notrepetiteashley

Looks good to me. Good luck! Our interview was fairly painless. Just remember to smile and not be nervous. Be polite, dress nice, assemble your paperwork in an orderly fashion. We bought a folder to keep everything in and I think the officer we had appreciated that. Sometimes notarised letters from family members or people in the community that say they know you to be a genuinely married couple are helpful, but I wouldn't go that far if you have a pretty straightforward case.

If you're super concerned, I'd seek out the mail person. Besides, not getting your mail is crazy. It's your right to get your mail, I don't care where you live. I would go to the post office and have a chat with whoever is in charge to find out why you're having mail issues. Hooray for being proactive! I totally support you in that. Good luck.

I'm sitting here at work thinking of you two, hoping for an approval! Yay!!!!

I called the 1-800# and asked questions, too. PLEASE be wary of their advice. It got my (Canadian) husband denied entry into the US not once, but twice. Those call center (excuse me) asshats screwed up our case so badly by giving nothing more than incorrect information and advice. I finally talked to an actual officer at a border crossing and he was absolutely HORRIFIED by the info I was getting from the 800 line. He essentially told me those people take a 2 week course and then get on the phone to answer our life-altering questions. Grand.

Be careful, that's all. As someone has already said, there's a reason it's known as the Misinformation Line.

I have been married to a Canadian for nearly 4 years now and I have visited Canada twice and just literally *yesterday* I found out about the horrifying concept known as "bagged milk." Personally, I hate milk, so I am bias already, but still.....ugh. I shudder to think.

What my Canadian husband misses is: Beer with more alcohol content (he also swears Molson tastes way different down here), Coffe Crisp (which we recently found at World Market), poutine (sp? which makes my friends and family snicker).

What I miss: Canadian Tire money (cos it's so cool, not that I eat it or anything), Maple leaves on the McDonald's signs, Tropical Splash 7-Up (it's been almost 4 years and still no sign of it in the US), and oh, these chips, I don't know who makes them, but they are chicken flavoured! Yum. Ahh, the sweet memories of Canada. I miss it.

You're approved. Be joyful. Congratulations!

"If having "immigrant" intent were the real issue, then NO ONE could ever come to the USA to visit on a tourist visa, or the visa waiver program....after marriage, to visit their spouse while awaiting their visa.( k-1, k-3 etc..) They would ALL be denied entry at the border or POE.

The difference is, they are allowed to enter even WITH immigrant intent, because they are promising not to remain. They are just visiting. Thats the key.....

When you return with your F-1, you intend to REMAIN.....and do AOS here. (with full knowledge ahead of time , of this plan) You are not supposed to do that, and are supposed to go back overseas and wait for your k-3, etc..... "

Exactly.

Also...I think it really comes down to one person's interpretation of the law on a very specific day: The officer that allows or denies your entry into the US. And maybe even the adjudicating officer at your AOS. Interpretations can vary and it is frustrating sometimes that there doesn't seem to be a set rule that *everyone* sticks to, if you know what I mean.

If I were you (and I know many share this opinion), I would do things to the letter of the law. It may put your personal plans in a bind, but trust me, it isn't worth the risk of not successfully completing AOS and getting married, etc. Check out my timeline to see how messed up a case can get. Being separated from your new husband because you didn't understand the law sucks. You seem to have a pretty good eye for research and I think you should do what you know is right in your heart. Good luck, my friend.

Also: Since when has Canada been part of the VWP???? Is this a new development? Last time I checked (which was in 2005) they were not.

Also2: Jewel, Immigration officers aren't sophisticated!??? That makes me chuckle just a bit to myself. I can't say I totally agree with that, though.

I want to file for AOS/AP ASAP because we went to go to our European honeymoon by the end of June.

You probably shouldn't be making travel plans before you've even filed for AOS. Things can go wrong in the process, especially if you file for AOS without the correct documents, for example filing without the proper marriage certificate.

Correct, you will also be filing for Advanced Parole (AP) I-131 which can also take 90 days or more to approve.

Yes, not filing AOS and then leaving the country was a horrible move for us. It can really screw things up.

You sent them your actual passport?

LMAO! YES! Hahahaha! It's too funny now. At the time I found out they'd lost it I was freaking out, but now it's just funny. Ahhh, the ignorance of youth. As in 3 years ago, hehe.

The Social Security office gave my husband a letter stating he had applied for a SSN and that was good enough for the place he ended up getting a job at.

Make every effort you can to get there. Don't quote me on this, but if you don't show there is a chance you could get denied. Call around to find help from friends, family, maybe even a religious group, something. I know Catholic Charities does a lot for people undergoing this immigration process. Look them up in your area and see what they have to offer. Best of luck to you.

My lessons learned are all really dumb and probably obvious because we really screwed our case up. Anyway, here they are for help or just laughs:

1. Never send your passport in as a form of identification. If they lose it (which happened to us) they can't tell that you came into the US legally and you may get denied AOS (we got approved anyway.)

2. Freaking out will only make it worse and if you must freak out, divide it by 50% or you will regret it. It's really not as bad as you imagine.

3. Don't call the 1-800#. Ever. I can STILL after 1 solid year remember that hold music and it is one of the worst tunes I've ever heard. Also, when we called the 800 # and they put in a request for information on our case that we would supposedly hear back on in 30 days, well........30 days turned out to be more than a year! We actually just received the update on our case that we requested in Sept. of 2005! Totally useless.

4. Take the time to do things the "right" way. Whatever that means. Take it as you will. Follow procedures. It will save your nerves.

Best of all, good luck!

Our case was waaay messed up and my husband became out of status for like, 3 years. Don't worry about it. We had our AOS interview in Des Moines, which I take it you will, too. It was easy and the guy was pretty nice. When I was freaking out about my husband being out of status, someone here told me that is forgiven at the interview, which turned out to be the case. Best of luck to you both!

Our officer was a man and he was fairly nice. I could tell he was genuinely a pretty good person. He seemed fair. He asked us very few questions and told us we were approved. The interview only lasted maybe 10 minutes. Try not to be nervous, if possible. It is a waste of time because the interview most likely will not be as bad as you think. At least, ours wasn't a tenth of how horrible we worried it would be, and our case was NOT an easy one either! Best of luck to you, you'll be so relieved when it's over!

Nah, no worries! It's really not as bad as it seems. You'll be just great! Good Luck!

Congratulations! My Canadian husband didn't have a stamp in his passport at the interview, either. The guy acted like he may not be able to approve us at first, but he did anyway. Glad you were approved, too!!!

My husband now has his GC and has filed his FAFSA. We were informed by the university he was accepted to that they would not allow him to file for any sort of financial aid until he had the GC. Perhaps it depends on the school...unless you want to argue with them. Good luck! I really enjoyed university.

Oh man, that is terrible. I know what you mean, too...you only have time to put bits and pieces of the fact here and sometimes people make assumptions about you or your character or what you are saying. And what's more, some people on this site never have anything nice to say at all. Seriously, it's amazing. I have really noticed that over time...seems to be the same people.

You have the right to complain. Immigration is complicated. And my sincere congratulations to anyone who doesn't think so. But we can't all be such experts, now can we. There is so much conflicting information. So much confusion. They lose papers. It happens. This is not your fault and you have every right to complain about it.

So there.

Hooray! So happy for you!! Green card should be there soon, ours came in 10 days. = ) Celebrate!!

Oh honey, I'm sorry you are having to go through this. He sounds sort-of mean.

I hope things will get better. Stand up for yourself and do what you think is right.

Best wishes to you.

But still....my main concern was the overstay. Is that erased once you get the green card? i mean...is it gonna matter?

I've looked on www.careerbuilder.ca and monster.ca but I can't find anything. I don't even narrow my results! Is there some secret place Canada hides their job advertisements?

yeah, my husband is the canadian.

If you have your green card....you may travel freely to and from other countries, yes? Even if you have overstayed in the US in the past?

I think the answer is yes, I'm just totally paranoid and would appreciate any responses. We are going to a wedding in BC this September.

Awesome. :-D