GretaRSB

Hi and yes, but only for a specific short list of "exceptional circumstances". Do you need to return to the US on short notice for a job? If you have an offer in hand, andit shows you must start in less than 6 months, you can use direct consular filing. You email your US Consulate (ultimately all US immigrant visa processing in Canada is through Montreal, but other consulates can do your I-130 intake as a courtesy). First step would be to email the closest consulate with your situation. If they confirm eligibility they give you a date to show up in person with originals of all documents, a set of copies, your I-130 application and I-130a, and the fee, plus an ExpressPost envelope to send it everything but original docs to Montreal. Can apparently be as quick as 2 months, but ours took 10. Still way faster than applying in the US.

Update to my original post:
 
So it took the involvement of a US senator to get the DS260 process figured out (tech glitch) so we could access it. That went really quickly and then we got a US Consulate appointment two weeks later--too fast to do given that my wife was out of the country and needed to get a medical exam prior to that. We got the next available appointment, and the interview is in two days. If this goes well and we are able to officially move in a month, then it will have been 10 months from initial Consular intake in Toronto to spousal immigration.
 
I have to say I wouldn't have taken this job if I knew we'd be apart for over half a year. Glad it's moving and appears to be almost done now though. It will be so good to have us and our things all in one place. It's going to take a while to recover financially with all the travel and two homes for so long.
 

Update to my original post:
 
So it took the involvement of a US senator to get the DS260 process figured out (tech glitch) so we could access it. That went really quickly and then we got a US Consulate appointment two weeks later--too fast to do given that my wife was out of the country and needed to get a medical exam prior to that. We got the next available appointment, and the interview is in two days. If this goes well and we are able to officially move in a month, then it will have been 10 months from initial Consular intake in Toronto to spousal immigration.
 
I have to say I wouldn't have taken this job if I knew we'd be apart for over half a year. Glad it's moving and appears to be almost done now though. It will be so good to have us and our things all in one place. It's going to take a while to recover financially with all the travel and two homes for so long.