CanuckmeetsYank

I was just reading through this thread and my heart was breaking. I LOVE HAPPY ENDINGS!!!! That is fantastic news!!!!! All the best from here on out..to you and your husband!!!!

I personally prefer the pizza from Pizza Delight (a chain found in Atlantic Canada), pizza from Big Red's (found only in Nova Scotia), slices of donair pizza from the place next door to the museum in Mahone Bay, and slices from any of the places at the infamous "pizza Corner" in Halifax, NS.

I guess I like my Nova Scotian pizza.

Mazzio's makes an ok pizza, but nothing that makes me go "wow".

Ahhh Pizza Corner...nothing better after a night out at the Bars (Dome)..I miss HALIFAX!

As for the OP..hmmm I don't really know..I will have to say Canadian Pizza. Not quite as greasy as some of the Pizza I have had here. Mind you..Chicago has the best deep dish I have ever had..Can I sit on the fence?

I am glad to see I am in a similar boat. I was getting worried our case has not been touched since April. EAD was April 9th..AOS, was April 19th. To keep myself sane I am taking it as no news is good news. The samething happened when we were doing the K1 we would not have any touches of movement then we got the NOA2, and 3.

We just got to hang in there, still early.

Just got the transfer letter in the mail tonight. Gone to CSC for AOS. When I checked the status of AP, EAD no updates/touches. So we wait....but some movement better than nothing!

Just got the transfer letter in the mail tonight. Gone to CSC for AOS. When I checked the status of AP, EAD no updates/touches. So we wait....but some movement better than nothing!

WoooHoooo! Congrats! I know you arent moving quite yet but let me be the first Welcome you to Illinois! All the best for your move.

You can email the office in Vancouver as well to find out if they issued your interview date and when it might happen to be. If you were curious.

As far as the medical, maybe the delay was they forgot to do the HIV test..hence they have to run the blood again. I heard that happen to someone else who had medical done in Calgary. Not to worry (easier said then done I know)...all will be fine. It will get there this week I am sure..they never do these things as quickly as we would like...

I totally understand the whole worrying about customs. I really doubt it will be an issue. When I moved all my stuff I used a UPACk or ABF and had to list everything...in detail and was worried that they would go trough it all, nothing happened. Most people say they look in look at your list..and deal mostly with getting you across with the I-94. If you want to be specific about where you got the downloads just write downloaded from this site..blah blah blah..our label on the list personal CD;s I think that was all I had and listed how many were in each box. All will be groovy..

When we first told everyone that we decided to pursue this K visa to have me move to the US. We got a lot of different reactions. Definatly got the whole will you be a USC once you are married still get that once and while. My family thought that I would never be allowed back in Canada. I think that was mostly paranoia. Mostly now its the whole why can't you work? What is taking so long..that sort of thing. My Brother is constantly asking me about that. Why I am not working...and since I am not working why don't I come home to visit. So I am constantly explaning the process to him.

My husband's family usually asks about if we decided to have children what they will be. I like to say hopefully healthy small human beings who grow up to be well adjusted adults.. .

We just filed our AOS/EAD/AP on March 12. I was secretly hoping to get a NOA1 by this week but not really expecting it.

For the Tax info, my husband sent in 2004/2005 and 2006 with a copy of the W2 , letter from employer and a copy of a pay stub from this year. Unfortunatly we did some spring cleaning right before we went to file and threw away some of his pay stubs since January. (oops) We just threw those in at the recommendation from our lawyer.

Goodluck everyone!

Well I'm not going to speak for the other Canadians here but the only reason why I'm moving is to be with my husband as it makes more sense for his career to stay there for now. If the marriage ended, I'd come back to Canada in a heartbeat.

Patriotism is all fine and dandy except when it single-handedly dismisses critiques in a STFU kind of way. That doesn't sit well with me.

I'm agreeing with you too. The only reason I'm here is because of my husband as well

Don't care one bit about patriotism or "the American Dream" (sorry, Ant, I had a career going on for me back in Canada and didn't need to move here to fulfill any dreams... my "dream" is to be well-travelled and a citizen of the world, and the term "patriotism" actually sends a shiver down my back).

I agree. I too am here for my husband. I had a well established career back in Canada, and family and friends. But made the choice to come here for him. Grant it I will make the best of a life here I can for us and our family. But should something change or happen to him I would also move back without a second thought.

I would definatly call the Consulate and just ask them to send out another Packet 3. I PM'd the number to you with the extention. They are really nice and I am sure there will not likely be a problem. That might be the fastest way to get it.

Just to clarify, my Original post was not meant to "bash" or offend any USC. We were just talking about some of our experiences here, and having a sense of humour about the whole thing. That was all. Sorry if this offended anyone.

We hired an immigration lawyer just to help make sure all our forms were in order t's crossed, i's dotted that sort of thing.

Best advice I can give, get a credable lawyer, one who deals only in immigration law. My fiance interviewed a few and narrowed it down to one. We for the most part a happy with the work, particularly now that we are starting the AOS process.Not that its so complicated cause I know there are a lot on Vj that do it all themselves. But it is overwhelming after a while.

It will not speed the process up. That is a common misconception. It is just someone really to hold your hand through the legal process. You go through the same channels at the sametime as everyone else, if all is done correctly.

Just our experience.

Reba -

Sorry for the lack of information. She is coming in on a K-1. Interview is last week of March, so she'll be coming in right after. Actual wedding will be a few months out, but we want to do marriage certificate immediately. So we want to have the application ready to go the day we get the certificate. What I'm fearing is something such as it taking 1 month to get the marriage certificate or something of that sort. Just wanted to have all bases covered!

Thanks guys!

I might be misunderstanding the marriage certificate part, if so forgive me. I just want to clarify, You DO have to get Married to get a Marriage Certificate. Which you will need in order to send in the AOS paperwork. They will not accept a Marriage license which is what you have to apply for before you get married. Once married you can go to City Hall and get the Marriage Certificate which states you were legally married.

I might just have read that part wrong but wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. Goodluck!

Oh, the hilarity. Personally, I am American, my husband is the Canadian (lucky him) and I knew a good deal about Canada. We did learn Canadian geography where I come from. However, I will say that when I was a little girl I thought that Saskatchewan was where the Sasquatch came from. Funny that my husband is from SK! Haha.

And just to add to the funny stories about uninformed Americans: A month ago my husband and I went to file our taxes. The preparer asked my husband where he was from and he said "Canada." She got quiet and then after a while said, "I don't know anything about Canada. I'll admit it. I'm just a stupid American. I mean, I know what all the PROVIDENCES are called and everything, I just maybe don't know the cities or where they are."

I nearly died. I was kicking my husband under the table. When we got home we had a good laugh about that. Providences. Sheesh.

Now that IS funny. At least she was honest! LOL

I opted to change my name as soon as possible, just so I could get use to it. Plus when we filed AOS they needed to know if I was taking my husband's name or not. All my Canadian accounts and cards still have my maiden name, for now. Goodluck!

I know a lot of people look to VJ for information about changing their licenses over. Just thought I would share my experience :

So I went to change my Alberta license here in Illinois, and after my experience in the Social Security Office I knew this was going to be fun. I went down there armed with all my documents required and my marriage certificate so that they could change it to my married name.

Well I got the the counter and told the young woman what I was there for and showed her my paper work. She immediately asked her supervisor if my license was from Canada. He said to me that I didn't have a Canadian License. I said yes I do..its a Canadian license. He said no its not. I said Alberta is a province in Canada..that is my last address before here..he took off with my license to ask someone else if this was true. So while he was gone , she took my Birth Certificate and asked if Nova Scotia was in Australia. Then I realized these people have likey not left Chicago before now. I explained to her where Nova Scotia was to give her an idea. Finally the guys comes back with my Alberta license and says to the young woman "She's right. It's in Canada" sounding a bit surprised. I just laughed and thought to myself..wow...the majority of Americans really have no idea what is out there beyond their borders!

All in all it was not that difficult to change the license. I did have to do the Eye Exam and written exam before they would issue the Illinois one. Some states make you do the road test as well as the written.

Tick another one of a kind experience off my list, only found in America!

That is very funny. We usualy in the USA just study American cities and regions. In highschool we can take geography as an elective if we want. Now that we have these state test we study towards them. That means math reading science.

So you didn't have to take the written or driving test here in IL? Wow!!! Just asking because my husband has a Jamaican licenses. How long could you drive on you CA licenses before you got your IL licenses?

Take Care

Well they will make you do the Eye Exam and the Written for sure..and in some cases they will have you do the Road exam. Everything I found before I went to the DMV just said they may or may not do the road exam, they don't say when they would have someone do the road test. But you could always call the DMV and ask just so your fiance can prepare when he is ready. All the best.

I know a lot of people look to VJ for information about changing their licenses over. Just thought I would share my experice :

So I went to change my Alberta license here in Illinois, and after my experience in the Social Security Office I knew this was going to be fun. I went down there armed with all my documents required and my marriage certificate so that they could change it to my married name.

Well I got the the counter and told the young woman what I was there for and showed her my paper work. She immediatly asked her supervisor if my license was from Canada. He said to me that I didn't have a Canadian License. I said yes I do..its a Canadian license. He said no its not. I said Alberta is a province in Canada..that is my last address before here..he took off with my license to ask someone else if this was true. So while he was gone , she took my Birth Certificate and asked if Nova Scotia was in Austrailia. Then I realized these people have likey not left Chicago before now. I explained to her where Nova Scotia was to give her an idea. Finally the guys comes back with my Alberta license and says to the young woman "She's right. It's in Canada" sounding a bit surprised. I just laughted and thought to myself..wow...the majority of Americans really have no idea what is out there beyond their borders!

All in all it was not that difficult to change the license. I did have to do the Eye Exam and written exam before they would issue the Illinois one. Some states make you do the road test as well as the written.

Tick another one of a kind experience off my list, only found in America!

Sorry I should have read down a little further..Ant cleared up my confusion..Thanks!

I am 100% unsure why you feel you did something wrong. Maybe I missed something, and I did something wrong!

I got my Social after I had married on my K-1.

She's still here on the grounds of her K-1 visa, the only difference if her name has changed. As long as the Visa hasn't expired or isn't CLOSE to expiration ( 1 week away) You shouldn 't have a problem.

Tell her to go into the Social Security office, to take her Birth Certificate, Marriage Lisence (or certified copy), Visa, Drivers Lisence. And apply! You just need the marriage lisence to prove the name change.

You should be able to still get a SS#. But today when I went to change my name on my SS# cause we just married, the woman informed me that I couldn't change my name to my married name until my Status has been adjusted. So I am confused..

My Cat has traveled almost as much as I have! LOL. I was worried about bringing her with me to the US but actually it went really smoothly.

I found and airline that would allow a limited number of small pets on board in the Cabin under the seat. The only thing she really needed was to get papers from her Vet saying she had her rabies shot up to date..and her health records stating she was healthy and not sedated at all. So we went through customs she looked at her papers, and that was about it. We got on board, she cried a bit for the take off and while you are de-planing she gets a bit anxious but settles down again. I am so glad I brought her with me. It really helped having her with all this transition, and she loves it here in our new home!

Safe Travels!

I don't have any proof, but I don't see why you couldn't keep your name. That is a personal choice in my opinion. Worst case scenario if someone should come back and say that it is a red flag. You could always keep your maiden name as your professional name..and change it on the legal forms. This is an issue I struggled with as well. I gave in and took my husband's name since I knew it meant a lot to him even though he never made a big deal about it..I could just tell the way he asked.

I think it's totally your decision. All the best.

Nessa,

Buy Charles a How-to book on therapeutic massage. Seriously, a good massage does wonders for relaxing tight muscles. As for long term care - I'd recommend stretching and strengthening your back muscles - how about signing up for a yoga class?

Definately a great suggestion! A good deep tissue massage can do wonders. I use to work as a massage therapist until recently, and had great success with people who had been on pain meds for years and would still have chronic pain. If you see a chiropractor then a couple of days later get a nice deep tissue massage, you will be surprised with how you feel. As well yoga is great for back pain, strengthens your core muscles and helps relax any tension.

You can pick up the CBC in Buffalo too of course, but here in Baltimore .. nada - zip - big fat zero.

I miss Coronation Street.

Ok.. you can laugh now.

Mo

Me TOO! I often go online and read ahead since we are so behind in Canada. Not quite the same though...

We're doing the same thing. I've actually heard that including photos of your wedding was not a good idea because sometimes it looked "staged". I dunno, but I'm not too worried. There was no way in hell we could have planned a real wedding in 3 months...

Where did you hear this peice of information about not being a good idea to take wedding photo's to your interview????

I think all wedding photo's are staged.... we dress up we pose for the camera if that is not staged then what is....

There are so many people who are asked by the interviewing officer for their wedding photo's, (ours actually asked to keep one for our case file)... I dont think it is a good idea to tell people that it is not recommended to take any wedding photo's with them....

Kez

P.S I planned our full church wedding in 6 weeks.. for 120 guests and a full wedding breakfast....

I 100% agree with Kez here. We were told by our lawyer to show as much proof and photos of our relationship/wedding. Sending a photo of your wedding is not what is going to determine a fraud case or the real deal. Just my opinion.

P.s. We are having a small intimate wedding with all the trimmings and planned it in about 2 months.