Moos

You have to include the children's details in I-751. If he is living with you in the right immigration status, there is no problem. Did he overstay with you?

You have to send the I-751 as soon as possible now, becasue you are left only one more month.

Loto

Thanks all. The date on his GC is the same as the one I mentioned - so we need to file asap. My step son has only been here for a few weeks so I guess we are ok there.

Best to all!

Moos

Hello all! Maybe one or some of you have some advice for us.

Short version: Me: Us Citizen. Husband (Canadian citizen) received his CR-1 August 27, 2008. We want to apply to remove conditions. Must file I-751. In the mean time we have moved (and we did file a change of address) and now his 15yr old son (Canadian citizen) who was supposedly just visiting now has to stay with us permanently - due to mom having hardship and moving back to her home country.

Do we say that his is living with us on the I-751 form?

Are we very late in applying to remove conditions?

We didn't have the best experience with getting the CR-1 - I just hate to have to go through this all over again. I read through all the info in the wiki area - but I thought I would just throw it out there about his son. If you have any other random advice to make the conditions removal process smoother - feel free to send it our way.

Many thanks to all the VJ'rs out there!!

Moos

Hey all - Just a quick note to say YIPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE! We got my husband's visa in the mail today (interiew was on Friday) and we had a feeling it would come today so we packed all our things and are driving to the US tonight.

I think we are all set - have our Car Inventory and such and cannot wait to cross the border. Wish us luck on this last leg of the journey!

Thanks again everyone for all your help. See you on the other side ;-).

Moos

kick butt

Dammit you forgot the part about the elevator opening in the rear.

Bonne Chance Moo!

OH MY GOODNESS!! I didn't even see this thread. You guys are so super sweet!! Thank you so much for all the good wishes. We were approved!

I wrote up a review as a new thread. Thanks TrailMix and fellow VJ'ers! I couldn't have done it without y'all.

Added jedinite - welcome! SarahLiz had her interview yesterday, hope she pops in to let us know how that went. Moos, your interview is tomorrow!!

We were approved!!! Yay! Thanks TrailMix for all of your help. I posted a full review as a new topic and in the Consulate Review section.

US here we come! I am dying waiting for the mail though. I have checked the tracking site every hour. As I see from other VJ-ers it is not the most reliable info.

Moos

Congrats Moos! Happy for you both!

Mine is next Friday - yikes!

Thanks so mcuh!

I am sure yours will go very smoothly. I will be thinking of you. Good luck!

Congratulations!!!!

FYI - I also am from Vancouver and had to go to Montreal for my interview. Everyone going for a IR/CR1 visa has to go to Montreal for their visa....pretty silly eh! People wouldnt believe me when I told them I had to go all that way for the short interview

She also told me 2 weeks but my interview was a Monday and I had it by Thursday

Oh that is good news. Thanks for the Congrats!

Overall the experience was a smooth one and my husband was approved - yay!

I cannot thank the folks at VJ enough. If it wasn't for VJ, we never would have made it. Thanks also to TrailMix for virtually holding my hand in these last few months.

Here's the break down - nothing too different from the others.

We arrived at 6:40am on Friday August 22 - way early but we were anxious. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott on Sherbrooke (great hotel by the way). We got coffee at the cafe on the corner and waited. People started to arrive at 7am and by 7:30 there were quite a few people on line. At 7:30am the guard opened the door and even though we were first in line the guard checking us in gave us the letter B.

There was a woman behind us with a HUGE purse who was somehow able to get a letter A and allowed in with her purse as long as she left her bottle of water.

We were checked through with no problems and told to go downstairs and wait until 7:45am. We did and at exactly 7:45am a guard came down in the elevator and asked for everyone with a letter to get in the elevator. This caused a bit of confusion, for people thought he meant a printed letter (like an appointment letter). We went up to the 19th floor and we had to go to window # 9. By the way, when you come off the elevator, windows 6-12 are to the right and then down a little hall on the right of that. It was a bit confusing.

We handed the woman at window 9 our letter (B) attached to our appointment letter. By 8am, they had called the woman who had letter A to window #12. Soon after they called us to window #11. There was a nice lady there who was sitting with our huge file. Here's where things get a bit weird and if it was not for VJ, we may not have been prepared for this part.

She was confused as to our prior marriages. She didn't seem to have some info we sent after an Addendum was filed. That threw me for a slight loop. But...I had certified copies of EVERYTHING. So I gave her a certified copy of the Addendum and updated I-130 as well as certified copies of the divorce certificate and a certified copy of the translation. She was very happy that we were so organized. She eventually found the information in our file but she kept the copies we gave her. She then asked us how we met. She looked at my husband's passport and gave it back to him. She asked us if we were able to visit each other and I told her I could visit but he could not leave Canada. She then told us she would call us back for fingerprints. She was super nice.

By this time, the main waiting room had gotten quite full. I was surprised how many people came in and I was thankful we got there early. It may have been around 8:45am when we were called back for finger printing. After finger printing, she collected our Expresspost Envelope and was happy we had pre-addressed it, etc. By the way - there were a lot of folks there that didn't bring an Expresspost envelope at all and many who had the wrong size. We saw quite a few people leaving to buy them. We also saw people who didn't have their paperwork organized and ended up standing at the windows for 30 minutes or so. We had the clear accordian file with labels (and color coding

) so we had an easier time of things. I highly recommend going that route.

We then waited in the main waiting room and letter A was called around 8:50am for her interview. She was out by 9am (or a few minutes after) and she was approved. She said that the interviewer was very nice but asked a lot of unexpected questions. We hugged as we had gotten to know each other while waiting. I was happy for her. Hmmmmm...unexpected questions. The VJ journalist in me wanted to debrief her but she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible (don't blame her ). She did tell me that she was from Vancouver and had to come all the way to MTL for her interview. She said that everyone at her medical appointment in Vancouver was also coming to MTL. Interesting.

We were called to room #7 soon after and had a very nice woman. She was actually kind of fun. She was the only one who pronounced our name correctly. She welcomed us and said we looked happy to be there. We told her that we were happy this day finally came and I admitted to be close to crying - in a happy way. Then we joked about me crying if the news was happy at the end.

She swore us in and had my husband sign his application and gave us back all our orginals and it was then she began the questions. I don't think we can remember all of the questions - but it was much more involved than we expected. Thank goodness (and thank VJ) that we brought absolutely everything. For she wanted to verify our incomes. Which is strange because we make well, well over the cutoff. So we showed her a letter from my husband's employer showing his salary, position and promise of employment in the US. When she looked at it she said, "oh wow...well ok then...that is nothing to sneeze at." Which I thought was funny. She then wanted additional proof of my income as the petitioner. I gave her our 2007 taxes, my latest consultinng agreement, copies of my client invoices and client payments from the last 6 months. I guess she wanted to see this since I am self employed. She asked how much this comes out to be anually and when I told her she said - "OH! Well...I guess you two will be fine then." She asked if she could keep our certified copies and I said yes - they are yours to keep. She was so happy she could keep the copies and not have to go make copies.

We will try to list her questions (as best as I can remember), for it was very conversational and easy to talk to her, so the questions get kind of mushed up :-):

How did you meet, when did you propose, was he ever arrested, she asked about his military experience and how he felt being in the military during a hot political time period, she talked about the day we were denied TN visa renewal. She wanted to know if we were able to visit. She asked about the house we bought in the US together. She asked about my husband's son. We had a ton more proof and she was happy that we had it and offered up to show her, but she didn't ask to see any of it.

We were in there for at least 20 minutes. But it was easy and comfortable and we were all done by 9:30am. She was such a nice person and she made us feel very comfortable. At the end, she approved us and I said thank you about 20 times and my husband and I hugged and kissed. Then I told her I wish I could hug her. She said, "oh, I appreciate that." Finally she went over all of the questions I had. The scary thing is that she said it may take 2 WEEKS to get his visa. I really hope not because our lease is up Aug 31 (next Sunday) and we had hoped to be able to time it to leave as soon as the Visa arrives. Hope this review helps. I put a copy of this in the Consulate Review section as well.

Good luck to anyone going through this! If I can give any piece of advice it would be to follow the VJ info to the letter and bring multiple copies of everything.

Thanks again to everyone on VJ - to those who came before. Your journeys really, really helped us. Thanks!!

A very grateful Moos

The DS156K form that is mentioned to be brought to the interview is only for K1/K3 Visa folks so we don't need it for his CR-1 - RIGHT?

This form is for fiancee visas.

The I-134 is the Affidaviat of Support and we submitted that. Do we need to bring a new one if my (the petitioner) financial situation has changed(which it has)?

I assume you mean the I-864? The I-134 is for K visa applicants.

You should fill out a new I-864 and gather the supporting documents (for instance if you started a new job - you should get a new employer letter) - new pay stubs etc.

You will give this to them if they ask for updated information.

Lastly, how much $$ in American Dollars will we have to pay - or will we have to pay anything additional? I saw on the website that if you paid NVC, then you may not have to pay at the interview. Our finances are tight so I would like to be prepared - but I cannot fiugre this one out. Any ideas?

Nothing else to pay (you need to stay out of the K visa forums )

I have our Tax forms (last 3 years and 2007) ready and a letter from my husband's employer saying that he is getting transfered to the VA, USA office as well as copies of my last 5 paychecks, etc. Of course, I have copies of everything else we submitted too.

AM I MISSING ANYTHING???

Did you get the express post envelope, passport photos?

Gosh we are pretty nervous. This has been such a long time coming.

I know it is said often and it's hard - but really there is no need to be nervous. It will be fine, sounds like you have the paperwork under control

Thank you so much TrailMix! I really, really appreciate your clarification and help. I feel like my brain is a pile of mush at this point. I will definitely stay away from the Fiance Visa forums . I guess I really can't believe it is in just a couple of days - EEK! Overall I feel very confident.

Thanks again!

Don't worry your interview will be well and smooth. The people at the US Consulate in Montreal are very nice.

God will be with you on your interview.

Thank you so much!!

Hello all!! I just came back to Canada after a couple weeks in the US (I brought half of our belongings to our home in the US and dropped off one of our cars), so we could drive through the border to the US in one car. So I have been away and just now catching up on the VJ posts.

With that, we have 6 DAYS until my husband's MTL interview (he's the Canadian Citizen) and I am starting to freak out a bit. Well...not majorly, because VJ and the VJ memebers have helped to keep me calm. But I am concerned about a couple of things and I hope someone can help (TrailMix? He He He)

My husband has his CR-1 interview and I am gathering all of our docs in a clear accordian folder.

~We have already submitted his Canadian Police Certificate (as well as other's from tother countries that he lived in).

~We already submitted originals of everything (marriage license, birth certificates, divorce decrees - all as per a RFE)

For clarification:

~The DS156K form that is mentioned to be brought to the interview is only for K1/K3 Visa folks so we don't need it for his CR-1 - RIGHT?

~The I-134 is the Affidaviat of Support and we submitted that. Do we need to bring a new one if my (the petitioner) financial situation has changed(which it has)?

Lastly, how much $$ in American Dollars will we have to pay - or will we have to pay anything additional? I saw on the website that if you paid NVC, then you may not have to pay at the interview. Our finances are tight so I would like to be prepared - but I cannot fiugre this one out. Any ideas?

I have our Tax forms (last 3 years and 2007) ready and a letter from my husband's employer saying that he is getting transfered to the VA, USA office as well as copies of my last 5 paychecks, etc. Of course, I have copies of everything else we submitted too.

AM I MISSING ANYTHING???

Gosh we are pretty nervous. This has been such a long time coming.

Big thanks to everyone on VJ!

MOOS

Wonderful and informative review! Thanks so much for writing it. It helps me calm my nerves before our interview. Hope you have an uneventful move!

Moos

For those who have gone or are at the end of the IR-1/CR-1 route, could you please tell me approximately how long it took you to get an interview after your NVC case was complete?

Thanks

As TrailMix mentioned, most of us are on that great spreadsheet, (Thanks TrailMix ) but just to reply to you personally...

Our case was completed June 24 and we received our interview letter July 16 and my husband's interview is August 22 (for a CR-1). Just about 2 months. We have a relationship with our Congressman and asked him to "ping" NVC on our behalf to see if we could get an interview in August after a month went by and we hadn't heard anything. Not sure if that had anythign to do with it, but we got the letter literally less than 48 hrs later via email. Then in the mail a week later.

Hope your process goes smoothly!

Moos

Thanks for the review ChasingAmy! I was going to write one for my husband's Medical at Dr. Howard Seiden's office, but essentially, he had the exact same experience as you did. I went with him and we got there about 6:50am and thought we were the first people there, but when they opened the dorrs there were already two people sitting in the waiting room. Not sure how that happened, but we too were out by 9am.

He had his shot records from our doctor - for he already had many of the immunizations needed for the interview. That made things go much faster. Another person on VJ did a review of the other doctor in ON and mentioned that they had to go to a 2nd place for the x-ray so, I made sure this doctor did everything in one place. Very smooth and very easy. Turns out one of the Doctors is a South African (as is my husband orginally) and so they chatted it up about that longer than the actual exam lasted. I also recommend this doctor's office for your medical.

Since we live almost an hour outside the city, we paid the extra $20 to have it sent by courrier and it came in just a few days.

P.S. I also agree that parking was easy and if you get there early street parking begins at 7am and we had our pick of parking spots and made it back before our 2 hour ticket was up.

6 days till our interview!!! I am getting nervous

Congratulations Linda! That is great news. Thank you so much for the review. My husband is in the same position - his Canadian company has an office near our home in VA and will just be working for them there after he gets to the US. I guess a letter from them stating that will help.

Hope the move goes smoothly!

Moos

Updating myself as I finally got an interview date!

Yay!! Congrats badspellor. That's great news. Very happy for you. We are in the home stretch.

I've lived in the US for over 4 years now. Around 3 years ago I left, moved to Canada and attended University for a semester because I missed home so much I couldn't be away any longer.

After going home I realized I didn't like the weather or the slow pace of Vancouver Island. After being in California so long I had adjusted to the way everyone here is in a mad dash constantly and drive like lunatics. I grew very bored quickly of the bad weather and the slow people and decided to move back.

California isn't my "home" and I don't think ever will be. I am never really perfectly comfortable. I think about going home on a very regular basis, but struggle with that because I know what happened last time I went home. It sort of spoils everything thinking about how I couldn't re-adjust to where I grew up.

So herein lay my dilemma. I love the US, but I also love Canada. But it's not just me anymore, I have a wife to consider. I know she couldn't handle the rainy climate of Seattle for example which I think would be the perfect midpoint for me. I could go home all of the time and still be in the US. But that just wouldn't work. Sara would get so sick of the bad weather we would MAYBE last 6-12 months at best.

We could never move back to my home.

So now I am lost. I am unhappy where I am but I know anywhere else we go there is a risk one of us or both of us won't like it.

I made a plus minus list on a sheet of paper to see if we should move or stay, and it was basically a break even tie of positives and negatives on moving and staying.

Anyone been through this?

Brad:

I just thought I would write you - for my husband and I have lived in many different countries and many different states in the US and know the feelings you seem to be expressing. My husband used to live in Vancouver and just couldn't take the weather. He moved to Reno and loved it there. He is orginally from South Africa so he struggles with winters and rainy weather. When we decided to get married, we both had job offers in other cities and just couldn't decide where we wanted to be. So we put together a time frame. We gave ourselves 2 years to search the US and we made it a positive "hunting for our home" kind of experience.

We ended up moving to Austin TX for a year and a half for my work and I have to tell you of all the places I have lived in the world, that is one of my most favorite places. Anyway, while we lived in TX we started our 2 year hunt. We made a giant spreadsheet and listed our important criteria. Weather was at the top. Housing and quality of living was important too. You get the idea. Next, we researched what places might match and then planned trips there. We took day trips, weekend trips, and week-long trips. During which, we also visited friends and family in different parts of the country and all the while checked out these areas as possible places to grow roots. While there, we attended open houses, played at the local golf courses (also an important facotr ;-)) and literally pretended we were moving there. To help better understand our local communities, we drove to towns and cities near us and did the same investigation. We had tons of fun and many great experiences (and pictures). Our friends loved the visits and sooner than we planned, we found our community and was moved in to our new home in just 1 year and 6 months later.

Just some thoughts. I hope you figure it out and find your happy home.

Moos

Laura:

I just wantd to say thanks for all your postings on VJ. While I have not replied before - your postings really helped me to not got completely crazy during this experience. Now to see you made it home (which funny enough I grew up in Bergen County NJ and love it there) makes me feel as if it is all really going to end some day soon for us as well. Hopefully, we will be driving to NJ after our Aug 22 interview. My parents still live there and they are taking care of our dog. Glad you got home safely and without a border incident! Enjoy NJ!

Moos

Congrats on getting your interview date Moos!

Thanks so much TrailMix!!!

I know I am a little late to this party...but I just saw this thread and just wanted to save another couple from the heartache my husband and I have gone through this past year. Jedinite and LadyJane are right on the money and I wish I had such advice last year.

My husband was in the US working on a TN VISA. We had been together for 4 years and got married without consulting VJ or any lawyers. We didn't do our homework ahead of time. Big mistake. Well...we too called the border and they told us he can certainly return to the US and he would have no problem traveling back and forth. Long story short - they stopped him at the border coming back into the US and said his marriage to a US citizen while on a TN visa showed intention to immigrate. Which is a no-no on a temp work visa. He failed to prove that he has enough substantial ties to Canada and was denied entry into the US until he had a green card. They fingerprinted him and took his picture. It was horrible and unexpected. We have had to hold done 2 households and travel back and forth and I would hate to see this happen to another couple. He lost his job and it really made for a challening first year of marriage. We are better for it and was determined to come out on top - but if I had to do it again :-) ...

VJ has ben far more helpful than any lawyer. Although, we do have a lawyer, we hired him prior to finding VJ and I am the one telling him what is going on. Hope you have had a sucessful outcome and if you continue with your plans, just know that having to go back to Canada until the Visa process is finished is a real possibility/ Good luck. Let us know how you make out!

I've just been calling the NVC and asking the operator. I called last Friday and today and they gave me the same spiel about how they're finished their scheduling of interviews for this month and to check back after the 2nd week of August to see if we have one scheduled for September. I've seen that others have had their case transferred to the consulate in the middle of the fourth week of the month so I'll keep checking the automated system daily for a change and maybe talk to an operator every Friday until we hear something. With the volitility of flight prices, I'd like to know ASAP so we can book a good deal. At least YYT-YUL is one of the cheaper routes at about $220 one way IF you can get it on sale. Right now it's $345 =\ Hope I'll know when to book it for when the next sale comes along!

Well I certainly hope you get a date soon. Sorry about that. By the way - you don't have to fly from the GTA to Montreal. I know many folks who have driven - it's a straight shot on the 401. If you don't have a car, you can catch a train from Union Station. The fares range from $70 each way to $170. Those may be more flexible options for you. Here's the website: http://www.viarail.ca/

Good Luck - I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Moos

Wow I sent my I-130 one day after you and received case complete one day after you! Unfortunately, I wasn't scheduled an interview yet. I was hoping that it would have been scheduled on the 11th like yours was but no such luck. I'm keeping my fingers crossed to hear something soon!

That's funny! I hope you get yours soon. Maybe you can try emailing NVC. They replied to my email within a week with our interview date. (Of course that was after our Congressman already told us :-)) but I don't know if the person who replied knew we had already gotten the info. We still haven't recived a letter though.

I emailed them at: NVCInquiry@state.gov

If you do send them an email inquiry, then be sure to include the following information or they may reject your email.

Case Number:

Beneficiary’s Name and Date of Birth:

Petitioner’s Name and Date of Birth:

Preference Category: (For example CR1- CONDITIONAL SPOUSE OF U.S. CITIZEN)

Priority Date: DDMMMYYYY

I got an automatic reponse which had some good info in it (same as what the folks have posted here on VJ) and then a week later they replied with our interview date.

Good luck!

Moos

My husband got his Montreal Interview date yesterday! YAY!!!

I am so happy I can hardly sit still. We haven't gotten a letter yet, but the immigration caseworker from our Congressman's office contacted NVC on our behalf and got our date for us. Then NVC emailed today us with the same information.

I wonder if anyone else from VJ is going on August 22. Thanks to all the amazing folks on VJ - we are well prepared for the interivew. I love the Canadian forum btw.

I guess trailmix can now add us to the list. Yay!! I can't beleive it has been 400+ days since we filed our I-130. Whew. I wish everyone a speedy response for their interview dates.

Hi Moos,

You just call NVC to find out when your interview is. They generally schedule them during the 2nd and 3rd weeks of the month (many times people are told in the 2nd week that all the slots have been filled, only to call back in the 3rd week and find out they have an interview date - so don't let them put you off)

The automated message line at NVC will not change now. You will have to speak with an operator for the above information.

The interview letter tells you to go have the medical, doesn't give you any details of what is required, best to search for medical reviews here in the Canada forum for more info on that.

Just to add to what Trailmix said, I know the people at the NVC sometimes give conflicting answers but once one person tells you that you have an interview date, rest assured that you have one. In my earlier post above, the second link outlines exactly what a panel physician must do by law and the reviews will tell you how the various doctors implemented the policy.

You both are the best! Thanks so much for your help. It has really helped put my mind at ease.

Thanks again!

Moos

Thanks trailmix and IR5 for the info! I am just dying waiting to find out when our interview is going to be. I don't know if I can wait another 3 months. Yikes! I heard that one can call the State Dept and find out if an interview has been scheduled. Can I do that before we receive anything?

Also, if I continue to call the NVC hotline - will it be updated with any further info beyond "Your case has been completed?"

Lastly, do we get information on the medical requirements after the interview letter or with it. So many questions? :-)

Thanks again for the much appreciated help!