kashewmoo

Hi everyone! I've had a couple of people reach out about my timeline, so I thought I'd update others who might be interested here. I filed my N400 online on 3/17, and received an online receipt notice with the confirmation that my form was in active review on the same day. My biometric reuse notice date was dated that same day, but I don't remember what day the notice came in the mail. My interview was scheduled on 5/7 for 6/13 at the Denver Field Office.

I've been in the US for nearly 10 years, so I didn't apply under the 3-year rule, though I intend on bringing relevant marriage documentation as a final just in case. 

I'll let everyone know how my interview goes next week! 😊

I've been through this entire rigamarole myself! It's been a pain, but I think I've figured out a system that should help.

I have a chequing account with TD Canada, and a US TD Bank account. I had to open the latter over the phone as I'm in Colorado; the former I opened online (I had a student line of credit with them already). When money is transferred between TD Canada and TD USA, you must call the cross border banking line - you can't initiate the transfer online. It costs me approximately $10 a month to keep both accounts open, but this has been the least headache inducing method. I don't use these two accounts for anything other than a money shuffle, as neither bank is my bank of choice. If you keep a minimum balance in both of them, I believe you can avoid the monthly fee entirely, but I've not been able to transfer enough to see.

My main bank here in the US is Wells Fargo, for which I got cheques. I can do a mobile deposit from my Wells Fargo to TD Bank, which avoids the $3 online transfer fee WF charges. The next time I visit Canada, I'm going to bring a stack of cheques with me, sign them, and then leave them with my mom so that I can have her deposit cheques directly into my CIBC account if need be.

I transfer money using Interac e-transfer between my banks in Canada, which I believe costs $1.50 from both banks. Of course, if you just use TD Canada, you wouldn't have to worry about it.

As for the actual maintenance/monitoring the balances of the accounts, I have online banking set up for both TD Canada and TD USA. But, again, do note that you can only do the crossborder transfers by calling the number.

I read that already, but thank you. Everything I've read there has been regarding name changes due to an event such as marriage, divorce, etc, and not a misspelled name. I just want to make sure I'm covering all of my bases.

I was super excited to check the mail today because I got my SSN! On the other hand, I noticed that my middle name has been misspelled by leaving off the last "e" at the end of the name.

And so, my questions are these:

1.) To go about correcting this issue, my understanding is that I take my passport with the CR-1 visa (I haven't received the GC yet), along with any other documentation I have, to the SS office and get them to correct my name. Am I on the right track?

2.) Despite the misspelled name, am I able to go ahead and use this number now to get my Colorado DL, be added to my wife's credit cards, etc? I don't want there to be any question when I try to do these things, I'm not necessarily in a rush to do so, I'd just like to get it done sooner rather than later.

Thank you for any help you can offer me!

I went to my CR-1 interview in Montreal alone, and though I was pretty nervous right up to the night before, I actually found myself feeling pretty calm once the day of the interview actually came. Just make sure he's prepared with all of the appropriate documents and evidence just to be safe, read the embassy reviews, and don't worry. It'll be fine.

Last week I immigrated on a CR-1 visa to the Boulder area, so hello! I'm originally from Victoria, BC.

There are pros and cons to both journeys. It does seem to be a mixed bag whether or not a K-1 visa is quicker than the CR-1 - it can depend on the service center, how prompt you are in getting paperwork filed, etc. For us, we had already decided to get married before we were eligible for immigration benefits (we're a DOMA case), but looking back on it we would make the same decision once more. It took almost eleven months from filing to our POE, but I've been able to look for work immediately, and take care of things like switching my car to Colorado plates, bank accounts, insurance, etc, without the waiting period of the AOS.

What province are you from? That can also play a role, as well, since CR-1s are processed only in Montreal, whereas K-1s are processed in both Vancouver and Montreal.

What you have to do before leaving Canada will depend entirely on which province you're coming from. I'm from BC, so I had to look at things such as my car insurance, health insurance, etc, but I've been taking care of that from here in the States. You'll want to notify Canada Revenue Agency and potentially Service Canada, but that's the only one I can think of off the top of my head that's most important.

I drove over the border with a car full of things, and they didn't even so much as peek inside. At the airport, having it in checked luggage will be just fine. When you get the envelope upon passport pick up, there will be more detailed information about POE specific details, including what constitutes a personal belonging and what may be brought duty-free into the US.

Congratulations on the final stretch of your journey!

Haha, no problem.

There's no real difference between IR-1 and CR-1 other than CR-1 will have to remove conditions upon two years of residency, and you'll be granted a ten year green card immediately. You still have to sign up for Loomis, but your passport likely won't take long to be returned. Again, seeing as mine had to make it to Vancouver Island, which is the furthest west in the country, I wouldn't worry about delivery in Alberta so long as the interview goes well.

My interview was on the 6/23, the visa was listed as issued a couple of hours later, and I picked it up by 6/26. I could have turned around and went through my POE any time after that, I just had loose ends I had to finalize before making the move.

Also, do make sure that you have your Loomis confirmation printed out and on hand for the interview. When I was there, they weren't letting people into the building who didn't have it.

First and foremost, congratulations for your interview date! That's so very exciting.

I would go ahead and book both your flight and hotel. There are plenty of options near the consulate if you want to be a close walk away - I stayed at the Courtyard at Marriott downtown, and it was fantastic, though I did definitely pay a premium per night. I flew in on Sunday when my interview was on Monday morning, and I left Tuesday night (as I booked on air miles and didn't have much of an option of flight times; otherwise I would have left on Monday night). I was coming from Victoria, so just a bit further from you.

As per the interview letter, you need to register a local Loomis location for passport/visa pick up - create an account here, and follow the instructions. You cannot pick up your passport from the consulate, and you won't receive a US passport, either; that's only a possibility if you decide to file for US citizenship three years following your POE and are approved to be a naturalized citizen.

My visa was issued the same day of my interview, and I was able to pick it up at my local Loomis location on Friday, but this will vary from person to person, of course.

Best of luck! Feel free to check out my Timeline, as I've posted detailed reviews of both my interview as well as POE. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

Hooray to all of those who have received their case completes and are waiting for their interviews! And I'm keeping all of you in my thoughts who are still waiting.

I'm leaving tomorrow evening (I suppose this evening, now that it's after midnight, haha) for Montreal - my interview is on Monday morning. I spent tonight gathering and organizing all of my paperwork, making sure I wasn't missing anything crucial. We've been reading up on consulate reviews, and though we're both feeling super nervous still - nerves won't seem to go away - I know that everything is going to go smoothly.

Oh, and the medical exam in Surrey was not only a breeze, but Dr. Cheema was absolutely fantastic. I was very pleased with the whole experience!

My wife and I had the opposite situation. She (a Canadian) was on a student visa while we were living together in the US. We got engaged right before her student visa ran out and she was forced to move back to Canada. Now, we are a DOMA case, otherwise we were both more than content to go down to city hall and get married. We did go through the spousal visa process which did mean longer separation, but on the other hand we have both been working full time throughout and I've been to Canada several times to visit her in the interim.

With that said, our marriage is in BC. I cannot speak for the laws of all provinces, but BC only allows for two types of wedding ceremonies - religious and civil. Both REQUIRE a government-approved officiate and minimum fee for their service (though they may also charge travel costs). If this is how you want to do things, you should get planning now. I wish it worked like it does here in Colorado where you can just go to the courthouse and sign a paper! It is definitely more expensive and requires more planning.

Anyway, we only had a few people present - her parents, two siblings, my mother (and then my dad and step-dad by webcam, haha) and we held the ceremony at her parents' house. It was intimate and really everything I wanted it to be. Once immigration stuff is over, we plan to do a vow renewal ceremony in Colorado that will be a bit fancier.

Either way, best of luck in your endeavors and congratulations on your engagement!

Finally got our interview date. June 23rd!

Looks like I'll be seeing you at the Montreal consulate bright and shiny that morning! It's kind of reassuring that I won't be the only VJ member there.

And now I can finally say that I have my interview date, too! We got the email today, and our interview is scheduled for June 23rd. Congratulations to all those who have gotten interview dates already, and the best of luck to those who are still waiting!

I just got off the phone with the NVC before they closed for the night, and unfortunately we are still waiting for an interview date in Montreal. But, with that said, I was notified that they're still scheduling for June in Montreal, so there's hope for us, yet.

Congratulations to all those who have received their dates! I hope us Canadians can join with you soon!

I'm not looking forward to it, either. I was joking around with my wife that we should have just gotten married right after we became engaged, so that when DOMA fell, we'd be able to put in the paperwork right away and not worry about having a CR-1, haha. Oh well, hindsight and all. I'm honestly probably just going to get started on the paperwork for ROC when I'm there - it'll give me something to do while I'm job hunting.

Hahaha. That's pretty much where we are, too. Worst case scenario, if I somehow get myself kicked out of the US, at least we still have Canada!

(It also just occurred to me that it's completely pointless to quote you when we're the only two in the topic. OTL)

No your file isn't with the USCIS anymore. You must be fairly young for those 9 months to have been less than 5 years ago. I guess I was 22 when I had my daughter. OMG I feel OLD! LOL!!!

Hahaha. I'm turning twenty-five in a few days, so I'm not too young. But, thinking about it, you're absolutely right, the G-245A asked you to list your addresses for the past five years, I just put down since 2006 because that's when we moved into this house. :X (I'm amazed I didn't get checklisted.) I neglected to put Japan on the DS-260, when it asks you to list residences from the age of sixteen - I was in Japan between '06/'07, when I had just turned seventeen.

I'm so glad all of this paperwork is over, my head is spinning with all of this information, hahaha.

/slaps forehead.

Okay correctly you don't need the police certificate but mention at interview that you lived in Japan for 9 months and provide them with the address if needed.

Do you think it's necessary to fill out another G-325A, or probably not? I still can't believe I forgot to list it, lol.

Just in case this was passed over, bump!

Good evening, everyone!

I received a case complete on 5/1, and am currently awaiting my interview in Montreal to be scheduled. I was going through all of the various paperwork and packages, and realized that I made a completely stupid error on the G-325A, as well as the DS-260.

I spent nine months in Japan on an exchange when I was seventeen. I don't know how or what I was thinking when I was initially filling out the I-130, but it seems as though I completely neglected to mention that. Granted, it was not a permanent residence - I didn't so much as receive a piece of mail there - and for all intents and purposes I was on a really long vacation. But, now that I've realized it, I'm worried that it's going to cause me issues at the interview.

My thought is that I should refill out a G-325A, as well as have a print out from the NVC website stating a police record check is not needed unless I was there for over a year, but I'm wondering if anyone else either has experience with the same thing, or if there's something else I should do that I'm not thinking about. I don't know if there's anything I can do about the DS-260 at this point, since it's already completed and accepted, but... I really don't want to experience AP after the interview, for whatever dumb reason. :X

And I've officially made it to the June thread!

Our case was completed yesterday, confirmed by a phone call to the NVC and speaking to Gus. (Of everyone I've spoken to, Gus was definitely the best!) Now we're just eagerly awaiting our interview date.

Congratulations to everyone else who has had their interview scheduled, and case completes! We're almost there.

We should also add that we are grateful for the support and guidance received from the many wonderful people who inhabit this site.

While we are not one of the more prolific posters, we have visited often. The information, thoughtfully composed and written guides and wiki’s (thank you Saylin and all others who have and continue to contribute) have proven an invaluable resource and have allowed us to move through our time at the NVC without any “real” checklists.

But most of all we appreciate each and every one of you who are on this journey with us. You have been the source of more comfort and understanding then one could ever hope or expect to receive from a “stranger.” We acknowledge you and send our very best to you and those you love!

I have to second this. <3

On a very happy note, I too have come to say that we've officially received a case complete today, as well! I spoke to Gus this evening (who is probably the best representative I've spoken to of all the times I've called the NVC - charming, funny, and very personable), who gave us the good news.

I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that everyone else sees their journey at the NVC come to an end quickly. It's so hard to stay strong through this entire process, but we're doing it, and it's just a true testament to the love and dedication we have to those we love.

Now to eagerly await our interview date!

So after what felt like a never ending wait for our eMail to be acknowledged given that we had opted for EP we have received our

CASE COMPLETE ON MAY 1st 2014!

Confirmed this morning via a telephone call to the good people who staff the NVC. No interview date yet, though hoping for June.

We send our hopes for a quick conclusion to All of you as well!

Yaaaaay! Congratulations. We received our email confirmation of them having received our IV packages early this morning, so I'm betting we'll also have a case complete any time in the next couple of days.

You never know, maybe we'll have the same interview date.

So, I've had good experiences both days I called the NVC this week (spoke to Sandy on Tuesday, Todd this morning), but sometimes I do wonder if they're being run by monkeys over there.

In a nutshell:

As my signature suggests, I received my EP acceptance email on 4/15 (responding to my original 3/23 email), and resent both the IV and AOS packages minutes later. As you may recall, I decided to test a theory: I sent the EP OPTIN email on 3/23, resent on 4/7 per an operators suggestion, and after both payments cleared I emailed the AOS package on 3/29, and the IV package on 4/1. The only time I ever received an autoreply was on 3/29 for the AOS package - never for the OPTIN, or for the three other emails containing the packages.

My DS-260 was accepted on 4/22, and a false checklist requesting both packages was received via email on 4/23 (which I then ignored, of course).

This morning, I was told that my IV package was under review, and that they received it on 4/22 (remember: I emailed it both on 4/1 and 4/15). Todd was concerned that it was the civil documents rather than the AOS, and advised me to email it once more to be certain it was received. Following his instruction, I did so immediately after I got off the phone (and received an autoreply).

Literally less than three seconds after I hit send (before the email had cleared my outbox), I receive an email responding to my 3/29 email that contained the AOS package (half a month before I received the EP acceptance) that they were now reviewing my AOS package.

I'm going to take this to mean that both packages are under review, and I should expect a case complete some time soon, but I really do hope it's before time slots for the June interviews are filled.

This is a question for ENROLL and Electronic processing cases. Finally received ENROLL acceptance, they replied to my March 26 one(that I received an auto reply for) I sent ENROLL on March 19(did not receive auto reply) So it would seem you have to receive auto reply in order for them to actually receive it. After you received ENROLL acceptance, when you emailed in your packets, did you receive an out of office auto reply from NVC? And how long did it take to receive and review those packets? I emailed my AOS on March 26, April 1 and April 15(this is the only one I got an auto reply for). And IV was emailed April 4 and April 15 (did not receive auto reply for either one). Just curious as to how much longer I'm going to have to wait.

In my case, they replied to the original ENROLL email I sent, and that one I didn't receive an auto response. What I was told by the operator I spoke to a couple of days ago is that their email system is so bogged down from receiving so many emails, that the auto responder hasn't been working each and every time. Thus, if you sent an email one day, and then sent them an email a few days later, you should only receive one auto response for the system recognizes your email.

Granted, I don't know how much truth that holds considering I got an auto response for the second email I sent several days after the first (being the ENROLL email, and then my AOS package), but I do believe that the auto responder is not always working the way it should be.

I'm glad to hear you received an acceptance email, though! Full steam ahead now.

I wish I was California bound...we went to Anaheim for our honeymoon and I would of gladly stayed! I love warm weather. People here are like 'you are Canadian you must be used to it!' I may be used to it but that doesn't mean I like it! It is warmer here in Utah than home, but not a whole lot, just shorter winters mainly.

I found cheese curds at a local grocery store and was way too excited. I have also made home made donairs for a few friends that turned out fabulous!

I love the assumption about being used to cold weather! I'm asked that quite frequently in Colorado, but seeing as I'm from Victoria and the west coast, it never, ever snows here, nor does the temperature ever truly get that cold. I've yet to experience a true Canadian winter. :X

Oh, and then there's the assumption by people here that Colorado must be snowy and freezing all the time. Then I have the pleasure of telling them I'm in Boulder, there are more sunny days than rainy days in Seattle, and snow regularly melts before noon if it does fall, haha.