LuvIllinois

Actually you dont have to prove a relationship much for the fiance k1 visa...its for the aos interview that you more or less have to prove you didn't just marry for a green card, the co-mingling of life and finances. Plenty of k1's went alone to the interview and had no issue. All we had to prove is that we "physiically met in person" in the 2years preceding the visa application.

Thanks! I wasn't sure since I was an IR-1.

As for the interview, I personally didn't think it was all that difficult because this site helped to make sure I had everything prepared. I didn't feel like she tried to trip us up at all. I did personally have a bit on an issue with domicile proof (which is explained in the Domicle thread) but it was just a bit of a grey area for our situation personally. Other than that, I thought it went quick and easy!

Ok, Great. That's what I thought. Just another quick question. Did both of you go to your interview, or did you go alone?

Thanks for the help!

Joe

Both of us went to the interview. I think it's probably more important in the cases of Fiancee visa's where they are trying to prove a real relationship, but in my case, DH is the better one at explaining things than I.

I guess it was just the way you phrased it. It sounded like you, JUST you, a USC, were moving...no one coming with you, LOL

I don't think it matters whether you are self employed or not. I highly recommend reading through the sticky thread at the top of this forum under "Proving Domicile". It has a lot of info on what a person needs to either establish OR reestablish domicile. For example, in my case, my husband (USC) had been living with me in Canada for the past 4 years as a permanent resident but since we lived on the US/Canada border, he still continued to commute to the US everyday for work. So all his bank accounts, credit cards, filing taxes were still done in the US. He just "lived" in Canada as a permanent resident. He never gave up ties to the US.

So it sounds to me like you are somewhat in the same situation. Actually, you are one over us since you still have your US drivers license. Just make sure to have the proof in front of you when you go to the interview since they can still give you a hard time.

I'm a little confused....if you are the USC, why would you have to prove domicile? Do you mean for your spouse?

Congrats and welcome! Love the gravol in the pic..LOL

I miss poutine.,

Luckily I'm so close to Wisconsin, I can find great cheese curds and just make it at home.

I agree, I miss Bulk Barn! As far as meat goes, if you can find a local butcher, that might be the best way to go. My Father in law is a retired butcher here in Illinois and he said a lot of the meat he got was brought in from Canada! Are you near Hinsdale? That's my husbands godfather's shop and they have great meat there, Prime n Tender meats. http://www.primentendermeats.com/

My other observation is that all you have to do here in the USA is just 'wait for the sale', LOL. I didn't find Ontario would have great bargains when things went on sale, but here is a whole other story!!!

Well today marks one week since I got here. So far I love the weather (Las Vegas), our new apartment and the people (so far people have been very friendly and courteous... it's a huge difference from Brampton, ON). I had dinner with my fiance's family and enjoyed their company thoroughly.

Buuut one thing I can't get over is how terrible the grocery stores are compared to what was available in Ontario. Why is it so hard to find a large bag of chickpeas or lentils? So far I've been to Wal Mart, Smith's, Albertsons, and Food 4 Less and the only okay one in terms of variety so far was Albertson's, but it's expensive and is still lacking many of the things that I consider standard in my pantry... I miss being able to buy a big jar of tahini from Wal Mart for 4 bucks, and good multigrain breads and cheeses... The brie here is not that good. No Frills is loads better than Food 4 Less- sure NF has a lot of junk but it also had a lot of great healthy foods in bulk, like legumes and rice, and a good selection of produce. It seems like many of the grocery stores here are just aisles and aisles of junk food and pre made stuff. I don't want to sound like a snob but I make everything from scratch- hummus, soup, tomato sauce, beans, meats... Now it's more challenging and expensive. I shouldn't be despairing yet because we only checked out the grocery stores near by and I plan on hitting up an asian market soon in the hopes of finding more obscure things (like big bags of chickpeas? LOL!) at a decent price. I do not want to eat everything out of a box- my health is important to me, not to mention home made tastes way better!

My fiance always commented on how great the grocery stores are in Canada whenever he visited me. Now I understand why! Fortunately my fiance is a foodie like me and likes everything home cooked and healthy too, so this will be an adventure for us together...

If anything I'm finding the exact same stuff only WAAAYYYY cheaper in Illinois than back in Ontario! I can't find the more exotic stuff at Meijer/Super Walmart or anything but I certainly have found great things at lesser known stores. I haven't been to a Whole Foods yet but couldn't you find stuff there? They aren't known to be cheap but are known for super healthy things.

I have an IR1 visa and I didn't want to wait for a SSN...I went to the office the monday after I POE'd and received my SSN 2 days ago! So it took 8 days total to get to me. I really didn't believe it would be that darn quick.

I POE'd on Aug 26th. It's a bit different for me since my husband has been living with me in Canada for the past 4 years and we've just come this way to visit his parents. Now we are temporarily living with his parents and I don't know what to do with myself, LOL I am happy to be here but it's just weird being out of my element, let alone, living with others. We get along but still weird. The crappy thing is, my husband had to leave this morning to go back to work in Western NY until a position opens up in Illinois. We have no idea how long this will be I just got my SSN, which was MUCH faster than I thought, so at least I can go get my drivers license, start working on getting my hairstyling license so then I can start looking for work!

Glad to hear you are finally on your way!!!

Such a small world!

Kimbear: my hubby and I live in Lake in the Hills now(near Algonquin/Crystal Lake).

Hugglebuggles: I'm from Thorold/St. Catharines. I worked in Welland for a while and never was really fond of it.

But Kimbear, I'm in the same boat as you (not a lot of family/friends back in Canada) and I would definitely move elsewhere. Not sure where but nowhere near the Niagara region in Ontario, LOL

Alas, it seems there's no RBCs in Nevada, nor HSBCs or TDs. Gonna keep checking as many banks as I can think of...

I am moving to suburbs of Chicago and the closest RBC is in Alabama! As long as you don't plan on actually going in a branch, you are fine. She did say a lot of things can be done online or via phone call.

For myself, since I have great credit, I really want that to follow me and just wanted any small help I could get. If I can get an online loan to get started then I can probably get credit faster in the state I'm moving in down the line. But if I HAVE to, I WILL make the 8+ hour drive to get to a branch to sign paperwork if we are unable to do so through a courier. Some people might think that's insane but I'd rather have *some* credit right away rather than waiting 1 or 2 years to get going. We don't want to live in DH's parents basement forever

I hope you guys get it very soon!

I made a post not too long ago about possibly opening up an account with either TD or RBC here (if you want to read it all). Since I ended up opening up an RBC account here in Canada before I POE, I will share something very valuable I found in one of their brochures.

(typed word for word here from Page 8 of the "RBC Access USA makes banking in the U.S. easy" brochure)

Credit for your good credit history

When you're an RBC Access USA client, your credit history can travel across the border with you. That means your Canadian credit history (previous loans, lines of credit and so on) is taken into consideration when you apply for personal credit in the U.S.

If you need a mortgage on a U.S. property, we offer a choice of mortgage products and home equity solutions for vacation homes, primary residences and investment properties. And you can borrow up to 80% of the purchase price at the same rates as U.S. citizens.

Having a bank account doesn't establish credit....and I don't believe that the VISA Debit cards affect your credit rating either - they aren't 'real' VISAs...as in you can only spend as much as is actually in your account. Have you heard from someone this would establish credit?

I know but I was hoping that they could at least "talk" to each other and use my credit here as a reference at least?!? I dunno. Anything to help I guess, LOL And I know they aren't real Visa's

I just got back from RBC and it was really easy setting it up. We just picked a branch in Alabama (the closest to Illinois) and voila! I should have a Canadian debit card, a US Visa Debit card and US checks (not cheques, LOL...gotta get used to that!) very soon. You really don't need a US address to do this. It only costs me $4 a month US to have this open. Should it get to be a pain after a while, I will just close it but at least I have something. I'm hoping this will open a loophole into the whole 'building credit' issue. If not, I've only lost a couple bucks a month

Were there any negatives/drawbacks to opening up an account with RBC? I just bank with my local credit union, but seriously considering opening an account before I leave on the 26th.

Just an update...I called both and TD does not have the capability of online banking between the 2 but they are working on this in the future. Currently, RBC/Centura DOES have the capability, but the closest branches to Illinois are in Alabama. The gentlemen I spoke to on the phone said that when I open an account here in Canada, they can also open an account in the US at the same time! Not sure what the requirements will be, as in, if I will need an address in that state, so I will keep everyone posted in my progress.

I live in North Dakota and my Centura branch is in Florida! I use it mostly for bill payments as I can easily transfer from my Royal Bank (I get paid in Canada) when I get paid and transfer my money to my Centura account. The transfer is immediate for me. I then pay my US bills online or via my checks and I have a Centura bank card that I use at any bank machine to withdraw my cash when needed. I don't really do much "branch" banking other than my husband and I have a joint bank account at a local bank. I just write a check from my centura bank and deposit it to my local branch when I need to put money in the joint account.

I am really really pleased with how easy it is for me with the Royal and Centura accounts. My greatest fear is that some day they split and that option is no longer available.

I don't pay any fees with Royal/Centura to transfer money back and forth between them.

That is interesting to know! Both TD and RBC have online banking, wonder if there is any advantage/disadvantage to either?

Another thing...I can see why I wouldn't be eligible for GST/CTB for the next tax years, but the amount I'm receiving now is based on the 2010 tax year, I lived here that whole year. Why couldn't I receive the rest of that money? (I'm entering on a IR-1, btw)

I don't want to criticize, but the DOS is actually just a chance game. Some people will be more helpful than others and you might actually find out what is happening. Others will be so stubborn and tell you it is in "Administrative processing", and if you ask a followup question, they will actually REPEAT the previous sentence. I still have not received any email from DHL yet. Will wait till monday afternoon before I contact the consulate again. To answer your other question I was in regular email contact with the montreal consulate and I asked them about the status of my case. It took them a few days, but they responded to every email.

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. And for your honesty. I just want to know that we're officially approved, I can handle the wait time for the actual Visa.

Keep us posted around when you actually get your Visa and passport back.

(sorry, didn't know how to keep both quotes, LOL)

I also agree that you shouldn't bother with DoS too soon and take what they have to say with a grain of salt...wait at least a week before attempting to call because I was told I was in Administrative Processing when I truly wasn't. If you search 'true' AP on here, you will see it is a long drawn out process. All the lady actually meant was it was still being printed. Two totally different things...she told me on Friday that I was in AP and I tell ya, that completely RUINED my weekend. If I had just waited one silly week, I would have the DHL email/call that my Visa was ready to be picked up. Patience was a virtue I didn't have, LOL

That's good to know and I'd rather just cancel it all now and not have to pay it all back. So what y'all are saying is ,I'm still ok to change my info with CRA/CTB without having to fill out that form, right?

I'm a little confused...I was reading past topics about this NR73 form and whether to fill it out or not. I gathered the best answer was just NOT to do it, rather to just note on my tax return the day I left Canada. However, I still receive a GST/HST plus Child Tax Benefits for the next few months. Do I still change my info with them on this??? Wouldn't they require me to fill out a NR73 if they see that I am leaving the country on those forms anyway?

I tried this but there are no TD banks aside from the East coast..so they told me i was out of luck.

I just realized this, along with RBC, so I guess it doesn't matter Thanks for the responses tho!