Empath

I just applied for my DL here in NV, and was informed that it would expire when my I-94 expired and a letter saying my AOS application was received wouldn't be enough to keep my DL from expiring. I was told to get a letter from them for permission to have a DL issued. At least that is what I understood... which honestly, is nada.

I tried calling DoS yesterday, to no avail... guess they might have been off for the holiday too, though the message only said the reps were on other calls and to call back later.

I had emailed MTL the week after I'd mailed pkg 3 and the reply was that they had no way of knowing whether or not it had been received. I was able to track their reciept through Canada Post though, so I knew they'd received it.

But all of that matters not now, because I got my interview letter today!! Woo hoo! I'm so excited I can't wait for Larry to come online so I can share the news with him. I soooooo want to call him and wake him up to tell him. LOL. He works nights though, so I'm trying to hold off til later. He wouldn't mind, I know, but .....oh man, I can't wait to see his smile!!!

I didn't think this letter was going to affect me so strongly. Here I've been taking it all in stride; some frustration with the fool applications, a little excitement when the petition was approved, a little more when pkg three arrived...... but holy moly, I'm so excited now I can't focus my thoughts. I had to come and post before I screamed with elation!!!!!!!!

Ok.....I'm calmer now.

(not)

...oh yeah, my interview is the 18th of March!!

I had problems with pkg 3 and took a long time submitting it, but my case hasn't been touched since mid September. It seems that people who sent in pkg 3 just before or after me are getting interview dates for next month. I'm seriously hoping I'll be in the next batch!!

If I want to call, do I call MTL or DoS (1-202-663-1225) and do they have a holiday today like we do in Ontario?

Woo Hoo!!

Now maybe one day I'll get mine too....sigh, the wait is driving me nutzoid!! lol

I had no vaccination records either. The panel physician's office told me what I needed to be immunized against, and I had an Antibody Titre blood test done. I have no idea how your medical system works in England, but there was no charge for it here in Ontario. Guess OHIP is still good for something.

I am not sure as I do not have kids, but in the pack 3 they clearly state for the DS-160 "one per each applicant" so I would guess you have to fill out one for her too .. but wait until someone more knowledgeable respond back in this forum just to be on the safe side. You can still fill out the rest of your form and correct the information at the end (before submitting it) if needed.

That tells me exactly what I need to know.... thank you.

Thank you. I was working on the form when I posted that last message, so I ended up choosing Not Employed, but I didn't give the "since date" info. Just said I was "looking for temporary work until visa approved".

Now I have another question. Sigh. This is almost over, right???? No, wait! That's not my question... I had to fill out a DS156 for my daughter, am I to fill out a DS160 for her as well? There was an option to create a "family" application. I have filled it out and saved it, but not submitted it yet.... gonna wait for some kind of confirmation first.

What time did you get in? I'm just curious to know how long you waited in total. Were you the one with a child tagging along?

Yuppers. We arrived close to eight. I'd hoped to get there for seven, but didn't manage to leave early enough to miss the bumper to bumper early traffic.

On the DS-160, for Current Employment, does anyone know if I should put Not Employed or Homemaker? Last night I began this form (thought I saved it but apparently did not) and I had put Homemaker, which then prompted me with "Have you worked in the past" and then wanted all employment details for the past five years. Today, I checked out the NOT EMPLOYED option, because I am not sure which to use. I was expecting the same "have you worked in the past" question and request for details, but was only asked for an explanation. I put "looking for work".

Thanks!

In at 7:10 AM.

Out at 10:30 AM.

Be prepared for lots of waiting unless you are super early!

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Lucky me, I scheduled my medical on what turned out to be the coldest day of the winter so far. It was -20C and I couldn't bear to wait outside for the 7 AM opening... so I timed my arrival to be slightly after 7 AM.

Arrived at 7:10 AM to find the waiting room completely full already. Most were families in groups of 2-4. There were only a few people on their own.

An hour passed by, and I slowly watched everyone 'ahead' of me get called in at steady intervals. It is important to note that while you are in the main waiting room, people get called for different parts of the medical process -- so it is not always in the exact order that you might expect.

8:10 AM: finally got called for registration. The lady asked me for my passport, passport photos, immunization records, and finally the 185 dollars (paid in cash). She asked me to sign a release form to allow my blood to be tested for HIV/Syphilis. She then handed me all of my paperwork and a receipt. This process took about 5 minutes and then I was asked to wait in a hallway, where i saw some of the people who were called ahead of me. As soon as I sat down, another lady asked me to come into the x-ray room and it took another couple of minutes to take it.

I sat in this hallway for another hour. At one point a 3rd lady took my paperwork from me but it wasn't clear what we were all doing in this hallway. My best guess is that we had to wait in the hallway as some sort of radiation cooldown... eventually, the people ahead of me got called back to the waiting room so I figured I would be up next.

9:10 AM: As expected, I was told to return to the main waiting room, where I waited with all the same faces. In total there were maybe a dozen people getting medicals by my count. I watched as the people ahead of me slowly got called in by a lady in a white lab coat. This call was for a blood test and it came pretty quickly after I returned to the main waiting room.

10:00 AM: I was called for the last time to an exam room. This is where an attendant takes your height and weight (you just tell it to them) and nurse takes your pulse and blood pressure. At that point you are told to strip down and put on a gown made of paper. I sat there waiting for the physical exam for another 10-15 minutes. When the doctor came in he reviewed my immunizations (all set), shot through a list of questions regarding my medical history (nothing of note), and then proceeded with a 5 minute physical exam (throat, back, chest, abdomen). By then it was 10:30 and I was told to head to the front desk to hand in a form. I was told to return in 2 days after lunch and before 4pm to retrieve the results.

So the long and the short of it is... if you want to get out quickly try to wait outside before 7am. Otherwise, you are better off coming later and being part of the last group. I was only 10 minutes past the opening time but ended up leaving with the last group of patients (the people behind me came in much later). I'm sure the waiting times vary depending on how many families there are... singles seem to process quicker. Overall, there is a lot of waiting (up to 60 minutes) broken up by 5-10 minute intervals of activity (registration, x-ray, blood test, exam).

Gee, I wonder if you were the couple up by the kids toys??? LOL We were the last ones in, I think, and definitely the last ones out!! At noon!! Oh, and it was -23 according to the billboard on the DVP!!!! Ugh!

Boy, do I wish I'd heard about the WalMart money card a long time ago!! My bank wanted to hold my fiances cheque for fifteen days, and Money Mart wanted a fortune!!

Sigh.... gotta love VJ!!!

I received a reply from Montreal tonight saying no documents with the DS156, but it was too late, they were mailed last week. Now I just have to figure out if I need to complete the DS160 or not. I received pkg 3 in October of 2008 and there was nothing about the DS160...

I just recently sent in pkg 3; I had a terrible time with some of the details. Who'd have known twenty years ago that I'd have to know when I lived where???? Ugh! You've got me a little worried now, though, about all the things you're sending in... I thought the "proof of ongoing relationship" was to be taken to the interview.

I have been scouring these forums for what to send in, and finally decided that it was just the DS-230 and DS156 in duplicate, both for me and my child. However, I decided to be 'safe' rather than sorry, and sent in the DS-156K and the documents it said MUST be attached.

I have spent days printing out copies of emails...there's thousands!... and MSN messenger dialogues. We have no phone records as it's cheaper to do emails and messenger chats. Why spend money if we don't have to?

I've been peeking at the timelines of some members who filed back in May, and most of them have either had their interviews, or will have them later this month.....Congrats to all of you!! Guess my interview won't be until closer to April (if I'm lucky).

(sorry if this post is confusing.... there's just sooooo much I want to say and ask)

My honey and I have been very concerned about the approval expiring as well, so I emailed the Montreal Consulate a couple days ago, and the reply I received was "We will revalidate the petition once you come for your interview".

Hope this helps.

We received an email today that our petition was approved yesterday!!! Is the wait between NOA1 and NOA2 usually the longest part of this process? Or just the hardest, due to the waiting and 'not knowing'?