Cammabear

GC: arrived

SCORE!
 
"On January 26, 2021, we mailed your new card for your Form OS155A, Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, Receipt Number IOEXXXXXXXXXX, to the address you gave us. If you do not receive your card by February 10, 2021..."
...apparently after sending the case inquiry message on the 23rd, the case was updated with "Your card is being produced..."

Interview process
I’ll skip the first part since it’s the same and has been covered by many people.
 
Documents I was asked to provide:
Original marriage certificate
Original and translated copy of birth certificate
(The above documents were returned to me when I did my interview)
One photo (which she returned to me after scanning)
Petitioner’s latest taxes (I had the tax transcript and a photocopy of W2)
Original police certificates
She confirmed my address in Canada and US. 
 
I received a pamphlet about domestic violence. 
 
My interviewer was really nice and friendly. The questions she asked were:
What is the name of your petitioner?
Is it your first marriage?
Is it his first marriage?
Do you have any kids?
Where did you get married?
How did you meet?
What year did you meet?
What year did you get married?
Does he still live in X city?
What is he doing in Y state? 
What were you doing in the UK?
Where else have you lived in?
What year did your family move to Canada?
What was the longest amount of time you’ve stayed in the US?
Have you ever been arrested?
Did you read the pamphlet? What is it about?
Do you have any questions?
 
She said my visa was approved and said it would take about 2-3 weeks to receive my visa/passport. 
The whole thing took about 2 hours. 
 
Medical: December 29, 2020 (Dr. Cheema)
DQ: April 27, 2020
IL: December 11, 2020
Interview: January 20, 2021
 
I wish you all the best!

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

IL Feb 8th, 9:30am. Thank you visa journey for being my support group for almost 2 years 🙏. You guys are amazing 😁.....

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

DQ June 1st, interview February 24th! What a pleasant surprise to wake up to that email! 

Hi everyone, I had my interview today at 9:30am and got approved. Everything went smoothly. They said it will take about 3 weeks to receive my passport. I am super excited
 
Just a quick NOTE : Do Not Bring any sort of backpack, laptop bag  or a handbag with you. Just bring your folder and necessary items like phones and wallets. I think small purses  are ok too. They  will not let you in otherwise and will ask u leave it somewhere else. 
 
Good luck to everybody! 

My husband had his interview this morning at 8:30 and was approved for his IR-1!!!
 
We are so relived and ecstatic that this process is coming to a close- now just to wait for the passport- we will provide a more in depth review later. Thanks everyone for all the support- don't know what I would do without this group!

Morning, as promised - here is a run down of my interview on Monday, Jan 11, 2021.
 
Location
- In the RBC building; which is on the streetcorner
- I arrived 5 minutes early (10:10 AM), and a security guard asked me general covid questions
- I went through airport-like security; I did not have my phone or smart watch with me so it was very smooth
- Unlike many other reviews, I found the security guards to be professional and not rude.
- Security guards directed me to the elevator to go to floor 1; and then booth 6 once I arrived.
- Note: my husband walked me to the interview, and was waiting outside to make sure I got through - I didnt realize this happened, but he was asked to leave (not surprising)
 
Arrival:
- So elevator doors opened to floor 1; and opened up to what looks like a regular passport office.
- Took me a moment to orient myself, but I found booth 6 which was just straight ahead and to the left
- It is DEAD quiet in there!  So everyone just kind of awkwardly looks at eachother..
- booths 1-5 are down a hall to the left, and 6-10 are straight ahead but to the left.
- No one was at booth 6 when I arrived so I was awkwardly standing around, and a nice gal told me she thinks I needed to sit down  and wait; as  no one had been there in a while.
- We later both went up to booth 6 and were directed to other booths (at this stage she took and kept my passport)
 
Step 1:
- I was directed to booth 4; which was down the hall
- Passport was already at the desk by the time I got there
- Asked for: Marriage certificate, Birth certificate, police clearances (I had one from UK), AND photocopies of Police Clearances
- I was asked for my husband's phone number
- She confirmed my mailing address in Canada & Intended address in the US (she stated them, I didnt share with her)
- Was asked for my passport photo, and to remove my mask - she compared the photo to my actual face; she then returned my passport photo and told me that its all electronic now so she didnt need to keep it.
- Confirmed attorneys name (not that they have been overly helpful-HA)
- She also confirmed the date of my I-864 (not the expiration date, the date that it was signed- so assuming checking to see if they had most up-to-date)
- Believe this whole process took about 5-10 minutes
- At the very end, I was handed a pamphlet on domestic abuse, and sat back down.
 
I then hand sanitized, and at back down. 
 
* Please note: As of 1/11/21, the clock was out of batteries and stuck at 430, which is hilarious because I peeked a couple of times and kept thinking man, time is REALLY crawling..  I really had no sense of time while in there.
 
Step 2:
- Over the loud speaker, I heard my name called, and was called to booth 11, which was nearest to everyone sitting in the room; so I am sure they overheard all.  
- I was asked how we met; so I explained the circumstances
- I was asked if my husband owns or rents in NYC,
- I was asked when was the last time I saw my husband, so I explained he was in Canada currently on a tourist visa, and had been since March 15, and that we had obtained permission from the Government of Canada for an extension to stay. 
- I was then asked for his newest tax transcript - which i provided, she reviewed and asked to keep, I told her of course. (2019 tax transcript.  Note: I had already uploaded this to CEAC, along with his most recent paystubs)
- I was asked what he did for work - and I explained and so she said oh, ok so he can work remote, and she seemed satisfied by this.
- Lastly, I was asked to explain what was described in the domestic abuse pamphlet I had been handed.
- At this point she told me all that was missing was my Medical (which i was aware of), and she advised me that she would have to give me a 221g refusal notice, but provided me the information on how to track my case online.
- She then asked if I needed my passport for immediate travel and if not, she would keep it and then mail it back to me
- Believe this process took about 15 minutes.
 
My walk back to the hotel was 15 minutes, and I arrived back just before noon. 
 
As of this AM, 1/13/21 - my medical results have still not been sent to the consulate.  I called and followed up with Medysis, and they said they are being sent today... so waiting for that confirmation email.
 
Hopefully this is helpful to one, or more of you - and I wish everyone the best of luck!
 
 
 
 
 

Hey guys! I had my interview today and was approved! Even though I became increasingly anxious as the interview neared (I'm sure many of you understand how stressful this process is), my whole experience at the Consulate was very easy! I will post my entire review after I enter the US so I can give you all the information I've learned at one time. Good luck everyone!

Update!
 
01/06/21 (interview @ 9am) - status on CEAC was Ready before the interview, right after the interview it changed to issued (undergoing admin processing). About 5 hours after my interview the status on CEAC changed back to ready. 
 
01/07/21 - status on CEAC @ 9am was back to issued (undergoing admin processing). @ 10:30am it changed to issued (final processing). @ 11:15am I received a message from US DOS stating that my passport was shipped and that I'll receive info from Purolator soon. @ 11:16 I received notice from Purolator that a shipment was created with tracking information 
 
01/08/21 - Passport w. Visa was delivered to my home @ 1:30pm 

I'm curious to see if the pending Quebec lockdown is going to impact interviews being conducted. I'm due to be in the next batch of IL's this month, travelling to Montreal at this time is not an overly comforting thought. I'm in a higher risk category for COVID, while I've been diligent in precautions, travelling on a train and staying in a hotel are outside of my comfort levels. The anxiety levels just keep increasing lol. We've all waited so long for our interviews, and now that mine is within sight, I have such mixed emotions about attending it  

Hello Everyone! I had my interview this morning @ 9am and thank god I was approved! Thank you everyone for all your support, even though I didn't speak much I was always reading!
 
Here is my review:
 
I stayed at the Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, it was less than a 5 minute walk to the consulate so I highly recommend it!  I arrived at 8:50 outside the consulate, however I was told to wait outside, at 8:59 the security called out that anyone who has an appointment at 9am can come inside, so I did. It was airport style security, they took my cell phone and placed it in a locker and provided me with a key. They direct you to go upstairs and drop your passport off at window #6 (someone may already be at the window, you're then directed to sit down, wait for that person to leave and then give them your passport once the window is empty). After handing in your passport, you're then expected to sit and wait for your name to be called. Once your name is called you're asked for necessary documents. They asked me for my original birth certificate, marriage certificate, police certificate (which was the new one with 'other', it was accepted) and they scanned my fingerprints. I had uploaded all my financial documents, an address change and updated I-864 prior to the interview, so they did not ask for any of those documents. You are then given the domestic violence pamphlet and directed to sit and wait for your name to be called again. Once called again, I was directed to another window. There I took my oath, and scanned my fingerprints again. The lady asked me how long I have been married for, how long I've known my husband, how we met, tell me about your relationship and what my longest trip to the US was. She also asked me what the pamphlet was about. She stated that everything checked out and I had all the necessary documents. She then returned my original marriage and birth certificate and told me I was approved!! She also gave me a welcome to USA letter. By the time I finished and picked up my phone on the way out it was 11:20.
 
Thank you again everyone, I hope they continue processing quickly so we can all be reunited with our significant others faster!

I'm curious to see if the pending Quebec lockdown is going to impact interviews being conducted. I'm due to be in the next batch of IL's this month, travelling to Montreal at this time is not an overly comforting thought. I'm in a higher risk category for COVID, while I've been diligent in precautions, travelling on a train and staying in a hotel are outside of my comfort levels. The anxiety levels just keep increasing lol. We've all waited so long for our interviews, and now that mine is within sight, I have such mixed emotions about attending it  

On the brink of the year's end, I want to wish us all a better 2021!

Had my interview yesterday (Dec. 31) at the Consulate, everything was pretty straightforward.
 
I came in, handed my passport to the consular officer at window 6 and waited about 35 minutes to be called up to hand in my original forms.
 
Coming into the interview, I had my 2020 Police Certificate in hand. I had done my medical with Dr. Zatzman on Dec. 4 and he sent it to the consulate Dec. 9th. No issues with either.
 
The original forms that I was asked for were: 
1. Birth Certificate
2. Marriage Certificate
3. Canadian Police Certificate
4. UK Police Certificate (from when I went to law school in the UK in 2012)
 
I was asked if there were any changes from the 2018 Affidavit of Support. To which I responded "no" and that I had the my spouse's 2019 1040 and W2 me. The consular officer said, if there were no changes from 2018 to 2019 for my spouse that he didn't need any 2019 documents and that the 2018 tax forms "were just fine".
 
I sat down for about 25 minutes and then got called up for my formal interview.
 
Again, very straight forward. All in all I was asked probably 20 questions, which seemed to be the norm as I could overhear the questions being asked to everyone before me. Questions were:
 
1. Have you read the pamphlet that you were given earlier (on domestic abuse)? 
2. Can you tell me what was in it?
3. Tell me where you and your spouse met?
4. Did you start dating right away? 
5. What does your spouse do?
6. What industry is that?
7. What is the name of the company?
8. Is that an investment bank or a hedge fund?
9. Where does your spouse live?
10. Where will you live when you move to the US?
11. Does your spouse own or rent the apartment in Manhattan?
12. Does anyone else live there?
13. What do you do for a living?
14. Will you be able to transfer your job to the US?
15. Have you every been charged or arrested with a crime?
16. Have you ever been turned away at the US border for ANY reason?
17. How often did you and your spouse see each other before getting married?
18. When did you get married?
19. Have you been previously divorced?
20. Do you have any children?
21. Have you travelled out side of North America in the previous past 5 years?
22. What is the longest that you have ever stayed in the US as a TOURIST?
 
He then said, "everything appears to be in order so I am going to go ahead and issue your visa today. I am going to give you back your birth certificate and marriage certificate. I am going to hold on your two police checks.  It will take up to 3 weeks to have your passport back in hand. Welcome to the United States"
 
My take away is this- if you did all the preparation that was requested prior to coming to the interview and everything in your marriage with your spouse is legitimate then YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. It's normal to be nervous coming into Consulate, everyone there was nervous, as they should be, it's a pretty important moment in your life. But once it's over you realize that there was really nothing worry about.

Entered US via Peace Bridge today. Took about 30 minutes. The officer was great. Overall a smooth experience!