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acidrain

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Everything posted by acidrain

  1. The permanent resident not the US petitioner needs to establish domicile upon receipt of the green card. It's true Montreal is strict on Domicile requirements but it still doesn't mean some green card holders drag out the process of permanently moving to the US. It's one thing to activate the green card with the intent on moving the rest of your stuff shortly after. Where it becomes a problem is if the green card holder hangs out in Canada for several months. They are risking losing their green card altogether. This situation has been well documented through these forums and also on the tv show Border Security. One of the conditions of being a green card holder is you become a permanent resident of the US. The border keeps detailed records of your comings and goings. I've seen it where people think a green card is a glorified tourist visa where they can spend as much time in Canada as they want. The US for whatever reason takes residency requirements very seriously. That's interesting about the medical exam as I was able to complete mine just before my interview. IMO they really need to come up with an adequate DCF option for Canada.
  2. It really depends on where you live as to what your options are. I looked into "pods" where you load up a container and they deliver it to your house. Unfortunately that option was only available for those living in big cities like Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, etc. That may have changed but that is one way to save money. I looked into hiring movers but it was double the cost of renting a U-haul. Even with my spouse taking 3 days off without pay still saved us a couple thousand dollars. My biggest suggestion is to purge as much as you can before you move. If you hire a mover it's probably going to cost close to $2 a pound. The further the distance the more it will cost regardless of how you move your goods. No dollar value was necessary as you can transport as much as you want across the border as long as they are household goods. If you have a vehicle coming from Canada you will need to import it and I believe pay taxes. We sold our car to the dealership cause it was just too much of a hassle.
  3. Long story short is I have some experience in this area. It's ultimately up to the border agent as to whether they will allow goods to cross the border without both spouses being present. I looked into a moving company and thought about sending our stuff down before I got my IR-1. The moving company said don't do it. A lot of times they will just impound your stuff until the person gets the visa. The way it was explained was they don't want to help facilitate a possible illegal immigration situation (if the visa gets denied) and the goods may not be duty free for the non PR. However, on our first attempt driving down a U-haul to the border the agent said my spouse, son and stuff could go but not me. So it might depend on who you get. I've met quite a few Canadians in Vegas who showed up at the border with a truck full of stuff and no visa, told the border what they were doing and had no problem getting through. I honestly think it just depends on what border agent you get. Once I got my IR-1 we drove down a U-haul. I labeled every single box with a white sheet and short description (dishes, fan, bedding, etc). I gave the dossier when I checked in. They said they really appreciated it and it makes things go a lot smoother. The agent took a look at the list and asked about my spouses large tools to make sure we weren't trying to sell them. It felt like so much went wrong through our immigration process. However, we drove across and I kid you not the whole process less than 20 minutes. I don't think border agents are concerned with whether your stuff is accompanying you the first time the PR enters. The main thing is the PR does get around to moving. I've heard of people delaying their move for 6 months and then have PR stripped due to lack of domicile.
  4. I thought I would chime in. I applied Dec 2020, bio metrics in June and interviewed today (Jan 2022). I was told the oath ceremony is still being done Thursdays starting at 7am at the USCIS office. There are 4 appointments, the last one being at 4pm. The judge is still doing zoom and not at the courthouse because of covid. I was told the letters for the oath ceremony are typically received 3-5 weeks after the interview. I was also told the actual oath ceremony lasts only about 10 minutes. The interview itself the questions appeared to be random. I have to say it feels really weird to think of this process being over. It was 5 years ago I started my own Visa Journey into the US from Canada. I passed the citizenship test today. For those of you wondering if you will ever get there have faith. I am so thankful for this forum and for all the advice people gave me.
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