Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Canada	Good Luck, La Souris	Thank you all - we're going now We'll update you later...	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-24 05:29:00
Canada	Good Luck, La Souris	Thank you all My husband should be in Montreal tomorrow morning - his support will feel good, that's for sure! I feel we're ready to go. I'll come back to tell you about the consulate decision. Good luck to all the others going to the consulate this week!	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-22 22:07:00
Canada	My Interview at the Montreal Consulate	Here is a summary of what happened during my interview. We were the first in line at 7 am. The door opened at 7:30 and the couple behind us with their (super cute) baby went in first, then us. So we had letter B. They also gave us a letter describing how the interview would take place (see it here: front and back). Security, elevator, a little wait and I was called to the first window. Gave her the documents as requested in the appointment letter (we did the Electronic Processing): Passport (+copy) Pictures Medical results (without the X-Ray CD) Marriage certificate (+copy) Birth certificate and its translation (+copy) DS-230 I-864 and financial evidence (+copy of the evidence) Xpresspost Envelope She insisted she had to write my name with my husband's family name - even though I'll never use that name. Kind of weird, but whatever. She then took my fingerprints - ok, now you can laugh at me but I was too short to put my thumbs correctly on the reader so I had to stand on my tippy toes. Back to the waiting room for a few minutes. Enjoyed the view (I could see my neighbourhood and different places where I used to work). Brought crosswords... but my brain was off and the wait was short. I was called to the interview room. After swearing that we would say the truth, the officer asked us the following questions: - What do you do for a living? (to both of us - my husband does something rare so he then asked him how he came to that field). - How /When did we meet? - If my husband was honouring me by learning French - my husband said a few words in French - it was getting funny. - If, in return, I was learning Bostonian and could say something - I said "Chowdah" (with the right accent!) and we all laughed. - Then, he asked me who translated my Birth Certificate - I used a certified translator (member of the OTTIAQ and all) who's also a public notary --- however, the stamp she used was not an embossed seal and he was curious about that. I showed him her business card where her certification was listed and that was ok. However, I would strongly recommend that anyone who has to get documents translated get the copies embossed with a seal no matter what is written on the NVC website - I used a certified translator and nearly had to redo it just because of that. - He asked me if I was ready to move to the USA and I told him as soon as I get the visa. He then said: "Let's take care of that!" and gave me the Welcome to the USA letter (you can read it here). [our faces then: ] We were out of the consulate at 8:55 and the line of people was getting real long - so it's a good idea to be there early if you can. ----- Things we brought but were not asked about: current income evidence (2009 W2, taxes, recent paystubs), pictures, foreign passport (I hold another one in addition to the Canadian one), previous Canadian passports (with stamps of time spent in other countries to show I was never there long enough to have to get a police certificate), husband's birth certificate. ----- Thanks again for your help	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-24 21:34:00
Canada	IR1/CR1 interviews at Montreal this week and next!	Good luck to all of you! And thanks for the good vibes My husband is coming to Montreal for the week, it will be nice to have his support for the interview and to spend time together. Oh, I forgot to say, if you have questions about Montreal stuff (beside the consulate), don't hesitate to ask me... I'll try to help. Edited by La Souris, 15 March 2010 - 10:49 AM.	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-15 10:48:00
Canada	Notification of Interview	We got an email from NVCInquiry@state.gov with the subject reading: MTL2009XXXXXX(PM APPOINTMENT COVER LETTER) "The attached correspondence relates to an immigrant visa referenced on the subject line. This case is being processed by the National Visa Center. Please read the information carefully and follow the instructions. This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee, please notify NVCinquiry@state.gov immediately by e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secured or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this message. If at any time you wish not to receive correspondence by e-mail you may "Opt Out" by sending a written request to NVCinquiry@state.gov. This e-mail is sent by: The U.S. Department of State's National Visa Center, located at 32 Rochester Avenue, Portsmouth NH 03801. Please DO NOT REPLY to this e-mail. " And then, the actual letter attached as a PDF. You can see what the letter looks like in the wiki: http://www.visajourn...ndex.php/Canada Edited by La Souris, 22 March 2010 - 09:56 AM.	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-22 09:54:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	I hate morons. Moi aussi	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-04 13:16:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	QUOTE (lgg @ Dec 3 2009, 04:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Dear La Souris.... I have blocked Montreal weather out of my mind. I was there during the ice storm. Were you there for that? We had no power for like a week and I was off work for 2 weeks. IT was amazing/scary and everything all at the same time. We had to use a cookstove to make me coffee or I would have lost my mind. And yeah, Maryland summers are totally sultry and hot. Yay for AC. Seriously. My parents had a B&B during the ice storm and the electricity was gone for less than 24 hours at our place. Guess what? We had over 25 persons from my family staying over for over a week which was both nice and crazy	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2009-12-03 16:35:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	QUOTE (lgg @ Dec 3 2009, 04:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Man compared to the weather we have here in Toronto, Maryland weather is freaking AWESOME!! Anything beats Toronto in the dead of a cold, windy, snowy, sh1tty winter! I hate the winter and the cold.... It is all relative, right? Low % beer, eh? You just have to know where to look! QUOTE (Rob and Mel @ Dec 3 2009, 04:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (lgg @ Dec 3 2009, 01:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Cherry blossoms, rob and Mel? LoL, never been to Baltimore really. Had a layover once and ventured out for a few hours, but never spent any real time there. My father always hated Maryland because when he was in basic training in the army, he was stationed somewhere there. He hated the weather but more, he hated the low % beer they had Montreal weather, don't you remember?	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2009-12-03 16:19:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	My man and I want to go back to D.C. to see the cherry blossom... Can I bring cheese and chocolate and drop it in Baltimore (area)??	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2009-12-03 16:03:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	Thank you for the coffee My future American neighbourhood got flooded, luckily no damage to our house. http://www.boston.co...r_storm_photos/ Edited by La Souris, 16 March 2010 - 07:46 AM.	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-16 07:46:00
Canada	Bargain Shopping Forum	If you're still in Canada, you can look at http://smartcanucks.ca/ (on the forum, they do list some American freebies too)	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2009-06-22 10:47:00
Canada	Electronic Processing	I had no problem with EP, but, at times, it was confusing. They sent me the most random emails. I called NVC and I was told that the emails were sometimes "off". From that point, I simply followed the steps described by LingChe and ignored the "random" emails. I would do it again though.	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-04 11:49:00
Canada	Electronic Processing	I found it to be excellent. It remains to be seen (for me) how they deal with EP stuff at the actual interview...but it has certainly been a benefit at the NVC level. The most notable reason is because we had an RFE on the I-864 -- a very minor error -- and we were able to get it back to them on the same day we found out about the error. Our case was completed a mere three days later. If we'd had to send in the corrected forms via mail, it would have likely taken at least another week. I'm also really eager to read the interview report for EPers.	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-17 00:20:00
Canada	Electronic Processing	I already sent them an email for the 3032... but, then, they sent me another email requesting it again so I print one copy and signed it (it was easier to send them a printed and signed copy than to call and ask them "did you really get it because you're sending me weird emails..." -- (I've since learn that they send emails automatically even if you sent them the documents already, I got another weird email asking for my DS230 and documents, while the phone system said they already got it...) -- I've found Electronic Processing confusing at time... I sent them everything in "order" but their response was a little random... in the end, all was good, no RFE. Edited by La Souris, 06 November 2009 - 03:53 PM.	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2009-11-06 15:52:00
Canada	Electronic Processing	QUOTE (JaJo08 @ Nov 6 2009, 01:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> At what point does my wife need the passport photos then? I sent my (scanned) pictures with the DS-230 Here's a list of what I put in, as listed on my cover letter: - Document Cover Sheet (with barcode) - Form DS-3032, signed - Form DS-230 (4 pages) and Complementary Information (2 pages), signed Supporting documents: o Marriage certificate o Police certificate o 2 Passport size photos o Passport biographic page o Birth certificate, front and back, original (Copie d?acte de naissance) and translation and then I wrote: "Scanned copies of documents submitted are exact copies of unaltered documents and I understand that I will be required to submit original documents to an Immigration or Consular officer at a later date." Good luck! Edited by La Souris, 06 November 2009 - 02:30 PM.	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2009-11-06 14:29:00
Canada	name change dilemma!	You may not be able to do it while in Quebec since you have to keep your maiden name there... One of the reasons I chose to keep my name. Good luck. _________ http://www.justice.g...ale/maria-a.htm Spouses' names Both spouses keep their birth names after marriage and continue to exercise their civil rights under that name, i.e. they must use their birth name in contracts, on credit cards, on their driver?s licence, etc. This rule applies to all spouses domiciled in Québec, even if they were married outside Québec. However, women married before April 2, 1981 who were already using their husband?s surname before that date may continue to exercise their civil rights under their married name. Edited by La Souris, 31 January 2011 - 11:01 PM.	La Souris	Not Telling	Canada	2011-01-31 22:58:00
Canada	Driving Abstract, Renewing CDN License and Other Legalities	I was not told any of this by the Florida DMV when I called them. they said come in with my passport, proof of residence like bills or bank statements and my Canadian license and thats it. Either way though, I will let you guys know as soon as I get mine. It should be about 2 weeks til I go to the DMV here in Florida and I will write back on this message board exactly what they asked for and how it all went.	domegirl1978	Female	Canada	2009-11-13 13:20:00
Canada	AOS'rs...	Just to fill you guys in...I spoke to the USCIS office today because my case was transferred to CSC 3 months ago and they basically told me now the wait is 6 months, not 3. Along with this they also gave me this piece of info. When your case is transferred to CSC this does not mean they are looking at anything about your file in California. In fact they transfer your file BACK to your local office and get approved from there. So it's actually your local office that decides whether you get an interview or not. People using the West Palm Beach office: they informed me that they are only now processing CSC transfers from Dec. of 2009. So it looks like I have to call back in a month, month and a half and hope they are looking at the end of Jan. 2010 files at that time. So why bother telling us that a transfer to CSC almost always means no interview when in reality they just transfer your case back to your local office anyway. What's the point of transferring it to begin with?	domegirl1978	Female	Canada	2010-06-30 18:22:00
Canada	CR1/IR1 interviews in Montreal this week	Congrats!!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-02-26 07:37:00
Canada	CR1/IR1 interviews in Montreal this week	Good Luck!!!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-02-21 23:10:00
Canada	Good luck to all the Canadians with interviews this week!	Good luck yo everyone this week, you are going to make it through with flying colours, I know it!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-02-28 21:39:00
Canada	Good Luck, Wyatt's Torch	Congrats and enjoy!!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-05 12:17:00
Canada	Bring it on Montreal...	Congrats on the new addition!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-08 11:51:00
Canada	Good luck to all the Canadians with interviews this week!	Good luck to all!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-08 11:47:00
Canada	Woo hoo! And a BIG "Wheh!"	Congrats to you!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-19 15:38:00
Canada	Good Luck, La Souris	Good Luck!! I am sure you will do great!! Edited by lonie, 23 March 2010 - 12:20 PM.	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-23 12:17:00
Canada	My Interview at the Montreal Consulate	Awesome that your interview went sooo well, congrats to you , enjoy the feeling and now to start the rest of your life! What a feeling that must be.	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-25 10:51:00
Canada	IR1/CR1 interviews at Montreal this week and next!	Good luck!!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-15 15:56:00
Canada	Woohoo!!!	Congrats!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-30 15:59:00
Canada	Approved!!	Congratulations on the approval, enjoy the feeling!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-30 15:57:00
Canada	CR1 Interview, March 22nd, 2010	Congrats to you Bern!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-28 11:25:00
Canada	We got it We got it!!	Awesome, congrats!!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-03-30 15:55:00
Canada	Approved	Congrats!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-04-10 12:58:00
Canada	Visa in Hand	Congrats salnick! Enjoy the next part of the process! Living normally! lol!!!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-04-17 19:19:00
Canada	Visa Approved!	CONGRATS!!! This feels soooo good! My husband says thanks for keeping him in good company. Happy happy day!!!! You're welcome! He was good company to keep, now start planning the final homecoming!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-04-27 17:14:00
Canada	Visa Approved!	Boy does it ever!!!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-04-27 10:36:00
Canada	Visa Approved!	Went through the process smoothly, all those that go before are right, its anti-climatic given the long wait and process, almost wanted to ask if they could take their time so I could enjoy the moment, obviously, didn't!! Thanks to everyone that gave such great, detailed advice, it really helped. I will post my review later today, right now just want to enjoy the moment!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-04-27 10:17:00
Canada	VISA APPROVED!!! YEAH!!!!!!!	Congrats! I met your husband and Ravenesque at the door, helped to pass the time talking about our common experiences of this whole process!! Enjoy the moment!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-04-27 10:13:00
Canada	Hotel/Visa Interview Review	Wow! So sorry that you had to stay an extra day, and after I assured you that you would be able to take off in the weather, who knew a bird strike would ground you?? Glad to hear that you didn't get out much later than me. So cool to have met you and K&I , and yes it did feel so good to connect with other VJers going through the same thing. Congrats and enjoy the feeling of finally accomplishing this part of your journey!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-04-28 15:35:00
Canada	Successful POE!!!	Awesome!! One more successful VJer! Enjoy!	lonie	Female	Canada	2010-04-29 13:18:00