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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on October 6, 2017: |
Chipo
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Hello, My entry is long. I gave my whole journey from when we submitted the I-130application to getting the Green Card. i hope it will help someone.
May12,2016 submitted I-130
May 16, 2016 response I-797C
May 24, 2016 Submitted I-129F
June 01, 2016 Response I-797C
June 7,called USCIS *** they said 5months to process both forms & Could be 3 months
July 18, 2016 I130 approval received. 2 months from initial submission
Sept 9th emailed NVC following on the status, 41 days from l130 approval
Oct 9th submitted documents to NVC
Nov 25 received response from NVC requesting for more information, police report and corrected affidavit form 186
Dec 6th requested information received at NVC
JAN 21 SENT EMAIL to follow up since it was more than 6 weeks from Dec 6th.
Feb, 3, 2017 after 8 weeks, NVC responded SAYING they were still reviewing the file and an appropriate action would be taken once the review was completed
Feb 28th 3 months from last submission of documents, I received a letter asking for new affidavit form 186 as the one submitted was incomplete for the 3rd time, I called them and they advised the second submission was correct but I should take a new one to the interview and they said they were waiting for interview date: talked to NVC to clarify things.
March 2nd rcvd interview letter via email scheduled for April 11, 2017, from NVC
March 7th, l Registered for courier services, got wrong appointment date on the courier confirmation form, it was listed as Nov 4th instead of April 11, 2017
Called the company they asked me to email them telling them of the error
March 9, 2017, they emailed back requesting for the copy of the interview letter from NVC,
I emailed it and they responded right away saying they were going to investigate and come back to me.
March 14th, 4days later, I received a corrected courier confirmation letter. Yeey! Phew, that was such a relief.
March 20th medical exam appointment: arrived 10:40am finished everything 1:15pm, long wait time at life labs where they did the labs, (blood & urine,) I had more than an hour wait. The medical itself was 3 minutes with the doctor then x-ray, then blood draw and urine sample.
Received sealed envelope within a week.
April 10 went to Montreal stayed at Hotel Le Dauphin Montreal Downtown they were very helpful. Hotel was clean and we had breakfast included so it was good to not have to worry about breakfast the two days we were there. We had to park in the big parking garage and paid $24 per day. We chose not to drive our car. The consulate was less than 5 minute walk from the hotel and everything we needed was nearby.
April 11th, we arrived at 9:30 for our 10:30am appointment and they allowed me to check in. Left everything including cell phone.
A lady checked me in at the entrance. As others have stated, you are given a laminated paper with a number on it and that becomes your number for the interview. It also has instructions on what order to put your paperwork in, and warnings that if you're not prepared to hand the papers over in that order, that they will send you back to the waiting area.
They asked if my hubby was an American citizen, I said yes and they said he would come in if he wanted. He decided to walk back to the hotel to work on his assignments as he is studying for his MBA.
Security was similar to the airport. We put our documents in a folder and put the folder in a small hand bag and I had no problems at all.
Went downstairs and used the elevator to go to the 19th floor.
Talked to a few people who came for their IR Visa also and were successful. One couple was not given a positive response, they needed more information.
The waiting was just too much for me
The place was full. I waited until 11:05 that’s when I was called to the first window for finger prints. Your number (from the laminated card) is called from an intercom so make sure you're paying attention.
At the first window, I had to do fingerprints, confirm my address, confirm my USC husband's address, and hand over the documents requested in the interview letter. She didn't ask for the photocopies nor did she ask for the fresh I-864 or any of my husband's tax papers. The lady in the booth was very friendly.
Waited for 30 minutes for the interview part, again called by number. The consular officer was the same lady who had called me to window 7 before. He asked questions about how we met, what our first date was like, how we keep in contact, when the last time I saw my husband was an hour ago and a few other easy questions. The whole thing felt really relaxed. She asked for my husband’s job information and if I had any other financial documents. I told her I had a new I-864 she said she needed more information. She printed a generic form saying I needed to submit requested information.
I asked what she meant she said she needed to know if my husband had any assets and needed more financial information for my spouse. She then said she would keep my passport as soon as she gets the information she will review the documents and send the passport back to me.
I asked for clarification, like how much she needed in assets and if 401K information was sufficient. She said minimum $10,000.00 and yes 401K documents would work because they are assets.
I was crushed and just said to myself, I wish they had mentioned this as we had the investment paperwork for my husband but we just didn’t know it was required and his income as a supervisor was good so we didn’t think that was going to be an issue.
Anyway, I left, I was the last one to leave the place by the way, it was empty I don’t know if they were done for the day or not.
12:15p I arrived at the hotel room to share with hubby, I was crushed, he was ok with it. We printed the Investment documents, Wish there was an option to walk back and drop it off but no. we had to courier it. It arrived next day April 12.
It took them a week to send me an email acknowledging receipt of the package and the famous statement we will review the documents and come back to you in 6-8 weeks. If you do not hear from us after the 8 weeks please contact our office.
I would check the CEAC website every and I would get weekly updates like these
Case Created: 17-Aug-2016 Case Last Updated: 19-Apr-2017
Your visa case is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. This processing can take several weeks. As the officer told you in the interview, if further information is needed, you will be contacted. If your visa application is approved when administrative processing is finished, you will receive notification to collect the passport with the visa from the Loomis branch you selected when you booked your appointment.
May 19 I received an email. In order to continue processing your immigrant visa application. Please provide the following via this e-mail.- Explanation of relationship with………… THIS was my cousin that I listed as an emergency contact on my passport.
I was disappointed again because I thought it was a confirmation that processing was done.
I emailed them right back and showed that I was disappointed by giving a detail even including our aunts who are deceased in the explanation.
May 23, 2017 .They responded right away apologizing for the delay and that they were doing a due process as required by the law to ensure legitimate immigration to the US. I was not happy and I knew I had to wait another 6-8 weeks again.
They did Updates on the CEAC website weekly then bi weekly then no update from May 23 to June 28, more than a month of waiting with no word from them.
I had planned to terminate my lease by June 30 but had to extend it to July 30th. Thank God my Landlord was so understanding.
Around July 5th I had to extend my lease again to August 30th because I wasn’t sure if I was going to get my passport in July.
July 7th, I received an email: The U.S. Department of State Consulate located in Montreal has released document related to your Visa application to our courier CPC. The document is being sent via the courier option you selected at registration.
July 10th I went to pick up my VISA.
July 16th I went to the border and got my PR status. All the excitement was gone. I was so tired of waiting that everything was just going through the motions.
The officers at the border were very pleasant. We were there for less than 10minutes and they said “welcome to America.
He said I did a good thing to not open the envelope. A lot of people open their VISA package and they are returned to start the process again. I thought that was crazy after waiting for 16 months like I did, why would one open an envelope and mess up the whole process?
Within 10 days I had received my Green card in the mail.
I still had to work in Canada until the end of August so I went back and gradually moved my things as I was in no hurry to move anymore; after such a long wait.
I am sorry my post is long and I hope it will help someone. I took the time to put everything together because I was helped a lot by reading previous posts from others. Just that I had never heard of the investment paperwork requirement. Just take everything you have including the 401K investments. It will save you from the pain of waiting for 3 more months like I did.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #22626