Jess and Andrew

I suppose my hubs and I are in this group. We filed December 6th--NOA1 was December 14th.

We're having issues now with USCIS even scheduling biometrics for Andrew. They sent his letter and had it come back undeliverable for some reason. Why this happened, we'll never know--we got the hard copies of NOA1 no problem, so they have the address correct.

He called them and asked them to resend it, and of course, they weren't helpful enough to tell us what was in the letter. It's only been through our state senator that I've been able to find out that it was the biometrics appointment letter--and his appointment was over 2 weeks ago! Now we still haven't gotten an appointment letter, and have no idea when he'll get biometrics done. Of course we reeeeally need EAD/AP and won't get anything until they sort out this mess.

What a stupid reason to have it held up... I'm beyond angry about the situation, and I'm hoping our senator will respond with some help!

Thanks for the vent!

Happy Belated New Year folks!

This is where I/we are at: I poe from canada, dec 2, 2010 - on a k1 visa- married Dec 18, 2010...today, January 18, 2010 -went to apply for ssn- she took my info., I-94 copied and gave me a letter saying basiclly acnkowledgement of filing - if they perceive the info., correct i will rec' the card in the mail within 4 weeks -if not a letter indicating why not.ok...

so the off to DMV- for drivers license in Maine- all I would have had to have done is basically renew a Maine one-they see recent Canadian drivers license as acceptable...but needed 120 days on the i-94 remaining, which I do not- so he has I have to wait for aos or renew my I-94?

So tonight I am filling out the forms needed to begin the aos stage and I believ I have read the guides - but cannot find out on the G-325A they ask for a file name....what do I put there??

Good Luck Everyone - Thanks

Sorry to hear of the DMV problem Andrew had the same issue initially, but we went prepared--we had brought a copy of http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/fact_sheets/pub195nc.pdf with us, which basically states who is eligible for a PA drivers license and what forms of ID you need to bring. The lady told us she wouldn't be able to issue a license with less than 6 months on your I-94, but when we pushed her, saying that it says right on your own document that a K-1 is eligible (and that a K-1 never gets more than 90 days on I-94). She ended up issuing Andrew his PA license that expired 3 months after his POE (the date his I-94 expired). All it meant was that he had to go back last week and renew (there's another category on that fact sheet for applicants for adjustment of status).

It was a bit of an argument, but we had done our homework and didn't let them deny it.

My husband checked the case status on USCIS's site and came upon this:

Initial Review

On January 10, 2011, the post office returned the notice we last sent you on this case I765 APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION as undeliverable. This may have serious effects on processing this case. Please call 1-800-375-5283 to update your mailing address for this notice to be re-sent.

Has this happened to anyone else? We've gotten NOA1 for all 3 cases (AOS/EAD/AP) no problem, so I can't for the life of me figure out why it was undeliverable.

Then for the AOS status:

Initial Review

On January 12, 2011, we transferred this case I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS to our NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER location for processing and sent you a notice explaining this action. Please follow any instructions provided on the notice. We will notify you by mail when a decision is made. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

Our last status update was something along the lines of the case being forwarded to our local office for processing--I have no idea why it would be sent to the National Benefits Center after that. Any ideas? We haven't even gotten our Biometrics Appointment yet....

Also, you can check out http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Dominican%20Republic&cty=Santo%20Domingo for more info regarding the consulate/interview process.

You guys are amazing. Thanks so much.

As for packets 3 & 4. I am worried they will never get to my fiance's house in the rural DR (mail does not get delivered there.) Is there any way I can get my hands on a copy sent to me here in the US? Or other suggestions for people who have been in similar situations?

Thanks,

Mari

I'm not positive, but it may depend on your consulate. We went through Montreal, QC and I (the US Citizen) received a copy of both packets 3 and 4. It might be worth checking out the Latin America/Mexico/Caribbean forums and asking there. Good luck!

Hi Everyone,

I apologize in advance if I missed this info somewhere on here, but I would appreciate it so much if one of you VJ experts could clarify some NVC details :-)

Our paperwork is currently en route to the NVC (received NOA2 email on 1/5/11).

Do we need to submit anything to NVC?

Or is the next step bringing all the required paperwork to the interview?

If so, am I just waiting for an interview date at this point?

Does that come with the paperwork that will be sent to my fiancee in country? (I can also find out by calling NVC, is that right?)

Thanks SO much!

Mari

You don't need to submit anything to the NVC--it's usually just a quick pit-stop before they forward your case to the appropriate consulate. Your next step is waiting for packet 3! You'll submit everything they ask for in packet 3 and then you'll receive packet 4, which will contain your interview date.

Congrats on your NOA2! Good luck with the consulate!

You might try the parking lot next to the Square Phillips Hotel (Place Phillips). I think it was 10 CAD for the day. The back of the lot is practically on Rue Saint Alexandre--very close to the consulate.

Username................Interview Date......Days Until...........Result!.................Visa In Hand?

TBenjamin...................October 7........... ............... APPROVED!...........YES!

Newyorkchick26...........October 7........... ............... APPROVED!...........???

Newinhere....................October 12.......... .............. APPROVED!...........YES!

Sleepy in Seattle..........October 12.......... ............... APPROVED!.............YES!

Kukolka.......................October 13......... ................ APPROVED!...........YES!

Jess and Andrew..........October 18........... ................ APPROVED!...........YES!

MSR...........................October 22........... ................ APPROVED!...........???

Venassa......................October 25........... .................APPROVED!...........???

Charlesandanna...........October 26........... ..................APPROVED!...........???

Canabama...................October 26........... ..................APPROVED!...........???

Brandy&Albert.............October 27.......... ...................APPROVED!...........???

loveu..........................October 28........... .................?????...........???

Well, that's that for interviews--hopefully some good news from loveu!

Good luck everybody with getting your DHL packages, and preparing for POEs!

Yahoo!! Albert's approved SOOO excited!!! I'm heading back to Seattle on Monday and he's going to start driving out on Nov. 17th hopefully *fingers crossed*

Yay! Congrats!!!

OK! So now that everyone had their interviews..I guess we just have to wait for the visa! Hoping to get it next week!! Then we can all go through the AOS process together! When is everyone planing on POE? Mine is Nov 13th! So visa hurry up!!!

Andrew had his visa super fast, so hopefully you guys will have yours by next week! His POE is tomorrow morning--going through Niagara Falls/Buffalo via Queenston-Lewiston. The wedding is just 22 days away! Woooo hoooo

So sorry to hear of your problems. You seem like a genuine guy--hopefully you can sort it out. Best wishes to you and your wife through this tough time.

The letter they looked at for us 2 weeks ago was the email confirmation of your interview date (the print out after your schedule your interview)

Username................Interview Date......Days Until...........Result!.................Visa In Hand?

TBenjamin...................October 7........... ............... APPROVED!...........YES!

Newyorkchick26...........October 7........... ............... APPROVED!...........???

Newinhere....................October 12.......... .............. APPROVED!...........YES!

Sleepy in Seattle..........October 12.......... ............... APPROVED!.............YES!

Kukolka.......................October 13......... ................ APPROVED!...........YES!

Jess and Andrew..........October 18........... ................ APPROVED!...........YES!

MSR...........................October 22........... ................ APPROVED!...........???

Venassa......................October 25........... .................APPROVED!...........???

Charlesandanna...........October 26........... ..................APPROVED!...........???

Canabama...................October 26........... ..................APPROVED!...........???

Brandy&Albert.............October 27.......... ...................XXXXX...........XXXX

loveu..........................October 28........... 1 Day..............XXXXX...........XXXX

Hope all went well this morning for Brandy&Albert. Good luck tomorrow loveu!

Haha, I had to cut down to 1 star because apparently there's a limit on the number of emoticons allowed in one post.....

Username................Interview Date......Days Until...........Result!.................Visa In Hand?

TBenjamin...................October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........YES!

Newyorkchick26...........October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........???

Newinhere....................October 12.......... :star: .......... APPROVED!...........YES!

Sleepy in Seattle..........October 12.......... :star: ........... APPROVED!.............YES!

Kukolka.......................October 13......... :star: ............ APPROVED!...........YES!

Jess and Andrew..........October 18........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........YES!

MSR...........................October 22........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........???

Venassa......................October 25........... :star:.............APPROVED!...........???

Charlesandanna...........October 26........... :star:..............XXXXX...........XXXX

Canabama...................October 26........... :star:..............APPROVED!...........???

Brandy&Albert.............October 27.......... 1 Day...............XXXXX...........XXXX

loveu..........................October 28........... 2 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

I also just saw that Sleepy in Seattle got their visa processed and is getting ready for POEing--congrats!!!!!

Good luck for the rest of the week, Brandy&Albert and loveu!!!

Username................Interview Date......Days Until...........Result!.................Visa In Hand?

TBenjamin...................October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........YES!

Newyorkchick26...........October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........???

Newinhere....................October 12.......... :star: .......... APPROVED!...........YES!

Sleepy in Seattle..........October 12.......... :star: ........... PENDING!.............???

Kukolka.......................October 13......... :star: ............ APPROVED!...........YES!

Jess and Andrew..........October 18........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........YES!

MSR...........................October 22........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........???

Venassa......................October 25........... :star:.............APPROVED!...........???

Charlesandanna...........October 26........... :star:..............XXXXX...........XXXX

Canabama...................October 26........... :star:..............APPROVED!...........???

Brandy&Albert.............October 27.......... 1 Day...............XXXXX...........XXXX

loveu..........................October 28........... 2 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Congrats Venassa and Canabama on your approvals!!!!

Hope to hear good news from Charlesandanna!

Good luck tomorrow Brandy&Albert!

Same here, the guy just asked real fast:

"Did you have chicken pox as a child?" I said "yes", and that was the end of it.

Didn't ask for any year, proof or anything, just a simple yes.

You have to get the flu shot if your INTERVIEW is in "flu season"

I can also confirm that the chicken pox question is that easy!

Great idea! Thank you! I didn't think to call them, so called this morning. The only tip I have is, they want you to call the day of your POE or after as the system won't allow them to predate your nonresidency.

Funny I called them this morning and had no trouble changing my address before POE.

I did however call the number listed on the CRA's website, under "Change you address".

That number is: 1-800-959-8281

You'll probably need your 2009 tax return to verify your identity.

(the "I" in this case is a special guest appearance from none other than Andrew himself!!)

Username................Interview Date......Days Until...........Result!.................Visa In Hand?

TBenjamin...................October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........YES!

Newyorkchick26...........October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........???

Newinhere....................October 12.......... :star: .......... APPROVED!...........YES!

Sleepy in Seattle..........October 12.......... :star: ........... PENDING!.............???

Kukolka.......................October 13......... :star: ............ APPROVED!...........YES!

Jess and Andrew..........October 18........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........YES!

MSR...........................October 22........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........???

Venassa......................October 25........... :star:.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Charlesandanna...........October 26........... 1 Day..............XXXXX...........XXXX

Canabama...................October 26........... 1 Day..............XXXXX...........XXXX

Brandy&Albert.............October 27.......... 2 Days..............XXXXX...........XXXX

loveu..........................October 28........... 3 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Hope everything went well for Venassa this morning. Good luck to the rest of October's interviewees this week!!!

If you check out my sig, you can see that we got our NOA2 on June 14th; It took another 2 weeks to clear NVC and have Montreal send packet 3 out. We sent packet 3 back the following day and we just had our interview on October 18th--this was within a few days of the first available date.

For K-1's, packet 4 is no longer an assigned interview date, but rather the receipt of packet 4 allows you to log into their new online scheduling system. If you want to estimate based on our recent timeline, it was 126 days between our NOA2 and our interview--this would put your interview in late February. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Username................Interview Date......Days Until...........Result!.................Visa In Hand?

TBenjamin...................October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........YES!

Newyorkchick26...........October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........???

Newinhere....................October 12.......... :star: .......... APPROVED!...........YES!

Sleepy in Seattle..........October 12.......... :star: ........... PENDING!.............???

Kukolka.......................October 13......... :star: ............ APPROVED!...........YES!

Jess and Andrew..........October 18........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........YES!

MSR...........................October 22........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........???

Venassa......................October 25........... 2 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Charlesandanna...........October 26........... 3 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Canabama...................October 26........... 3 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Brandy&Albert.............October 27.......... 4 Days..............XXXXX...........XXXX

loveu..........................October 28........... 5 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Congrats to MSR as October's next approval!

Username................Interview Date......Days Until...........Result!.................Visa In Hand?

TBenjamin...................October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........YES!

Newyorkchick26...........October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........???

Newinhere....................October 12.......... :star: .......... APPROVED!...........YES!

Sleepy in Seattle..........October 12.......... :star: ........... PENDING!.............???

Kukolka.......................October 13......... :star: ............ APPROVED!...........YES!

Jess and Andrew..........October 18........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........YES!

MSR...........................October 22........... :star:..............XXXXX...........XXXX

Venassa......................October 25........... 3 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Charlesandanna...........October 26........... 4 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Canabama...................October 26........... 4 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Brandy&Albert.............October 27.......... 5 Days..............XXXXX...........XXXX

loveu..........................October 28........... 6 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Wow, Andrew got a phone call from DHL this morning saying his package was there in Brampton. Visa in hand 4 days after the interview! If nothing else is fast about Montreal, this new DHL thing is--certainly a welcome change.

MSR is probably in there waiting right now!!! Can't wait to hear the outcome!

Whole bunch of interviews coming up next week. Good luck in your preparations, guys and gals!

Username................Interview Date......Days Until...........Result!.................Visa In Hand?

TBenjamin...................October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........YES!

Newyorkchick26...........October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........???

Newinhere....................October 12.......... :star: .......... APPROVED!...........YES!

Sleepy in Seattle..........October 12.......... :star: ........... PENDING!.............???

Kukolka.......................October 13......... :star: ............ APPROVED!...........YES!

Jess and Andrew..........October 18........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........???

MSR...........................October 22........... 1 Day..............XXXXX...........XXXX

Venassa......................October 25........... 4 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Charlesandanna...........October 26........... 5 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Canabama...................October 26........... 5 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Brandy&Albert.............October 27.......... 6 Days..............XXXXX...........XXXX

loveu..........................October 28........... 7 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Good luck tomorrow MSR!!!!!!

If you're looking for convenience, Le Square Phillips is literally one block away as well-probably the same distance from the consulate as La Tour. We just stayed there this past weekend for our interview yesterday and were quite happy. They will gladly store all of your luggage even after you check out the morning of the interview--we checked out at about 6:25am and they had no issue storing our luggage at that point until we were done at the consulate. I don't know much about La Tour, but they may have a similar service? Otherwise, I'd highly recommend Le Square Phillips for the night. Hope that helps!

Edited to add: Le Square Phillips looks to be more expensive than La Tour. It probably couldn't hurt to call and ask if they have lockers to store luggage for a bit.

Edited again to add: You also asked about timing for getting out of the embassy--we were there yesterday and were done by about 9:30--but we did get there way early and were the first ones upstairs. I've heard it can take a LOT longer than that.

Andrew and I got into Montreal on Saturday and spent Saturday and Sunday doing some sightseeing/poutine eating.

We arrived at the Embassy on Monday morning (10/18) at about 6:40am--probably wayyyy too early (we were the only ones waiting there for quite a while). We met a really nice couple from Vancouver while we were waiting outside (I know they said they read VJ, but I don't know if they follow the forums. If so, hi!). A few other people got there at about 7:20 or so. Security started letting people in at about 7:30. We were the first ones through security (we brought literally nothing with us except our binders with the interview proof/docs) and got letter A. Security sent us down to wait for a guard to call our letter to be taken up to the 19th floor. At about 7:50 they took A, B, and C up the elevator. We got to another waiting room where we were told we'd be called to a window. Only about 15 minutes later, we were called to window 11, where a really nice lady asked for each piece of paperwork from the packet 4 checklist. She then sent us to go pay the $350 at window 14A.

By that point, there were quite a few others in the main waiting room--mostly waiting in line for window 14B--we were able to skip most of the line there because we were waiting for 14A--paid the $350, and went back to the waiting area to wait for fingerprinting. The same lady called us back to window 11 a few minutes later--she took Andrew's fingerprints and told us we'd be called to room 7 or 8 shortly. Back to the waiting room for a few minutes (where we met another really nice couple there for a K-1 interview--a man from California in an awesome cowboy hat, and his Canadian fiancee) and we were called to room 7.

Our interviewer was a very nice woman, definitely on the younger side, with long dark blonde hair. She swore us in. She asked me how we met, and Andrew how he proposed. She asked us a few questions about the game through which we met, and somehow we ended up talking about my puppies. After just a few minutes speaking with us, she told us congratulations and handed us a few papers--one with information about the K-1, one with DHL information, and one with border information. That was pretty much it! We were done in the consulate by about 9:30! Then we went to the Tim Hortons right around the corner for a celebratory pastry, haha!

Hopefully this helps ease the minds of some upcoming interviewees. We were wayyyy more prepared than we needed to be, and definitely more nervous than was necessary. Good luck to any upcoming interviews!

Username................Interview Date......Days Until...........Result!.................Visa In Hand?

TBenjamin...................October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........YES!

Newyorkchick26...........October 7........... :star: ........... APPROVED!...........???

Newinhere....................October 12.......... :star: .......... APPROVED!...........YES!

Sleepy in Seattle..........October 12.......... :star: ........... PENDING!.............???

Kukolka.......................October 13......... :star: ............ APPROVED!...........YES!

Jess and Andrew..........October 18........... :star:............ APPROVED!...........???

MSR...........................October 22........... 4 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Venassa......................October 25........... 7 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Charlesandanna...........October 26........... 8 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Canabama...................October 26........... 8 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Brandy&Albert.............October 27.......... 9 Days..............XXXXX...........XXXX

loveu..........................October 28........... 10 Days.............XXXXX...........XXXX

Back from Montreal--Approved, but totally exhausted--11 hours to get home because of traffic

Updated the list, plus a new column, woo!

But it looks like this week's other interview is MSR, happening on Friday! Yay!