ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
CanadaEI and EAD
and just as an FYI for anyone reading this thread....this has nothing to do with you being a Canadian....this applies to all K3 visa holders. ;)
Ashleigh-AuFemale02007-02-27 14:07:00
CanadaWhat is the age difference between you and your SO?
I hate when this happens in a survey, we're right on the edge of 2 options. I want to choose the option: "Female 6-10 years younger", but she is 10 years, 9 months younger (our birthdays are both on the 2nd of the month). You think I can get away with 6-10, or must I round up and end up in the 11-15 group?
Scott and IrynaNot TellingUkraine2008-03-14 11:40:00
CanadaIdeas
Well, let's see.... An American + a Canadian... that screams Niagara Falls to me! Unfortunately, on a K-1, they probably won't let you cross the border into the Canadian side, even though you are from there!! Sorta pathetic...

Otherwise... New York City is nearby...
Scott and IrynaNot TellingUkraine2008-06-04 23:05:00
CanadaTravelling to US during CR-1 process

Wow! What border are you crossing? I've been crossing any where from three to five times per week without any trouble but got a very stern warning on Saturday that i am crossing too much and it looks like I am Living in the U.S. We have filed six months ago and are waitng for our NAO2 but it didn't matter to him. He wasn't mean but just very serious. I was told it could jeporadize the processing of my VISA. That's the part that makes me nervous.



I'm actually the one doing most of the crossing which is probably why it isn't so bad. I go up to Montreal each weekend to spend it with my husband and he only comes down this way about 4-5 times per year for mostly just a weekend at a time. I'm assuming if he was crossing this much he would get the same warning.
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-09-21 18:08:00
CanadaTravelling to US during CR-1 process

Canadian wife - US Citizen husband.
Got married Aug 24, 2010 in US. Wife returned to Canada Aug 29, 2010.
Filed I-130 Sept 12 and received Sept 17, 2010.
Wife lives & works in Canada presently. Plan to do that till CR-1 approval.
Meanwhile, she plans to visit me monthly or bi-monthly for short periods (week to 10 days). Will she have problems entering the country or denied entry? Some posts by people have me worried.
Any experiences so far regarding this matter??? What should me and my wife be careful about when travelling???


My husband and I have been going back and forth across the border for about 2.5 years now and haven't had any serious problems. Before he had a passport, they used to have him pull over and give him the 20 questions, but still let him through. We had a couple of border guards that gave him a "baby sitting" pass where he had to check back in before he crossed back to Quebec but other than that, it's been easy. Now that he has a passport, they don't even have him pull over anymore.

One thing I noticed, after going back and forth so many times, most of the border guard are familiar with both of us and our situation. I find myself asking a lot of them, "How's your family?" etc etc. :)
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-09-20 16:47:00
CanadaCrossing the border with a border ...collie!
I drive up to Montreal each weekend to see my husband while we're waiting on the visa process. I have to bring my cat with me because he's diabetic and I have to give him insulin shots twice a day. All I need to cross is a valid rabies certificate. I bring his entire medical record with me just in case I get pulled over. The last thing I need is grief over new or used syringes in the car. Sometimes they check, sometimes they don't, but I've never had a problem crossing.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-09-28 16:16:00
CanadaIV Immignrant Visa Fee Bill
Here is the actual quote from http://travel.state..../info_3906.html

Click on the Online Fee Payment to go to the Immigrant Visa Invoice Payment Center. Please note that online payments must come from checking or savings accounts held at a United States financial institution.

I poked around a little bit and didn't see anything regarding physical checks/money orders/non online payments. However I would assume it falls under the same rule.

J-

Edited by Jill & Jeff, 04 October 2010 - 08:24 PM.

Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-10-04 20:21:00
CanadaIV Immignrant Visa Fee Bill

Hi there,

Anybody in canada pay thier IV Bill invoice in using Canadian Bank.
and afer paying the IV bill how long does it take them to send youe DS230?

thanks

Canadianboy


I was under the impression that all fees need to be paid with funds drawn off of a U.S. Bank. I could be wrong though.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-10-04 17:03:00
CanadaFun Things to do in Montreal
I loooove to go to the Biodome each year. It's right in downtown Montreal, in the old Olympic complex. Really nice way to spend about half a day. If you like Greek food, I'd recommend hitting up Arahova for some amazing souvlaki and other types of Greek food.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-10-19 13:33:00
Canadacanada/usa income tax?
My husband and I had to show each other on our tax returns for tax year 2009. I had to file for a Canadian Tax ID number, which was easy enough to do. For me to show him on my US taxes as my spouse, I had to file for an Individual Tax ID Number, or an ITIN(because he does not yet have a SSN #). You send the ITIN application in when you file for your regular taxes to a specific address, in Texas I believe.
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-10-21 13:08:00
CanadaVaccinations needed
The website I looked at, http://panelphysicia.../Pages/Age6.htm , said we needed to get a flu shot since my husband interview will (hopefully) be in January. We actually just went in this past Friday at the doctor here in the States to get all of his vaccinations updated.

One of the great things that my doctor suggested was getting a blood titers test. The just drew his blood and tested for antibodies to things such as chickenpox, hepatitis and MMR and so on. They also took his shot record from Canada and put what he had into their system.

He ended up getting the blood test, a flu shot and a tetanus shot.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-10-25 12:41:00
CanadaIntervie Wait Times?
From the timelines that I've seen, the wait times average about 5 months or so. Basically, July approvals will get letters in November to schedule for December, August approvals will get letters in December to schedule for January and so forth.

At least that's the pattern I'm seeing.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-10-25 12:58:00
CanadaElectronic Processing
My husband and I did the electronic filing. I did find it a little... unorganized overall. I did the opt in, but it wasn't as straight forward as... We have A, now we need B, we have B, now we need C, etc etc. It was more like.. hey we got this, now send this. And then 10 days later it was.. HAY we didn't get THIS, but they never asked.

Either way, we still got everything scanned and sent out digitally and got the approval faster than by mail. However, now we're just in the endless queue for a Montreal interview. I think they're still working out the kinks of electronic filing, but even with the bit of disorganization, it went fairly smoothly.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-10-26 13:24:00
CanadaTurkey day panic!!!
Check out this website: http://allrecipes.com/ It has a ton of recipes specifically for the holidays. I use it ALL the time. It's great.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-11-22 17:44:00
CanadaWHEN will this wait end...waiting for an interview date?!

Skype is the best! When my husband and I were deployed we'd just be logged in permanently so we could just see each other coming and going. We'd be doing our own thing and not even talk for hours, it just felt like we were in the same room. Of course it's not the same but it definitely helps.


That's how we are. Whenever we get home from work, we're on Skype. Lots of times he's just playing video games or watching tv while I do school work or something else. It helps so much just to know that he's there and I can say something cute, or just hear him breathe. People think I'm crazy for sleeping with a headset, but I just love hearing him sleep and even snore. I love that it's enabled us to feel close while we're still so far apart.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-11-30 20:15:00
CanadaWHEN will this wait end...waiting for an interview date?!
I really don't think contacting my congressman would make a difference. We have no "special circumstances" that I think would qualify us for intervention or a faster process. Montreal is backed up, and unfortunately, that is that. I just have to be patient like everyone else that has gone before me.

It helps to get a routine together. My husband and I chat online a little at work, and then come home and spend the evening together through Skype. We watch hockey games together (using Skype), we even sleep together on Skype. Anything to feel close to each other. We're fortunate to live close enough to be able to drive to see each other on the weekends, and that is a HUGE help. So far the time seems to have gone by faster than I thought.

Like I said, it's frustrating as all hell, but it's worth it. :)

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-11-30 11:45:00
CanadaWHEN will this wait end...waiting for an interview date?!

Soooo...I know that a million of you are going through the same thing right now but this is so frusturating! All of the steps are complete and we are just waiting for a interview date.

It blows my mind that they make you wait FOREVER for what seems like a 10 minute interview just so that my husband can come over and we can start living our lives together. Is there anyway we can find out information?? Our NVC case was complete in October and still no word :(

Is there anything we should be doing?? I just want my husband here!! We are planning our "Real Family Wedding" for May and I really need him here now. We are paying double rent right now just because of this stupid wait...we really could use the extra money for the big wedding. Sorry to go on and on, i'm just really wonderfing what is going on?

Hope everyone's process is going well...Happy Holidays to everyone :)


My husband and I share the same frustrations. The bottom line is that it sucks. We've been done with our NVC process since early August, and here we are, still waiting. I can completely empathize with your situation. It's frustrating when the person you love so much is forced to be so far away when all you really need is a couple of hours of paperwork and an interview. I wish I could tell you that there is something you can do about it, but all you can do is keep your head up and know that the wait will be worth it.

I hope that your wait goes by as quickly as possible, but I know that all time does right now is just drag by. Keep your fingers crossed and take a deep breath. It'll be over eventually, although it will never seem soon enough. It helps to know, at least for me, that there are other people here going through the same thing that you can commiserate with. Hearing people's stories of finally getting their interview, and then their visa, really helps me to know that my time will come too. So will yours. :)

Happy Holidays

J-

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-11-29 19:27:00
CanadaSo you think you know everything about Canada, eh?

All you need to know about Canada!

Posted Image


QFT. I just had those yesterday morning for breakfast!

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-12-05 11:16:00
CanadaGot this today...
Way past what stage? From your timeline, it looks like you're approved to hit the queue for your IR-1/CR-1 interview in Montreal.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-12-06 19:32:00
CanadaGot this today...
You are in, "hurry up and wait" mode. That was just to inform you that your NVC process has been completed. Welcome to the 5+ months wait to get an interview through the dark dismal black hole that is the Montreal Consulate that is backed up like whoa. Average wait times to get an interview for a CR-1 visa is about 5-6 months right now.

I believe they notify you by email (if you chose electronic processing). You can schedule your medical once you receive your interview date.
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-12-06 19:29:00
CanadaHolier then thou attitude

Yea I just came back from a trip home this past weekend, my son was naming all of the presidents and talking about what he's been learning in school, and one of my family members compared his learnings to brain washings. They actually feel that the schools here brainwash the children. Then before I left she actually gave my son a present and told him to open it on the way home, it was two books, one about Canadian history and one about the wars we fought with a note that said: "Never forget where you came from"

:lol:


Oh wow, how did you take that? As more of a, "learn about the other side of your family" or as a bit of an insult to your American history? I can completely agree with wanting to educate my future children with both histories though. I keep telling my husband that when we have children, I want them to know both English and French, but he's perfectly happy with saying he doesn't care if they learn French.

My husband's family has tried to make comments about the American school system, but I shut them down by comparing the US high school dropout rates to the ones in and around Montreal. And then I point out that my husband is one of the only ones in his family to even graduate from high school (mom and two sisters all dropped out).

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-10-19 13:49:00
CanadaHolier then thou attitude
I see a lot of it on both sides too, especially because my husband is Quebecois. I live in New England, and the sentiment here was that the French Canadians were rude, frugal and overall snotty. My husband is from the Montreal area and is actually the only person in his family that speaks English. However, I do get a lot of the Anti-American attitudes from them, and even from my husband (he hasn't moved down just yet). Like someone else posted, many times they have to specifically exclude me from their American comments.

My husband and I joke that if my French was better, immigration probably would have ended up going the other way.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-10-19 13:27:00
CanadaChristmas Cookie Recipe Exchange
Oh my god, you do almond crescents? Is it basically those butter and sugar cookies that you mix up with chopped almonds? I do the same thing, except with cashews. I've never met anyone else who has ever done them. They have got to be the yummiest cookie ever!

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-12-06 19:34:00
CanadaChristmas Present Thread
Check out Victoria's Secret. I know it's a woman's store, but they do carry things for men, and I wouldn't be surprised if the had one.

My husband got his xmas gift early. He hinted about wanting to learn to snowboard, so I bought him an entire Burton set up. Since the snow is already falling here, and getting fitted for all that gear needs an in-person visit, he got everything early. We also headed up to Loon Mountain and he had his first lesson; where he spend 90% of the day on his butt. :) He still loved it though.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2010-12-06 07:28:00
CanadaDHL Sign-up

I know that people have had the same thing happened a few times over the past month usually after a few days you can log in and it will randomly appear with the DHL locations.


This is exactly what happened. I was going to call the number you gave me, but gave it one more shot to log in, and POOF there was the DHL pick up. Signed up for Anjou. Yay!!

Thank you so much. My nerves are starting to get frazzled at this point. I just finished putting together a binder of all our paperwork and I'm getting those nervous jitters.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-04 14:19:00
CanadaDHL Sign-up
Thank you so much!! I will give them a call tomorrow to see if it can be resolved. I'm just kicking myself for not trying to set up the DHL pick up earlier. I just got caught up in the business of the holidays and kept meaning to do it.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-03 19:33:00
CanadaDHL Sign-up
Is there anyone that can help me with this? The redirecting issue is gone now. However, I can't get to choosing a DHL location without first selecting an interview date first.

The instructions I found on the same website specifically say NOT to schedule an interview if you already have one, but from the way the system works, it looks like you have to pick the interview first and then you can choose your DHL location.

The first available date was January 19th, which is well beyond our interview date.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-03 14:50:00
CanadaDHL Sign-up
Redirecting seems to have stopped, and it works now.

I never got to a point where I choose a DHL location though.

Now I'm panicking ><
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-02 14:36:00
CanadaDHL Sign-up
Double post.

oops

Edited by Jill & Jeff, 02 January 2011 - 02:22 PM.

Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-02 14:21:00
CanadaDHL Sign-up
I'm trying to register with DHL for our visa. I went to the site that was given through the immigration website and then click on the courier page here http://www.usvisa-in...ier_information

*edit* for some reason this link is going to the Mexico page anyway. It's supposed to go to the courier site on the Canada visa website.

From there, it says I need to click on the "log on" button up top to register. This is where I'm finding the problem. When I click on the "log on" button, I get sent here http://www.usvisa-in.../en/selfservice

My selections are for Mexico. Even when I choose Mexico:English, it tells me the site won't be available until Jan 10th, 2011. In any case, that's the wrong place.

Can anyone help me out please?

Thanks!

J-

Edited by Jill & Jeff, 02 January 2011 - 02:05 PM.

Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-02 14:03:00
Canadatax question about S.S TAX medicare etc.
I know it may feel like it's completely gone, but it isn't completely. Hopefully you will get it back when you're 65 and utilizing medicare and social security. Unfortunately many people believe that the social security system won't be around when our generation turns 65 but that remains to be seen.

The way the system was designed was that this generation is paying for the retirement of the previous generation. Back when the baby boomers were our age, it worked great. There were 10 workers for every 1-2 people in the 65+ age group. Now that the baby boomers are starting to turn 65, it's more a long the lines of 1 or so workers for 2 retirees.

I realize it sucks, but in the end we still have a pretty good tax code compared to a lot of other nations.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-11 13:25:00
Canadatax question about S.S TAX medicare etc.
You're going to hate the IRS. :) You cannot deduct expenses for Medicare and SS. Those are basically just "gone". However when you turn 65 you will be able to access the medicare system that you have paid into during your lifetime. When you retire you will be able to receive monthly social security payments from the government that you have also paid into through your working career (let's hope it's still there when we're 65).

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-11 12:55:00
CanadaIs ExpressPost Envelope still required for Montreal Consulate???
Don't schedule an interview if you have already been assigned one in your letter. For some types of visas, they can schedule their own interview. Even thought it will say, "you have no interview scheduled" there is no need to panic. You have your letter with your date in hand, and all is well. :) Signing up on that website is just so that you can choose a DHL location so when they approve your visa, then can mail it to the location you picked. :)

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-14 14:58:00
CanadaIs ExpressPost Envelope still required for Montreal Consulate???
Montreal no longer uses the Express Post envelope. You will need to log into http://www.usvisa-in...country_welcome and enter your information. Do not select an interview date if you have already been given one. You should be able to get to a screen to choose your DHL location. If it doesn't show up right away, don't panic. Try logging in the next day or the day after that.

My husband lives just outside of Montreal (Repengtigy) and we still used DHL. We had our interview this past Friday January 7th and he is picking up his passport/visa at the Anjou location today. We didn't personally inquire about being able to pick it up even though my husband basically lives in Montreal. What I have found through these forums and others experiences it that even though you live in the city, they prefer that you use DHL. In any case, our visa was available within two business days.

I hope this helps!

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-11 12:52:00
CanadaBanking system CDN vs. USA

It appears the OP's bank says they're fine with it, but in most situations it has been a no go.



CH doesn't charge any fees when you do the 3 business day electronic transfer. It's a pita to set up the account, though. Not to mention that since they've been taken over by Western Union, it's not as good as it used to be. I send cheques from the US to my bank in Canada every month. It's pretty simple.


How does sending checks work? I need to do something similar for my husband's car. Do you just grab deposit slips and mail them to the bank? Do the recognize the check is in USD and they do a change to CAN?

Thanks!

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-25 12:08:00
CanadaThread on VJ and IRS website didn't help...
Looks like you've gotten great advice so far. What my husband and I did was file jointly in both countries. I mailed a photocopy of my passport to the Canadian tax agency to get an ITN number and he did the same for us. I showed up as $0 income for him as I had no Canadian income and he showed up as $0 income for me as he had no American income.

This probably makes it sound overly simplified, but it seemed fairly simple to me. The pain in the butt part came with having to physically mail in my US taxes to file for the ITIN number for my husband. In the end, I found this the easiest way to go. I'm a staff accountant and I also consulted with our auditing accountant to make sure I was doing everything ok.

Turbo Tax is great resource. I use it every year. I wouldn't recommend H&R Block as I've found that paying them hundreds of dollars when all the person that does your taxes is doing is basic data entry. Every time I went there, it was just a random lackey with no tax experience inputting stuff into computer software.

Good Luck!

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-24 12:38:00
CanadaHotels in Montreal
We stayed at the Hyatt. It found it a little on the pricey side. Well, the room itself wasn't expensive, it was the fact that we had to pay an extra $30 for parking. Granted, it's Montreal and that's normal, but still. I'm not sure if anyone here will use a car or just the subway or a taxi. Jeff lived right outside of Montreal and we got the hotel for convenience and not having to battle morning traffic into Montreal. The consulate was a fairly quick walk, which is why we chose Hyatt. The room was nice and the early morning continental breakfast was great too.

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-02-02 00:02:00
CanadaTax issue driving me crazy!!
When exactly do T4's come out this year? I have all of our US tax documents to file our taxes, but I am waiting on his T4 so that I can put in his foreign income. He keeps telling me they aren't out yet.

Are they out? And if not, when do they come out?

Thanks!

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-02-03 13:19:00
CanadaWhen will I receive my passport with visa.

We had our interview on Friday 21st of January in Montreal. We are wondering when we will receive our passport. We live in Toronto. Please if anyone can shed some light on this, I will greatly appreciate it.


My husband and I had a similar interview as yours, on a Friday. Instead of trying to log in and get the waybill number, use the reference number instead. the DHL Canada website has a box for "reference" which is where we were able to track out visa. We never got the waybill from the visa website.

Our visa was available for pick-up the Tuesday after our interview and my husband did his POE the following weekend.

Good luck to you!

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-24 12:31:00
CanadaJob Interview

Another small question lol.. it came up when talking about the wage thing.

I have full coverage through the military. If I get FT position with this place it says medical benefits package. Is it inappropriate to tell them I have full medical and they wont have to pay for medical for me if they hire me? Is that even legal for them to not pay for medical coverage for a full time person if they already have full coverage? My husband isn't sure of how that works and I don't really want to cost them extra if it can be avoided by telling them.


It isn't inappropriate to tell them. Legally they have to offer health care, whether you take it is up to you. Also, hiring you just because you're "cheaper" because you wouldn't take health care is technically illegal. It would be considered discrimination. Not to say it isn't an advantage to you, but health care runs about $600-$1800 per person per month depending on the type of plan you take. It wouldn't hurt to mention it, and it might help.

As far as wages go, when a company asks you how much you want, always throw that ball back into their court. Keep in mind what you want to be paid, but you want to feel out their range before you come out and ask for X amount of money. Say something like, I was curious to know what you were willing to pay. Always keep in mind that the company is trying to hire someone as cheap as they can, and you're trying to get as much as you can. That be said, they'll most likely offer you the lower spectrum of where they're willing to go. The point of wage negotiation is to find something in the middle that makes both parties happy.

Interviews can be a paid in the #### just for these reasons, but remember they asked you to come which means they're interested in the abilities and talents that you have. Never sell yourself short. :)

Good Luck!!

J-
Jill & JeffFemaleCanada2011-01-29 09:14:00