Kukolka

Suppose a Canadian is entering the US on a K-1 visa, and importing his car. Suppose when he gets to the border, it is determined that he needs to pay duty on his car. How do they want this paid? Cheque? Debit Card?

It is up to the CBP officer that day, so it's not a 100% certainty you'll be able to get in on any given visit. Showing proof of ties to Canada (employment verification letter, housing lease) and bringing your K-1 paperwork to show you're going through the process legally work in your favour. Being confident and matter-of-fact in your answers to their questions helps, too.

To help with the confidence part.. my fiance crossed in his car, said he was visiting his fiancee, and got through in 5 minutes with no hassle. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/252569-questions-asked-when-crossing-border-for-visit-after-i-129f-filed/

Best of luck to you!

Thank you! Yay, Packet 3 ready to go!

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but wouldn't her daughter's name be whatever she uses as her legal name, regardless of whether or not her father signed her birth certificate or has been involved in her life?

The Packet 3 letter from Montreal says, in the list of things to gather but not send:

Five identical photographs taken within six months of the date of your visa interview, each two inches square. Three of these photos will be used for your medical exam and will be requested at the time of medical examination. Two of these photos will be used by the US consulate in preparing the visa and will be requested at the time of the interview. The requirements are the same as those of Canadian passport photos.

On the printed out DS-156 (of which Packet 3 requires 2 copies), there's a space to attach a passport photo.

My question:

Must the Packet 3 mailed back to Montreal ALSO include two passport photos, to go along with the two copies of the DS-156? And if so, must they be identical to the five photos required for medical and interview?

Nevermind; found it's ok to redo the form and use the new barcode.

My fiance and I were going through the DS-156 quickly on MSN because he has to pay for time on a library computer, which is the only way he can use a printer. Yes, the mistake was my fault, I know this; I *did* read the Guides and Examples, but last week read somewhere (that I can no longer find) that for a K-1, the correct answer to Q.26. "How Long Do You Intend To Stay in The U.S.?" is "90 days", so that's what I e-mailed him last week and that's what was in my head when we were going through the form today. It's also my fault I didn't send him printouts of the example forms, and that I was looking at the same page he was looking at today instead of the Example one. My question is what to do about it *now*.

He has printouts of the DS-156, and they have the barcode, so it was submitted. But for Q.26 it says "90 days" instead of "Permanently". I'm guessing it would be wrong to add anything handwritten to that section now, clarifying that he intends to stay 90 days on K-1 visa but to adjust status after marriage and stay permanently? (Wrong because the consulate already has the submitted data.)

So should he do a new one when he can, print out *that* barcode, and just ignore that this first one was ever submitted? (There's no question asking have you ever *Applied* for a U.S. Visa, only have you ever been *Issued* one or has one been *Revoked*.)

Or, is "90 days" an acceptable answer for Q.26 and he should just leave it be and if asked say that he intends to stay no more than 90 days on the K-1, but to adjust status after we're married and stay permanently?

Wonderful news, Coralie! Congratulations!!

Hey guys, I just finished filling out all the forms for P3. What else do i have to send back with the P3? Do i have to send any passport photos, birth certificate and Criminal record? Thanks

Nope, you just send back what they ask you to send back for P3. The stuff on the checklist, you bring to the interview.

Farmers' market, local museums, the mall, walk around where you grew up, playgrounds from your childhood. Pandora Radio is only available in the US. My swee likes Starbucks and Hot Topic.

Dave and I are together for a week.. we both drove out yesterday to meet halfway between where we live. For proof of ties to Canada he brought a letter from his employer, and the NOA1, NOA2, and entire duplicate packet I'd sent him of the I-129F to show we're going through the process legally.

For reference, here's the outline of the letter from his employer:

Re: [Mr. David Xxxxx]

To Whom It May Concern

This letter is to verify that [Company], from [Date] to present, employed Mr. David Xxxxx as a [job title]. Mr. Xxxxx is currently employed Monday through Friday, 7:00am to 3:00pm. Mr. Xxxxx is expected back to work each Monday until September 2010, with the possible exception of a one-week vacation, after which he is expected to return the following Monday.

If you have any questions or require further information, please contact me at 519-###-#### or my cell 519-###-####.

This is what the border guard asked him:

- Passport?

-- [handed over passport]

- Citizenship?

[Dave thought he was talking about a card. The guard laughed and said most Canadians think we want a card, we just want you to state your nationality.]

-- Canadian.

- Purpose of trip?

-- To visit my fiancee.

- Where are you going?

-- [town where we're meeting], New York.

- Where are you from?

-- Ontario.

- Where in Ontario?

-- [named small town]

- Where is [small town]?

-- About [proximity to city]

- Where in New York is your fiancee from?

-- She's not from New York, she's from Connecticut, but we're meeting halfway in New York.

- Oh OK, what do you do for a living?

-- [job, company name]

- [Asked to pop trunk to search it.]

-- [popped trunk]

- Have a safe trip, enjoy.

The questioning was about 5 minutes total. He didn't ask to see any of the proof, the letter nor the petition paperwork. I was SOOOOOO happy to get the text at 09:03 "im thru border" =D That made the rest of my drive so much easier!

We went to Timmie's for breakfast this morning, it was my first time even though there is one in my hometown, LOL. And today we're going to Bed Bath & Beyond for registry shopping. xD And the rest of the week.. just yay that we get to spend it together! ^^

We're having ours on a Sunday too. There's a date that "would be nice" for us, but realistically it's probably a little too soon to get the visa, book everything and give guests time to reply. So we realise it'll probably be a month or so after that date, which will be easier because that gets into wedding off-season, and that's ok.

I bought my dress and accessories and am making the cake topper, since as others have said they'll be used at some point. For some things, we have first and second choices: venue, DJ, photographer, officiant. I've explained the situation to the vendors, and when he gets the visa, I'll find out what Sundays our first choices are available, and we'll decide then what date will work best for us.

Someone give me a gold star! I've read through this entire thread, LOL!

To jump in late on topics previously discussed...

In lieu of premarital counseling, my parents bought Dave and me each a copy of the book 1001 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married by Monica Mendez Leahy. We talk on Ventrilo at least a few hours every night, so we're going through that book as we feel like it, and it's pretty neat, brings up a range of topics we might not have thought to discuss on our own.

We're not doing the garter thing or the cake smushing either. x)

Dave is 11 inches taller than me, and I really don't care if I look hella short next to him in pics. I was initially thinking to wear shoes with a little heel, that I could take off easily for dancing... then read on some etiquette site that everyone at the head table should keep their shoes on for the entire celebration! >_< I thought, if I'm to keep my footwear on the whole day, I should wear something comfortable, and I'm most comfortable in boots, so I ordered these! They haven't arrived yet.. hope they fit! *crosses fingers* :}

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

*SQUEEEEE!* *cries tears of joy*

So much faster than we expected! Yay VSC, keep up the great work!

Thank you both for your replies. I'm sorry we get.. hastily negative about being able to visit. We know coming from Canada is easy compared to many countries, and many couples have it a lot harder than we do. There's usually a solution, for us, to any problem that in the moment seems impossible.

The Mondays wording makes sense, especially if he can get a Friday off to come here for the weekend. That sounds like a good option. Also, he realised he can get his direct supervisor to sign a letter, that it doesn't have to be the boss who signs his paychecks, so that makes it a lot easier. x)

Ok.. will they accept a signature that has been scanned? He never goes to the office, has never met the office lady, and very rarely sees his boss, so can't easily draft up a letter at home and ask for a signature in person (besides which only the office has company letterhead, not even his boss does). They could write up the letter and sign it, and fax it to the shop, but what he's concerned about is if they won't accept a faxed signature at the border, that it has to be a solid signature on the paper.

He doesn't want to annoy his boss with multiple requests, because then he may lose his job. No one's in the office by the time he gets out of work, so driving to pick it up wouldn't work. If they leave it in the shop, somebody could take/move/destroy it.

Do you think one letter for the whole duration of time he's expected to work, if the visits are on weekends, would suffice? If so, then she can send him the one letter by mail now and be done with it.

My fiance and I know that for him to visit me in the US while the I-129F is in process, he has to provide proof of ties to Canada. His best option is a letter from his employer.

I'm currently seeking employment, so we don't know whether we'll be able to visit after Dave gets a car and before I get a job in which case we could visit for a week; or if I get a job before or around the same time as he gets a car, we'll have to make do with weekend visits. (If I'm not working weekends.)

Will the POE likely accept a letter that is written around now, that says he is to return to work until around September, 2010.. are they likely to accept that each time he is to cross the border? If his boss provides a phone number at which they can reach him, to verify? He doesn't want to inundate his boss with requests for ten or fifteen letters, once or twice a month... that seems a bit much.

Dave will need to get the letter(s) from the lady in the office instead of directly from his boss because his boss doesn't do his own paperwork.

The office lady will need to mail him the letter, because both Dave and his boss work out of the shop or field offices, not the main office.

So this means we need to plan ahead. And if we plan a visit, and my job calls me in for that weekend, we've wasted a one-weekend letter. >_< And we could have a planned visit, but the letter could have gotten delayed in the mail, and ruin our planned weekend visit. If having one letter would work, that would eliminate the need to plan ahead for weekend visits.

So our main question is whether or not he could use one letter for every cross-border visit he makes if it states he is to return to work until roughly September?

Yay! Congratulations! Best wishes to you and your love!

There was 1 person that had those stickers on the car AND when they got to the border, the POE official wanted the letter! Getting the letter is not that hard for the most part!

Good to know, thank you! So he'll get the letter no matter what, that's not a problem.

The issue for us is that he has *no* car at the moment, so he's at a disadvantage for finding out info about a *particular* car or even brand of car. But now with the information from VJers, he has the advantage of being able to know what he's looking for when buying one. So the stickers will help at least, in locating a car for him to buy, and then he'll get the letter when he knows when he's going to move.

(If the vehicle has stickers on the engine (EPA) and inside the drivers-side door (DOT) stating that the car was manufactured to U.S. standards, you will not need a manufacturers letter. Some vehicles are listed by make, model, and year on the DOT and EPA web sites as conforming. If your vehicle is one of those, that would also negate the need for a manufacturers letter

Wow. I've seen this document before, but somehow missed these important points. Thank you, zenaxe! This is something the dealer can look into easily! =D

Please disregard my pessimism earlier today, I didn't know he already knew he'd have to pay duty on it. x)

Ok I remember who it was now - Poprocks!

LOOOOOOOOOL nice sleuthing! Here's the post, thanks! :} http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=199675

You might consider renting a car for the duration of the visits and meetings.

That way you got wheels and can just return them when your done.

This was something I had suggested, and we'd decided against because it has some problems for us... but I guess we can still consider it since it may be the best available option...

It seems like weekend midpoint meetings are out, then... and us being able to visit again before he moves here is looking less and less possible.

The other thing you should take a look at - if the purchase is made less than 12 months prior to immigrating then you may be charged duty on the car even though it is personal property. That can add up to a pretty expensive addition.

If this is so, then it's probably not worth it for him to import the car if he does get one. :/

depending on the make of the car....the letters are easy to get, or take a bit of time.... if he is worried that the car will not pass emissions test...perhaps he can request a compliance letter before purchase. It also depends on what state he is moving to as well as what the cost of import will be. Do a bit a research on VJ and on Google...

Thank you.. we have done a bit of research, and found this http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/fmvss/index.html but it's very long, we're looking for a more straightforward list that the dealer could check through quickly, if there is such a thing. We don't know the make of car yet... that's part of what we're trying to figure out, which ones would be good.

The state is Connecticut.

Regarding requesting a compliance letter before purchase.. again in VJ research, I don't know about other brands but Toyota at least requires the date of departure from Canada, which he wouldn't be able to provide were he to buy the car now.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=2742916

A question from my fiance:

There may prove to be problems with the import of a vehicle through US customs from Canada, as I will need a letter from the manufacturer stating that my vehicle is up to US standards.

Are there any key areas I should watch out for, or any locations / people I can contact within the province of Ontario to have my vehicle regulated for the US standards to make this task more simple?

I have not purchased the car quite yet, however I am debating on the budget because if it costs too much to import, or I am simply unable to import the vehicle, that I don't want to be stuck trying to sell a car I bought in Canada for far less than I paid, have no income, and be stuck trying to get a new car for cheap in the US, or just having no car.

Can anyone refer me to a website with a list of requirements for imported vehicles to send on to the dealer?

I'd like to add to this, that one reason he doesn't want to wait until moving here to get a car, is so we'll be able to get around if I get a chance to fly up to visit him in Ontario; and so we can both drive out to meet halfway for weekend visits.