Sorrel

We have now been in the United States for a little over three months. To say the least it has been a challenge! It felt like the stress and anxiety had followed us. We are in Florida, but if anyone needs any info on any of the following please do hesitate to reach out to me: 1. Green card 2. Social security 3. Driver's Licence 4. Auto registration and plates 5. Health Insurance I believe the above is standardized except for possibly the registration process for car (not sure if this us the same for all States). We encountered a lot of errors and misinformation, and if you were to have the info ahead of time it will save you a lot of time and aggravation. Good luck to all those who have upcoming February interviews!

The list would include original's of the following: birth certificates divorce certificate-if applicable marriage certificate letter of current job offer-within last six months police certificate if any of the above are from a foreign country they need to be translated by an accredited translator try to have a list of all the countries you have visited in the last five years- they may ask this longest time you have spend in USA all the times you visited USA in last five years

Fyi- we only carried the original documents in the order listed, and when they asked we gave it to them in that order, plus the required photos. They scan your documents and return the original right away. Also to make it easier for the CO we made the copies ahead of time, which saved them not having to make them. The binder looks cumbersome!

I would go with the new CDC recommendation. We went with exactly what was required at the time for our age group. After the long wait of almost four years we went over and above to make sure we had everything in place, to the point where we had our Police certificate done four times, and our photos done three times, because some sites said they had to be within six months, some sites said they had to be date stamped, and in the end they just took the photos and didn't even look at the back. Also as I mentioned in my previous posts Dr. cheema was very easy to communicate with beforehand so if you have any questions you can email him directly, and he answers in a very timely manner.

If you look at Dr. Cheema's website he has a list of the required vaccines. He is the doctor listed in British Columbia, but you can use it as a point if reference. Maybe someone who is in a similar situation can also assist you in their experience.

No

Congratulations to all! Best of luck at the interviews!

Since Friday, July 1st was Canada Day and Monday, July 4th, was a holiday, we lost two business days. We opted to have our passports delivered to an outside location, for fear that we would miss the delivery at home. We actually received notification that our passports were ready for pick up on Friday, July 8th, at 5:13 p.m. But the location was already closed, so we had to wait until Monday morning July 11th. Even if we had stayed in Montreal, because of the holidays not sure they would have been ready sooner. In total it might have added 4-5 days from the date of our interview.

Thank you! We did get our criminal check done (for the 4th time) just to ensure that we did not have any problems. Also job an updated employment letter (which they did ask for). We picked up our passports on Monday along with the big file that I mentioned above (which says do not open!). We are not planning on leaving until October, because we have to get all of financials in order before we leave Canada. My thoughts are with everyone who is still waiting for an interview!

It's not that I have been avoiding VJ, but I have been feeling so bad that IL's have not been forthcoming since May, and I understand how hard it is just hoping everyday that they will arrive. I also want to thank the VJ community on this forum and all the others that I read over the last four years, as they provided a wealth of information and much needed moral support. Our interview was last Wednesday, June 29th and we were approved. But before I go into the interview I will mention our medical exam experience. We booked our appointment with Dr. Cheema, in Surrey, BC, on June 1st. We flew in the day before, and had our appointment at 8:30. The office is very efficiently run, with each receptionist having a different role. After filing out a short questionnaire, paying our fee, and having our picture taken, we were then taken in the examing room. The exam took all of five minutes, totally non invasive-we didn't even have to put on a gown. We then took a taxi down the street to the Lab where the chest xray was done. The longest wait was for the cab! We were totally finished in less than an hour and a half. I highly recommend Dr. Cheema, even if you are located in Eastern Canada. His office then informed us, three days later that our results had been forwarded onto the Consulate. One week later by Canada Post, we received a copy of our chest x-ray, which may or may not be needed when we cross the border. We flew into Montreal on Monday June 27th. Make sure you give yourself a window of time. We woke up Monday morning with a text from Air Canada that our flight was cancelled! We then had to scramble to find another flight. After many delays we finally arrived Monday night. We did a dry run on Tuesday to locate the consulate and check out our timing. There is nothing identifying the Consulate on the building other than the address. We arrived at 7:10 (for our 7:30 Interview. There was already one couple ahead of us (two women who were EB3), then at least 16 other people followed, all with 7:30 interviews. As many have mentioned you checked in on the main floor, and given your number, then you proceed to I think it was the second floor. Our number was finally called at 7:50, and you proceed to the wicket and they process all of your original documents. TIP- bring copies of all documents it saves time! You are also finger printed, and say the oath affirming that you will answer honestly. Then you sit down again and wait for your number to be called again. I should mention that at the first wicket they have all the files arranged for the interviews that day. When she pulled my file it was by far at least triple the size of the rest of the files. Then a fellow employee appeared and began to speak to this agent in a foreign language (it sounded Spanish), and we assumed he would be the one doing our final interview. We went to sit down again and waited for our number to be called again. This took about 30 minutes. We were called to a differentwindow, and thankfully it was not the foreign speaking gentleman! The CO explained she training a new recruit, and that explained the young woman standing beside her. She asked the following questions: 1. What will you be doing in the US- when I started to explain, she said that was too much info, and was fine with job a job title. 2. she noticed we had been to Russia-she asked if it was business or pleasure-started to tell her it was on a cruise-she said just say pleasure! 3. Where did I get my degree 4. Ever denied entry to USA 5. ever over stayed time in US This portion lasted what felt like two minutes, then she told us we were approved. She said we would get passport back in 4-6 weeks, but then she said it should be sooner. I requested courier service to a drop off location and am hoping to hear from them shortly. Other helpful info- you cannot enter the building until your appointment time-so if it cold/hot/raining come prepared. a couple with a large knapsack was turned away, and told to come back without knapsack. They were still in line when we exited an hour later. Apple watches have to checked in the lockers on main floor. Again thank you all the support! And good luck to all!

Just press any province and then continue.

Oh no! I feel so bad for you! Did you get a reply from Montreal (other than the auto generated one)?

Vancity got their letter on March 29th and we got ours on May11th. I hope they do not wait another six weeks before sending out the next batch of IL's. I shouldn't say BATCH since he/she was the only interview in April (26) and ours is not until June 29th, which would put the next batch into July. Hopefully they will send out IL's this week because Monday is Memorial Day holiday. LMIV maybe they are working on your case and that is why they haven't responded yet. Keep checking CEAC for it to change to IN TRANSIT. Keep up posted!