Greg&Hayz

Has anyone used Ottawa McDonald-Cartier Intl. Airport as their POE? I did last March 25,20110 and I have yet to receive anything from USCIS. Not even my Welcome Letter or my GreenCard.

I just relocated to California myself, can I apply for a driver's license even though my green card and my SSN hasn't arrived in the mail?

For the initial process with USCIS you do need to send in your I-130 to the right state so for more info check out the instructions for the listings.

yes its like UPS and FEDEX etc but montreal consulate uses it to send the passport/visa or whatever it is they send to the address closest to the beneficiary, after you get an interview email it will tell you to look up specific consulate procedures etc... then gives you a link to the canadian visa website which you register for a DHL pick up location. then i guess the consulate gives a waybill number for tracking. sorry someone else will chime in who is better at explaining this. I accidently started to do it as permanently immigrate schedule by NVC at first and got scared when it said next available date is july 6 if you were to schedule then I saw register for courier services only and filled out the information then after that it gave me a list of locations to chose from. good luck!

Just choose the nearest DHL location to you. Do not worry about the appointment date schedule because NVC already scheduled you. The consulate do not give waybill. You will see the waybill on the consulate site where you signed up for the DHL by entering your passport number and your date of birth. My waybill didn't show up on the consulate site after 2 days after my interview, but I was able to pick up my passport 3 days after my interview. You will get a call from DHL when your passport is ready to be picked up.

Thanks for the congrats, everyone!!

My interview was also for 8:30 am, and I was out of there at 8:55 or 9:00 am, even with getting there at 7:25, what may be considered late by VJ standards! haha... That's just my preference though, since I would rather wait a little longer inside, sitting, where it's warm, than wait outside for hours, standing with all my stuff, where it's cold. Seriously, 7:15 would be plenty of time, because it is very organized. I was the very first person to be called for documents to Window 9, then the third person to be called for the interview, because I'm pretty sure I was third in terms of the appointment times. Don't worry about not being done by noon. You will easily be done by noon.

I was there too at my interview that early, but I took the chance even though my appointment was for 10am. I was out of there by 8:30. Since I also sent in all originals during my process with NVC that all they did was give them back and took my fingerprints plus the interview that was for 5 mins and Voila! I could've gotten the letter A card but I let the mother with her daughter in before me because it was -27 degrees at that time.

Just a thought, what was everyones reaction while you guys where in the elevator going down after your approved? I was by myself and I got very emotional that I started to think they might be watching me hahahahaha so silly!

APPROVED!!!!!!

As many of you have said, the whole process was a breeze and the interview was very anti-climatic. It literally took less than 10 minutes. I'll give full review later on, time for breakfast and maybe a nap.

Weather is awful here, to those traveling Be Careful!

Coratulations!!

done, I think I did it a week ago.

My question was did we need to bring an envelope for them to ship it back through DHL?

You don't have to bring any envelope, they take care of that. The documents I think that's inside of your DHL package are the documents you sent in to USCIS and NVC, your passport will be inside of the DHL envelope plus the sealed envelope you bring to the POE. Do not open that and do not pack it with your belongings.

If anyone is looking for any passport update after viewing your account under the Montreal consular website : https://usvisa-info.com/en-CA/selfservice/ss_country_welcome

go to this site to track the status of your passport and enter your waybill.

http://www.dhl.ca/ca/wfTrackingForm.aspx

The NVC was sent all my originals...birth certificate, marriage certificate, certified birth certificate, and police clearance. the instructions sent back to me said all originals were received and accepted. I just wanted to double check that they weren't requiring me to bring more originals with me, and if I just showed up with copies then it would be okay. Just being a little neurotic....

Good to know, thank you.

I agree. After going through the NVC process and the problems we had, especially them losing my police clearance, I kick myself for not doing it. Oh well, only 19 days to go!

You'll be fine!! U got it covered!! goodluck

You mean in case they dont give them back or in case they haven't been forwarded to the Consulate? Ontario birth certificates take 6-8 weeks to come through the mail so its not like I would be able to get these before my interview in 3 weeks.

Did u ever sent nvc original birth certificates or marriage certificates? If you did they (meaning consulate) should have gotten them. It says so in the checklist in the packet 4 that you received from the consul if they received your originals. They (consulate) give u back the originals, except for your police certificate.

I brought copies of all my originals and husband's documents, had lots of pictures, boarding passes, chat logs etc. I was disappointed almost when they didn't ask for anything, I had spent so much time preparing.

Were you asked alot of questions on how you met etc?

They asked when, where and how we met and about our daughter only. They did asked for more pictures. I was told that I looked like I had fun organizing our pictures lol it was worth having all documents with me. What really disappointed me was the welcome letter. I thought it will be original not photocopy. I'm just grateful to have gotten approved!!!

They did give you the originals back though?

Yes they give them back to u in any case just order some more. That's what I did.

So you can go in anytime after they open? My interview time is 9am....

Yup, as long as you got an appointment they can let you in.

Can you post a bit of an interview review.

I have posted my review on my timeline.

It was very easy!! I was out way before my assigned appointment. Be there early, carry less and wear something warm depending on the weather and make sure u got no big bags!!! A backpack was turned down when I was there and that was the USC spouse.

Latest news is that we're supposed to hear directly from Montreal and if we dont hear from them by THIS friday, we have to call NVC Washington, which is Dept of State. Did anyone else have to submit all originals? They required ALL original documents to be sent to them...I thought that was odd..or does anything think it was due to our Expedite request/approval? Well..snow storm is kicking here in Windsor..I suppose I can wait a few more days..I'll clean enough snow to stay busy.

I sent in all originals and it was a great idea. They gave it back anyways during your interview. Since they have all of my original docs I was out early and finished my interview in less than 1 hr.

If the NVC has all of my original documents already, they should be forwarded on to the Consulate, do I just bring copies?

I still brought my original documents and photographs at my interview, it's just nice to be prepared.

Good luck to everyone who will be having their interview tomorrow!! Kinda sad to be away from my husband on Valentines Day and his birthday but this is the best birthday gift I could ever give him. Peace of mind.

My interview is tomorrow morning at 10 am but will head to the embassy when they open. Hope to see other VJ'ers there!!! Let's get this!!! We all deserve to be with our love ones!!

I just want to share my experience with you guys. I wondered about this whole getting there early business too, but in the end I decided not to go super early--just 20 minutes before my appointment time. The reason for that decision was that it was January and I had a 3-month-old infant with me. I thought it was better for her to wait all day inside the consulate than to wait even 30 minutes outside.

I was happy with my decision. My appointment time was 8:30am. I arrived at 8:10. I was completely done at 9:40am. Just sayin.

C.

Thank you for the heads up, I too have a 8 month old baby but my sister will accompany her at the hotel so I am covered.

We are going to plan on getting there at 7 am to wait! Our interview is on the 15th...is everyone excited?! Where is everyone staying? We still have to book our hotel....

I'm on the same date too!!!! My appt. is at 10 Am but I will be showing up early. I am staying at the hotel practically in front of the Embassy called La tour Centre Ville

Thanks everyone, and congrats to you too Jill & Jeff!

Question: Is it still only 3 years before you can apply for citizenship after being on a greencard? My welcome letter said 5 years, but I'm hoping this is excluding spouses...

If you r CR1 I know u wait 5 years, IR1 wait for only 3 years.

Congratulations on your approval!!

We got our appointment date!!! February 15th!! We are so excited! If my appointment is at 10 am how early should I be there?

I got married recently and I'm starting to fill out I-130 and related forms. My wife doesn't have any of the USA documents as she never visited prior to our marriage. I got couple of questions some of you might hopefully answer.

1. On form G-325A, what is the file number I'm supposed to enter on the top right corner? If this is Alien Registration Number my wife doesn't have it as she was never associated with the USA, and I don't have one either (at least it's not shown anywhere in my passport). Do I just put "none" for both?

You can put None or N/A

2. Since we just got married 2 weeks ago, we don't have pretty much any of the listed examples of Bonifide Marriage yet, and most likely I will have to go with sworn affidavits. Any help on how these work? I've got couple friends who can write these testimonials, but where do I take these to make them "sworn to" and legally acceptable?

You can look in the phonebook for Certified Notary offices in your area. You can also include in your I-130 package copies of your airline tickets when you used to visit her, phone bill with you calling her. Any proof that shows you have an ongoing relationship prior to your wedding and up to this moment. You should actually gather those proof anyways because she will need them for her interview.

Hope my answers help.

Are you only sponsoring your wife? If so, you just need $ 18,212.00

Here is teh Poverty Guideline from the USCIS to get the proper figure.

http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/DATAOBJECTS/I_864P.pdf

For our AOS, my husband just submitted his most recent tax form for 2009 along with his W2.

I think you should be able to put the 2008 income even though it is below because they just want to see if you have filled taxes and if you are able to make the money to support your relative. Just make sure you put the necessary documents like 1099.

hope this help.

Do I have to report my baby being born to NVC? Her father is the USC and we just submitted our IV package today. We had to stop the process of my papers due to my pregnancy. Now that she was born 2 weeks ago, we are wondering if we have to report her birth to NVC even though we are going to announce her birth to the embassy as soon as we get her birth certificate. Can someone enlighten me please!!!

Do I have to report my baby being born to NVC? Her father is the USC and we just submitted our IV package today. We had to stop the process of my papers due to my pregnancy. Now that she was born 2 weeks ago, we are wondering if we have to report her birth to NVC even though we are going to announce her birth to the embassy as soon as we get her birth certificate. Can someone enlighten me please!!!