iampatricias

Haha, I was just thinking this weekend after seeing nearly a full page of "moved" threads by Payxibka " aaahh, now everything is all tidied up again!"

I hadn't heard that it was necessary to have this form notarized.

If you want more than 90 days to plan a big wedding for family, you could use the 6 months' validity of the visa to plan the wedding, then do the POE, and finalize everything in the 88 days after the POE, and get married on day 89 - that'd give you almost 9 months to plan

For us, we're planning a small-ish informal wedding the day of the POE, half an hour from my house in Canada It'll sort of double as a farewell party...

... It felt like I could go online and change it on a whim, except no other dates were available for a little while. Once you book a date, it is possible to see the other available dates and move it without a penalty, up to 3 days before the interview date. But it might depend on the kind of visa your interview is for.

Little background: I'm a permanent resident in Canada and I get a new I-94W in my Dutch passport every couple of months since I cross the border pretty regularly. Since my most recent I-94W expires soon, I'm going to get a new one (valid for 90 days) before I have my K1 interview. After the interview, I will get my passport back with a K1 inside, and (hopefully) my old I-94W.

Now, my fiance is flying into Buffalo in May. I'd like to pick him up at the airport, come back to Canada, and finish packing my things, and then activate the K1 by crossing a few days later.

Is it possible to request the CBP allow entry based on one visa and not another? Has anyone succeeded in crossing the border with a K1 in their passports, but not activating it until a subsequent trip at a later time?

Well, I didn't expect things to work out so quickly either - the first interview I booked was July 18th! I checked for openings every half hour for more than a week, and suddenly, most of April has opened up - maybe they've hired on a couple more staff?

In any case, call the DoS and ask them, "has Packet 3 been sent to me?" and as soon as they say "it was sent on ____ " send your Packet 3 paperwork. Then call every day and ask, "has Packet 4 been sent?" and as soon as they confirm, you may book your interview. There is hope, but it's not in hearing from Montreal - the DoS can keep you much better informed (for the most part).

I get this question all the time too - I just remind my loved ones "no can do, I need an American marriage certificate to do this right." Folks not going through this process have all kinds of ideas about why we're bothering with all this trouble - just smile and nod, and make sure you're doing things right, which it sounds like you have under control.

16 months for us.

When we met, he was working in my country and we didn't think we'd move and here we are... 8 months later...

I'd call the Department of State (DOS - 202.663.1225 - hit 1 then 0 for an operator) if you have your new case number and ask them whether Packet 3 has been sent to you yet. I haven't received a hard copy yet but I submitted the paperwork for it as soon as it was sent.

You're kidding... my word... what I wouldn't give to go back to the good old days!

Mine took 3 business days, but this was back in 2009 when we were using Expressport envelopes. Things are pretty different now!

Yes, and I suppose it's handier knowing that there's one less thing we have to bring to the interview... but times tend to vary so much! DHL wouldn't even have to be involved if they could find a way to get approved visas back to the petitioners the same day, no?

Good morning all,

It's Saturday and I've just booked my own Montreal interview this week. Of course, my head is full of plans that I'm not allowed to make so here I am on VJ, trying to get informed about the next few weeks.

After browsing through 10 pages of Canada-forum threads looking out for passport wait times, it seems this question comes up pretty regularly but hard facts are somewhat obscured within the posts. Hence, this poll!

Your participation is greatly appreciated and feedback is very welcome!

Excellent! I'll see you there

I've found the Department of State (DoS) most helpful in tracking my case after the USCIS is done with it. You do need your new case number before you can call them though!

202.663.1225

The OP has already clarified possession of both a US passport and US birth certificate. The question was regarding whether further proof of PI citizenship (besides a PI passport) would be requested.

OMG I just booked for April 29th...........

Can't believe it, I was expecting late July.

I'm not even sure I will be ready by then...

Yaaaaayyy! Nice work!

Listen, you'll be ready. Hell or high water, eh?

We did this process on our own and were approved in 3 months so do it yourself trust me it is not rocket science.

Barbara J is right - you don't need a lawyer.

We hired one because we didn't know what we were facing and were overwhelmed. I only found VJ in November and not too long after that we got an RFE for something so small, it's ridiculous neither my brilliant fiance nor our well-paid lawyer caught it. Nevertheless, our lawyer drove 2 hours both ways the next morning to my fiance's place to fix the error. Additionally, while my fiance and I are both at work, several time zones apart, our lawyer is working on another administrative detail for an international police check as well as working to find out why my mailing address is still wrong (when we have written confirmation it was changed in December!) and to get it corrected. We do not need a lawyer to achieve these ends for us, and those who see lawyers as scamming, slimy, lazy toads will probably write me off for being naive and lazy myself, but my fiance and I trust and like our lawyer and we are glad and reassured that he is (really, actually!) working for us. Of course that RFE was avoidable and beyond irritating, but for us, our lawyer has been worth the money.

On a closing note, Barbara's 3 month approval is more likely a result of processing times when she filed (as well as the care and attention she put into preparing her petition, no doubt!) but no one can do anything to cut those times down, though both lazy and mistaken lawyers and confused and careless couples can do plenty to increase them.

I sure did!! :dance:

The DoS never told me P3 had been received, only that P4 had been sent. I asked the girl several times, "so they've sent Packet 4? So I'm allowed to book an interview? When did they send Packet 4?" Keep checking in!

All this week, interview appointments have been offered for the middle of July only, but this morning, nearly all of April was available to choose from. I don't know if this is at all unusual, but those of you waiting on Montreal, don't lose hope!!

So, I have been checking like I described above and booked a new interview for April 20th! It looked like there were fewer than 5 days that were NOT available in April all of a sudden this morning...

I so so hope those of you on the verge can hear about your Packet 4s today!

It's okay - I've heard worse.

Just remember to get tracking for it when you send it to Texas so you know it was received.

In my defense, her mother is also her landlord...

I believe you, as the beneficiary, may apply from anywhere - you don't have to apply from your home country and you can choose the consulate you'd like to be interviewed at when you fill in the I129f paperwork.

The difficulty you will face is in proving the validity of your relationship. I don't know you and I am assuming your intentions are sincere but after reading about the immigration process on this website for the last several months, it sounds like very nearly all Pakistani nationals (especially males) go through a rather long period of Administrative Processing after their interviews no matter where they live. Additionally, because you are seeking asylum, even if you are granted it before the interview, your relationship will likely be scrutinized more deeply to be sure you are not opportunistically attempting to improve your fortunes in the States by any means. I do hope that wiser members will correct me if I am wrong, and I know you two want to be together very soon, but I would prepare yourselves for a much longer than average process

They're just not helpful, eh?

Well, in any case, I seriously doubt it's a 'denial' because those usually come after RFEs have been traded back and forth - don't panic. To me it looks like it either A) should've been an approval that was mis-keyed like someone mentioned above (because "card production" never happens for I129f petitions but it does for other kinds) or B) it's someone else's card approval that was mistakenly associated with your case number. It's very dumb that the USCIS, who takes care of these petitions, won't take a look at your file and see that the error is on their end and making you wait for the mail is a waste of time.

I have seen this once before in the last 3 months on these forums but this step (Card/Document Production) doesn't fit into the steps of what you're attempting to do if you've submitted an I129f to be able to apply for a K1.

This might be a good time to call the USCIS?