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JACHA

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    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public CONTINUED

    in Canada

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Ptitchou said:

    Update: Email for passport return by Purolator sent on Friday, Feb 12

    Passport with visa arrived in hand today, Feb 17. 

    My Interview was Feb 10, and I've still yet to receive an email with a tracking number. It's been 1 week. The status updated on Tuesday to the Issued - "Final Processing...."  I chose the courier option as well.

     

    Not a happy camper right now...

    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public CONTINUED

    in Canada

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Ptitchou said:

    It's honestly a bit ridiculous. My bigger concern now is will we have to have a negative test just to be able to re-enter Canada if we're only going to the border to activate the visa? And then also pay to take the test at the border and then again 10 days later... I understand why these rules were put in place but it's ridiculous that no one's considered the edge cases of various situations and circumstances. And how long will this be in place for? The rest of the year? 

     

    Anyway... I got my purolator notice of shipment on Friday. Estimated delivery should be today but I don't see that it's moved outside of Quebec yet. Fingers crossed I get it soon. I feel naked without my passport! 

    I still have not received my Purolator Notice and my Interview was on Wednesday, Feb 10. Basically a week ago.  When my buddy did his interview on Wednesday Jan 27, he got his notification on Friday the 29th, and the passport came in on Monday, Feb 1. So I am a bit concerned. I was hoping to travel to the states this week itself. But here I am still waiting and we also have to factor in the COVID test which may take up to 3 days to get.

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    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public CONTINUED

    in Canada

    Posted

    Alright Folks, here it goes....

     

    APPROVED!!!!!

     

    Interview: Wednesday, Feb 10, 2021 @ 7:45am 

     

    All I could think of while walking to the consulate and waiting in the room was how accurate everyone's experience was and was trying to make mental notes so that I could come back here and share my experience! haha

     

    So here's my experience (If you don't want to read it, in summary, it was like everyone else's experience) 

    - Stayed at the Sheraton Hotel. Literally a 2 minute straight walk down the road.

    - Got to the line about 5-10 minutes before my interview time. There we 2 people ahead of me. 

    - Security Guard asked to see my passport, interview confirmation letter and asked me 3 Covid screening questions

    - Allowed me inside to where I had to go through a metal detector and put my stuff through a scanner (Same as TSA at the Airport)

    - A small locker thats perfect just to fit your phone was available. Put it in, take the key, and return it on your way out.

    - Went upstairs and was asked to go to Window 7 to drop my passport off. Side note - in my head I pictured this waiting room as some old dimly lit type office, however it was very new, clean and fairly big- very similar to a new medical office.

     

    The interview

    - Called up and the associate asked for the required documents - Birth Certificate (Long-Form), Marriage Certificate, Police Record, 1 Passport Photo

    - He verified my address and my spouses address. Her's did change and he manually recorded it. I also had uploaded an updated I-864EZ with the new address. He also had me take my finger prints (4 left, 4 right, 2 thumbs). FYI - They don't wipe these down.

    - Then he gave me the domestic violence pamphlet and told me to sit back down. 

    - I got called up one more time to me with a different individual. This is where I had to take the Oath.

    - Here's a summary of questions he asked - Verify your name and date of birth. Who is your Petitioner? When did you meet and When did you get married? Where did you get married? Who was at your wedding? Who were the witnesses? What does your spouse do? What do you do? Are you planning on applying for jobs when you move to the states? Where are you going to live? Who else lives there? Do the other people who live there work? Did you get this pamphlet (Domestic Violence)? Did you read it? In one or two lines can you explain to me what it talks about? 

    - Then the associate gave me back my documents from before (Marriage certificate, Birth Certificate, etc.) and handed me the "Welcome to USA" Letter. And advised me that my passport should be mailed back within 3-4 weeks. (Even though I paid for courier service). I think this is a generic timeline they give. 

    - I did ask him when he thinks I could expect my physical green card and Social Security Number but he said he's not sure, it's a different department that handles that. 

    - Then made my way out, down the elevator and go my phone from the locker. 

    - I finished and was out by 8:49am . So total time was about an hour. I expect this to be a little longer if your interview if it's in the afternoon. I was in the first batch of interviews so by the time i was getting out the room became way more full.

     

    Here is the BIGGEST PRO TIP (and I think it should be added to the FAQ)  - UPLOAD ALL YOUR DOCUMENTS TO CEAC BEFORE YOUR INTERVIEW!

    - A friend of mine who did his interview 2 weeks ago told me he had uploaded all his docs prior to coming and the lady behind the desk said "Thank you so much, not a lot of people upload there documents, this helps alot".

    - Most the time they spend is scanning all our docs if its not in the system already. So you can speed up the process if you upload and label everything correctly. 

    - Some things I uploaded that helped  were

          - IRS Tax Transcript 

          - IRS Wages and Earnings

          - W2's

          - 1040's

          - My Passport photo

          - Wifes Passport and Birth Certificate 

         - My Passport

         - Revised I864EZ

         - DS260 Confirmation Page

     

    ^ All this is on top of what you had already submitted initially. And don't worry about the documents being "Accepted" . It's okay to have them in the "Submitted" state. The goal is we're trying to save them from doing more work of scanning documents. If you save them time, they'll save you time!

     

    All in all, I owe VisaJourney and people like @Hawk Riders a lot for this thread as well as the Google Sheets Tracker and FAQ. Honestly, unless your case is complex, you do not need a lawyer. This thread had everything you need to get approved and was my guiding light the last 6-8 months when we didn't know what was going on during the pandemic. I encourage everyone to keep this thread going and the tracker going forward for those after us - Pay it forward!

     

    Now I look forward to getting my passport back, getting my physical green card and my SSN. I hope they automatically send me the SSN and I don't need to set-up an appointment with the SSN office.

     

    Open to answer any questions you may have. Remember the Pro Tip above! 

    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public CONTINUED

    in Canada

    Posted

    Question about SSN. I've read in the FAQ that If you selected "Yes" on the DS-260 to receive your SSN, you will get it in the mail. Was this the question that was being referenced: 

    "Do you authorize disclosure of information from this form to the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, and such other U.S. Government agencies as may be required for the purposes of assigning you a social security number (SSN) and issuing you a Social Security card and do you authorize the Social Security Administration to share your SSN with the Department of Homeland Security? " 

     

    I just want to confirm that I don't have to call the SSN office to book an appointment as I see from the previous posts that people are having trouble getting an appointment.

     

    Thanks

    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public CONTINUED

    in Canada

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, fxch3 said:

    I can't believe I'm saying this but I got my IL today! I am so happy, congrats to everyone that did. :) 

     

    DQ: May 29, 2020 

     

    Quick question for everyone: 

    "Only family members listed below in the "Additional Applicants" section who are intending to immigrate at this time must appear at the Embassy/Consulate General on the appointment date" My husband name is under this section, does he have to attend the interview with me? He lives in America, works there, I'm 90% sure he won't be able to come here in such a short time with the quarantine act as well. Is everyone attending the interview with their spouse? 

    I too was also confused about this as well. Can anyone confirm that the spouse aka petitioner does not need to attend?

    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public CONTINUED

    in Canada

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, jackanddeona said:

    I'm 1 day behind you and I was just saying this to my wife. It would not be hard for them to just say what date interviews will be sent out, if at all, at the beginning of the month. Instead they make us play this guessing game while sending cryptic messages on social media. What does limited mean? Why havn't any been sent out when they could have easily said we aren't scheduling for a short while? I understand some of these decisions are out of their hands but the reality is they could make this process so much better with a minor update every month about what they plan.

     

    But people have been lamenting their lack of communication pretty much forever so why would that change now. 

     

    I DQ'd May 22, so I am also literally next in line.

     

    I wrote an email to the Montreal Consulate to see if I could get any more clarity, rather than expecting a response on social media. I haven't heard back yet.  In my email I also added the fact that the consulate should maybe consider that many applicants may currently be in the US with their spouse/family, and that it is critical for them to communicate when applicants can expect their interviews as there are some barriers in coming back to Canada to consider.

     

    Prior to Interview applicants must:

    - Quarantine for 14-days 

    - Schedule Medical Exam after 14-day Quarantine  (5-10 business days to send results to embassy)

     

    All in all, a months notice is tight for those that will be travelling back from the US. 

     

    For me, I came back in the beginning of January in hope that I could do the above and get everything done with some time to spare. Had I known it would be longer, I would of stayed back with my spouse for an extra week or so. So like everyone else, I hope that Interview Letters are sent out next week.

    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public

    in Canada

    Posted

    On 12/31/2020 at 12:10 PM, DGF said:

    My husband got a new job title and promotion so we brought an updated i864 to the interview. I'd also let them know about the address change, which you can do at the interview but it wouldn't hurt to email them ahead of time too, because I think (but am not sure) that some mail including green cards do not get forwarded even when mail forwarding is in place. 

    None of that should cause any additional processing time. Good luck!

    Thanks @DGF!!

    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public

    in Canada

    Posted

    Question - My wife got a new job (same occupation - nurse) and also moved to a new place. Is there any documentation we need to fill in before hand to submit during are interview (or prior to our interview) to make note of these changes? The job pays more than what where she initially worked when we submitted our docs so it shouldn't effect the financial component of the sponsorship. And she did mail forwarding so any mail that goes to her place will get re-routed to her new place. I want to avoid making any changes as much as possible just to avoid adding any additional processing time. I'm expecting our interview for February (May 22 DQ). 

    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public

    in Canada

    Posted

    Sorry if this has been answered already - I got my Police Record Check in May 2020. I presume my interview will be in February (DQ = May 22). Given the Police record is technically still valid (<1 year), should I get a new Police Record Check to abide by the "new" standard just in case? Or is the consensus that they will accept the old police record check if you DQ'd before November 2020?

     

     

    IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public

    in Canada

    Posted

    Congrats to all who got their interview dates today! My DQ date is May 22nd so l can't wait till the next batch of dates come out in January! 

     

    A friend of mine not on VJ got his as well - his DQ was May 13 and interview scheduled for Jan 27 (Just FYI) 

     

    I had a question in regards to travelling once you receive your interview date. I thought i read somewhere that you couldn't travel before or after you do your medical? Is that right or am I making that up? 

     

    Apart from the quarantine and not having your passport for at least a week after your interview, are there any travel restrictions from the time your receive your interview date till the time of your interview?

    Interview at Montreal embassy.

    in US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

    Posted

    Just now, JB&CP said:

    Which thread is this exactly? Just so I can follow it?

     

    8 minutes ago, Ptitchou said:

    Someone in the Montreal private thread group said they spoke to someone today at Montreal. They're in Phase 1 of reopening, which means only "life & death emergencies" are getting processed and only 40% of staff have been brought back. 

     

    Montreal already had a 5-6 month wait for CR-1 visa interviews before covid. I suspect we're not going to get scheduled for this year. 

    Same, I'd like to be a part of that thread if possible. Appreciate the update!

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