westcon5's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Edmond Beneficiary's Name: Caroline VJ Member: westcon5 Country: Canada Last Updated: 2023-12-01 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Edmond & Caroline:

USCIS I-130 Petition:       Dept of State IR-1/CR-1 Visa:     USCIS I-751 Petition:   USCIS N-400 Petition:

IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Date Service Center : California Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Montreal, Canada Marriage (if applicable): 2010-05-15 I-130 Sent : 2010-05-19 I-130 NOA1 : 2010-05-26 I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2010-10-20 NVC Received : 2010-10-27 Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : 2010-11-01 Pay AOS Bill : 2010-11-01 Receive I-864 Package : Send AOS Package : 2010-11-03 Submit DS-261 : 2010-11-03 Receive IV Bill : 2010-11-01 Pay IV Bill : 2010-11-01 Send IV Package : Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : Case Completed at NVC : 2011-01-07 NVC Left : Consulate Received : Packet 3 Received : Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : 2011-01-07 Interview Date : 2011-03-09 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2011-03-11 US Entry : 2011-05-13 Comments : I-130 "Touched" on June 16, 2010 I-129F "Touched" on June 14, 2010 I-130 "Touched" on October 21, 2010 I-129F "Touched" on October 21, 2010 I-130 "APPROVED" on October 20, 2010 I-129F "APPROVED" on October 20, 2010 Both the I-129F and I-130 were approved and received the same day. NVC approval letter received on 1/07/2011 and it included the interview date! Only two months away! Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 147 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 287 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : CDN-USA Border POE Date : 2011-05-14 Got EAD Stamp : Biometrics Taken : Harassment Level : 5 Comments : Border agents refused to issue greencard in new married name. All applications were filed with new married name, but visa was issued with maiden name and they said it had to match the passport. Greencard is being "returned" to correct mistake.

Citizenship Event Date Service Center : Online CIS Office : Tampa FL Date Filed : 2023-07-17 NOA Date : 2023-07-17 Bio. Appt. : 2023-07-17 Interview Date : 2023-10-30 Approved : Yes Oath Ceremony : 2023-11-28 Comments :

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : March 10, 2011 Embassy Review : We had our interview yesterday in Montreal. Based on other reviews of the Montreal Consulate, it was exactly like we were expecting it to be. I am the USC and my wife is the Canadian. We stayed at the Hyatt (Priceline for only $75!) which is less than two full blocks walking distance from the consulate. From our room, you could see the consulate building one block over. I had read that some people had difficulty finding the consulate door or didn't think they were in the correct place, but I'm not sure how. It is clearly marked on the doors. It is a double set of glass doors with glass on both sides of those. The number of the building is marked over the doors, fairly large. On the doors and next to them, there are signs stating this is the consulate and hours of operation. It also states a brief security note about large bags and anything electronic. It is hard to miss as it is the only entrance on that block for the building, other than the fortified garage type door for deliveries to the left of the main entrance. Montreal had received a bunch of fresh snow the past couple of days, and it was pretty brisk in the morning. We arrived at the consulate around 7 and were the first in line. A few others came within just a couple of minutes of our arrival. It was around 7:30 when they started letting people in. They checked passports and appointment letters before letting us through the doors. Once inside, they again checked passports and our letter and checked us off their list. Our appointment was at 9AM, but this did not matter at all. (It looked like they had the list of scheduled appointments for the day, but we couldn't see.) Everything we brought went through the x-ray. We carried all of our documents and binders in a reusable grocery bag and it was no problem. They kept all the documents and binders in there and just ran it through the machine. Once through security, we proceeded down the stairs to the basement and sat to the left of the elevator. We were probably in the basement about 20 minutes while others cleared security. I think the room had about 20-30 people by the time 8AM rolled around and a security officer came down to get us. He asked for only people with immigration appointments first. He checked our appointment letter again before letting us in the elevator. Once in the elevator, we went to the back left as people mentioned on here to do. Once we got to the consulate floor, a nice lady greeted the elevator and led everyone into the next line. Once in line, she said to wait until the lady at the window called us up to give us a ticket. No more than one minute went by and we were called up and given a ticket with C1. She told us to sit in the middle of the room below the electronic sign they use to call numbers. Once seated, it was no more than one minute until our number came up and flashed to go to window #12 down the hallway. Once back there, we were greet by another nice woman who had our file in front of her. She asked for my wife's passport. Next, she asked her for her medical documents (didn't keep the x-ray on disc) and stapled my wife's photograph to those. She also asked for an original marriage certificate. This was a little confusing because I could see she had one in her hand that we previously sent in. The county we got married in makes photocopies of the original and puts an official purple county stamp on the back with the county information. I told her the one in her hand was an original. I happened to bring an extra original one as well, so I passed that one under the glass and pointed out they were the same thing. She kept both. From there, she handed my wife the official application that we had sent in and asked us to verify that everything was correct. After that, my wife's fingerprints were taken. This whole process took about 5 minutes. The lady said to go back to the waiting room and wait for my wife's name to be called for the interview. We only waited about 10 minutes for her name to be called. It was pretty loud and easily heard, even over the low noise of people talking and the soda machine in the back of the room that was noisy! We were called up to room number 6 after about 10 minutes. (I went with my wife to both windows.) There we met another very nice woman who started off by asking us to both raise our right hands and swear that everything we presented in the application and what we would be asked would be true to our knowledge. Once that happened, she casually asked us where I lived and if my wife will live there when she moves. She also asked both of us if this was our first marriage, if either of us had ever been arrested or if either of us had any issues crossing the border. Then, she asked us how we met and what we did for work. She asked my wife is she would continue to work in Canada after she moved to the US. Almost before we were done with that short conversation, she said that she was happy to say she could approve the VISA based on the information we provided her. We both just turned and looked at each other and smiled and said YEA! It was finally over (saved the hug and kiss for the elevator)! The lady behind the glass handed my wife the "Welcome to the US" letter and confirmed that we had registered for DHL. Once we said we had, she said we were all done and handed us back the marriage certificate (only one of them) and my wife's original long form birth certificate. Before we had put all of our documents back in the bag, she had already called up the next couple! They were walking down the hall when we exited the little "room." So, overall, they did not ask us for any proof of the relationship (photos, cards, etc.). Maybe they do that more for K-1's, but we were not asked for anything additional like that. They did not ask for any 2010 tax returns or W-2 from myself which we had read they usually ask for. When we walked out of the consulate, it was 8:25. We were back in the hotel by 8:45 after a short stop for some coffee. The whole process couldn't have been easier at the consulate. It was not intimidating thanks to VJ. We knew what to expect from the beginning and it was exactly like we had read! We hope this helps anyone who might be a little nervous! Rating : Very Good

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