Lorus

We were notified on December 1st from the NVC that our interview in Montreal was January 12th. (Tomorrow, yay!) Enough time to get everything booked. The medical clinic in Vancouver only sees people on Wednesdays so make sure you double check before booking your flights if the Montreal clinic is open on the day you're wanting.

Also, I signed up for courier services as NVC already booked our appointment for us at Montreal. Yet they say this -

You must have the Passport Number, Date of Birth, Nationality, MTL case number, and visa category for each applicant (principal applicant and all family members, including children) ready in order to access the website. When prompted to select “Trip Purpose”, you must choose „Permanently Immigrate to the US.‟ After entering your information, you will be prompted to select an appointment time for you and your family.

On the site there is no option to book an appointment (or list when ours is) after signing up for courier services only. Is that ok?

My daughter needed a new passport as hers expires less than 6 months before our interview. Our interview is scheduled for Jan 12th in Montreal and I'm currently trying to sign up on http://canada.usvisa-info.com/ for our DHL/Loomis account. It won't accept her new passport number because her old one is on the file. Can I proceed using her old passport #? Will this cause an issue with them mailing back the new one that we will give the consulate at the time of our interview?

Thanks.

I am born a raised in the USA. I will definately look into the born abroad information you speak of. I was worried that if the visa was accepted and then my wife decides to wait until after the baby is born, I would have to file a visa for him and her visa would expire because it takes forever to process this stuff.

My husband is a USC and I am a Canadian. Our daughter was born here in Canada after we sent in our I-130. We filed for the Child born abroad and dealt with the US consulate here in Vancouver. He had to prove his citizenship and that he had lived in the US for the previous 5 years (school documents for him). We went in for our appointment, provided all the documentation, and she received her citizenship documents, passport, and SSN in the mail shortly afterwards.

Hi, I have been researching on this website for nearly a year and finally decided to sign up.

My fiance who is a US citizen and I (Australian citizen) plan to get married in a few months. We will be marrying on my next visit then I will be returning home. My partner is currently incarcerated in a federal prison and his release date isn't until 2016. Our plan is for me to immigrate before he comes home, I know this can be done- I am just wondering when we should file for the I-130.

I have read the guidelines and I-130 facts and it is my understanding that only I have to be at the interview and not my partner (US citizen) because I am living overseas, but I have read on other forums about both partners being present at the interview? That would be impossible for me to do. Also would this interview be conducted in Australia or the USA?

To send in all visa information can it be done from Australia? Or do you wait until your next visit to the USA to send it in, or do you send your paperwork to your US partner to file for you?

Also are you able to visit your partner in the states whilst going thru the I-130 process?

What would be reasons for denial? I have no criminal record, he has no sex offenses or charges, we have somebody to sponsor us, proof of relationship. The only thing I'm scared about is being questioned about our marriage, for the fact that we married whilst I was on a VWP, would that cause any problems? I read on the I-130 fact sheet its fine as long as you return home after the marriage which is what I'll be doing, I just need to hear it from somebody else to satisfy my stressed out self right now!

We would rather apply for the visas ASAP but I read that once approved you must immigrate within 6 months or do the process all over, so we don't want it to get approved and then me having to move over in a certain timeframe too early, as I said I am not planning to move until closer to his release date- 2015, so in this case when do you recommend we apply for the I-130? I want to give myself plenty of leeway in the slight chance that it may be denied. I was thinking 2014 would be our best shot but would love to hear anybodies' ideas.

The previous posters are correct that your husband needs to apply for you. There are certain forms you need to fill out, and others he does, along the whole process. I know some people can get the whole process done within 8-9 months but ours had some hiccups and it's been 13 months so far (almost done!). So make sure you check the average timeline for Australian cases to get an idea of when you should start your process.

Only you will be interviewed in Australia. Your partner does not need to join you.

You should have no problems entering the States while your I-130 is being processed. I cross the border multiple times a month and have never had an issue. If you are questioned at customs then just give honest answers about where you are in your immigration process.

i was in the hopes that in about 2 months NVC approves and by april or so i should get an interview date? is that estimate reasonable? i hope im not getting too ahead of myself

Once our case was complete at the NVC (Nov 23) it took them about a week to book our interview in Montreal. They emailed us on Dec. 1 to let us know our interview was Jan 12th. So as long as Montreal doesn't get backed up you should be able to get an interview date by April.

How much time is there normally between finishing at NVC and the interview? The consulate review says 2-4 months, but that doesn't seem to be what people on this board are saying.

But we're still waiting for the NOA2, so who knows what could change by the time we're getting an interview date.

Our case was complete on Nov. 23rd, and NVC emailed us on Dec. 1 to let us know of our interview date. So it took a week for them to book it and our interview date is about 6 weeks after that.

NVC booked our interview for Jan. 12th! It wasn't before Christmas like I would have liked but I'm happy none the less.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the great info you guys giving us about I-130, I really appreciate it.

I have a question about my I-130 that I filed for my wife. I am an USC and I got married with my wife in month of

Oct, 2011, I filed I-130 in Dec. 2011. we are hopping that entire process would take around 8 months.

At the time of filing I-130, my wife became pregnant, now we are thinking how we going to include our new born

baby in this process because at her time of interview(or after), the baby will be there.

My question is what is the process to notify USCIS or NVC that we also have a new born baby to immigrate.

Should we do separate I-130 process for this baby?

Your expert opinion would be highly appreciated.

Was your child born in another country other than the US? If so you all you need to do is file for a "baby born abroad". Your child is a USC because you are. We went through this with our daughter as I am Canadian, married to a USC, and our daughter arrived a few months after marrying. We knew I was pregnant when we applied so we did put a note of her on our file but it doesn't really matter as a USC doesn't need to immigrate when they move to the US.

We dealt with the US consulate in Vancouver and though they required a lot of paperwork (I think it was proof that my husband had been living in the States for the previous 5 years) it went pretty smoothly. She received her documentation, passport, and SSN all through this process.

I'm filling this form out online and it's asking me to list all previous addresses from the age of 16! I moved a lot when I first left my parent's house and I really cannot recall the addresses of all these places. I'm currently 32 and can remember the places for the last 8 years (only 3) but before that it's a bit of a blur. Can I get away with only listing these or will they require more information?

Thanks.

I have a daughter who was born in Canada and her father is a USC. We ended up having to file paperwork for a "child born abroad" which gives her legal status in the States. She got her SSN and US passport through this process. It took a little while (sorry can't remember the exact timeline as it was 3 years ago) but we were able to get it all done at our local US embassy here in Vancouver.

As she is a dual citizen I didn't have to file immigration papers for her (just my older daughter who has a different father).

Hope this helps.

I just received an email that we (daughter and I) have been approved for our I-130s. It says a letter is being sent with more instructions to follow.

So what's next in the process?

I know interviews are conducted in Montreal and saw that they are now booking for September! We were really hoping to get an August date so our daughter could start Grade 6 in September. Is there any way of receiving a sooner interview date?

Thanks!

That's an unfair and unprovoked attack. Not nice.

Car crashes are the #1 killer of children. You wouldn't leave a baby alone in the bath alone, you wouldn't let a child run across a busy street, etc, yet so many people are quick to ignore something so serious.

Your kids are old enough to carry their own boosters through the airport and then have them gate checked. You should never check car seats with your luggage as baggage handlers aren't careful enough with them. A simple fall to the pavement can cause hairline fractures in the plastic leaving the restraint unsafe.

My daughter traveled to Maui with her grandparents earlier this year when she was 9. She used her backpack for items she wanted to use on the plane and carried her booster in her arms.

There are also luggage trolley carts you can buy that can carry both boosters (plus luggage!) and fold up small when not in use.

I've been crossing the border at the Pacific Truck Crossing a few times a month for years. The lines have slowly gotten longer so I applied for Nexus last year. Nexus waits tend to be about 5-10 minutes depending on the time of day. Regular traffic is usually around 30-40 minutes but it also depends on the time of day. I've never been hassled and only been randomly selected and sent in to secondary 3 times in about 8 years.

Without Nexus you could be asked:

Where are you headed, why, and for how long.

How does everyone in the vehicle know each other.

Anything to declare.

Who is the vehicle registered to.

Be specific but don't ramble on.

Hoping to join you all in the next week or two. Just signing my G-325a and mailing it down to my husband. The only thing that is left is for him to get the cheques/money orders and the package is done!! At least he has some incentive to get his butt in gear so he can pay before the fees are raised.

Don't leave blank in the form, write N/A if not applicable.

Also, there is a signature column in the G-325A form.

Loto

Thanks!! That's what I get for skimming the page when I'm tired and distracted. I was searching right at the bottom and didn't look up just above it. Geesh.

That's correct but I'll just clarify that there is not G325a for the child just one for each petition from the USC and one for the spouse beneficiary with the spouse petition. A correction would be that petitions are being filed together but by the US Citizen, not the foreigner. Later the two foreigners will apply for visas based on the approved petition. While the foreigner in this case may be taking the lead, learning the process and taking care of the forms, they need to keep in mind that they are the US Citizen's petitions. The only thing the foreign spouse is going to sign at this point is their own G325a.

Thank you everyone for the information. Greatly appreciated.

I've just got one question. I double checked the G-325A form and there is no place for a signature. I filled out the entire form on my computer except the bottom "bold" box which it asks to print my full name which I did by hand. Also, it asks for an Alien registration number which I have left blank as I don't have one. Is this correct?

I am currently filling out I-130s for myself and my daughter so that we can move down to the States to be with my husband. Everything is filled out and I have completed a G-325a as has my husband. We are putting both applications in together so I was wondering if I needed to fill out a G-325a for my daughter and if so did I have to include a second G-325a for my husband for her application then too?

Also, do we send both application in the same envelope or separately?

Thanks.