tbaygrrl

I've never heard of any concrete evidence that the bolded statement above is true at any consulate. I do know that it is a common fallacy in some high fraud countries, and consulates in those countries don't give it any consideration at all. Someone scamming a USC for a ticket to the US would happily get pregnant if they thought it would help convince a CO to give them a visa.

I wouldn't want anyone to get the false impression that getting pregnant should be on their "to do" list of things to prepare for the interview.

I think you are misinterpreting my post, so I will clarify my words for any other couple that will read this thread.

As I wrote in the sentence right before your choosen words to bold... a pregnancy does not expedite the visa or gaurentee a visa, but.... just as photos, letters, and e-mails count as evidence of a relationship so does expecting a child together.....this comes direct from an IO. If anyone would interpret my post as suggesting to put a pregnancy on their "to do" list, well they are either reading it too fast or being ignorant. I posted my first response to clarify to all the pregnant woman who are in true relationships and undergoing the visa process to know that there is a lot of BS on this site around pregnancies and not too listen to all the responses, as many will automatically assume that the are using a child as a means to the U.S.. Also, If someone was to use pregnancy to obtain the visa, they are in for a rough ride, as stated above it doesn't make getting a visa easier, it just helps to show a bit more evidence, they still need to show various types of evidence that the relationship is real and legit.

Thanks everyone. I really do appreciate the words of wisdom, it does help ease the stress.

Cheers

You can file without him present.

My husband was deployed as well when I removed conditions and it was no problem. Plus, we lived overseas.

I wrote "Active Duty Military- Overseas" on the very top of the form. You may want to write "Active Duty Military- Deployed" on the top.

Add his deployment orders and a letter from his commander as to why he won't be able to attend any possible interview or sign forms. (Or have your husband sign the form when he is there in April?)

You might even get around the interview ( I did) or they will just forgive your husbands absence.

Good luck to you, congratulations on your baby and enjoy your tim with your husband next month!!

Opps, I should add that he will only be here for 3 weeks in April then he flies back.

My husband is currently deployed and has been notified that he will be extended through to January 2012. My ROC window is Oct-Dec 2011. He will not be here, and he will most likely be in the same region in AStan where his mail takes 2-3 months...no joke... to get to him. We have a one year old and I am due with baby #2 in a month, which he will be back for. What do I need to gather from him and what do I have to do to have my ROC go smoothly when he may be so out of reach for signatures etc...

Thanks

Where my SO and I lived when I first came to the States, we had a couple that lived in the unit under us that constantly had music blaring, slamming doors, violent sounding fights, etc.... I was also worried because the guy seemed very unstable, a total unhinged nut that could snap and do who knows what, so talking to him was useless and the girlfriend was an empty shell, so no use there either. Our HOA would not do anything, even though several units complained and the cops had come on a few occassions. BUt because we had a newborn baby and they were highly distruptive I was really worried. Eventually the cops came over to their unit for domestic violence and disturbing the peace.

If you have run in to a wall where nothing has worked, call the cops. Don't feel bad. Request to stay anonymous, but let them know that this was a last resort, that you have tired all other channels to resolve this issue, but their disruptive behaviour is affecting several units. The cops will come out, give a warning, and if called again after issuing the warning, should fine the couple. Don't feel bad for calling them, it is a part of their job to handle these disputes.

Best of luck

Just to let you know, as of this past October or November (2010), the FAA and HLS changed the travel regulations. Now when you fly, your passport MUST match your ID, no exceptions. I just found out about this in December. If you drive it won't be an issue, but it will be if you fly. I know it's a big pain in the but to renew your passpost especially a CND because the rules are tighter than some other countries on the renewal process, but it is worth the hassel, and hey, at least when it's time to renew this one down the road you can fill out the simplified form.

Hope this helps

No wonder I caused confusion, where my post said ID, it was suppose to say ticket....I'll just blame it on pregnancy brain :-P

If you fly internationally then your passport is your ID, no? I don't remember ever being asked for any additional identification. Generally one piece of photo ID in a name that matches your ticket is fine. If you fly in internationally, just book the ticket in your maiden name so it matches the passport, and I don't see how that would be an issue. If you tried to fly internationally with a ticket in your married name while your passport was in your maiden name then yes, I could see that being a problem.

I don't see an issue with it treble. I've been traveling with my passport in my maiden name and my GC in my married name and so far no issues at all. If it's been working for you, it should keep working!

If your ticket matches your passport you will be ok, so booking it in your maiden name would be the best, as Huggles said. It's when the ticket doesn't match the passport name it becomes an issue. Last time I flew, I had my marriage certificate in my passport, and at the check in counter the clerk gave me the hardest time because ID didn't match ticket. It took over an hr to be let through after a slew of phone calls to her supervisor, so I missed my flight. The regulations have been changed and some check in attendants will be more sticklers than others, best thing in my opinion, is book your ticket in maiden name to Canada, then expedite passport application when in Canada, (more cash but worth it), then it's done, just have 2 people plus one back up for a gaurentor ready. Then all your ID's match and down the rd when it's time to renew again, all you have to do is send in the simplified form.

Just trying to save you the hassel that I had to go through with ID and ticket not matching and to give a heads up of regulation changes.

Have a great trip. Cheers

Just to let you know, as of this past October or November (2010), the FAA and HLS changed the travel regulations. Now when you fly, your passport MUST match your ID, no exceptions. I just found out about this in December. If you drive it won't be an issue, but it will be if you fly. I know it's a big pain in the but to renew your passpost especially a CND because the rules are tighter than some other countries on the renewal process, but it is worth the hassel, and hey, at least when it's time to renew this one down the road you can fill out the simplified form.

Hope this helps

I was curious how one would cross the border if the child was born in Canada. The hubby and I are trying and have talked about giving birth in Canada but then we would be stuck there for 12 weeks? till we got the bc and birth aboard right?

I would suggest that you call the US customs port that you would be travelling through and speak with a supervisor there( and take down their name, date and time of call). Ask them if you can pass through with the newborn showing your US greencard, and receipt for application of the birth abroad for your newborn and their birth certificate,(even better if hubby travelling with you). It is possible that they may give you grief about travelling without a US passport for the baby, but as long as you have the BC- which you can have expedited there should not be much of an issue. But call just to make sure. (Note: due to the increase in international child kidnappings, both the CND and US border is ####### about showing BC's when travelling with children, so I can't see them letting you cross without one)

Hope this helps

BIG NOTE HERE

**** You will have to pay out of pocket in Canada to have your child born there. To qualify to use your Canadian insurance you have to have been a resident for 3 consecutive months, and must remain in Canada for 180 consecutive days aswell. Any break of these terms and you will be billed. So in the long run, may be best to stay in the States for the birth. It could save you a ton of stress, money and complications with the CND government.

I always wondered what do you tell the Canadian border for citizenship of the kids that are dual, before or after you have it all registered with Canada. Do they get picky on telling them one over the other??

When you get to the customs desk, just hand over your passport and the babies passport ( inside your passport have marriage cert. and travel consent letter if your not with the other parent, in the babies passport have the his/her birth certificate). There is no issue with them having dual, or evenjust US citizenship, if their CND. citizenship card has not come through yet. Just have an original of their certified birth certificate slipped in with their passport. This will show you as mother. I have travelled with my son to Canada when he just had his US passport and me, my CND passport. Birth cert was enough. BUT, if travelling to Canada by yourself, vital to have that letter of Travel consent from the other parent, esp. since the baby will have only a US passport.

In both countries you will have to file under... Married filed jointly.

On the U.S. form, there is also a section where it will ask about residency and if you were here the whole year or partial, so you would check partial. This may affect some tax credits (as it did my husband and I, but nothing major).

In Canada, file married again, but this time make sure to check that you are filing as a non-resident, and which day you seised to be a resident of Canada. Nothing to stress about, it can sound alot more complicated than it is.

If your still uncomfortable, just go to H&R and request a supervisor there to file your taxes for the States (yr round staff and supervisors are certified accountants, not temp. staff hired off the street).

Cheers :-)

Your OHIP does count as previous coverage!!! Don`t let anyone convice you otherwise (on this forum, or at the insurance company...many emplyees are not familiar with how coverage works outside of the US ).

Contact OHIP for a confirmation of coverage letter and this can be used to prove that you were covered. There have been many folks on here who initailly were told that Canadian health insurance didn`t count, but when they looked into it further and spoke with a more experienced person at the insurance company, they found out that it DOES count.

There are lots of misconceptions in the US about how the Canadian health care system works. Many don`t think / know that we actually have to show proof of coverage when we go to the hospital, doctors, etc...

Just make sure that when explaining it to your husbands company that you tell them that you have proof that you were insured under the Canada's Ontario Health Insurance plan

Hope this helps :-)

During my husbands deployment I travelled to Canada often with our son. There are 2 things you need.

1. Her Passport ( Just have it expedited)

2. Letter of travel consent from the father...... ( Canada has tight rules for traveling alone with a child. In order to stop parent's who kidnap their children, you must have a letter stating that your husband knows that you are traveling to canada between said dates to visit friends and family, and can be contacted to varify at said phone #;s. The letter does not need to be notarized, but lots of folks do, including us. We just went to a local post office and had it notarized there) Every time I have travelled to Canada I have been asked for this letter, at the airline check in the Sates and at customs in Canada.

Have a great trip :-)

You have 2 options to get your Passport that would enable you to get to Canada ASAP to be with your dad.

1. Go to your local Canadain embassy and they can issue you an emergency passport in 24hrs ......or....

2. Fly to Canada with your expired Passport and your GreenCard. Canada will let you in, then apply in person at a local office and have it expedited. (I had this done, but does cost extra $) A tip is to have 3 gaurentors lined up (1 as back-up) before you apply and let those folks know that the passport office will be calling them within 24 hrs of your application drop off (if expedited). You will also need proof of travel in the next 48hrs if expediting or you will have to sign a sworn statement.

Hope this helps

I agree. Fill out the form and mail it in ASAP. The USCIS and US embassies and consulates use expired forms a lot. If this is what is on their site, use it DON"T wait.

And do file a complaint with the USPS. You can also call the local head office too, and speak with the local postmaster about the terrible service. He/she may investigate much faster for you.

With the GI bill it is "free" because it is all paid for in full by the GI bill. There is even a program for military spouses to get paid to go to school full time an extra 900ish a month. While they pay for you to go to school.

Everyone in the military says go to school its free. Make sure you go before you leave the military its free. Etc etc.

This is partially true. The enlisted has to be under a certain rank ( I believe E5) in order for their spouses to qualify for covered education or certifications. The programs also have to be part of an approved list before the spouse is granted funding to take the course per this MIlitary program. Though, the spouse can also use any unused portion of their Husbands/wife's GI Bill.

For the enlisted, the GI bill does cover their college education, but does have some restrictions on it as well. There are some circumstances where the mil.personnel do have to cover some fees, but it is still a very small amount.

For the post'rs question, adult GED education is covered by the state I believe and you only cover the cost of the test to recieve the GED. But other than that, there really is no true free College education.

Hope this helped

It is super easy to do.

I applied for a Canadian citizenship card for my 1 yr old son when he was born and will be doing it again for baby #2 due this spring. Here is the best route to take so nothing gets messed up.

Send your local Canadian Consulate an e-mail asking for the Birth Abroad application. They will e-mail you all the forms to fill out and what documents they need from you ( if I remember right, you will need a certified copy of their birth certificate, a notarized copy of your passport bio. page and greencard, and possibly your own birth certificate and marriage certificate, but the instructions will tell you)

The cost was $75.00 CND but may have increased again. Once you recieve the forms and filled them out etc.... you will prolly mail them back to that same consulate who will look everything over to make sure it's all there, then they will send it on to Canada for you. The process is long 8-16 months, but very easy.

From one mom to another, I hope this helps

Just wanted to remind you too, that when you and your hubby search for health insurace coverage in the States, you must tell that that you had provincial health care coverage in Canada. This will count as previous coverage. Private insurance companies in the US can still deny coverage to a pregnant woman as she had a "pre-existing" condition until 2014 (this is when they have to accept maternity care due to the new health care bill), they may attempt to tell you that you were not previously covered by an American insurance company and try and deny you..... push back if they say this. Your CND OHIP counts and it is illegal for them to deny you, having you were covered in Canada. Let me know if you want more info on this and I can post it.

Also,

when you visit the hospital, ask them what the sliding price list is for a low income family, hospitals have several prices for a single procedure ... AND / OR... ask if they have any pre/post natal care plans for low income families and call around to different Women's health care clinics to price compare (they will ususally have a package plan for a pregnancy)

The returning to Canada route is very viable too. Follow your gut on this. From experience I spent the first 7 months of my pregnancy in Canada and only saw my fiance 3x, and am pregnant again and husband has been deployed for the whole pregnancy and won't be back till baby arrives. It can be tough, but you can also be amazed about how much strength you can have to get through it without him physically next to you. 7-12 months is a drop in the bucket compared to how many years you will have together. I would personally suggest blocking out all the other voices and mind clutter that is constantly in your head, and INSTEAD.... take the route that will give your baby the best pre and post natal care. Now regarding those suggesting a midwife for a home delivery, well that is way down the rd and is not for every woman. I had a midwife but delivered at the hospital. If I was home, I would have lost the baby and possible myself too. My 2nd is also breeched and I will deliver at the hospital again. Home birth is a tad cheaper, but as your pregnancy progresses things can change, your birth plan must be fluid because it will change as every birth is different. Because of this, definatly go where your little bundle will be best cared for...before and after birth, that should be the only factor guiding your decision..... In my opinion :-)

All the best and hope this helped

I don't think the OP is applying for a visa. I think she is applying for AOS. In that event, her address in Canada is her last address abroad, and her address in the US is her current address.

Still doesn't matter. She is in the States visitng her fiance. If you come across as a visitor, and are married while here visiting, the address that you would put on your marriage license application is the current address at which you live, which in this case is Canada. When she files for the AOS that is when she would use her husbands address. As, AOS'ing after the marriage, is where she would get the OK to "live" here if approved, but till then she is a visitor because she did not come on a visa being she is Canadian. As I posted before, it may raise a red flag that she planned on coming to the States to be married (which she said was not her intention) or it may not raise a red flag. But I would say why risk it. It really is your call. If your stomach is in knots have it changed. Don;t rely on a clerk in a county office to give you immigration info because as many of us have experienced, most folks have no clue what the steps or procedures are of US immigration. Go with your gut on this one,

Hey, sorry that I posted these in the wrong category, I thought as he was my "family" it'd be under this thread, sorry! But thanks for moving it for me. Anyways, I didn't sneak over. The US doesn't require Canadians to have a visa to just come and visit. So, I just went to the airport with my passport, and they let me through. So... ya, lol.

My opinion would be to go back and to have your Canadian address put as the address at which you live. The reason is, that you are here only visiting your finace, you are not "living" with him, even though you can come across and be here for 180 days without a visa. Your actual home and place of residence is Canada. By placing his address as your home address it could raise red flags when you begin your visa process, they could really scrutinize it . Just be safe and have it reissued with the address change.

Hope this helped

Ontario law of when you can legally move from booster seats to adult seatbelt

A child can start using a seatbelt alone once any one of the following criteria is met:

• child turns eight years old
• child weighs 36 kg (80 lb.)
• child is 145 cm (4 feet-9 inches) tall.

As Lorus suggested, have your children carry their booster seat and gate check them. It sounds like legally neither of your children can be out of a booster seat under Ontario Law. As vehicle accidents are the #1 reason for childhood fatalities, the OPP and city police are very serious about inforcing this law, which is understandable as they are your most precious cargo.

In summary, bring the boosters!

I recieved an inheritance this year from Canada. In terms of taxes, the estate trustee in Canada would be responsible for any and all taxes on the estate account. When they do the bank transfer, make sure that the transfer shows that it came from an estate account. In the US you are tax free on inheritances under 5 million I believe, but you still need to report it on your tax return, especially if it is over $100, 000.00

So in terms of taxes, if it's under 5 million you are clear of paying them on it, just make sure to report it and get the transfer form from the bank showing it was from an estate account.

I am there with you. I'm a new mom and the thought of my little one getting a hold of one scares the ####### out of me, I don't know how some parents etc... can just have it out in the open, easy to discover. Way to many horror stories, I'd rather take my chances. Oh, and about the electronic reader, smart not to get one. It won't be reliable, like you said you have dirt or oil on your hands, or if your hands are calloused it may not read.

Well, have fun with your new adventure and best of luck

It definatly is different here in the States. It does have a very strong gun culture, where as in Canda lots of folks have guns, but they're all hunting rifles. I think we're a tad less paranoid up north .LOL

But as a smaller female with smaller hands, I've found that a 9mm is the most comfortable and easy to operate and handle, though some other girls I know like the way a Glock feels. I would look at these, and go with the one that feels the most natural and where you don't feel like you have to strain to hit the safety or to pull the slide. It will take a bit to get use to handling it, but just make sure that you keep going to the range until the nerves have setteled and then keep going. In terms of a gun safe as you posted, when you're at Cabela's they will have a couple options for you. You could go with a trigger lock, so gun doesn't get locked up, you could keep it in the nightstand and all you have to do is unlock this little pad lock, or they do have single lock boxes that would easliy fit under your bed, in dresser etc...

I know some folks say don't lock it up, but if you plan on having kids, best to get in safe practice now, or if you have friends bringing their kids over it is best to be safe. If you have it in a lock box under bed it should take less than 5 seconds to get out and same for the trigger lock. But it's your call on what you want to do, just don't let anyone try and pressure you into not locking it up, if this is what you want to do.

Cheers,

The US doesn't believe in having residents/citizens register fire arms. It is a Canadian law that all firearms need to be registered. I remember that your spouse is also military, so I understand how members like having a handgun in the house for security, esp for spouses. Just go to a local trusted gun store, find what your comfortable with, then during the payment process they will confirm residency. THe conceal carry, is a longer process and from the sounds of it, not of interest to you.

I would suggest,( not knowing what your experience is with guns), to take a gun safety course and go to the range often until you have muscle memory working, clearing and cleaning it with confidence. Lots of folks have guns in the house for security, but if your not confident and efficient working it, it can easlily be turned on you. I'm sure your hubby would enjoy taking you to the range anyways, it is a lot of fun and a good couples time.

Hope this helps :-)