Jknee

I'm not in GA, but close by in North FL. I found a ton of conflicting information for getting my FL drivers license, and ended up just going to my local DMV to ask. My Alberta Class 5 was perfectly fine to switch over to a FL one, and I did not have to take the test, apparently that can vary from county to county. My advice would be to definitely talk directly to your local DMV to get the right answer, as there's a lot of confusing info out there!

So many of you still live pretty close to Canada. An 18 hour drive through Wyoming and Montana keeps me pretty much in Colorado. And the cost of my daughter's flights keep me grounded too.

Does everyone live near their in-laws too?

I'm about 40 hours away from Alberta here in FL! Needless to say there will be no roadtrips back and forth! The only thing that has helped me at all through the transition and inability to work has been my new church community and my in-laws, I can't imagine what my life would be like if I didn't get along with them!

My biggest frustrations here are the lack of winter (I miss snow!) and the horrible grammar of southerners (double negatives and "y'all" drive me insane!).

As much as yes, health care was free, I am happy I don't have to play the guess game anymore if I am sick. I was in Quebec (the Laurentides more precisely) and if I had to go see a doctor, NO WAY I could see my GP before a month or two, you have to call months early to schedule an appointment. I had to wake up at 5am and call the clinics hoping it wouldn't be full right away. Sometimes I had to try a couple days in a row before I was able to find a place somewhere.

Because yes, each clinic had a number you had to call at either 5 or 6 am. And usually, all the available places (they called them appointments) were taken within the first 5 minutes.

My husband had a bronchitis back in 2014 and we had to go to the ER at 2am. I was actually impressed to see how quickly it went. (We were out at 7 AM with blood test, Xray, Urine test done!).

Or lately, in OCTOBER he hurt his foot and we went to urgent care. 20 minutes wait before he was called in an office, 25-30 minutes for Xray and we were out.

Of course, you have to pay. But if I had the same service back in Quebec I wouldn't mind paying a little something.

I have to agree about the butter. It's so tiny and it even shows you how many tsp! I wish we had that where I lived.

Oh wow, apparently health care in Alberta is vastly different from Quebec! The longest I ever had to wait to see my family doctor was about 10 days, but usually could get in within a couple days, although that was in a small town which didn't hurt. I have yet to take advantage of my health insurance here, so we'll see how my opinion changes once that happens!

Just got my EAD card in the mail!

One question though, my I-131 never updated from the original receipt notice, but my card says serves as i-512 advance parole. That means it's all good despite not getting an approval notice for it, right?

The good:

1. Food prices - everything is way cheaper here than in Canada, not to mention the coupon craze and the whole BOGO idea!

2. House prices - we just bought a house for less than a third of what we would similarly pay in Canada!

3. Sticks of butter - Butter come in a package with four sticks here, and I can't get over how useful it is and why Canada hasn't adopted this idea.

4. Target, Ross, Sonic, & Chick-Fil-a (although the first one recently popped up in Canada)

The not as good:

1. There are 10,000 fast food options. I don't understand the need for that much choice.

2. Health insurance - free health care is the one thing that makes me miss Canada the most.

3. Holidays - Americans go all out for every holiday. Like, overboard. They're productions. FEASTS.

I sent in my AOS packet the beginning of November (I-765, I-131, I-485), did biometrics, and replied to RFE on I-485. Today I got a notification for my I-131 that says:

Your appeal was dismissed and the original decision on your case, Receipt Number MSCxxxxxxxxxx, remains the same. On January 6, 2016, we sent you a notice about this action.

However, my I-765 has changed to say that my new card is in production. I am wondering if anyone else has seen this? Is it possible to have my I-131 denied (and wouldn't it say denied instead of dismissed?) and my I-765 be approved? Since there was no appeal to even be dismissed, I am hoping that it is a glitch in the system?

My RFE was for forgetting to write my name in Affidavit of Support (Page 3, Part 4) .. ugh, so silly!! Check your paperwork twice, guys!

My RFE was similar, felt so stupid after realizing I had just forgotten one tiny detail!

So. I went to USCIS in milwaukee today, which was 2 pm. it's a 1-hour ride. when I got there, with my passport and the appointment letter, they told me that they couldnt get my fingerprints bc in my passport i have my maiden name and the letter is with my married name, so i need the marriage certificate to prove im the same person. so now, i have to reschedule the appointment. great.... im so pissed off. i waited for this day so much, and now, i have to wait more. i need to get the EAD as soon as possible and start working. it really put me down i even cried after i walked out the building.

Same thing happened to me when I went to get mine done on Nov 25th, I had meant to grab my marriage certificate before I left, but forgot! However, I was asked some questions by the overseeing officer there that day, and he let me get my fingerprints anyway.

My biggest beef is that they don't mention it anywhere in the letter and then act like you're the idiot for forgetting it! I was just so thankful I didn't have to make the drive again another day!

I worked for U-Haul a few years ago, and there are a couple things I would recommend. 1 - Either go in person to a U-Haul location to book, or book online and then go in personally to check on it. I know that any trucks booked this way were definitely given preference over the ones that pop up in the system from online bookings, and therefore have a slightly smaller chance of being bumped around. (This might vary based on location and their size, bigger locations are going to have more ability to make guarantees) It's also a lot easier to make an impression and get someone on your side if something goes wrong in person rather than over the phone! 2 - CHECK THE TRUCK. It's not always true that they give better trucks for longer moves, so be absolutely sure that you make note of anything wrong with the truck BEFORE you leave (and get the U-Haul person to make note of it as well) That way if anything does go wrong, it's a lot easier for you to get compensated afterwards.

As far as any other options, I can't help, I condensed everything I owned and FedExed it down!

Any of your friends or relatives with an ID can go and pick it up as long as they have the waybill #.. I DID NOT go to pick up mine as it was very inconvenient for me..My cousin went to pick up mine using his ID and the waybill #... Hope this helps.

I second this! While I was at Loomis picking up my visa, another person came in picking up one for their relative, again, withe the waybill # and their ID, had no problem!

I am the one who needed to get a new certificate! (actually I went to my local RCMP where it was done and they just reprinted it with my middle name added, which saved me a week!) They told me when I was at my interview that although the instructions don't specifically say it, they do require ALL names on the police check. Since you haven't used it on anything else, you might be ok, but if you have the opportunity to get a new one, I would take it, just to be safe and potentially save yourself time and frustration!

Any update? Waiting on mine, so I'm also curious as to how long other Vancouver people have waited!