sarrobo

We've done the midwest Canada to Northeast US move 2x now (2011 and 2018). We used ABF UPack both times to ship all of our stuff (they're very good with cross border moves). Drove our car down with minimal stuff. This cost about $1200-1500 for a large one bedroom apt, which was cheaper than UHaul for us (we would've had to tow our car behind the Uhaul, neither of us were super comfortable with this). We took a decent amount of stuff, but only a couple furniture items. If you have a truck and can slim down your stuff to the size of a UHaul trailer, it may be cheaper for you. Check out ABF though - they had great customer service both times I used them.

ETA: Ugh, reading fail. I see you've already looked into UPack. SORRY!

On 4/22/2022 at 2:08 PM, ClemsonC said:

2 hours away from Halifax. And hoping to avoid a 1 week hotel stay in Quebec  

Ugh. I hear this. We were living in Winnipeg when my husband was working on his and had to make the same choice. We ended up just doing 2 separate trips (cheaper than 1 week in a hotel!). 

17 hours ago, HaydenCorneau said:

I am worried, though, because I had a four voluntary admissions, and I spent time in a day treatment program to help deal with the illness. (Age 17 to 23). Would a signed doctor's note with my recovery with the medical history be enough? 

From my experience (again - 5 years ago, so it may be different now), the letter should be have information about your diagnosis, your treatment, and especially the prognosis. Based on the wording in the policy manual (linked above), it seems like now they are focusing on how your diagnosis would be associated with "harmful behavior" to yourself or others. So, I think as much as your doctor can demonstrate all of that in the letter will be your best shot. My best advice would be medical history, any discharge information from hospital stays, and then as detailed of a letter from your physician as you can get. 

9 minutes ago, HaydenCorneau said:

I regularly attend outpatient meetings, where they report my progress and document everything. They have a chart and everything for me. I regularly attend 1-1 meetings with a nurse practioner/therapist and a physician. They know me really well, and the last time I saw them, they were so insanely happy with how I had slowly gotten better and improved over the past year and a half. I will ask them to provide a note indicating my recovery.

This sounds great, and kudos to you for doing so well!! Just get all the documentation you can, and get someone in charge to write you a letter when the time comes for your interview. I truly wish you all the best on your immigration and wellness journey 😀

We went through similar, but this was over 5 years ago. It looks like this: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-b-chapter-7 should be used as your guidance, which is a little different from what we were given. At the time we were told to bring "written certification including the diagnosis, duration of treatment rendered, and prognosis." 

My husband had an in-patient stay for a mental health issue (non-violent but also not related to an eating disorder so, again, take this all with a grain of salt). We were CR1/IR1 (already married), and at the time of his medical exam in 2018, it had been over 5 years since the hospital stay. You're going to want to come prepared, because from our experience they will ask about it in-depth and they will require documentation. For us, we went to his GP, got his detailed medical records, his discharge papers from the hospital, and a certified/signed letter from his GP stating his diagnosis, how long he had been treated (including ongoing), and the doctor's prognosis of the condition. They looked at everything (so bring it all!), but the letter from the doctor was KEY and what they cared about most. This may sound harsh, but they don't care what you think about how you're doing, they want the medical professional's opinion. 

I wish you all the best of luck!!

  An old post, but here's what I did and was successful: 

On 3/26/2018 at 12:34 PM, sarrobo said:

Hi everyone,

 

My husband recently had his interview and his visa was approved. We both live in Canada and intend to move together, so I just wanted to share how we went about proving domicile, as I know the process is definitely not easy to navigate or straightforward.  Little bit of background... we've been married 8 years, I immigrated to Canada in 2011 and got my dual citizenship in 2015. It was always our plan to eventually do the reverse process to live closer to my family in the US for a while, so we submitted our i130 way back in December 2016.

 

The AOS is a confusing form and process so I relied heavily on some posts and recommendations from VJ in figuring this out. As I'm still in Canada and will essentially have no income when we move (though I am searching for jobs), we had a joint sponsor - my mom and stepfather (as her household member). On my part, I tend toward erring on the side of providing too much information as opposed to too little, and I wonder if perhaps that benefited me in this process. The end-result was a package that was 49 pages. Here's what I did:

 

On my i864 form, on the back of page 12, I added a note for page 2, part 2, number 3, and in the space provided wrote, "Please see attached package regarding intent to re-establish domicile in the United States." I added a cover letter, titled Additional Information for page 2 part 2 question 3, explaining why I had not moved prior to my husband (stressing that as the primary breadwinner, it would cause us financial hardship for me to precede him in moving, which is the honest truth). I signed and dated this letter, and also itemized a list of contents for what I enclosed in the package. I included...

 

 

 

1. Bank Statements from a US bank with about $100 in it that I had kept active throughout my stay in Canada, as well as our  proof of US dollar accounts accounts held through RBC. Both statements had a US address on them.
2. Credit card statements with US address (I didn't even change these when I moved as the address was my mother's)
3. Proof of US Voter registration (obtained online)
4. Our current lease agreement in Canada showing an end date of July 2018
5. I knew my husband and I would be staying with family when I arrived, but I wanted it to be official so we drew up a legal lease agreement for New York State online, stipulating a rent amount and terms. It was very easy to find a free version online. I filled in all the details and my husband, mother and I all signed it. I included a copy of this lease.
6. 2 or 3 moving quotes obtained online
7. Correspondence regarding a job interview I had earlier this year that was in the US

 

In hindsight, here were some things that made my life easier: I kept my mother's US address on a bank account and on credit cards. With e-statements, I never bothered to update these when I moved. Additionally, my husband and I keep US dollar accounts with RBC Canada and a joint account with RBC USA, which I was able to put my US address on. I kept up my US voter registration current. Our plan to stay with family made it easy to draw up a lease using a free online template. I had already applied and interviewed for a job and was able to supply the emails setting this up. I didn't get the job, and it was several months ago, but I think it showed that I'm looking and the intent is there. Renting here in Canada meant that we could provide an tentative "end date" of our stay here. 

 

The bottom line seemed to be to me that there just needs to be a plan in place, no matter how tentative. Sure, we are staying with family but creating an open-ended lease with a nominal rent amount specified makes it more thought-out and official. After reading recent reports on here about the Montreal Consulate being very strict about domicile, I was quite nervous. Turns out, they hardly even referenced the materials I had sent in. The interviewer only remarked to my husband that it was "too bad" that I hadn't gotten the job I interviewed for. Our whole trip to the consulate took just over 1 hour - I could hardly believe it. I know this can depend hugely on your interviewer and circumstances, but I just wanted to share what worked for us. Good luck to all!

 

 

On 1/28/2022 at 3:12 PM, sarrobo said:

Further updater for anyone waiting: Husband had interview/test today at Albany NY office. Was approved (he was in there no more than 30 minutes!), and will take his oath next week on 2/4. Went way quicker than we expected!

 

Full timeline for us with the Albany NY office: Filed 8/2/21, biometrics appt 12/21/21, interview/test 1/28/22, oath 2/4/22.

We got a message today that our oath ceremony was bumped to Monday, 2/7 due to the snow. Just an FYI for anyone else filing out of Albany NY.

On 1/31/2022 at 12:01 PM, upstateapplicants said:

Just out of interest, on your USCIS account, how many months were estimated until case decision? Judging by your timeline, it appears 5-6 months in total?

Originally it said 14 months! But yes, in actuality it was much quicker and I'm definitely not complaining 😀

On 1/3/2022 at 9:52 AM, sarrobo said:

Update to this: Our portal updated with an interview notice on 12/26, but the notice kept giving an error when we tried to view it. We finally got the mailed notice the other day, and his interview is now scheduled for January 28! 

Further updater for anyone waiting: Husband had interview/test today at Albany NY office. Was approved (he was in there no more than 30 minutes!), and will take his oath next week on 2/4. Went way quicker than we expected!

Full timeline for us with the Albany NY office: Filed 8/2/21, biometrics appt 12/21/21, interview/test 1/28/22, oath 2/4/22.

On 1/6/2022 at 7:56 AM, wanderlust_16 said:

Congrats!

We filed on 8/28 out of Albany and have had no updates so far 😕

You're not too far behind us, so I'm hoping you'll hear soon! Best of luck 🙂

On 12/21/2021 at 4:58 PM, sarrobo said:

Just thought I would add to the info on this thread: Filed on 8/2/21, required biometrics appointment on 12/21/21 (today!). Right now, portal is showing 14 months, we're filing out of Albany, NY. Naturalization for my husband  

Update to this: Our portal updated with an interview notice on 12/26, but the notice kept giving an error when we tried to view it. We finally got the mailed notice the other day, and his interview is now scheduled for January 28! 

Just thought I would add to the info on this thread: Filed on 8/2/21, required biometrics appointment on 12/21/21 (today!). Right now, portal is showing 14 months, we're filing out of Albany, NY. Naturalization for my husband  

On 7/30/2021 at 11:13 AM, arken said:

If he has been living in the US after immigrating three years ago,

yes, apply this.

Thank you!! I suspected this was the case.

Hi all - haven't used the forums in a few years, but looking for some guidance now that we're working on the N-400 for my husband. I hope I am posting this in the right spot!

I'm a US citizen, we've been married 11 years and he's been living in the US for 3 years (hasn't left at all), which should mean he's eligible to apply for naturalization. I'm a bit confused by Part 9, which asks how many days you've spent outside the US in the last 5 years and how many trips he's taken outside the US in the last 5 years. 

So, would I put 730 days (2 years) as the number of days spent outside the US in the last 5 years? Does living outside the US count as a trip? Or would I answer the question as if it were the last 3 years (instead of 5)?

I'm probably over thinking this, but I just want to avoid any potential delays. It's extra confusing because the rest of the application seems to make allowances for the 3 years (if married to a US citizen) vs. 5 years (if not). I've been poking around online, but can't seem to find a straight answer, and of course I can't get through to anyone on the USCIS phone number 🙄

Thanks in advance!

I do/did mine myself. 1040 + 1116 forms. You will also need to get a TIN number (separate form you can send in with your return), because as a married couple you will need to file jointly and report all foreign income. They're only charging you so much because it IS a lot of paperwork, but you can definitely do it yourself.

For my husband's IR1 through Montreal, we sent in our AOS documents on Jan 23, 2018, received notification of completion from NVC on February 14, 2018 AND got our interview appointment that same day via email for an interview on March 21, 2018. 

posted in wrong spot.

I don't have specific experience with a K-1, but I immigrated from the US to Canada through Emerson in 2011. Was very easy to do, just showed up sometime in the afternoon on a Sunday, told them I was immigrating, got directed to a parking area to go inside and complete the paperwork. I think we were there less than an hour overall, just finalized the paperwork and went on through. I had to do some paperwork on the US side of the port for importing my car, also no issues there. Everyone was fairly friendly (for border agents, hah), and no hiccups. Just make sure you've got all your paperwork. Not sure if this helps you, but thought I would share my experience. They're open 24hrs, so I don't believe there's any issue with when you actually arrive or any need to make an appointment.

We are now doing the reverse and will be immigrating thorough Emerson again this summer, with my husband as the immigrant to the US as we move back to my hometown. I've gone through the Emerson border many times in the last few years and never had any issues, it's usually a pretty quiet border crossing.

On 5/15/2018 at 12:05 PM, Kathryn Baer said:

What did you do to prove domicile? 

I didn't move first, which is recommended but I was prepared to do so if they didn't accept my proof.

I wrote a cover letter explaining why it wasn't ideal for me to move first (I'm the primary breadwinner, so my husband wouldn't be able to maintain our home in Canada alone - i.e. financial hardship). I included the following evidence with my i864:

• Bank Statements from a US bank with about $150 in it that I had kept active throughout my stay in Canada, as well as our proof of US dollar accounts accounts held through RBC. Both statements had a US address on them.
• Credit card statements with US address 
• Proof of US Voter registration (obtained online)
• Our current lease agreement in Canada showing an end date of July 2018
• Lease created by me - for a stay with family (open ended)
• 3 or 4 moving quotes obtained online
• Correspondence regarding a job interview I had earlier this year (didn't work out - but showed intent)
•  

I think others have provided similar proof and not had it be accepted. But this worked for me, I guess maybe we were rare exceptions? Our interview was in Montreal in March.

On 5/8/2018 at 5:22 PM, Kathryn Baer said:

Oh, another question, how long does this kind of application usually take to process? From the date they receive it to the date you're able to immigrate?

Jumping in late, but my husband and I just did this process (Canada to US while living in Canada), and it took just over 15 months total, from when we sent in our i130 to having the visa in hand.

8 minutes ago, mypcool said:

Thanks. 

 

This matches up with everything that I have been reading. Basically send everything and hope for the best.

We are kind of trying to make this all work out in terms of timing because of schooling for our young children. 

 

It is what it is.... 

 

 

Best of luck to you and your family!

25 minutes ago, mypcool said:

Nope... She would not leave the family...

 

From my understanding that would be an extreme measure. I have been led to believe that as long  as I can prove that she will be moving and be domicile to the US that this would be enough.  for example, a resignation letter from her current work, a lease or rental agreement in the US, bank statements showing transferring of funds, enrollment and acceptance letters from schools in the US for our children, emails and texts of conversations showing our intent.

 

All of which I am building. 

 

Am I incorrect? 

 

Thanks

Hi,

You're not incorrect, necessarily. You can send all of the above as a package with your wife's AOS as proof of your intent to establish domicile. The rub is they can still tell you it's still not enough, which may require further proof (if you can provide any). As others noted, Canada can be very strict about this and it is recommended that the USC spouse is prepared to move first to prove domicile if necessary. It's totally up to their discretion to decide if they think what you've provided is good enough, but the more the better.

My husband and I just went through proving domicile in the US from Canada, and we were lucky - our proof was enough. But I was prepared to leave first, if need be.

13 hours ago, skaratso said:

This largely echoes my wife's experience at with Medisys, except for the mental health issue.

 

Like your husband, my wife has a mental health condition that resulted in hospitalizations in 2011 and 2012 but has been very well controlled on medication since then. When we went for the medical examination, she had prepared a detailed narrative of her psychiatric history and had copies of her medical records on CD which she got from her primary doctor.

When she got to the actual part of the medical examination with the doctor, they talked about her psychiatric history but the doctor did not ask to see either the detailed narrative or the medical records. The doctor said she could tell that my wife's psychiatric condition was well controlled.

 

So, it is not always a given that your records will be looked at. But... always have that information with you just in case.

Interesting! Good to know another experience. All I know this that his wasn't satisfied with the records, but hung up on a letter detailing everything. He said she made him feel quite guilty about it! *shrug* As I have learned with my previous immigration experience to Canada, it almost seems like it depends on the day, person, and the mood they're in that dictates precisely what they're going to want from you

I had a similar confusion 10 years ago (I was living in the US, husband is Canadian, we were still living apart). The worst part was I called the IRS and they told me to file Single - I remember the guy telling me, "If he's not living with you and your finances aren't combined, then you're single right?" This is WRONG. I only found out a few years later and filed for the ITIN, then I had to go back and amend those previous taxes *eyeroll.*  By filing an extension now and getting an ITIN for your husband, it will help you avoid any potential complications.