On 6/26/2020 at 3:40 PM, TYosemite said:

Just to clarify for myself, my fiancé and I (my fiancé is the US citizen) were at the stage where our approved petition had been sent to the Consulate in Montreal from the NVC but arrived right after they closed so the consulate has it, they just haven't accepted into their system (my case number has been given but not logged into the system yet). 

 

We hadn't had any further contact from the consulate regarding an interview date obviously and our petition runs out on July 15th. I contacted the consulate (by email they're not answering their phones) and they told me they'll only extend if its deemed necessary AT my interview. 

I see a lot of people talking about renewing the letter of intent to marry however I'm being told that they only do that at the interview so I'm incredibly confused. 

 

Is the letter of intent something I would just date and bring with me when I finally get my interview date?

Is there anything I can do right now or should I just sit and let the petition run out and wait for the consulates to re-open?

Adding on to what other people have given you for answers.

The letter of intent is pretty much the same as the first time you sent it, only 'updated' with a new date that you still plan to get married. You bring that to your interview.

You havent heard anything because Montreal isn't processing them, when they open back up, you will get 2 'ready' dates (you will see this if you're stalking it everyday), when you see the second change --that is when the embassy sends out your packet 3. You then eventually get that packet 3, fill out what it asks for, email it back to them, and then they send you by email your packet 4 to book an interview -- ONLY then can you book the interview, not before.

20 hours ago, Ksena said:

Hi there!i am trying to understand if the K1 visa is banned too? Our case is at embassy in Montreal. Thank you

Its not. Its just not mentioned.

By flying into the USA yes.

16 hours ago, RPete said:

I read this article today, and I hope some people will find it helpful. There is quite a bit of pushback from fiances separated by the land border closure:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cross-border-blues-covid-coronavirus-travel-restrictions-1.5606910

I don't understand why fiance's aren't included though, especially if we can prove with paper work, or our NoAs that we are legit trying to get married, and aren't just saying we are engaged to get over the border.

I know the closure isn't permanent but, when I read forums with people super happy and hope that border stays closed forever, it makes me so mad that they don't care about people who actually have family over there that they haven't seen in months due to this.

And with not all embassies resuming visa services yet that's an added frustration.

I could rant forever about this, lol

12 hours ago, Meg123RD said:

What was your airport experience like? Are the lines extra long

Awesome wow I wish I knew this before. I’ll be going end of the month now through Pearson!  tell me how the airport experience is like. I’m wondering if I should be extra early

Leaving from Montreal there was like no one in line. And there were no shops open, and more than half the gates were closed. It was really, really empty, and only 4 flights were on the board scheduled to leave.

As for customs, I was asked normal things, but since I'm staying in the US for like 3 months they asked more to prove I was coming back -- I can work remotely, and had a letter of employment just in case (they never asked for it), other than that though it was just regular questions.

The flight had everyone in their one seat (unless you were together with someone). Oh, you have to wear a mask to be let on, so make sure to bring one.

I kinda was ready to be told no though, cause it's really up to the customs guys to let you through. I was happy they let me though!

Edit: oh, I had a layover in a US state. COMPLETELY opposite, it was like a damn normal full airport, with things open, and a ton of people.

17 hours ago, Giovanna024 said:

Exclusive: Canada, U.S. set to extend border closure to end-July - sources

I am affraid this is for Air also

The border closure was never for air.

If you go to one of the posts in the Canada thread, there is a post I created with 3 proper sources outlining that it's land only.

Edit: your big bolded text also doesn't link anywhere, just letting you know.

39 minutes ago, Meg123RD said:

Do you mind telling me what you’ve seen with other people’s experience? I didn’t know this was possible!

I flew to the US may 20th with American Airlines, the land border, is closed, not air.

I was only asked normal questions.

7 hours ago, pooj97 said:

Hi everyone, even though the Montreal embassy has not yet reopened, my fiancé and I are starting to prepare documents for the interview since we’ve received our NVC case number. I know that for the interview we have to provide Form I-134 and supporting financial documents for the K1 visa. The issue is - I graduated university in 2019 and didn’t start my job until September 2019. I didn’t have to file before 2018 and I only have my 2018 and 2019 tax returns. In my 2018 return, I obviously don’t make enough since I was still a student but I made about $24000 in my 2019 tax return (even though my actual salary is almost triple that), and which is about $3k more than what is required for the fiancé visa income requirements. However, there was an issue in filing my taxes this year due to Covid and therefore my tax refund and therefore tax transcript is still processing with the IRS and might still take longer. I already have my 2019 tax return that shows that I made $24k in 2019, but will this, along with my paystubs and offer letter showing my actual annual salary be enough for the interview? Or should I wait for my 2019 transcript too? Thanks

I believe come July 19th or something -- taxes from 2019 are going to be needed and not 2018.

It'll be awhile until you get you packet 3, so by the time you do, it'll prob be past that date.

The other stuff you mentioned is good too.

I personally was super close to getting p4(sent P3 in pretty much when they decided to close), and had 2018 tax stuff ready butttt with Covid...and who knows when embassy starts processing again, I'm going to have to redo it to 2019 numbers instead >.>

3 hours ago, In4theJourney said:

*crickets*
 

Anyone have any updates on their case? 
 

 

 

Nope.

Filed p3 in March(like right when my embassy closed) for Canada, waiting on p4...........just need the embassy to start visa processing again.

On 6/4/2020 at 9:23 PM, ashley_ann said:

Any news about Montreal Canada? I haven't heard or seen anything but hoping someone might have...

Someone in the Canada FB group called them. They are technically open, but they're not scheduling any interviews for June, and couldn't say when they're going to start again.

When they do, I'm sure it's gonna be rescheduling the cancelled people first, then by date recieved since they closed in March, soooo it's gonna be awhile.

11 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

Q-1 You'll get the result of your inquiry and it will have a date. The next time you check, or subsequent checks should reveal another date and the one that shows a different date is the "second" date. But you'll have to be checking CEAC to see this.

 

Q-2 You can wait for the welcome letter but keep in mind you will lose about 30 - 45 days in which you will be waiting when you could be moving your case to a visa. It's always your choice on how fast you want to move forward at this stage as you are now in control. 

Wait, since when do Canadians get a welcome letter?

I'm prettttty sure, it's basically wait for it to get to the embassy, let the date change twice, they send p3, then you (the beneficiary) sends the p3, and then you get p4.

I'm past the p3 waiting on p4. Never got a welcome letter.

On 5/24/2020 at 9:46 AM, dlmb said:

I flew from Ottawa to Pennsylvania on May 1st to visit my fiance and returned May 17. I flew American Airlines and told customs I was visiting my fiance, that I knew I had to self isolate for 14 days and that I had been working from home since Mar 24 (which I have been). On those conditions, he "granted me permission to enter the US" - his words.

 

Upon returning to Ontario last Sun, I've had one call from Public Health of Canada and 3 calls from the Ontario Ministry of Health (2 missed, 1 talked to), to ensure I was adhering to the mandatory 14 day isolation.

 

Btw, I'm in the process of K1.

Weird, so they're only doing calls?! 

I only get back August (or earlier if embassy opens and lets me schedule my interview) but I was wondering how they actually check up on you, it's good to know.

36 minutes ago, sbell said:

Thank you so much for all of this information, it is beyond helpful. I had no idea there was an additional site to check. 
 

I think I might have messed up as I accidentally submitted our DS160 without the go ahead you are mentioning above.. We were given a link in their last notice letter to a website where it said we would ‘learn how to prepare for the interview.’ The DS160 was the first item and did not include any time of timing instruction so I submitted today to get ahead as I thought we were supposed to... Did I make a huge mistake? Will this impact me negatively in any way? 
 

Once again thank you so so much. 

tbh Im not super sure.

I know of someone that did and it was delayed, but at this point everything is delayed. Idk how long DS160s are good for. Just make sure to keep confirmation # of the DS160 because you will need that for the Packet 3 because they ask for the number, and proof of submitting it.

Worst case, you will just have to fill it out all over again, but I'm not super sure.

If you want, there is a Canadian FB with people who have gone through the process and you can ask there. Ill DM you the think.

So, Ive been hearing a lot of people saying Canadians can visit the US, so I looked it up and found that the border closed thing, is only LAND based.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/03/24/2020-06217/notification-of-temporary-travel-restrictions-applicable-to-land-ports-of-entry-and-ferries-service   --3rd Paragraph from bottom

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1596?language=en_US   --scroll down to canadian restrictions

https://ca.usembassy.gov/travel-restrictions-fact-sheet/   --First question of Q&A

They all say we can fly there. What do you all think?

3 hours ago, sbell said:

Sorry guys, I feel with the semi extensive research I've put in I should understand this better but I find myself still pretty confused.

 

We FINALLY received our NO2 too back in Feb (and thanks so much to everyone who kindly advised that the overly lengthy wait for this was due to my fiance's military status - pretty sure you were all right). We both received letters about a month later stating the same thing: Mine (the alien fiance) said - The NVC has received your approved I129F from the USCIS. The NVC will now forward the petition to the US Consulate in Montreal and contact my fiance when they are ready to process.. Please go to the nvc website to learn how to prepare for the interview. Maybe it's the quarantine getting to me but I just don't feel clear on what exactly is going on at this point. Submit the D160 and gather all of the other components mentioned on the site? Is the 1-134 necessary? Are they contacting him or me when they are ready to process? Again, I'm VERY sorry I'm sure there is a thread on this already.... any direction would be super helpful. 

Thank you so so much in advance. Still pretty discouraged as our wedding is supposed to be in October but trying to be hopeful. 

You are doing a K1 right?---And you're in Canada (just guessing by consulate you put in)

You basically have to wait for NVC to ship it, and wait for your case to say 'Ready' twice on this website: https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/ (if youve been watching the date, you'll see this change in the date ---click check my visa status, but ignore anything in the box, it doesnt pertain to us)

Once its at the second 'Ready' that is when Montreal sends out the P3 to either you or the beneficiary (or both) -- when you get that, that is when you submit the packet 3, and the DS160.

After that they send you p4 to schedule your interview (that normally takes a few days)

HOWEVER. The embassy has been closed since March 18th ish. They're backed up with not only cancelled interviews, but EVERY single case that has been sent to them since.

If I were you Id check that website (choose immigrant option even though I know we aren't, and put in your MTL# to see what it says, and then go from there). But at this point, you have to wait until they open. 

I personally tried emailing them the other week cause my NoA2 expired 2 days ago, and wanted to make sure it'll be extended, but you only get an auto-reply. 

Edit: Based on the dates you have in the timeline, I'm going to GUESS that its sitting in the pile of all the other received cases from the NVC, and will eventually be worked on when the embassy decides to open it and go through all the stuff theyre backed up on. Just make sure to be checking that date on that website for it to change again. Cause that is when they will send the P3.

3 hours ago, mvan said:

Have you heard anything about If there will be exceptions to visitors to Canada after May 21? I heard today that the border closure will be extended for another month  

That isn't official yet. In Trudeau's speech today his answer to that was there was no official announcement yet.

I still think it's gonna happen, but definitely not official yet. Maybe there will be some other plan put in place, who knows.

27 minutes ago, Ryceryce said:

Everyone, please clarify with your embassy. Seems like different embassies interpret the message differently. The embassy in my country states it is not HOWEVER, NVC is not fowarding our petition to them (>1 month in transit) despite the embassy requested. My conclusion is that everyone in the NVC interept the message differently - different customer service agents says differently, different supervisor says different thing. There's never a clear cut answer from NVC. The trend it seems that some petitions were lucky to made it out while others weren't so lucky. Now we have to sit and wait. 

 

Also, the presidential proclamation states that there will be a review of non-immigrant visas in 30 days this month. I hope then it would provide crystal clear where K visas stands.

 

 

I agree, it's like everyone thinks all the Embassies work the same way. Just like they think the process for K1s work the same for everyone, and it doesn't.
 

At this moment, for me, I just want the Montreal Embassy to open to process interviews, and then have the US border open, I got unlucky and sent P3 in the day before they closed or something close to it  No possible dates suck! lol

On 4/24/2020 at 11:59 AM, pooj97 said:

Your case number should be coming soon. I think both of us have a very similar timeline. I got my NOA2 on April 7th and called NVC an hour ago where they gave me my case number! You should definitely call them.

 

On another note, are they sending Packet 3's to beneficiaries even if embassies aren't doing interviews? Or will we have to wait for Packet 3 until the embassies start doing interviews again?

Montreal is not sending any P3's or P4's out at the moment as they are closed. You're gonna have to wait until they open for them to start sending them again.
Which means, NVC is gonna ship it to them, but its going to sit there with alllll the other ones waiting for a P3, and they will go by date received -- once they open and start things up again.

20 minutes ago, boubasaur said:

 Thanks for your reply! How were you able to check that your case arrived in Montreal on the 5th? And did you physically get a letter asking you to submit your packet 3?

Edit: I just filled out the DS-160. I had no idea this needed to be done... Would this be the reason why there has been no update for my case yet?

I sent you a DM. 

9 minutes ago, boubasaur said:

 Thanks for your reply! How were you able to check that your case arrived in Montreal on the 5th? And did you physically get a letter asking you to submit your packet 3?

The CEAC website. That's where you check it.

That's what I told you to check. ceac.state.gov  -- make sure to choose immigrant in dropdown list even though we are technically non-immigrant

You should have been checking that the moment you got the NVC number.

1 hour ago, boubasaur said:

Hello everyone, I'm hoping to get some clarification on my situation. I'm sorry if this has been asked before. Just a little background, I'm a Canadian and my fiance is the US citizen.

 

I received our K-1 Visa Approval Notice letter in the mail saying that our petition was approved and USCIS has finished their part of the job. Our visa was moved to NVC who then stated (on March 3, 2020) they will be forwarding our petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in Montreal, Canada. We already have our MLT number!

 

We haven't gotten any mail or updates since March 3, 2020 and I'm a bit worried. I read on the forum that we should send in our "packet 3" but we have not received any mailed instructions to do so. When I called NVC, they had no idea what this packet 3 is. Our I-797 Notice of action/approval notice is only valid from January 29, 2020 to May 28, 2020.

 

Does anyone have any advice for me? Anything will help, thanks!

 

 

Have you checked ceac's website since the NVC forwarded it?

Did it ever say in transit? Or ready?

Once it gets to the embassy, it gets the first ready, and then you will see the second ready when the date changes. 

The second ready is when Montreal sends you the packet 3 checklist.

So you should check the CEAC website to see what it says.

Edit: My case also left on the 3rd, and showed up in Montreal on the 5th.

I had 2 readys after that and sent the packet 3 in....of course though, the embassy closed and never got packet 4, but you should be in the same situation. -- unless there's something weird going on of course

3 hours ago, arae said:

What does your say for Case Created Date? And do you have the 01 MTL after the case number?

It's normal to have the 01 MTL after it. Don't worry about it.

27 minutes ago, Zaraliaya said:

 

 

Actually, Packet 3 is just a checklist you send them a few days before for all the info you will bring.

Montreal Embassy does not let you schedule your interview until you get packet 4, that says 'You are now able to schedule your appointment.' -- doing so before gets cancelled.

 

 

And it's like that because it's the only way to book your medical. With packet 4 saying you can book your interview.

Medicals are also cancelled /on hold at the moment too.

I sent you a DM @RPete to a Facebook group for Canada, tons of ppl in there that have gone through it/are going through it. You can search through post history for in-depth instructions if needed.

On 4/16/2020 at 4:07 PM, Greenbaum said:

Do you have a copy of the PDF file from the first page of this thread? There I have explained certain steps, when they can be done, and where to go to execute the instruction. The top of the first page are the steps with the corresponding entry# to where you can find the background information for that step.

 

Canada is a different breed. They will not let you schedule your appointment until the receive the P3 checklist. If you do schedule before they receive your P3 checklist they will cancel the appointment. Some embassies are beginning to open their scheduling but not Canada. So, you have a little wait.

On 4/16/2020 at 4:11 PM, RPete said:

Thank you for the clarification. I do have the pdf, but my brain struggles sometimes with all the instructions. I know it's probably annoying to have to answer the same questions that have been asked before, but thank you. Yes, we are always a different breed, for the good and bad. That is good to know. I was encouraged to see cases being forwarded on to Montreal this week. I know we have a long ways to go, but I'm thankful for any little bit of hope. Our case doesn't have a case number yet, but we are in no rush  

Actually, Packet 3 is just a checklist you send them a few days before for all the info you will bring.

Montreal Embassy does not let you schedule your interview until you get packet 4, that says 'You are now able to schedule your appointment.' -- doing so before gets cancelled.