Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Canada	Booking An Appointment - Vancouver	Hi, I don't know if it's different for electronic submission, but usually Alberta would be sent to Vancouver. Of course that depends on the visa you're applying for as well. Some are only processed by Montreal. I would just give it a try and email montreal and ask if they will send yours to Vancouver. They rspond to emails very quickly in my experience. Thanks, you've been very helpful. I am doing an IR/CR1 Visa and from what I can see there doesn't seem to be anyone with this type of Visa going to Vancouver.... so maybe Montreal it is then. MBK	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-05-04 14:03:00
Canada	Booking An Appointment - Vancouver	Hey guys, I just received my letter from the US consulate in Vancouver for me to book my appointment. I am wondering if you're able to choose the date of your appointment or is it given to you in a first-come first-serve basis. I am actually hoping for a later date than they say earliest date is and it would be a lot easier instead of checking the site repeatedly to get the date of my choice. Steve Hi, I'm not sure this is the place to ask this: I would prefer Vancouver for the interview but it seems that b/c we opted for electronic submission of the Visa application form we are being sent to Montreal. I live in Alberta. Can one request Vancouver if it's closer? Thanks for your help. MBK	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-05-03 22:41:00
Canada	Police Clearance Letter from the Toronto Police Service	Hello VJers, I've been lurking in the forums for awhile now and all the information posted here has been such a great help throughout the waiting process! We are finally now waiting for our file to be sent to the Montreal Consulate and I would like to know if anyone has tried applying for a police clearance letter using the online system from the Toronto Police service? (http://www.torontopo...t/clearance.php) and if anyone knows how long it would take to receive one? I'm in the US visiting the fiance and so want to time everything right for the interview. Thanks! Don't want to confuse you as there seems to be a variety of replies. You can get a local one pretty quick but is that the one they want? I got mine through the RCMP it's for all of Canada so no matter where I lived in Canada I'm covered. Took 5 months and cost $25. I went to the local town police office, they filled out a form with all my information on it, took my fingerprints and gave me the form to mail to the RCMP. The town police charged me $25 for this serrvice. I think fingerprints would be the key here.... This was my understanding, if anyone wants to correct me, please do. Thank you Edited by MBK, 07 May 2011 - 09:43 AM.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-05-07 09:40:00
Canada	Crossing into the States while waiting for my Fiance Visa	So I have a few questions here, and not sure what forum to put them in, but figured the Canadian one would be a good place to get responses from people who may have similar situations, so: 1) I've just finished up my work in Vancouver, with a Fiance Visa interview scheduled for June 7th. With loads of wedding plans to finalize and no work for the next two weeks, would it cause any problems to cross the border to visit my fiancee in Seattle to help with the planning? It's a 2 hour drive south, and I have nexus and have crossed every 2 weeks since filing my I-129f without problems. I know Canadians can enter the States for up to 6 months without a visitor Visa, but I just wanted to know if going down and spending the entire 2 weeks until June 6th in Seattle might cause problems at my interview? 2) Since finishing work, and knowing I cannot get paid for work in the States while on the Visa until I get my EAD papers or green card post marriage, would it cause any problems if I were to volunteer or work as an unpaid intern? I've been offered an unpaid intership position with a consulting company, and wondering if by accepting it, I would violate the terms of my Visa and AOS once married? Thanks guys, any responses would be greatly appreciated. Only 2 weeks to go until my interview! 1) I go back and forth all the time, spent 6 weeks in Hawaii this winter, a week in N Carolina at Christmas etc. Plus once a month for general travel. I have a "Parole" which you get at the US Border, bring all your paperwork with you, ties to Canada etc, (too much is better then not enough). It costs about $70, we got mine for 6 months, I still get lots of questions (sometimes) when I cross but I smile nd answer them all truthfully and off I go. I had my USC spouse with me and I am unsure if this is a requirement, pls check on it yourself. Good Luck!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-05-24 20:56:00
Canada	Crossing the border from port huron	I was wondering if anyone has ever crossed the border with kitchen utensils and knives.. My dad bought us an early wedding gift .. a set of schäfer knives which come sin its own case and i don't know if there will be any problems crossing the border with it... would my dad just be better off mailing it to us? You will be fine crossing the border. They ask for weapons or knives and you can just mention them and they should be fine with them. I just brought 300 batteries across (for a flashlight promo giveaway at work) and no problems.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-06-03 22:53:00
Canada	visiting US while CR1	I don't plan to hire a lawyer for documentations/filing. I went thru the US naturalization processing without one and I was just fine. I might consult on the extension of stay while CR-1 is being processed.. You can get free information at the US Customs office in your local area. Lawyers do not know immigration rules. They look it up for you and parrot the info to you, are you willing to accept their word over a customs officer? Not Me....! We find the best people to talk to are the guys at the border behind the counter. I cross over all the time to go to our house in the US and have not had any issues I have a "parole" to go back and forth whenever I want. I thought if you stayed in the US for 6 months you had to stay out for the same period of time to reset your 6 months time allowance, but don't believe me; ask or call your customs office. Good Luck	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-06-09 22:31:00
Canada	One week to go!!!	By this time next week I will be home again from having the medical. I am stressing a little over this damn Air Canada strike. It doesn't bother me when you aren't flying but it certainly does now. I leave at 1:30 a.m. next Weds and have my medical appointment at 9:30. I have had to have someone cover my shift at work, as I was going to leave work at 11 p.m. and go right to the airport but now they are saying get there plenty early in case of delays and such. Then again on the 28th I fly to Montreal to pick up results of medical and stay the night, then have interview at 8 a.m. on the 29th and fly home that afternoon. I am hoping that the picket lines will allow the pilots and such to get through. I guess they already had a day in Montreal where no one crossed the picket line. I have to be able to get home to work. At least my days off are Thurs and Friday so I have a couple of days leaway if I have to. Anyone else have their interview on June 29th or am i the only one????? My boss flew from Montreal last night, airport was empy which was nice, but one passenger didn't make the flight so they had to return to the tarmack, unload the luggage to get the one suitcase off (this error they explained was due to inexperienced handlers) (so they got free drinks the whole flight!) and then when he got to Calgary they sat on the tarmack for 45 minutes b/c of the rain, the handlers didn't want to get wet. (Manager's I am presuming) Anyway, I think the strike will be over by the time you fly, the government is ordering them back. Good Luck!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-06-16 19:44:00
Canada	Beginning of the End	Well tonight is the beginning of the end of my visa journey. It has been a long 10 months since the beginning. First applied early Sept 2010, seemed like it would never end. Now tonight after work I head to the airport and fly to Montreal. Tomorrow I pick up my results from the medical (hope they are approved)!!! Bright and early Weds morning I will be at the embassy for the interview. I just hope I have everything I need. Have gone through the checklist time and time again and have what they asked for. Now how much extra does one bring??? If everything goes well, hubby comes on the 14th and we leave to cross the border on the 22nd of July. Can it really be happening???? Am starting to get a little nervous but excited at the same time. Thank God for VisaJourney. I have learned lots from everyone on here, its so nice to know you are not alone in this process. Congratulations! Good Luck and try to relax and breath! Easy to say, hard to do, we're up for our interview in Montreal on July 19th and I'm already going through every detail... :-) Write us a review, it's so good to read about someone else's experiences. All the best in your new life with your hubby/	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-06-27 22:31:00
Canada	Montreal	I never sent in any documents. I opted in for email service so never sent any originals to NVC. I sent them electronically so had to present the originals at the interview which were all given back to me there. Thanks for your reply. We opted in for email service too... perhaps we sent originals in error but it hasn't hurt us because the process has been smooth.... so far. :-) Anyway, thanks again, all the best life with Ed!!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-07-01 09:21:00
Canada	Montreal	I wanted to put in a few things that happened in Montreal when I arrived for my interview. First off I was staying at Tour du Centreville hotel which is right across the street from the consulate. Medysis had told me to phone before coming to pick up my medical results so i phoned from the airport. She couldn't find them!!!! That caused a bit of stress. After 10 mins on hold she came back on and said they were there. Whew!!! So I figured since I had time I would check out the 747 bus route. I talked to the driver and he said there was a stop a block from the hotel. It would be stop #7 and they announce it. So on the bus I go. There was two guys sitting beside me, one asked me if I knew were I was going? I said I didn't have a clue. They were from Sydney Nova Scotia. The driver had told me which stop i needed but after about 5 mins my mind went blank and couldn't remember other than stop 7. I noticed a women lower in the bus with a map of the bus route so went and asked her if I could see it. She was from Saskatchewan!!! She was to get off at the same stop as me. Well with all the windows open and the noise of the bus, when they made announcements you could barely hear him. The guys beside me said I think they just announced your stop. But I looked out and saw the stop but he went right on by!!!! Sheesh, now what? Someone else on the bus said you have to push the button. None of us thought of that!!! so we got off at the next stop and the lady stopped a guy on the street and asked him to help us find out way. He was very helpful and pointed us in the right direction. so if you are staying at that hotel, get off at the Jeanne-Mance stop, go south one block and the hotel is right there. I would recommend the bus to anyone staying along Rene Levesque Blvd. Got to the hotel and they people behind the desk were very friendly and helpful. They pointed out the Consulate and told me how to get to Medysis. Go South to third set of lights, cross the street and walk up 5 blocks to Sherbrooke, turn right and about a block is the medical office. When I got there again they said they couldn;t find my results!! Then she said oh here they are, please take a seat and she took them to the back. Of course the mind is playing tricks again at this point, "now what can be wrong?" "did they find something and the Dr has to talk to me?" ####### like that. Unnecessary stress. After about 5 mins she called me up, handed me the package, said don't open it and I was out of there. Found lots of little shops to shop in along the way back to the hotel. The room itself at the hotel was good. The room smelled musty when I got in, so just opened the windows and it disappeared. The room, especially the bathroom, was extremely clean. It was no Hilton Hotel but I was comfortable, got some food and ate right there. It had a kitchen, dining area and sitting area. I slept like a log so the bed was comfortable. Overall a good experience. Oh when returning to the airport, I went back to the Jeanne-Mance stop, went to get on the bus, the driver asked where I was going, I said airport so he said you have to catch it on the other side of the road. So over I go, next bus, get on, hand him my ticket from the day before because the ticket is good for 24 hours, so so I thought. He said no good as it had to be within the same day, not over two days!!! So got off the bus to get change as they only take exact 8.00. I dug in my purse, found the change and caught the next one to the airport. They come about every 10 mins. I hope this helps anyone else setting off for Montreal. Congrats on your sucessful "Visa Journey"!!!!! I'm coming up on July 19th so your info is great review. One question: on your Montreal Consulate review, you said they asked for originals of certain documents; I had to send all my originals in to NVC and they are forwarding them to the Consulate. Yours was different and I was wondering why because we are applying for the same type of Visa. Just trying to figure this one out..... Thanks and good luck!!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-06-30 19:23:00
Canada	July 2011 Interviews - Montreal	No one else yet??? I have my interview July 19th at 8am	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-06-22 21:38:00
Canada	How long to print and mail	Don't forget us. We are way behind you. Interviewed June 29, told at DOS sent out July 7. No word anywhere from anyone. I don't know what to do next. Husband is going back to Phoenix as now we can't get a truck until earliest Aug 2. Spend 1000 getting him here and home again. 15 business days and nothing in my hands and no one to contact to find out what to do next. Even the Senator's office isn't calling back anymore. Sorry about the triple post, I posted only once so must be a tech issue. Have my visa in my hands after only 72 hours, how is that possible???	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-07-22 18:26:00
Canada	How long to print and mail	So I have been nagging the DOS since we are on a tight schedule for moving. According to both the DOS and the Montreal-IV e-mail, our visas our approved, with no AP processing. They are in queue to be printed and mailed. We were approved at interview July 15th. Visas confirmed approved on July 20th. How long does it normally take to print and mail the visa's? I have next week off to help her move, which means they HAVE to arrive by Friday DHL to Winnipeg. If I have to cancel this trip, then it will delay me another week since I cant get off work the following week which just kinda sucks! DOS also sucks to talk to. I like them even less then NVC because its a different story every person. One guy named Matt told me that the DOS cant even check our cases. Twice. Third time i just hung up on him and called back! Sounds like something is wrong. My interview was July 19 and I am picking my Visa up right now in Alberta. It took them 48 hours to print it and 24 hours to deliver it. I don't know where you would call but I'm thinking you should start calling someone... Good Luck!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-07-22 13:04:00
Canada	Anyone have their interview July 11th? or the week of?	Anyone out there have their interviews July 11th or that week? Still waiting for my visa.. they are so rude on the phone when i called to check the status.. I thought it would have been a few days. thats what i had read.. im heading into my third week of waiting. Anyone else out there having any issues? how long did you guys wait? I had my interview July 19th and got an email this afternoon that DHL has picked up my Visa which I thought was exceptionally quick., I was expecting to wait for it. Sorry about yours, it is really hard to have to wait so long for it, people who haven't gone through this have no clue what a stressful process it is. Hope you get it very soon!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-07-21 18:33:00
Canada	Money transfer and goods to follow	You will have a multiple entry VISA (ie: you're married)? If you're K1 though - it is a 1 time entrance VISA - meaning once you enter you cannot leave the US until you have married and received AP or the GC....that's what I was referring to. Have not ever heard of a 'Goods to follow list'. Depending on the amount of $$ you plan on moving, most of us have used something like Custom House or just withdrew our money and moved it to a US account. I personally got a few money orders to the tune of several thousand and mailed them to my husband who deposited them in our US bank account. Depends on how much you plan to bring. $10000 rings a bell - I would google the maximum amount =- hopefully someone chimes in here. The $10,000 refers to Cash you carry on your person over the border, not cheques or bank drafts	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-07-26 21:00:00
Canada	Does the "Welcome to the U.S." paper really mean you passed?	I just spoke with him on the phone and asked him to tell me again what they said. He said that a man asked him about my 2010 tax return in his interview. Then he sat and waited for 5 hours until the woman at the window called his name, and he went up. He said she had a stack of papers, and one paper had a yellow sticky note on it. She asked him again, and he said his interview letter indicated that they had everything they needed, but that I could send my 2010 tax return asap if they needed it. She then removed the yellow sticky, stamped the document, and then handed him that page that says "welcome to the U.S." with instructions about entering the U.S., etc. and said "the computer is still processing your paperwork, but welcome to the U.S." to him. So, I don't know what that means. She didn't say that they would be contacting him or myself to obtain my tax return, so I'm hoping it means that everything is ok. But, yes, you would think that they would want my most recent return. We had our interview July 19th in Montreal, had my husband's 2010 Income tax copy with us, but it was not asked for or mentioned. Had our Visa 72 hours later... Not sure if this will help you but this was our experience.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-07-27 22:48:00
Canada	Visa and POE	It is all finished!!!! I am already in Arizona. We got he email on Weds morning that my visa was available for pickup. We also found a truck at last minute so drove for 2.5 hours to get the truck, back to Edmonton, I went and picked up my visa and pkg, loaded truck and crossed border the next day. We went through Coutts. They never opened the truck or asked to see anything. We waited the 1.5 hours for a officer to do the paperwork. This was her first immigration so she wanted to make sure everything was done properly. No hassles. We arrived in Phoenix today. UHaul was great, no breakdowns at all. It took a long time to get that visa back and still have no explanation as to why. Congratulations! Glad to hear you are "landed" :-) I went through Coutts on Friday, the long weekend Friday of all things and we were through in 45 minutes. No wait except for our turn. It is a smaller port but the officer knew his stuff and was very friendly.I asked him if he was going to officially welcome me to the USA and he smiled and did,,, haha We were a bit happy to say the least.... I find they are more lax at smaller crossings, the biggers ones tend to go more by the book. At least that's my experience, I have crossed here for the last 1 1/2 yrs with no hassles, tried to cross at New York whilie we were in Montreal to see my stepdaughter and her family and got turned back because they wanted 48 hrs notice to give me a parole. I am going back home tomorrow, I work until Sept 15th and then I will move permanently, I still have a house to sell so can leave my furniture there until then. Apparently you have an indefinite time to do that. I think I will sell my car too, too much paperwork to bring it over and it's not worth it.. I do wonder now that I am officially in the US am I breaking the law by working in Canada until Sept 15?? Anyway, enjoy Arizona, big change from Edmonton Wow!! I'm just 4 hrs south in Helena, not a big change just a different country!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-07-31 21:07:00
Canada	Hotel near Montreal Consulate	I have my interview on September 6th at 8am and I was looking at a hotel to stay at for the night before. From what I read, the hotel across the street had bedbug problems last year and have had a few credit card issues just recently. I'm looking for something that won't cost me too much and where I can keep my luggage until after the interview as it seems that I cannot bring anything but papers with me to the interview. Would anyone have any ideas or recommendations. Thanks for your help. We stayed at the Holiday Inn which was around $120 I think and it was a simple 10 minute stroll to the consulate. I won't take a chance with a known bedbug issue just to save a few dollars. The yuk factor is just too high. Anyway, when you are in the hotel use the stand for your suitcase and not the bed, I hear that's safer. Most hotels will allow you to check your luggage with the bellman for no extra fee. It's standard practice for people who are there for business. You check out of the room and leave your luggage for pickup later, they give you a chit to claim it, a tip is appropriate. If you sign up for Priority Rewards, the Holiday Inn also gives you the option of a late checkout time for free. Good luck!!!! Edited by Margie&Doug, 10 August 2011 - 08:47 AM.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-08-10 08:45:00
Canada	Crossing U.S. border with pending CR-1	I will definately look into it! I was kind of hoping that my daughter being a US citizen won't hinder me actually! I'm hoping they don't question me more because my husband and daughter are us citizens and say that they figure I will just stay or something...if that makes sense? If I have to get paperwork from him I will absolutely, not a problem with that! You also could try to get a parole at the border crossing where you will cross. I did this. They need 48 hrs advance notice and I got it on Humanitarian grounds.... you call the border office and ask for the Chief on duty and speak with her/him. Explain the need to visit, you could say your daughter is missing her dad and vice versa. They will ask how long... not sure if your time would be too long. My reason was my husband had a health problem and I needed to be there to assist him for two weeks. At least then you know you have been approved ahead of time. You still have to present yourself when you cross over and fill out a form which costs $6 plus fingerprinting... Failing that I agree, proving ties to Canada and which border guard you get will make all the difference. Good luck!!!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-09-22 21:33:00
Canada	Montreal medical and interview?	I'm considering booking medicals for myself and my son in Montreal, hopefully on the Monday before my interview. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with either of the two clinics there to help me with who I book with. If I were to book in Toronto, even though I live close, I still need to take time off work, and book a hotel and pay to have the medicals sent to me for my son and I, so I'm looking at being in Montreal on the day before the interview anyway, so what's two more days? If I do the medical on the Monday, would it really be ready for pickup on the Wednesday? I'm hinging on that being a deal breaker, and don't have the mental ability at the moment to peruse the forums completely for the info I need. (sorry, planning selling my house, moving, marriage and this visa thing as well as finding a replacement at my work is just killing me, so any help appreciated) I CAN go to Toronto, just trying to do what makes the most sense time wise and financially... this **** is expensive! Medysis in Montreal takes three business days. i.e. I had my medical exam Wednesday and couldn't pick it up until after two pm on Monday. When you book the interview there, they ask you for your interview date and then they back up your medical interview date accordingly. If anyone else has a different experience I hope they would share it with you. It is expensive. It cost us $4000 for everything including travel to Montreal.... Good Luck!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-09-19 22:09:00
Canada	things you can't bring into the consulate	For anyone who's done their interview in Montreal already: I know we can't have cell phones, ipods, or apparently "large purses" at our interview, but is there a place to leave those things before you take the elevator? Or am I arriving at the consulate itself with only a plastic/tote bag containing my papers? Don't take anything you do not need. That said: I had a few very small items and there is a cubicle about 4"x4" and if the item could fit in the cubicle, they took it from me and gave me a receipt for pick-up when I left the embassy. I had a binder and my purse which they searched. They didn't like my Cliff bar but when I explained that I needed it for my blood sugar they reluctantly were okay with it, they didn't like dental floss or my memory sticks. Oops, I thought I was okay but who would have known about these things? So, don't take it if you don't need it. No cell phones for sure. No big bags you will be sent away. Good luck Edited by Margie&Doug, 17 October 2011 - 07:23 PM.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-10-17 19:23:00
Canada	Medical Question [Personal Information Inside]	They are fairly obvious, you need only look at her wrist and they are there. My concern is that the doctor will ask for information, not that she'll volunteer it. I've suggested that she not say anything, but be 100% honest if they ask. I doubt if they will notice. They have a routine they follow with everyone and checking wrists isn't one of them. They do a blood pressure check but the lady who does it has nothing to do with any other part of the exam, she weighs you, checks your eyesight and takes your blood pressure and you are off the the x-ray people, then the doc asks questions from a form, doesn't even glance at you when you are answering, she then gets you to put on a robe in another room, checks your knee reflex, pushes on your tummy and looks to see you are thee correct sex and it's over! Your fiance's issues aren't documented and I would not say anything about them. Who hasn't had some kind of issue from way back that would be embarassing today....	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-11-07 22:12:00
Canada	Visiting US while K3 is in process?	Yeah the process of crossing is very dependent on the POE officer. If you ever call customs to ask them what can you bring for ties to Canada and that you want to cross while you have an immigration ongoing, they always tell you that it is best that you don't because it's technically not allowed and that you would only be allowed in at the discretion of the POE officer. When I tried to visit back in April and got denied I was downright treated like a liar and a hack by the officer I dealt with and he refused to listen to any explanation I gave him saying that I was lying consistently. When I went again 2 weeks ago I had more ties documents as a precaution but I gave the same answers as I had before to this officer and he looked at me and said, "I'm not going to lie to you, the last officer that handled your case said that you had been committing fraud" and I honestly told him that I had not lied then and I was not now, that I fully intended to return. I thought I wouldn't be let in since the past officer had said that I was committing fraud, which is a HUGE deal, but this officer let me in with a required return date for the day after my return ticket. I understand that the officers have to be very cautious as to who they let in because there are people that lie and try to commit fraud but it still astonishes me that I was honest both times crossing and said the same thing but got called a liar and then the second time I ended up being able to visit. That is such a rotten way to handle these special cases. Once when I was driving with my husband into Canada weeks before I had my CR1 approval, the POE told me that it was illegal for me to drive (at all) a vehicle in Canada, which was registered in the US. How stupid! I just gave my head a shake, where is the common sense in all of this? Go out and get the real illegals, not the ones who are going through the process the correct way. The system is almost broken, definitely very crippled. IMHO	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-10-27 20:40:00
Canada	Visiting US while K3 is in process?	Border agents have an important job to do! U can thank all the people that try and enter illegally for why they have to be serious. And yes some probably get carried away. Lot of times people take their tone/direction in the wrong way! They are not trying to be buddy buddy with ya,lol Thats what its best to be polite, and only answer what they ask, and look them in their eyes when speaking to them!! They are looking for signs of lying! They get lied to a lot,so don't blame them, blame the liers and illegals. I got turned away at Champlain NY, 5 days before my interview in Montreal and it didn't matter what proof I had to show them ties to Canada, I got a young officer who was on a technical power trip, "technically" you are not allowed to enter the USA once you have declared an intent to immigrate which you do when you file the I130. I had crossed over many times before for 9 months without problems and then the last time I wanted to cross over to visit my step-daughter who lives 90 minutes from the border I got turned away. It was extremely upsetting to say the least but he had the power and I was not able to convince him to allow me to enter even though I had my interview 5 days later.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-10-25 22:13:00
Canada	Visiting back home!	I wonder if my mom can bring some of my stuff without having trouble at the border? (she plans to visit me for the wedding, after i've already entered with my visa) I was told that someone else can bring stuff over for you. They had to have with them; a copy of my US Visa (the one they put in my Cdf passport) and then make a list on paper of what it is they are bringing in to the US. We've had no problems, you have up to 10 yrs to move your stuff over.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-11-29 18:25:00
Canada	EI After Move to the USA	I don't know if many people realize that they are eligible for EI Benefits after you move the the USA to live with your spouse. Just a few tips though, as it is a bit of a quagmire. You can file your ROE online after you are done working. There is a two week waiting period before benefits start and you must be eligible to start a new job in the USA right away. I moved they day after I left my job in Canada. You can sign up for direct deposit only if the bank account is in Canada, if not then they mail the cheques and it takes 10 days. It takes longer for the first $ to arrive so make surew you have some money set aside. Once you give them your change of address to your new USA address, you can no longer access your EI account online, everything is done by phone to a special phone number just for us Canadians who have moved to the USA. As soon as they have your change of address, you must send in a copy of your Green Card and your SSN to prove you are eligible to work in the USA, if you do not know this and only find out much later that you must send these in, you lose the weeks of entitlement between your first week of eligibility of ER up to the week you send in the GC and your SSN to the EI office. No one will tell you all this information right off the bat, so when you get someone on the phone with Interstate EI. ask them everything you must do to start receiving EI Benefits. I was very unimpressed with the EI office since I made every effort to make sure I knew what was expected of me and the office personnel I spoke with at length left out this important information and I lost 2 weeks of entitlement just like that. One last thing is you call in your report every two weeks, you cannot do it on line and the mail is too slow. You call this number, leave your name and SIN and your message and they return your call and you do a verbal report on the phone. (Not too hard.) I appealed and wrote a letter stating the facts, got a call from a very nice lady and she indicated that as soon as I changed my address to a US address ( the day after I stopped working in Canada), they needed the GC and my SSN, since I did not do this I lost my entitlement until they got what they need in their hand, proof I was legally allowed to work in the USA. (After a brief discussion, she agreed to split the difference and I got one week reinstated.) So know what you are supposed to do so you do not lose any weeks of entitlement. If you have any questions I can try abd answer them Have a good nite.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-11-28 22:14:00
Canada	Residency Status On CRA tax return	I found out yesterday that when I POE'd I was no longer able to contributew to my TSFA for 2011 or put anymore money in my RRSP. If I had known, I would have topped them both up before I officially became a USA resident. Just a heads up in case you are in a similar situaton.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-12-22 18:19:00
Canada	Merry Christmas...	Merry Christmas to all my fellow Canucks in the USA or in Canada. I am one of the lucky ones who can be back in Canada this weekend to spend the holiday with my family. For those who are still waiting to be with their loved one, I wish you all the best in 2012. Margie	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2011-12-24 21:14:00
Canada	an american in canada	[quote name='annajody' timestamp='1326332350' post='5097458'] my fiance and I want to marry he is American and I am Canadian....he has 2 children he has custody of and cant move to Canada....we want to marry in Canada and then when the paperwork is taken care of me to move to the States...what steps do we need to take for him to be able to come for a visit so we can marry [/qu My husband is a USC and he and I married in Canada in 2010 and no special visa was required for him to enter Canada to marry me. He was allowed to marry and stay but not for more then 6 months.He just went back and forth for 11 months until I got my green card. Good luck!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2012-01-13 17:16:00
Canada	K1 pre-interview medical	Your options are only Montreal or Vancouver if you are applying for a fiancee visa.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2012-01-24 14:55:00
Canada	US and Canada Pensions	I think you're in good shape. There seems to be some kind of reciprocity between many countries. Have you read http://www.ssa.gov/i...ets/canada.html ? I'm just ignoring this 'cos I've got 25 years before it'll be an issue for me. Good luck Thank you! That's a good site, I've bookmarked it. Time flies when you're having fun!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2012-02-24 14:19:00
Canada	US and Canada Pensions	I have a question for those who know; if one has enough credits to collect a Canadian pension and half the credits for a US pension: is it worthwhile to work in the USA to get a full 40 credits? If one has full credits in two countries; do you receive two full pensions, one from each country or do they combine into one full pension because of the agreement between both countries? And also; to receive Medicare at age 65 in the USA do I need a full 40 credits or can I draw from my husbands credits? Thanks for your replies.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2012-02-24 13:13:00
Canada	Any VJers from South Western Ontario?	Born in Chatham, raised in the Burg, now in Helena Montana for 6 months (summer) and Boynton Beach, Fl 6 months. And a few places in between. Life is good, retired and happily remarried after losing husband of 30 years to cancer. God is good!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2012-07-01 21:09:00
Canada	Credit Card?	Hmm, that's strange, I still have all my Cdn bank accounts and credit cards. My 2 banks and 1 credit union where I have these accounts have my new address in the US and it's not a problem. I use my Cdn credit card when I'm in Canada travelling so I avoid the extra fees some banks charge for using their credit card in a foreign country. I'd think most of us will or do go back from time to time. My two Cdn credit cards are the simple ones with no annual fees to pay so I plan to keep them forever. Also; my husband and I decided right from the start to use the currency of the country we were in and have not had to buy or sell currency and pay the bank fees. When we do need to transfer Cdn $ to the US we watch the rates and move when it's par or higher and use the credit union in the USA as they do not charge a fee. This has worked really well for us and has saved us a lot of money which is a good thing, always!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2012-10-28 20:20:00
Canada	moving with new household items	My family and friends threw me a bridal shower in Canada and I received new household items. Am I allowed to bring these across duty-free on my move to the states next week? , Or will I have issues because they're"New"? I don't want to take things out of boxes because they might break; should I just open the boxes and crinkle the box a bit so it looks used? Lol or will they be satisfied with the answer that they were gifts prior to departure? Please let me know. They don't care about your personal stuff, only things such as plants, fruit, etc. You are allowed to bring everything else with you. We had a list and gave it to them and they gave it a cursory glance and handed it back without a word. Just no illegal items that are part of everyone's admittance. No cash over $10,000 either. Cheques, no problem.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2013-04-09 12:06:00
Canada	Vaccination Record with dates?	I took a blood test to show my immunities and has these results in my file, it was accepted. No dates needed.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2013-05-03 09:58:00
Canada	New and confused	I believe if there is an emergency in your family, you will be able to go back to Canada with special permission. Someone please correct me if this is not correct.	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2013-07-07 21:35:00
Canada	How long did it take to get your Visa in hand?	Interview Tuesday, Visa in hand in Lethbridge on Friday!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2013-07-03 10:48:00
Canada	mailing in packet 3 to Montreal	I wrote my name and number in pencil on the back of the passport pictures and put them in a ziplock baggie so they would not get lost. Also it's really good to do a cover letter listing everything you are sending in the package, make a copy of your package before you send it so you know what you sent.   Good luck!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2013-06-12 22:47:00
Canada	Interview today: approved! Review of Montreal Consulate	Way to go !! And kudos for reading VJ and heeding the advice, we are finally done, (got my 10 year green card this month) and it was smooth sailing all the way because of this forum.  Congratulations again!	canuckbos	Female	Canada	2013-09-14 20:01:00