chanel167

Seems I can't fix the lost followers. 
 
Sorry for tagging so many of you, while merging in a post to this thread somehow all followers were removed. If you were following this thread you can click follow to follow again.
 
@Hawk Riders, @G_K, @ME_RHEDZ77, @Waynester925, @Kai (CanadaDude), @rainbow-skies, @YYZ&MIA, @Riversong, @gavinski91, @annierob, @From_CAN_2_US, @alphabetagamma, @Patelsn7, @mam521, @Twiz&Toz, @W&D, @usaBoundSud, @From_CAN_2_US, @Danii @6ixtoSoCal @ANL, @JudyB, @JillianGio, @Emilyy
@Fobosdaemios, @Mikeeastern, @HRQX @Mgill91, @T&S_MTL, @State and Maine, @Magnolian, @TripleCity, @B&Grr, @Coricat,  @Steve & Gloria, @AnkitShah20, @hellbob, @canuckchic, @han21, @Family One, @waterlooengineer, @Flowergirl 737, @irisheyes123, @kkeys, @Amz&S, @LomLomLom, @MR.M& MRS.S, @VegasEagle
@Dkw, @Lovewithoutborder, @CGs_Mother, @TOtoVA,  @AMooseInTheHoose, @A + K, @ADW & JOP, @Melody1920, @Shumai84, @Sunshine022, @HD_BIRDS, @Canada5, @Slytherin, @NimF, @DMV, @OG Fan, @Lois K, @krisBui, @CuCun, @helloTdot, @kpbru,  @MA1793, @OceanBleux, @Abhikochar, @PHM, @bkoz, @Mintaftertaste, @MadKittyCat, @ReneeRH, @JOLUANY, @scwini05, @Joseph Zachariah, @Incrediblestan, @Amolak @Purrikitty,  @chanel167, @Booey_US_CA, @carmel34, @jbarr627, @mizzem, @MTLSINGHZ, @viksaw, @Unseamingmirror, @VIR CHAMP, @Redie, @showag, @Dkw, @E&E 2016, @Nikasalts, @Skaur0609, @Ptitchou, @Rose__, @darth vader, @JacobP, @harshshah, @Minnesota, @KStene22, @Tswiftlover, @MJ & FEK, @Tofu, @A&RN, @misc-couple, @AnkitShah20, @PennyLaneB 
 
 
 

Indeed. However, not to look into patterns too much, but from the last rounds of ILs, this my own personal estimation:
 
The September ILs will likely go out next Friday, August 13 (the ILs for August went out on Friday, July 9 / the ILs for July went out Monday, June 14). But if we want to continue going even further out, here is when previous ILs were sent:
- Friday, April 9
- Friday, March 12
 
Looking at the number of DQ dates sent for those two last batches (July and August), I calculated about 13 days of DQs. So sshould that "trend" continue, the next September ILs might only be for those DQ'ed between Oct 6 - 18.
 
However, let's hope the consulate will pick up the backlog and send out more! But keeping this in mind has been set the tone for my own sanity and anxiety. I've been on this thread for almost a year, so I needed some type of comfort. 

Sharing some stats for IR1 + CR1 vs Total. Couldn't find any pattern. Any comments?

My vaccine
My vaccine waiver for allowance to not be vaccinated based on religious beliefs. I am a Christian, so I explained my belief in the Word of God and how vaccines violate that. I did get help in wording my letter from someone on here, so I want to thank army14 very much. I did not mention that I was a part of a congregation, as the congregation does not believe as me. So you can  stand on your own belief and do not need to be attending a church or congregation. 
I think same goes for the ones who would stand on their conscience belief and not religious. The waiver was for my son as well, who has not had any vaccines in his entire life. I think what really makes a difference if you are going to get approved or not is to be able to prove that you have not had vaccines in the past and this is your lifestyle and belief. You need to prove to them that you did not just decide to use a waiver to get away from the vaccines now. So I had 3 waivers I have used in the past for my work place dating 2015, 2017 and 2 for my son for school dating 2011 and 2015. These waivers were very important to prove my case to them. Also, you will need a letter from your doctor stating that you do not take vaccines. The doctor where you go for your medical here in Canada will require you to bring a letter from your doctor instead of proof of vaccination. I also had a letter from my husband and a friend saying they know me for this amount of time, and they have seen my actions and decisions in life were always based on the Word of God. But bottom line if you do not have some concrete proof like waivers from the past you have used it is more difficult to prove your belief and all you have is letters from people they know you and doctor letter, which are still good. I know not all work places require vaccination, I just happen to work at a place that did require, and my son did require it for school. 

all the best to everyone awaiting their IL's tomorrow or Monday. 

I hope those of us who have requested to reschedule our interview will also get an IL this month I was sad to not receive something in the last batch. I had requested a new interview date on April 15. Fingers crossed for all of us!!!

I hope those of us who have requested to reschedule our interview will also get an IL this month I was sad to not receive something in the last batch. I had requested a new interview date on April 15. Fingers crossed for all of us!!!

I hope those of us who have requested to reschedule our interview will also get an IL this month I was sad to not receive something in the last batch. I had requested a new interview date on April 15. Fingers crossed for all of us!!!

Really hoping we will see ILs this week.
 
Good Luck September and October DQs! 

US is not allowing tourists in by land. Essential Travel Only (except for citizens, LPRs, work/student visa holders and IV holders are exempt for US entry restrictions.)
 
For land entry:
Canada --> US - No test. No quarantine. Essential travel only.
US --> Canada: Neg PCR test taken no more than 72 hours prior to entry. Test required on entry as well. As well as test on day 8 of home quarantine. Participation in the ArriveCan app is mandatory. Essential Travel Only.
 
For Air Entry:
Canada --> US - Negative Antigen or PCR test 72 hours prior to departure. Non-essential travel allowed.
US --> Canada - Negative PCR test 72 hours prior to departure. PCR test on arrival, stay in hotel quarantine until results are provided. Final test on day 8 of home quarantine. Essential Travel Only.
 
IMPORTANT: Canada does not accept rapid antigen tests, it MUST be a PCR test.

Hi! I received mine on Friday, June 4th. It took exactly 10 business days to arrive. I'm sorry to hear that it's taking so long for your wife  I hope hers comes in ASAP.

Hi! I received mine on Friday, June 4th. It took exactly 10 business days to arrive. I'm sorry to hear that it's taking so long for your wife  I hope hers comes in ASAP.

Hi! I received mine on Friday, June 4th. It took exactly 10 business days to arrive. I'm sorry to hear that it's taking so long for your wife  I hope hers comes in ASAP.

Hi everyone,
 
quick update with good news and bad news and a couple questions. Warning long post incoming. 
 
I crossed the border yesterday at the Lynden WA point of entry. The crossing was a bit hectic to say the least. When I got there I told them I was activating a CR-1 and importing my vehicle. The officer told me I might not be able to import my vehicle because my wife’s name is also on the ownership (I added her just incase I had a long wait for my greencard/SSN so I could have her register it and insure it before my ICBC insurance expired) anyways, they tell me to take a seat and I was waiting for over an hour while I was within earshot of the officer trying to activate my CR-1. I don’t think he knew how to do it cause he called over another officer who called over another officer and so on and so on until there were 5 CBP officers talking amongst each other saying things like “do you remember how to do one of these?” “No that didn’t work... hmmm” and “oh I think that did it, hopefully that worked”. Finally after an hour the officer comes back to me and says my cr-1 has been activated but he was unable to import my vehicle because my wife wasn’t there however I can still drive my truck into the USA and just import it later. So my wife was currently on a flight to Seattle from California to meet me and drive down with me so I went to Seattle picked her up, drove back up to Lynden and went back and said okay she’s here now let’s import my truck. I dealt with a different CBP officer this time and he told me “well the other guy was wrong, you should be able to import your truck without your spouse here because your name is on it as an owner as well, however I can’t import it either because here on your compliance letter says that something with the airbag needs to be fixed.” So I look at the letter and sure enough at the bottom under all the other writing that says it meets DOT regulations it says “this vehicle cannot be imported do to such and such act such and such passenger airbag decal” so now I’ve wasted 6 hours driving all over Washington state and I still can’t import it. So I go to the local GM dealer and ask the service department about it, they say they can fix it but they can’t do it until Monday cause they need to wait for the part. Well that doesn’t work cause we’re on our way back down to Orange County. So we phone a GM dealer in California and explain the situation and ask them to order the part so I can get it fixed as soon as I get down there, the guy says that’s weird and offers to look into it further for us. He gets back to me later and says “I phoned GM Canada and the issue was a small recall with the passenger airbag and according to all of their records you have already gotten it repaired and your truck is all good to be imported.” So I tried to import my truck twice and couldn’t because of an issue that was already fixed but wasn’t stated on my compliance letter that it was already fixed. To say I was upset would be an understatement. Anyways, I’m in Central California now on my way down to OC tomorrow morning. I am sitting in my hotel and I go into my USCIS account and check the status of my greencard because the CBP officers who activated it didn’t give me a lot of hope that it was done correctly. It still says “you paid your immigrant fees on May 26 and your greencard will be produced and sent to you etc” the message hasn’t changed. Then above that it says “ I-551 Null submitted June 4 2021.”
 
My two questions are,
 
1: What does the I-551 null mean? The word null in there is making me nervous that something is wrong or somebody did something wrong and now I’m not going to get my greencard or SSN. Has anybody else had this? How long after POE does the original “you have paid your immigrant fees” message change?
 
2: Has anybody not imported their vehicle at the POE but instead did it later in SoCal? I’m trying to figure out where the hell im gunna be able to go to do the paperwork when I’m not at a POE. Maybe at a shipping port or an airport? Maybe the Mexico border? This whole process has been a nightmare and any advice would be extremely appreciated. 
 
The good news however, I am FINALLY in the USA and I don’t have to leave! My wife and I are together after months apart and that makes everything worth it! 
 
Thanks everyone, my apologies for the insanely long post.

I recently went to the RCMP to request a new police record and it only took 10 business days! They had originally told me it'll take at least 4 weeks, so I'm happy that it didn't take that long. Thank you to everyone who posted their timelines for new police records. It gave me a lot of hope 

I recently went to the RCMP to request a new police record and it only took 10 business days! They had originally told me it'll take at least 4 weeks, so I'm happy that it didn't take that long. Thank you to everyone who posted their timelines for new police records. It gave me a lot of hope 

Hi everyone, I crossed at Portal border crossing on May 27th.. Only took about 45 minutes. It is so surreal to finally be here! Fingers crossed for interview letters soon! 🤍 hang in there. 

Hi everyone,
So there's been a bit of buzz around the possibility that the US may unilaterally open their side of the border to Canadians. It was originally reported by the All Point Bulletin https://www.allpointbulletin.com/stories/us-border-to-re-open-june-22,16610
 
Global News also reported this too, but shortly yanked the story without any explanation and it's effectively been retconned on their news site. I have no idea what was going on there...but it looks like there may be some movement on the land borders soon.
 
This is all unconfirmed sources, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Just wanted to let you all know that my US spouse contacted two different senators (and President Biden!) looking for answers regarding a lot of questions that we all have:
what is happening with the inhumane amount of time we have been waiting; why can we not interview remotely or at a closer consulate during COVID restrictions; why do we not receive regular feedback or notices about timelines for interviewing; and more recently, why did the Montreal Consulate schedule less CR-1 interviews in May/and none for June. So far, their process has been to get in touch with USCIS/NVC/Consulate in regard to our individual case and send us back the same stock replies that don't tell us anything new. Basically, they tell us the dates that our application was forwarded along and that we're waiting in line. Still waiting for specific answers to specific questions in a timely manner, but I don't know if that will ever happen. The White House didn't respond at all.
 
That said, I would encourage you to reach out (respectfully) anyway. Mr. Vermillion was terribly nice yesterday on the Immigrant Visa Backlog Q&A, but they're not doing enough. They CAN do more and they CAN, in the very least, communicate better with us.

So in my cancellation email I had said something like "we will email at a later date to reschedule for anytime after May 15th" and then they randomly emailed us 2 months later that it had been scheduled a date for May 21.. 
 
It wasn't ideal when it happened but we made it work! 
 
I think if you emailed them to reschedule that should be all you need to do. I'm not sure if ours was faster because I had put that date in my cancellation or how that worked on their end.
 
I don't believe they would reschedule you automatically -- I think ours was simply added to the May batch because I mentioned we couldn't attend until after May 15th. 
 
I hope that's helpful? 

Hi Everyone,
 
update for my case. Interview was April 21, I was placed in AP which lasted 29 days, my case turned to issued last Thursday (May 20) morning, then changed again to issued final processing Thursday night. I got my tracking number for my passport Friday (May 21) morning and I received my passport this morning (May 25). I will be crossing on June 3rd, one day after after my second anniversary! 

Alright everyone, here is a list of questions that I want to ask during the session that address most of the concerns I've seen on this thread. Does anyone have anything that they want to add? I am just trying to use this very limited opportunity to try and isolate what we might actually be able to get answered
 
Question RE: New Priority Tiers
Why would a consulate not book IR-1 and CR-1 interviews?
 
It seems that May 2021 had quite a few consulates and embassies around the world where this priority category was not addressed, while Tier 3 and Tier 4 priority did receive interviews. We would understand if Tier 1 only got addressed, but to see other Tiers get addressed and to see IR-1/CR-1 stop moving is heartbreaking. Many of us did not expect 10+ months of waiting for an interview when the process began and our lives and futures are completely on hold
 
Question RE: Communication Strategies
Is there any accountability for how the embassy or consulate is operating and, if so, how do you contact the person who holds them accountable? How do you get answers about status of operations?
 
Question RE: Communication Strategies
What is the communication strategy for the consulates and embassies going forward?
 
COVID has imposed on everyone an array of new systems and situations to which we must adapt, however many immigration applicants are feeling abandoned by their consulates and have been separated from their spouses since before COVID began. The anticipation, silence, and the unknown is causing so many individuals stress and undue heartbreak. Knowing anything is better than knowing nothing.
 
Question RE: Communication Strategies
Can DoS empower consulates and embassies to post updates on social media? What can an embassy or consulate communicate to applicants?
 
Embassies and consulates are so completely insulated, it is impossible to speak to anyone to ask questions, and Ask NVC has only been replying with copy-paste responses that don’t answer questions people have. Even if they could post that letters had been sent out for the month, or if there are new restrictions or delays that effect the consulate or embassy operation- literally anything would help people make it through this.
 
Question RE: Visiting USA with Pending IR-1/CR-1
If CBP is not admitting an IR-1/CR-1 applicant due to the worry that they will file for AoS once inside the USA, is there not a legal document that can be signed where the applicant will acknowledge and waive their right to an AoS? It feels like this is a massive issue with the system and many applicants are not even able to visit their families or loved ones due to this and, during COVID times, it’s been almost two years for many couples. Has DoS considered a temporary visa for IR-1/CR-1? If we can’t enter on our tourist visas, is not visiting for what has been almost 2 years separated from our long-term committed spouses really the only option?
 
Question RE: Canada
I’m in Canada and, as the second largest country in the world for land mass, I am really curious as to why only one of our consulates (Montreal) processes immigrant visas. I understand that IV interviews require special training, but the embassy located in Ottawa, 7 other consulates located across the country, and over 10+ months of IR-1/CR-1 backlog, 13+ months of K-1 backlog, etc… what is logistically stopping DoS from addressing the backlog by holding interviews at these other locations?

Hey everyone- the DoS Consular Affairs is hosting a Q&A on YouTube tomorrow Tuesday May 25 at 1:00 PM ET. They’ll be answering questions about the current state of visa applications.
 
Here is the link to their YT page, announcement found on their Facebook page.
 
https://m.youtube.com/user/TravelGov

She applied last May 10 5pm. It is 10 days.

Hey guys, just wanted to apologize for my last comment. I did not realize how everyone was affected and that we deal with this process differently. At the end of the day we're all in the same boat and I wish everyone a speedy resolution to their immigration 🙂