ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
USCIS Service CentersOnline Case Updates (Receipt Troubles)
Thanks, madeel!

I'll definitely check out that link and probably end up emailing them as well.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2011-02-04 18:14:00
USCIS Service CentersOnline Case Updates (Receipt Troubles)
I filed an IR1 which was routed to the service center in California (not that I think that matters). My packet was received on January 17th and they began processing it on the 19th. All is fine there...

The problem is that my receipt number will not show up on the website for tracking case updates. So, I called the USCIS NCSC and the first person I spoke to could not find the case in the system. He was very nice and helpful as much as he could be and shortly transferred me to another department to assist.

I had to wait 30 minutes for some woman to answer. She seemed like she was in a hurry and that I was inconveniencing her. She found my receipt in the system without a problem, but when I asked about the online website issue she told me (after asking four times, literally) that I would never see the case online because the "systems weren't meshing."

Anyone else get a delay before their case showed up on the website? If so, how long? Did some people never have their case show up? Did anyone get some equally stupid answer about why their case isn't showing up?
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2011-01-27 19:17:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresAdvice for Pre-K3 / Planning Visit to US

I agree... Cat + Fiance + no ties to Canada = denied entry at border... Traveling with the cat is a GIANT RED FLAG.... You go and pick up the cat OR have the cat sent over... I would also definetly look into have a family member travel with her that has ties to Canada...


Well, she has financial ties (bills and banking stuff). Also, I'm looking at having someone ride up with me to Buffalo and rent a car from there. They'll be taking the cat across the border instead of us doing it.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-01-15 23:40:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresAdvice for Pre-K3 / Planning Visit to US

That's not an immigration issue but you could look into you and the cat traveling together to solve the cat issue and still have you fiance travel alone or with a friend or family member. You, the fiancee and cat together at a border crossing is a prescription for a denied entry that would probably result in no future entries without a spouse or fiancee visa.


I will look into having the cat come sooner. Thank you for your advice!
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-01-13 16:58:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresAdvice for Pre-K3 / Planning Visit to US

Your current plan sounds like planning to fail. You would have a greater chance of success if she leaves the cat behind and crosses the border on her own or with a family member or friend instead of in the car with her fiance. K3 will not speed up your process at this time. Filing the second petition usually slows things down. CR1 and opting in to the electronic processing through NVC, the second stage of the process, would be your best bet.


Thank you. I think we will be deciding to do the CR-1 instead of the K3.

My only problem is that our arms are tied when it comes to the cat. She will be relinquishing ownership to me, if that helps at all? Would we have to do any forms to that effect?
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-01-13 12:01:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresAdvice for Pre-K3 / Planning Visit to US
Sorry to double-post, but from what I had read, the CR-1 took slightly longer to process than the K3. However, I hadn't delved into the forum posts, yet, which revealed that the processing times are not that different nowadays.

I'll have to talk it over with the future Mrs., but, given the benefits of a CR-1 over a K3, I think we might be more inclined to go with sole I-130.

Regardless, I still need more advice on the border entry. She's visited me for an extended period of time in the past (length of three months) and I even brought her in shortly after she became unemployed for three weeks for Thanksgiving. I was extremely nervous each time, but there were no conflicts. This entry is much more important so I don't want to take any chances.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-01-13 03:41:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresAdvice for Pre-K3 / Planning Visit to US

Firstly, why are you going K3? Why aren't you doing CR1?

Also, bringing her pet is BAD. Why is she bringing the cat? It's SCREAMS "immigrating"


We will be filing the I-130 regardless and will be doing the I-129F to try to get her into the US sooner (neither of us are happy with the idea of being apart after marriage, so we are just trying to reduce the time). There are no plans to file for an AOS. We'll just wait for the I-130 to process and she'll leave (and forfeit the K3) to do her interview.

As far as the cat is concerned, there is no where else for it. She would leave it at her mother's, but she has three large dogs that aren't exactly the friendliest.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-01-13 02:44:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresAdvice for Pre-K3 / Planning Visit to US
(I'm new to the forums, so I hope this isn't in the wrong place)

I'm a little nervous.

I'm supposed to be picking up my fiance from North Bay, ON, in a couple of weeks to bring her down to Virginia. She is going to be visiting me for an extended period of time (few months) so that we can plan our wedding (to be held in Niagara Falls, ON) and to get the paperwork together for the K3 visa. We will be applying after we get married.

I'm just worried that we might meet denial at the border.

She is currently unemployed because her company lost the contract it had so everyone was laid off. In addition, she will be keeping all of her other stuff in her mother's house (which is rent free for her) so there is no lease agreement. Her only evidence that she will be returning to Canada is the fact that all of her family lives there.

Basically, I'm afraid of being 'too' honest at the border. We have no intentions of breaking the law, but I know how the situation looks.

Any advice on what we should say or avoid saying? I'm definitely not interested in lying, but I would like to avoid suspicion.

PS: She will be bringing her cat with her. It has been given all its shots and she has the appropriate paperwork.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-01-13 02:19:00
CanadaMarriage between a Canadian and am American

It's not that they have to match, it is that the visa is issued in the name that is in the passport

So yes, if she wants to use her new married name in the US, changing her Canadian passport would be wise so the visa and green card are in tne new name

Good luck


This is what I figured. She does want to use the new name, so we'll go through and get her DL, SIN, bank accounts, passport, etc. changed over.

In response to birdnerd, I don't think she'd need a new or amended birth certificate nor do I understand why they would do that for a marriage-related name change.

Thanks to everyone for their responses thus far. Every little bit of information helps!
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-02-01 22:33:00
CanadaMarriage between a Canadian and am American

I think you need to provide a little more information to get a proper response, such as what sort of visa did you apply for?


Haven't applied for a visa yet and we aren't married yet. I'm trying to prepare beforehand.

Any ideas on how a name change will affect the visa paperwork? Do we use her old name or new or what?

Edited by redstarwarrior, 01 February 2010 - 08:10 PM.

redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-02-01 20:09:00
CanadaMarriage between a Canadian and am American
I will be getting married within the next month to my fiance in Canada (Ontario to be specific).

What I want to know is, what do we do after the marriage?

I'm not talking about the visa application, but rather what she needs to do as far as changing her name (getting a new Social Insurance card or whatever they are called), etc. How will this affect her health benefits, etc.?

I'm also interested in what effect it may have on me and what I need to do. I don't plan on placing her under my insurance until the POE, though I am looking at adding her to a few of my accounts.

I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I attempted to Google it and did not find a definitive answer (though, the fault may lie with me for that).

Any help you can provide or experiences you can share will greatly assist us.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-02-01 17:38:00
CanadaCanadian and American having troubles...need help!
Although I know this won't help you at all now, I would have suggested waiting to sell the house until later in the visa process.

PS - I'm very jealous of how close you live to your beloved. I'm 13 hours away.


GOOD LUCK!

Edited by redstarwarrior, 02 February 2010 - 01:27 AM.

redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-02-02 01:26:00
CanadaHow close/far away are/were you from your American/Canadian significant other?
According to Google Maps, we are 1329 kilometers apart.

I don't like the poll, though, because my choice says that I need to fly to visit her. I don't. I drive the 13+ hours straight. Nothing can keep me from my girl. To be honest, I've made the round trip around 7 or 8 times...it's not that bad.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-02-02 21:50:00
CanadaStill Waiting
How did the person screw up your ability to enroll in EP? Details would be appreciate so others could avoid bad advice.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-04-02 09:46:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresMontreal Interview, Visa Approved!
Thanks for the response!

We've decided to wait to avoid having to remove conditions later.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2012-01-08 23:53:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresMontreal Interview, Visa Approved!
I attended the interview with my wife. We arrived at 7:05 AM and stood in the snow until 7:30. We were the first there but ended up second in line as we let an elderly handicapped woman in front of us.

8:15 AM she was called for fingerprinting.

9:00 AM she was called for the interview.

We were out of the building by 9:15. The fingerprinting took longer than the interview in which the nice black woman with dreadlocks merely chatted with us. It seemed more like a casual conversation than an interview, but she already had the 'Welcome' letter ready about halfway through and seemed genuinely interested in our situation.

Our next debate is whether to wait until February 20th (our two year anniversary) for her to enter or to have her come prior. Any thoughts?
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2012-01-06 20:47:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresMarried for More Than 2 Years, Issued CR!?

Wait until the actual green card arrives. If it says CR1 and expires in two years, file an I-90, pay no fee and return the green card to be reissued properly. Chances are, the correct card will come in the mail. Welcome to the USA.


The correct card did not come and USCIS has been less than helpful. I was told that if the visa information was stamped incorrectly by the border agent, that it is not the fault of the office.

I don't know what to do, but it is making me a little upset.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2012-03-19 17:16:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresMarried for More Than 2 Years, Issued CR!?
We had our interview back in January and my wife was approved for her visa. Instead of entering immediately, we waited until February 21st (the day after our two-year anniversary) to have her enter the country.

The problem is that the border agent issued her the two-year conditional residency instead of the ten-year immediate relative one that we should have been issued. When he asked me to sign the understanding about the conditional, I initially refused, stating that we had been married more than two years. He said that the documents had CR-1 on them, but I said I was sure that they looked at the time of entry to determine whether or not it would be conditional. He refused to even consider looking into it, so I signed the stupid acknowledgement, not wanting her to be turned away (considering we had her entire life packed away in the trailer I was hauling).

My question is what do I do now?

I was looking at possibly setting up an appointment at my local USCIS office, but that is over two hours away and I'd hate to take off of work (since I'm supporting both of us at the moment). Is there someone I can call to get this straightened up? The National Customer Service Center was pretty useless last time I called, but I was going to call again.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2012-02-25 22:20:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresDenied Entry, Will it Affect Future Application?
There was nothing written in her passport, but she did get fingerprinted and we filled out a form (information about parents).

But the border told me that with this notice and my wedding cerficate, it's fine.

That is quite reassuring! We were wondering if she'd be able to visit after filing. Was that NoA 1 or NoA 2?

Thank you to everyone who responded! We were quite worried how it would affect it. We were upfront and honest at the border, so that works well for us in the future.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-02-01 01:13:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresDenied Entry, Will it Affect Future Application?
Okay, so I was going to bring my fiance to the US for a couple of months to visit and spend time with my family (she doesn't get to spend much time). Now, during that time, we were going to get the details hammered out for our wedding, to be in Canada in August, as well as get together what we can for the CR-1 application afterward to try to file in March or April.

When I tried to bring her into the US, she was denied entry at the border. The main reasoning was that she had a lack of ties to Canada. We had a rental agreement, credit card statement, bank statement, and cellphone bill along with some tickets for a concert that we are going to the week she was going to return, but the guy stated that because she didn't have a job, that she had no significant ties. I won't get into my complaints about how he handled it. I believe he was wrong in some of the assumptions he made (trust me that I have legitimate arguments), but I know he was just doing his job and he wasn't rude or anything (just seemed 'new').

As a result of the denial, we have decided to skip the big wedding for now and just do a justice of the peace wedding in her hometown this February. Then we can get the CR-1 ready and apply. My question is: Will the border denial negatively affect our visa application in any way? Is it possible that they will ask about it?

I just want to make sure we are prepared if they ask.

Edited by redstarwarrior, 31 January 2010 - 09:19 PM.

redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-01-31 21:18:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresCR-1 Application process, American Marrying a Canadian

THanks for the link. It seems to be more thorough than the one on this site.
I say a lawyer a few months ago, $200 later and I hadn't retained anything she had told me. I wish I would have brought a tape recorder. Most expensive 45 mins of my life. Thanks again.


No problem...remember, that link is just a supplement to the CR-1 guide on here (and both are on VJ, so give credit to the site ;)).
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-02-02 01:24:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresCR-1 Application process, American Marrying a Canadian

Hi there,
I am marrying my Canadian boyfriend(of 10 years!) on March 16th. I really want this CR-1 process to go smoothly and seamlessly. I have just started reading over the guides, which seem overwhelming at this point. I'd love to hear any tips that anyone has for someone just starting out the CR-1 process. I am so glad I found this forum...it's a lot cheaper than going to an immigration lawyer but I"m sure just as helpful at times.
Thanks!~


Congratulations! We are planning on getting married mid-February. I'd advise you, but I'm in the same boat as you...just starting. I recommend bookmarking the NVC ShortCut page.

Also, this forum is A HELL OF A LOT BETTER than any damn immigration lawyer from what I've read.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-02-01 23:04:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresMisdemeanor Conviction
I'm recently married and working on putting together the application for my wife's CR-1.

Now, I've discovered that I actually have a criminal misdemeanor on my record (thanks to the Commonwealth of Virginia's classification of certain speeding tickets as misdemeanors) from when I was younger. Will this effect the immigration process for her at all?

I don't believe she has anything other than traffic offenses on her record. I'm just worried...

On a related note, will this misdemeanor later effect me if I decide to immigrate to Canada? It isn't one of moral turpitude, but I'm just checking to see if anyone has any knowledge about it.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-04-01 12:40:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI 864 and DS230 Help
Related question, what do I put if my wife has multiple middle names? (3 to be specific)
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-04-02 08:59:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI-130 Name question, please help.
I know that I'm personally waiting for my wife to change her name (waiting because we have to receive our official marriage certificate), but either way, just make sure that her legal name matches the name you put on the paperwork at the time.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-04-02 09:06:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresQuestions While Finishing Initial Paperwork
I'm trying to finish up the paperwork to submit for my wife's IR-1 / CR-1, but I have a few questions.

For the G-325A form, under the employment section, what do they expect for the address? There isn't really enough room to put a complete address with the full name of the employer. Would city and state/province suffice?

For proof of the "bona fides" of marriage, as outlined by I-130 instructions, what constitutes a third party for affidavit purposes? What could be considered "other relevant documentation"?
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-11-09 00:17:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresIncome Tax Question
I was going to file as Married, Filing Separately, but honestly it's just so much easier filing as Single until she actually lives here.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2011-01-15 19:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresWhat if a spouse dies before divorce is final?
I'd imagine that you wouldn't have to continue the divorce if the spouse dies, but there could be a lot of legal issues that result from the pending divorce proceedings.

Including either/or would probably work as both indicate that the previous marriage is no longer active.
redstarwarriorMaleCanada2010-04-02 09:05:00