Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Canada	Travis & Kim and July09Bride - Good luck with your interviews in Montreal on Thursday!	Good luck to you both!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-04-15 08:13:00
Canada	Crossing the Border- No Ties	Driving cross they probably wouldn't even ask for proof or anything if you, your sister adn your mom went and said you were just going shoopping for hte day to David's Bridal. Because your fiance is American they may ask some questions (the 3 of you toether might raise flags) although if you have proof of your interivew date with you I'd say you have a very stong case that you will return!! The last time I crossed in a car they didn't hassle me at all because I was with other people and although we were meeting my husband we were going on a climbing trip. They can look everything up in their system (immigration forms filed/where you are in the process) but I don't believe it appears on their screen or anything unless they physically look it up! You should make sure your finace has proof that he has a return flight/plans to go home to the US after the end of his visit or he may not get back in to Canada after your shopping trip! I never did see my bride's maids dresses in person until just before my wedding. We ordered my dresses for my bridesmaids (2 of whom where Canadian and my husbad's sister who is Amereican) from DB and one of the Candians had never even tried hers on either! It all turned out fine!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-04-20 08:21:00
Canada	Montreal Interview	Congrats! Glad it's all over for you!!! (for now!) you must be so so happy! Thanks also for the report on your interview and happy packing!!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-04-20 07:42:00
Canada	Our Montreal Experience!	Thanks for the review and congrats and best of luck with the move!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-04-30 08:28:00
Canada	Medical Review Dr. Seiden - Toronto	Thanks OBX for the review. I'll be having mine once I get back to Canada too. I am not nervous about it at all, but regardless your review was nice to read just to have a few more details about what to expect! Next step for you - INTERVIEW!!! Yeay! Congrats, you're one step closer!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-04-14 20:00:00
Canada	Montreal Interview	Thanks for the great review and Congrats again!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-16 12:28:00
Canada	FYI- Visa approval	Wow, Congratulations! You must have had a lot of people praying for you! I am so glad all they did was slap you on the wrist! You must be soooo relieved that it all worked out! I'm really happy for you, Congrats again!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-17 12:58:00
Canada	goin to montreal for interview	QUOTE (landa @ May 12 2009, 08:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (carslo @ May 12 2009, 04:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I am flying into YUL, my flight arrives late so I am taking a taxi approximate cost for taxi one way to d/t Montreal is 40.00. I booked my hotel on Hotwire it is a 3.5 star and was $66.00 a night US. I will be 1.5 miles from the consulate but a walk in June will not hurt me at all. When is your interview? Good luck, Janet thanks for the info everyone. my interview is on may 27. may i know which hotel you booked whicch is close to the embassy? I still haven't booked the hotel yet. thanks If the hotwire hotels are not named until after you book them but you can pretty much figure it out if you check the website www.betterbidding.com. Most of them are walking distance from the embassy.	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-17 13:28:00
Canada	Toronto Medical @ Dr Seiden's	QUOTE (TXLADY @ May 20 2009, 12:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> what a day you had ,,,,weird docs !! this visa process sucx! Ya and I didn't mention how the nurse ripped the paper gown twiceon each side so she could do the breast exam!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-21 23:39:00
Canada	Toronto Medical @ Dr Seiden's	I haven't been around a computer for a while but I thought I'd give you guys another medical experience "review" of Dr Seiden's office in Toronto. My appointment was last week. I arrived at about 6:35am and there was one couple already waiting. I was 2nd in line, I met Moosker who was there for her medical too she was 3rd in line. At around 6:45am we were let into the lobby area and lined up at the counter. We were asked for our appointment letters and were told to go sit/wait in the the waiting room. Moosker and I had been talking around 10 minutes when they called my name. I was taken to an office where we did the paperwork. I was asked to produce the appointment letter again, passport, 3 passport photos (american size), the $275 fee, immunization records, any other blood work or antibody-titer results etc and whether or not I required the results to be couriered. I decided to collect mine so I did not have to pay the extra $50. The lady actually made some comment like "Oh, look at you.... so organized" so I guess reading all the VisaJourney stuff does help! By this time I think it was only about 7:10 and I was directed down the hall to the right to sit in some chairs outside the X-ray room. The first couple were just finishing up. I was told to go in and put on a paper gown removing everything from wait up (necklace too) and put my hair in a bun. The X-ray technician and older lady came back and did the X-rays, told me to change and save the gown for later. She double checked the X-ray and then said it was fine, and directed me back down the hall to some chairs outside the first office were I did all the paperwork. The first couple were waiting there too and I sat down beside them. I had not even been there a minute when a lady came and took them to Exam Rm 2 and me to Rm 3 for the physicals. (I later figured out there was a family of kids that had by-passed us and where in Rm 1. My file was brought in and set on the desk. Not long after (about 7:20am) the admin lady came and asked me weight and height and filled them in the forms. She said someone would be in to take my blood pressure in a minute. I waited a while. A timid Dr came took my blood pressure and wrote it down. He left. The admin lady came back and told me I could change into the paper gown again and to remove bra and underwear unless it was "that time of the month". At 7:55 Dr Seiden entered with the timid Dr again. He sat down asked a series of health questions. When he was done the timid Dr listened to my heart & felt around my abdominal area while Dr Seiden filled out a bunch of paperwork and looked over my immunization records. The 2 Dr's left and a nurse came in. She did the breast exam and then checked to see what genitals I had (lifted the gown, peeked and lowered the gown in like 0.5 seconds) and then told me I could get dressed and then go down the hall for my blood work. It was actually quite funny. The lady asked me which arm. Took some blood and said "ok you're done". I was out of there at 8:10am and waited for Moosker who finished at 8:30am. It was way easier and less stressful than we imagined. The whole thing is simple and quick if you get there early. The further back in the line you are the more back-log and the longer the whole thing will take. Mine took 1hr 35min but they only had 2 physicals before mine. Later in the day I can see how it would get crazy!! The results in Toronto can be collected 2 days later after 12 noon or any day after that between 9am-5pm providing everything is normal and they don't need anything further from you. Otherwise you have to pay the $50 courier which should be ready to send out after 2 days. They suggest you take a plastic bag if you are collecting them because the X-ray is big and you also get a sealed envelope which you are not to open. They include a copy of the immunization info for you which she said is the same the one they include in the sealed envelope. All in all, a very uneventful day. Nothing to worry or stress about! Just get there early unless you have all day and don't mind waiting in hallways! Edited by A & M, 16 May 2009 - 11:11 AM.	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-16 11:07:00
Canada	Montreal Interview CR-1 Review	:kicking: It's done! Finally this part is over! I thought I'd write a review for those of your wondering what to expect. I know the reviews I read before I went helped me to prepare for my interview. Be warned though – it’s long and I think I went a little over-board with details. (I also posted some of this in the embassy reviews section) I arrived at the embassy at 6:45am for my CR-1 interview. I was the first one in line. Moosker waited with me. About 5 min after we arrived other people started showing up. I am not sure if it was because it was a Wed, but by the time the security guard opened the doors at 7:35am there where 10+ people behind me (twice as many as when I waited the morning before with Moosker). The security guard waved everyone over and let us in. I was the first one in and through security, yet they gave me the letter B and gave the family behind me A. Once through the security you go down some steps, follow the yellow arrows on the floor to the waiting room for the elevator. I was there waiting by myself for 5 min before anyone else came. People slowly came into the waiting room and after about 10 minutes the elevator opened and the security guard called A,B,C&D to get in the elevator. I remembered reading the doors of the elevator opened on the other side so I faced that direction and giggled. No one else turned until the security guard warned them the doors would be opening on the other side. We went up to the 19th floor and sat in the waiting room. (And yes the view of Montreal from there was amazing!) We were in the waiting room by 7:50am. Nothing happened until around 8:35am when the first name was called. It wasn’t mine or the family’s. It was the girl who had D. Next the family who were A was called. By around this time another elevator load of people had come up and around 30 people came out. I honestly couldn’t believe how many people they had packed in there. At 8:45am my name was called. For the first stage they use counters 9,10,11&12, which are down a hall past the ladies’ restroom. There are basically windows that you stand at with small dividers between them. There is only a small opening to slip papers under back and forth. I had not clearly heard which number I was to report to but there were only 2 windows vacant. I went to the first vacant one and asked if she was waiting for me. She said no, so I went to the remaining window where I could see the lady had my passport open and my file. I stood there for a minute and she did not say anything. She was reading. She was an older lady with glasses and blondish/whitish short curly hair. She was very pleasant. I was asked how I met my husband, some questions about my previous addresses (I have lived overseas) and she asked questions as she went through my history and calculated timelines based on the dates. I really didn’t have time to answer any though, as before I did she had moved on to the next question. She was pretty much talking herself through my paperwork and was reading aloud and seldom let me answer anything. She wrote notes and ticked things off in red pen along the right side of the forms. She saw I had the police check from the other country I had lived in and moved through the paperwork quickly. She asked for my 2 passport photos, the sealed envelope containing my medical results and for the Xpress envelope. I had already filled my address into the TO: section and she stamped the embassy stuff into the FROM: section and put it with the rest of my file. She told me to go back to the waiting room and she’d call me back. When I went back the waiting room none of the others from the original 4 were done yet. I was back first. When they got back they told me they had been asked lots of questions. Most of them had been asked for their sponsor’s 2008 tax info, which they did not have. There were also a few that did not have an Xpress envelope either and they were mad they had not been told to bring one and they were getting more nervous. They asked me how I knew everything and I told them about VisaJourney which they had never heard of. At least one of them had let their lawyers handle everything. At 9:05 I was called back to the same window to do my fingerprint scans. The lady was having computer issues and had to re-start twice. She was talking to her co-workers who were telling her they also had restarted several times that morning. She let me sit in one of the chairs directly across from her window instead of going back to the waiting room. After about 10 minutes she apologized and said it should be fine. I did the left fingers, then right fingers and then the 2 thumbs. It took a while to get good scans that were acceptable on my right hand for whatever reason. She said my fingers were not flat enough. After that she asked me to return to the waiting room and wait for my name to be called into either room 7 or 8. At 9:20 when I got back everyone from the original group was waiting again for a long time. People from the other side of the room were starting to be called to different windows for different things by this time and it seemed like the waiting room was almost full. I was starting to fall asleep I was so tired. The guy who I had been chatting with who was letter C was called into Rm 7 around 10:45. Names of the others people were staring to be called into the rooms 7&8 - 2 small closet-like rooms located across from the ladies’ restroom in the hall towards counters 9,10,11&12. They too had a window to stand at with only a little slot to pass papers under. When the guy with C came out he said he was a bit flustered because they asked him to fill out more forms regarding his finances because he was self employed. He asked to use my pen again. When I was called to room 7 at about 10:55 there was a kind lady behind the glass with her computer. She said “Good Morning” and asked me how I was. She was smiling a little. First she told me the computer would pick a random finger to verify it was really me. It picked my left thumb so she asked me to place it on the scanner. After that was done, she asked me to raise my right had and take an oath everything in my paperwork or that I was about to say was true. After that she asked again where I met my husband. She said it must be nice to have a spouse with a common interest. She asked when we got married, how often I have been to see him, whether I liked the city he lives in, where we will live, whether the address on my form was still current and whether it was safe for sending stuff to me. She asked me what my husband did and if he had filed his 2008 taxes – I told her he had and asked offered her the photocopies I had. She asked if she could keep them to add to the file. I said yes. She asked if I was ready to move to the USA – I said no… she laughed. She said “Well… you better get ready because I am granting you a Green Card today.” She gave me the “Welcome to America” letter and explained how long I had to enter the USA asking “Will that fit into your schedule?” and told me what to expect when I entered and activated it. She said I should get the passport with the visa in it back in around a week and that when I received the condition 2 yr green card in the USA there would be more papers and info with it. I was done at about 11:05 and went and sat with nervous lady I had been speaking to, told her what they asked and told her to relax. The other guy I was speaking to was still filing out the additional forms. I told the others to say goodbye and good luck to him and let him keep my pen! All in all – it was soooo easy and as long as you are prepared there is no reason to stress at all! I was only speaking to the 2 ladies for a combined total of about 20 minutes max and most of that was watching them check through paperwork and enter stuff into the computer. The day I was there the doors were opened a few minutes late and everything seemed to get behind because of the computer issues they were having and issues with the fingerprint scanners. Moosker had her interview the day before and I waited with her. The doors were opened 2 minutes early and she said they were not sitting upstairs very long before they started calling names. At mine we all sat there until after 8:35 and no one had been called. On her morning she was the first in line and was back to the hotel by 9:30am. The next day I was the first in line but I didn’t get back until 11:15am. We were talking about how lucky we were to have found Visa Journey and also to have met each other earlier on in this process. Our cases were approved only a day apart, we booked our medicals on the same day, and our interviews were only a day apart. We were lucky to meet each other and be able to go through these stages of the process together. Honestly, I don’t know what I would have done if I had not found Visa Journey! There were people on both morings that Moosker and I met that didn't know all the info we knew and were so nervous! I want to thank the whole VJ family! Two more made it through the process! Thanks guys & gals for all your help!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-21 13:35:00
Canada	Tax items for interview	Basically they want the W2, 1040 and/or any tax submission or pay stubs you might have that show the income for 2008. When most of us submitted our I-864 with all these documents it was only up to 2007 taxes because it was well before the April tax deadline. I met some people at the interview that where asked for 2008 taxes but they did not have any. I don't know what happened to them after the last stage of their interview though... if anything maybe it will postpone things until you send the proof? Just have it with you for your interview because it's better to be safe than sorry!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-21 23:23:00
Canada	Potato Chips in Sandwiches	I think they sometimes view chips as a french-fry substitute or something. In England they often put chips in sandwiches and/or eat them on the side as part of the meal too. I see lots of people in teh US eating chips as part of their meals as if they are a food group. Wierd!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-21 23:47:00
Canada	Crossing into the US together while waiting for interview	If you already were assigned an interview I think that woudl be great proof, but since you are still waiting a POE officer might not liek that you do not have a definite return date in mind (especially since he will not have a return flight, bus ticket or anything). Personally, I think they like it better when you have a "plan" but it can backfire on you too. I had a return flight once (that we were always going to change the date on) and when I went to visit my husband in the USA I was taken into seconday and given 30 days in the US. They stamped my passport and for 1 day after my flight as the last possbile day I could be in the US. When crossing in a car I told them my plans once and I ended up staying longer than that. Since they let me in with the regular rules there is nothing wrong with doing that. You can always have a change in plans as long as you are not overstaying. If I were you, I would take as much proof as you can that he has ties to Canada and take the immigration forms as proof as well as an estimated interview time frame and if questioned tell them that you have always been following the rules, you would not screw it up now that you are almost at the interview. They should hopefully understand that all you want to do is have some tiem to plan the wedding etc.	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-16 11:44:00
Canada	How long after your approval did you move to the states?	I had my interview last Wednesday and I am moving TOMORROW. I had already quit my job though, and my stuff has been in storage for a while so I am more than ready to get down there and start my life with my husband!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-27 23:40:00
Canada	Montreal Interviews This Week	Awww thanks guys!! Just saw this now... We both had a great time in Montreal and passed our interviews too! Thanks for all your well-wishes and advice! For anyone heading to MTL - I recommend checking out Hotwire.com - We stayed at the Delta Montreal (rooms regularly $130) and it was really nice! It was quiet, beds were comfy and only took about 7min to walk to our interviews. (We are both fast walkers but still!) It's also within walking to lots and lots of shopping and the european feeling streets with restarants and shops. We were each the first person in line on our interview mornings and Moosker was back at our hotel by 9:30 and I was back by 11:15. We were impressed with the deal we got which was even cheaper than the one everyone stays at across from the embassy!	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-05-21 13:53:00
Canada	POE Windsor/Detroit, Ambassador Bridge	QUOTE (Sam and Ben @ Jun 2 2009, 11:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My best experiences, I have to say, have been first thing in the morning before dawn... everyone seems so much more pleasant before the sun creeps up! Wonder how I'll manage to convince him that we just HAVE to leave that early, haha. We crossed at 3:15-4:00 and the people processing things were really friendly and polite. Everyone really, except the guy on a power trip because we were not standing in the right place.	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-06-03 12:47:00
Canada	POE Windsor/Detroit, Ambassador Bridge	QUOTE (July09Bride @ Jun 1 2009, 12:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (trailmix @ Jun 1 2009, 09:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I hope everyone who gets treated like that is complaining to someone! I'm always too scared to tell anyone! I don't even know who I'd tell... other than family members and you all here. Sometimes when you are totally at the mercy of them - no matter how rude they are - you just shut up and take one for the team so you can get in and get it over with! I used to go through secondary a lot when ever I was visiting my husband and I admit I put up with a lot and did some pretty serious A$$ kissing! "oh... yes sure, thank you sir, of course we knew it'd be up to you on the day sir..." Who is going to complain and start a fuss when your visit/entry is based on that person...?	A & M	Female	Canada	2009-06-01 23:07:00