Sylea

Thanks for the info on the TD account, I may investigate that as well. My husband banks with PNC, so we're in a similar situation.

And yes on the fees - the receiving (or correspondent bank) takes a fee off when wired funds come in, usually $10 - $15. And the outgoing charge is usually between $30-$50. Wires are same day (depending what time you send them) provided you have all the correct routing numbers.

And yes, I've been working for one of the 'Big 5" Canadian banks for over 28 years, (not TD or RBC) and ran the foreign exchange desk for over 10 years. LOL

Peace.

I'm not sure where you are, but I think RBC's cross border account links to PNC bank as their correspondent bank. You may be able to deposit in a PNC bank account and then transfer to your RBC CAD account, but I'm not sure.

I'm in the process of investigating the RBC Cross Border account for myself, as I'd be in the same position as you.

Do you have trusted family or friends who would deposit to your Canadian account for you if you sent them a cheque drawn on your US bank account?? That might be another option, though would take longer with snail mail.

There's always Paypal too, though of course there's associated fees, but I think they're less than wiring money.

Wow, April. That sucks. Our I130 was shipped to NVC June 4, got case number July 3rd, all fees and paid and D260 filed July 8th. One advantage to having a lawyer is I didn't have the back and forth after filing a D-261, it was all filed in one go.

I am just peeved to have to wait again, but mostly because I haven't seen my husband since January, and we've been doing long distance for 6 years.

I am SO done with it. Just want to be in the same room.

Thanks for letting me vent!

Peace.

Ok, so found out today that lawyer got the 60 day email on Aug 4th. Our documents were received July 8th. So hopefully I might get a case complete by end of the month, and I'm thinking it likely that I'm looking at an October interview date??

Feeling down and fed up with this process, even though I know rationally I'm near the end of it and will soon be in my new life.

Heavy sigh.

Also, my CEAC status shows IV and AOS fees as PAID, and the Civil Documents and Affadavit of Support & Financial Documents as N/A - does that mean they just haven't scanned the documents yet?? How do I know if they've received the mailed paperwork??
Not sure if I should start calling or not. Or just leave well enough alone.

Just curious......

Dun dun dun... I just got that dreaded email.

Oh well. No longer stressing about this junk. Lol

Wah!! At least it won't take as long as USCIS stage did, that just about killed me.

Our DS260 was filed July 8th, so I'm hoping maybe my interview will fall somewhere around my wedding anniversary Sept 26th.....Maybe a more expensive anniversary than we planned if that's the case, but at least it would be double celebration!!

I shall continue to hurry up and wait............sigh.

I am going with United Van Lines - they are loading my things this Friday, so I'll let you know how it all turns out.

I am moving from Saskatoon SK to Chicago IL (load size estimated at approx 2100 lb which is about 1-2 bedroom apartment size) and the cost will end up being around 3000$. They seemed pretty knowledgeable about all the immigration stuff- helped me fill out the forms needed / what I should expect at POE, etc. Here's hoping everything goes well!!

Well time to continue packing .... *grumble* ...

Yes please do update, if they're any good I'll get a quote from them as well.

Hope it all goes smoothly for you!!

Peace.

Hi! I have been getting many quotes and it is so expensive. I am moving in 2 weeks and I am at the point of "what fits in the car comes". My quotes have been around $4000-4700 for 2500 lbs. Most of the big companies have minimums which seems to be 2000lbs. Seems to be $1.25 per pound per mile. Your favourite recliner worth little doesn't look so good any more! lol. Now I have also called UHAUL which the quote was $2600 + $1200 gas. (my move is 2850 miles) I also called and got a quote from UPACK.+ PODS, Both of those two were approx $4500-$5500 It just doesn't seem to be worth it. I am now going to contact FEDEX and UPS to see how much some boxes would be. Have one heck of a garage sale next week and then donate give away things to friends.. I have a treadmill that was very expensive but it would be more to move it than I can get for it.

The paperwork does seem quite easy with the big companies. They take care of your belongings/paperwork crossing. You have to cross BEFORE your goods. Then they give your 3299 when they cross with your "unaccompanied goods". If you are a CR1 there is no 1-94.

You can could send used household goods in boxes to your spouse by mail, fedex,what ever ahead of time as long as the value is below $60 I believe without documentation.

It is a very hard decision to make and there are SO many additional fees on top of the base price.with the big companies.

There is also a company Navis Pack that will ship smaller amounts, make custom crates etc.

Also thanks for the reference to Navis Pack - I've just sent them a request for an estimate, I'll let you know what I hear back.

I CAN say I will not use North American Van Lines - Their email request form wanted my phone number, which I provided, and I've had 2 very aggressive phone calls (one of them yesterday at 7:55AM BC time!) and I was not impressed!

Hi! I have been getting many quotes and it is so expensive. I am moving in 2 weeks and I am at the point of "what fits in the car comes". My quotes have been around $4000-4700 for 2500 lbs. Most of the big companies have minimums which seems to be 2000lbs. Seems to be $1.25 per pound per mile. Your favourite recliner worth little doesn't look so good any more! lol. Now I have also called UHAUL which the quote was $2600 + $1200 gas. (my move is 2850 miles) I also called and got a quote from UPACK.+ PODS, Both of those two were approx $4500-$5500 It just doesn't seem to be worth it. I am now going to contact FEDEX and UPS to see how much some boxes would be. Have one heck of a garage sale next week and then donate give away things to friends.. I have a treadmill that was very expensive but it would be more to move it than I can get for it.

The paperwork does seem quite easy with the big companies. They take care of your belongings/paperwork crossing. You have to cross BEFORE your goods. Then they give your 3299 when they cross with your "unaccompanied goods". If you are a CR1 there is no 1-94.

You can could send used household goods in boxes to your spouse by mail, fedex,what ever ahead of time as long as the value is below $60 I believe without documentation.

It is a very hard decision to make and there are SO many additional fees on top of the base price.with the big companies.

There is also a company Navis Pack that will ship smaller amounts, make custom crates etc.

Thanks Elaine!

I'm pretty much only bringing clothes, books, artwork and 3 small pieces of furniture (small antique bookcase and 2 small occasional tables) and some very minor kitchen implements. I expect it likely that I will have under 2500 lbs of stuff, but can't be sure. This is the downside to being a book lover. LOL

Everything else I'm giving away and donating. The one quote I have so far from Allied Van Lines (prior to free in home estimate) is around $2700 before taxes. Hubby and I looked into the UHaul idea, but once we added on gas, hotels, food, and time, it was far more expensive (though would have been a fun road trip).

I'm hoping some VJ'ers can comment on which moving companies they used successfully. I was also going to look into Ship Smart, but I'm not in an urban area so many of the UPack type companies don't service my town. I'm mostly interested in keeping the whole move as simple and stress free as possible.

Good luck with your move!

Peace.

With thanks - **This post is for Canadians moving to the US only**

We are going to be hiring a moving company to move my personal effects after my (assumed!) VISA approval.

Is there a thread with moving company recommendations on the Canadian portal, or does any one have personal experiences they could share??

I plan on getting a couple of quotes, but so far Atlas has given me an estimate of approx $2700 before taxes.

Please bear in mind, I am nearly 4000 KM away from where I'm moving to, so UHaul is not an option, especially since I expect it'll be into winter before I can move.

Appreciate the help!

Peace all.

I see there's a thread on the main VJ page about people getting emails from NVC saying they are taking 60 days to review documents. I've not received any email, nor has my lawyer. I'm setting my hopes on a September interview, with a move date by late October or early November.

I'm determined NOT to start calling NVC, but I'm kind of wimpy that way when it comes to self control about this process, so I probably will if I haven't heard anything in 10 days or so. LOL

For this long weekend in Canada, I'm starting to pack stuff up in earnest. At least that will make me feel like things are progressing!

Peace all.

Mine says n/a as well. I think it always does. I hope you get a case complete today!!

Thank you! nothing yet, hope to see something next couple of weeks.

Gonna start packing in earnest now....

Gotta love Windows Updates.

Couldn't they just do a system restore?? LOL

Crazy!

Ok so AOS fee shows paid, IV fee shows paid. Lawyer snail mailed all documents on July 8th. "Civil Documents" section on CEAC website shows "N/A" - does this mean they just haven't scanned the documents? Or that they haven't marked them as received yet??

Lawyer felt I would get case complete within next 2-3 weeks.

I am trying not to get my hopes up TOO much, given the system crash and subsequent delays.....

Peace all.

I opened an account with my RBC USA and they checked my Canadian credit to do so.

I've been checking out the RBC Cross Border package, and it looks like the credit card you can apply for thru them actually establishes a US credit record for you, but is set up against your existing Canadian credit bureau.

I'm going to go talk to someone there soon to get more details....

i didn't apply for any.....he just added me to all his accounts and gave me the cards.

i figure i'll establish a credit rating that way and when I need it (once i relocate) I should have a good score.

since I live on a border town, and frequently shop stateside, I have opened a few account (macys, kohls, target) in my name with my canadian address. figured if i establish a credit relationship now, it might help me later. once I move, i'll change my address.

i realize this might not help you but it might help those reading this in the future.

wish i had more and better answers.

good luck.

Hey mrs thb - as a long time Canadian banker, I know for certain that a secondary card holder does not build their own credit rating based on using a spouse's card. The credit facility is based solely on the primary cardholder's credit.

I think it may be the same in the US. When my father passed away a couple of years ago (parents are USC) I had got my mom to apply for a card in her own name when he got sick, which was a good thing since all the joint cards were cancelled at his death.

I plan to put $500 down at BoA to secure a Visa card, and work from there.

Hope that helps.

Hi I am going to be moving within the next weeks. I have sold my home. I plan to wire money thru a foreign exchange as they seem to have better rates than the bank..also better fees if any. Has anyone from Canada wired money to a US bank? I am a bit leary..I imagine the the larger companies move money from all over the world so any experience??? Many Thanks

I have 10 years experience in F/X as part of my 30 years in Canadian banking. I have had clients run into problems when wiring money from somewhere like Custom House, where the receiving bank puts a hold and/or there's a delay in the money reaching the destination bank for subsequent credit to an account.

You may get a slightly better rate, but for my money using one of the big 5 Canadian banks to move your money is more efficient. If you have the destination bank information correct, wiring funds can be same day.

Just my 2 cents. So to speak.

I've been doing a lot of reading about the RRSP & TFSA issue. The consensus seems to be:

RRSPs

Keep your RRSPs in Canada unless they are super small. It has tax advantaged status in the USA on the federl level and in most states (not in Cali, unfortunately for me, but state income tax is small). Invest in something low touch that doesn't churn out a lot of income (think growth equity rather than dividend investments) and check with your RRSP provider to ensure they still allow you to re-balance etc while living in the USA. I'm with Questrade and they are fine with this. Some more traditional institutions may not be, which will mean you'll need to leave your RRSP as-is. Not necessarily such a big deal if you do a couch potato type investment portfolio, a life cycle fund, or an ING Streetwise fund (oops, Tangerine now).

TFSA

Cash out your TFSA. Currently TFSAs have no tax advantaged status in the USA so you'll pay tax on all gains. They also have to be treated as a foriegn trust (whatever that means) which apparently over complicates your tax returns. Everyone seems to say it's just not worth the hassle. The great thing about TFSAs is that withdrawing from them does not trigger any sort of tax liability in Canada, so if you withdraw before you move to the USA you should be in good shape. Some people with a more conservative approach (or who start planning earlier!) withdraw everything from their TFSA the tax year BEFORE they move to the USA (so before the end of 2013 for a 2014 move date) so that it will not show up in any way shape or form on their first US tax return.

Disclaimer: this is not advice and the US tax code is VERY VERY complex in comparison to Canada, so you should do your own research. Unfortunately I've found that it's difficult to find a professional willing to give advice in this area, besides tax lawyers who I don't really like working with. if you have a complex situation with taxes in the USA it's hard to do things 100% right or wrong, there is a LOT of grey area. But the above seems to be the general consensus of what works for most people.

Or yay be like me. Only have debt left, no savings/investments/property.(the joys of putting child through college, orthodonture, etc) Makes things a bit simpler. No tax lawyer needed!! LOL

Lawyer has submitted all paperwork to NVC, case number has been assigned, and AOS and IV bill have been paid. Basically I'm just waiting for case complete and letter with interview date now, I think. Fingers crossed I might interview by September or sooner.

Best of luck to all......and Congrats to Lakehouse!!

Just be honest and have your back up paperwork. If you have nothing to hide, there's nothing to be afraid of, even if you get an agent who got up on the wrong side of the bed.

I offered my information, did not do that "only answer what they ask you" routine, and found each time that the agents were friendlier once they could tell I wasn't trying to hide anything.

You'll be fine.

Peace.

Just read your post, glad it was all fine. Enjoy your visit!!

We hired a lawyer due to us both having very busy stressful careers and not enough time to devote to pouring over immigration paperwork.

There's a lot of lawyer bashing on this site, but I can only speak for our experience so far. Our lawyer has been efficient, courteous, kind and open to questions and emails whenever we have a query. We paid a flat fee of $2500. Obviously we were in a financial position to do so, it's not affordable for everyone, but it's worked well for us so far.

The challenge is of course finding a reputable lawyer, I found ours by research and Google/Yahoo customer ratings, then some exploratory emails to see what kind of responses I got.

That's my 2 cents - I just wanted to share a positive experience, despite Shakespeare's advice. LOL

Peace all..

Sarah - I would suggest your husband contact EI to find out what to do. I believe in order to qualify to collect EI once stateside, he has to prove he has authorization to seek and accept work. If you are doing the CR1 Visa, I think you are authorized as soon as you cross the border into the USA, and have activated your spousal visa. One of the advantages of doing this visa is that although it takes longer, you don't have to file to adjust status or get employment authorization, it's immediate.

Other VJ'ers who've been through the process may wish to add their comments, as I'm still pretty much a noob. LOL

Good luck to you both.

Peace.

What employment insurance option are you referring to?

Sarah&Marc:

As I understand it, you are eligible for Canadian Unemployment Insurance if you quit your job to relocate.

There is a thread on here with lots of info.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/8-the-canuck-ei-thread/

If it hadn't been for VJ, I never would have known I could apply for this. Going to make the transition much easier for a while.

Peace.

Thanks Karebear - I was trying to figure out how we could 'pin' it so it's easier to find?

I've decided to wait till first week of July before I start calling NVC to get our case number. I'm also trying to stay very positive and hope that this next stage is not going to be as soul destroying as waiting for USCIS to approve our I130!!

Happy Friday the 13th and have a good weekend all!!

I get bored so fast not working. My house gets REALLY REALLY clean. I don't like cleaning in particular.

NLR _ Hahaha, that made me laugh.

We have 2 acres of property so I expect I'll be busy building the garden - hubby's been waiting till I get there so we can do stuff like that together. He bought the house for us in 2012, and hasn't really done too much with it, again waiting till I'm there and we can make such decisions together. I can hardly wait.

I think I may do some volunteering as well, but we'll see how it goes. I fully intend to get work of some kind after a few months, but will use EI to help me bridge the gap during my 'adjustment' period.

If it wasn't for VJ, I never would have known I was even eligible. So much great info on this site!!

Peace all.