ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Canadainterview I-134 or i-864 tomorrow

I have i134 letter from his employer And past 3 u
Years taxes. Was on bus to Montreal when I heard I might need the other. And I being paranoid panicked. We can't afford to be delayed any longer.


Well, you sound good to go. No reason to worry. :)
pocherosFemaleCanada2012-04-24 16:54:00
Canadainterview I-134 or i-864 tomorrow
As a K1 you only need the I-134 and its supporting evidence at the interview. The 864 is for AOS. It's a bit late to gather stuff but at minimum you need your fiance's last year's tax return or tax transcript.
pocherosFemaleCanada2012-04-24 15:42:00
CanadaIR-1/CR-1 cases in Canada
Though the K1 visa is issued faster than the IR1/CR1, it takes an additional 3+ months for the K1 to adjust their status in the USA whereas IR1/CR1s receive their green card soon after their visa is issued. Spousal visas are also cheaper than K1s. So, that's the upside to it :)
pocherosFemaleCanada2012-08-19 01:43:00
CanadaPolice Check - Fingerprints needed or not?
If you do not have a criminal record you DO NOT need fingerprints.
pocherosFemaleCanada2012-08-21 12:41:00
CanadaQuebec birth certificate
Quebec birth certificates issues after 1994 should be valid- I got mine sometime in the early 2000's and it was fine. They can only be issued in the language they original was issues in.

If you are anywhere near Mississauga I can point you to a translator who translated mine for $80 and stamped it with a seal AND because their office was affiliated with a commissioner of oath, I had the commissioner of oath certify mine for free. It took 3 weeks to get the translation. Make sure to get multiple copies of the translation.

Edited by pocheros, 22 August 2012 - 12:16 AM.

pocherosFemaleCanada2012-08-22 00:16:00
CanadaMontreal Embassy Affidavit of Support
Make sure to bring photocopies of the W2s (and everything else :) ) You never know what Montreal wants to keep a copy of. They keep the original police certificate, though.
pocherosFemaleCanada2012-08-29 17:47:00
Canada25 Reasons Why Canada Rocks
I enjoyed that post! I will disagree on the maternity leave being the best in the world though, but it's far better than in the US. I was surprised to learn that not only is there no mat leave, there's also no regulated vacation pay! I am kinda surprised that the US populace hasn't demanded these things!

Coffee crisp, Smarties, Caramilk.... yes Those are so much better than things I can get here, I have yet to fall in love with a purely american candy bar.

Ketchup chips? What about dill pickle or plain old salt and pepper? Try to find Mrs Vikies here without having to buy teeny bags in subway!!!

No one mentioned Canadian beer... Even our ####### brands are better than most of the regular brands here, but the craft beers.... some here are totally hit and miss...

Real sugar in our pop...

Mounties...

Loonies and Toonies!

Caesar... yes... that is definitely something good about Canada!

I also can't believe they didn't include all the amazing Canadian comedians!!
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-22 12:09:00
CanadaWhere are the Canaliens?
Bumping 'cause I just found this map and it's awesome!

eta: has the title of the map been changed? Not sure if it has been edited correctly by someone or not. When you click edit to open up the tags for the map, the map title opens up to edit too, and I think someone wrote in there instead of on the map. =) I don't know what it's supposed to be called, so if someone in the know can fix it, I'll be sure to look for it!

Edited by Stuart and Thea, 27 June 2012 - 10:05 AM.

Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-27 10:01:00
CanadaThe Walmart

Problem is you's talking Canadian!
You's in America now, so you better start learning how to talk good Murkhan!!!!! LOL...
You can get right back at him by adding 'the' to all these places, a perfectly timed pause, followed by an adverb of place as in 'I went to the McDonalds... ...on Main'... Make sure you make eye contact and look smug... LOL


Hahaha! I giggled BIG time at this one! My husband has lived all over, and has an interesting accent, not quite Little Rock, but it's still there. Whenever I do something purely Canadian, or misunderstand something because of my Canadian goggles, he comes out saying pretty much that in exactly the way you described, putting a really thick redneck accent on. I find it adorable!

See I don't think Canadian realize that they do it. And I know I never did it all the time.

I would never say, "I'm going to the Wal-mart", but I would say, "Let's go the Wal-mart to get the patio furniture and the the Pizza Hut for dinner". I would only use it when I'm referring to a specific location that correlates with the next place.

It's kind of hard to explain, but I think it's used more in the context of, "Let's go to the Wal-mart [on Main St.] for the XXX" - we are leaving out the specific location details.

At least that's how I would use it. I don't think Thea means in a redneck kind of way.


You hit the nail on the head, that's it exactly! I kinda was surprised to hear that rednecks did it too, but they do it the way my husband described, as in, there's only one, so it's the...

So glad to hear I'm not alone in this one, but I had never heard it talked about as a difference before...
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-15 10:47:00
CanadaThe Walmart
lol, my mom is British so I probably get it from her then!
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-13 17:38:00
CanadaThe Walmart
Okay, this seems rather weird, but it makes sense to me, being the Canadian, and my husband cracks up everytime I say it. He's tried badly to explain it to his friends, and ends up just making fun of me... well here goes, tell me if you do this too:

I say, "we can get it at the walmart on the way home"

It's the "the" that's the big deal to him.

We have two walmarts, I call one The walmart, and one The Supercenter. If we only had one, I think, but can't be sure, that I'd just say "we can get it at walmart" instead of "the" walmart.

We only have one Target, so I only say Target. Same with KMart. If the store had The in the title, I normally do say it, but have been known to just say Home Depot instead of The Home Depot, if there is only one in town.

On the flip side, because there are SO many McDonalds in town, I would probably just say McDonalds instead of The McDonalds. Unless I was meeting someone at a McDonalds close to where I was regularly, like if I was going for lunch, I'd probably say "I'll meet you over at the McDonalds" instead of just plain McDonalds.

I also find that I say things like "over 60 you need to go to the bingo" instead of just bingo, and I KNOW I'm not the only one who does that.

My American husband finds this highly amusing, so I've been listening to my friends and family closely to see if they also say the, when not really needed. A lot of them do! But here it's just weird.. I'm trying not to.

I explained it to him that the sentence kind of ends with the unspoken WHICH walmart I mean when I say the. He thinks I should only say the if there's one in town, but that's not how it works. It's that we need to go to the walmart (near his work) or the mcdonalds (across the street) for example. Rather than any of them being okay to choose.

(please tell me I'm not alone in being made fun of over this... is it a Canadian thing? I'm from Kitchener Waterloo...)
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-13 15:58:00
CanadaCanada day Acros America
No Canadians showed up to my party, so after an hour of waiting, we decided to go out. =P Hopefully next year, we can plan better, and have it up on the site longer so maybe we'll get some takers. Oddly, I did get the party pack delivered to me today, a little late, but no one missed the stuff. I'm looking forward to enjoying a Tim Horton's coffee in the morning, and have put the rest of the stuff away for next year, it's pretty cool! A bunch of balloons, little toothpick flags, fake tattoos and beer coozies!

Now I'm just looking forward to the 4th of July celebrations, there's been fireworks and parties nightly since Friday. (lol, which is why we went out when no one showed up at ours!)
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-07-02 23:48:00
CanadaCanada day Acros America
None in Branson, so I decided to host one. Anyone in the area who wants to help me host it is more than welcome to help out! There are tons of Canadians that come through here, it would be awesome to have a bunch of them come over!

I think I'll have Corner Gas run in the background, and we can eat butter tarts and drink Caesers! Poutine might be a bit of a stretch, but I could still do french fries and REAL gravy, what's with the white stuff?

Edited by Stuart and Thea, 22 June 2012 - 11:37 AM.

Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-22 11:34:00
CanadaNeeding Some Advice!!
If you are insured, I'd call the Canadian border and see if there's a problem bringing your Canadian vehicle back to Canada. If you aren't importing it, you'd have to either destroy it, or arrange to have it sent back to Canada anyway, as you can't legally sell it here without importing it first. Then, when you're driving it back to the US, import it then! You may even be able to stop at a dealer in Canada to ask them for a compliance letter.

I still haven't imported my motorcycle, (was hoping to do it when I got my tax return... :/) but it does cost money to import it. I was told that a percentage of its blue book value needs to be paid.

here's a couple of useful links! CBP link

bordercenter link

If you plan to keep the car in the US, then you will need to contact your nearest POE and see if they will handle it for you.
This link will help you find one near you: find a POE
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-30 18:52:00
CanadaHelp me with my tax assessment
Okay, it seems that some of my credits are only allowed for those who are residents, but some of them were removed because the combined income for myself and my husband put us out of the loop. I was not filing joint, as we only started living together in December, and he never lived in Canada. I think it's nuts to use his salary to determine my tax, the IRS wasn't interested in what I made in Canada because I was living in Canada when I made it. I've been advised to pay the tax, and they're going to see if it can be sorted out. Also, there's a question as to when residency ends, so they're looking into that as well, because from the tax departments own link I was a resident until May of this year. If they can't fix the joint filing issue, then we'll talk to the tax people here and maybe they'll adjust my husband's taxes because his income was effectively taxed in Canada.
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-07-06 10:54:00
CanadaHelp me with my tax assessment
On the page that says whether or not you are a resident for tax purposes, it says:

When do you become a non-resident?

When you leave Canada to settle in another country, you usually become a non-resident of Canada for income tax purposes on the latest of the following dates:

the date you leave Canada;
the date your spouse or common-law partner and dependents leave Canada; or
the date you become a resident of the country to which you are immigrating.

link

I kind of thought that meant I was a resident for all of 2011, and only lost my status in May of 2012, as it is the latest date of the three?

I wish I could find something showing how to recalculate these credits by number of days in Canada to see if indeed they made a mistake.
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-07-01 08:52:00
CanadaHelp me with my tax assessment

You should check with an accountant. Do not go to H&R block. This is something that should be looked at by a professional.

I have a message in to them but they're away...
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-30 22:32:00
CanadaHelp me with my tax assessment
I had been expecting a refund of close to 2000$ but instead got a tax assessment saying I owe 77$

I moved away from Canada at the end of November last year, (the 26th) so knew the credits had to be adjusted for that missing month, but didn't expect it to mean I owe! Any idea how they figure this out?? My child tax credit went from 2131 to 2008, which makes sense, for 11 instead of 12 months. but the federal non-refundable went from 4021 to 2333, that's a huge drop for only moving at the end of the year, I would have expected that much of a drop if it were July, not November! And the Ontario one as well was dropped, but they didn't give me the change, just the final amount....

How can I look at this to know if they maybe made a mistake? Anyone have any idea how they readjust the credit for people who move away?



At the very least, if it's going to mean not getting 2000 dollars, wait a month to move! This is money I need!
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-30 18:27:00
CanadaWhen visiting Canada....
When I was a kid, some friends and I drove across the border to shop an picked up cheap booze and smokes. At the border when they asked if we had anything to declare, we said, a case of beer and a carton of smokes and a pair of shoes. (all I found) The officer laughed and said because we were only across for a couple hours, it wasn't enough to import them, but let us go through anyway with a don't do it again! I think he had felt bad for us, because we ran out of gas in line, and had to push the car through, and then hitchhike to get some gas. We ended up going from the Rainbow Bridge to St Catherines with a truck driver and having to cab it back to fill up. (I had told the driver before we hit the ramp to make sure to fill up on the US side, but he was too stupid to realize the US side was before we went through customs)
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-07-21 09:04:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties
I didn't know where else to put this, but as to American things that I'm in love with, there is a seasoning made in the Ozarks called Cavenders Greek Seasoning. It is delicious, and I will be sending it to my parents in Canada. If I ever left, it would go with me. (it's HP sauce good.. and I mean that!!) I just shake it on meat, or on potatoes or on eggs... salad... yum!
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-01-14 21:15:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties
I've never heard of Malt bread...

I had to go to a Mennonite store to purchase yellow split peas... I love to make split pea soup, and couldn't find them anywhere here! I will say that next time my parents come to visit me, a can or two of Habitant soup will be coming with them...
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-01-12 18:09:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties

A good alternative to Shreddies is Wheat Chex (or maybe it's whole wheat chex... something like that). It's very very similar in texture!


I will definitely try them... I know that regular Chex has sugar in it, so it's out, but if the wheat is just wheat, then I'm in!
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-01-04 12:03:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties
I lived near Dare Cookies in Kitchener, and I tell you, it smelled wonderful! French Cremes I found hard to find even in town there! Though my favourite cookie also had to be PC Decadent chocolate chip. I do miss PC brand, their sweet with heat mustard, and their BBQ sauce. Heck, even the Insider's report was fun to read!

One thing I am very surprised about is the peanut butter here. I always bought the PC organic, or just peanuts. (I don't like margarine or sugar in my peanut butter) I knew I wouldn't find anything remotely close, even the Skippy Natural has additives in it, so I was looking for a health food store. I purchased the Smuckers brand peanut butter, it's just roasted peanuts, and I tell you, I love the stuff a thousand times better than the PC brand! Yes, it has more of a roasted flavour, but yum!

If you don't find wine gums but do find sports mixtures (Basset's) then get them, they're harder than wine gums, and I don't know if they have any wine in them, but they're pretty good. I've got my eyes out for either...
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-01-03 22:29:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties
I went to the store today with honey and he bought yet another pack of gummy bears, he's totally addicted. We got into the conversation about what candy can we really not stop ourselves from eating and for me, that's Swedish Berries. (wine gums a close second and haven't found a solution yet)

He didn't know what they were.

Uh oh...

We scoured the shelves at Walmart and I couldn't find any anywhere, little did I know they are primarily Canadian. Luckily for me... and hopefully you, maynard's makes Swedish FISH here!!!

They taste exactly the same as Swedish Berries, but they look like a fish, and have Swedish Fish imprinted on their side. YUM and YAY!

Now, I just need to fine a substitute for Maynard's or Basset's Wine Gums!
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-01-02 15:08:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties

Aren't Chex pretty much the same thing, but less gross?

Sorry, not even close...
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2011-07-25 18:12:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties
Shreddies on Facebook will let you get a free coupon if you tell them how much you love them!

Edited by Stuart and Thea, 24 July 2011 - 04:37 PM.

Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2011-07-24 16:36:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties
Pastry:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1/8 to 1/4 cup ice water

Mix flour, salt, and sugar until combined. Cut in butter until it forms a coarse texture. Add water slowly, about 1/8 cup until pastry is formed, you might need a little more.

Make a ball with the dough, flatten it and cover it with saran wrap. Refrigerate it for about one hour.

When ready, put the dough on a floured surface, roll it out into twelve 4 inch rounds. Put the rounds into the muffin tin and refrigerate for about another hour.



Butter Tart Filling:

  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup light cream (half-and-half)
  • 1/2 cup raisins

Cream the butter and sugar.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla extract.
Stir in the cream.
Place a spoonful of raisins in the bottom of each tart shell and then fill with filling.
Bake at 375 for 15 - 20 minutes or until the pastry has nicely browned and the filling is set.
Cool on a wire rack!

Edited by Stuart and Thea, 23 July 2011 - 11:57 AM.

Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2011-07-23 11:57:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties

I wish they had chocolate popsicles in the US. :(

Ohmygosh!! I was so excited to find mini frozen tart shells in Harris Teeter the other night!! My husband thought I was nuts. lol



What????? What's wrong with these people???

On a plus note, if you like shreddies on the facebook page, they were giving away coupons for a free box, for those of us still in Canada and able to use them!!!
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2011-06-24 19:32:00
CanadaWhen You Eat Your Smarties
I love coffee crisp too, but I'm more heartbroken over not being able to find Shreddies in the States, definitely will be stocking up on those when I come back for trips!
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2011-06-12 20:15:00
CanadaWho is allowed to ask for our greencard info?
I understand if it was the government or military asking for it, but it wasn't, it was my son in law. Are we allowed to give the number out??? Can't people use it for fraudulent means if we do?
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-08-10 20:09:00
CanadaWho is allowed to ask for our greencard info?
I posted in the military info section with specifics to this, but for general purposes, who can ask me for my and my son's greencard number?

My husband's son, who I've met a handful of times is joining the navy, and apparently needs this info. I'm not sure that makes sense, as shouldn't they have access to that information just in the background check? They didn't ask for our social security card numbers but I'm just a little hesitant to give out some information that maybe I shouldn't??
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-08-08 15:33:00
CanadaTravelling With Cats
We crossed the border with two cats and a dog. We had to park the truck and go inside for about half an hour. We told them that we had animals in the truck, and had their updated information and health certificates, and the border guy just waved his hand. He didn't care, didn't want more work for himself I guess. The fact that I offered the information was probably seen as enough proof that my animals were in good health and being cared for properly, so they didn't even inspect them. Or the truck, lol.

I kept the dog on a leash and the cats in carriers. If I could have put the dog in a seat and buckled her in I would have as well, but there just wasn't any room. It may seem harsh to keep an animal locked up, but it's for their own safety, if you were to get into a crash, they would just fly into the front of the car, and get really badly hurt, but at least in a carrier, you can tuck them under the seat, if it's high enough, or buckle the carrier into the seat.

Rescue remedy and felaway didn't work for us, but I made sure to have a number of blankets and toys with their scent from back home on them, and would swap them out every time we stopped. Make sure you have enough to give a fresh one at each stop, and not to rotate them, as they'll smell their own stress on them. Also keep one for when you arrive. (what I did was take a big piece of flannel and let them sleep on it for a couple weeks before we moved, then cut it up into small blankets, and some I tied with catnip in them as toys)

Be careful of the catnip though, I saved it for the hotel room and for when we got home, because some cats are unpredictable on it, and you DON'T want unpredictable in a car.

The meowing stopped after an hour or two... each day...
Stuart and TheaFemaleCanada2012-06-22 12:22:00
CanadaMontreal August 2011 Interviews!

I now have an appointment August 30th 8am! So happy!!

Great news!! 2 more months and we can all celebrate :thumbs:
s&c1FemaleCanada2011-07-01 19:38:00
CanadaMontreal August 2011 Interviews!

My medical exam is tomorrow. I was going to take the GO train from Brampton but seeing as I wouldn't be first in line ( :rolleyes: ) if I did that I arranged for a cab to drive me there at a flat rate. I can't really afford the $70 but I don't really give a damn at this point, haha.

I'm a little nervous because my most recent vaccinations are handwritten onto my record by my doctor but MOST of my older vaccines are on the "official" record so hopefully it's okay. *sigh*

Good Luck tomorrow!!! I hope all is smooth sailing for you.
My lil yellow card is the same way too, I hope it works out!!

I did a separate thread about my medical since it got pretty complicated, but I was there just before 6am, was second in line, and out by 8:15, which was awesome!

Good luck with yours tomorrow, pocheros!

I am so sorry all that happen to you I hope things get better and all is solved.
s&c1FemaleCanada2011-06-20 21:03:00
CanadaMontreal August 2011 Interviews!
Thanks so much for your posting Kayla!! Good to know all that! I still have my "yellow" booklet :)

I love this site and all those VJer out there!!!! So helpful and understanding :)
s&c1FemaleCanada2011-06-15 19:46:00
CanadaMontreal August 2011 Interviews!
I made a very stupid mistake when I booked my interview and filling things on the website. I didn't put my correct month of my birth. I was doing it quick and didn't notice I left it at January and it is suppose to be June!!! Ugg :wacko:
So now I have the wrong date of birth! What do I do???? Can anyone help me???

Should I e-mail this address contactus en CA@usvisa-info.com ?
s&c1FemaleCanada2011-05-24 10:12:00
CanadaMontreal August 2011 Interviews!

I haven't actually rebooked, but I refresh to see when the next available date is all the time. Like multiple times when I'm sitting at my computer.

Oh alright, thanks for the info!! I will try that :thumbs:
s&c1FemaleCanada2011-05-23 15:54:00
CanadaMontreal August 2011 Interviews!

Keep checking back if you want an earlier date - I managed to get one for Aug 8th at 8:01 ... and I'll keep checking in hopes i can move it 2 weeks to the left! I'm pretty excited and theres not much time left!

How long do i wait to check back or can I do it as many times in a day as I want???
s&c1FemaleCanada2011-05-23 12:16:00
CanadaMontreal August 2011 Interviews!
I booked for Aug 25th at 8:31 (might keep checking to get earlier, but I am thrilled to have a date booked)
Thanks to everyone on VJ for support and giving us great advice :D
s&c1FemaleCanada2011-05-23 11:34:00
CanadaWhat Are You Reading?

Currently reading I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. He's the author of She's Come Undone (one of the greatest books I've ever read, I highly suggest picking it up) .. I was a little intimidated by this one, it's lengthy and there's a lot of detail, however, it's beautiful. Heartbreaking, but so incredibly well written.


I really liked 'She's come undone'. I haven't picked up any of his books since then though so I'll have to give 'I know this much is true' a try.

It's funny, there have been several books that I'd already read or picked up without knowing, only to realise later that they were on Oprah's book list. Now i'm not so quick to dismiss a book if I see the Oprah stamp. hehe.

Edited by usmcwife, 03 September 2010 - 10:58 AM.

usmcwifeFemaleCanada2010-09-03 10:58:00