Rustbelt

So many of us on the 20th! I'm scheduled for 8AM... should we add times here too? lol!!

Unfortunately, times don't mean a thing. It is first come first serve.

I'm scheduled for 8am, but I hear it's first come first serve.

It is, and line up on the side of the doors with the YELLOW POLE!!!!!!!

Wait, there's more than one set of doors?

**Takes quick look at Google StreetView**

Um, so are the "yellow pole" doors down the side of the building along that tiny little street to the north of the main street (whatever it's called)?

Don't want to spend 1/2 hour freezing my butt off outside the wrong set of doors!

Oh, and CONGRATS to everyone!! Wish we had some VJ company for our 10/26 interview.

Lol...Now if only they had chocolate smarties candy in the USA too...sigh....that's another story....anyone know where to get those, besides Canada?

Steve's wife here . . .

England.

Pity it's even further away than Canada. Steve tells me that there's no lack of Timmies where he is so that's one thing I won't have to do without my large-tea-double-double. (They do get what that means in the US, right?)

I crossed a couple of years ago from Canada to the US with a UHaul at the Peace Bridge. Went through the bus/car lane (it's on the right before the commercial truck lanes). I didn't even have a list (returning US citizen); they flipped open the back, glanced at what was in there, asked my wife a couple of questions about her intentions as to immigration and where she was going to live, and we were on our way.

This time my wife is making lists of what's in each box as she packs. Each box is numbered and each list is handwritten, with items and their value. Each list attached to its respective box in a plastic sheet protector: some items might come over separately by car rather than in the truck, so she has to know what exactly is in each box.

Larger items will simply be listed on one/two sheets (bookcases, bed and stuff like that) as those will all be coming over in the truck.

Best guess is that the lists and contents of the truck/car will get a cursory glance, if that. Depending on when we cross we'll be there for 15 minutes or 3 hours.

Just as an FYI (although this could have changed): when we emailed our scanned I864 (with scanned signature) we got an RFE asking for the original signature. So we mailed everything in as original paper copies as requested, even though the instructions specifically say somewhere or other that this will delay your application. Go figure. But that was back in May so maybe we just got someone who didn't understand the whole electronic processing thing . . .

On PDF stuff - I've used CutePDF to "print" to PDF from Word and other applications, but the free version won't shuffle pages around for you (or delete/add pages for scanned signatures and such). You can do that with the professional version which costs somewhere around $70 as I recall.

Thanks Darnell! Yes we actually sent them originals anyway by mail. (Not that I don't trust the process, you understand . . .). Thanks for the heads up though - we'll be sure to take "originals" of anything scanned. And thanks for the heads up on the I864.

* Document Status Description

A = Applicant must acquire this document and present it at the time of the interview.

C = Direct inquiries to your consulate / embassy

F = This form is not necessary for this application.

O = The original document has been received and accepted as meeting post requirements.

P = The police certificate must be requested by the applicant. If you have already applied for this document, no further action is required. The issuing police authority will send the police record directly to the appropriate US Embassy to have on hand at the time of the interview.

T = An acceptable document has been received, but a translation is required as the submitted document is not in English or the official language of the processing post. The applicant must present a certified translation at the time of the interview.

U = The applicant has informed the NVC that the required document is unavailable.

X = The required document is unobtainable for this country per the Foreign Affairs Manual.

Y = The required document has been received and accepted.

I = The required form is incomplete. Please ensure that a complete form is presented at the interview.

S = Scanned document received. The original document must be presented at the time of the interview.

$ = Payment received.

Good Luck !

Yes, that's included in the interview letter. But see it has "Y" next to things like the various forms, the photos, financial information and so on. Some of this was sent in as originals, some as copies, and some via email (i.e. scanned). So although I completely get the definitions as given above, I'm just not seeing the pattern, which wouldn't matter except I'm not sure what it means they're expecting at the interview. (Duplicate originals? Copies? Who knows!)

slider100 - Days between "Done at NVC" and "Interview date" = 144. We were done at NVC on June 4th and got our interview date on September 10th. Interview is next Monday. Yep, it feels like it's taking forever when you're waiting.

It's just one of Montreal's Great Mysteries I guess. I'll let you know what they actually wanted after the interview

See, it would just be so much easier if next to the document status description they said "bring a copy" or "bring originals" or "don't bring anything at all" or something. And how am I supposed to know how many photos to take? (I'm taking two, but I only know that because of VJ).

I've yet to buy the xpresspost envelope. Weren't you going to get the overnight one instead Mikey? You know, the whole guinea pig thing?

My wife had her medical in TO. She'd had titres done and updated shots as appropriate, one of which was the TD booster. That was perfectly acceptable to the medical folks. It was done almost a year ago back when we were optimistic and thought the whole process would be done by early summer.

OK, so our interview is next Monday (yay!) and it's time to put together the document binder which probably won't even be looked at but all us VJ'ers know to be overprepared, right?

So on the interview letter, we have a bunch of documents listed that we submitted. All is fine (nothing missing), but I'm not entirely sure what I need to do with documents marked "Y" (one of the "document status" letters). I understand that for anything marked "O" they got the original, it's been accepted by the consulate as meeting their requirements, and we provide them with a copy if required, but most of the documents with "Y" next to them are ones that were provided in original format. Like the photos. And the I130, DS-230 and so on. So what exactly does this "Y" thing mean? The document status description says that "The required document has been received and accepted" but I'm not sure what that means. I'm taking copies/originals of everything anyway, but I guess I'm worried that if we've forgotten something and/or don't have the actual true original that it will cause problems.

Hope that makes sense. Yes, I'm worrying way too much. Thanks for any insights.

I hate when people pronounce the H when saying "Herbal" the H is silent "erbal"

YES!!! Herb is a man's name. Erb is parsley, etc.

According to my (British) wife, it's YOU who are all incorrect. The "H" in Herb (as in parsley) is most definitely pronounced. Of course, she also says "aluMINIum" instead of aluminum. I guess aluminum is smaller over there or something.

varba, i have to make sure i'm not drinking anything when i read most of your posts for fear i may laugh and spit it out at my screen.

Let this be a lesson to you, if you don't keep a sense of humor during this process - you'll go as nuts as ME!!!

Honestly though, Peachey did say that I am not allowed to wear my "Go away or I will replace you with a very small shell script." (a type of computer program) t-shirt to our interview.

I even told her that I just wanted to show the consulate how much I appreciated their efforts in keeping our process moving. She typed "no" very fast, and I know the exact look she gave her computer.

/chuckle

HA! A couple of lines of code is about all you need.

I'm with Peachey, though. Don't wear the t-shirt . . . You might just get a former network admin.

Steve's wife here . . .

We had a similar sort of issue, but we're doing the IR-1, so YMMV.

Steve worked in Canada for almost two of the past three years. He had a full year of income for 2008, but for 2007 he only had a couple of months in the US. We actually waited until we had our 2008 tax return done which delayed us 3 months. We did look into though and were advised (by our lawyer) that recent paystubs + a letter from the employer saying he was permanent and making X dollars would be fine if we didn't want to wait for the 2008 tax return, but we figured that getting the tax return was the safer route.

We're taking three years of tax returns with us just in case, plus recent paystubs and his employer's letter.

Short-haired puffball aka "guinea" puffball.

Congrats!! Hope the rest of you get interviews very, very soon. We're 26 days from my wife's IR-1 interview . . .

It's hard because some days I sit here and go: "I gave up everything to come here"

Steve's wife again:

Ah, but you know what, you'd likely feel the same way even if you had moved within Canada to be with your sweetie. BTDT, it's no easier . . .

I find the people down here more outspoken. I am getting used to it, I am becoming way more outspoken myself. I used to try to sugar coat everything, be nice about everything, tip toe around the negative stuff. Now I just find myself blurting it out. Sure saves a lot of time in the long run actually.

This is too, too funny. When we first moved to Canada (DH is the US citizen) he found everyone thought he was "too direct". Yes, people actually told him that he was too direct . . . He, however, thought everyone just took way too long to say anything. They'd beat around the bush and never get to the point!

Steve's wife here . . .

This is actually my second go-around with a green card. I won't bore you with the long story as to why that is . . .

The reason I mention that is to let you know that I do "get" how awful it can be when you first move. The first two years I was in the US I was SO depressed, so miserable, so unhappy, so lonely. I couldn't even work because I was on a non-working visa (it was "upgraded" to a green card after 18 months or so). I spent a lot of time moping around malls, gyms, driving around the countryside and reading. The internet was barely around and I didn't have a computer anyway, so I was truly isolated.

Only you can decide what to do about this. Is it truly homesickness or is the relationship not working (no need to answer, just something to ponder). If it's the former you might not want to burn your bridges. If it's the latter, go home and take all the time you need to heal. It is really, really, really hard to move to another country and you shouldn't feel bad about, well, feeling bad.

We're all here for you and those of us that have/are living in the US totally understand what you're going through.

Steve's wife here:

OK. What is the obsession with having medicals/interviews so ridiculously early in the morning? I am so not a morning person . . .

Anyway, here's my review

Drove up to Toronto yesterday and stayed overnight at the Renaissance Hotel (thanks Hotwire! Only $89 with tax + parking of $20 - not bad for downtown). Not the best hotel I've ever stayed at but it was quiet on the 9th floor and only 2km from the doctor's office (though I drove because the weather was horrible today).

Got up in the middle of the night, well alright, it was 5 am, but that IS the middle of the night for me; driving up Front Street by 6:30 a.m.

Location:

Don't remember the cross street, but it's a good half mile past Union and it has a nice big sign that says "145 Front" out front - vertical sign that you can see while driving down the road.

Parking: There is plenty of street parking around providing you get there early. It's metered and the meters will take any Canadian change you've got - $2/hour for a max of 3 hours. Don't put money in until closer to 8am if possible because you could be there quite a while . . .

Detailed review:

Got to the front door by 6:45 a.m. Door was locked. "Dr. Seiden" is not one of the choices in the company directory; it's actually the . . . um . . . Frederick? medical clinic or something like that. Anyway the intercom code is 0001. I could see the lights were on in what I thought was the office, so I dialed the intercom. No answer, but fortunately, just as I was settling down for a 15-20 minute wait a guy came along with a passcard to get into the building & let me in.

It's the first opening/doorway on your left after the entrance way and there's a sign that says "visa medical applicants line up here" or something like that. I was first in, so I lined up

About four more families/individuals came in shortly afterwards and we all stood there feeling slightly foolish until the receptionist came in on the dot of 7. Handed over my interview letter (note - I just printed off the email attachment on a B&W laser printer and that was fine). She took my name and directed me to the waiting room.

Had a bit of a shock as I thought I was first in line and I walked into a room that had 4 familes/groups in it already!!!!! So I settled down for a long wait.

At around 7:30 I was called into an office and the woman there took my money, passport photos, information off my passport and immunization information (more on this later). Then I was directed down the hallway for my X-ray. Had to wait a few minutes in the hallway - there is limited seating there, but the hallways are narrow and the staff seem to spend lots of time running from one room to another: watch your feet/anything you put on the floor.

The x-ray woman was curt, but fine. I had the temerity to shuffle my feet after she'd positioned me JUST SO, so she told me off for that and moved me 2 mm to the right to correct my movement, LOL! Okay, whatever . . .

Then back out into the hallway outside the office for another wait on a different set of chairs outside the office where I paid. Then back into the main waiting room because they needed more space for people who had just finished their x-rays.

By this time it was around 8:30am and I was feeling the lack of sleep (4 hours) and caffeine acutely! I was called in for my blood work (the phlebotomist is pretty good - I get quite a few blood tests done and she was better than average). Then back into the waiting room where I just about got comfortable and it was up again and into the examination room.

Waited for about 10 minutes then the nurse came in and took my blood pressure, pulse & weight. Then after another 10 minutes the coordinator (? - she spent lots of time directing people from room A to room B ) popped in and told me to change into the paper gown. It's pretty cold in there, btw, for just sitting in a flimsy paper gown.

Waited another 10 minutes and then the doctor came in (Dr. Malcolm? I think). Brief interview - major medical history, review of my immunization history and questions about mental health, overuse of alcohol & drug use, and smoking. He grew up in England, so commented that my titers and his were actually very similar and maybe there had been a bum batch of MMR back in the late 60's (I was no longer immune to mumps when I had the titers done, so had the shot done again). Very brief physical exam (basically is your heart beating, are you breathing, any funny lumps in your abdomen; no "are you female" checks).

Last, but not least, after another 10 minutes of waiting around in that paper gown (I was freezing by this time), the nurse came in to to a breast exam. No biggy, ladies - a little more thorough than my doctor does, but nothing unusual.

Couple of comments about what to take:

Immunization records:

I grew up in the UK and my immunization records are long gone. I had titers done for the following:

Measles, mumps, rubella.

Varicella (chickenpox).

Hep. A (my doctor ordered this one - no reason for it, but there it was).

Plus my doctor ordered HIV - no need for this either.

I had the regular TD booster shot, but I didn't have the titer done and didn't have my original series proof for that one.

Also had a flu shot (last year) and MMR redone.

I took a note from my doctor (handwritten) stating what I'd had done, and when, and the titers. This was all just fine, including the TD booster rather than the TDAP shot or proof of original shots or titer (I have one being processed, just in case, but the results weren't back yet).

I explained that the Hep. A positive result was because I'd had a shot for a trip to Kenya a few years back; which was fine despite the lack of proof.

Summary letter from your doctor:

Recommend you take one. It's not necessary but the panel physician really appreciated it and it carries far more weight than my word on my medical history. Doesn't need to be lengthy - mine was just a page outlining major medical history and current treatment (if any). They didn't keep it - I got mine back.

Copy of medical notes from your doctor:

I had planned to take mine but I found a major error in mine, so I just left them at home. I was never asked for them, so no need to take them.

Passport:

This is NOT listed in the documents to take on their website. Anyway, you will need it. So take it.

All in all a non-event and just like the one I had done 12 years ago when I went through the green card process back then (don't ask - long story).

If you didn't even get an automated reply, you might want to try sending from another email account. Your email may have been (inexplicably) flagged as spam. (This happens occasionally - nothing to worry about, though I know THIS is something to worry about!)

Send emails daily with case no. in the subject. If you're using Outlook, send it as a high priority email with read receipt requested. Most email systems will flag the email as high priority at their end and prompt the reader to send back a read receipt.

And yes, be very polite, even if you don't feel like it.

We filed the I130 paperwork in, what, May of last year. IR-1 interview is October 26th. Almost 18 months. Three months of that was our own delay (waiting for 2008 tax return to get finished), but the rest is all UCIS/NVC.

I think the correct answer is "way longer than you ever thought possible".

I'm in a business where we talk about Patone colours alot. For the life of me, I can't seem to say 'mauve' the American way. They say it with an 'aw' sound. In Canada I always said it so that it rhymes with 'stove'. Just curious, anyone know how the Brits say it?

My neighbour is a well-educated woman with a high-paying job. When she found out where I was from (Toronto), she asked if I knew this guy named Fred who lives in Hamilton. I humoured her and asked his surname. She couldn't remember but said, "Oh, he works in I.T." like that bit of information was going to cinch it for me. I used to hear these stories all the time when I lived in Canada but I thought they were like urban legends.

Steve's wife again: Mauve rhymes with stove in England. Plus it's not that awful dark pink colour that Americans call mauve, it's a nice lavendar-ish sort of colour in England.

Hi

My Case case was completed and sent to Montreal on 15th June, I read that it takes max 4 months to get interview and was so hoping

to get my interview on Oct, that didn't happen. Anyways hoping to get some good luck for November.

Anyone here going thru the same situation ??

Yes. It took 144 days for us to get an interview date (completed June 4th, interview October 26th). You will almost certainly be November. But the waiting is endless . . .

Thanks guys! You rock!

Yes, I'll be driving across and things will be coming over in dribs and drabs for the most part (e.g. anything electronic will be in the car - no way am I putting computers & stereo stuff in a van, no matter how well it's packed). So some will be in boxes, some in totes (for storage), some in bags (like clothes & linens), etc. Some will come in the car, some in a van . . .

Was just wondering if I *had* to use the 3299 or not - filling out endless copies of the 3299 will be painful: I'd rather do it in Excel or Access.

When we moved to Canada, we crossed at St. Stephen/Calais & the guys there were totally disinterested in what we had in the 22ft UHaul. They didn't even open it up!!!! Doing that list was a PITA because we'd landed several months before and had to list everything before then. At least I only have to list things as I take them back over into the US, basically.

Steve's wife here again (see, I'm the one who asks all the dumb questions, LOL!)

What kind of format did you put your list of goods in? I talked to a CBP guy and he said to use the format for form 3299 (even though I'll be accompanying everything, so it's not the form to use), but it has all kinds of extraneous information on there that I don't think is useful. Did you just type up a list, and if so, what columns/fields did you use for describing your goods?

Thanks guys!

Thanks everyone. I'm not nervous or anything, you understand. Nope, not at all. I'm always a complete and utter control freak.

Wife of Steve again. Just trying to find more dumb questions to ask . . .

I'm planning for spending all morning at the consulate even though we hope to be there early enough to be first or second in line. But all that sitting around with the five cups of tea I've had to drink to wake myself up for that early in the morning are going to kill me.

So . . . are there bathrooms reasonably available? If I have to make frequent use of them (hey, I'll be nervous!), will anyone freak out (other than me)? Are there any drinks available (coffee/tea/water)?

I just like to know exactly what to expect.