not forever, since it needs to be renewed every 5 years. But I had no problem getting Nexus.

Your wife's case is a bit different, because she only has the right to live in the US for the next 2 years. But I think it is totally worth applying.