mkenney

Hi everyone,

My partner had his interview in Montreal on Tuesday (it was on par with the other descriptions of the interview on this forum). He was approved and got his passport back in the mail on Thursday with the shiny CR-1 sticker inside. FYI-The entire process took 11.5 months (including the Adam Walsh nonsense-time).

Anyway, it looks like it's going to be 4 or 5 months until he moves down here. I was wondering if there are reasons either for or against him entering the country for a visit beforehand in order to intialize his perminent residence, so that his green card and ssn card will be ready when he moves down for good.

Thanks for your help,

Martha

P.S. someone should beef up the CR-1/IR-1 section of the Visa FAQ part of this website

correction- I sent packet 3 in Montreal in late September

Hi,

I disagree with the advice to call Montreal because your file has been lost. I have been waiting since September and still have no interview date. I know some people who have been waiting that long already have their dates or have already had their interview. When I asked Montreal about this they said they're still scheduling for those who sent their last packet in September or October. In other words, I think the timeline they gave you (September/October) is correct and maybe even a little optimistic given the backlog. I also agree with Matt that I wouldn't get a medical until you get your interview date. Something like Adam Walsh could happen again and your records would be really out of date.

Hang in,

Martha

mkenney,

From VJ boards, right now MTL is scheduling interviews for July for people who sent in their packet 4 in February - check other members' time lines and interview dates. I will continue to call MTL every 2 weeks.- But then again, we can leave soon enough. I guess if you have time and are not in a hurry you can let MTL take their sweet time and schedule other people who sent their stuff after you before you get an interview date.

So both sophie's and your interviews are waaaaay overdue - and calling MTL is in order, in my humble and well intentioned opinion.

And also, it helps us all.

Good luck, L.

I slightly resent your implication at any of us are not in a hurry and "letting" Montreal take their time. We all want to be with our families. Unfortunately it seems that Montreal has its own way of doing things and these are not fair. For example judging by people's timelines they don't assign interviews in a purely chronological fashion (i.e. first come first serve). I call Montreal just as often as you're suggesting and I had my Congressman's office write a letter to Montreal asking for a speedy interview. In other words, I don't believe we should sit back and let Montreal do whatever it wants, but on the other hand it appears that their crappy system is going to go forward whether or not we bother them. I'll second your advice to keep calling Montreal (because even if it doesn't help it makes you feel like you're doing something to help the process along), but what I didn't appreciate was the suggestion that you made to sophie that her paperwork was somehow lost and that she should worry. One thing that I have learned in this awful process is that holding the immegration process to imaginary deadlines or others people's timlines will just result in undue frustration. If I had taken their word that all of this would be finished by December 2006, my blood pressure would have risen higher with each month past that initial date. Because I knew that the immigration process is never smooth and always hits these unexpected detours, I've been able to take all these setbacks in stride (although of course I was enraged with the tactless of Adam Walsh implimentation, etc.). I do everything I can to help the process along, but I also know that no matter how much I do it's still up to a flawed system. It isn't worth it to let it get to me; I have better things to do with my psychological energy. In conclusion- Sophie, hang in there. I'd be proactive but not worried and especially not alarmed. This thing could take a while.

All my love to the rest of you going through this awful process,

Martha

P.S. Timeline (not too much to it)-

Filed for DCF in Toronto late August 2006

Sent packet 4 late September 2006

Montreal tells me our file was "cleared" March 2007 and we should get an interview soon (and that my file is definately not in the "wrong pile")

Hi,

I disagree with the advice to call Montreal because your file has been lost. I have been waiting since September and still have no interview date. I know some people who have been waiting that long already have their dates or have already had their interview. When I asked Montreal about this they said they're still scheduling for those who sent their last packet in September or October. In other words, I think the timeline they gave you (September/October) is correct and maybe even a little optimistic given the backlog. I also agree with Matt that I wouldn't get a medical until you get your interview date. Something like Adam Walsh could happen again and your records would be really out of date.

Hang in,

Martha

We're applying for a CR-1 visa for my husband. Montreal just said that they couldn't commit to a timeline. They also wouldn't commit to saying when we wouldn't get an interview (we're trying to make vacation plans and wanted to make sure there would be no interview in June, and they wouldn't even say that that wasn't the case). This is all on top of my Congressman having sent them a letter after the Adam Walsh stuff cleared up. I'm not sure if there's a problem/mistake or if the interview order is just a mystery.

Thanks for everyone's help and support,

Martha

Hi everyone,

I just phoned Montreal to ask if we had an interview date. They would not comment. We submitted packet 3 the last week in September 2006. Is anyone who submitted in September or earlier still waiting for an interview? Judging by the posts in this thread they are not assigning interviews perfectly chronologically, but I can't help but feel left behind. Anyone else in the same boat? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Martha

FYI- I've been waiting since late September as well. They must not have forgotten all three of us.

Darryl,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, rain on your parade, (insert cliche here), but I received the letter that said it would take 4-12 weeks for an interview in early-October. Even if you don't include the lost Adam Walsh weeks it's been more than 12 weeks and still no interview date. I think Tracy has been waiting even longer. While of course it's harmless to cross your fingers, you might not want to make plans or have an imaginary timeline in your head, because we're at the mercy of a slow and finicky system. Maybe we can ask fellow Canadians how long ago they filed and make a timeline. But otherwise I think immigration just sucks.

Cheers,

Martha

I just got that letter today too!

Greetings Direct Consular Friends,

My partner and I filed for an immigrant visa for him at the Toronto consulate in August. Since then I've moved to Santa Cruz, California. When this Adam Walsh nonsense began (and, as confirmed by the rest of you, Montreal was of no help) I walked down to my Congressman's (Sam Farr) office to ask for help. I've been in contact with them over the past month. And it's become very clear that what's going on is anything but clear to almost all parties involved. What has been happening, however, is that DCF cases like ours are being cleared worldwide without having to physically ship files back to the US and wait in a giant line. The person I've been in contact with at the Congressman's office says that she had cases from Japan and Fiji clear just last week and that mine (and other Canadians) should be soon (like this week or next). She'll know more by the end of the week and I'll post again when I hear from her. I'm sorry to post with pretty much no information, but I was heartened to learn that despite the fact no one knows what they're doing, things are getting done anyway.

Hang in! And keep up the commiseration!

Martha