laura428

I'm quite sure there are many more people going through Vancouver or Montreal for interviews than are currently listed on the timeline screens - I know there are just by reading some of the Canadian posts here.

I'm PLEADING with all my fellow Canucks on here, PLEASE update your timelines! It takes only a few seconds, but helps all the rest of us out greatly! Click here and do it now!

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/intro.php

I wouldn't mind filling out mine at all, but am wondering how to complete some of the info as a DCF filer. It seems a lot of the questions don't pertain to the DCF process, or am I wrong? My I-130 was submitted and approved on the same day at the Calgary Consulate, so I kind of see where I'd put that. But we've received our Packet 3 and are submitting the DS-230 tomorrow, and I see nowhere to put these bits of info.

Help.

Nevermind... just called the Embassy and spoke with a very nice woman. As for the visits, she told me to have my husband write the following:

"As a Canadian citizen, I have visited the US numerous times over the last X years. My longest stay was X."

No need for specific dates - yay!

AND, even better, she said there would never be a need to call a sponsor into an interview, so I, nor will my children, need to fly to Montreal. Thank goodness... that saves us a few thousand dollars on airfare and bigger hotel rooms. Oh, she did joke that if my husband screwed up our anniversary date and I wasn't there, that he would automatically be turned down. At which point I replied that he'd be in trouble at home, too.

We're finally filling out the DS-230 after getting it nearly three weeks ago. We left for a visit to my parents' place in the States soon after receiving it, and just got back Saturday night. (And no, we had absolutely no problems at the border which had been a big concern before we left.)

Three questions:

1. When it asked for dates of visits to the US, my husband and I got concerned... we've had numerous visits down to the States over the last five years, most of them to my parents' place, and around two per year. We haven't the foggiest idea how to track down the specific dates for all visits and were wondering how others handled this. We don't want to make up dates, but how else do we complete this section?

2. It asks if my husband will be applying alone, or with me... we didn't realize we needed to make this decision before learning of the actual interview date. In a perfect world, my husband would go by himself... if I go along with him, we also bring our two year old and four month old, and what should be a quick and easy trip would become a much more complicated, tiring and expensive one. Is the sponsor ever called into an interview? Is there any reason for me to need to be there?

3. I understand that we only submit the DS-230 and the checklist for now. Are the other documents listed in the checklist to be submitted in person along with the I-864? Or will we be asked to mail them at a later date? I'm sure I've read this somewhere but can't seem to find any info on it. I can't remember if we receive a letter regarding our interview date after the DS-230 submission or if there's another step we need to complete before that.

As always, any info would be greatly appreciated... thanks much.

All I'm trying to do is save you some potential grief. What you've gone through is much like those individuals who keep on going over the border to visit their fiancees without knowing about the immigrant intent provision of the law. You never know if the next time is the time when you are going to get in trouble. Just trying to save you some potential headache at the border.

I know you are, and thank you.

the kids enter the United States as Canadian citizens because that is what they are.....

And see, this is where I'm totally confused. I understand that they're US citizens by birth (which I quite honestly didn't understand until recently), but the US recognizes dual citizenship. They don't give up their Canadian citizenship when they claim their US citizenship, so I'm not sure why they cannot enter as Canadian citizens. Maybe by being US citizens also they MUST enter as such...?

Funny thing is I never would have known ANY of this if we hadn't started the immigration process for my husband. What would have happened if, say, a few years from now when my kids are a little older, we were traveling to the States on holiday. Would they seriously have prevented them from entering because we never filed for documentation of their citizenship? This just isn't one of those things most folks know to do. I actually thought that they would have to apply for their US citizenship because they were born on foreign soil and had prepared I-130s for each of them to submit along with my husband's. Yeeesh.

They are US Citizens and must be admitted to the US as US Citizens.... They cannot be admitted as alien "visitors"... sorry, that's the way it works... You are either a US Citizen or an Alien. You cannot be both. If you're a USC, then you cannot be an alien and therefore be admitted to the US as such. Yes.. if their mom (or dad) is a USC, they will reasonably assume they are USC's. The processing time for a consular record of birth is pretty fast... they may do it for you when you're there, like the I-130 or have you pick it up later in the day...

Like I said, if the children are relatively young, they probably will be lenient on it and let you know that you do indeed need to file for it. If you don't do what they say the second time, there could be problems. But I'm of the opinion that if you have the ability to take care of a potential problem before hand, then you should take the steps to do it. If you have the necessary items to file for the Consular Report of Birth, you should do it before you leave.

They probably won't know about the I-130 because you did it through consular processing, unlike if you did it through USCIS where they would know. All you have to say is that you live with your USC spouse in Canada. That in itself will take away the Immigrant intent aspect of things. In addition, you should go through the CBP immigration checkpoint as a family. That is, your USC spouse should downgrade themselves to the Non-USC line and go through with you. If it does come up, just tell them that you're going through the Immigrant Visa process and are awaiting your interview in Montreal.

Argh.

Well, if we get what we're waiting on (registration of live births and my school records proving the minimum residency requirement), we'll get down to the Consulate and hope that it gets processed right away. It just seems so strange to me that if they've always entered as Canadian citizens, and the US recognizes and accepts dual citizenship with Canada, that it shouldn't be a problem. But you've got more experience with this than I do...

And again... it's me who is the USC and landed Canadian immigrant, not my husband (the Canadian citizen and sponsored US immigrant). But as you mentioned, with one of us being a USC, we've never had problems at the border and we've traveled back and forth at least several times a year over the last five years.

All US Citizens must enter the US as US Citizens as the US does not recognize the other citizenship. For small children (younger than 2 or 3) it may not be much of a deal, but if the children get any older, a CBP officer may go into a tizzy over it. The first time they'll probably give you a warning and tell you to get it. If you don't have it the second time, they probably won't let you in until you do it. Get the Consular Record of Birth done as fast as you can, preferably before you leave for the US. I'd hate to see you have to fly back home because of it. The child IS a US Citizen.. you just don't have the evidence that it is...

Ok... but if this is just a 10-day holiday, why would they not allow them in just as visitors, like any other Canadians who are there for vacation? Because their mom is a USC? There's no way we'll get the records of birth done before we leave - we may get to the Consulate to file, but I'm not sure what processing times are and we're leaving next Thursday.

And... another question... should we make it known that we've filed an I-130? Will this come up when they scan my passport? I want this to go as easily as possible... if there is anything I can say (or not say) to further that, I'd love to know it in advance.

The fact that you're coming with your husband who is a resident of Canada would probably deal with any difficulties. If your husband was a USC AND a resdient of the US, well that could set off some alarm bells in a CBP officers mind. But coming with a USC husband who is resident in Canada would not be a big deal...

However, the bigger problem is your children must enter the US as US Citizens. If you don't have the report of birth abroad, that could present some problems. You need to get those certificates before you try to enter the US...

Ok, now I'm really confused.

My husband is not the USC, I am (and am a landed immigrant in Canada as well). He is a Canadian citizen applying for his green card.

And about our kids... we've been traveling to and from the States from Canada since he was born, and only had his Canadian birth certificate with us (as he is a Canadian citizen, soon to be dual when I file). (As Canadian citizens, all they need to provide is a birth certificate, at least until 2007 when passports will be required.) We've never even been asked to show his birth certificate. So why would that be any different now? Why do they have to enter the US as citizens? Maybe I'm missing something glaringly obvious...?

You know, I'm kicking myself for not taking care of this before filing... ugh.

We've got plans to fly down to see my parents in the States at the end of this month. Our I-130 was approved in Calgary just a week and a half ago, and we've heard nothing from Montreal (and wouldn't expect to, yet). What kinds of problems can we expect to run into if we head down while this whole thing is already started? I (the USC) be with my husband (the sponsored immigrant) and our two children (filing for documentation of citizens born abroad, but haven't filed yet). I'm trying to think of what we could bring with us to show that we are definitely coming back, like our mortgage papers, maybe a letter from my husband's employer...?

Help, please... eeeeek... I just knew I should have waited to file until after we got back.

Eeeeek... thanks for posting this. Since we haven't gotten our packet from Montreal yet, I haven't been pouring over the specifics of the I-864 and hadn't realized that we'll have to count my parents (with whom we'll be staying very temporarily until we can move into our new house). With me not working, I truly hope that my husband's (the sponsored immigrant) income makes up for the fact that we won't quite make the asset requirement for six household members (instead of four).

Big eeeeeeeeeeeeeek.

Mutually exclusive... one has no bearing on the other... it won't even be an issue for them... There have been a few people on here that were in the process of getting their CDN Citizenship while applying... they went through without a problem...

Thanks for the quick reply - I feel much better.

Just thought about this yesterday...

I am a landed immigrant in Canada... have been for nearly five years. I am planning on applying for my Canadian citizenship before we leave so that, no matter how long we're away, we can live anywhere in Canada or the US without worrying about our "status." (My husband plans to apply for his US citizenship as soon as he's eligible as well.)

Anyway... I was thinking about this whole domicile thing, and that it might be a bit of a challenge already seeing as how I haven't maintained a true residence there. One way I've read to help establish domicile is to show that you're severing your ties with the place you've been residing. We're doing this by selling our house, but I'm wondering if they might consider my application for Canadian citizenship as a strike against me? I know dual citizenship isn't a problem, but... you never know.

If anyone else has been through a similar situation, I'd love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

laura, I appreciate the confidence you have in my reply, but it was intended to be encouraging... I urge you to confirm all of this for yourself: it is YOUR bacon on the line.

I will clarify for you that Joint Sponsors do not use the -A; they complete their own I-864 and tick the "Joint Sponsor' box.

If you were using the funds of someone in your household (who qualified), they would use the -A.

My husband was concerned about the medical as well; he'd had a recent heart problem and was sure he would have a problem because of it.

The medical is pretty specific, and they aren't looking for missing organs. The CO did caution us about insurance though, as my spouse would not be eligible for any emergency medical benefits.

No worries, Meauxna... I only meant that I respect your experience with this, and hearing your feedback bolstered my confidence that we'll be ok with all of it.

And thanks for clarification on the I-864.

The insurance issue does worry me, too. I've looked into quotes from Blue Cross (my husband's employer offers no health insurance as of yet, since he has only five employees!), and found affordable plans but have wondered if we might run into issues there. That's one thing we'll miss about Canada - guaranteed coverage.

When your cousin completes their I-864 as Joint Sponsor, they count everyone in their household, plus the immigrant (husband). Presuming you will NOT be living with the cousins?

(I'm going to stay on the presumption that the kids are USCs. Even if they were not, I *think* you do not need an I-864 for them).

Cousin is doing an I-864A? Or I-864?

Either way, keep their docs aside, hand yours in and the officer will discuss it with you. If they are not happy with your/your husband's I-864, they will say so. At that point you can say, well, my cousin.. blah blah blah and pull out the envelope with the additional fianancials. It's not "being denied". If you go with all your documents, you will get this done in one day unless there is some scary skeleton that you have not yet mentioned.

Thanks Meauxna... if you tell me I'm on track, then I'm pretty confident.

Yes, you're correct in assuming that we will not be living with my cousins. Their I-864A would only be as joint sponsor. In fact, we may be living with my parents for a short period of time only because we may not get a chance to go househunting again before moving to the States and don't want to buy anything site unseen. So there will most likely be a month or two lag between moving out of our home here and moving into our new one there.

Domicile is, however, the scariest part of all of this for me. I'm in the process of setting up a checking account and credit card using my parents' address as my own to help establish this. I just pulled my credit report, and all three credit agencies list my parents' address as my own (two of the three listing it as my most recent), so I'm hoping that this along with my new accounts, plus my plan to sell my home here in Canada serve as proof of my ties to the States. We were actually thinking it would be a good idea for me to go to Montreal with my husband (instead of him going alone) just in case this comes up and they need to talk to me. It'll be a long day for the little ones, but well worth the trip if it happens.

The only other thing I'm worried about is my husband's medical history. He's healthy now, but was quite sick as a teenager. Won't go into great details here, but it required major surgery and causes minor flare-ups now and then still today. If a doctor examined him today, they'd say he was missing an organ but that everything else was great. Just wonder if they're going to count his history (going back 16 years now) against him.

I'm confused . You state that your trying to bring your husband to the states but in your statement you put that although his company is based in Canada "he is American"??? Am I missing something here? Seems to me that if your both American you should'nt even need to do the immigration thing.

Curious

Oh... sorry if I made that confusing! My husband's employer is American. My husband is Canadian.

Ok, so I've been looking through the I-864 and I-864A applications, and I think I've got this down but thought I'd ask all of you wonderfully informative folks if you think I'm on the right track.

If I'd applied for this three years ago, we'd be golden... I was making plenty of money to provide for my family. However, I've been a stay at home mom since November 2003, so no income. According to what I've seen on the application instructions, we can use my husband's (sponsored immigrant) income instead, which heartily surpasses the 125% poverty line guideline for our family of four. We've got a signed letter from his employer stating his current income in CAD, his income in USD, the length and capacity of his employment and confirmation that his position will continue seamlessly during and after our move to the States. (Additionally, although his employer is in Canada, he is an American himself and the company is actually based in the States - thinking we may add this to the letter to bolster it further.)

If they don't accept his income (which I'm not quite sure why they wouldn't), our assets should qualify. Although we have very little liquid, we have quite a nice chunk invested in our house. If I'm correct, we would have to show assets five times the difference between the 125% poverty guideline and my income, so...

125% Poverty Guideline: $25,000

My income: 0

Difference: 25,000

Multiply by 5: x5

Minimum Required

Cash Value of Assets $125,000

(thank you, Aussiewench, for your post detailing the info above!)

Thankfully, we have been incredibly lucky in our real estate investments, and actually have more than this amount invested in our house (which we'll be selling). To show this, we have our mortgage agreement from our bank (just renewed in January, so the amount remaining is actually close to what we owe now, although we may get a new statement to be completely accurate and to show an even greater profit), and an appraisal letter by our real estate agent, stating what we'd list the house at and what our likely selling price would be. Would these two documents be sufficient, or do we need something more (and what)?

If the above isn't sufficient to satisfy the I-864 and I-864A, my cousins have agreed to act as joint sponsors for us. Questions there, though, too...

1) There are three present in their household - would they then have to meet poverty guidelines for a household of seven (their three plus our four)?

2) Should I submit their I-864A along with ours as backup? Or should we reserve it for later if we're denied?

As always, any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading...

The $5 for a set of college transcripts is a lot cheaper and easier than getting an attorney to write up an affidavit from you. You may also want to contact your high school and get a copy of school records from them or a letter indicating the dates of your attendance.

Also getting old W2's and 1040's with your old US address is as easy as calling 1-800-879-1040.

Fantastic - thank you!

And, even more odd.... my other post and your reply mysteriously reappeared after my last msg. I'm really not losing it, I swear. Not yet, anyway.

The evidence of physical presence is probably as easy as a Driver License, utility bill or bank statements...

What about W-2s or evidence of US employment?

This is very strange - I could have sworn I already posted about W2s but can't find that post anywhere.

I do have some W2s but only going back to '99, and I moved here (to Canada) in '01, so that's only proof of two years. As far as other evidence of US employment, what else could I provide? Letters from former employers? That might take forever to compile, considering that my old superiors may not even be there anymore. I suppose I could contact HR departments...

The evidence of physical presence is probably as easy as a Driver License, utility bill or bank statements...

What about W-2s or evidence of US employment?

Sure, but not back farther than my passport documents. I only have W2s from 1999 (maybe 1998) to 2001 (the year I moved to Canada). So that only documents two years resident in the U.S. I could get my college transcripts, but that might take a bit, and cost...? I'm thinking that an affidavit might be my best bet, just not sure who should write it for me.

SO helpful - thank you!!

Laura...

The evidence of physical presence is probably as easy as a Driver License, utility bill or bank statements...

Possibly, but that means I have to track those things down, and I'm not so sure I have them in my possession now. I've been living in Canada for five years, so trying to find utility bills or bank statements from that far back might be tough. And my New Jersey driver's license is LONG gone.

I was planning on trying to call the powers-that-be sometime this week to see what I can find out. I know I'll be able to get it taken care of... it'll just need a little work. Thankfully, I don't think the wait time is terribly long, so I'm not as worried about getting things moving this second. This week, however, is definitely in the plan.

Hi everyone! We just filed our I-130 here in Calgary this morning - approved just like that! We were prepared to be there the entire morning, but it was super fast. We got there at 9:45 and were escorted upstairs by the security guard. We went through security - the guard there was so nice, talked about how great it was that DCF was offered here, and chatted with my three-month old daughter. We went in and sat down, and at 10:00 were called to the cashier to turn in our paperwork. At 10:10, our name was called and we talked with the immigration officer. She just basically made sure that we had all of our paperwork in order, and approved it, no problem. She was very nice - we hadn't brought a national Expresspost envelope (which I hadn't realized we needed), but thankfully there was a shop downstairs that sells them. She wrote a little note on a post-it and instructed us to buy the envelope on our way out, attach the post-it (with our file name on it), and give it to the security guard so that he could bring it back up to her for us. We were called by the cashier a few minutes later, paid our $190 USD (by credit card), and were out of there soon after. If I hadn't needed to nurse my daughter, we would have been done by 10:25!

Regarding the kids, here's what we found out: we can file a DS-2029 application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad. The supporting docs we'll need are:

-- registration of live birth

-- evidence of my US citizenship (passport, birth cert)

-- marriage cert

-- my record of landing and/or permanent resident card

-- evidence of physical presence/residence (going to have to work on this one)

The fee is only $65 USD - much more reasonable than $255 USD for the N-600.

Attached to the DS-2029 is a social security application - pretty straightforward. There's also a little blurb about applying for their passports, via form DS-11. Looking into this as well. We will, of course, have to make a second trip to submit all of the kids' applications in person, but I'm not as concerned now as to how we'll entertain my two year old. We left him with friends this morning after reading that the consulate does not allow large strollers (so no double stroller), food or drink and no backpacks (including our backpack-style diaper bag). When we feared we might be there for hours, the thought of a hungry and bored two year old just didn't seem like a good idea. But we were seriously out of there in 45 minutes or so, from the time we entered the building until the time we left. Yay!!

So all in all, it was a very good morning. Now we just have to wait on Montreal!

hi laura,

An A number is assigned to each immigrant. You and your husband probably do not have one. You can enter 'none' or 'unknown'. An A# will be assigned to him, and it's very important down the road. It's OK for him to not have one yet.

Fees: don't know... give the Consulate a call? Can't imagine it would need to be a US money order. Often you can pay in USD or local currency.

The G-325As come in a set of 4, that stay together.

I think you need to find out more about the kids. I don't think they will process them for an IV if they are USCs, but I don't know a lot of detail about the kid thing.

Have you investigated Consular Report of Birth Abroad + passport fee? They do not need to "apply" for citizenship, merely declare it.

The American Citizens Services section of the Consulate should be able to help you with this--I encourage you to get some professional input on this important matter.

Best wishes!

Ok... potentially VERY VERY happy here about the consular report of birth abroad thing, but the last thing it says I need for them is "affidavits of parent(s)’ residence and physical presence in the United States." I'm using my parents' place as my "domicile" for purposes of my husband's immigration process, but now need an affidavit proving residence and physical presence. Oh, holy cow, just had a thought - will I need this for my husband as well?? I do have my US passport, issued in September 1996, showing various trips until my immigration stamp (for landed immigrant status in Canada) in May 2001... that's JUST shy of five years. Of course, I was born in and lived in the US for nearly 30 years before moving north of the border, but I have nothing to prove residence before 1996. But again, my passport is not an affidavit - how on earth do I get that?

You know... this whole thing would have been so much easier had we moved before kids.

The way I'd planned on doing it was by filing an N-600 (Application for Certification of Citizenship) - this is the one that says $160 on the info site (http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/factsheets/chowto.htm) but $255 when you go to fill out the form (http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/n-600.htm). Oh, and yes, I just noticed that I have to file an affidavit of residence with that, too. Ugh. Wondering if my parents could write a letter stating how long I lived there, then get it notarized? The FS-240 sounds easier (AND cheaper)... guess we'll be asking tons of questions at the Consulate tomorrow. I was hoping to get this whole deal done tomorrow, with my husband's I-130 AND the kids' citizenship stuff, but it's looking more and more like the kids' business will have to wait. Was going to call the Consulate for help with all of this, but of course, their phone line closed nearly two hours ago. Argh.

I know I'm asking a ton of questions... sorry. But anything you (or anyone else, for that matter) can help with while I try to get in touch with someone "in the know" would be so helpful. This whole immigration thing, along with my application for Canadian citizenship, getting the house ready to sell AND raising a two year old and three month old... it's all making my brain a wee bit fuzzy. I can use all the help I can get.

DCF filed in Athens Greece August 2002

This is so fantastic - what a big help. Thanks so much!

A few last minute things before we go to the Consulate tomorrow morning...

1) On the G-325A, it asks for an Alien Registration Number. What is this?

2) For the fees, would they accept a check? We have a US bank account through our Canadian bank - funds are in US dollars. Or does it have to be money order?

3) Also with the G-325A, it printed up four forms for each of us (me, my husband and my two kids). Do we need all of these forms? Am I attaching one of mine to each one of the three applications?

(I'm still debating on whether to do the DCF process for my kids, or getting their citizenship b/c they qualify with my own citizenship. One page says it's $160 USD for each, but the actual application says $255 USD (???). Plus, I'm still looking into the finer details, i.e., timeline for passports for them after citizenship is gained, etc.)

Thanks for any help - much appreciated!