kdc0224

On 11/13/2018 at 6:57 PM, Niv said:

Not sure, I got the status that my new card was being produced and today it said my case was approved.. and that the i797 was mailed out today..does anyone know how long it will take for it to reach? Do they send the card along with the i797.. I called them but of course the customer support was facing technical difficulties and I have to call again tomorrow.. I just wish I knew what was happening!

On 11/14/2018 at 12:48 AM, usmsbow said:

 

The card and i-797 come separately. Takes about a week after you get the approval notice. 

I got my approval letter last week and the 10-year green card was delivered a week after I got the approval notice online.

My status finally changed today to "New Card Being Produced." Filed at VSC with case #eac17340xxxx. I filed Aug 31, 2017 and had biometrics in October 2017. For the longest time, it said my case was transferred to a local office on April 9th and today it finally changed. I don't have an n-400 pending.

Any idea on when I'll be receiving the physical card? 

I got my police certificate through Commissionaires but I got the more expensive type where I had to go into a Commissionaires office so they could fingerprint me (digitally) and then send to the RCMP. 

Hello all,

I am not eligible to file my n-400 yet, but just to make sure, I wanted to confirm whether the physical presence requirement for permanent residents married to USC spouses of 18 months is continuous or cumulative. In other words, am I expected to remain physically in the US for an 18-month stretch or can I make small trips (less than 2 weeks) abroad for work or leisure. All in all, these trips shouldn't eat into those 18 months, right? 

I understand that trips of 6 months or less do not disrupt the continuous residence of 3 years.

Thanks!

Yikes I was hoping to book for a flight October 22nd. I am sure my app is complete and the pic was done professionally....did you send it express? Thanks for answering so quick by the way!

I sent it via Fedex and I can't remember which type of service. It might have been express because it arrived the day later. It was the cheapest air delivery option they have. Did you check the Passport Canada website to see how long they're currently taking to process passports for US residents?

OP how long did it end up taking? I am in the same boat wanting to travel back to Canada soon but don't want to book the flight just in case I don't get it back in time! TIA

It was surprisingly quick for me. I mailed it to Canada April 1st and received it in DC in mid-April. I don't know if there are peak times though where it takes longer. I'd say if you book your flight out at least 2 months in advance, you'll be fine, providing that your application is complete and they won't send it back to you.

If you have a Nexus card, you might be able to submit your passport in Canada but if not, you're correct - you'd have to mail it from America because the border agent and/or the airline could ask you for your passport.

thanks!

I am going to Canada to visit my family in a couple days, so I planned on going to CAA to get my pictures taken there and have my gaurantor sign everything there and bring it all back with me to mail off from the states.

I am assuming I cannot just send it off from the passport office because I need to fly home on my passport, and they take it, correct?

I didn't change my name after marriage so I could renew my passport with the simplified renewal form. You are correct that a change of name requires you to apply for a new passport rather than renew your old one. More info on that can be found here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/passport/apply/new/apply-how.asp

Your supporting documents just have to be photocopies, not originals, I believe. You can always call Passport Canada to confirm.

As the others posters mentioned, make sure your photographer knows the Canadian passport photo specifications.

I am just looking into doing mine. However, I am not renewing because I am changing my name to my married name. Is this what most Canadian do? Or do you leave your passport in your maiden name?

If I do a whole new application it says I need to send in supporting documents, like my birth certificate and another piece of photo ID. Would I send in my driver licence?!? That seems insane to me.

I really appreciate your help!

Thanks!

I crossed at the Peace Bridge last November. It was pretty straightforward. From the reviews, I gather that the Peace Bridge and Queenston-Lewiston and the best ones to cross because the officers there are used to processing these cases. Crossing at the Rainbow Bridge seems to be the worst because they're more strict and it's a lot more crowded being a touristy area. The Peace Bridge is the largest I believe - I only had to wait about 40 minutes for them to process my paperwork. As the previous poster said, they won't grill you or anything, you've already gone through the hard part. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your advice! It's nice that Passport Canada includes the courier in their fees so for anyone else that has to do this, you don't have to worry about a self-addressed stamped envelope.

I thought the pictures were the easiest part, though I went to a reputable, passport photographer in DC that does this on a regular basis. When I called Passport Canada, however, the agent told me that they do also accept 2" x 2" photos - I guess they get those all the time from Canadians living in the United States that they decided to accept these in addition to the Canadian-sized passport photos (50mm x 70mm).

There are 2 kinds of administrative processing:

1) The one that can take months to years is a background check against your name or career and is prolonged if anything suspicious shows up.

2) The one that takes a few hours or a few days which is the necessary printing and processing of your visa.

I think yours is the latter because your status says "Issued". If it were in the longer administrative processing, your status would say "Administrative Processing". When I was waiting for my visa, I had the same status as you for one day and the next, it changed to "Issued", your passport is being sent to you, or something along those lines. You have nothing to worry about

Hi,

I know this should be a topic specifically for the Canada Portal but I'm not sure how to post there. I'm a Canadian citizen and LPR of the US. I'm currently living in DC and need to renew my Canadian passport. I am eligible for the simplified renewal process and I plan to just courier my passport and documents to Passport Canada. Does anyone have any experience with the following:

1) How long does it take on average?

2) What courier companies are most reputable? I was planning to use Fedex. Does Passport Canada require me to use Canada Post to courier it back to me or can I just use Fedex?

3) I've never couriered a passport before - how is the whole process done and what is the process for having the equivalent of a stamped, self-addressed envelope for them to send my new passport to me?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks

I didn't mention gaps in employment and I was fine. I think they only really care about gaps in residency.

Check the State Dept. website for electronic processing instructions:

1) General - https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Submit_documents.html#method1

2) Document Scanning - http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/submit/documents-scanning-faqs.html

I'm pretty sure there's also a 5MB limit per email.

There is a chance your spouse might be turned away if the waiting room is crowded. If you're fine with this, then bring your spouse but as the previous poster said, most of us don't bring our significant others.

All the information you need specifically for Canadians being processed at Montreal from the NVC stage to the interview can be found here: http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_for_Montreal_Beneficiaries_%E2%80%93_Electronic_Processing_and_New_Online_Forms

It usually takes 3 months for the card to arrive in the mail. Currently, the tracking feature on the USCIS ELIS website doesn't work. You're well in the window so I wouldn't worry.

It can take anywhere from 1 month to 6 months from what I've heard, but most likely 2-3 months. Mine just unexpectedly showed up after a month from POE.

The original number from when you filed the I-130 will not work on the USCIS ELIS site. It has to be the IOE number. In any case, I didn't have any luck tracking mine with that - it just gives an error message every time.

It can take up to 3 months to arrive so don't worry if it has been just 23 days.

No, you're looking at the right place. My consulate reviews, for example, specify how the CO scrutinizes AOS forms. It all depends on the consulate and how strict they are. My advice would be to have a backup joint sponsor just in case.

I read Madrid reviews a while back, but I don't remember anything about the AOS section.

The reviews I read were only about the interview experience and such. Am I looking at the wrong thing?

I don't have the number, sorry. Although, it might be listed on the USCIS ELIS website.

Congrats!

It depends on the consulate. Montreal, for example, is picky about the AOS and gives 221g forms even if the income is a few hundred or thousand ABOVE poverty guidelines. I've read about COs giving problems go those qualifying only on savings/assets. Read reviews about your consulate.

Based on the emails you received, it looks like it has been paid. You'll know for sure I suppose once the money is taken out of your account. I wouldn't bother confirming with the USCIS if they received payment - it seems like a waste of time. I got my SSN 10 days after my POE. I had ticked off the box in the DS-260 to have them send it to me. I received my plastic green card 1 month after POE, though I had paid the ELIS fee a week before POE.

I just received an email from pay.gov for confirmation of payment and it contains a "pay.gov tracking id and an agency tracking id" but i dont know about IOE, and what should I be receiving other than the paygov confirmation? I just wanna make sure that it was paid and one more thing, will I be able confirm to uscis if they receive the payment for the immigrant fee? Also, when you arrived in the US, how long did they send you the social security number?