saddlepatch

(posted similar but figured I'd be more specific) Can my wife (The petitioner) come with me to the interview in Montreal? I keep reading the interview reviews (For Montreal) and a lot of them have the spouse with them but I'm getting conflicting information on here about this topic, some people say yes, but they have to wait in the waiting room and others say no, you must write an ask and give a just reason, or yes they can because they might have way too specific questions for the petitioner that needs to more so heard from that person than another source.

Any advice? Just worried cause I hear on hear where having a spouse at the interview would have been helpful in situations where they should really speak for themselves and I personally feel it shows the relationship better. I'm even more concerned cause we don't have wedding photos because we eloped of sorts (just a civil ceremony with plans to save up for my wifes dream wedding/renewing vows on the beach back at home whenever the states passed gay marriage laws). But we have 6+ years of evidence of our relationship even dating back to just our friendship) and because our families are Anti-LGBT and were not present, just a witness who had no camera (a friend of ours), so I think having her there in theory just looks better.....I know it's more of a physiological thing but that's my two cents.....also makes sense since this is about proving your relationship and since we did this together from the start.

Thanks

Good news! I just got an interview date, but I'm concerned because I see under the letter of "Applicants Allowed to Attend" It just lists me Does that mean I have to go in alone? I see couples on here go together all the time though...has that rule changed? I would really like her to come....but just need to know if it's still allowed.


Also my second question is I was undergoing appointments for Depression and haven't been at work for now over a year due to it (Stress from being apart from my wife all this time.) But in the last few months I haven't gone to any appointments, and I'm no longer taking the medication. I know the answer is to book an apointment to finalize I no longer need these services, but it's usually a 6 week wait to see him and I don't have that time between now and my interview. Will that cause any issues? I can try to ask my family doctor but I know shes going to say that HE has report it not her....Also concerned being out of work due to it will cause me issues. I'm mentally feeling able to go back to work now however (currently still unemployed and will remain that way cause there is no point now) and now that this is finally moving, the only stress I have is not passing the interview stage haha. Just need opinions :S I keep reading mix messages regarding mental health and depression, both good and bad.

Stupid question, in Canada, where do I need to obtain the proper police certificate to send in with the IV package? Can I just go to my local police station or do I have to go somewhere else?

And please be specific not vague. I need a location or website. Like for example I live near London, Ontario. Where do I go to obtain this certificate? Not trying to be rude just want to get this done just as quickly as everyone else

Just a few things I need cleared up:

Passport Photos:

We do have passport photos from when we sent in the petition, so do I have to get new ones regardless or can I use those? They are over a year old now. And it's just me (The beneficiary) that has to send those in right, at this point?

Checklist says Photographs? What does that mean? Do we have to send in photographs of our relationship again or is that not done again until the interview in Montreal? Seems kinda redundant as we already sent in proof of the relationship, but need that cleared up. Want to avoid getting a checklist.

Police Certificate:

It asks that the beneficiary send in a police certificate, is that only if you have a criminal record (as the checklist we got for the package says you can mark it as N/A) or do I have to go in get a police background check regardless? (And is that all a police certificate is, a background check from your local police office?)

Also I can't seem to find the wiki link to the NVC process that pretty much outlines everything you need in the packages and FAQ...could someone link me to that again?

Thanks and sorry if these are stupid questions!

I'm currently doing my CR-1 Visa and just waiting to pay the fees and get an interview yadda yadda.

My question is though, once I move down, is it hard for my licence to be changed from Ontario to Florida? Also I only have my G2 but looking at the differences between a full in Florida and a G2 in Ontario, they're the same (minus being able to drink) so will my G2 equal a full in the eyes of the State of Florida or do I have to get a full G before I can be issued a full in Florida?

I would honestly rather not get my full in Canada....would it take long for me to get a full in Florida if my G2 doesn't equal out to a full in the state or will I have to have someone with a full drive with me for a year like they do in Canada? (so more simply put, would my G2 at least grant me a permit to drive at all?)

Just curious how hard it is in general to get that all switched over.

Sorry if my question sounds stupid....

Thanks!!

Okay so I have another question, on part 7 of page 6 of the I-864, since my mother law meets over the guideline for sponsorship, she can skip that part right? And my wife, does she fill that part out though? I mean again we have no assets, so thats why that part confuses me and the way I'm looking at it, she skips it, as combined the total will be well over and beyond the amount (as the joint meets over the requirements)

Also I have a question about household numbers? Are we including everyone that lives in the house or just the people sponsoring?

And one more question (Sorry! You guys are so helpful though!) even if we have a joint sponsor, later down the road, can my wife and I move out of the house the joint sponsor is in to live on our own or do we have to stay there for two years?

Can someone clear this up for me?

If you do not meet the required income to sponsor the person you are petitioning for, you can use a Joint Sponsor who does, correct? Thats the point of a joint sponsor, right? (not to combine, I know it doesn't work that way, but to be the one who takes full financial responsibility for the immigrant)

I'm just confused because the way the USCIS website makes it sound, regardless, the primary sponsor (the petitioner) also must be 125% above the poverty guideline, but my understanding from what I read on here is that if you DONT meet that requirement you can have a joint sponsor who does and that will be fine. My wife is just a part time employee who does not have any assets to their name, so we can't use though, hence why we thought that was the point of the joint sponsor (Who is my mother in law)

Just want to make sure that is that case before we pay anymore fees and waste our time.

thanks!

your file will get sent to the NVC. Processing there is 4-6 months. Then another 6 weeks for your interview.

Follow the OCTOBER NVC thread and read all the links in the very first post. Especially the NVC WIKI.

Oh I know it will be another 7 months there abouts to get my green card at long last, but thats better than another year! Should roughly be able to move by the numbers in mid/late Summer if all goes as planned!! So happy!! Can't wait to be with my wife and no longer have to do this back and forth travelling #######!

UPDATE:

Got my NOA2 e-mail notice TODAY!!! Waiting for the mail!!! It's been approved, no RFE's, now we can focus on paying the fees and getting an interview set up!!

Also, may I add, that everyone who submitted around the same time, with a similar timeline, has their NOA2!! Like seriously?! Why are we the ones being stuck in the slow lane?! Also they're already into January 2014 filers according to the processing timelines!! What is going on?! Freaking me out that it's taking this long to clear the security clearance when we have NOTHING on our records....Denied entry ONCE to the US but it wasn't for criminal reasons. I was 19, had no job, wasn't in school and living with my mom and visiting my wife (my best friend at the time) for the first time after meeting online, so they said I had lacked ties to prove I'd return to Canada, but crossed 6 hours later, without a hitch, so that makes no sense :/ And I'm in Florida right now visiting, returning today to Canada and they stamped my passport for 6 months....so that can't have anything to do with it, but its the only thing I can keep going back too. And Laura is clearer than glass for her record. Never done anything wrong!!!

Coming up on ELEVEN months in waiting for a SECURITY clearance when either myself or my wife have ANY criminal background. We keep sending E-Requests for information and they keep saying the same thing "We have yet to clear your names on the security check."

Is it not true that this is suppose to take no longer than 15 months? If not, how much longer could we be waiting? 5 months? Another year? 2 years? 3 years?!

Shes an American citizen, born in the US and I'm a Canadian, born in Canada. It should not take this long for us to be together. We are neighbors and allies. I just want to live with my wife already!! :(

Ya, I can go down for 6 months at a time, but I can't legally work :/

Is there anyway I can apply for a temporary work visa or something while I wait? So I can work in the least 20 hours a week and can live with her while I wait for approval? I can't stand this distance much longer. It's taking a toll on my mental health greatly so much I might lose my current job...We figured I'd be down by Christmas......but now it feels like I'll never be able to live with her.....I don't want to wait another year! Someone give me some good news

Sorry if I sound like I'm whining, but it's really disheartening seeing people on here that submitted there petitions the same time we did, to Nebraska and have already had their interviews and already happily living with each other...I'm sure I'm not the only one but it's REALLY frustrating.....

We filled for CR-1 at the end of November...it is now August.

We submitted an E-Request Form in June 15 and got a reply June 25 and they stated that our names had yet cleared from the security check.....keep in mind neither of us have criminal backgrounds, not even so much as a speeding or parking ticket. I (the beneficiary) was refused entry to the US back in 09 but only because I did not have enough proof of my ties to Canada (Aka, they thought I wouldn't come back, despite having a return ticket yadda yadda) but was able to cross 6 hours later after I got the proper proof to support I would return, but I posted a topic awhile back and people told me that would have nothing to do with the delay in the security check. (which I was told can take up to 13 months. If thats true than does that mean it can take another year and a little bit to finally be approved and be able to live with my wife? God forbid there is no RFE's or any other delays?)

So my understanding is that we haven't even been put in the queue to have our petition approved, so really, we're only in the starting stages still (After 10 months of waiting for approval)

I understand this process is suppose to take no longer than 15 months. The sad thing is, our petition is at the Nebraska Service Center.

We plan to submit another E-Request next month. If we get the same reply back, should we contact my wifes (the petitioner) congressmen and if so, what is the process for that?

I mean, is it because we're a same sex couple? I thought this was over turned back in July of 2013? Her state doesn't allow marriage yet but I don't think it has anything to do with immigration? I mean please correct me if I'm wrong. I just want to know why its taking 10+ months to clear our names?

Thanks for any and all suggestions and thoughts.

I'm sorry, India is not a low fraud country.

OP thank you for answering my question. Strangely enough it does matter where your family is from originally in some cases. That entrance denial in 2009 doesn't matter one bit however. Even a ban wouldn't matter until interview. It's also likely the petitioner is going through more name checks than normal. I also see you're going through Nebraska Service Center.... They are VERY slow. That was horrible luck of the draw. Don't hesitate to get the petitioner's congressman involved. There are many posts on here about people doing just that, including Darnell (he doesn't do PMs however.)

Just odd, it says that they're processing paper work in 5 months for NOA1 > NOA2 whenever we checked the official website, I guess thats not true then? (I dont think they've updated in a while anyways. March I think was the last official update)

I think I will get my wife to contact a congressman, because it can't hurt. I know some people on here are saying it doesn't matter, but I mean it seems like its worked for some, so it might work for us.

Just was hoping to be down in time for Christmas, guess it wont be till early in 2015 at this rate. So sad that these things take so long, and all just to be able to live with the love of your life. But I understand, security, making sure the country is protected among a million other reasons. Its all a delicate process

Thanks for all your advice. Hopefully we get an answer sooner than later.

Full Canadian citizen wasn't what I asked, but I'll leave it alone.

I agree that your spouse should get their congressman involved.

Umm well I did answer your question about the criminal history (which is no, neither of us have any record of crime.) so I'm confused by why you said the thing about full Canadian citizen. I'm just stating that I'm not from a high profile country <__<; I also added a possible reason why it could be taking longer, which is my denial in 2009, but it wasn't for criminal reasons, it was because I lacked a job/wasn't going to school at the time and had limited ties to come back to Canada in their eyes. A very common reason for denial.

I will wait another month to see if the security check has passed but any longer then we will take it to a congressman.

Get your Representative or senior Senator involved ASAP. Mine was able to talk directly to the agent who adjudicated my case ad that helped. I did luck out with my representative's liaison, he's awesome. But yours might be able to help, and having someone looking over their should usually makes the lazy b@sterds do their job in a more timely fashion lol. Anyways, best of luck.

How do you go about doing that? Do you just email them with the information about your case? If you could link me the process or give me some vague instructions, that would be great! That makes me feel a little better that I can actually take this a congressmen or senator

~~moved to progress reports from process and procedures~~

Pretty much what boiler has said. You have to wait because they're doing background and name checks.

Does the beneficiary have a criminal past? Does the petitioner? Is the beneficiary or their family originally from a high fraud country?

I am the beneficiary and I have a clean record. The only thing against me is that I was denied entry in 2009 for lack of evidence to tie me to Canada (had no job and wasn't in school) but was allowed entry on the same day 6 or so hours later from the same boarder crossing (After providing proof of where I was living at the time, my moms hydro bills, etc etc), so I wouldn't imagine that would be an issue (And I have been able to cross with ease since). My last name is common and I am a full Canadian Citizen.

This is just stupid. I've been waiting 7 months already. I have no criminal background (Either of us do btw)....not very hopeful right now. I was hoping to be approved and onto the NVC part of all this

It's been almost 7 months since we filed with USCIS for our I-130. We emailed since it has been passed the normal processing time about why our case hasn't been updated. We got this back:

The status of this service request is:

You or your representative contacted USCIS to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved.

We have placed your case on a processing hold because the required security checks remain pending. Until we receive the results of these security checks, we cannot move forward on your case. We require the results of security checks before we make a decision on any pending case.

We cannot predict when we will receive the results of these security checks. Please be assured that we will make every effort to make a decision in your case as soon as the security checks are complete.

We hope this information is helpful to you.




What does that exactly mean, processing hold? Are we technically not even in the "queue" so to speak until these security checks are done? And does anyone know what these security checks are? Like Police background checks or what? And will this still all be done in 12-15 months or could it possibly be longer now?

Thanks so much!!

I've suffered depression for years, so I will for sure bring all documents when it comes time for them.

I don't plan to be on OW for long (because its barely enough to live off of anyways) but I just need time to heal and get better. Never been on OW before, so just don't want to ruin my immigration process.

Thanks for all your help!

((For those who do not know what OW is, its pretty much welfare))

I'm the beneficiary, not the petitioner, and I've been going through a big string of depression that is causing me to not have a good work ethic which is threatening my job security. I went to see a social worker yesterday who said while I'm waiting to get treatment, I should try applying to Ontario Works/Welfare in the meantime since my mom is threatening if I dont have a job, I need to move out.

I just don't want to ruin my CR-1 visa process if I do that and just want to make sure If can or cannot do that? I know the petitioner cannot be on any form of government support, but can I be? Or would you advise against it?

I'm 7 months into processing, with no word yet if I've been approved or not. We sent in a e-request a few days ago and will hear on July 7.

Call USCIS and let them know of the issue.

If I were you, I'd just resend the information again. It wont delay you're process that much, maybe a few week, overnight the package if you want it done quicker. Double check and make sure everything is filled out completely, double check your passport. Make sure it does not expire in 6 months! If it does, you need to renew it. And get your long form birth certificate to send ( A copy not the real one). Pretty much the checklist tells you what they need, just send it again if you have trouble with calling them. MAKE A COPY OF ALL THESE in case they lose it again.

picture is too small to see, but it's the certificate you need. Proves you GOT married. Licence only proves you're GOING TO get married.

Thats not answeing my question, do I need the 22 dollar one or the 15 dollar one on the site? The preview roughly should show you what I keep getting, you dont need to see details....

Both are labeled at "Certificates" So thats why Im confused and when I called they told me this is (the one I have, the 22 dollar one I ordered) both a liesense and a certificate, so Im really confused. Someone on here must of submitted a form that looks like the one I posted or something that looks more like a birth certificate. I need to know WHICH one I have to send USCIS.

Tried calling the government of Ontario but they apparently are useless and know nothing about anything.

I paid the 22 dollars to get my certified long form marriage certificate, they sent me a copy of my license? Is that what Immigration needs? Or do they need the short form one?

I posted a photo of the one I got here (as an attachment thingy). Do I have the right one or is it something completely different and can someone link me to a photo of the document I need if I don't have the right one? I just want to makes sure because I don't want to spend anymore money if I don't have too and if I do, I want to make sure its the CORRECT form I'm ordering, so is it the $15 dollar one USCIS needs or the $22 Dollars one listed on this site : http://www.ontario.ca/government/marriage-certificate

Thanks!

Someone please reply!!

I just realized that without petition we did NOT send in the proper marriage certificate. I JUST Ordered my Long form copy from the Ontario Website. The one I gave USCIS (Which has been processing for almost 5 months now) is the licence and the solemunation or whatever it is, not the cert itself.

Once I get it, can we mail it to USCIS and phone them letting them know that we are sending the Marriage certificate, or did I just ruin this whole thing after waiting 5 months already?

With our petition***

Why is everyone saying that her husband was in the wrong?

I don't mean this to come across meanly, but he was being 150% honest and it was medical not recreational.

You do realize that if he had lied on his medical exam, and it was figured out later, this could get your denied? You cannot lie to the government about anything. You must be honest. Honesty is the best policy. So don't be too hard on him, he probably wanted to make sure that it didn't get brought up and made things harder for you.

If you have any issues, you hire a lawyer as it was for medical purposes. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you're that concerned, have him get a doctors note from the medical practice that prescribed him the treatment. They can't be bias when it comes to medical needs and its not like weed that is prescribed medically would bring in a health issue to the US at all.....and if it was four years ago, I would even be less concerned.

It might cause some delays in your processing, but legally, because it was medical, they can't discriminate him or you for it. Again, like I said, if issues arise, hire a lawyer right away.

They want everything in english writing. If you're talking about him writing a letter to prove the marriage then it has to be done in english and typed out, then have him sign it.

However, I am told that letters proving the marriage have very little weight to the petition, so I would just stick with other things like copies of flight iteneraires, hotel confirmations, marriage certificate, photos from visits, the marriage, joint bank account information, lease agreements...just that kinda stuff