ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
CanadaPassports
Because Murphy's Law is in full play throughout this entire journey, my vote is to go to the office and be sure.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-28 08:52:00
Canadaanother Vancouver visa!
Hey, hockeygal, this is the kind of news we all live to hear! Congratulations!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-20 18:56:00
CanadaInterview letter
Actually, it's a special security pass to go to the washroom (can) because Canucks have been known to drink a whole 2-4. :P
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-29 21:11:00
CanadaJersey meets Montreal.

Another Canookie in the Tri State Area. I figure if we get enough of em we might be able to clean the place up a bit!

My husband is a Canadian born in the Azores, and the Portuguese are the world's best cleaners. He detailed my house once and it was the first time I saw someone wash the walls. So when he finally gets to the Tri-State area, I'm going to ask him to do something about the smell near Newark and Secaucus!

Meanwhile, God is still having fun with me. I'm interviewing for a much better job (but a longer commute), which will allow us to buy cleaning products by the caseload!

Hey Kaitie, tell us about your new life!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-30 08:11:00
CanadaJersey meets Montreal.
Finally. I should be jumping for joy but I'm too drained. I-129f approved in July and no interview until January?! Even third world countries are faster.

At least it's on a Thursday so we don't have to wait a week-end. Now I'm starting to worry about the weather. Not a good time of year for driving. Trains and planes will be a better bet. Good thing I know where to get Sleeman's in Jersey!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-22 19:52:00
CanadaApproved in Vancouver
Hey! Hooray!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-29 21:08:00
CanadaTax question

The guy who wrote the Border book (forget the title) advises against keeping RRSPs in Canada if you will live and retire in the USA. I can't remember why though!

That would be Robert Keats, and if you need a good cross-border accountant, they're the ones to contact. David Levine

They amended my tax return after Serbinksi submitted it in a way that could have cost me tens of thousands of dollars extra. I don't wish to tortue anyone with the details, except to say, you can leave Canada and still be considered taxable on your worldwide income!

Be sure your last Canadian return is an "exit return," and that you cut any ties Rev Can can interpret as making you taxable. To avoid complications, keep your taxes separate from your American spouse until you're officially free and clear.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-03 09:49:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
They may be faster with K1s than K3s. Not sure why I'm waiting so long. Could be cosmic payback for beaning my brother with a nine iron when we were kids...
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-14 20:49:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Mo! Fantastic! Seventeen is THE luckiest number! I was touched on Saturday, so who knows?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-14 20:37:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
ljs, you're home free and there's nothing to get nervous about. Everyone who passes the interview says it's a breeze ... just a formality. Just bring your plastic shopping bag full of the documents they'll never ask to see and you'll be fine. You're done! Start thinking about what you'll do after the interview.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-09 19:05:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Welcome. Pull up a chair. The beer fridge is stocked with Labatt's and Molson's. On the dessert table, we feature Nanimo bars and butter tarts. The reading material includes the Globe and Mail, MacLeans, and Canadian Living.

We have been designated a charity of some sort, and have regular visits from hockey players and comedy stars doing feel-good tours with photo ops.

We are practicing our American English. Say "napkin," instead of "serviette." If you want a pop, ask for a soda. If you plan to do any driving in New Jersey, learn to stick your finger out the window. That's right, your flip-the-bird finger. It's a friendly, opening remark kind of greeting.

Get set for paying for your own health insurance and taking expensive pills for high cholesterol because the fast food here will kill you.

Thanksgiving is coming Nov. 23 and is the most heavily traveled day of the year. Notice there's only one "L" in "heavily" and traveled."

It's 5 o'clock somewhere, so open me another beer, eh?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-09 08:08:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
ene, congratulations on getting your date! But I'm wondering ... we have people scheduled for November and now January. Are they taking off the month of December in Montreal?!

Edited by Jersey Girl, 07 November 2006 - 07:42 PM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-07 19:39:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Okay jg, I'm hangin' in there. :girlwerewolf2xn:
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-06 23:23:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
You know, smallcan, it's a full moon tonight (or close to it). Which can only mean one thing. After telling us December or January or February, we'll probably get a letter soon saying the interview is in 3 weeks!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-06 20:20:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Wish I had something more positive to report, but I called Montreal and was told we are on a waiting list for an interview for January or February. I also received a reply to my email, which said an interview date has not yet been scheduled, but we'll receive a letter in 4 to 12 weeks. If it's February, this whole process will have taken 11 months, about twice as long as we originally imagined. :wacko:
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-06 20:09:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
smallcan: knock yourself out:
Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov

jg, you're absolutely correct. Sometimes it's best not to know. Isn't that what childhood innocence is all about?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-03 19:44:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Well, I did not get time today at work to call Montreal. But I'm making up for it now, by opening my second Molson XXX! I figure, if I drink the entire six-pack, I'll have an interview date by the time I regain consciousness. :P
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-03 18:53:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread

I'm not really sure how much time I might have saved. Given the past couple appointments Montreal has sent out, maybe only a couple of weeks? I think only time will tell really. It sure saved a big chunk of my sanity though.

Mercy, congratulations on your Vancouver strategy working. I have to tell you though, I may have forfeited my own sanity, which must be a common side effect of this process.

I moved back to my native New Jersey a year ago, after living in Canada 38 years. When people here ask why I'm so edgy, I say it's because I married a Canadian in March and he had to go home immediately. They can't believe a foreign spouse can't come to the States "automatically."

That's when I launched into a bizarre imitation of a French embassy official, complete with Montreal Franglais acccent, saying through my nose" "Ah well, you know, we cannot help all dese poor people, because we are having our cafe au lait and croissants, and as you know, we only take calls between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, and there are so many of them, mon dieu, they are like cattle, besides, we are still on strike, you know..."

Not being Canadian, my New Jersey co-workers had no idea what I was going on about. One said: Wow, Marianne is such a good writer, she can carry on a conversation with herself!

(I may try calling Montreal today. And if I get the mean lady, I might treat her to some real New Jersey swearing!)

Edited by Jersey Girl, 03 November 2006 - 06:30 AM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-03 06:28:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Congratulations, jg! You've had a fairly quick journey!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-10-31 18:43:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
It's clearly a sign of the onset of insanity that I keep looking for a predictable pattern here, but it occured to me that most of you are K-1s. Maybe there's a pile of papers that's getting pushed faster than us K-3s.

You're right to wait, jg, because patience has always been the lesson we're supposed to learn in all this, and most phone calls get rebuffs or misinformation anyway. You see? I'm fatalistic and jaded already, so completely bonkers can't be far off!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-10-28 08:14:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
There has never been any rhyme or reason in any of this. There's an expectation that the government would be fair and predictable. Ha. Nor is there any cause and effect, jg. Calling doesn't make them give you an interview. Or does it? :unsure:
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-10-28 06:45:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Wow, leafgal, this is terrific news! Yay!!!!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-10-27 18:49:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
I still keep track at the USCIS site. track online

I also work at a job where I can't call Canada (no long distance allowed). But I've got an international phone card and wondered if it might work from a pay phone. Not sure.

But I try to hang loose because I've gotten enough grey hairs this year already, and I don't need the stress of misinformation. Like everything else, we have to be patient, know that it's in the works, and that it WILL happen at some point. Worry and anxiety does not push the rock up the hill any further!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-10-25 06:51:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Well, I was touched again a few days ago. Hope something's about to happen ... for everybody!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-10-24 19:11:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Don't know if this is significant, but our I-129f was touched 3 days ago. That's a month after sending the checklist to Montreal.

Edited by Jersey Girl, 12 October 2006 - 05:34 PM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-10-12 17:34:00
CanadaMontreal Interview Waiting Room Thread
Looking back over this past year, I can't believe I thought the whole K3 process would take 4 to 6 months. What was I smoking?

If the interview doesn't come until January, it will be 10 months. That's 10 months of anxiety, beer, IMBRA, grey hairs, taking a job I hate so I can be a sponsor, and did I mention being celibate for the first year of marriage?!

I've tried to keep a lid on my emotions, light my candles, and say my prayers. But #######? I'm about ready to snap. And you know what that means. Pass the chocolate cake. Yeah, the whole damn thing.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-10-10 20:17:00
CanadaGoing to Canada this week to see my Honey!
Wishing you a wonderful trip and a successful interview! (There's good Christmas shopping near the Hockey Hall of Fame on Front Street!)
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-05 16:56:00
CanadaDivorce and mariage certificate
I've been married 3 times previously and we're going through Montreal. Early in the process I send away for certified copies of ALL marriage and divorce certificates.

Why take chances? Do it NOW because it can take months to get some of these things.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-28 08:58:00
Canadaneed advice
According to this page, the Commissionaires have a digital fingerprinting service that reduces the time.
prints
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-07 19:45:00
CanadaWhich province are ya from?
Born and raised in New Jersey. Came to Canada as a teenager and stayed, mostly in Ontario. Became a citizen after 27 years. Now a dual of Canada and the U.S.

Met a man from the Azores in Toronto and encouraged him to get his Canadian passport after he'd lived in Canada 27 years. He's now a dual of Canada and Portugal.

Decided to move back to New Jersey, and it's a hoot to see the Soprano State through the eyes of someone who grew up in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!

Edited by Jersey Girl, 13 November 2006 - 07:38 AM.

Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-13 07:35:00
CanadaIn USA - things are moving fast
It's not over, it's just beginning! We are all still interested in your journey and experience In Wisconsin, the "cheesiest State"! So keep posting. Tell us what it's like in December and for the holidays.

(I once went to Knitting Camp in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Quit laughing!)
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-08 20:28:00
CanadaWho's going home to Canada for Christmas this year?
Looks like a few of us may be separated from our squeezes this Christmas. But hey, we can send cards, talk on the phone, buy gifts to give when we see one another, and generally be grateful that this journey will be over at some point. Absence makes the heart grow ...
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-11-25 16:40:00
CanadaVisa in Hand.
Congratulations! Your news has lifted our spirits!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-09 08:56:00
CanadaShould we try to visit?
It's always a gamble and you need to be prepared for being sent back. But you're so close to the finish line! Why not wait it out? Or have the American visit Canada?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-10 07:54:00
CanadaHome sweet home
What a journey! When's the book coming out?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-10 17:13:00
CanadaThings To Think On
This is a giant leap forward into the future, with a partner, who hopefully, will be the same one when death us do part.

So if you want to get philosophical, this is a good time to look at the past, with all its regrets, lost opportunituies, and dead ends we followed. We're only human and we've all made mistakes. But now's a good time to carpe diem and make life mean something, for ourselves and everyone our lives touch.

If you ever wanted to be more compassionate, now's the time. If you ever wanted to express your creativity, now's the time. If you ever wanted to do more for family, now's the time. If you ever wanted to reach more of your potential ...

Many people slip into relationships and easily slip out again. But we have to want this and sacrifice for it. So we should be stronger as couples. The question to ponder while you're waiting is: how else can I become stronger?
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-12 07:01:00
CanadaUgh I was hoping it would be a LOT faster
Relax. Everything happens for a reason. There's a silver lining but you just don't know it yet.

I too was disappointed with January 18 in Montreal. I thought it would be faster. But now I realize how fast December goes, and how ridiculous it would have been to try and combine a major holiday and major reunion.

Even though we'll be apart, and with with our respective families for the holidays, we'll have a colassal party for my husband when he enters the U.S. legally. It'll be the perfect time of year for a Welome Home party.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-08 19:49:00
CanadaSo confused
The best advice anyone can give is to tell you to get set for a 6-to-12-month-K-visa process. There's no fastlane, especially for being eligible to work in the U.S. That's another process, so add time for that.

Yes, you can risk coming and doing AOS. Or you could go for CR-1, which seems to be taking the same time as a K-3 and has the advantage of being eligible to work on entry.

If you want to plan a life together, then plan on a visa journey that's time consumming, expensive, sometimes frustrating, and very challenging because most likely, you'll be apart.

That's the tough love you seem to need. Good luck!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-12 17:33:00
CanadaInterview date
Good news. Congratulations!
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-12-11 21:31:00
CanadaIn a tough Situation
Sorry if this is going off on a tangent, but when you're terminated with an at-will employer, what happens to your letters of recommendation for your next job?

I just started working for an at-will company in New Jersey that stipulates they can walk me to the door at any time but expects me to give 2 weeks notice if I quit. If I take another job, I'm going to demand an employment contract that sets out severance.
Jersey GirlFemaleCanada2006-10-28 08:07:00