Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Canada	Does the USC get a copy of Packet 3?	yeah, I'm the beneficiary, so I was thoroughly confused as to why he got a copy of P3... oh well. he's going to scan it all and email it to me. I thought it was odd. huh, yeah ,,that is odd. maybe with all the other changes being made with montreal - this is another? or possibly, just an error - since the letter was addressed to you... guess as long as you get everything turned in it won't matter in the long run, knock on wood ; )	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-11-07 20:55:00
Canada	Does the USC get a copy of Packet 3?	Has anyone else had this happen? no the usc doesn't receive packet 3 - the beneficiary does. i'm not sure which you are but, all the information that is to be filled out in packet 3 pretty much pertains only to the beneficiary..	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-11-07 20:43:00
Canada	Calling out to people from Virginia!	orfee hasn't gone to the virginia dmv yet, but i researched and i think all you'll need will be your current license, proof of residency - like a couple bills with your name and address, and maybe take your passport with the I94 and SSN. anyway, that's all we'll take in when we go, soon i hope.. hard to get this stuff done with only one car and i'm at work all day...oh well ; )	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-11-11 09:17:00
Canada	Changing From K1 to CR-i	wow. that is just totally insane. hope everything works out, and soon.	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-09-22 16:42:00
Canada	fees associated with the K1 Visa??	yeah, the visa (at the interview) is $350 the AOS, EAD and AP goes up to $1070.00 on november 23rd orfee just did his passport photos for the AOS,EAD and AP and that alone was $45.00. hopefully we'll get by on his previous medical (since that is supposed to be all you need) but if not - there's a possibility of having to pay for another.. money can't buy love? - huh - not when you fall in love outside the border!	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-11-19 09:02:00
Canada	Holier then thou attitude	meh. stupid/rude people are everywhere. I agree with the health care thing, the canadian way is THE way to go... But that's just me! amen.	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-10-19 12:34:00
Canada	Miracles DO happen....	awesome.!	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-12-13 10:53:00
Canada	what am i doing wrong????	are you completing it in firefox? i had issues, and so did my then fiance - he was using safari. we got it to work using regular explorer...	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-12-22 09:44:00
Canada	Booking Flights on Interview Day	i would definitely book the flight for the next day. we didn't get out of the consulate until almost noon (no particular reason - just unlucky i guess) and then she'll have to deal with montreal traffic. same day is doable, but with all the interview related stress - making a flight on time would make things all that more stressful i would think..	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-01-05 17:31:00
Canada	tax question about S.S TAX medicare etc.	totally and irretrievably gone.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-01-11 13:06:00
Canada	can i get a topic pinned?	can someone bump it up for me (and i'm sure plenty of others)? we should have that info pinned too, i think.. pretty please admins???? : )	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-01-19 17:35:00
Canada	Thread on VJ and IRS website didn't help...	To valerie78: Turbo tax allowed me to make Mathew a pin when we got to the efile portion. thanks kayla*mathew! i was able to efile today.. thanks for the heads up. i was so frustrated with the whole thing i was ready to give up : )	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-01-25 18:08:00
Canada	Thread on VJ and IRS website didn't help...	1- Is it more profitable to file married seperately or jointly? From experience? 2- If we do file JOINTLY, do I have to wait for my T4s? 3- Is there a form we need to attach/send apart from the normal forms we fill online? (my husband files his taxes online, without using TurboTax or another program like that) 4- Will it take longer for the IRS to process the return? 5- (Last one) If we do go the joint way, is it relatively easy or should I go get a refill of my anxiety medication? (joking) 6- What is form 2555, tax exemption? Do I need to fill that in? Will it make us save money? What's its purpose??? 1. Jointly - it is rare that filing separate will help. 2. You won't need your T4s only the amount. I read this on VJ and this is what we are doing because orfee won't get his t4 for a while yet. 3. Just your 1040 and the 2555 (you guys don't have kids right? much easier..) 4. It won't take longer because of the foreign income, no. 5. It's not hard. I did mine with turbo tax online friday night, but then realized that we can't file online because this is orfee's first us tax return and he doesn't have a pin to file online (somebody correct me if i'm wrong on this one) 6. 2555 is so you can input your income and then exempt it. It will save you money because other wise Chris would have to file separate and would probably end up owing money. Have him try it out using turbo tax online (that's what i did). good luck. taxes SUCK.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-01-24 09:46:00
Canada	Tax document from the bank in wrong name?	are you asking for us tax returns purposes, i assume? if you're filing joint - it doesn't matter. your return will be one in the same..	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-01-25 15:59:00
Canada	Tax questions - first time filing since I married my citizen husband	We didn't have that question when I filed our taxes this morning using turbotax. I used the physical presence test to determine his eligibility. Everything went smoothly with that option, it didn't ask for anything other than his trips here(to determine how many days he was in canada), how much he made, and the company he worked for. Piece of cake!!! i must have done something wrong then.. orfee got here 10/23/10 - we were married on halloween. he can't work here yet (ead pending) it seemed from the questions they asked (what 'visa' allowed him to work in canada, that they thought he was a us citizen.. what really sucks is with the foreign tax exemption - i can't get my earned income credit. that's a difference of THREE GRAND. arrrrrrg. gov't give me money - lord knows i've given them a *&^*& ton!	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-01-21 09:02:00
Canada	Tax questions - first time filing since I married my citizen husband	You should be able to exclude up to $91,500 of the income you earned in Canada while you lived in Canada and turbotax can do it. See form 2555, Foreign Earned Income Exclusion nickbits - i was using turbo tax to try and figure out the foreign earned income credit and they're asking me what type of visa orfee had to work in canada...he lived in canada and didn't need a visa to work - obviously.. i'm confused..did you get that question for your wife too?	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-01-20 20:17:00
Canada	will my nine year old need a passport/permission from his (absent) father to cross the border?	yeah. i was hoping to put off paying for my son's passport for a year or two. we (my son and i) are USCs and our website says that by land only his birth certificate is needed.. ultimately i want him to have a passport for him though. as for his dad, i'm sure i could get a letter - its just a matter of principle - i wouldn't want him to get on a power trip about his 'authority' (when he is a total deadbeat). thanks for your help all..	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-02-14 19:26:00
Canada	will my nine year old need a passport/permission from his (absent) father to cross the border?	i read that i can cross (land crossing) with my nine year old with his birth certificate. is this a 'sometimes' thing, like up to the individual co or is this always permitted? also, my divorce document says i have sole legal custody and his dad is to have 'reasonable visitation'. do i need to get a notarized letter from his dad or will my divorce doc be enough? just wanted to get some personal experience from you fine folks, thanks!	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-02-14 16:58:00
Canada	AOS/EAD	So couple questions - at what point would I have received a DS-3025? Where would it be? Don't remember seeing/receiving this, and can't seem to find it. you received this during your medical. orfee's was a photocopy of a form (a bad copy at that). the form consisted of a grid with the different vaccinations and it was signed and marked 'complete'. we sent in this form only, and noted on our cover letter that orfee's medical had been completed as per k1 visa requirements and less than a year old and also the sealed medical was handed over to customs at POE. we just received notification that his card has been ordered for production, so just the ds3025 worked for us..	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-02-16 15:32:00
Canada	AOS'rs...	Some officers are just jerks. I've been treated like that on occasion and I am a USC. very true. i'm a usc and ALL my negative experiences have been coming BACK to the US. crazy my own country gives me a harder time than the cbp ever have - they've always been nothing but nice! this is SUCH BULLSHIT. we got a ###### RFE. and even more annoying- it took them this ###### long to give an rfe. we move across the country next month and this is really not the stress we need right now. uscis, you SUCK. you don't need any more ###### evidence. we're sitting here. still married. moving to settle down in oregon in february. seriously. back the #### off. you've made the last 4 years of our life a living ###### hell. bureaucratic nonsense. stuff it. that is absolutely crazy. hope your rfe is something simple. us really, really needs immigration reform. unfortunately - i don't think its going to happen anytime soon.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-01-05 17:25:00
Canada	AOS'rs...	Today was an emotional day in our house. My GC came in the mail today!!! I cried and hugged my husband for a bit, just letting it all sink in. Quite a fancy little piece of plastic. Called my parents in BC right away to let them know the good news. Yay!!! Soooo happy!!! congrats!	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-11-19 09:22:00
Canada	Confused Help Please - Packet 3	Yea the person who spoke with my fiance at the embassy said all I do here is schedule interviews, but I do have your fiance's name in our system. I am going to email them right now. Thank you very much yeah i think the folks that schedule the interviews are an outside contracted company (not sure). minimum - this information tells you that nvc has forwarded your case to montreal and they do have it! (good news)	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-02-24 17:14:00
Canada	Confused Help Please - Packet 3	montreal sends packet three. and wow - how in the world did your fiance call and speak to montreal?	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-02-24 15:26:00
Canada	AP	My visa was issued today! It turns out that I was put in AP by mistake! I heard from the consulate today. I'll write details in a separate post when I get the chance. C. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well not , awesome (ap by mistake? really montreal?) but you know what i mean.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-02-08 15:18:00
Canada	Packet 3 from NVC?	i would call back and speak to someone different. maybe wait a couple hours and call back. nvc doesn't send packet three - montreal does.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-02-25 11:51:00
Canada	485 notification/'touches'	in our experience the updates on the uscis website are either completely wrong or late. we received emails when we received an rfe, when we were transferred to csc, and then a onslaught of emails when each (AOS/EAD/AP) were approved. right now the uscis website for all three (AOS/EAD/AP) are wrong - the ap still shows as being under initial review/ email notifications only, checking the website is pointless : )	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-03-25 08:21:00
Canada	waiting for passport	thnks for ur repsonse..please anyone can help me with this..i called dos..but nuthng yet specifically - what did DOS say when you call? was your visa printed? this is important - to know what stage you are stuck at... we waited a full month for orfee's visa to print and be sent to him. we had to get my senator involved to find out what was going on w/ montreal consulate.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-03-30 07:46:00
Canada	What do you do if your 129-F petition expires before you can get an interview?	the consulate (i believe) automatically extends the date. our petition was approved in march - but we didn't get an interview until august.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-04-18 14:56:00
Canada	Wedding Plans	Hi everyone, I have been tentative about setting a wedding date because I know it's hard to predict when your visa will be approved. However, we applied in September 2010 and I was hoping to get married in October 2011. Our date isn't set in stone but it's getting to the point where my family needs to start booking plane tickets soon if we want to get married in October. I sent pkt 3 in March and am waiting for pkt 4 from Montreal. The problem is, that Montreal hasn't been booking any interviews for 3 weeks so even when I do get pkt 4, I can't book an interview at this time. Last I saw, they were booking into the end of July and that was 3 weeks ago. I'm a little concerned that I won't get my visa by October. Anyway, I guess my question is, can I go to America and have my reception (without getting married) then return to Canada to finish the visa process? We could have a civil/legal ceremony when I actually get the visa at a later date. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? If you haven't yet had your interview at the time of your reception, then yes - technically you could however it would be entirely up to the Customs Officer when you cross. Personally, I would be worried that the CO would ask too many questions and you might have to divulge that you are crossing for your Reception - which could raise a red flag with the CO regarding your intent to return to Canada. A considerable risk - especially if you were refused entry and all your family has flown to the states...	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-04-27 10:31:00
Canada	administrative processing!!!!!???	Thanks. Did you ever get a notice that you were in AR? I have indeed asked my husband to contact his congresswoman...but is a senator better? In our case the state is California, so I'm a bit worried the senator may have too much on her plate (represent too big a population with too many immigration problems). Did you ever find out why you had that additonal delay in your case? C no, i was told repeatedly by DOS i was in AP or under administrative review, but i never was given notice of AR or AP. there has been one canadian KI couple that was placed (and notified) of being placed in AP. i can't remember their name...but i do remember that she was given a 221 (i think) slip at her interview. eek, i'm sure california is a nightmare when it comes to immigration liaisons. i would use whoever can help you first. i'm not sure if our senator's liaison did anything to actually help our case, or if things just went their normal course, but it was the only communication i felt like i had with montreal. the woman that interviewed us was a retiree and her last day was two days after our interview. i think that our file just got put on another employees desk and it took a while to get to it...but i've never received any type of explanation for the delay. one of the emails i got back from montreal simply stated, 'the officer is looking at your case and isn't done with it yet'..that was it. i hope you get your passport/visa quickly. i really do feel for you though.that month was so so so terrible, i couldn't eat or sleep - it was the NOT KNOWING ####### that drove me absolutely insane..	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-02-02 13:25:00
Canada	administrative processing!!!!!???	And of course there's no way of communicating with Montreal C jeez, after everything you guys have been through! i feel for you. me and orphee had our interview 8/23 and didn't receive his passport/visa until 9/22. During that month (of total hell), we were told pretty much the EXACT same thing you were told by DOS. i would say you are not under technical "AR", because they would have given you a notice (not sure the form number but it's specific). DOS says administrative review because they are still processing your case. I was in contact with my senator during our month wait, i would get your husband to get in contact with his and have them apply pressure to montreal. send emails to montreal (out of about a hundred, i did get two email responses from them) put your case number as the subject and state that you were approved on your interview date but have not received your passport/visa..and you are now outside of their own wait times (seven days, i believe) i know it is almost impossible to do, but i would try and forget what DOS said and focus your energy on getting in touch with montreal.. good luck, keep us posted.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-02-02 12:51:00
Canada	Montreal question re: previous marriages...	i'm the usc and i was married before, i provided my certified divorce decree (initially with the K1 application and again at the interview). i didn't have to provide my first marriage certificate. i actually never had a copy of it to begin with : ) the consulate uses the same sheet of requested documents for CR1/IR1 visas and I believe that the marriage certificate would only pertain to those applications. they only care that you're free to marry when applying for the K1 and his divorce decree will prove that he is.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-05-04 08:16:00
Canada	Last Minute K-1 Interview Check.	No, I don't have a letter of intent for myself. Are people often asked for both? I assume me showing up to my interview shows intent! If people think it's required, I'll print one off and sign it. we did just to be safe. we were so terrified during our interview i can't remember what we were asked for when you need both letters in the 129F so, better to have and not need than need and not have	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-05-06 09:49:00
Canada	Last Minute K-1 Interview Check.	Do you have a new copy of your letter of intent? I can't remember if we were asked for both or not, but we provided both. So glad you're getting so close - don't sweat it!	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-05-06 08:52:00
Canada	State Department Trying to Make Getting a US Passport More Difficult	how in the world would they even verify that kind of information? seems the process for getting a passport would take years! honestly, i think they are putting this in place just so they can selectively deny people 'they' have on certain 'lists'. you know like, hippies and other degenerates : ) 1984!	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-06-02 07:55:00
Canada	I wish I would have known...	Ok guys so I got a interview with Mcdonalds Yay lol (not thrilled but hey money is money for now) Now should I tell them I am pregnant? or do I wait? I am almost positive I will not get the job anyways... Read rant from first page lol but im curious what would yall do? i wouldn't let them know until i was hired and already working. they'll look at you as a liability and also assume that you'll be difficult. it's none of their business anyway. good luck : )!	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-04-13 12:41:00
Canada	I wish I would have known...	i thought that orfee would have a hard time finding work too, he went for the first job that was offered to him. he's worth WAY more than what he's making per hour but i could tell he was getting ready to go off the deep end with depression from sitting in the house all day and watching my kid after school. my house was freaking spotless from all the cleaning he did daily, but i could tell he needed his own car/job/routine. everybody needs that - i wouldn't want to go for a ####### job either but maybe you could get your foot in the door volunteering at a local school? you need to get your sense of self back, then all these crazy southerners won't get to you so much. you're further south than me but no difference in my opinion: culturally/socially - america is in the toilet. i can say that, cause i'm a citizen i have ONE girlfriend that i've known since highschool and other than that i keep to myself. even with family, my viewpoints are totally opposite from theirs. honestly, i think i miss montreal more than orfee. he may be keeping it to himself but i check the montreal webcams every morning when i get to work just to get a peek (i haven't been since august ) and thus far orfee's only been said he's sad about 'losing' his french. we ate at the texas steakhouse the other night and i'll be damned if two quebec couples didn't sit right next to us. orfee was like, oo oo quebecers! and i said, you better go pull up a chair and use your french! haha. they were much older but i could tell he was excited. i know you are posting this for canadian input, but i just thought i'd put it out there that you'll find people with similar viewpoints eventually - they're just harder to find in amerikkka. i sincerely hope that eventually i'll be able to move with my son and orfee back to montreal, because i totally can't stand it here either! and p.s. you're NOT a loser. how many people can say that they successfully made a huge move and life change as you have done? not many. most folks are pulled up all comfortable like with their nails did and their american idol on full blast eating a second bag of doritos, only taking a weekly venture out to the walmart.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-04-13 08:36:00
Canada	Knocking on wood and crossing fingers and toes!	Good luck Vero! And French translators are needed around Virginia, I work for a wine importer and we have TONS of French speaking clients. Orfee has looked into freelancing as a translator, but it's hard to build a customer base. I guess you have to know what markets are in need.	val erie	Female	Canada	2011-06-10 10:59:00
Canada	IR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview	Unbelievable November 3rd.... How do I book a medical with no email...? AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so happy for you	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-10-12 15:58:00
Canada	IR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview	No no I am not scheduling a date I am signing up for the dhl so they can send my passport back, however I am now at a screen "Primary Applicant Data Entry" where i am entering all my info. I hope i am doing this right lol Ok this is gay, I dont understand. Now its telling me to schedule a appt on oct 26th...i have a damn appointment.. I am sooo confused i would call the number on the site (not that i've done this process) but, being as it is an outside contractor, you should have them walk you through the process maybe?	val erie	Female	Canada	2010-09-16 10:35:00