Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Canada	Vancouver Embassy, anyone?	Anyone doing the Vancouver dance? I've heard that it's faster than Montreal -- is that still true? Teh boy emailed them yesterday and they replied saying that they received the petition and are processing for packet 3 on 5/14. (Yaaay -- three weeks from the NVC to the embassy!) Should I be getting excited that, hopefully, he'll be here soon?	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-15 20:39:00
Canada	Interview packet that I'm going to send to the boy.	Pff. He is a boy. And I'm a girl. I like to think of it as 'maturing together.' We were only 15/16 when we met (kids!) and we're only 21/22 now. Anyway, I'm gonna mail the monster soon. I gave it to my mom (mommy?) to keep so I couldn't obsess over it anymore.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-20 12:00:00
Canada	Interview packet that I'm going to send to the boy.	I'm planning on sending this in at the end of the week, mostly because if I wait any longer, the monster will grow even bigger. (I deal best with stress by keeping busy, if you can't tell.) Contents: 1) a copy of the original I-129, as advised 2) an updated letter of intent to marry, as advised 3) another copy of the "how we met" statement so that we can get our dates straight and what he says in the interview corresponds to what I wrote down (I am really bad with remembering things in the context of month/year it happened) 4) original proof of having met in the last two years - pictures from our cruise, inventory of the cruise, engagement ring receipt, phone bill 5) copies of the NOA1 and NOA2, as advised 1) I-134, sponsor (notarized) -- need to attach the OF-167 Evidence: two recent paystubs, letter of employment, list of paystubs going back to when I was hired, list of banking transactions starting from when I opened my account in May of last year 2) I-134; co-sponsor (notarized) -- need to attach the OF-167 Evidence: letter of employment (they marked him as "part-time" because he only works thirty hours a week but his yearly salary is quite a bit of money so I don't think this will be an issue?), list of paystubs going back a year, list of banking transactions going back a year Evidence of an on-going relationship: 1) Album of pictures. Marked with time and place. These span from '01 when we met at camp (group pics) to '04, with several from each year. Also threw in a few more from our trip last summer. A dozen altogether. 2) Phone bills from two different months. 3) Plane ticket stubs from when I went to see him in March. 4) High-lighted the gas and food on my banking transaction list that were spent during my numerous visits to him when he was still living in ND. (August-December of '06.) 5) Print-out of our wall-to-wall messages on Facebook. There are lots of little post-its with instructions/notes/reminders for the boy, including a reminder to take all the post-its off the paperwork before he goes for the interview. --- Excessive worrying on my part -- I have *no* evidence that we lived together from '04 to '06. Not even pictures of us together. The lease and bills were in his name only. I thought about trying to go through the university or the bank we used and seeing if there was some official document with an address that I could request for both of us...but I'm not totally sure if it's necessary now? He tends to get nervous when talking to new people and when he gets nervous, he can mumble so badly that you really can't tell what he's saying. (I'm usually there to translate.) It's gotten better over the years, but I hope that the interviewer doesn't take it the wrong way! Anything that I'm missing? Anything more that I should add to my constant worrying? *cry*	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-20 09:03:00
Canada	Edmonton Medical	Oh -- how long did it take from the day you scheduled your medical to the day you had it? The boy is saying that he probably won't have the paperwork gathered and completed until Friday (because he works during the day) and I'm like WAAHH FINISH IT TONIGHT! I scheduled my medical 3 weeks in advance or so. He can call and make the appointment as long as he has some correspondence from MTL with case number, 3 photos and passport - oh, and vaccination records (which doesn't matter much since they can do a titration test). L. Awesome, thanks. I know he's going to make the appt on Tuesday. I was just hoping that it wouldn't take months to get seen because that would totally screw with the timeline.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-20 07:53:00
Canada	Edmonton Medical	Oh -- how long did it take from the day you scheduled your medical to the day you had it? The boy is saying that he probably won't have the paperwork gathered and completed until Friday (because he works during the day) and I'm like WAAHH FINISH IT TONIGHT!	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-19 18:21:00
Canada	Edmonton Medical	Any genital poking? Need to tell my boy about this, as he's scheduling his on Tuesday.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-19 10:48:00
Canada	Canadian men ROCK!!!	i can't wait to cook "poutine" in kansas Can you make it vegetarian?	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-20 07:57:00
Canada	Canadian men ROCK!!!	I was trolling through the ME/NA and African forums the other night. The cultural differences are fascinating, but I have to admit that I really gained a new appreciation for having a fiance who is so culturally/religiously/ethnically similar to me. That's one thing that we don't have to worry about, y'know? (&it helps to have already lived together for a couple of years!) Edited by HannahP, 19 May 2007 - 02:05 PM.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-19 14:04:00
Canada	Packet 3 received!	Holy #######, that was fast! (Jeaaallouss) Congrats!	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-16 18:05:00
Canada	How do you decide when to get married (the legal marriage) after interview?	We're planning on getting a JoP wedding and than holding a family ceremony a year later. (Gives people to save up the money for the plane ride here!) There really isn't any way that you can reliably plan a traditional wedding on a visa, unless you can get really a really flexible timeline from your wedding vendors. Etiquette-wise, having a second "white wedding" after you've been married by a JoP is a big faux pas. But whatever. It's a first wedding for both of us, so I don't really think that anyone will be gossiping behind our backs or anything.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-05-24 21:09:00
Canada	Pembina POE?	Okay, he made it through but no stamp. Got the same ol' "Detroit shouldn't be doing that" speech when he brought it up. Oh well. He already has a SS number/card from his student visa, so that'll cut some of the wait time off filing for the EAD/AP/etc. (Although his parents want to come down for the JoP signing. We can't really afford two-three weeks between him getting here and us getting married. Arrrrr.)	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-07-05 17:54:00
Canada	Pembina POE?	mr. s p - Wouldn't you go Calgary ---) Pembina, anyway? We're doing Edmonton ---) Winnipeg --) NE Kansas. He's staying overnight in Regina and Grand Forks. He should be passing through at any hour now. Hopefully he'll give me a call after he gets through customs, unless they turn him back. *knocks on wood*	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-07-05 15:02:00
Canada	Pembina POE?	By tomorrow evening, the boy should be crossing through Pembina. (He even got someone on the phone who said that they *would* stamp him for his temporary worker's permit. Haha. I guess we'll see how that goes, but I'm not crossing my fingers.) I did a quick search, but has anyone had any recent-ish dealings with Pembina/Emerson? I wish I didn't have to work these next three days, or I'd surprise him by driving up to North Dakota! (He's staying overnight in Grand Forks, where we lived together for two years. Meeemmmories.) At least we'll be together for the next stage of hurdles in this inane process...	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-07-04 10:31:00
Canada	How did you guys meet?	liz - hehe, falling asleep on the phone together! oy! (We have the same phone plan, I think, but still.) Ever wake each other up snoring? mrsp - Banff! We've been to...ergh..Jasper, that's it. I really want to go to Banff but it's so much farther than where he lives. But dayum, I bet it's gorgeous there. How did you online people meet -- games, chatrooms, websites? Did you feel that meeting in person gave a different perspective than chatting online? autumnchik - shaking, wow! That's so cute. Especially with missing the ferry -- I mean, that's bad luck, but it definitely adds to the story that you'll tell your grandkids! -- His proposal was on a nightime gondola ride in Venice. I knew he would propose at some time on the trip, but the actual proposal caught me off guard. It was so cute -- he was mumbling so fast that I couldn't quite understand what he was saying. But I saw the ring and said yes, of course!	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-06-10 23:51:00
Canada	How did you guys meet?	Since Canada is much closer to the US -- I wonder if we'll have more diversity in meeting online vs. meeting in person? The boy and I met in person as teenagers. We both attended aerospace camp at the University of North Dakota. I was the girl with the blue hair and he was the boy with the Hot Topic clothing. Although we're both pretty introverted and, well, socially retarded, we fell in together almost immediately. I had never felt so comfortable with someone else before. By the end of the two weeks at camp, we were known as an "item" by everyone else. (The camp ratio was two girls to 28 boys, so, yeah.) We held hands. I fell asleep and drooled all over his shoulder during a movie. The other girl at camp -- my roommate -- kept saying that I had to kiss him before we departed, but said departure was hectic and we barely got to say goodbye. After camp, we chatted online for a few months. Then we lost contact for nearly a year. One night, on a whim, I decided to email him. By this time, he was in the states attending university. Within the month, he took the Greyhound down to see me. He would take the bus down every six-eight weeks and stay for a few days. After I graduated highschool, I went up to be with him and we lived together for two years after that. --- We beat a lot of odds. A long-distance relationship as a teenager? Meeting, by chance, at camp? (He was supposed to attend camp the previous year, but his parents grounded him at the last moment. When I enrolled, I got the last spot.) etc. Also, having lived together for several years, we have already conquered the honeymoon period that eventually ruins many international relationships. (In mah opinion, anyway.) Anyway. Whatever. I want to hear ya'alls stories!	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-06-10 20:22:00
Canada	I want to go back	I'd like to move back eventually someday. As nice as it is in the US, it doesn't compare to Canada, especially with the economy the way it is now. It always struck me as a little funny that we have to get together all this evidence to prove that our relationship isn't a sham, and that I'm not using the system to get into the States... it's like, I'm from Canada, why would I even WANT to move down here if not for my wife?	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-08-04 19:43:00
Canada	How do you know which POE's you can use to activate a visa?	I've never heard of any POE unable to activate a visa. I have, however, heard of POE's not used to processing a visa and having to consult manuals and such. I went through at Pembina, not only were they not familiar with the K-1 visa but the guy doing the paperwork had been on the job for about a month. There ended up being about four other agents standing around helping him get everything done.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-08-04 19:53:00
Canada	POE - Peace Bridge...	He came over in July and they did not give EAD stamp. They also didn't ask for a list of the contents of his car or a car certification letter -- which is good, because I don't think he had either. Good luck.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-08-27 17:21:00
Canada	Because everyone in Canada lives in an igloo...	My experiences -- "Oh, do people in Canada put lights on their houses for Christmas, too?" "Oh, but he's Canadian! Why does he need a visa to come here?" (Get this a lot -- a lot of US'ers seem to consider Canada to be the 51st state.) Lots of -- oohh, but it's so cold and barren in Canada, the winters are forever, etc. Having spent two years in North Dakota, I'd say that many Americans are totally unaware of how many Canadian stereotypes exist right here in the good ol' US of A.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-08-27 17:33:00
Canada	So this friday...	I have to be at work at 2:30 IN THE MORNING on Black Friday. I work as a cashier at Wal-Mart. Ugghhhhhh.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-11-20 11:15:00
Canada	(S)he's sooooo Canadian. :P	IR5FORMUMSIE - hehe, I've had that sports conversation before with my husband. Men. Pffft. re. the cold -- we both lived in North Dakota for a while. Temperatures of -60F, 12 foot-high snowdrifts...bleeeeegh. I think the Kansas summer did spoil him a bit because I've heard some protests about the cold weather. However, he still insists on walking around in his sandals so I take everything he says with a grain of salt. Your body adjusts to the climate that it's used to. Notably, your blood thickens if you live in a colder climate and thins in warmer climates. My first winter back in Kansas after spending two years in North Dakota, I lived in t-shirts & no jacket. This winter 'tho, I'm finding it a bit difficult to adjust to the cold weather. My blood must be thinning.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-11-26 12:42:00
Canada	(S)he's sooooo Canadian. :P	I love my Caknucklehead, as my father calls him. But he: 1) Insists on watching every hockey game that he can find. Even between the stupid little teams that he doesn't care about. 2) Wears shorts/sandals in the cold weather. "Aren't you cold?" "No! Canadians never get cold!" "But you're shivering." "I'm not shivering! Canadians never shiver!" Baaaah. 3) His parents keep sending us little bits of money along with "Woohoo, the exchange rate is greaaat now isn't it??!" notes. (Easily countered by bringing up the rampant inflation in Alberta's booming oil economy, however.) I love my Canadian.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-11-24 02:33:00
Canada	How did you get by w/o working?	My question wasn't meant to be malicious. Just thinking that you have to get over one hurdle before you approach the next. I had to take a semester off of university and work (&live with my mom) to save up money. My boy graduated from university, went back to Canada, and also lived with his family and worked full-time to save up money while our petition was going through. (Went through Vancouver so we didn't have to wait 93084309843 million years for an interview.) We probably had about $5,000 in combined assets when he came down. Plus, another $2,000 in wedding gifts from both of our parents. That money, combined with my part-time job at Wal Mart, probably would have been enough in more experienced hands. But we were (are) both young and inexperienced with budgeting and being completely financially independent from our parents. Yes, we planned out a budget beforehand. It just didn't work and our spending tended to rise in unison with our funds. I ended up having to make the switch to a part-time student, full-time worker at Wal Mart. (I'm now on the six year college plan, I think? Arrgggh.)	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-12-13 01:38:00
Canada	How did you get by w/o working?	How are you intending to meet the 125% above poverty requirements to get his visa in the first place?	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-12-12 15:34:00
Canada	The in-laws from heck	QUOTE (Nini & Bee @ Nov 27 2007, 04:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Now I feel totally bad for ragging on my MIL... yesterday she came in to talk to me about my student loans. She basically told me that they wanted to help me pay for them if I wasn't going to have my EAD by the time my six-month grace period ends in March. I was like, "...I feel so bad for hating on you sometimes!" Awww. If it's anything like our process, you'll be getting the AOS in no time! (Before the EAD even.) Uhm...husband's mother is very overbearing to put it politely. I like the woman - we have a lot in common and she goes out of her way to be nice to me - but she snaps at everyone in the family & is always so stressed out. I come from a very dysfunctional family myself, and the tension of being in the house with his family is almost too much for me. His mom is always snapping at his poor hen-pecked dad; and his sisters are always screaming at each other and at his mom. (One time his mom had to go to a motel to get away from his sisters!) Anyway. Okay. His mom. It's our first Christmas as a married couple and she's flying him back home for it! On top of making for a lonely Christmas, there's no way that he'll get hired for a quickie retail job to bring in a couple of bucks (we need the money) because he'll be gone for the week around Christmas. She's also the one who insisted on using her air miles to fly down to see us sign the marriage documents at the courthouse. This made it impossible for us to file before the fee increases... I guess the whole thing would be moot except that she keeps hinting at my husband to find a job. We delayed filing for her and now that he has his green card, his job chances are significantly narrowed because she wants him home for Christmas!	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-11-27 16:56:00
Canada	DUI, diversion, and entering Canada.	thermophile - Yes! Diversion lasts a year and you have to meet whatever criteria is laid out in your evaluation (for me it was three hours of therapy and an alcohol education school). If you don't get in trouble with the law for that year, you've completed your diversion. After another year, you can get the diversion expunged from your record. You're right that I should talk with the DA about this. After some thought, I think my hesitancy is about the definition of diversion. It differs from state to state, but I *think* that in Kansas, diversion is not considered a conviction. Eric - I read about the waiver. I guess my confusion is whether I'd have to file because of my diversion. Do you know if your friend got a diversion for his DUI? Anyway, thanks guys! I think I have a better understanding of where my confusion about the whole situation lies. Plus, it's reassuring to hear that other DUI'ers have still managed to get into Canada.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2008-03-26 17:03:00
Canada	DUI, diversion, and entering Canada.	I received a DUI (I know, stupid stupid) last year; it was a first-time offense and I received diversion for it. I'm off my diversion now and was hoping to travel to Canada to see my hubby's parents this summer. However, I know that having a DUI on your record automatically makes you inadmissible to Canada. Does anyone have any experience with this? As it was explained to me, *technically*, a diversion isn't a conviction unless you receive a second DUI. So could I, in good faith, check "no" to have you ever been convicted of a crime on the entrance card? I was also told that if someone ran my record, the diversion would not flag unless I was being arrested for another DUI? Who do you even talk to with questions like this? Ugh. :/	HannahP	Female	Canada	2008-03-26 10:33:00
Canada	where did you first meet? online vs in person	We meet at Aerospace Camp (in ND) when we were fourteen/fifteen. This one time, at band camp...	HannahP	Female	Canada	2008-07-07 17:35:00
Canada	What NOT to say to a USA border Agent!	QUOTE (thetreble @ Jul 5 2008, 05:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> wow you crossed the border by yourself at 16? My parents would have killed me. In fact, I'd still be chained to my bed right now if that was the case. hah Well, they knew about it/paid for my ticket! We'd already been dating for about six months, with him coming down from ND (where he was going to uni) every other weekend. My dad was like "Well, just don't get knocked up."	HannahP	Female	Canada	2008-07-05 18:20:00
Canada	What NOT to say to a USA border Agent!	I think I was sixteen when I first went to Canada to see my now-hubby. Definitely got the third degree. Did I meet him on the internet? (No! But they kept referring to him as my "internet boyfriend.") Did my parents know where I was? Did his parents know that I was coming? Where were we staying? I sat in secondary for an hour while they met up with the boy and called his parents. But I never got hassled again. Makes me wonder what kind of notes they keep in their files about you? The boy and I got caught trying to sneak booze across the Winnipeg/ND border. (From Canada to the US.) They made us dump it out. He said there was a huge dumpster full of empty bottles. They also searched our car and luggage, but actually left things CLEANER. Can't complain there.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2008-07-05 17:19:00
Canada	What About DUIs?	QUOTE (cdnchick @ Aug 24 2008, 07:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> USC are deemed inadmissable by Canada. Since it's only been 3 years, he will be turned back. He can apply for a minister's letter for entry though. If it shows on his record, and I do believe it will, as 5 years has not passed, he will be denied. However, if he received diversion for it, it may not show up on his record.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2008-08-24 20:45:00
Canada	What About DUIs?	Did he get diversion for it?	HannahP	Female	Canada	2008-08-24 18:21:00
Canada	Importing a Canadian car to the US	I drove through Pembina and they didn't even look at my car. I was a little nervous because I've gone through that POE a thousand times as a visitor to the states and they ALWAYS searched my car, but not now that I'm moving down there, go figure. The customs guy was funny - Me: Do you want to look at my car or my stuff or anything? Customs guy: Do you have any child porn in it? Me: Uh... no. Customs guy: Then we don't want to see it. Me: Ok! I think that when you register your car and get a US license plate you have to produce a letter that shows that it meets the EPA requirements, but that's pretty much it to my knowledge. My Alberta tags are good until July 08 so I won't have to deal with it for a while at least.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2007-08-04 19:49:00
Canada	Maiden name on passport?	Oh dear, thanks for the heads up! Wonder if they'll take an expired driver's license as prior "proof" of my maiden name? I'm going to call on Monday, definitely.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2008-12-05 23:26:00
Canada	Maiden name on passport?	When I changed my last name to his, I never applied for a new passport. Now, he wants us to go to Canada for Christmas but I'm not sure if they'll accept my passport? (Especially since I think his mom bought tickets for my married last-name...)	HannahP	Female	Canada	2008-12-05 23:21:00
Canada	SO's parents are getting divorced.	Thank you guys for helping me understand where he's coming from. His mother moved out last week and he's chatted with both of his parents since then. The biggest change, to him, is how happy his parents sound now that they're separated. I think he's starting to understand that our relationship is different. We have a lot of love, both physical and emotional, for each other. Thank you, again!	HannahP	Female	Canada	2009-01-13 21:23:00
Canada	SO's parents are getting divorced.	beans - I'm sorry about your parents. :/ Thank you so much for the encouragement, however! That's what I'm trying to do with him - just be open and comforting. I just hope that time will heal... trailmix - I've never actually said that to him, although my pragmatic/realistic side tends to butt in from time to time. Right now, I feel that we'll be married until we die and that's what I do tell him; "I love you so much" and I tell him that we're not going to end up like his parents. I know that I should ask what he means but...I don't know if he even knows what he means. Thank you for the: "you keep asking me about our future etc etc and yet you won't talk about it" - that's what has been frustrating me but I didn't know how to verbalize it until you put it into words. I'm definitely going to bring it up like that. Thanks for the insight guys. It's definitely helping me put everything into perspective.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2009-01-09 20:11:00
Canada	SO's parents are getting divorced.	I know, it's not exactly visa-related but the people I trust enough IRL to give me advice aren't being terribly helpful. :/ When we went back to Canada for Christmas, his parents announced that after thirty years of marriage, they were getting a divorce. She even has an online boyfriend from Portugal who I guess is immigrating to Canada to be with her (? he looks like Fabio, btw). My husband was crushed. He's the oldest of the kids and I think he still remembers times when his parents actually seemed to like each other. Although he admits that his parents haven't physically touched each other in a loving manner in nearly a decade. When I first met them, six years ago, it was painfully apparent to me (I come from an overtly dysfunctional family) that the marriage wasn't going to last. But my hubby has this myth of his parents' marriage built up in his head -- they were ALWAYS going to stay married, no matter what, the tension was always due to "something else" like his mother's work schedule or his younger sisters. So yeah, he took it pretty hard. I feel kind of bad because I couldn't really find the /sympathy/, although I certainly have a lot of empathy because my own parents are divorced. The kids are grown, their divorce is amiable... it's just something that I've been expecting for years now. He won't really talk about it. But he also, slowly, seems to be understanding that it's for the best. Especially for his poor, hen-pecked father. NOW he's moved on to being very clingy to me, very upset when I don't want to have sex with him. He's asked me quite a few times "We're not going to end up like my parents, are we?" and I don't know whether he means divorced or in a terribly unhappy marriage for many years. I'm doing my best to be very loving and reassuring, but it's simply not getting any better. He doesn't really seem to want to have an in-depth conversation about our future or about how he's feeling over the divorce, shuts down when I try to bring it up. I just...don't know what to do. Does it just take time? Should I try to impose some realism into how I answer him, "I don't know if we're going to be married forever but I love you very much?"	HannahP	Female	Canada	2009-01-09 17:57:00
Canada	People who refer to a father figure as "daddy"	QUOTE (jundp @ May 20 2009, 12:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm with you Jill. I'd never call my husband 'daddy.' But maybe because to me, Daddy is my father. I feel icky now. ^ with her	HannahP	Female	Canada	2009-05-20 16:06:00
Canada	Mixed feelings about having civil wedding first	Yes, yes. My dad would have paid for a full Big White Wedding but he "got out" of it with our quickie wedding. I wanted the BWW. So did hubby. It's taken YEARS for my family to accept our marriage. "When are you really getting married?" Of course, we never received any presents from anyone. God forbid that we actually get married.	HannahP	Female	Canada	2009-09-06 20:54:00