Eric_and_Corinna

I'm glad that you found this site!

I don't know what I would have done without VJ and the wonderful people on it!!!

Let us know how your call goes tomorrow!

One hour, 8 minutes till i call...

Holy storms!!!

We are experiencing a huge round of severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings in Southern Ontario.

The lady on the weather network scared me!

She was all "IF YOU ARE IN BRANTFORD, GO TO YOUR BASEMENT"

Scary!!!

We just got another round and more is coming.

I love storms but it's scary!!

I was flipping thru channels and the weather gal said that it's expected within TO in the next half hour

Ooo...Red Lobster in the South is good though...at least it was in Texas. But you have Joe's Crab Shacks in Florida..."Joe's Got Crabs!!"

I'm the USC and I've been to Red Lobster and Joe's Crab Shack here in Texas. I didn't really care for either of them, but then again, it's been years since I've been there. The last really good "regular" seafood restaurant I've been to was Truluck's (no t-shirt, jeans, sneakers; you need to dress nice and if you're going on a weekend, reservations are a must!) and for "cajun" I recently went to Denis's, which is far more relaxed than Truluck's (although I'd recommend against wearing shorts).

The thing to remember about a city like Houston is that it's right near the Gulf of Mexico so we have access to a lot of seafood (the number of seafood restaurants here is practically limitless) and since we're so close to Louisiana, we have tons of cajun places too. That's one thing I'll definitely miss when I go to Vancouver is the lack of good cajun, since I'm accustomed to having it whenever I want. I'm positive Vancouver has some fantastic restaurants (I love sushi, so I'm set in that capacity), but I've heard that cajun is difficult to get in Canada.

You never know about Cajun though, because we have an awesome cajun place way up in Alaska. The owner was given the key to the City of New Orleans But the problem with a lot of cajun wannabe places is that they think the hotter the food is, the more authentic it must be.

You would have been ashamed to see the crawfish they had at the Red Lobster here in Sudbury.

I love Texas food...a friend of mine in College Station took us to the most out of the way places and they were unbelieveable!

I am the USC living here in Canada and I long for all the food in the states... I was craving taco bell the other day... we have one in Sudbury but its just over an hour away in a mall so they are not open 24-7. I LUV Outback Steak house...Olive Garden... yummy.

We have Red Lobster here, but I wasnt too impressed, maybe I was just there on a bad day.

My husband has only been to the states once. (California) and he can't wait to go back and have "roach coach" lol those big burritos from the taco truck that cost a couple bucks. Jeeze now I am hungry!!

LOL...Reeena, that's so funnny! There is absolutely NO MEXICAN FOOD here in Sudbury that bears any resemblance to what I'm used to in the States, and it kills me! I figured out that in the last calendar year I've been in Sudbury for 24 weeks, all without Mexican food Whenever I get back to the US all I make is Mexican food.

The Red Lobster comment was funny too...when I lived in Phoenix we ate there a lot, and I was so excited to see one in Sudbury, and I hounded my wife to go for so long...boy was I dissapointed! And it was even worse because I had to listen to "I told you so!"

Red Lobster in Canada SUX!!!!! I've never been to one in the States. But my husband doesn't like them, either, so I'm assuming they're the same.

Mexican food.... yeah, uhhhh..... . I'll eat it if I have to. But definitely not from Taco Hell.

Ooo...Red Lobster in the South is good though...at least it was in Texas. But you have Joe's Crab Shacks in Florida..."Joe's Got Crabs!!"

*Feverishly scans the post for any sign of a period, comma or caps*

oh, futile attempt - it's one sentance!

LMAO. That's priceless!

Hi,

I entered the Montreal waiting list on May 2nd, which means that our packet three qualified for the interview (no RFE's). I had called the DOS on June 4th, and there was no interview date booked...called back on Friday, the 6th et voila! My interview is set for June 17th!

If you take a look at our timeline, you'll see that we've been waiting for almost 400 days. It's been a brutal, frustrating year+, and I can't wait for this part to be over so I can go home!

Don't give up hope, because sometimes, when you're awake and alone at 3:00 a.m, hope is the one thing that keeps you sane.

That's scary to think that your interview was booked 11 days after you called. That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for the USC to get a plane ticket or make plans to attend the interview

We sent ours right around the same time as you guys, and are really hoping that they schedule us between July 7th and 22nd, since I'll be in Canada then...

Are you Aaron and Carrie? If you are, thanks for sending Liz your information...it helps the rest of us out a lot.

DoS is Department of State. You can call from 8:30 am til 5pm Monday thru Friday. They can tell you if Montreal has received your package 3.

202-663-1225. Press 1 and then 0 after a couple seconds.

I'm calling Monday, I believe Anxiously_Waiting and Southern_Canadian are calling Tuesday and Wednesday. Be sure to post and update Liz if you hear anything

I am the USC living here in Canada and I long for all the food in the states... I was craving taco bell the other day... we have one in Sudbury but its just over an hour away in a mall so they are not open 24-7. I LUV Outback Steak house...Olive Garden... yummy.

We have Red Lobster here, but I wasnt too impressed, maybe I was just there on a bad day.

My husband has only been to the states once. (California) and he can't wait to go back and have "roach coach" lol those big burritos from the taco truck that cost a couple bucks. Jeeze now I am hungry!!

LOL...Reeena, that's so funnny! There is absolutely NO MEXICAN FOOD here in Sudbury that bears any resemblance to what I'm used to in the States, and it kills me! I figured out that in the last calendar year I've been in Sudbury for 24 weeks, all without Mexican food Whenever I get back to the US all I make is Mexican food.

The Red Lobster comment was funny too...when I lived in Phoenix we ate there a lot, and I was so excited to see one in Sudbury, and I hounded my wife to go for so long...boy was I dissapointed! And it was even worse because I had to listen to "I told you so!"

MMMMM...and since you're from Cali...what about In-n-Out burgers? The American version of the "double double!"

I would miss SmartTrip cards.......

and being the GM's wife of Faccia Luna!!

What are SmarTrip cards and Faccia Luna?

SmartTrip Cards are the cards they use to ride the metro and buses here.. you don't need tickets or tokens or anything.. it scans your card in a flash!

Faccia Luna is the fabulous restaurant here in Arlington where my hubby is GM =)

Liz, how far is that from Capitol Hill? I go to DC every year - maybe I'll check it out when I'm there next spring!

You can always email the Consulate asking for advice. They've been very good about getting back to me, usually within the day.

I'm not sure if bank statements printed from the internet would be valid. You have to call up your bank and ask for an officer of the bank to prepare a signed report for you.

My fiancee uses bank of america, and she requested such a report through the phone. The estimated time it takes for them to prepare it and mail it out is 10 days (from what the bank told us). I have my interview on monday, and I'm just taking the w2's, pay stubs, employer letter and the tax returns as evidence for the I-134, since we haven't received the bank statements that we ordered 2 weeks ago. From what I've read on here, you only need your bank statement if your fiance/fiancee does not meet the 125% over the poverty line requirement.

Ajay, you'll have to let me know how that works. I went in to get a letter from my bank and it was like asking for their first born. They gave me a half-### one that I don't really want to use. I have 4 years of tax returns, pay stubs, mortgage statements, and letters from my employer, so if I don't need to the bank letter, that would be great.

You sound so optimistic! I think I am going to call on Wednesday. I will put updates everytime I call!

I'll be calling Monday and do the same

I must admit the people at DOS are very friendly. You would think they would get annoyed everytime we call but they don't. Do you think they keep track of how many times you call?

I've called only once, but I've emailed Montreal about 10 times. I'm afraid they move me to the bottom of the stack each time I email...

hey I got my visa and I was denied entry and banned for a year..

I was truthful when I filled out the forms, made sure to mention the denial and banning and it just came up in passing at the interview.. the guy just asked me," so did you have any other trouble besides that one time?" (or some question to that effect)

We listed it in the forms sent back to the Montreal Consulate, or it may actually be in the DS 230. Either way, we plan on bringing the paperwork with us to the interview, and the last thing we're going to do it hide it!

What do you mean you "go back and forth in time"? You go back to Canada and turn around every 6 months or something? This still isn't entirely legal, and I'd make the same suggestion as Kathryn and DO NOT LEAVE THE US. Do the I-130 with the AOS package and stay here until its done.

**edit to add**

Oh, and how did your husband gain his citizenship? Did you meet him here in the US when you were visiting, or ???

I find this confusing, so maybe you guys can explain this. As you know, we have at least 2 people in the Canada forum who have had a ban because they attempted to get married and AOS.

So we are always advising people not to do this, however in the OP's situation she is already well and truly ensconced in the U.S. - so I hear what you all are saying, however, how does this differ?

I guess my question is, when a CO is looking at their application, since we haven't determined what the OP's original intent was, how can you be sure she won't end up with some sort of ban?

Trailmix, when do people find out they're "banned" from the US? Is it at the border upon entry, or is it during the Consular interview? I'm concerned that my wife and I are waiting for this to be done, and in the end it will result in her being banned because she was with me in the US (for less than 180 days) without us posessing the proper visa. We had no idea this entire process needed to be done (no excuse) but I don't know how they will look at it...

she was still legal though.. a Canadian can spend up to 6 months in the US.... i wouldn't worry about her being banned..

I got banned for a year when I tried to cross at the border... because I had gotten the advice form a lawyer that I should go to the US and get married and then apply for AOS.. which is a big no-no.. you can't go to the US with the intent of getting married and applying for AOS...

She was still legally under the time limit, but you never know. I'm hoping that the fact that we've done everything we were told to do by the CBP officer since her denial will placate the CO, but you never know...I've started checking out jobs here in Ontario just in case

We got married in Maui at sunset...I spent most of the ceremony checking out whales jumping around in the water. And the minister decided to put me on the downhill slope of the beach, which makes our other pics look funny, since my wife is 5'11" and I'm only 5'8"!!

Southern Canadian and Anxiously Waiting -

I called on Monday and the lady I spoke to said everything had been received and looked good but that we were just in the stack awaiting an interview date. I'm not sure how they do it because, as you guys said, there are some folks who sent their packets in after others, yet already have their interviews. I think you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out!

I'm going to limit myself to calling each Monday, and pray that the interview falls during one of my trips to Canada so I don't have to buy another plane ticket and take more time off work than I already do!

I am driving myself crazy well actually my fiance is driving me crazy, everyday he is like "are you going to call? please call". I am going to limit myself to every Friday afternoon!

Southern_Canadian .. when was the last time you called? I will for sure let you know after I call. I think I am going to call around 3 today! Does anyone know how late they are open till?

I believe it's 5pm Eastern Time

What do you mean you "go back and forth in time"? You go back to Canada and turn around every 6 months or something? This still isn't entirely legal, and I'd make the same suggestion as Kathryn and DO NOT LEAVE THE US. Do the I-130 with the AOS package and stay here until its done.

**edit to add**

Oh, and how did your husband gain his citizenship? Did you meet him here in the US when you were visiting, or ???

I find this confusing, so maybe you guys can explain this. As you know, we have at least 2 people in the Canada forum who have had a ban because they attempted to get married and AOS.

So we are always advising people not to do this, however in the OP's situation she is already well and truly ensconced in the U.S. - so I hear what you all are saying, however, how does this differ?

I guess my question is, when a CO is looking at their application, since we haven't determined what the OP's original intent was, how can you be sure she won't end up with some sort of ban?

Trailmix, when do people find out they're "banned" from the US? Is it at the border upon entry, or is it during the Consular interview? I'm concerned that my wife and I are waiting for this to be done, and in the end it will result in her being banned because she was with me in the US (for less than 180 days) without us posessing the proper visa. We had no idea this entire process needed to be done (no excuse) but I don't know how they will look at it...

Southern Canadian and Anxiously Waiting -

I called on Monday and the lady I spoke to said everything had been received and looked good but that we were just in the stack awaiting an interview date. I'm not sure how they do it because, as you guys said, there are some folks who sent their packets in after others, yet already have their interviews. I think you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out!

I'm going to limit myself to calling each Monday, and pray that the interview falls during one of my trips to Canada so I don't have to buy another plane ticket and take more time off work than I already do!

It appears that Vermont has really picked up the pace lately, but I know it's hard to wait...we had to wait 6 months almost to the day for our I-129 to be processed in California

You may want to consider the CR-1 option and abandoning the K-3...it seems that it's taking about the same time for each, and you'll have less hassle when your spouse enters the US.

I really wish I had just went CR-1.

Good luck, and don't get too discouraged...

OMFG - that's just wrong. Honestly, I bet it'll be just like when CBC wouldn't negotiate a pay raise for Ron McLean - so much outrage that they just did it in the end.

When I first met Chris - he lived on this small small island in Alaska. And when I first arrived, all the locals would sing the HNIC song when I walked through the grocery store. It made it feel like home. Everyone knows that song - its part of being CDN.

Where in Alaska did he live? I might know him

Chris lived in Metlakatla - aka Annette Island Indian Reservation

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&q=met...sa=N&tab=wl

And a caveat - prior to January, 2006 I am not responsible for a single thing or person his did!

I never met anyone from there, so you're safe

never cared for hockey...

and if you want the song on your cell just transfer it from your computer... thats what i do..

Earmuffs, it's a good thing you live in Texas then!! Plenty of NASCAR and football to keep you busy...

Hi everyone. This is Jakester. I just became a new member here. I would really appreciate some help.. I filed I 130 and I 129F.. I got approved for I 130 on March 24.. However, my I 129F shows still pending.. I called USCIS today and I talked with an officer who looks at applications. She told me that my I 129F is closed because my I 130 got approved. I decided to call again a few minutes later and I got the same lady on the phone. Is what she says true? Is my I 129F really closed? My lawyer said to just wait for the I 129F to get approved. I don't know if it will get approved now. What should I do? Should I just go for my I 130 since it's approved or wait for the I 129F to get approved? This is really frustrating. I would appreciate some help. Thanks all.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I wish they would have cancelled my I-129 and let me go with a CR-1 rather than a K-3. In my case, it would have been about the same amount of time, and the CR-1 is a better visa due to it's cheaper cost and no need to adjust status when your spouse gets to the US.

OMFG - that's just wrong. Honestly, I bet it'll be just like when CBC wouldn't negotiate a pay raise for Ron McLean - so much outrage that they just did it in the end.

When I first met Chris - he lived on this small small island in Alaska. And when I first arrived, all the locals would sing the HNIC song when I walked through the grocery store. It made it feel like home. Everyone knows that song - its part of being CDN.

Where in Alaska did he live? I might know him

Ruh roh. Careful Catt.

It's too late now!! She already married him no matter what I might know

OMFG - that's just wrong. Honestly, I bet it'll be just like when CBC wouldn't negotiate a pay raise for Ron McLean - so much outrage that they just did it in the end.

When I first met Chris - he lived on this small small island in Alaska. And when I first arrived, all the locals would sing the HNIC song when I walked through the grocery store. It made it feel like home. Everyone knows that song - its part of being CDN.

Where in Alaska did he live? I might know him

BOOOO WINGS! Oh well, they were the better team. As an Avalanche fan, I can't bring myself to cheer for the Wings no matter who they play.

We still have the AHL for a couple more days... maybe the Baby Pens can win it, but they're down 3 games to none

Only 100 days til training camp!!

You've got 90 days right? When are you heading to the Outer Banks? It's stunning out there, and you guys could do it right before you spend the week with your friends in that beach house...Kind of a weddingmoon, of sorts...