Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	Screw 1800flowers.ca... trying to put my ZIP code in and it insists my ZIP code must start with a letter. Its not a POSTAL code... it's a ZIP code. May I suggest proflowers.com instead.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-05-06 14:31:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	Can I just vent about weird landlords! My fiance' had his apartment flood last night because the hot water heater in his apartment sprung a leak. He was planning to get rid of some things but not for another couple of months. Now he has to because they are water logged beyond reclamation. His land lady doesn't want to put rugs back in his basement apartment. Thinks the concrete is just fine! Uh, no, actually carpet is nicer to walk around on. Uh. At least the water didn't ruin is home entertainment equipment or get to his bedroom but yikes, I am not looking forward to visiting and walking on cement!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-03-24 16:57:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	How annoying lilac Yeah, it's interesting, so many people here in Calgary complain about how side streets are not cleaned. I have lived on a main street so I know - but I don't think they have ever pondered where the city is going to put that snow. Next to your car.....in front of your driveway..... Yeah, I got stuck this morning because the city hadn't plowed my side street. Usually the snow gets up on the area between the curb and the sidewalk, not IN the sidewalk. Thankfully it wasn't ice hard yet, so I got it shoveled out and most of the end of my driveway cleared so I can get out tomorrow morning. Uhh.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-02-11 20:48:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	I hate when the city "finally" decides to clear my street and FILLS MY PREVIOUSLY CLEANED SIDEWALK TO THE BRIM WITH SNOW AGAIN! Ugh. I have to go out and shovel after a long day of parent teacher conferences. AND MY FIANCE' STILL HASN'T GOTTEN HIS PACKET 3 LETTER FROM MONTREAL. It has been 21 days. Please, just send the letter already.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-02-11 20:11:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	Lilac, Im sorry to hear that. I too got plagued with people wondering why it took so long for me to get my K1. And that the reason why it took long is cause I didnt hire a lawyer and that its ultimately my fault *rolls eyes*. I just had to bite my tongue and not say more because its not like they really care to listen or understand! A lawyer wouldn't make the bureaucracy move any faster! If my case was complicated, I would have hired one, but it isn't. Neither of us were married before. A lawyer can offer advice but ultimately it is still the petitioner's responsibility. I am right with you there, rolling my eyes!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-02-10 16:38:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	I did my best to give them a peek into the ridiculous process, so at least maybe they could try to understand. Some did, others just scoffed with a "well that can't be, you're doing something wrong then." People will be people. Just take heart in the fact that WE all certainly understand. Yes, this is exactly the attitude I get from several people. "Well that can't be, you're doing something wrong then" Which is then followed by kizza's statement! Im like, "Do they think we've spent the last 9 months apart because we are retards?". I have no desire to be apart from the man I love. They make me feel like it is my fault I fell in love with a man from another country. "It is still North America, why the big deal about all the security clearances, etc? What is it the government needs to check anyway?" I am just glad I know there are people here who understand because try as I might unless they have read through the process (they haven't) there is always someone who says, "Oh, so and so got married and it didn't take this long." I have been waiting since Oct. 15 for the government WHICH is only 118 days or 3 months and 26 days. Others have waited so much longer than me! If the USCIS had taken the 5 months they said they could have, I would still be waiting for my NOA2. I try to remind the naysayers, it could have taken longer at the first 2 steps. Now that I am waiting for the Montreal embassy I consider myself lucky. I am still hoping my fiance's packet 3 comes today or tomorrow but if it doesn't, I will keep waiting because there is little else I can do. There is still 5 months and a day until the wedding date I am hoping for. I have faith that Montreal will get an interview date for my fiance in May or June early enough for him to move to the U.S. and marry me on July 11, 2010. But if it doesn't happen on that day, I still know I am going to get married. If these people can't come, that is how life goes.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-02-10 11:29:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	Sorry to hear about the sister-in-law who just doesn't get it! My future sister-in-law is similar. In addition she has been doing all she can to make me feel guilty that I am taking her beloved brother from Canada from her (she lives 6 hours away and NEVER visits because of her and her husband's finances) and she has been telling her brother (my fiance') "You will never find a job in the U.S. We don't want you to be worrying about where your mortgage payment will come from or how you will keep the heat turned on." UGH! Go away, woman! My fiance' and I made a decision and put down money on the adventure (i.e. we paid for the k-1 visa petition). Now on to my biggest VENT: PEOPLE WHO ASK WHY I NEED A VISA TO GET MARRIED AND WHY I CAN'T JUST GET MARRIED NOW! I don't want to be separated from my husband (when we get married). The last couple of weeks people have been pressing me for "the date" of the wedding so they can make their summer vacation/holiday plans. Trying to explain to them the process is useless. They don't get it. There are several that keep saying, "Why don't you just get married when he comes down to visit next?" They don't understand that if we did that, it is a different visa, he would have to go back to Canada (because he needs to work until the visa is approved and he can permanently stay in the U.S.), and IT IS ANOTHER VISA FEE! In just a few months, I will be able to tell them when our Montreal interview is and even then my fiance' will need to wait for his passport to be mailed back with visa stamp. All our planning is based on the "hope" that he gets an interview in May or June at least 3 weeks before our "proposed" wedding date of July 11, 2010. Why can't people just back off! What have other K-1 visa applicants done with these crazies?	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-02-10 10:17:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	I would put up with sharing my bed with my mom (my father passed away a couple of years go) but the future in-laws taking it over on the wedding weekend. NOT a CHANCE!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-01-23 20:42:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	My inlaws-to-be said to me at Christmas, "So when we come down for the wedding, we will be sleeping in your bed." That would be me, the bride, who has the queen size bed. Um, no! I will have somewhere for them to sleep, probably a hotel, and I will sleep peacefully in my OWN bed that when the weekend is over I will share with my husband, NOT his parents.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-01-23 20:28:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	LOL! I looks like the ones at my house! I could vent that I wished my fiance' wasn't having a "night with the guys" in Ontario while I am in Michigan, but then I wouldn't have found the beautiful curtains to put on our gift registry LOL. Nice Vent though, very clean, nice carpet too!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-01-23 18:01:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	I had to laugh at this article "How to eat 5.9 kilos of poutine in 10 minutes" Everyone needs a good laugh when it comes to the stress Montreal often brings. The poutine looks just like I remembered it. edit: Funny thing is the winner was an American. Edited by lilacvioletiris, 02 June 2010 - 06:05 AM.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-02 06:03:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	We are really fortunate that this happened last night and not a few nights before, because we were in Sarasota until Saturday night... and the guy decided to stay on the roof and destroy our deck and not come inside the house and kill us. Glad to hear you are safe. Yikes.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-05-31 10:38:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	Yeah, got a NEXUS card with tin foil sleeve. I think my fiance' threw his "foil sleeve away" thinking it wasn't important. LOL. Hopefully he doesn't have identity stolen.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-05-27 15:12:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	Lol..I'll give you mine, if you want... I still have the tin-foil thing...But I don't have the green card anymore... (I had to give it back to them when I got citizenship) And yes, I want my money back too...For all the the USCIS had put me through all these years... And more so for a green card that I waited 10 months for, and had to return back 5 months later! What a waste, indeed! Ant P.S. I have a similar-looking tin-foil thing for my enhanced driver's license too... And yes, those tin-foil things are for the RFID tags..... Lol..Maybe I should sell my tin-foil thingies here on VJ............(just kidding)... I received one of those tin foil card sleeves with my NEXUS card, but my fiance' (who is the Canadian) didn't get the tin foil sleeve with his card. Should he have? Any Canadian NEXUS card holders in this thread?	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-05-26 11:07:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	I've always hated those card sleeves that you sometimes get with bank and credit cards. But the cost of replacing a GC is so much more, I think i'd suck it up for that. I would think that you would want the card sleeve, not so much to protect the card, but to keep would be identity thieves from stealing your personal data.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-05-25 12:29:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	I will be the computer game player in my family although I have to say that having my fiance' in my life took me away from my addiction of a year ago (Knighthood on Facebook: another Canadian couple actually met through that game (Beth and John) and I met Beth through the game). Last night my fiance' asked me what I had been doing before he called. I sheepishly answered, "Playing Tetris " Passes the time when he isn't around.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-01-23 21:37:00
Canada	Canadian Long From Birth Certificate	Wow, wouldn't you really be freaking out if you didn't have a copy at all? That's what I assumed when I saw the name of the topic and I was like "Oh man that sucks!" Mine took almost a month after ordering to receive. Yeah, that was my fiance' who thought his wallet sized birth certificate would suffice until 2 weeks before the interview I was going through the forms with him and said, "No, the government wants the long form birth certificate." Thankfully service Ontario was able to expedite the birth certificate because we asked for it online and we got in 2 days. Anxiety removed!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-08 13:08:00
Canada	JUNE INTERVIEWS FOR MTL!!!	I can't wait to see you all make it through Montreal with approved status! Crazyg49 - June 1st - Approved! AandB - June 1st - Approved! Beaudof - June 4th Star Shine - June 9th Julesrose - June 10th Goldenstate - June 11th Kizza - June 14th dd4ever - June 14th Beantown79 - June 23rd Go, Montreal, Go! Keep making dreams come true!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-01 14:43:00
Canada	JUNE INTERVIEWS FOR MTL!!!	Yes I heard about this and was wondering when the effective date was. So @ the interview do they only take USD cash?? Or can you pay by credit card etc.? Good luck to all the June interviews coming up tomorrow and later this week. Yes, Montreal wants cash - either US dollars preferably in exact change or the equivalent in Canadian dollars based on the days exchange rate. Make sure to stand to the left of the window 14 line. Don't want to pay for your visa in the long line of people that come of the elevator and just go straight to pay for their immigration paperwork.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-05-31 18:09:00
Canada	JUNE INTERVIEWS FOR MTL!!!	Fees for visas officially go up on June 4th. FYI. That means K-1 visas will cost $350	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-05-24 10:18:00
Canada	JUNE INTERVIEWS FOR MTL!!!	Crazyg49 - June 1st AandB - June 1st Beaudof - June 4th Star Shine - June 9th Julesrose - June 10th Goldenstate - June 11th Kizza - June 14th dd4ever - June 14th Beantown79 - June 23rd There were a couple more when I did a search for similar timelines with interview dates between May 3 and June 30. Who knows when the next interviews will be. Looks like kizza gets a VJ buddy on June 14! Edited by lilacvioletiris, 07 May 2010 - 12:35 PM.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-05-07 12:34:00
Canada	Letter of Intent for Interview	We updated a couple pertinent things like including the date we planned the wedding, etc, otherwise it was the same letter with a new date at the top.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-09 13:58:00
Canada	Welcome to Sprails Chip Stand	I think I have enjoyed my one poutine for life, but my fiance' now, he will likely want another one next year. Here is a photo from us eating at "La Belle Province" in Lachine, Quebec the day before our interview. He ate the whole TRAY of POUTINE! Attached Files  IMG_1771littlePoutine.jpg   36.21KB   9 downloads	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-08 12:48:00
Canada	Approved	Yeah! Congratulations! Now to wait for that expresspost envelope to make it your place and plan your POE!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-14 09:40:00
Canada	June 14th Interview Review	Neither line had anyone in it when I was there so I didnt have that problem. There IS a sign over the line that is marked A/B to indicate 2 lines, but its not in the best spot to be clear. I think lilacvioletiris almost had a problem until she pointed out the sign to someone that started to say something. If you DONT stand on the left, the lady that was taking your paperwork and sent you to pay will get mad for holding everything up, she basically stops almost at the end so you can pay and come right back to her asap. Actually I was the one who got in trouble and chastised by the teller for not "cutting" the line because I was holding the other CO's up. Oops. I hadn't read in any other recent reviews about what side of the line to stand on so Kizza your review is awesome to point out exactly where to go! I don't want anyone else chastised like I was. So humiliating. But all worked out in the end and my fiance' will POE in 10 days! I can't wait to get on with the rest of my life with HIM!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-20 21:00:00
Canada	POE at YUL, Montreal Pierre-Élliot Trudeau Airport	Glad to hear you are safely in the U.S.A.!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-21 16:14:00
Canada	After marriage	Hey guys, Once I pass the interview and get married, I'm going to be applying for the I-765 (employment authorization) among other things. I was just wondering once we apply for employment authorization, which can take up to 3 months from what I've read, would I be able to apply for EI or UI? (unemployment insurance) and collect EI while I'm waiting for employment authorization? Thanks, appreciate all responses! My fiance' is applying for EI in Canada just before he leaves, even though he won't be able to collect on the money until he gets his EAD in a few months. There was some discussion in the Canuck EI thread about making sure that you apply soon after leaving your job and not waiting for the EAD to come through, but with the understanding that no payments will be made until you have EAD in hand (not just approved) since you will need to fax/email a copy of the EAD to the EI people in Canada.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-22 21:35:00
Canada	Does SSA office matter?	My fiance' will be arriving in the U.S. on June 30. We are getting married on July 11. Does it matter which Social Security Administration office we go to in order to apply for his SSN? We are going to be on our honeymoon when his 2 weeks of being in the U.S. will come up and we need the Social Security Card in order to get his Michigan driver's license. We were thinking of stopping at a SSA office in Ohio on our trip. Anyone had experience with the SSA office in Dayton, OH? I read on a thread somewhere that suggests 16 days from POE before going to the SSA office. Will this length of time be increased because of the 4th of July holiday? I have read the Step-by-Step Guide to getting a Social Security Number (SSN) and it talks about finding the "local SSA office". But it is all the same government and they will send it to the address on the application, right?	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-22 17:28:00
Canada	August at the consulate	Currently there are 13 VJ members with K-1 interviews in August, although there are NO K-1 interviews in July (oddly). There are 6 IR-1/CR-1 in July, but there are none in August. Someone is working but it may not be on IR-1/CR-1 stuff in August.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-25 16:20:00
Canada	Weight loss support	I have just seen a photo that makes me cringe. On facebook, a former student of mine has a photo of her and another classmate each in a leg of MY PANTS (never before scene footage she called it)! Granted they were the littlest girls on the senior class trip and I was their "hotel room chaperone". But it is terrible. No two teenagers should fit in one pair of pants. Granted my wedding is in 15 days, I had hoped to lose some weight before my wedding, but between stress with the immigration process and work, I have stayed steady at a weight that I would rather not be at. My fiance' is moving down to Michigan on June 30 and his practice has been to go walking for an hour each evening, so I think the increased exercise will help me. I know I will fit in my wedding dress, no problem, since it was made for me. I wish the photos of me from the wedding would look different, but it is my own mistake for not pushing myself to lose weight when I could have. I would like to weigh 185 (at my 5'9" stature that is still considered "overweight") but back in 2004 when I had lost weight to get to that point I liked the way I felt. Over the last 6 years I gained all the weight back plus some so that currently I am at 235 pounds. So over the next year I want to lose 50 pounds, before I plan to get pregnant and gain back some of the weight, man this is looking like a never ending cycle.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-26 20:21:00
Canada	How long should this take?	My fiance' got his police check done at the RCMP and I believe he waited 30 minutes for them to process all the paperwork and get it back to him.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-29 05:52:00
Canada	riots in Toronto	I wonder how many of the ones actually causing the problems were Canadian? Maybe they all were, but it would be interesting to know how much of the crowd was not from Canada. I was thinking the same thing, because Canadians seem to be "law abiding people" not given to acts of unwarranted violence.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-29 09:48:00
Canada	riots in Toronto	I was really surprised when I read this headline this morning "Sewer gang among 500 held after G-20 Summit Rampage" Seriously, do people think that breaking store windows in Toronto is going to change the fact that the summit is happening. There was some protester caught in a photo smashing a store window. Again, innocent store owners getting attacked by what the article calls "thugs". This is not the kind of "protest" I would expect in North America. What is the world coming to?	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-28 07:29:00
Canada	HOOOFREAKINRAY!	Congratulations and best of luck on the next set of "waiting" as the interview comes next! One step down sure feels good though, doesn't it!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-29 09:46:00
Canada	Jusf Wondering	Bevie was from Nova Scotia. She entered the U.S. the beginning of June. I am sure there are others, but since she and I had interviews in the same month I am most familiar with her.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-30 08:43:00
Canada	Approved November Filers - The Wait for Interview	How does it work for the marriage certificates? We need to go to the courthouse 72hours prior getting married for i don't know what reason, pay the fees, etc... So we're going tomorrow! Is it for the marriage certificates? It takes 3 weeks to receive? We're gonna get married the tuesday after tomorrow. I started to file some documents for the AoS but still need to prepare a lot of stuff. I'm gessing it'll all be ready by the time the marriage certificates comes in the mail! Depends on which state in the U.S. you are getting married in. In Michigan there is a 3 day waiting period (aka 72 hours). Many places have it so that you can go in person to get the marriage certificate from the County Clerk but you should ask questions and find out. Some places it may take longer to get the marriage license, I just know I talked to my local County Clerk and she said if we came in person after the wedding with the signed marriage license we could wait for the "certified marriage certificate" and it would take an hour. Definitely find out what the rules are where you are, because the sooner you have the marriage certificate, the sooner you can file the AOS.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-28 18:43:00
Canada	Approved November Filers - The Wait for Interview	Alaba, i suggest you to read some Montreal consulate interview reviews! These helped me soooo much for mine. Vero and Chris, we're going to the courthouse tomorrow to get our "marriage license" i think. (We need to get it 72 hours prior the wedding). So we'll get married tuesday july 6th (my fiancé is off on tuesdays). No reception yet though..., we'll wait on my family to be able to come to have one big reception. And we're not doing a church wedding. So!!! July 6th, in 8 days!!!! I'll have to practice a new signature since i'm gonna take his last name When do you guys expect to be sending in your AOS package? My fiance' and I will marry on July 11 and are going to the clerk's office on Monday in person to get our marriage certificate because if we mailed it it would take 3 weeks to get the certificate back. We have the money for AOS, now we need the final pieces of the AOS package namely the I-94 (my fiance' will POE on June 30) and the marriage license. I can't wait to put that AOS package in the mail in 2 weeks!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-28 16:18:00
Canada	Approved November Filers - The Wait for Interview	Got my p4 in the mail today. Says the interview time is at 8:00am. Is that right, or can i be there before 7? I would say, show up the earlier the better, before other people line up. The "interview time" is simply when the consulate starts seeing people at their little "teller windows" for the materials you are supposed to bring. You may not even see the "consulate officer" until 9 a.m. or later depending on how long it takes at the "paper taker's window" and paying your machine readable visa fee (now $350 and be sure to stand to the left of the window 14 line which I think was window 14A). Security opens the "security check point" about 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. I think it depends on the security guards involved. I even saw some recent reviews that said the doors opened at 6:45 a.m.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-28 14:29:00
Canada	Approved November Filers - The Wait for Interview	Haha, I hadnt thought about the fact I promised an earthquake....days before one happened Shes coming in the 25th (Today), gonna POE the 30th, through Bluewater Bridge most likely. I think there will be like 3 of us going through there that day lol At least the Bluewater Bridge people will be practiced up on their K-1 skills! My fiance' thinks he will get to Bluewater Bridge around noon and be to our home by 3 p.m. I can hardly wait!	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-26 20:07:00
Canada	Approved November Filers - The Wait for Interview	The key is to use the font "Courier New". Then everything lines up like it should! User ............... P3 Logged ..... Days Since ....... Interview Date!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- mandaNchris ........ April 16th .... 62 days .......... Aug 10th Rose416 ............ April 16th? ... 62 days .......... Aug 3rd Vero and Chris ..... April 26th .... 56 days .......... Aug 9th J & J .............. April 27th .... 54 days .......... Aug 9th Pasht .............. April 30th .... 52 days Wishing ............ May 4th ....... 43 days .......... Aug 16th Alaba .............. May 6th ....... 45 days .......... Aug 11th netguy ............. May 10th ...... 42 days Ken and Kate ....... May 11th ...... 43 days Valerie78 .......... May 17th ...... 35 days nickbits ........... May 17th? ..... 35 days .......... Aug 12th Brenda2010 ......... May 19th ...... 33 days Edited by lilacvioletiris, 21 June 2010 - 01:57 PM.	lilacvioletiris	Female	Canada	2010-06-21 13:56:00