MapleLeaf29

After weeks and weeks of waiting, we finally received our biometrics letter today!

We sent our AOS packet on June 16th.  It was delivered and signed for at 9:45 a.m. on June 19th.  The check has not been cashed and we have not received confirmation texts.  Meanwhile, other June filers are receiving their confirmation texts within 5-10 days.  At which point should we be concerned?  Is there a number we can call?

We sent our AOS packet on June 16th.  It arrived on the 19th (our tracking number says it was signed for at 9:45 a.m.).  We have yet to receive any texts and the check has not been cashed.  Should we be worried?

On June 26, 2017 at 11:11 AM, skaratso said:

Yeah, the issue is that she doesn't have two of the items in hand yet. But they don't need to look at those items now. She just needs to bring them to the interview. By the time the interview gets scheduled for, she will have had the documents for a while. So I don't really think it matters whether she actually has the documents now or not. I think she should submit Packet 3 now instead of waiting so that her interview isn't delayed any more than it already is going to be.

 

The issue is whether or not submitting Packet 3 without having all the documents would cause problems. Obviously she would select an interview date that will be after the documents have arrived to her.

 

She is from a town in Northern Alberta, about 10 hours north of Calgary (by car). She says that this RCMP detachment has always been slow with running police reports like that (she used to work in a homeless shelter and they dealt with the RCMP frequently).

We were in a similar position because it took awhile to receive my fiancé's military records.  We went back and forth about whether we should submit Packet 3 without them.  He finally called an office in Ottawa, who told him that there were over 30 people ahead of him whose records still needed to be processed.  He explained that it was urgent because we were going in for our visa interview, and they promised he would have the records within a week.  Once we heard that, we were comfortable submitting Packet 3.  We got the records in time and had no trouble at our interview.

10 minutes ago, Marzena & Stephen said:

Just out of curiousity regarding the time you stayed in montreal..

 

You mentioned above that  the k1 visa interviews are only done on wednesdays which is interesting helpful info by the way  did you book to stay in montreal for 1 week or longer? 

 

How long did it take to get your medical results (do you pick them up?) And do they process medical results over the weekend ?  I would hate to book my apointment in the future and not have results on time!

 

Also do you have to stay in montreal after the day of your interview for any reason? 

 

Thank you ☺

My fiancé lived an hour and a half from Toronto, so he had his medical done in Toronto before we went to Montreal.  Because the medical was already done, we spent less than 24 hours in Montreal.  I only had one day off of work, so we both flew on Tuesday night and arrived in Montreal around midnight.  Our interview was at 9:45 the next morning.  We were done at the Consulate by 10:30 and flew back home that afternoon.

The doctor who performed the medical mailed the results directly to my fiancé's house.  I just asked him how long it took him to get the results, and he said he couldn't remember exactly, but he was pretty sure he had them within a week.

Hi everyone!  Nice to see so many November k-1 filers here, and also to meet new people.  My fiancé entered the US on 5/29, we got married at the courthouse on 6/1, and we sent out our AOS packet today!

19 hours ago, T&T=K said:

Hi there! First of all I want to wish everybody luck here.

Does anybody know for how long should people be dating to get approval? We sent our petition in 5 months after we met. It seems a short period but I can't imagine to be waiting more cause we understood that we wanted to be together after first date in person. We met twice before aplying and next week it will be our fifth date. 

 

My fiancé and I had been dating for seven months when we applied.  We had visited each other four times and had spent most of the summer together, since I am a teacher and had vacation time.  We had no difficulty at all. 

As others have said, it's mostly a waiting game.  I would read through the Packet 3 checklist together.  I glanced over it and thought we had everything, but I forgot that my fiancé was in the military reserves during university.  After our NOA2, we were reading through the Packet 3 checklist and suddenly realized that he needed his military records, so we had to scramble to get them at the last minute.  

5 hours ago, baniners said:

Ohh, I see. Congratulations, by the way! Everything seems to be moving pretty fast then. How was the availability when choosing the interview dates?

We read on VJ that it can be very hard to schedule interviews in Montreal, but when we booked ours, there were lots of available dates.  K-1 visa interviews are only conducted on Wednesdays.  We actually could have scheduled our interview one week earlier, but we chose a later date so he would have more time to get his medical done (he had to request a day off work).

27 minutes ago, Keepchill said:

Hey! I went through Pearson as well back in January and honestly it was so quick and easy I couldn't believe it. The guard asked a few questions 'when's the wedding? Are you travelling with your dress?' Etc. And told me about how it co-worker got married overseas and forgot her dress! 

 

I gave myself about 2 extra hours and I didn't need it! I'd say an extra hour is sufficient. It took longer to get through the security line than it did waiting to go through immigration. I waited about 20 min! Good luck! 

Thank you!  That is so helpful!

What a sad story that she forgot her dress for her overseas wedding!

We just had our interview in April.  I got a letter from my bank, but I have no idea if they asked for it or not, since my fiancé gave them all of the paperwork.  My general philosophy during this entire process has been to collect everything we might possibly need, and if we didn't need it, oh well, at least we were prepared.  Someone might have a more updated answer for you, though.

Once the case status was set to "Ready", my fiancé and I submitted the DS-160 and Packet 3.  Two days later, we received Packet 4, which authorized us to schedule his visa interview. 

16 minutes ago, Lenchique said:

When did "evidence of petitioners domicile "

appear? Is this requires for all embassies? 

 

Isnt a w-2 from

an employer or a tax return showing the address sufficient for "evidence" and a voting record/Deivers license wouldn't be necessary as "evidence"?

I don't know if it's required for all embassies.  It was on our Packet 3 checklist, so we looked up what other people had done and included that evidence.  I don't think they asked my fiancé for it.  They literally asked us for about 10% of the stuff we had brought, but we had to have it all just in case.

1 hour ago, baniners said:

Hello,

Our case is in transit to Montreal Embassy now, so I am preparing to send over the stuff required over to my fiance in Canada. I just wanted to check and make sure, is the only original document needed, the NOA2? As the US Citizen I do not have to send him anything else that is original, such as my birth certificate? As well, are copies of my W2s and bank statements sufficient, or they need the original documents?

 

And any idea how long it takes nowadays, for Montreal to receive and send out packet 3? And the time for them to log packet 3?

 

Thank you!!

We just had our interview in April.  We received Packet 4 two days after submitting Packet 3.  Things moved very quickly!

8 minutes ago, pajobra said:

If you go to your own medical clinic to get your vaccinations you need no you don't pay for them. The only one I needed to do was the Tetanus one and I just called the nurse at the clinic in the town nearby and made an appointment to get it done. Its all free under Manitoba healthcare and I thought it was across Canada but who knows I may be wrong about that. The best bet is to go do them at a clinic nearby because otherwise when you do go for your medical you will pay per vaccination and why do that when you can get it done for free at your own medical clinic. 

He did not have to pay for the shots at his local clinic.

2 minutes ago, LolaaBrett said:

How much did the medical come to and how many shots did your fiancé take?

He went to a clinic beforehand so he wouldn't have to get any shots at the medical.  The clinic was free (Canadian healthcare is awesome).  I can't remember exactly how much the actual medical cost (my fiancé paid for it and the visa fees are all blurred together in my brain right now), but it was several hundred dollars US.  It varies by country.  Here is a list from RapidVisa, although I'm not sure how accurate it is:

https://rapidvisa.com/visa-medical-exam-cost/

15 minutes ago, LolaaBrett said:

Thank you very much.. my fiancé has most of them..

If your fiancé has already had chicken pox, he won't need to get the chicken pox vaccine.  We were worried that we would have to somehow show proof that my fiancé had had chicken pox, but he just told them and they said, "Oh, okay, you don't need that one then."  Super easy on that front.

On May 2, 2017 at 5:54 AM, NikLR said:

I actually agree with geowrain on this.  Had the employer been a Canadian based company, you likely wouldnt have had any issues.  But they're not and when you activate your k1, you will no longer be a Canadian resident. But as you already have a job, and pursued the K1 vs the CR1  (which would have allowed you to work right away) you can request an expedite for your EAD due to job offer from continuing company.  

 

~~moved to Canada regional forum from tax and finances~~

It's good to know about the expedite option.  My fiancé works remotely for a company in China and they have told him his job will be waiting for him when he gets his EAD. It would be great if we could expedite and he could start working faster!  He is already chafing at the idea of not having much to do for a few months.  I tried to cheer him up by telling him he could cook and clean, but for some reason, he wasn't too excited about that.  I will have to look into the requirements to expedite an EAD.  Will he need a letter from the company?

My fiancé will be entering the United States in a little over two weeks!  I am flying to visit him over Memorial Day weekend and we will fly back together from Toronto.  He will be going through pre-check at Pearson International Airport.  We usually get to the airport three hours early, but I imagine they will want to ask him more questions because he is immigrating.  How early should we get to the airport?  I don't want to feel stressed for time. 

He isn't moving very much stuff to the US, so we are bringing all of it with us; we will each have two checked bags.  We will also be traveling with his cat (send us positive thoughts!!!!!).

On May 7, 2017 at 0:00 PM, Saturnalia said:

Hi guys, 

I think I'll be getting my packet 3 letter in the mail tomorrow (case was updated April 26th, then May 3rd, then May 4th - so I assume those dates are when NVC sent it out, the consulate in Montreal received it, and when the consulate sent out the letter), so I have some questions about the contents of the packet as well as actually sending it. 

 

Firstly, when I send the packet, I send it through email right? Do I have to send everything on the checklist (ie, scan the police certificate, birth certificate, etc) or just the biographical page of my passport, the page with the barcode on it, and the filled out checklist and email all of those as a pdf? 

 

For proving the petitioners domicile, he still lives at home with his parents but we have an (empty) apartment that we've signed a lease for. On all the forms, though, my fiancé has put his parents' address since we didn't have the apartment when we first did the i-129f and he doesn't live at the apartment yet anyway. How do we prove his domicile at his parents house? Does his address on his W2s suffice? Should I bring the apartment lease to the interview? Whenever a form asks where I'll be residing in the US, I always put the apartment address. 

 

Lastly, I was in the military for 4 months. It was a high school army co-op and I left after basic training. Do I really need to go through the process of getting military records for this? CAF's website says it can take up to 30 days to ANSWER an inquiry, so if I have to scan and send all the contents of packet 3 this will severely affect that. If I just have to bring them in to the interview, I can try to get the records before then but I'm not sure if I'll get them in time. 

 

Thank you so much in advance to anyone who tackles any of these questions!! 

My fiancé was in the military during university.  We both kind of forgot about it until I was reading the Packet 3 checklist to him.  He said, "Military. . . wait, do I need those?" We tried three different ways of getting them (I can't remember all three).  As his interview approached, he ended up calling the office in Ottawa directly.  They said, "There are still 38 requests ahead of yours."  He explained how urgent it was and the amazing employee sent them off to him the next day.  If you live close enough to Ottawa, you can apparently also go and request them in person.  You need to fill out some paperwork online beforehand, which my fiancé did just in case he had to go to Ottawa.

54 minutes ago, smedeiros said:

so ive had 3 different jobs in thr psst year, 1 because we moved to a new state, then i moved after 6 months for school and got a new job. then i decided to come back home, and i havr a new job that makes more money than the other two, im getting all the employment papers but will it be an issue for them to see if and different amounts of income in only a year?

We weren't in this situation, so I have no idea.  My advice is to search on the VJ forum to see if someone else has had this question (I'm sure lots of other people have been in the same situation).  If you can't find any relevant threads, I would start a thread with that question.  I am sure lots of members here have great advice to give you!   Best of luck with the whole process!  Once you get your NOA2, you are really so close to being done.

1 hour ago, PR&PR said:

Well not according to this: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/file-my-application-online-e-filing/how-do-i-know-if-i-need-original-documents

All of the advice we received on VJ said a wet signature was required.  What you and your fiancé(e) do is, of course, up to you.   

15 minutes ago, smedeiros said:

where does it state you need tax transcript going back 3 years?

thx

Only the most recent tax year is required.  However, a lot of places recommend bringing three years' worth of tax transcripts to show stable income over time.  We brought three just in case, since it's super easy (and free) to download them from the IRS website.  At our interview, we were only asked for the most recent year.

https://rapidvisa.com/affidavit-of-support-f-a-q/

8 minutes ago, PR&PR said:

I do not think you need the wet signature on the letter of intent to marry though! Also, for the proof of domicile in the US a lot of things can work, like driver's licence and credit card and bank statements with address at the top. I do not think the letter with a raised seal is mandatory (not bad to have though). 

The letter of intent to marry requires an original signature.

1 minute ago, Canada856 said:

 Hello!! Can you please confirm if the NOA2 goes to the Petitioners mailbox in the USA? 

Also, do the Packet 3 documents only apply to the Beneficiary in Canada? Thank you! 

Yes, the NOA2 will come to the Petitioner.  I received the hard copy of our NOA2 five days after the case tracker app said "approved".  Keep the original in a safe place because you apparently need it all the way through the AOS process.

Most of the documents on the checklist are for the Beneficiary only.  However, the US Petitioner is responsible for the following:

- Signed affidavit of support form (I-134) with all supporting documents: tax transcripts going back three years, a letter from your employer verifying your employment status, a letter from your bank stating the amount of money in your accounts, etc.

- Updated letter of intent to marry with an original signature, dated no more than 30 days before your interview.

- Continued evidence of relationship (chats, photos, phone records, etc.)

- Evidence of the petitioner's domicile in the United States.  I went to our local voting office and requested a letter with a raised seal certifying that I was registered to vote in my county.  I also photocopied my driver's license and included some credit card and bank statements with my address at the top.  

If your fiancé(e) does not yet have a copy of the original k-1 visa application, make sure (s)he has it before the interview, since you need all of that paperwork too.