jstriders

APPROVED
 
I got back to my room and collapsed to my knees and just sobbed for 5 minutes, like I'm a big emotional dude but didn't realize how much tension needed to come out haha.  Messaged my wife with the "Welcome to the United States of America" letter and she called and we talked and laughed and cried for 20 minutes.
 
Usual process that everyone here mentions: clock's broken, room is super quiet and dull, staff are totally nice.  Passport taken, wait 45+ minutes, documents taken, wait maybe 15 minutes, then interview.  I was asked about how we met which ended up being a rambling tale as it usually is, and about what wife does for work.  Fingerprints taken, handed over most recent pay stub and tax return from my wife, and then she said congratulations there's no problems here and that was it.  I'm having problems believing it was only really two questions but I guess we talked about stuff based on the questions so I probably answered stuff indirectly.
 
I was able to change my flight just to leaving at 16:00 today so quickest cross-country trip ever.
 
YAY SO HAPPY EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
 
HR I love you, I'll update my timeline shortly.  Wife and I figured out yesterday that today is DAY NINE HUNDRED of our process.  900 days since we mailed the original petition.  And it's done, my God it's finally done, I'm going to cry again, thanks VJ, you guys have been great and I'll be sticking around for some time for support and stuff.  Sorry to the one person I randomly got cross at that one time, that's not me normally and I still feel bad for that.  Thank you all for direct support and for your stories and data and everything else.
 

Thank you everyone. This was a denial and it is definitely a mistake. They apparently have found someone, that has the same name and DOB as my husband, who was deported from the USA in 2017 for 5 years. They think this person is my husband. It is NOT my husband! I can’t believe they made this error! My husband and I got married in the USA in 2018, he has traveled to USA without any issues multiple times, and even has a NEXUS card issued since 2018. I literally can’t believe they made this big of a mistake. How can they defame my husband like that? We are getting a lawyer and taking action to hold them accountable ASAP. If anyone has any other recommendations, send them my way. This is absolutely ridiculous!!!!

Hi VJ fam. I’m writing with a really heavy heart today after crying my eyes out all morning. We checked my husband’s CEAC status today and it still shows status as “Refused”, but the message underneath is different. His case was touched today. It reads that "A U.S. consular officer has adjudicated and refused your visa application. Please see the letter you received at the interview". 
 
We never received a letter at his interview (just the 221g for medical results which were long received by Consulate back in December). I feel like this is an outright rejection now (unless anyone has seen this message before and knows otherwise). I’m feeling completely defeated. We are simple people and never had any issues/request for additional info this entire process. Don’t really know what to do or expect anymore. 

Hubby received his passport/visa  yesterday!!!
Jan. 29- IR-1 visa approved
Jan. 29 CEAC case tracker- "Issued"
Feb. 5  Visa courier tracking info emailed
Feb. 8  Visa del. by courier
 

Yes! It hasn't quite sunk in for me.
Also, I just checked the case tracker status and it says issued already. Not sure if that's for real or if the status is going to change a few times until it's actually truly issued.

DQ May 23
Interview: Feb 8th 10:00 am  APPROVED!
 
What may be less common about my case is that we had to reestablish my husband’s domicile, and were approved with no issues.  
 
Here are some quick notes on my process:
 
Security was the same as everyone else’s description.  Airport style security, kept my phone.  
Went to window 7 where I was asked for my passport.  Sat down.  
Called to window 4, and was asked to submit originals of my birth certificate, marriage certificate and 1 passport photo.  He also asked if my AOS needed any updating.  I said my husband changed employers but he said that was ok and didn’t change anything.  He then asked who lives at the address we intend to live at in the US (since we are both in Canada).  Sat down. 
Called to window 11 for the final interviewing process.  
Oath and fingerprints
She commented she hadn’t seen a SK marriage certificate in a long time.
Since my husband lives in Canada she asked about his US citizenship.  I explained he was born in the US and came to college in SK, then stayed after marrying me.  She said we would talk about our US plan at the end.  
How did you meet?
Why are you wanting to move now, after having been married for almost 11 years?
I explained that after getting married I had 2 years left of my degree in Regina, then we stayed for financial reasons, then we started our family.  Our first 3 kids were born within 3.5 yrs and life felt chaotic - at this point she interjected and said, “I did the exact same thing!  I know exactly what you’re talking about.” and that was it.
What does your husband do for work? - He is a cabinet maker and finish carpenter.
Do you have a joint sponsor and who is he to you?
Then she said, “What are all of these documents I see that you’ve submitted?  Wow.”  I told her we followed a list of things to reestablish my husband’s domicile and tried to provide everything on the list.  
We provided proof that we were preparing to list our Canadian residence, emails to prove communication with local employment connections in the US, a rent-to-own agreement for the family ranch property which includes the family home as well as a cabinetry shop, pics of the shop, bank statements, proof of PO box ownership, letter of intent to homeschool our oldest child, and prepared passport applications for our four kids. 
She only looked through the bank statement, PO box and lease agreement.  When we talked about the lease agreement I explained that it is family land which we would be the 4th generation to own, and that it includes a family home as well as the cabinetry shop that my late Father-in-law worked out of.  She seemed to immediately put the pieces together herself, remembering that my husband is also a cabinet maker, and I didn’t even have to tell her that my husband planned to work out of the shop.  She said, “This looks great.  I’m just going to put a note at the bottom here that you’ve met the requirements.”
Do you have Birth Abroad certificates or passports for your children?
I said we had all the paperwork ready but hadn’t been able to go to the consulate yet due to COVID.  She was very nice and gave me info on how to get my kid’s paperwork expedited in Calgary (closest to us).  
She checked that my medical was in, and said she would be able to approve my visa!  
 
I had uploaded updated versions of my husband’s taxes, our joint sponsor’s 2019 tax transcript and W-2, our lease agreement, and my joint sponsor’s license, which had expired.  I was not asked to show any of these.  
 
She also let me know that at my first entry into the US I would have another interview, and to expect it to be about 30 minutes.
 
So grateful for this forum!  We have done everything ourselves from start to finish thanks to the experiences of others posted on here.  

 

Married May 24, 2019
NOA1: July 27, 2019
NVC DQ: May 22, 2020
Feb 8, 2021 - Approved 🥰
 
Had my interview at the consulate this morning for 8:45. Arrived a few minutes before and they let me in, asked the run of COVID questions, then did the x-ray scan of my coat, wallet, and folder. Kept my phone and gave me a key. Directed to go to Floor 1, Window 7 and gave them my passport.
Waited around for maybe a half hour and then was called to window 5 to provide my documents. They asked for the originals (not copies) of my birth certificate, marriage certificate, both my and my husband's divorce decrees from our previous marriages. Then they told me my medical had arrived (it was emailed by the doctor 4 days ago) and to have a seat and wait to be called.
Maybe another half hour or so went by (the clock is still broken!) and I was called up to Window 1, met with a nice middle aged man with greying hair. Swore the oath, did the fingerprints, answered how we met, when we married, any kids, addresses. He asked me for my husband's divorce certificate and asked if I had a copy (I did). Not sure why they needed it again, since I had submitted it previously but ok. 2019 taxes (1040) were brought as well and they kept the copy I brought.
I kept everything in a portable file folder and had tiny tab stickers labelling everything. He said he was really impressed and almost thought he was looking at their files with how well I organized it. He said he appreciated the clear labelling.
He asked if I was given the pamphlet on domestic violence at the other window (I was not) and he was surprised. So he gave me one and explained what it was. Then he said he was going to go ahead and approve  me, handed me the Welcome letter, and that I can expect my passport with the visa to be returned within 3-4 weeks.
Tips:
- Dress in layers. The thermostat in the waiting room was set to 24C and with how warm I dressed for the frigid Montreal weather, I was sweating buckets indoors.
- No hand sanitizer at the counters by the fingerprint readers (ew), but there is a giant jug of it at the security guard's desk.
- bring a paper book, crossword, or something to keep your sanity
I won't be moving until the summer, since I want to wait until our 2 year anniversary to cross and activate as an IR-1 instead of the 2 year conditional.
 
Good luck to everyone on their journeys and thank you so much to everyone here for all your help and support. Couldn't have done it without y'all. Now I need to figure out all the crazy logistics of moving, taxes, etc. But first - I'm going to have a much deserved NAP. 😴

Hello all,
There multiple threads for the required documents. I have tried to summarize it. Please let me know if I have exaggerated or missed anything ?

For Medical:
 
 
Interview Letter-Copy-1 Medical Appointment Letter-Copy-1 Passport Photo-Original-5 Prescription Glasses-Original-1 Photo ID-Original-1 Photo ID-Copy-1 Passport-Original-1 Passport-Copy-1 Intended Address in USA-Digital-1

For Interview:
 
Interview Letter-Copy-1 Passport-Original-1 Passport Photo-Original-2 Poilce Clearnace_Country Other than Canada-Original-1 RCMP Check-Original-1 Applicant Birth Certificate-Original-1 Applicant Birth Certificate-Copy-1 Petitioner Birth Certificate-Original-1 Petitioner Birth Certificate-Copy-1 Marriage Certificate-Original-1 Marriage Certificate-Copy-1 DS-260 Confirmation Page-Copy-1 Canada PR Card-Copy-1 Canada PR Card-Original-1 Wedding Album/Photo-Copy-1

ok, so today I receive my daughter interview latter, yesterday I receive mine, so just wait for one or two day before contact to nvc or visa consulate in your country
 

We are desperately trying to update that we received our interview letter today 2/4/21 for a 3/29/21 interview in Montreal (citykitty). Thank you!!!!! 

Hi everyone! I just wanted to provide an update. I had to cancel my interview on February 22 because I have an important medical procedure that cannot be rescheduled. The consulate said they will cancel this interview date and for me to email them when I am ready. Then they will try their best to accommodate during that time. I'll keep the group posted on the rescheduling process! 

Congratulations to all who got Interview letters.
Feb has started with a bang.
MTL has up their game. 
Best of luck!

Visa in hand now.  Will likely do POE in Detroit in 3 weeks time. 

Congrats to everyone who get letters today. IL's on the 4th? Craziness!

Also got my interview date this morning! For Mar 26. DQ was July 10. Does my criminal record check need to be within 6 months old or 12 months? 

So I crossed the border 8 weeks ago, still haven’t received my ssn card yet. As I had already call in the last couple of weeks, I decided to call again this week. The women I talked to didn’t seem to case at all. Saying that I need to qualify for specific guideline in order to be given an appointment. I decided to tell her, you know what, can I speak to a supervisor. I talked with a supervisor which she was super nice and very helpful. She asked me to come in this morning and then she said that I should finally receive my ssn card within 7-10 days. 

For everyone that just got their letters, congrats! 
 
Now, step back, take a DEEEEEP breath.  It's all gonna be ok! ☺️
 
I know, it hits you because you've been waiting for forever to get the news, but everything will be ok!
 
You won't be able to register your appointment for a day or 2, so don't panic.  When you register for your passport return, you can change your delivery from Canada Post to courier up until a few days before your interview.  
 
Please make sure you check the FAQ's for the items you need in your packet and interview.  
 
And, I most sincerely hope the odds are in your favour - that medical appointments and flights cooperate and play nice for everyone to book (and arrive) without too many headaches or additional stress.  
 

congrats to everyone with the good news! we were on our way to pre-travel covid test and one of three IL emails showed up!!! I was in tears. set for March 15th. still waiting for the other two ILs to show up now. DQ June 29th.

Happy to confirm that we received our notice today as well.
 
DQ: June 4th, 2020
Interview: March 1st, 9:45 am.

I also receive my interview call for Date: March 29, but didn't receive my daughter interview call so need to wait few times, might be due to have different DQ date.
 
my DQ is 10 July
 
 

Thrilled that my notification came in this morning. Interview date is March 10. Now to book a flight to Montreal and plan with enough time to return from Washington. 

Interview email came through this morning as I was getting jabbed in the nose with a pre-travel COVID test. Made that super uncomfortable experience a little better.
 
Int: March 8, 9:45am 
DQ: June 16, 2020
 
So happy to be getting off this roller coaster!

We had an original DQ of July 8 but then needed us to resubmit one document. Then we got another DQ letter for August 19. 
The last person I talked to at NVC said theyd go off the August date but before they had said the additional document wouldnt change it. I was going off what I was told last of my DQ date but Im assuming that she gave me wrong information and they actually went off the first DQ date I was sent. It was all confusing!

Well, our original date was July 8th but then they requested us to resubmit and then gave us another DQ for August. One person told me it would be off the original DQ, one told me recently it wouldnt. So I am just assuming she was wrong in telling me it changed!

Hello all, 
 
new here! DQ June 16. Interview March 8!