Gigi5280

my husband had his interview today at the Montreal consulate and was approved! they only asked four basic questions. I hope you all have similar outcomes soon - especially everyone at Nebraska. I can't believe how long they are making you wait  

20 hours ago, KayMFrench said:

My husband has his medical booked for the 21st of October. Our immigration interview will be scheduled soon afterwards. We are waiting for appointment dates to open up. Hoping my husband will be here in mid November.  I hope everyone else's process is going smoothly! 

Our lawyer told us we could not schedule the medical appt until we had received an interview date, but this is the third or fourth example I’ve seen recently where medical is scheduled before the interview is assigned, so now I’m worried we’ve wasted the time since we were documentarily qualified. Does anyone know if we are delaying our interview by not booking medical yet? 

PS, congrats KayMFrench! 

I have crossed at both Sarnia and at Windsor/Detroit and would recommend Sarnia for two reasons. 1) rush hour in that area is not as bad as in Detroit so you don't have to worry about your timing quite as much and 2) Sarnia is more of a trucking border point, so the car line is usually shorter, whereas Detroit has more personal vehicles.

I have also traveled with a dog across both border points - the key thing you need is an up to date rabies certificate with some description of the dog on it. For example, my dog's certificate lists his weight, color and breed so they can take a look at him and somewhat verify the validity. I can't remember if it needs to be valid for 6 months or a year from the date of crossing, but it definitely can't be about to expire. Also, all dog food you transport across the border is supposed to be sealed, but I have never had anyone actually check that. 

I've never done the crossing in a U-Haul so I can't speak to that piece of it, but the previous poster's idea of having a list of boxes, etc, seems smart. 

It may help you to have at least one more visit before you file, but it's worth noting that part of the reason for interviews being done at a local consulate is that they take into account the local culture's practices. Since your culture often arranges marriages, this will not be the same type of red flag as it might be if you were from a country that does not practice arranged marriages. The important thing here is for you to prove that your husband did not marry you specifically so that he could enter the United States; if he has a decent job, strong ties India, has not dated an American before you, has never been denied or overstayed a visa, and has a clean criminal record, you should be fine. 

37 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Also keep in mind the context. Some items of relevance:

• The OP is going through Canada, a very low fraud country.
• They already sent evidence. How much? We don't know.
• Are there any red flags? We don't know.
• How much time have they spent together in person? We don't know.

For instance, if there were no red flags, they see each other in person monthly, and they sent all kinds of good, quality evidence initially, then sideloading at NVC is just a waste of time for everybody.

If they were going through a high fraud embassy like Nigeria (not picking on Nigeria...just an example!) and only met once, then it is very highly recommended to provide more evidence at every opportunity.

 

Also note that there is no need to send evidence that was already provided with the I-130 or any subsequent RFEs for it. They already have it.

 

While not asked or likely particularly relevant here, the CO only has to consider evidence provided at the I-130 stage. Anything sent to NVC or provided at or after the interview is considered at their discretion.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful and thorough answer. I do feel like I have a good picture of what to send now, but in case having a fuller picture helps anyone else looking for similar answers, I'll add additional context: 

 - we met via work and have been together for 2.5 years with regular visits (roughly every other month, with me spending 4 full months in Canada last summer as well).

- At the I-130 stage we submitted all boarding passes and itineraries with at least two photos from each trip and a separate page of photos showing us with each other's family and friends. Because my dad is from the UK, I was fairly familiar with the process and was diligent about collecting this type of proof from quite early on, so we submitted a good variety. 

- We also submitted a sampling of phone records over the past two years, insurance docs listing each other as beneficiaries, the deposit receipt and contract for our formal celebration which is planned for our 1 year anniversary, congratulatory cards from friends and family, and letters from employers stating that we are listed as married for tax/employment purposes

- Neither of us have been married previously or have a criminal record, and my husband has never overstayed a visa or attempted to move out of Canada prior to this application, so I don't think we are at risk of the major red flags, but I guess you never know. 

Based on the advice of this thread, I am planning to submit our follow up bona fides, which consist of boarding passes and photos from the trips we've had since filing, details of our joint bank account with proof that it is in use (we both deposit into it regularly and use it to pay for flights and our filing fees), one of the invitations for our upcoming reception, and anything else that we have by the time we get our case number. I probably will NOT submit copies of our full I-130 file, as it sounds like that would just be a pain for the CO, but I will make sure we have it available for the interview in case we get asked for something specific. 

My main goal is just to be prepared and organized. Thank you again for the helpful answers - I appreciate everyone who took the time to respond with advice! 

1 hour ago, Muna_93 said:

With respect, I would disagree slightly with the above advice. I have seen many cases where the applicant had further evidence of a bona fide marriage/relationship since they initially filed the I-130 petition, and brought this evidence to the interview but never got the chance to show it and were subsequently refused or asked to submit further documents, which delayed their visa.

 

Always give more information than the bare minimum. There is no harm in side-loading again at NVC. There is serious harm in lacking sufficient evidence and delaying your case unnecessarily. Most cases are approved/denied before they even get to interview depending on the info submitted at NVC. Also, USCIS is notorious for misplacing/losing documents. You cannot trust that they will definitely forward everything you send them. Why take the risk? Good luck!

Thanks for the advice - you're right, it doesn't hurt to send extra! I was already planning to send recent call logs, photos and boarding passes from the trips we've had since we filed, and evidence of joint finances. We front loaded pretty heavily for the I-130, so I can just copy that stack of evidence and add it in. I appreciate everyone taking the time to comment! 

7 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

You should not have to send any additional information to NVC.  I would though take a copy of everything you submitted along with any other evidence you may have accumulated since filing to the consulate interview.

 

Good Luck!

okay, wonderful! thank you

Apologies if this is a silly question or has already been answered (I took a look, but didn't see this exact answer). When USCIS sends the packet to NVC, do all my bona fides go along with it? I'm trying to figure out if I just need to send supplementary bona fides from the time between our original filing and now, or if I should be resubmitting the entire list of things I already sent with our I-130 as well. Thank you! 

On 3/8/2019 at 6:21 PM, KayMFrench said:

I hope so. I’m seeing approvals with a later PD than me so I’m beginning to get a little discouraged.

I was feeling the same way as I saw people approved who submitted after me, but we got ours today and it was approved 10 days ago without being updated online. So it’s possible yours is on the way as it seems the website is out of date and it took 10 days to get to us by mail! 

For reference: 

PD: 11/6/18

NOA1: 11/13/18

NOA2: 3/1/19 

There are two approvals with November NOA1s on the Potomac timeline! Looks like both technically had October PDs, but that still feels like a great sign! 

43 minutes ago, Saman1103 said:

Mine said it on the noa but if youre unsure you can call them and ask them. They'll tell u

Thanks for the reply! I found info on how to use the receipt number to identify the service center. Our receipt number begins with YSC, so it is at Potomac. 

Hi! I'm a petitioner for my Canadian husband with a priority date of 11/6/18. This may be a silly question, but how do I know which service center I'm being processed through? Is it just whichever address is at the bottom of the NOA? Our NOA listed the Potomac address, but there is nothing else to indicate that we are being processed at that Service Center, so I wanted to be sure.