Kammo

Hello, I have a couple questions I was hoping to ask that I have NOT found answers to after doing research on this website...

It appears that either myself (the permanent resident) or my husband (US citizen) may apply to have my child enter the US as a permanent resident. Is one way better than the other as far as fees, waiting time, etc. ? Wondering if there is preference between whether I file or he file...

I understand that either my husband or I will file the i-130 form to start this process, but what isn't clear is what path this follows? Is the path the same as the ir1-cr1 visa (as far as fees, times, procedure), or does it steer a different way after we put in the i-130? This would be good information to know as far as where we will be expected to travel, etc... For example, at the end of my journey with the ir1-cr1, we had to travel to Montreal, a trip which cost over $3000, far exceeding any of the other costs!

Also, curiously on the following link http://www.visajourney.com/content/child states the following:

"A U.S. citizen's unmarried, minor child is considered an immediate relative, does not need a visa number, and is eligible to receive an immigrant visa immediately. Otherwise, sons and daughters of U.S. citizens will be eligible for a visa when their priority date is listed on the Department of State's Visa Bulletin ."

Can someone explain this point to me? Does this somehow mean we may not need to apply for a visa at all or is this directed toward visa lottery?

Thank you for any help you are willing to provide. It feels like the more research we do, the more confusing this whole thing becomes!

I just came across the fee I asked about. This is horrible timing as we just closed on our house, we should have looked into this more but didn't.

I'm assuming I HAVE to file this now? What happens if I do not? Will I be deported? Just wondering if there is anyway around this for the short term?

I think I almost have this all set to go, just a couple questions:

1) I read about there being a cover sheet for this. Where do I obtain this?

2) Is there a fee for this, where can I find that information if so?

3) Will a deed of our house be enough proof or should we send more (don't want to overdo it)

Thank you

I think I will feel better once I get my green card. The fact that if I wanted to go home right now, I couldn't is what bothers me the most.

Oh my! Yes, I understand that.... That is a huge reason why my husband and I married first. I told him I needed to be able to go home at any time for my girls...

Best of luck to getting your Green Card in a timely manner!

I am fortunate that I only moved a ferry ride away from home (I am in Seattle now from Victoria) so I have already been been home twice since immigrating in September. I like the US well enough but the move will take a lot of getting used to. It is really busy here compared to Victoria. Freeways terrify me... Food doesn't taste the same... I hope to make some friends soon too, its very lonely...

The main thing I miss in Canada though are my daughters. I had planned on bringing them to the US a lot more than its looking like I'll be able to so that means I will still travel a lot. I am tired of travelling, living out of a suitcase. It sure would be nice to stay in one place for more than a month, but its looking like that isn't going to happen for many more years yet. They are 100% worth it, I just wish there was another way...

Hope everyone else is feeling good!

Strangely I really miss Kraft Dinner. Mac and cheese here sucks...

And Tim Hortons.... :(

My husband and I just moved to a new city and I filled out this form online yesterday. It asked when I last entered the US so I put my last travel date and POE (Nov 1, 2011). It seemed pretty clear and I assumed it meant last entry not first entry with visa...

When I looked at my confirmation form the wording had changed into "Date of Entry Into U.S."... this is not as clear and I am now concerned that I put the wrong date. Does USCIS want my first entry as a permanent resident? I first entered the US as a permanent resident on Sept 4, 2011 but have travelled back to canada to visit family twice now....

Has anyone else come across this problem? I thought I would first ask here before calling USCIS. Thanks.

Hi. I will be going home to Canada for a weekend on my stamped Cr-1 (entered the US 2 weeks ago - no green card yet, just stamped visa). I just want to verify that this is perfectly okay? I dont want to try to return home to the US and be turned away!

To be clear I am almost positive that this is okay, just second guessing myself! Thanks!

PS Assuming that this is perfectly okay, is there any other documents I should being with me for my voyage or just the passport/visa?

Kammo, thanks for your "novel"! lol. I have filed for CR-1 from Abbotsford and am just waiting for my DS-260 to be processed so I can go downtown to Woking Medical. This has been very helpful.

I have a question regarding the interview scheduling. I keep getting conflicting information (possibly because there are so many different types of visas). I have heard that the interview is scheduled for me by NVC but have also heard that, no, I have to schedule it online (which sounds like its a very frustrating process). What was your experience?

It drives me nuts when I don't know what to expect!! lol

The Interview is scheduled by NVC once your case is approved (usually within 2 weeks). Once you receive your interview letter from NVC (it will come via email), you can go to the woking medical website and set up your appointment.

My only word of advice would be to visit the website now and made sure you have everything they need. Doesn't hurt to be prepared, and keeps the process going smoothly. They have a checklist right on the website that clearly states what they need and you can gather everything at anytime!

Good luck!!

Hi guys

I went through the Blaine POE (aka Peace Arch). I will write a review for it as soon as I can! As far as know the SSN just comes in the mail as well as green card. I think all the major paper work is done for now!

Thanks for the replies and "welcome home"'s!

-Kristy

As of two days ago I crossed the border and am home! I can't get over how weird it feels! My mind keeps playing over and over (in different variations), "WOW, I LIVE here now". After two years of visiting my husband, I was quite used to being a guest! I have already unpacked most of my belongings (didn't have much). Now I'm sitting here in a bit of a daze and thought I would hop on here and ask other people who have recently moved to the US how they are feeling? I think I will miss Canada quite a lot, however I will be going back a lot to visit family so hopefully that will prevent any serious home sickness from coming up! Most importantly, I am now residing with my most amazing husband! I thought this day would never come and cannot believe it finally has!

I can't believe its finally my turn to vote! Yay for patience finally paying off!

Our wait time was smoking fast! I had my interview on Friday and I picked up package up yesterday afternoon!! :-D I can't believe it is finally over! Good luck to everyone who is still in process, I hope you are with your families soon!

Wow! The end of our long journey was smoking fast! My visa is waiting for me at the depot! My hands are shaking and I am officially in tears!

Good luck to everyone else waiting, this part is truly quick and happy compared to the rest!

I thought I would be wasting my time when I logged into the website for my waybill number as the interview was on friday, but to my amazement there it was! When I clicked on it, I was led to "Loomis" where it listed my number and showed that it is in Dorval as of 7:30pm. Wow!

I assume that it wont be long now? :-D

From your personal experiences how long does it take once the waybill number is available? I am way on the other side of Canada (BC).

Here is my 'novel' of the happenings at my medical appointment at Woking Medical! I am quite ecstatic that I can finally write one!

I arrived at Woking Medical by 6:00 (appointment was scheduled for 6:30). There were 3 people (and a child) ahead of me. We all chatted about our immigration processes while waiting to be let in. At 6:15, a woman arrived and opened the gate. We stepped in and took an elevator up to floor 2. We were asked to take a seat in order of arrival. At this point I am pretty sure everyone had arrived. There were 28 of us altogether. 

The process was briefly explained to us. We were instructed to line up and pick a number that we would keep until we left. I got number 5! I was handed 2 forms to fill out and told to sit back down. The first was a consent form. The next was a checkbox style form asking for basic health history. After filling the documents out, I returned to the front desk and was asked to provide my 3 photos, immunization records, passport and doctors note. I returned to the waiting room. Within 15 minutes I was called to the lab for my blood work (to the left of the waiting room). I came to another waiting room and sat there for 10 minutes. A lady came out and called for numbers 16 and up! Somehow I was way behind but I spoke up and was brought right in! I was seated in a booth and asked to provide the photocopy of my passport. 1 vial of blood later and I was on my way. I returned to the main room where I sat for about 25 minutes before I was called in for my X-Ray. I discovered that the assigned numbers (although by order for the blood work) were NOT by order for the X-Ray. The order was based on a list of our names. One woman who was ahead of me was still waiting for her X-Ray when I was completely finished! Alphabetical?

Once my name was called, I was brought to a small change room and asked to remove my top half of clothes (necklace included) and put on a dressing gown. For the X-Ray, I was asked to stand straight and lean flat against the machine. He asked me to take a deep breath in and hold it while he took the X-Ray. Once this was over, I was seated in the main waiting room for the final hurdle (the physical exam). This was once again based on the number system (they had a weird system going on there)! Within 30 minutes, I was brought into a small room and was asked to remove all clothes except undergarments. The doctor who saw me was super nice. We made small talk while she checked my blood pressure, heart, ears, mouth and eyes. She performed a breast exam and felt my abdomen. The final stop was the eye exam and scale. When all was said and done, it was only 8:30! 

I was asked to return between 1:15-1:30 for my results. I arrived at 1:10 they were ready for me! 2 envelopes and a CD. That's that! Overall my experience there was great! The staff were friendly and courteous, and the process was not as bad as I thought it would be. 

On a side note to those who do not live in Vancouver and need a place to stay: 

I stayed at "The Grandville Grand" (though it said "The Ambassador" on the front doors?). It was a good price ($80 for the night) and a 5 minute walk to the appointment. It was certainly no 5 star hotel but it did the trick!

I hope my review is useful to someone!

-Kristy

Shouldn't be a problem. Just tell CBP what you are doing. Having a copy of the interview letter might help.

Thats exactly what I was thinking... Having my husband take any documents that might help prove that we were approved and just waiting on visa. The answers here seem so mixed though that I'm starting to think it might be better to be safe than sorry and just not do it. I was telling him last night that I wish his long vacation was 2 weeks later but what can be done?!

Are these just for regular skype to skype calls or calls you have made (either to cell phones or landlines)?

These were regular skype to skype calls (computer only). I ended up purchasing an international calling plan but this did not show up. Luckily I had plenty of other calls. I'm sorry to hear this this app isnt working out for you...

I have the same problem. My history only goes back six months but luckily on my husband's skype account his history goes back upto a year so that was a big relief.

Thats good

I wouldn't try it myself because there's a chance of refusal. Also, I got my Visa 72 hours after my interview so maybe yours will arrrive on time. Good luck!

Wow! Thats really fast! Where abouts were you in Canada?

How'd you get it to go back that far?

Sorry I hadn't been back here for awhile to look at this thread.

I never deleted any history so it was all there. Did you not keep all of your history?

Here's the deal.

We have our interview set for August 26th. With the assumption that we are approved, I return home and wait for the visa. A week after the interview my husband has a long weekend from work (Labour Day). We were thinking that this would be the best time to move my stuff since he normally works 6 day weeks (he lives 3 hours from me). Since the chance of my having my visa in hand 5 business days later is nil we have been discussing the possibility of him moving my stuff without me. Is this legal/acceptable? I don't have much moving to the US with me. About 2 medium sized boxes. We were thinking that he could show the officer our documents and explain the circumstances as this is the most convenient weekend to move. I do not have a license so I cannot move the stuff alone on a later date and his next long weekend is Thanksgiving. Has anyone else run into a similar situation?

Thanks

On an unrelated note, I've never understood why they don't process CR/IR-1 visas in Vancouver. Stinks you have to travel so far!

Heh I know? Isn't that silly? I am as far from Montreal as possible!

I am in Glendale, Arizona. Where are you moving to??? Oh it took 20 business days for my passport to reach me but it was printed July 7, had my interview June 29. Somehow it got lost somewhere with DHL then back to the Consulate. Received it July 27.

Its been awhile since I looked at this thread! Yes, I was curious where abouts you were living (while in Canada) because I was assuming it would take longer the farther from Montreal we were. Seeing as I am in BC I suspect I'll be waiting awhile. To answer your question I'll just be moving across the water over to Washington. I live about 3 hours from my husband. We have our interview on Friday August 26 and we were really hoping that I might have my visa by Labour Day so he could take his long weekend to help me move. I am highly doubting that this will happen though (unless by some miracle I get the visa in 5 business days).

Hi there,

I just thought I'd post here to be sure that I have done everything I need to in order to prepare for my final interview (Montreal). It is scheduled in just over two weeks!! :-D

- Folder containing: proof of relationship, all originals that were sent to NVC as scans, all packets we have sent electronically to NVC, DS-230 filled out.

- Doctor's appointment set to go next week. Have a packet for that with all documents required.

- Just applied for DHL at the US Visa Service (Canada) Website. I did a print screen of it just in case I needed proof.

With all that being said, does it sound like I am missing something important? After NVC approved our case, it wasn't exactly clear what all the final steps were. I am glad I had this website to lean on. I would not have known I had to apply for DHL myself or that it may be helpful to have a copy of the DS-230.

Thanks for your time.

I was mildly curious about this as well. I am about as far away from Quebec as one can be (British Columbia) so I assume I'll wait longer than 1-3 business days!

@edsotherhalf: where about's are you?

It took 13 days for my email interview packet to arrive..

Wow, thats a bit of a wait! We called NVC last night because we were not sure what else to do and the operator sounded shocked that we had not received anything once we were approved. Course she had no idea what we should do other than wait... I'll keep my fingers crossed for something soon and hope the medical appointment can be done right away!!