Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Vancouver Consulate Question	QUOTE (eyoa @ Apr 8 2009, 10:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I sent the Vancouver Consulate an email questioning the omission of the I-134. Here is their response: "To qualify, you must demonstrate to the consular officer's satisfaction that you will not become a public charge. The Form I-134, Affidavit of Support, may be required when the consular officer deems it useful. If available, we suggest that your bring a completed I-134, and all or any of the following documents – employment letter, bank statements, properties, tax returns, etc. to the interview." So the letter may be requested in some cases, but is not necessarily required. Thanks for that feedback... Not required but good to have. Out of curiosity, when is your interview?	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-04-09 00:19:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Vancouver Consulate Question	Sorry to see you have no answers, but I'd guess that you are correct that someone edited the I-134 out of the revision made on 3/30/09. I was wondering if perhaps they are sending the USC a letter directly to ensure the I-134 requirement is being completed. I dunno... Have you gotten your Packet 3 letter in the mail yet? Also, I should mention that I bank with USAA as well and the letter I got was a "Good Standing Letter" which details the balances and dates opened on all bank accounts but does not outline the amount of deposits over the last year. I will be providing statements to cover that portion of the requirement. Anyhow, they were able to mail that to me within 1 week. Hope that helps. Edited by Steve&Shannon, 08 April 2009 - 10:48 PM.	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-04-08 22:46:00
Canada	US army, not allowed to travel before deployment? :S	QUOTE (Ber + Ter @ Jan 29 2009, 06:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sooo, my fiance is being deployed for a year to Kuwait on March 20th. He was going to get leave in mid February so he could come here and spend a week with me, but now I've been thinking...isn't there some rule that prohibits American soldiers from leaving the country a month or two before deployment? I'm just thinking..because of all the war deserting that's been happening. And on another note, words probably mean nothing to them but I would not subject my love to a military jail. If he didn't want to leave, I'd kick his ar5e back into the USA. But he'd return, he really does love the army. So any input would be great guys. <3 And I can't go there, I'm back in school and I have no more vacation time from work (I wasted it to see him during christmas.) Provided his commander approves his leave and they are not right in the middle of last-minute pre-deployment training, everything should be just fine. Nobody's going to hold him prisoner for wanting to spend time with his loved ones before deploying, even if they are in Canada. I was a commander in the same situation and guess what, commanders are human too, with loved ones themselves who desperately want some time with their "Joes" and "Janes" before they leave for a while. Just stand by your man while he's away, okay? He's going to need your support during a long year and you will certainly come to find you will also need your own as you wait back home for him to return. Blessings to you both. Hold on and keep praying... Please tell him thanks for his service from a former Army of One.	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-01-29 21:40:00
Canada	Is travel (by the beneficiary) to the U.S. between NOA2 and the interview discouraged?	QUOTE (trailmix @ Mar 9 2009, 10:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No affect on the petition at all - you might want to check out the visiting guidelines on the VJWiki Canada page Okay, got it. Thanks for the responses. Small risk of being turned back at the border on her part and no impact to overall petition timeline or approval. Given the fact that she's got a seriously long track record of making monthly crossings (with all requisite documentation) to pick me up or to travel down here herself, this seems like no big deal. Provided I can get a rental car to use as a contingency in the unlikely event she does get stopped. As they say "past performance is no predictor of future returns..."	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-09 12:47:00
Canada	Is travel (by the beneficiary) to the U.S. between NOA2 and the interview discouraged?	Gang, I am the USC and my fiancee (the Canuck) lives just north of the border in B.C. Typically when I visit, I fly into Seattle and she comes across to pick me up at the airport before we both travel back to Canada. I think I remember reading somewhere on here that travel is discouraged between receipt of the NOA2 and the time the K-1 visa is actually granted. Why is that? How much of an impact could it make on the overall process? The reason I'm asking is because I have a trip scheduled for the end of April and I'm excited that we might have NOA2 by then, but I also want to know what logistics to plan for on that trip. Thanks in advance... Steve	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-09 12:11:00
Canada	DS-156/DS-160	Yup. DS-230 (Part I), DS-156 and DS-156K and are the big three form requirements outlined in the Packet 3 from Vancouver Consulate. The first (230, P I) you are supposed to fax back with the completed checklist you are instructed to download from the website in the letter that comes. There's not much to it really and I seriously doubt if there'd be any issues with it being filled out this close to when the consulate gets it from NVC. Vancouver doesn't want the DS-160 at this time. Good luck! Edited by Steve&Shannon, 11 April 2009 - 07:32 PM.	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-04-11 19:31:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	APPROVED!!	Congrats!!! Didn't have to wait too long...	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-23 23:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	NOA2 in Mailbox - No e-mail, no touches, no change to USCIS website, no problem!	After a long Monday today I was pleasantly relieved to find a letter from DHS in my mailbox. We got our NOA 2 on March 18, less than 70 days since NOA 1 and without any updates to the electronic notification systems. Not even a single touch since 1/9/09 when they cashed the check. For what it's worth, I don't care if they don't scan my packet or send me an e-mail, just as long as they keep up the pace at CSC and mail me the NOA 2!	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-23 18:13:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	NOA2 after 203 days!!!!	Congrats!!!	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-31 00:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	QUOTE (minnew @ Jun 8 2009, 10:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Steve&Shannon @ Jun 8 2009, 09:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (laura819 @ Jun 7 2009, 09:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> my fiance is POE on TUESDAY! sooooo excited!! Glad to hear you two will be together so soon! Good luck with all the wedding planning and AOS stuff. Congrats! Good luck on Shannon's interview tomorrow in Vancouver!! Are you going to be in Vancouver with her? Shannon got it done today on her own. We are approved! They gave her some grief about her history and situation, but ultimately granted her visas. Today's a good day... Good luck to all still waiting and thanks for the support!	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-06-09 22:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	QUOTE (laura819 @ Jun 7 2009, 09:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> my fiance is POE on TUESDAY! sooooo excited!! Glad to hear you two will be together so soon! Good luck with all the wedding planning and AOS stuff. Congrats!	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-06-08 22:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	Congrats!!! Way to lead the way and give them no excuse to disapprove you!	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-05-29 08:10:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	QUOTE (minnew @ May 25 2009, 03:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks guys! Sitting here waiting for my connecting flight to Vancouver as we speak and the more its hitting me its TOMORROW!! *deep breath* Ill update as soon as I can tomorrow! Best of luck to you in Vancouver today! Hope all goes well and that your medical goes smoothly. Shannon said they were a breeze...	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-05-26 11:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	QUOTE (laura819 @ May 19 2009, 09:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (jldut80 @ May 19 2009, 08:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (minnew @ May 19 2009, 08:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (laura819 @ May 19 2009, 04:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My fiance is APPROVED! Now just the wait for the visa!!! Good luck to everyone with interviews coming up! YAY Congrats!!!!! Thanks! It'll be your turn soon...I promise, everything goes faster after NOA2! Congrats! Nothing more to worry about now... Good for you two.	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-05-19 11:04:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	I am hand carrying the stuff I have up to my SO this weekend. We completed the Packet 3 checklist collaboratively and now I'm just taking my portion to her. As for the NVC number, it is not on the NOA 2 as stated above. You have to contact NVC, get an operator on the line, give them the USCIS case number (from the NOA 1 or NOA 2), and have them give you the Department of State (DOS) Consulate-Specific Case Number. For the Vancouver Consulate these start with VAC... Alternately, the NVC number is also on the letter the USC gets from NVC stating that they have received the packet and will be sending it onto the consulate within 10 days... Hope that helps.	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-04-28 17:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	It appears things are moving along swimmingly for some if not most in our cohort, despite the attempts by USCIS and DOS to derail individual processes. Just an update from our situation, we have an interview date: June 9th at 1PM... In the words of my better half, "YEEEEHA!" Her medical is scheduled and the wedding date is set. Game on, full speed ahead!	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-04-21 16:10:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	QUOTE (laura819 @ Apr 8 2009, 10:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Steve&Shannon @ Apr 9 2009, 12:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Talked to my Canuck tonight and she just received her Packet 3 letter from the Vancouver Consulate. It now references a downloadable checklist at the Vancouver Consulate Website. Minnew posted something about this in the Embassy & Consulates Forum. This new checklist doesn't have the I-134 listed, which is very odd indeed. I will be sending an e-mail to the consulate to inquire about that. I suspect that perhaps they are also mailing a letter to the USC to request the I-134, but I'm not sure. It could also be because the checklist is both a K3 and K1 checklist, so instead of adding confusion about I-134 vs. I-864 they omit it. It may also simply be a typo... Nevertheless, I just thought I'd mention here that the Packet 3 letter does come to the beneficiary no matter how closely you track the progress of your petition... You need not drive yourself nuts learning the ins and outs of the DHL website and shipping process at NVC to get from NOA2 to Packet 3... It has been entertaining watching those of you who've chosen that route though! Good luck to all! The reason that the I-134 is not listed on Packet 3 is because it isn't part of packet 3....you take it to the interview in person I understand it is for the interview! Packet 3 is the checklist outlining the requirements for the interview that the beneficiary must assemble prior to faxing their request for an interview. The previous version of the Packet 3 checklist on the VJ Vancouver Consulate Information Page had both requirements for immunizations and the requirement for an I-134. Both these previous requirements are currently omitted on the downloadable Packet 3 checklist on the Vancouver Consulate Website.	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-04-09 00:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	Talked to my Canuck tonight and she just received her Packet 3 letter from the Vancouver Consulate. It now references a downloadable checklist at the Vancouver Consulate Website. Minnew posted something about this in the Embassy & Consulates Forum. This new checklist doesn't have the I-134 listed, which is very odd indeed. I will be sending an e-mail to the consulate to inquire about that. I suspect that perhaps they are also mailing a letter to the USC to request the I-134, but I'm not sure. It could also be because the checklist is both a K3 and K1 checklist, so instead of adding confusion about I-134 vs. I-864 they omit it. It may also simply be a typo... Nevertheless, I just thought I'd mention here that the Packet 3 letter does come to the beneficiary no matter how closely you track the progress of your petition... You need not drive yourself nuts learning the ins and outs of the DHL website and shipping process at NVC to get from NOA2 to Packet 3... It has been entertaining watching those of you who've chosen that route though! Good luck to all!	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-04-08 23:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	QUOTE Did NVC give you your VAC#? or did you have to cal DOS?? The VAC# is on the form they send you to notify you of the I-129F receipt at NVC. That's what I got in my mailbox today. I've never actually spoken to anybody at NVC. I don't think that my packet has actually left NVC yet, but I really have no idea and may call tomorrow to see about this. The letter says "in the next 10 days..." they will send it to the consulate in Vancouver. Minnew, I hear you about the $ pit that is the K-1/AOS process. At every turn, a couple hundred USD. Shannon wasn't able to complete all her vaccinations today, so she'll have to hit the Travel Medical Clinic in Vancouver in conjunction with her medical. I can hear the sound of cash registers already... Pink Floyd's guitar riff... Ugh. QUOTE And SteveandShannon, did you call the NVC and they still said they had no record of your account after you had gotten the letter? So I didn't realize until today that K1s aren't put into the automated system, probably since they don't spend much time at NVC, but that's all I was using to check the status, so I had no idea that they'd received it until I checked my mailbox this evening. It was 7 days exactly since I'd gotten my NOA2 via USPS...	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-30 22:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	QUOTE Sweet! I hope mine was in that batch too!! Did you press 5 to speak to a live operator at NVC? K-1's are not part of the automated system. I hope it was too! Chances are good, I'd say. So where did you find out that K1's aren't part of the automated system and why, pray tell, doesn't it say that in the flowchart? Silly. Never tried the live body option at NVC, assuming until Laura's post today that they'd update the automated. That's even more silly. I should know by now... Question for anybody... Now that we've got our VAC# from the State Department, can Shannon get her medical done using that? She's close enough to Vancouver to make it worthwhile and that way she'd have it out of the way before her interview. Anything else she can do? We've pretty much finished all the stuff she needs for Packet 3 and she's essentially ready for the interview...	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-30 20:35:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	Just got the letter in the mail from NVC stating that they received the packet, assigned the VAC Case Number, and were sending it on to the Vancouver Consulate within 10 days. The letter was dated March 27th. I had been calling NVC for the automated updates to no avail, even up to today. They had no record of the case... Proves Laura may be right. Either way we're one step closer. Hope everyone else flies through the rest of the process too!	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-30 19:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	So Laura, have you confirmed that NVC has your case by talking to them directly? Has it already been forwarded on?	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-30 09:33:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	For what it's worth, it took CSC two days to get our NOA2 in the mail. The date on the NOA2 was 3/18/09, but the postmark wasn't until the 20th. It took 5 more days to get to us... I know it may sound trite coming from somebody with an approval, but you have no idea whether you've already been approved... Try not to drive yourselves nuts and keep things in perspective, especially knowing that CSC is on pace to work through their entire backlog soon... Besides, your case is being handled by CSC, which has about half the volume of VSC, poor souls... It may help to look at the number of approvals per month relative to the total number of filers by playing with the drop-downs on the screen. December and January had far fewer filers than a typical month and it does appear that total filings (as tracked by proportion of VJers on Igor's) is going down. Anyhow, my point is that the top 15 on Igor's list may not be capturing progress made on a daily basis, given the fact that they aren't being really consistent with electronic notifications.	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-26 22:54:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	QUOTE (minnew @ Mar 23 2009, 08:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Congratulations to all who have NOA2! To those still waiting it will come!! WOO HOO laura819!! congrats on the touch!! StevenShannon- Keep us updated on how NVC and Vancouver consulate goes I will be going the same route!! Thanks to all VJers and Congrats to all who've gotten their NOA2... To those still waiting, you won't have long now, I'm sure. At this rate CSC will run through their backlog of petitions by next month!!! Andrea - It does appear we'll be trekking along together through this process. Perhaps you and Shannon will end up at the Vancouver Consulate on the same day... Keep us posted.	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-23 22:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	January '09 I-129 filers at CSC	We got our NOA2 in the mail today! March 18th was the actual approval date and I live in Denver. No CRIS notification and no touches. Case still shows "pending" on the website, but I don't care that they didn't take the time to scan the packet, just as long as I have the NOA 2 in my hand and they continue processing all the others just as fast. 70 days is not too shabby! They just cut off a month and a half from what I was hoping for...	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-03-23 18:20:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	i'm lost and stresses out.	QUOTE (tantan @ Feb 5 2009, 07:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> i'm totally lost on what to do anymore... I called my embassy to know find out information and they tell me they don't provide any information regarding the visa.. -sighs- here's my problem. me and my fiance have completed the I-129, we got it approved about 2 weeks ago...he says i'm suppose to receive a package of somekind, that will contain files to fill out and stuff..but i've yet to receive it. i know some information can be gathered without said package..i dunno know what to gather anymore since i've read so many sites stating..this and that. it's confusing me. if someone could be nice enough to tell me, someone whose about in the same predicament as i am (not the lost part) but had their I-129 approved.. and knows what to do next. i'd really appreciate it..and if someone knows where i could maybe call to get information that would be a big help as well. thank you! (just to let people know) i'm a canadian, i'm the one being petitioned by an American Citizen. Okay, so we're not in the same spot quite yet, but I've already got my fiancee (the Canuck) working up her Packet 3 documents. We found the checklist you'll get once your approved K1 petition makes its way back from NVC to the Consulate, which for you should be Montreal, since it probably isn't Vancouver. (I'd know for sure if you updated your timeline... http://www.visajourn...e.php?id=18900) Check out the following links for the information you're looking for and the list you need to put yourself at ease by taking action to get the process moving forward. Know that you will get the Packet 3 from the Consulate, it is only a matter of time. In the meantime, you can get things in order so that when that happens, you send your info, get your medical and interview appointments, and your visa as quickly as possible. http://www.visajourn...mp;cty=Montreal - Specific to you, see the Packet 3 information. http://www.visajourn...p;cty=Vancouver - Check out the K1 Checklist links from this page, as it shows exactly the documents you'll need to gather on your side of the border and what the USC needs to send your way before the interview. It should be the same as the Montreal checklist, but there may be some slight differences. Hope that helps.	Steve&Shannon	Male	Canada	2009-02-05 11:17:00