Wis-Can

Congrats! All the best to your dad

Thanks so much!

Happy to report that my 10 year greencard has been approved! We filled in mid-December and approved May 24th, 2012. I went on the website for immigration status updates and it still shows "initial review". My greencard should arrive shortly. My dad is in the hospital with a suspected heart attack, they are still running tests, so it was a little bit of appreciated good news!

Thanks so much, I was using the wrong number. My NOA came the same day as the biometrics appointment and I only noticed the one WAC# and I guess I assumed they were the same. I just checked it again with the other number and it shows initial review. yippee!! Thanks again.

Hi everyone,

I filed my paperwork for removal of conditions back in December. I had my biometrics on January 18th. I still can't see my case online when I enter my WAC#. Has anyone else had this issue?

Thanks

Thank you!

Hi fellow V'jers,

Its been a while since I've posted. We will be filing my removal of conditions on December 13th and I have a question. My Canadian Passport expires I think June 12, 2012. I know I have to send a copy of it along, should I get my new passport before we file with a longer validity date or does it even matter? I just planned on renewing my passport in March when I went home for a visit. My 2 year greencard expires March of 2012. Thanks for any help you can share.

p.p.s. (the CBP officer also tossed my paperwork back at me and pleasantly told me to get out of his face LOL which I gladly obliged, and went on to take my flight to MD)

Maybe it was the same guy and it's just how he does business

This guy was just a jackass! My trip last year I had the officer tell me that he could refuse me entry because when I crossed with my K1 Visa they didn't stamp over my K-1 Visa and stamped on one of the pages. He kept saying I entered illegally. Where do they get these people from!

Well I thought I would share my recent trip home to Nova Scotia. Going into Canada..not a problem. Coming back to the US..arrrgghhH!

I got one of those pleasant Customs Officers. I gave him my passport, boarding passes and Greencard as requested when he snapped at me,

"country of citizenship". To which I replied, Hello, I'm fine thank you..and you? Well my passport said my maiden name (which will be

changed when my passport expires shortly)and my greencard is in my married name. My ticket matched my passport and I brought my marriage

licensed. He snapped at me again, "what is your legal name" I told him to which he replied, "is that your legal name" I said yes, and

that's what my greencard shows. He replied, they'll put Mickey MMouse of there if you asked them....its a simple question lady, what is

your legal name?" I told him yet again, and added Homeland Security doesn't just put whatever you like on there...you need documentation.

What came out of his mouth next literally left me speechless for a minute. He said, "I am going to ask you one more question to which you

better answer it it correctly, did you go before a judge in a court of law and swear to have your name changed to make it your legal name!".

WHAT...I took a step back, and said I've had enough, what is your name and your badge number please, he looked at me, tossed all my paperwork

back on top of the counter and said, "oh it doesn't matter..have a nice day!" I never said a word, grabbed my stuff and went down the hallway.

The gentleman who was behind me sat beside me waiting to board and ask me what the h e double hockey sticks was up his butt.

Hey everyone, I need to vent. I just went and had our taxes done by a local accounting firm. Apparently the fact that Canada and the US have a tax tready between the countries doesn't matter here in Wisconsin. It helps with the federal return, as they do the foreign tax credit, but state is a different story. So my $18,000 of Canadian income gets added on and taxed for the state return. I am so mad and upset right now. Any other Canadians run into this problem in the state you moved to??

In Nova Scotia you have a registration/permit paper you keep in your car to show its licensed for the road, (and its the one that law enforcement asks you for should you get pulled over )but you actually have an ownership paper that they tell you to keep in a safe place. Its what you sign over to someone else if you sell the vehicle. Its printed on paper that almost feels like the paper they print money on! LOL Its two sided, front side is all your vehicle info, back side is to be filled out when you sell the vehicle and give it to the new owner. Your name and address and the bottom half tears off for you to keep when you sell the vehicle and forward to the registry of motor vehicles. It's where you record the buyers info. This covers you should the person you sell it to doesn't register the vehicle in their name. That's all that I gave them, they took a photocopy and returned it back to me. And they also took a copy of the compliance letters and returned the originals back to me. They told me the state in which I was moving in would require it....they didn't take it though when I did go to register it in Wisconsin.

Just wanted to add that I went back 6 months later to pick up my belongs out of a storage unit and brought them back in a 24' enclosed car hauler. I then drove again for a visit about a year and 4 months later and brought back more stuff that I had store at my parents. No problems at all. THey didn't even check the trailer.

I crossed at Sault Ste. Marie and the only thing they asked for was my compliance letter, ownership paper and registration.

So is the option of him moving to Canada available? Not sure, but maybe that would be easier. I hear ya on the home sick. My poor sweetie I really had some bad days..weeks for that matter. I volunteered at the local hospital so I could at least get out and start meeting people. I finally was able to go to work and started a part-time job that is allowing me to meet new people. Its not easy. I though about going home several times. Hope it all works out for you both.

Sorry to hear about whats happening. Divorce is never easy, especially with a child involved. Your spouse signed an affidavit of support for you. Maybe you have a friend you can stay with while you get things figured out. Do you want to stay? Prehaps both of you sitting down with a someone and discussing the options would help. Regardless of what has happen between you two, your child deserves to have both parents. It sounds like you entered into the marriage in good faith so you can file your ROC based on that. I think I would get that done and then at least you have the option of staying if you want to. Take care and all the best.

I am so happy for you both. I remember the feeling well! Congrats and best wishes for a smooth interview. I know mine was extremely short, I couldn't believe after it was over how quick the whole interview process went.

Hi everyone!

I am planning on moving from Ontario to Florida in the fall and was wondering about how to obtain a driver's license. I've read some of the past discussions on this topic but I couldn't find anything specific for Canadians moving to Florida. My fiance is in the military so if I am not able to drive, it will be quite a challenge for me while he's deployed.

Does anyone know if I can drive with my Canadian license even though I am no longer a resident of Canada? Also, is a Canadian license transferable to a Florida license or do I need to retake a road test?

Thank you all very much!

I know each state is different. I came from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin. I went on the the motor vehicle website for the state, and after much reading was able to find a link to tell me every thing I needed to know about driving in the US. Try going on to the state motor vehicle website. They probably have a number you can call to get the info if you didn't want to do some researching online. I had a year to get it changed in Wisconsin and they only thing I had to do was the vision test. My license is only good for two years based on my two year greencard. I will have to go back when I get my 10 year one. Good luck. Hopefully someone who moved to Florida from Canada will come along and give you more detailed info.

They actually took 30% non-resident income tax off my UI cheques. I finally got a call back, and I do not need to file there. I took the name and number from the guy just in case it comes back to bit me in the butt at a later date. Thanks for all the help.

Hi everyone, its been a while! I have a tax question for all my fellow Canadians. This post will probably need to get moved but its been so long since I've been on here that I can't even remember where to go! LOL Anyways, I called Revenue Canada three times, two times I got different answers and the third time I got, "Someone will call you back",...and no one has. I moved in September of 2009, and filed a Canadian return in January 0f 2010. Now do I need to file this year? I had EI payments as well as my Workers Comp Pension payments. When I called the first time it was, no they already allott the income tax from your EI and Workers Comp is not taxable. I did work part-time here as well and reported all my income while on EI. He told me I did not need to file a return with them. I called again just to be sure and was told, NO NO NO you need to file as you had income. Now I am just totally confused about the whole thing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Did she enter the country on a visa?

This is a little haha for everyone! I finally went to get my SS Card changed to my married name, went into the office and told the gentleman I was doing a name change as I got married. Gave him my old SS card, my marriage license, my greencard and a copy of my drivers license. Well after punching on the keys for what seemed like forever he looked at me and said, "We'll have to work with Buffalo, New York and do this manually as your ID, and SS card names don't match and the system won't take it!" DAH...didn't I mention its a name change. "If the last names were the same we could run it through the system". DAH,...it was all I could do to keep myself from laughing. Oh well, just another little bump in the road.

I use Bank of Montreal with no problems with being in the US. I use my parents address for correspondence though. You can open accounts online through their website but not sure if you already have to have an account to open a new one. Something to check into. I pay $25 a month service fee though which is a little steep but I needed to keep it open for a pension payment. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

It is true that it is different establishing credit here vs at home. You can pull your own credit report as often as you like it is not a hit against your credit, but if you apply for credit (loans or credit cards) that will hit your credit record here and decrease your FICO score.

When I moved here my husband put me on his accounts at the bank and credit cards. I actually paid off my canadian car loan with a us loan that my husband took out. When I check my credit recently to see if it was at least started, it shows the visa balance and me as an authorized user, paid up to date, no balance, and it showed my canadian car loan paid off. I thought that was interesting, the loan shows paid but it doesn't show the new loan taken out. I won't complain about that. I also got a credit card on my own from clothing outlet so that is showing on there as well with a 80 dollar balance,and paid to date. It does take a while to build credit. Don't keep checking on your credit though. Each time you make an inquiry into your credit, it goes as a hit against your credit. You can get a free credit report once a year that doesn't go against you. If you apply for too much credit then that also goes against you, reducing your credit score. Go slow,...it will come. Good luck.

Hey all,

I got my fingerprint police check back from the rcmp but the certificate doesnt show my maiden name on it. I am alittle concerned here because from what i have read you have to have a certificate that has both names on it. I did send a FBI fingerprint card that said my maiden name and I am a little surprised that this certificate wouldnt mention my maiden name.. any advice?

Altough mine was for a K-1 Visa, I didn't change my name back to my maiden name when I married the first time after the divorce and my police clearance certificate only showed that name and not my maiden name. I knew the original application we filed had both names on it. They take ID so your more a number then a name I think. You information would transfer everytime you have a name change. I was worried it didn't have my previous name and that's what I was told. She said we don't just search out "name at the present time". If you were a criminal being Jane Doe, then married Joe Smith, then your still a criminal at Jane Smith. Your SIN number didn't change with the name. When I had my interview in Montreal and the lady was going through the paperwork and she hit that form I was waiting for the, "you need..." but she read it and flipped it over and moved on to the next one. Maybe someone who did a CR-1 will come along with more information. Good Luck.

Thanks everyone for the congrats...I appreciate it. For all those still waiting I hope you don't have to wait long. Take care all.