ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
CanadaMore P3 questions...
Okay, fiance and I are wondering about the picture area on DS-156 that he filled and then printed out. We are supposed to attach (staple or glue, it says) his passport-esque picture there, correct? (I would assume so, but I don't want to jump the gun...)

ALSO: Just to make sure:

- Form DS-230 Part I
- Form DS-230 Supplemental Page, signed & dated
- Form DS-160 Confirmation Page
- Form DS-156K
- Form DS-156 (2 copies)
- Form DS-156 Supplemental Page, signed & dated (2 copies)
- Checklist, signed & dated

That look about right? (I took it directly from the cover letter, lol) All other docs are to be presented at his interview?
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-02-23 17:20:00
CanadaPeople? I POEd...
Grats, LGG! WELCOME HOME! :) (And yay for kitty being good!) Take a moment and breathe in a little -- IT FINALLY HAPPENED! I'm glad you got there nice and safe! :)
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-02-27 00:58:00
CanadaHOOOOOOOOOOOCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY
Okay, so yeah... I'm the USC, buuuuuuuut I was ALL OVER cheering for Canada, haha! I'm SO GLAD they won! (That's not to say that I have no pride in my country; I do... :P)

:D YAY!!! :D (I seriously couldn't think of anything else to write, LOL)
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-02-28 19:04:00
CanadaApproved!!!!!!!
I said it in the other thread, but I'll say it again: Grats, you two!! :)
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-03-23 18:47:00
CanadaPassing the border with the personal stuff.Looking for a sample list for declaration....
That sounds about what I'm doing... but the somewhat amusing thing is that I (the USC) will probably have more boxes of stuff than my fiance will! :D (I was up there for school, and I left a lot up there, haha.)
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-06 12:11:00
CanadaInteresting bit of information...
Hm, we've never had any issues with Sarnia. :/ We usually get the balding guy who asks "Where are you going? How long you going to be there? Do you have any food?" and that's it. We've only been pulled into secondary twice, once due to my stupidly throwing a blanket into the back (we're assuming, because they searched the car and knocked my box of timbits over...) and the other was a random in which we went inside for an hour or two only to have them ask us the same questions as outside... and that time they didn't search the car.
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-08 18:47:00
CanadaInteresting bit of information...
I'm not sure if this has ever been said here, nor do I know if it's actually true or not. I haven't seen it at all, but I figured I'd let people know.

My fiance crossed into the States today to come and get me for our interview, via Sarnia/Port Huron. He gave the border guard a copy each of NOA2 and P4. (Also had a letter from his boss, but they never ask for it...lol) She happened to mention to him that it was a good thing he decided to cross into the States when he did, because our NOA2 expires next week, and apparently, once it expires, he's not allowed to enter the States at all until he has his interview date, and then he can POE (obviously). He was like "Oh really?" and she said "Yep! I would have had to turn you away, but luckily, you crossed today!" and then wished us both luck on our interview and sent him on his way. ("Easiest border crossing into the States...like evar." -> his words exactly.)

Anyone ever heard of this "rule"?? I mean, I know the border guard has the final say, but to outright deny entry if NOA2 has expired and you haven't had your interview? :unsure: Either way, I'm super glad we decided to have him get me a week earlier now, that's for sure!!! :thumbs:
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-08 12:12:00
CanadaNeed some re-assurance.

Hi,

I think i'm a little confused as to what your questions actually are, but i'll try to help.

First, the social security income. It is permissible as income (well it is for the I-864, so I guess we can assume it is for the I-134). Therefore it would just be included as income.

As for the bank accounts, I'm not sure what you mean when you say it's not purely savings - so, anyway.

You have found out how to prove the worth of the house, so that's good.

The life insurance policy - I am assuming that it is some savings type policy that he can cash at any time - if so, you should bring proof of that.



THANK YOU TMIX!!!!!! :luv:

To explain the savings thing, it states on the I-134 "Amount that you have on savings deposit" or something like that, so I thought it meant just a savings account, but I figured out that it meant bank account, too. :)

Thank you again, SO MUCH for answering!! :)
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-10 15:00:00
CanadaNeed some re-assurance.
Okay, so I figured out how to prove what his house is worth, but I'm still a little lost on the life insurance and how to go about factoring in his Social Security stuff. I have his tax stuff which shows his social security benefits on it, but I don't know if we add that into his annual income, or if I can just explain it at the interview. We weren't originally going to use his bank accounts, but I'm thinking I might, since I found out that it's not purely his "savings" as the paper says. Sure, it means waiting for print outs to be faxed to me, but I'd rather be over prepared than under prepared.

If anyone can help with the life insurance/Social Security bit, it'd be a lot of help!! :thumbs: (Especially since I leave tomorrow! :wacko: )
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-10 09:35:00
CanadaNeed some re-assurance.
Alrighty, so after much drama surrounding this with my aunt/uncle and having to find someone else, we went and got all the documents tonight. I kind of want to run it by everyone, just to see if there's anything else that people could think that we need.

My grandfather gave us the following:

  • A letter from his employer stating that he made 15,578.38 in 2009. They also stated what he made in 2008. We have his tax transcripts from 2007-2009, as well as W2s, but they don't give out paystubs anymore. I do realize this is not the 20k.... soooo... we used other stuff, too.

These are the other things he put down that we are not sure how to prove.
  • He has about 20k in personal property. Probably more, but we rounded down.
  • He put down his life insurance, which is 29,500.
  • He put down his house, which is completely paid off and valued at $101,000.

He also gets Social Security, but we weren't sure how to factor that in. He, obviously, only has my grandma and him as his household, and all of this stuff adds up to about $160,000... but like I said, I'm not sure how to go about proving it. He's more than willing to help us out with whatever is needed.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. The only thing on my I-134, unfortunately, is the personal property, simply because I'm still a student and they won't look at financial aid, and I've been very unlucky in finding employment. I'm not on any government assistance or anything like that; I get enough in financial aid to take care of my bills. Luckily, that will change once I'm back because I'll finally have a job. Things have been so crazy stressful, and I just want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row.

:help:
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-09 21:39:00
CanadaMedical/Passport Pictures
Well, luckily, there's a Shoppers a few streets away, so we're hoping they'll let him go after the medical and get them. We tried printing them out and they didn't turn out very well. Guess all we can do is cross our fingers and pray!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-13 23:12:00
CanadaMedical/Passport Pictures
Yeah, we remembered at 10:30 tonight, and apparently, Shoppers stops doing passport pictures at 9, so now we're in a panic. There isn't a 24 hour one nearby, and everywhere else is closed, too... hence the panic on here, lol. OH and to top it all off, most of the Shoppers around Burlington don't open until 9. :(

I can't believe we forgot...
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-13 22:39:00
CanadaMedical/Passport Pictures
Okay, so my fiance and I are sitting here, and this little light bulb suddenly goes off over my head. WE FORGOT TO GET HIS PASSPORT PHOTOS. His medical is tomorrow morning! :wacko:

My question is: He had pictures done about a month ago for P3. Could we scan in & print off duplicates of those?? Or do we need them to be the ones you get from Shoppers?

:help: :help:

Thank you in advance!!!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-13 22:26:00
Canadatime between mailing packet 3 and interview date (Montreal)
Well, as someone that's gotten theirs recently - I know that those who filed Packet 3 in January and February (for the most part) just received dates for May, but like everyone else said, it could be awhile, or it could not. They tend to do them in spurts, like a water hose tied up and then they just let it go.

Good luck, though! I hope you get one soon!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-03-29 07:42:00
CanadaK-1 March Interviews !!!

We, ahem... weren't all that mindful of speed limits.


From what I've seen while up there, not many people are. :P Especially on the QEW between Burlington and Hamilton. :P
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-03-03 14:00:00
CanadaVSC or CSC
Very interesting situation. With what's written in the instructions, I would think that you could file at Vermont based on his last address in the US (which I would assume is his base in NY).
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-18 17:46:00
CanadaPrescriptions of the 'Ladies Only' kind... ifyouknowwhatimean

Further Bottom Line. I DON'T WANT KIDS right now. I'd seriously be devastated if I found out I was pregnant. Like... worse than a 16 yr old finding out after prom night.

I'm not kidding. I don't want this to turn into a 'oh kids aren't that bad'... lol... I just had to say that.


Looks like you have the answers you need. I just want you to know that you aren't the only one that feels this way. I echo your statement COMPLETELY!!!!! *hug*
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-16 09:39:00
CanadaDone with USCIS for two years!
Wow! That's quick! Congrats and enjoy your two years! :D (Well, obviously longer, but haha...)
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-04-21 16:00:00
CanadaAmount to pay at the embassy (k1 visa)
For now, it's $131 US. Exact change. :) Good luck!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-02 08:12:00
CanadaInterview and insurance?
I have no idea, and I'm glad you asked this question because it's something I've started worrying about, too. I mean, there's an insurance plan that I can get, but I haven't needed to yet. Hopefully someone can answer, haha... :unsure:
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-05 12:06:00
Canadahow detailed does the border declaration form need to be at POE?
Hm, interesting question, since I'm working on packing my fiance up at the moment, lol... well, not completely, but working on figuring out what's going where and such.

Anyone POE at Sarnia/Port Huron that can give advice? :D
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-08 02:31:00
CanadaUgh...
Oh no! What all happened? Like, what was said and such?? :( *HUUUUUUGS* I'm so sorry, hun!!!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-12 08:55:00
CanadaPutting my ducks in a row!

I think you also need 2 passport pictures in color 2x2. It was on the packet 3 list, I think. You can get them in a little booth in the consulate if you can't get them before hand (but you probably have them and just didn't say it here).


LOL Yeah, I have them. In fact, I had to keep moving the envelope containing them to type out that list. SIGH. It's too early, I think, haha. I do have them, though. :D
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-16 06:03:00
CanadaPutting my ducks in a row!
Okay guys and gals, we are HERE. It's t-minus 24 hours and counting and ... I'm the most calm I've been in weeks, amazingly enough. I want to run over everything once more -- maybe just to keep my sanity, and because I believe I do have everything now, LOL:

To get into the consulate:

My passport
Matthew's passport
Interview Letter

To give at the window:

Matthew's passport & copy of bio page
Birth certificate & copy
Police certificate & copy
My updated Letter of Intent
Affidavit of Support & Supporting Evidence
DS-160 Confirmation Page
Medical Envelope
XPressPost Mailer (12x15)
$131 USD


I've written down the Tracking Number from my mailer (three times thus far, LOL) and plan to be there around 6:15 tomorrow morning. For the first time, I actually feel prepared and ready for this. The only thing that I'm worried about is a) that I don't have a job RIGHT NOW and b) that I don't have medical insurance RIGHT NOW. These are things that are being remedied upon returning to the US. The only reason I don't have the medical insurance right now is because I haven't needed it, but I do have access to a plan through my mother's doctor's office, haha. The job... well.. meh. Haha.

Thank you again, everyone, for all of your help!!!!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-16 05:40:00
CanadaPutting my ducks in a row!

I didn't include any bank information. As long as you or your co-sponsor makes 125% of the poverty guidelines for their household size you don't have to worry about bank stuff. That's really only if you are trying to fill a gap with what you've got in the bank. Oh, and just in case you missed it in our thread I had to use a co-sponsor, too. So I've been there! :)

I wouldn't do a cover letter for the I-134. It's just going to get thrown in the trash probably. You will be asked for your things in advance and as long as it is paper-clipped or something I don't see a need for a cover page. The woman actually tore off a couple of our paperclips and tossed them in the trash. But by all means, if you want to make it look pretty, go right ahead! I'm sure it'll be the prettiest I-134 there! :P

Hang in there girlie he's almost home!


Thank you SO much Kayla!!!

As for it being the prettiest... you should see my expanding file folder. :devil: I'm a very colorful person in all aspects of my life, and my file folders are no exception!!!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-11 17:34:00
CanadaPutting my ducks in a row!
I keep panicking and going over all of my I-134 stuff... and maybe I can get some re-assurance:

I'm a student, and the economy has not been nice enough to grant me employment as of yet (so hoping that changes) so all that's on my I-134 form is personal assets, totalling about $18,000. (I own a car, several computers, other misc electronic equipment, etc... all I'd be willing to sell at a moments notice if we needed to.) I was lucky enough to get a trust fund at one point, but that money has long since been spent (hence the car and such, etc...), and thus can't be used (obviously, lol). My bank account doesn't have much going through it, so I didn't provide anything for that. Because of all this, we went with a co-sponsor.

After some drama surrounding my aunt/uncle, we decided to go with my grandfather. Here's what we have for him:

Between his part time job, pension and SSI, he makes approximately $41,000 a year. I did check to make sure pension/SSI counts as income, and was told that it does. To prove this, we provided tax stuff/W-2s for all three sources from the last three years. We also have a letter from his employer stating his position, date of hire, and how much he made last year, along with print outs of his yearly earnings since he started there (Only been a couple of years), all on a company letterhead.

For personal belongings, we put roughly $20,000, though we figured it was probably more than that.

He owns his home 100%, and it's valued at a little over $101,000. To prove this, we have a print out from the County Assessor's office showing location, size, and other miscellaneous property info (even tells us what the starting value was and how much it's gone up over the years).

According to the instructions for the form, it just says "provide ANY of the following", which leads me to believe that anything to prove what we put on the form will be sufficient. As he makes enough to cover himself, my grandmother and Matthew, we used that, his personal belongings, and his house; we didn't feel we needed to use any of his bank accounts, and as such, we don't have anything for that.

My question is: Are we going to be okay without any bank information? I'm seriously freaking out over this, and despite everyone around me telling me not to, I can't help it. Guess I'm hoping someone else didn't use it, and is willing to ease my troubled mind over it.

... :help: ...
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-11 17:02:00
CanadaPutting my ducks in a row!
Oops! Forgot to mention the DS-160 Confirmation page! Well, I have a whole copy of packet 3, so I'm sure that will work. I'm still up in the air about the Affidavit of Support cover page...
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-10 20:58:00
CanadaPutting my ducks in a row!
First off, I'd like to thank you all for being such a tremendous amount of help during our journey. The amount of questions you've answered for me, and the times where you've all re-assured me has been phenomenal. With that said, I ask for your help yet again.

We're leaving for Montreal on Friday, and I'd like some oversight to make sure I'm not forgetting anything!

Packet 4 (+ 1 copy)
Sealed Medical Exam (Do we need to bring the x-ray? I didn't think we had to, but you never know...)
Long form Birth Cert (+ 1 copy)
Police Cert (+ 1 copy)
Passport Photos x2
Passport (+ 1 color photocopy of bio page)
I-134 for me (+ 1 copy - no evidence going with this, as the only thing on there is my personal belongings :wacko: Can't express how much I'm REALLY hoping that job pans out once I get home...)
I-134 for my grandfather (+ 1 copy - Evidence: 2007/2008/2009 Tax forms, W-2s from employment/SSI/pension, Letter from Employer, Home Ownership Assessment)
Updated Letter of Intent (+ 1 copy) (Do I just have him do this, or do we both need to make new ones?)
Assortment of cards we've given each other, plus a few random photos that were originally sent, as well as the originals of documents sent with original submission packet.

And of course, the 12x15 Xpresspost mailer, which we'll be picking up Friday on the way out of town.

I was thinking of making a cover letter for all of the Affidavit of Support stuff, since there's a lot there - I'm a bit OCD with the organizing; not sure if this would be necessary/welcomed or not, lol.

Any other thoughts/suggestions/etc? Do I have it all, or am I missing something? I can't seem to find anything that I'm missing, but better to have more opinions than just my own!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! :D
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-10 06:48:00
CanadaMathew is on his way!
Grats!!!! Keeping fingers crossed for a safe drive!!!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-15 16:21:00
CanadaWe were...

When does your fiance' plan to move?


We are spending the summer up here, and then we'll do the whole POE thing in August. :)

Edited by frenzyheart, 17 May 2010 - 04:56 PM.

frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-17 16:56:00
CanadaWe were...
APPROVED!

We got to the Consulate at about 6:05 (stayed at Hotel Dauphin). We were second in line. The couple in front of us had the two CUTEST little girls, and I swear the older one kept my sanity. We went through security, then headed down the stairs (I almost fell down them, to be honest), and then sat at the elevator and waited. We got upstairs around 8 or so. We were called first, so he went to turn in all the paperwork and pay his fee, then he came back. During the time between that and the actual interview, the little girl I mentioned above started counting while her dad walked around carrying her. He walked down the hallway where the interview rooms are and all of a sudden we hear "100!!!" and when he brought her back out she was giggling and said "I counted to 100!" Haha. So adorable. On a personal note: it was "well behaved children" day at the consulate. Only one little girl was crying, but that didn't last very long.

Our interviewer was really nice; asked us all the basic questions: When did you meet and where? When did you meet in real life? Then she asked us both what we do, and asked a little bit about what type of photography I want to get into, and then she welcomed him to the US, and I swear the room nearly imploded with the stress relief, LOL.

We were out of the consulate by roughly 9:15.

Thank you so much everyone!! I can't even begin to explain how happy I am right now. :) I wish you all a wonderful day, and to those who have interviews this week, GOOD LUCK! :D
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-17 08:54:00
Canadapsst, I got my driver's license today (for the 1st time ever) at 26 :)
Don't feel bad. I'm 26 myself. Lived in Iowa all my life, and I still don't have my license. LOL. :D I'm learning though!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-18 13:02:00
CanadaOh the irony of it all
The first weekend that he and I met in person, my mom and brother went with me to the airport, and then dropped us back off at my apartment. At the time, I was living in the same apartment building as my aunt, so you can imagine how many times my aunt needed to "borrow a cup of sugar", "check to see if something was working" (she was the manager at the time) or even my personal favorite -- "Your cousin wanted to come up and see you, and you know you can't say no to that adorable face." (... especially when that adorable face showed up at my doorstep at 2:45 AM once, crying, and telling me "I can't find my mommy!", and then we found out that she locked herself out, so impromptu sleepover it was! The kicker was that her mom was in her bed, asleep. Sigh.)

The next day, he ended up meeting my entire family. No lie. It was my birthday party, lol, and amazingly enough, everyone showed up. Everyone loved him, too, so it worked out.

I echo the statements above - just be supportive and all that. :) I think it does help that you met your hubby through the same medium - gives you a bit of an edge that most of our parents didn't really have. :) (if that makes sense...)
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-10 01:33:00
CanadaAOS Pending - Applying to College
To be honest, all you should need to do is talk to Admissions. They'll help you get it all sorted out. I don't think you'd be counted as an international student, but you are right -- there is that fuzzy gray area, and I'm all too certain that they could help you figure out where you're supposed to be. :)
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-05-25 06:43:00
CanadaAnimal Crossing (for the DS)
Never really got into Animal Crossing. Pokemon, on the other hand.... :whistle:
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-06-02 07:54:00
CanadaThe Vent - Part Trois
So, with the impending interview date, and the fact that I'm now leaving the States a month before I was originally going to... OF COURSE I GET SICK! Luckily, I think it's just allergies from the season change, but still... I feel like ####### and I have to pack and do a million things to get all the paperwork together and BLEH, all I wanna do is SLEEP.

I need tea. :(
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2010-03-24 02:07:00
CanadaThe Vent - Part Trois
QUOTE (Krikit @ Dec 6 2009, 03:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Ugh. Hope things start looking up for you, Frenzy.

You know, I always looked at life this way..... We are all allotted a certain amount of terrible/bad/disheartening events. If they happen in clumps, you're further along towards striking them off the list and the sooner something better is going to happen. Pretty soon you'll have used most of them up and every day will be rosy.

Kept me sane, anyway. laughing.gif


See, in my eyes, all the bad luck that surrounds me has boiled down to this: I'm paying for something I did in a past life. I had to have done something REALLY bad (I always say that maybe I was Hitler or something -- just to give an idea of the grand scale of it all) to be stuck with what I have.

That's not to say I'm not grateful to be alive or that I don't appreciate all the things I have... it's just to say that I'm sick of the crappy things that do happen. It's the same way with my mom. We've been having all these really, really bad things happen, and I know people that lie/cheat/steal/etc, and their lives are just peachy keen. It's unfair because my mother has always done everything by the book, and in turn has taught me the same, and look where it's getting us? sad.gif

I can only hope you're right though -- I want those rosy days!!!!!!
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2009-12-06 18:44:00
CanadaThe Vent - Part Trois
Aww, I hope you feel better soon!!

In my own news? These past few weeks have just been horrible, but it's all leading up to what I'm almost certain will be the worst week of the year. First off? My car is sitting in my driveway, completely dead. Don't know what's wrong with it, and as of right now, I can't afford to have it looked at. Next? This week is finals week, so I'm working my butt off for that. Things are just all around bad right now in every aspect of life (including relationships, though it's more just that we're arguing over stupid stuff -- normal, I know -- and I know that things would be better if he were here...) and I'm finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit at all, which is something that's not usually difficult for me to do. Heck, I'm even finding it hard to get out of bed each day...

Boo. sad.gif I really hope NOA2 comes this week. I need a pick me up. :/
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2009-12-06 15:37:00
CanadaThe Vent - Part Trois
QUOTE (Rhiann @ Dec 3 2009, 12:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (frenzyheart @ Dec 2 2009, 08:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I try and make things easy for everyone involved in this wedding planning process. Our projected wedding date has changed roughly 6 times now to accommodate his parents. For anyone else, I'd tell them to go eff themselves, but these are his parents, and his parents have been nothing but wonderful to me.

We finally settled on July 31st... then realized how backlogged Montreal was. Still hopeful, we planned a secondary date of October 10th. It's a Sunday, but leaves quirkiness into the date (10/10/10), and it's also a holiday weekend in Canada. I'm fairly certain we'll have the visa by then... but what if we get it sooner? So I start rethinking again -- and then realize that my photographer is booked on July 31st. I don't want any other photographer, so that day is now null and void. October 10th is viable (his family isn't that large, and not all of them are going to make it down here I dont think..) but GRRRRRRR.

I know that most of this probably makes little to no sense, but I need to ramble. October 10th is so far away, but maybe I should just go with it on a hope and a prayer that we have his visa by then.... sad.gif Montreal's not that backlogged that it would take almost a year to get it ... right? wacko.gif


You have to be careful with 10/10/10. It's considered a very lucky day to get married, so you might want to book way ahead of time incase you can't have your July date.



Oh yeah, I definitely know that already! BUT We figure if we can't get anywhere, my aunt and cousin have about 2 acres of land that we can use for free.. tongue.gif
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2009-12-03 02:00:00
CanadaThe Vent - Part Trois
QUOTE (Danu @ Dec 3 2009, 12:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
it took me 5 months from noa2 to my interview, but they are catching up on that now. It shouldnt tske a full year but count on about 7-8 months from your NOA1.


That's what I've been planning on, and that's the high end. It's just enough to drive me batty, though, lol.
frenzyheartFemaleCanada2009-12-03 01:43:00