kaylamarie

so me and my boyfriend are going to begin the I-129F process in about a week so as i was reading the guide some questions arose

1. Do you need to call them and tell somebody your shipping it? or..Do you just go ahead full out everything, get the documents and just ship it wheres its supposed to go?

2. you send it away, to them (paying shipping of course) and the USCIS sends it back eventually with how much money you pay them? not really sure about that process there. that's all the questions at the moment thanks!

congrats hope everything else runs great

No, but you both have to fill out forms in the package. This link will help you:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1guide

yep! i was just looking at that and i understand how it works now hehe, i don't really start paperwork until the second NOA but for the I-129F we both fill out the G-325fA to send with it? (plus all required documents of course)

It will be more than $2K, since that's about a minimum... but yeah, the good thing is that it's NOT all at once.

And yes, Peterborough is closer than many places. I'd love to have a few hours head start on my drive.

it's so inspiring reading everybody's stories. have you guys been visiting eachother a lot while it's still processing?

My fiancé is out in California, so it's pretty far (as is Oregon). We can't afford to visit each other as often as we would like, due to the time required away from work, and the distance and expense of travel... so we probably won't see each other again until the interview/move. It seems to have worked out that we see each other every 2-4 months though. We take turns. He's dual citizen, which makes it easier in some ways, since he has no worries about getting into Canada or anything. It really sucks though... I hope we can all be with our loved ones soon.

Mine is out in CA too, we usually manage every 4-5 months but with things the way they are right now we're hold off on a visit until the move so that wes has all his vacation time for helping move and getting me settled. I can't go visit him due to lack of money and ties to canada ><. Hopefully soon we will all be with the ones we love!

you much sooner then I that's for sure!

Yes, you both have to fill out forms, but he sends the petition in and he pays (well the money has to come from a US bank account)

we both fill out the I 129 F?

so my boyfriend needs to start this process right? he has to file for the I 129F there?

its so hard not having any support from my family..

It will be more than $2K, since that's about a minimum... but yeah, the good thing is that it's NOT all at once.

And yes, Peterborough is closer than many places. I'd love to have a few hours head start on my drive.

it's so inspiring reading everybody's stories. have you guys been visiting eachother a lot while it's still processing?

My fiancé is out in California, so it's pretty far (as is Oregon). We can't afford to visit each other as often as we would like, due to the time required away from work, and the distance and expense of travel... so we probably won't see each other again until the interview/move. It seems to have worked out that we see each other every 2-4 months though. We take turns. He's dual citizen, which makes it easier in some ways, since he has no worries about getting into Canada or anything. It really sucks though... I hope we can all be with our loved ones soon.

you must be so excited with how far you are in this process! i haven't even started yet i am very envious of you!

Hi Kayla! I don't have a lot of advice to offer aside from what you've already been told, but I wanted to say welcome to VJ! The process is stressful and expensive, but it is definitely worth it in the end! I moved from Ontario to Denver, so I know what its like to be a young Canadian girl in the wild west!

My husband and I visited each other several times during the process (every 6 weeks or so) and we never encountered a problem. You are allowed to visit, but make sure you bring prof of ties to Canada with you (ie prof of a mortgage/lease, a letter from your employer saying you are returning etc.) Anything that demonstrates you have strong ties to home and would want/need to return. Since you are an intending immigrant, the officer at the POE may be suspicious you intend on staying illegally. Don't worry, many of us were never asked for any prof aside from a return place ticket or a verbal declaration. However, it is always smart to be prepared for any scenario!

thank you! i am so glad to be part of this welcoming community. last night i was having a stress attack and today i am calm and realizing that i'm not the only one doing this! none of my family supports my decision to do this so it's been very hard on me without any support for what i'm doing but since ive been here and seen all of you are doing the same thing as me gives me a little comfort in believing that this all can work out. when visiting each other how long was your stay usually?

It will be more than $2K, since that's about a minimum... but yeah, the good thing is that it's NOT all at once.

And yes, Peterborough is closer than many places. I'd love to have a few hours head start on my drive.

it's so inspiring reading everybody's stories. have you guys been visiting eachother a lot while it's still processing?

Your first petition (I 129F) is 455$

Then you'll have various expenses for birth certificates, expresspost envelopes, police certificates

Your medical will range from 275-350$

Hotel expense for your interview.

The fee for the interview is 131$ (I know, weird eh? 131!)

Then you'll have your moving expenses, and the 6$ fee at the border.

Depending on what kind of wedding you're going to have you'll have stuff to pay for (pastor/JoP, marriage liscence, marriage certificate)

Adjustment of Status is 1010$

Then you're done for a couple years, until you apply to remove your conditions!

well its good to know its not 2k all at once. now i can prove to my boyfriend that he was wrong and tel him i was right. but we all like being right dont we? hehe. thank's so much for posting that, it gives me a rough estimate on what i should be expecting. so it took you 10 months from filing to be able to enter the US together? Were going to be filing I 129F within a couple weeks.Finally we're doing the first step and i'm very excited to finally get this long process going. I'm not a very patient person though

Oh Peterborough to Montreal is only about 5, 6 hours tops by car!!

really? on a bus trip i took there once i swore it took 8 hours!

Oh I'm sure it did on a bus, they stop so many times!! But if you drove straight there, it would only be 5-6 hours

oh well thats not too bad then. too bad there wasn't an office in Toronto ive been there many times, but i guess things arent that easy. do you know where i can find the cost of each step? my boyfriend said he thought the $2,000 had to be paid all at once but i thought thats just how much the whole process will add up to after paying all the fees. i know i've said this many times but i appreciate so much how helpful you guys are, i dont even know how i found this website but im sure happy i did

No, if you are in Ontario, you will need to get to Montreal for the interview

yeah thats what i meant was montreal. thats 9 hours away i dont even know how i'd get there!

Are you in the Sault.... hmm, maybe Windsor.

But welcome to VJ! The no lawyer thing is good advice. I asked the same question when my fiance and I first started the process and we're doing just fine Almost at the interview stage.

Things go slow, but you learn much patience in this process.

This community helps support each other, and I don't know what I would do without VJ!

yeah i actually talked to a friend and she said she would go with me, my mom unfortunately wouldn't do it with me im sure of, she is definitely the one person i'd want by my side though (not saying i depend on my mother) but shes my mom right?

Oh Peterborough to Montreal is only about 5, 6 hours tops by car!!

really? on a bus trip i took there once i swore it took 8 hours!

No, if you are in Ontario, you will need to get to Montreal for the interview

yeah thats what i meant was montreal. thats 9 hours away i dont even know how i'd get there!

Train, car, plane, bus, etc. Immigration is very expensive

where do i find the cost of each thing? that woudl reallly help by the way, i just want to say thank you to everybody here you guys are so amazing

No, if you are in Ontario, you will need to get to Montreal for the interview

yeah thats what i meant was montreal. thats 9 hours away i dont even know how i'd get there!

Are you in the Sault.... hmm, maybe Windsor.

But welcome to VJ! The no lawyer thing is good advice. I asked the same question when my fiance and I first started the process and we're doing just fine Almost at the interview stage.

Things go slow, but you learn much patience in this process.

This community helps support each other, and I don't know what I would do without VJ!

yep im aware i wont be able to work for that 5 months and i def. won't do it unless i know i can afford but luckily it wont be just me me and my boyfriend will be splitting everything

and i live in Peterborough Ontario sorry for late responses work work work!

No, if you are in Ontario, you will need to get to Montreal for the interview

yeah thats what i meant was montreal. thats 9 hours away i dont even know how i'd get there!

Hi and welcome,

Basically immigration is filling out a bunch of paperwork. As Jill mentioned, many here have done it without the help of a lawyer. Now i'm not trying to discourage you from getting one if that's your choice, but as Jill also said, they don't care about your paperwork as much as you do! (generally). It is no faster, everyone, lawyer or not, has to fill out the same forms and submit them to the same address.

To start, a good place to look at an overview of the K1 process is here: K1 Flowchart

Once you have reviewed that you will want to look at the guides (just click on the guides tab at the top of the page).

Also - where do you live? Where you live will dictate where you have your interview. There are only 2 U.S. consulates in Canada that do interviews, Vancouver and Montreal. Where your file will be sent, eventually, depends on which province you live in.

Oh and you aren't being a bother, so after you read the guides and you have questions, please come back and ask!

does that mean i have to go all the way to montreal for my interview??? isn't that the slowest place too (for what i've read)

No you're not annoying, I was just as confused and overwhelmed to the immigration process when I started as well. If you and your BF both do some research here on VJ, read the guides, sample forms, timelines, etc. you can surely do this yourself with no lawyer. That's a fact, because many of us VJ did it with no lawyer. There is no reason why you can't too.

It's really up to the discretion of the BG to decide if you'll be let in... A return ticket is good, but not exactly proof enough you are coming back. After all, you could cancel the ticket or choose to skip the flight back. This is just my own opinion, and how I felt but don't you want to spend your last few months/year in Canada with family and friends who you'll be leaving? The transition of moving to a new country away from everything/everyone you know is incredibly hard. You won't know how hard it is until you do it, you cannot fully prepare yourself for the adjustment life will bring you.

How would you get mail from USCIS if you are in the US? Would your parents collect it for you?

Yeah my parents would collect all that information for me but i'm starting to think now me doing that would make things a bit more complicated in the end? What's the BG? im not quite familiar with that term yet. I think we'll probably skip the lawyer. I just dont want to go another 8 months on top of the 7 months that i haven't seen him and i thought that would be a good way to do it is to just go there for 5 or so months and maybe come back for the last of it? I know it will be a huuuge life changing thing, and im very ready for it the original plan was for him to come and live here but i had wanted to live in the US with him ..crazy eh?

Sorry, BG = border guard.

Yup, it's pretty crazy what we do for love

Just out of curiosity, what province are you in and where would you be moving to in the US?

I live in Ontario, and his state is Oregon

No you're not annoying, I was just as confused and overwhelmed to the immigration process when I started as well. If you and your BF both do some research here on VJ, read the guides, sample forms, timelines, etc. you can surely do this yourself with no lawyer. That's a fact, because many of us VJ did it with no lawyer. There is no reason why you can't too.

It's really up to the discretion of the BG to decide if you'll be let in... A return ticket is good, but not exactly proof enough you are coming back. After all, you could cancel the ticket or choose to skip the flight back. This is just my own opinion, and how I felt but don't you want to spend your last few months/year in Canada with family and friends who you'll be leaving? The transition of moving to a new country away from everything/everyone you know is incredibly hard. You won't know how hard it is until you do it, you cannot fully prepare yourself for the adjustment life will bring you.

How would you get mail from USCIS if you are in the US? Would your parents collect it for you?

Yeah my parents would collect all that information for me but i'm starting to think now me doing that would make things a bit more complicated in the end? What's the BG? im not quite familiar with that term yet. I think we'll probably skip the lawyer. I just dont want to go another 8 months on top of the 7 months that i haven't seen him and i thought that would be a good way to do it is to just go there for 5 or so months and maybe come back for the last of it? I know it will be a huuuge life changing thing, and im very ready for it the original plan was for him to come and live here but i had wanted to live in the US with him ..crazy eh?

Hi kaylamarie. Jill was kind enough to inform me about your posts so I have split them from the EI thread into your own topic.

You'll find tons of good information here, and some really lovely people. Welcome to VJ.

thank you so much:)

Kayla,

Maybe a mod can open a new discussion for you, as this is in the wrong area. Anyway, take a deep breath and relax. First of all, have you applied for a Visa yet? If so, what kind of Visa? Regardless, 5 months is too soon, you won't get approved that quickly. From start to finish, it can take from 8-12 months.

He was supposed to of started it last week he had a consult with a lawyer but everything got postponed so i had decided to come on here and look for information. sorry i forgot to mention that we'd be applying for the K1-visa. 8-12 months? that's horrible...and yeah i know i posted in the wrong area and im sorry but i just didn't know where to post. for the medical exam is it a complete physical?

thank you so much for responding your help it so appreciated.

Don't worry. First of all, you came to the right place. VJ is an excellent source of information, and many of us (myself included) did this entire Visa process from start to finish with NO LAWYER. Take some time, read the guides (above) and learn about the process. Yes, from the very beginning of the K-1 to the end takes longer than 5 months right now I'm afraid, it's not a quick nor easy process. Immigration isn't meant to be simple, I'm afraid. But try and be patient, and the time will come!

Well it is a physical, but they don't do an internal exam or anything if that's what you mean... they take a quick "peek" under your gown to ensure your female. They also do a breast exam. Since you are 19, you will be required to get the gardisil vaccination.

You have no idea how much i appreciate your help your pretty much my savior at this point thank you so much..i really didn't think it would take longer then that i was expecting 4-5 months thats a reallllly big letdown i'm so sick of waiting. If a lawyer is used doesn't that mean the process would be speeded up a bit? so another question, could i visit for six months while the process is happening? Six months is the time your allowed to visit right? 6 months of the calendar year or something like that? So could we file for the k1 and then i go visit him for six months while it happens?

No problem, that's what we are all here for. VJ will be a huge source of help to you.

Now, first of all - NO, a lawyer will NOT speed up your process. In fact, people who have used a lawyer have sometimes reported longer waits then those who do it themselves. Why? Because a lawyer doesn't pay as much detail in filling out the forms as you will, you can't control when the lawyer sends in the package, etc. Plus immigration is costly enough as it is, you really don't want to have to spend thousands more on a lawyer, do you? But of course, that is entirely up to you and your boyfriend.

It is a letdown, but the honest truth. It is hard to wait to be with the one you love, but think of the big picture. What's another 3-4 months in the long term? Really nothing, and that's just how it is right now.

Yes, you are technically allowed to visit for 6 months as a Canadian in the US. HOWEVER, when you enter the US you need to prove ties to Canada. The border guard will be very suspicious if you say you are going to visit for 5-6 months. How will they know you will return to Canada? What proof will you have? At your age (assumption here) you probably live with your parents? So you don't have a lease agreement, etc. Do you work? Would an employer be willing to give you a letter to state you are coming back to work? These are all things you need to think about. Also, you need to be present in Canada to do your medical, get the package from Montreal stating when your interview is, etc.

Bottom line is, you can definitely visit the US while your K-1 file is processing. However, you need to be prepared to answer some tough questions at the border (will you have a return ticket)? You don't want to get turned away, and you also don't want to risk an overstay. They WILL ask you at the interview what the longest is you've spent in the US

Well ill be sure to pass on that information about the lawyer to my boyfriend. considering you've been through all of this i'll take your word on it. i'm actually living on my own right now but moving back in with my parents at the end of October so i guess the lease wont work. I do have a job but, if i left for 6 months im not sure i'd still have a job lol but its worth asking i guess! so if i dont have a lease or a statement from my employer is that pretty much out of the question? what if i buy a return ticket, can't i just use that? I really hope you dont mind all my questions if i get annoying be free to tell me. Would you say it could work? or would you recommend not even doing that

Kayla,

Maybe a mod can open a new discussion for you, as this is in the wrong area. Anyway, take a deep breath and relax. First of all, have you applied for a Visa yet? If so, what kind of Visa? Regardless, 5 months is too soon, you won't get approved that quickly. From start to finish, it can take from 8-12 months.

He was supposed to of started it last week he had a consult with a lawyer but everything got postponed so i had decided to come on here and look for information. sorry i forgot to mention that we'd be applying for the K1-visa. 8-12 months? that's horrible...and yeah i know i posted in the wrong area and im sorry but i just didn't know where to post. for the medical exam is it a complete physical?

thank you so much for responding your help it so appreciated.

Don't worry. First of all, you came to the right place. VJ is an excellent source of information, and many of us (myself included) did this entire Visa process from start to finish with NO LAWYER. Take some time, read the guides (above) and learn about the process. Yes, from the very beginning of the K-1 to the end takes longer than 5 months right now I'm afraid, it's not a quick nor easy process. Immigration isn't meant to be simple, I'm afraid. But try and be patient, and the time will come!

Well it is a physical, but they don't do an internal exam or anything if that's what you mean... they take a quick "peek" under your gown to ensure your female. They also do a breast exam. Since you are 19, you will be required to get the gardisil vaccination.

You have no idea how much i appreciate your help your pretty much my savior at this point thank you so much..i really didn't think it would take longer then that i was expecting 4-5 months thats a reallllly big letdown i'm so sick of waiting. If a lawyer is used doesn't that mean the process would be speeded up a bit? so another question, could i visit for six months while the process is happening? Six months is the time your allowed to visit right? 6 months of the calendar year or something like that? So could we file for the k1 and then i go visit him for six months while it happens?

Kayla,

Maybe a mod can open a new discussion for you, as this is in the wrong area. Anyway, take a deep breath and relax. First of all, have you applied for a Visa yet? If so, what kind of Visa? Regardless, 5 months is too soon, you won't get approved that quickly. From start to finish, it can take from 8-12 months.

He was supposed to of started it last week he had a consult with a lawyer but everything got postponed so i had decided to come on here and look for information. sorry i forgot to mention that we'd be applying for the K1-visa. 8-12 months? that's horrible...and yeah i know i posted in the wrong area and im sorry but i just didn't know where to post. for the medical exam is it a complete physical?

thank you so much for responding your help it so appreciated.

hi guys...sorry if you get mad at me for posting in the wrong area..i'm sooo new to this but im about ready to pull my hair out and cry. my boyfriend and i have been dating for..2 years feb.24th but we've known each other longer. I'm moving there to the United States in Oregon (I'm a Canadian citizen he's American) I'm also 19, hes turning 21. please no comments about age . anyways how long estimate should this take? Just an estimation i would really love, from reading everyone's stories here my guess was about 5 months for everything to be done? does that seem right. anyways he's visited here twice once for two weeks, and again for 3 weeks. and being apart is just too hard (we've been apart for about 7 months) I was calm about all this before, but then reading things is really stressing me out. Anyways so my questions are.

1. what happens during the medical exam

2. estimate time of how long it takes

those questions are pretty different from each other but..those are just the little things i have to ask before i start hyperventilating lol.

Thanks.

-Kayla blush.gif

hi guys...sorry if you get mad at me for posting in the wrong area..i'm sooo new to this but im about ready to pull my hair out and cry. my boyfriend and i have been dating for..2 years feb.24th but we've known each other longer. I'm moving there to the United States in Oregon (I'm a Canadian citizen he's American) I'm also 19, hes turning 21. please no comments about age . anyways how long estimate should this take? Just an estimation i would really love, from reading everyone's stories here my guess was about 5 months for everything to be done? does that seem right. anyways he's visited here twice once for two weeks, and again for 3 weeks. and being apart is just too hard (we've been apart for about 7 months) I was calm about all this before, but then reading things is really stressing me out. Anyways so my questions are.

1. what happens during the medical exam

2. estimate time of how long it takes

those questions are pretty different from each other but..those are just the little things i have to ask before i start hyperventilating lol.

Thanks.

-Kayla blush.gif