HD_BIRDS

18 hours ago, annierob said:

Hum...this gives me a lot to consider, thank you. My B2 ends July 3. I’ll try and figure out what to do this weekend...could be worth doing indeed.

I agree fully with @Kai (CanadaDude). But look into AOS timelines. Since I am already in the US working, I have considered changing many times to AOS since my I-130 was approved. However, the timelines to receive an advance parole for travel outside the US and a work visa are also backlogged. The travel parole and work visa used to take 3 - 4 months to receive. For some service centers, it is currently 8 months. The I-485 is also long, with some service centers indicating up to 17 months. My lawyer indicated it would be much quicker to stay the current course. Granted, I thought I would have an IL by now. If you don't need to travel or work outside the US for 6 - 8 months, and are aware the process will likely add significant time to your application if you are already DQ'd, then it could be an option for you.

13 minutes ago, annierob said:

Did you send a request to extend your B1/B2 Visa? I thought we were only allowed 6 months in a year.

Exactly, same as what @mam521 indicated. Many people have authorization to stay in the US in other statuses. I am in the US working in TN status.

19 hours ago, mam521 said:

Not the US. The US shares information between its agencies. 

Yes, you do not need a police certificate from the US if you have spent more than 6 months there. I have lived in the US for 14 months, and only need a police certificate from Canada.

43 minutes ago, darth vader said:

Sorry but I think your strategy is risky. Sometimes they speed up and give interview dates for 2-3 months in a single month. You may barely get a couple weeks before interview date. This happened at Mumbai consulate in India earlier this year. Please plan this carefully, you don't want to miss your interview. Good luck!

Agreed, it's very hard to predict. Given the snail's pace right now, that would be a miracle! But I am planning to go to Canada from early July and just stay until the IL. But it's difficult because I work in the US and my job only allows for 30 days of remote work outside of state / country. COVID definitely adds additional complications to an already complicated process, especially if you need to travel between the US and Canada.

18 hours ago, irisheyes123 said:

is anyone here based in the US? what if they give 2 weeks notice and you have to quarantine and don't have time to do the medical? is it just tough or are there exemptions? 

I am based in the US awaiting IL. My DQ is Dec. 3rd. I plan to go to Canada in advance of receiving the letter so I can quarantine for two weeks and then still have time to do the medical appointment at least a week before the interview. As soon as people in this forum who were DQ'd up to mid Nov get interview letters, I am planning to go wait in Canada. Thanks goodness for this forum! Otherwise, I would have no idea when to expect an IL!

On 4/25/2021 at 9:09 PM, DGF said:

Yes, you can absolutely visit. I visited every other weekend for a year and a half, and then for 5 months leading up to the pandemic, and then again for another 3 months last summer. I immigrated 6 months ago, no issues. The only thing you have to be aware of is to leave the US before your admit until date (generally 180 days from when you entered). Also, if you are spending a lot of time in the US that will raise some suspicion with CBP and you'll need to bring strong proof of ties to Canada with you to convince them otherwise. 

If the Canadian half is a Canadian citizen and doesn't have anything that would have them disqualified from being visa exempt (criminal record including DUI, etc), then just a ticket is sufficient. Otherwise a B1/B2 would be required. Always be honest if they ask about the visa process and the fact that you're visiting your spouse, but I wouldn't offer any details they don't explicitly ask for. Also, travel with proof that you're in the process (one time I almost didn't make it through but my NOA2 convinced them). 

As for bans, I wouldn't worry about them right now. The way our lawyer explained it to us, it's very hard for them to give them out in pre-clearance (aka airports) because of how the law is applied since they're technically on Canadian soil. It's not impossible, but exceedingly rare. The place you have to worry about them is the land border, but of course that's closed right now. The worst they can really do is deny entry, which won't have an impact on the visa, but you will be required to disclose it on the application and at the interview. 

 

Happy visiting!

Agree with this. I have visited the US countless times while going through the process. I have never had an issue. I have always had ties to Canada (rental agreement, proof of employment) ready when crossing, but have never been asked for them. It's still good to have these documents though, just in case. Some people do get asked about proof of intent to return to Canada.

2 minutes ago, HD_BIRDS said:

Yes, only the beneficiary. Who knows if quarantine requirements will change by July / August. I hope so! 

Oh and I just noticed that you and I have the exact same DQ date of Dec. 3rd! I am hoping for a July interview, but it may be August. It's very hard to predict! 

Just now, jbarr627 said:

Thanks so much. And forgive me again for this question, but only the beneficiary goes to the interview, correct?

Yes, only the beneficiary. Who knows if quarantine requirements will change by July / August. I hope so! 

23 hours ago, jbarr627 said:

Thank you! We’ll be coming from the States 😕

I will also be coming from the States, and expecting interview in July. Yes, you need to quarantine for two weeks before your medical, which needs to be done at least a week in advance if you want the results to get to the consulate before the interview. I am planning to go to Canada prior to when I expect to get an IL, since once you receive the IL, you may only have 3 or 4 weeks turnaround time. With a mandatory 14 day quarantine (even if you are vaccinated!), the time to get everything done after receiving the IL is very tight. 

4 hours ago, Emilini said:

Congrats to all the people that are getting the visas.  It is so good to see that Montreal is really moving along.  It's too bad things are still nutty because of Covid.

Please excuse me for my persistent questions here.  I'm only mildly freaking out - but I think that might be somewhat normal for those of us who are so close - yet so far from IR/CR status.

Please answer these few more questions, if you are able.

1.  Has anyone ever been denied entry at the border - if so, what will be/were the consequences at interview?  (I've been denied 2x over the past 15 years for not having the correct travel document)

2.  Is my police certificate from June 2020 still valid in light of the new requirements or do I need to get a new one, even though this one is not expired?

3.  What are the experiences with AP?

4.  Has anyone considered or researched just doing AOS?

 

Thanks, all.  I'm sorry for asking so many questions.

I am in the same boat as you (working in the US on a non-immigrant visa waiting for the IL), though I was DQ'd in early Dec. Please keep me updated on how things go for you and what you decide in terms of timing to travel back to Canada. I considered doing AOS, but was warned that it would add a significant amount of time to the process (minimum an additional 18 months), and ultimately decided against it now that I am so close to the finish line. Also if you are on a non-immigrant intent visa like a TN, there is always a risk that it could be determined you entered with pre-conceived intent if you adjust status from the work visa. The consular processing gets around the dual intent issue because you are required to return to Canada to process the spousal visa.

16 hours ago, Lovenature said:

I finally have an appointment. I have been calling local SSN office for weeks now. Each person who answers the phone gave me a different story. It took a lot of frustration and persistence hounding them to finally get on the list for an appointment. They are booking about a week out in my area.

Persistence is key to get an SSN appointment. In Washington D.C., they repeatedly told me a supervisor would call me back to schedule and then never did. Finally (after 4 months of calling and waiting!) I told them I was not getting off the phone until I spoke with a supervisor. The supervisor scheduled the appointment for 4 days later and everything was very quick after that.

16 minutes ago, zor435 said:

So the officer told me that the required document uploaded by my lawyer had been uploaded to the wrong section and therefore delayed my case. If I hadn't inquired about it, I wouldve kept waiting, thinking that my lawyer will done everything for us. 

Just saw this update, that's unfortunate. It shouldn't take long now though if all of the forms are uploaded and they don't request anything else.

1 hour ago, zor435 said:

The document they requested had been submitted October 21 and the status says it has been accepted but no other email received after that. Does the status accepted indicate its been reviewed. I haven't called them yet maybe I should. 

I received an email indicating I was "documentarily qualified", and also a message in the CEAC online portal with the title "all required applicant documents have been received and approved". When I open the message it again says "documentarily qualified". So there's no ambiguity! Good luck and I hope you get an answer over the phone.

On 1/17/2021 at 2:31 PM, zor435 said:

I have submitted all documents but have not received an email from NVC to state that I am DQ. Everything was submitted on October 21,2020. How long does it take them to process the submitted documents?

That seems like a very long time. We submitted all documents to NVC end Nov., received a RFE (request for evidence) 4 days later, and an email indicating we were DQ'd 7 days after sending in the missing document. So in total it only took 2 weeks, and that included an RFE. Are you sure there isn't a message when you login? Have you called the NVC?

4 hours ago, Lucky Cat said:

Yes, you can.  You might to contact someone up the chain of command, but a SSN is not required for health insurance.  Sometimes, the insurance company can assign you a temporary number.

Agreed, yes you can. I was on my husband's insurance for a year without an SSN, and also received my own health insurance through work before having an SSN.

1 hour ago, YPYP said:

Hi all & @Hawk Riders,

 

To give you a sense of what timelines look like, I had my interview Wednesday, December 30th and was approved for my CR1  at the time. According to CEAC my visa was  'Issued" on January 5th and I had my passport back in hand on Friday, January 8th. My POE will be on Wednesday, January 13th, at Pearson Airport. 

 

My company, which is Canadian but operates largely out of the US, will be transferring me to their mid-town New York office effective Thursday, January 14 and going forth I will be a US employee for them. A question to anyone who may know, while I wait for my SSN is there anything that I can provide my company in the interim? As they will need that for tax purposes and to activate my private health insurance with Aetna.

 

Thanks!

I have some experience with this as I am in the US on a TN while I wait for my PR. It took me FOREVER to get an SSN after entering on a TN because the SSA offices were initially closed, and then only taking emergency appointments, like people who needed unemployment assistance. There is typically a 90 day grace period for employers so you can legally start working without the SSN. For me, I worked without it for 7 months, when I finally obtained it in November. My employer was able to activate my health insurance, have tax withheld and so on without the SSN. I would also recommend visiting an SSA office in person to request the SSN (you need to call to make an appointment), as it is much quicker. I received it in the mail 5 days after visiting an office in person.

14 minutes ago, Atyree9 said:

Hah we had a border patrol agent Try and tell us that this was illegal.

Canadians do not require a visa to visit the US as a visitor, and it is certainly not illegal to visit in a non-immigrant status with a pending immigrant application. I have a TN-1 (explicitly a non immigration intent work authorization) that I obtained while my PR application to the US was pending. It wasn't an issue at all because I still technically need to return to Canada to complete consular processing of the PR. If I had applied for adjustment of status upon entering on a non immigration intent status (visitor, TN, etc), then there is some case to be made for misrepresenting intent upon entering. Not so for consular processing, where by definition you need to return to Canada before immigrating.

7 hours ago, YYZ&MIA said:

Yeah, actually a so called lawyer told me that I wont have problems going back to Toronto and coming back after we got married which was the worst advice ever and what actually put us in this position in the first place but to be fair it really is our fault for not doing our research and getting legal advice from a reputable lawyer. The lawyer we have now is one of the top lawyers in Florida and I am confident in him. Another lawyer also told me not to try and visit until I get my green card. I believe its because my past issues at the border and like someone in this forum said applying for a green card means you intent to live there so obviously entering on a B2 would be misinterpretation. Also, based on my own experience and hearing peoples stories it really seems there is almost zero consistency and it truly depends on the border officer and what he decides. It is so unfair but it seems to be the case. I dont want to take any chances and complicate things even more so I have been waiting. Based on the timelines it seems like it will be another year lol. I am almost numb at this point. 

You can enter on a B2 with a pending immigrant application. A B2 requires that you return to Canada within 180 days, so it does not impute immigration intent, even with a pending IR-1 / CR-1. I have crossed dozens of times in the three years since I married my USC husband, and have never had an issue. As @jackanddeona indicated, you just need to be prepared. I had a job in Canada when I was crossing, so that was always a good demonstration of my intent to return despite the immigrant application. Though I was never asked for any proof,  I always had recent pay stubs and my return ticket in hand when I crossed.

15 hours ago, exp said:

Done.

 

However, the section "National Visa Center Processing" is a bit confusing and I am not sure what most of these dates mean. My case is DQ, I think it is done at the NVC and forwarded to the embassy.

 

 

 

I would also like to be added to the spreadsheet. I have completed my timeline @Hawk Riders

Hi all,

I was just DQ'd at NVC yesterday. My VJ timeline is updated. Could I get added to the spreadsheet?

Thanks!

6 minutes ago, Atyree9 said:

We are in Canada right now. Interview is on the 14th of December, so we’re trying to do it as fast as possible. 

I used a private fingerprinter, submitted to commissionaires and had the police certificate in my hands 8 days later (this was done from the U.S., so that included time to receive it in the mail). The time from receipt of fingerprints to RCMP completion was 3 business days, so very quick.

8 minutes ago, Atyree9 said:

Husband needs an updated police certificate, but our local police station is not doing them because of COVID. They won’t do fingerprints. Any ideas of what to do?

There are many private fingerprinters. You can use them and they will often digitize the prints for you too. Are you currently in Canada or the US? Once you have the digital prints you can submit the digital prints electronically to CCRTIS if you are within Canada.

19 hours ago, 2Ps said:

I was in Seattle for a month in Aug and my lawyer advised not to as it takes forever. I am here again till the new years and hoping they will resume interviews next week.... so tempted to switch to AOS since they are slowing down again, but we are so close...At least I am glad I can be with my husband for a while till new years, but the thought of going back  and not getting interview early new year freaks me out....

That's my fear too, already being so close and then it taking another 2 years for AOS. Plus I am already able to live and work in the US through a TN, so should probably just patiently wait for the interview to be scheduled, which at this rate will probably be in July - Sept 2021!

Hi all,

Given the long wait times from DQ to interview date at the Montreal consulate, has anyone here been in the US already and decided to switch to AOS (reason due to COVID to avoid preconceived intent upon entering) after DQ? What are the pros and cons to doing so?

Did your I-130 get transferred? Or any idea what sped up the process? Thanks!

Heather