redmen99
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Posts posted by redmen99
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Good luck!!!!
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Hubby got his Welcome to America letter today! Woo Hoo!!! He asked my why did they send us two in the same envelope? We looked at it and saw that it belongs to someone else in this area. Guess their automatic paper folder doesn't work so well.... WHOOPS!
I'll be sending this one that doesn't belong to me out tomorrow. I would hope someone did the same for me! -
I checked with my tax accountant. She said (paraphrasing of course) If you are getting a refund, you can pretty much file when you want, (within reason, I mean why would you want the government to keep your money???) If you are getting a refund, you do not have to have your taxes filed by April 15th. That is the deadline if you OWE money.
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Just file married filing seperatly... no problems for you... However, it might trigger a check on your hubby. But I would not omit filing as it will cost you BIG TIME years down the road if you do not file... Plus, depending on what you earned/paid in taxes, you could get a refund...
But it is perfectly OK to file married filing seperatly
Exactly what christeen said. Many people don't files taxes in fear that they will have to pay. The IRS eventually catches up to those people and impose high fees and interest on money owed and those people can possibly face time in jail. It is simply not worth it, especially if you are here on a green card. Do the right thing and file your taxes.
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Some people just don't like to give out their personal info I guess. I filled mine out, it took no time at all and its in the mail already. All done. Next project!
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Why is it your fault when someone gets lost driving when you gave them 3 sets of directions to choose from? Not my fault you can't follow them and you missed your exit! GRRRRR
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Hope you get it soon, Froggie! I'm twelve days behind you.
They gave me my Virginia driver's license with only my passport stamp as proof of permanent residency, so that's a good sign in MY case at least. Are there places not letting you use that I-551 stamp as proof? It really is a de facto green card!
As for the SIN, that's MY biggest concern too. I've been applying to jobs etc., but I'll feel MUCH more comfortable when I get that SIN in the mail.
A lot of States will not issue a Drivers License without a Social Security Card. You can have all the proof in the world that you are a resident or even a US Citizen, but without that card, no drivers license.
Got my fingers crossed for ya lgg!
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Wow! What a story! Glad you made it ok.
Welcome home!
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IF ALL GOES WELL APRIL 22 AT INTERVIEW IN MONTREAL
MY CHILDREN AND I WILL BE MOVING ASAP
AFTER GETTING XPRESS POST BACK
WE WILL BE DRIVING A HUGE UHUAL WITH ALL OUR BELONGINGS
ANYONE EVER DID THIS ON HERE
IS THERE A HUGE PROBLEM AT BORDER
IM CROSSING AT PEMBINA NORTH DAKOTA
I MIGHT CALL BORDER TO SEE HOW I SHOULD PACK AND LIST ITEMS
OPEN TO ANY INFO
We just did this a few weeks ago. We had no problems with the Uhaul at the border, but I do suggest that you don't use old bottled beer (24) case boxes for your belongings. They opened the truck up and asked us "how many cases of beer did you say you have?" (we bought 2-24s of Keith's at the border and when asked claimed them) He then asked about the Labatt Blue boxes in the truck. I quickly explained that we reused those boxes for kitchen items since we ran out of boxes. He seemed to be satisfied with that answer.
I did not do a manifest of what was in the boxes, nor did they ask for one. We ran out of time when we were loading the truck and wanted to get on the road, so I took a chance and would have winged it at the border had they asked. They just mainly asked about alcohol, tobacco, firearms and asked a quick question about what was in the truck to which my hubby answered all of his personal belongings including the liquor from his bar.
Just be honest and you should have no issues whatsoever.
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Wow fast response!! Great help thank you
a few posters asked if I had a special visa as an airline pilot. To be honest, I am not sure. I don't carry any special personal paperwork with me to fly to the US. I think the situation is similar to a Canadian business man going to the us for business.
Neiks and Steve;
It sounds like in some ways, my situation is similar to yours.
One of my concerns is having to many belongings in the USA right now. I own part of a house, a boat and a car down there. In Canada I rent a room in a house, bank accounts, credit cards and more importantly I have my Job. But it looks like you both had some belongings in the US while the process was going through. Any problems with that in respect of them thinking that you might be trying to establish residence in the USA ahead of time?
I have been shopping for a lawyer getting free consultations and we are trying to decided if it's worth the 2500$ that most of them charge. So far with the consultations they all say I have 2 choices. After I get married, apply for the CR-1 from the US or from Canada. Drawback from the us application is that I would have to stay in the US for a few months without leaving the country before I can resume travels. I could get a leave of absence but that would be expensive. The Canadian route, although longer would "allow" me to travel to the US at the discretion of the border agent.
Even though I don't personally know the customs officers like Neiks does, when I travel in my pilots uniform the attitude of the officer is different. Almost a sense of being on the same team. So I think that might help a little when I go back and forth.
Question...... in order to apply from Canada, does your American spouse need to have legal residency in Canada? looking through the guide for Canadians I ran across something that suggested this. but when I asked the firms during consultations, they said no.
Anyway, I see why this site is called the Visa "Journey". By finding this site, I think our journey might be a little easier thanks to you.
Thanks Again!!
Acadia
It sounds like to me that the attorneys are maybe suggesting (and wrongly so) that you get married in the states and adjust status? In that case you can't leave the US and its not the proper way to immigrate because you would have to prove that you didn't plan on getting married and staying, and since you are partial owner of a house and boat, that just wouldn't work for you.
If you do the CR-1 route, the paperwork is filed with the USCIS here in the states, and then after the brief stop at the NVC, your interview will be in Montreal. After you file the paperwork, you can still travel back and forth, as long as the border patrol let you in. Seeing as your are a pilot, I don't see you having any issues with this at all, but you never know. When I filed my paperwork, my husband was here for a slightly extended visit because he was unemployed. He never had a real issue crossing, nor was he ever denied entry. Granted, we don't own a house or anything together, but we had a smooth immigration experience.
Good luck to you and we are always here to help!
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Congrats! Great news!!!
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Hi everyone! Ms. Sheka, good luck on the interview! I just checked your timeline and your interview is TODAY! Yay!
I haven't been on in awhile so it's hard to catch up. Hope everyone's doing well! I finally brought my hubby home last week! I flew over to get him, and he was asked no questions coming through his POE (which was our city-Seattle). He managed to go through this entire process with zero questions (including his visa interview)! It's great to finally have him here!!!
Congrats Finn! My hubby was approved at his interview on March 1st and we moved him down from Canada this past Monday. What fun that was!
Hope things went well for Ms.Sheka. I saw her interview was coming up and wanted to check in to see what was going on. I'm still around, but spend alot of time in the Canada forum.
Hope all is well!
Danielle
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A few more reasons my husband is now extremely happy to be in the US:
His old storage unit cost him about $100 per month + 15% tax
His new storage unit is costing him about $60 per month + 6% tax
Car insurance:
In Canada for his 2004 Mazda cost him $156 a month for basic coverage
In PA, same coverage on my policy (with my discounts) his coverage will cost us $229 for 6 months or about $40 a month.
Yep, he's a happy camper!
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Yaaaay!!
Welcome to the USA!
Say we plan to move the same way when our turn comes.
How did you get the u-haul discounts?
Thanks everyone! After another long day yesterday, the kitchen is officially co-mingled! Extra glasses are in storage and I now have a set of pots and pans and some silverware for camping! WOO HOO!!!
Hopefully he puts his clothes away today....
So for the Uhaul discount, it appears they offer those discounts to all one way travelers. I just called the 1-800-GO-UHAUL (1-800-468-4285) and asked for pricing first, then told them I would call back to book it, then she told me about the discounts. We were not ready to book it just yet, so when I called back 2 days later, we were offered the same discounts. I'm not sure but I don't think we would have gotten the same discounts if we booked online. So making a phone call saved us quite a bit of money. The gas cost us $140 for just over 500 miles, so all in all it was well worth making a phone call.
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Congrats and have a safe POE. We did it yesterday and I'm so exhausted! I should have taken today as a vacation day too, but I only took half so that I could help hubby unload the truck and move the heavy stuff...
I'm so happy that its almost done.... Now to clean the stuff out of the cars and to start sorting and tossing.... Then life can begin!
Best of luck on your trip and hey, the DC area isn't all that far away from me, so who knows we may be able to meet one of these days after all!
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Our day yesterday started with loading the U-Haul moving truck. We called to book it and got a 40% discount on the truck and a 30% discount on the car hauler so the total rental one way from Oshawa, Ontario to Lansdale, PA was under $400 including mileage and we got a free storage unit for a month which we needed, so that was a great deal!
So we picked up the truck around 10 am and started unloading his storage unit and loading up the truck. We finished loading around 1. Had to go back to the Uhaul dealer to put the car hauler on, so we finally started on the road about 2. My goal was to make it across the border by 4, yep, that didn't happen.
We finally pulled up to the border around 5:30. My hubby told them he was activating his CR-1 Visa and that he needed to import his car. So we were asked to move the truck to secondary and go in.
We went in and sat down and he was called up a few minutes later by Office Barkley who asked the hubby some questions (where do you live, what's in the truck, any alcohol, tobacco, firearms), had him read and sign a form about how to get the 10 year greencard, then asked for me to come up and read and sign the form. He asked us to take a seat, then he process more paperwork. Asked the hubbs to come back up about 10 minutes later, asked the hubbs to sign a paper that will be his signature on his green card, took his fingerprint with ink, then told him he could go use the washroom if he wanted to wash his hands. Had him sit back down. Called us both up again, asked a few more questions, he gave me a copy of the I-485 along with instructions and told me to hold onto it. He said we were done and we could go. I asked what about importing the car? Officer Barkley said "Well you could have told me THAT 45 minutes ago!" We apologized and said that we told the guy outside and thought he told you. So we started the import process, and he asked if the car had an EPA Compliant sticker or if we had a letter from the manufacturer. I told him we requested the letter, but that it didn't come in yet. He said well, you can come back and import it later if you want and said we could go to any border entry to do it and then he asked if the car had the sticker and we were not sure. He said, well I'm not going to go look for it, but if you want to go ahead and look and come right back, I'll do the paperwork. So we looked and found it under the hood (thankfully) and a guard outside confirmed that is what they needed to see, so Office Barkley went ahead and did the paperwork to import the car. He needed to see the title and asked questions about the car when he was looking up the value on Kelly Blue Book. He asked us if there was duty on importing a car, and I told them not in this case. He is allowed to import a car fee of duty with an immigration visa. After the paperwork was done, he told us that he still needs the letter from the manufacturer and when we receive it, we should mail the original to him.
The total process took about an hour and a half and was fairly painless. My hubby was extremely grateful that he got his car imported and didn't have to worry about a 6 hour drive at another time to import it. And don't you know, the email came over with the letter from Mazda at 5:45 pm lastnight... right when we were in Secondary! We even said that to the Officer when he asked why we didn't get it yet when we requested it almost 3 weeks ago. What a fiasco!
We finally made it home around 1 am... What a long day it was, about 12 hours on the road! Its pretty bad when you are driving on the highway up a hill and you are getting passed by all kinds of tractor trailers cause the darn thing won't go faster then 45 up a major hill with all that weight in it!
Now comes the real fun part. Co-mingling of the belongings! Wish us luck!
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www.indeed.com is a great one. They search Monster.com, careerbuilder.com as well as companies direct websites as well as other sites to list jobs. You can set it up that you get email alerts daily of new listings.
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You should check and see what your health plans states for enrollment periods. Generally you are only allowed to change your plan once a year during the annual renewal period or within 30 days of a life-changing event such as marriage, birth of a child ,etc. You might want to check on when you are allowed to add her to your US plan, and if she is going to be moving to the US prior to that time, then you really should look into purchasing some sort of supplemental health insurance for when she enters the US to when you can add her.
I checked with my employer about this since my open enrollment for this year was at the end of October. I didn't want to pay for him to be covered if he wasn't here. So they told me that becoming a resident was a Change of Life and that I can add him when he gets his SS# and greencard.
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First off I'm Canadian. I live in the US and couldn't be happier. The only thing I miss really are the friends and family that are living up there. The Canadian Government has removed it's grip from my balls and it feels great. Here's a little list or the things I love about the American way of life, compared to that of the Republic of Soviet Canuckistan.
1. Did you enjoy paying $40 for a case of Bud Light? No, I'd much rather go to walmart and pay $11.99.
2. Did you like paying $35 for a round-trip from Toronto to Niagara and the 407? No, considering I can do the same trip here in Illinois for about $5.
3. Is it fair that Rogers can charge a $400 Early Termination Fee to cancel a cell phone plan? No, when the most they can charge here is $175.
I could go on for days but I think you get me point. Canadians (myself included) take it up the #### on a daily basis. And what do we do, sit back and take it, because the government has our best interests in mind, right?
Any other Canadians with me here?
You sound just like my husband. We can't buy beer in stores like Walmart or the local supermarket in PA, but after 9 or 10 pm when the beer stores close and you find yourself in need of beer, you go to the local bar and you can buy 6 packs until 2 am. Liquor, your out of luck after 9 pm.
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Congrats. I find it so funny all of you get out so early... I was like in there ALL day!
It was so terrible... well worth it but I forgot one form and had to run around all over the place trying to find the internet so I could get it done within an hour.
Congrats Wyatt! I'm so happy for you! VJ'ers are 5/5 this week!!
We were in there what seemed to be all day! By the time I got back with the Expresspost envelope and handed it in it was just about noon! No one should know that stress of waiting and waiting and waiting some more...
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Just say that you are activating the CR-1 visa but you still have belongings in Canada which you will be coming back to get in a month or so and will be importing the car at that time. Make sure your husband's insurance covers his car while he is in the States until he is able to import and register it officially.
Thank you Kathryn. I thought as much. Two more questions.. When importing the car, does it have to be at the border? He is thinking of maybe flying up and renting a truck and driving his things home and importing his car at the same time. And he can still get his US license right, or should he wait until his car is properly imported? I can't see why he'd have to wait, but I know that is his next question to me.
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I know this has been addressed before, I just can't find it and hope someone will have an answer or direct me to where it was answered before.
My hubby is getting antsy and wants to get to the states ASAP. So once his envelope from Montreal comes in (hopefully tomorrow) we'll be heading home. We are waiting for his letter from Mazda to come in and he is thinking of only moving what he really needs right now and coming back up to get the rest in a month or so and import his car then.
My question is, is there anything special that we need to do at POE like do we have to say that he has more stuff with a list of his things and will be importing his car shortly? Or do we not say anything and when we need to import his car we just say it when we are ready to import it?
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Our package made it to Mississauga this morning. Wonder when it will make it to Courtice.... Hoping for that phone call from hubby's friend saying its at his house....
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Hey guys, where are people posting their montreal reviews? Is it in a different thread? Thanks
Go to the header of the VJ and you will see Reviews:Embassy/USCIS and the reviews are there..
Greencards came in today.
in Canada
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LGG, I have a feeling Wyatt may be onto something here. Everyone who entered the US after you was via land and not air. I know it is frustrating, this whole process of hurry up and wait. I really hope your paperwork comes in soon! And you never know, your welcome letter may have gotten stuck to someone else's like what happened to me and the hubby yesterday. Someone elses letter was right behind ours. It shows how well this system works, I got someone elses welcome e-mail from the NVC, now we get someone's Welcome letter...
Congrats sdw!!!