Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Canada	Just wanted to say so long & thanks!	Good luck Amanda! I hope the process of going back is quick and 'easy' for you guys. I'm a little jealous! I would love to hear how it feels to go back, if you don't mind sharing with us. Edited by Gypsyangel, 17 February 2012 - 09:32 AM.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-02-17 09:30:00
Canada	US citizen pulled into immigration at Canadian Border	I have to agree that a hard part of a cross-border relationship (and then going through the immigration process) is the feeling of being treated like a criminal, like you're doing something wrong, especially when you're playing by the rules. All the fingerprinting, photos, interrogations, going into secondary, proving your relationship ... it's wearing and intrusive. When you're being treated like ####### and have to take it because there's no alternative, it's hard to bite your tongue and be polite. It's just the process. You can't take it personally. But it can suck. Big time. I always get tense at a border crossing because you never know what's going to happen. I always have whatever papers I need and cross my fingers. All you can do is know the rules, play by them, know they're just doing their jobs, be calm and know for yourself that you're not doing anything wrong. And if there's some sort of problem, you'll manage it and figure it out and it'll be fine. Even if it means you're stuck in secondary for a couple of hours. Again. It's just part of the program. And then be grateful that it's the US/Canadian border. I'm sure people from other countries have an even tougher time. Mind you, along the way there have been a lot of nice people too... (like the helpful people at VJ!)	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-02-24 09:02:00
Canada	Best US cell phone to text Canada	I always find this stuff so confusing and I too have worked for cell phone providers in Canada. You basically need to look at the fine print to see if there are charges to Canada. You might even, omg, have to speak to an actual person to get a straight answer (not that that always works). I have Verizon and there was no problem for me texting to Canada with a $5/mo unlimited texting plan. The problem was with the Canadians I was texting ... they were getting charged for receiving and sending U.S. texts. For that reason, we started using BBM and there's no extra charge because it's part of my unlimited data plan. I've never heard of 'live profile' but that sounds like a good option too. Roaming charges when you visit Canada with a U.S. phone are kinda crazy. Because I do business in Canada, I have one of those cheapo unlimited plans that I use for business when i'm there.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2011-09-24 16:48:00
Canada	What's For Dinner - Part Deux	Hey guys, What's the advantage to having a steamer? I usually just steam my vegetables in a pot with a little bit of water and one of those cheapy steamer "trays" that rests on the bottom of the pot. You guys seem to love your steamers, so I must be missing something!	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2011-06-14 15:09:00
Canada	interview june 18...planned travel to US july 3	I was in a similar situation when I was issued my K1. I had to enter the US (by air) for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary in the US (something I did not want to miss) after I got the K1, but before I POE'd. I tried to get an answer on whether this was ok or not, but never got a clear answer. I asked at my K1 interview and he told me it would be no problem, but the 'rules' say no. Basically, imo, the answer is that it depends, which is not a great answer. A K1 is a one-time entry visa, and it is completely up to the immigration officer whether they will allow an exception to it. In my case, I was let in. The border dude at Pearson, after looking me up on the computer, very deliberately flipped right past the K1 visa in my passport, without looking at it and stamped my passport and let me in. He didn't say a word and neither did I. Because it was such an important event, I was willing to risk it. If he had wanted to activate my K1 I would have had to have turned back and missed my parent's event. If you do a search, you will also hear of people going back and forth on their K1 with no problems. As Flames said, it all depends on the immigration officer. I don't really think you're going to get a clear answer. I think you need to weigh the risks and figure out what you want to do. A K1 is a pita that way.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-05-17 09:17:00
Canada	Seperating with 10 yr GC..living in Canada working in US	I did have an additional question when applying for naturalization ... I've travelled back and forth into Canada since I've been able to do so to visit with my family once to twice per month approximately... sometimes entering on a Friday evening and coming back on Sunday or entering on a Saturday and leaving Sunday and about 3 times over the past few years for longer than that on vacation one week max at a time. I haven't kept detailed records. Is that sufficient to put on my application? I think you need to list each and every trip that lasted over 24 hours, which can be a pita for Canadians. If it doesn't fit on the form, you add a separate piece of paper. They really don't want you to have stayed outside the US longer than six months -- I think that's really what they're looking for. You can find the N400 forms on VJ and take a look at the actual question. It's one thing I wish I'd kept track of ahead of time. I did my list and then added a note at the bottom that it was to the best of my recollection.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-05-27 11:01:00
Canada	The Way We Were	Thanks all!! This is so funny that you mentioned about not having to put a bill in a folder, that's exactly how I felt! I'm so relieved to not have to prove my marriage anymore to anyone!! Exactly! The whole process is this weird invasion of your privacy. I understand the reasons and am not objecting to them, but it's still weird. Like at the medical in Toronto, when I got into the gown and the doctor did the exam ... part of the exam being a peek under the hood to make sure I was a woman. None of my Canadian or American friends had to go through that administrative procedure to get married. LOL. Plus, I was still hassled at the border when I got my 10 year green card. I thought that at that point it would be clear sailing. Nope. Fingerprints. Wait. Bleh. Travelling in June ... waiting for my US passport ... I didn't have to show any evidence at my interview either. They IO said my file was already way too thick for a straighforward case. Ooops! For Naturalization, I only sent in 3 years of tax transcripts as proof of marriage because that's all they asked for (of course, I brought a mess of things to the interview which I'm looking forward to shredding). I guess overdoing it for ROC at every other stage paid off! It was interesting ... he showed me my 4" thick file and everything from my K1 to AOS, etc. was in that huge file. I don't know why that's surprising, but I thought more of it would be comptuerized. PS. I'm not tooooo far from Doylestown ... Haddon Heights, near Cherry Hill. JoeCanuck said: "And even with this oath, deep down I'm knowing that I'm still Canadian and I still love Canada even though I love this country too. So there's pluses and minuses to this whole dual citizenship thing."	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-05-30 08:03:00
Canada	The Way We Were	Congrats Jill! I just got approved for naturalization as well (May 16). It's nice to be done with USCIS. It feels different being a US citizen ... surreal, actually ... I can't explain exactly, but I feel more like I belong. The other day, the water bill came in and for the first time in six years I realized I didn't have to make a copy of yet another piece of paper and stick it in a file, nor would I have to ever again. Sometimes, the little things hit home ... It's hard saying the part where you give up loyalty to other countries ... I think it will be easier to say when you think of the tattoo on your back. I remember Flames saying he wore his Canadian Flag socks at his oath ceremony. Thank goodness Canada recognizes dual citizenship, even if the U.S. doesn't. Going through this whole process sure makes you feel your Canadianness in a way you never would if you stayed in Canada. You can take the Canadian out of Canada, but you can't take the Canada out of the Canadian. Eh!	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-05-29 09:35:00
Canada	The Way We Were	Drivng to North York/Toronto tomorrow with wifey to see the in-laws. Crazy.. I've been to Toronto 8 times so far and have never been to CN Tower. I love driving to Toronto from North NJ. Beautiful hilly roads in New York.. especially Rt 17 West and 81 North. Rt 90 West in NY and QEW, 427 and 401 across the border are boring. Hopefully there arent too many people at Queenston-Lewiston crossing tomorrow around 5-6 PM.. I love that drive too. Driven it many, many times. There are parts of that route that are very beautiful, particularly around Binghamton. Enjoy! Yes, if you look at the threads tracking all of the ROCs in that part of the forum, there isn't even a column tracking interviews at all. Your ROC is based on all of the paper evidence you send in. If you read the threads, there are a few random people who get interviews, but you're right it seems pretty rare. They're the ones with sketchy evidence - like not really living together) and I think a select few get randomly chosen. A lot less than AOS. If you're legit and follow the instructions, there's nothing to worry about.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2011-09-02 07:22:00
Canada	The Way We Were	I'm loving all the Canadian content. Like Krikit, I've missed my daily dose of all you Canaliens.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2011-08-24 08:54:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Cinq	Hey Flames! Thanks for all your updates. I'm enjoying reading about your adventure! It will be interesting to see what you grow accustomed to and what you just can't get used to after the novelty wears off a bit. Enjoy yourself! How are your dogs handling it?	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2011-09-12 10:40:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Cinq	So cuuuuuuuuute!	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2011-05-01 10:37:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Cinq	I have a Mac for years and I don't have anti-virus software. I haven't had a problem (that I know about). I asked in the Apple store once and the guys said you don't need the software, but having it makes some people feel better. I still get a little nervous sometimes, but so far so good.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2011-04-26 12:49:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Cinq	Kathyrn, I'm so sorry about Tristan. My heart goes out to you in this difficult time.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2011-01-20 09:39:00
Canada	BRinging a car from Canada when moving to the US	Like others have said, you get the letter of compliance from the manufacturer and hand that over at the border and they do the forms and give them back to you. Very easy. The thing I wanted to point out is that when I POE'd, no one asked about my car. If I hadn't known that I needed to import my car, I would have just driven away. I had to ask about it and they sent me to a different building (at Peace Bridge) and from there it was easy. Also, depending on which state you're moving to, the process may vary. In NJ, I had to get my green card before I could get my driver's licence (which ended up being six months after I moved). After I got my NJ driver's licence, then I could bring in the papers I received at the border and register my car and get NJ plates. In the meantime, I drove on my Ontario driver's licence with Ontario plates. Insurance was a pita until I got my NJ driver's licence. Just wanted to point out that experiences vary by state.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-06-13 07:37:00
Canada	Canada best G20 country to be a woman	Policies that promote gender equality, safeguards against violence and exploitation and access to healthcare make Canada the best place to be a woman among the world's biggest economies, a global poll of experts showed on Wednesday. http://www.reuters.c...E85C00420120613	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-06-18 08:45:00
Canada	Flight from Pearson at 6:53 AM, when should I arrive?	You cannot fly from a major Canadian airport into the US and do immigration after you arrive in the US. All US immigration processing now takes place in the Canadian airport before you leave for the US so if you wanted to be processed in the US you would need to use a land crossing POE. - or fly to Europe and then fly back to the US. If you fly from Canada you won't go through US immigration at a US airport. You will go through US immigrations in the Canadian airport. There might be an exception ... when you fly Porter from Toronto to Newark, which is from the island airport. Last time I did that, immigration was in Newark. Unless things have changed.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-06-20 07:37:00
Canada	25 Reasons Why Canada Rocks	I didn't even know there was a Canadian version of the Huffington Post .... I love how ketchup chips are the #1 reason .... t's a pretty amazing time to be a Canadian. We are the envy of dozens of nations around the world. We've dodged the economic crisis that's rattled the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world. We smell good. But there are other smaller, more palpable reasons why this country of ours is one of the best places to be. With Canada Day just around the corner we asked Huffington Post Canada editors and writers for reasons why our country is just plain awesome and came up with a list that touches on everything from ketchup chips to Ryan Gosling. We hope you enjoy it. http://www.huffingto...tw#s=more231839	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-06-15 09:04:00
Canada	Where are the Canaliens?	QUOTE (Sprailenes @ Dec 8 2009, 03:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> gyspyangel.. we're like neighbors. I know!!! I was up in your neighbourhood Christmas shopping yesterday. You have all the best stores!	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2009-12-09 13:58:00
Canada	HAPPY CANADA IN THE US	Happy Canada Day everyone! Edited by Gypsyangel, 01 July 2012 - 09:45 AM.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-07-01 09:44:00
Canada	POE with two vehicles	I POE'd with two vehicles at the Peace Bridge in 2008. My then fiance was in the car behind me. I got pulled into secondary and they wouldn't let him pull in with me. He had to drive on. We hadn't planned for this. My POE took a long time (a couple of hours). He waited by the side of the road for about an hour. We left Toronto in the evening and had booked a hotel in Buffalo, so he eventually went ahead to the hotel without me and I arrived later. I haven't heard of anyone else having this problem, so maybe it was a cranky border guy. But you might want to have a plan B, just in case. His car was full of my stuff and they didn't care at all.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-07-19 08:40:00
Canada	When You Eat Your Smarties	- Dark Chocolate Digestives I couldn't find Malt Bread anywhere so I didn't bring those. They make dark chocolate digestives? Mmmmm. I'll have to look for those. Also love malt bread. The Wegmans near me has an international section of food where they have a British section, an Irish section, and Indian section .... etc. It's pretty good. No Canadian section though.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-01-12 09:17:00
Canada	How I Lost My Fear Of Universal Health Care	One of the hardest things about living in the U.S., for me, is hearing people be so adamantly against universal health care. To me, providing access to experts and professionals that can ease suffering or heal that which can easily be healed is a basic form of human caring. As a Canadian, I can't get my head wrapped around the idea that people simply do not care at all about others. My mind won't accept it. It simply cannot be true. There must be something I'm not understanding. That said, neither system is perfect. To me, the problem in the U.S. is that they've built a state-of-the-art health system that is inaccessible to so many people because of money. And in Canada, you have easy access to basic care, and then sometimes they have too few resources and are overwhelmed if anything is out of the ordinary. Places like Sudbury (Hey Peachey, I grew up there!), don't have enough medical specialists. My Mom (in Sudbury) had a similar problem to yours, Peachey, in that she got some sort of virus in her ear, we took her to emergency, then she went to her doctor who sent her to a specialist. She couldn't get an appointment with the specialist for six months and by that time she was permanently deaf in that ear. If she had insurance in the U.S., I don't think that would have happened, but if she didn't have insurance, it would have been the same result. There has to be a middle ground. I think Canada has a better chance of getting there than the U.S.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-08-10 10:28:00
Canada	Travelling With Cats	I had my cat with me when I moved from Toronto to New Jersey and POEd at the Peace Bridge. As Flames said, they didn't really care that I had a cat on board; didn't ask for any proof of vaccinations or any papers -- didn't care at all. However, I was by myself (My now-Husband and I were travelling together, but in separate cars. At the border they wouldn't let him stop and wait for me.) and it was mid-July and they wouldn't let me bring the cat into the building with me when I went to activate my visa. I was worried about leaving my cat in the car because of the heat. It would have been a real problem if it had been mid-day, but it was evening so it had cooled off, so I left him in his crate and opened all the windows. I don't know what people do if they have a dog or cat in the car, in the summer, and they're alone. So, if it's going to be hot, either have someone along to stay with your cat or time it so that you're not stopping mid-day at the border. For the ride, he was ok. Not great, but ok. Expect to stop more often than you might otherwise. Putting a blanket or towel over top of the crate to make it dark made a huge difference -- he was much happier. We stayed in a pet-friendly hotel the first night, which was fine. The second night was an unexpected stop because Hub's car broke down. All the pet-friendly hotels were sold out so we had to sneak him into another hotel. That wasn't much fun because the cat who never meows, started to meow like crazy in the middle of the night. I ended up getting up at 4:00 a.m. and continuing the journey without my husband. You can ask your vet for sedatives, but if they're older sedatives can be dangerous. Bach Flowers, a natural remedy (kinda like Rescue Remedy) is a good way to calm them. You rub it into their ears (not into the cavity). When you get to your destination, I've heard a good idea is to start them off in a small space (like a bedroom) for a few days until they get comfortable. Once they feel safe, you can gradually let their world get bigger. Change is very stressful for cats, so give 'em lots of TLC during the transition. It will pay off in the end. Happy moving!	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-06-06 13:28:00
Canada	After receiving the work authorization card...what else do I need to do?	If you entered on a K1, the next step is to file for AOS (which includes work authorization (EAD) and the ability to travel outside the US (AP)). As was said, your EAD is a stop-gap until your AOS is approved. AOS approval gives you a 2 year green card. So, the question remains ... did you file for AOS (Adjustment of Status) or did you just file for EAD? If you just filed for EAD, then sure you can work, but that will not lead to a green card. You need to file for AOS for that.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-08-19 12:57:00
Canada	Getting ready to POE....Some questions	Hi, When you import your car, you have to fill in more forms at the border. When I imported my car, they sent me to another building to do it. (Peace Bridge). Those are the forms you need to give to the DMV when you get the licence in your destination state. Note: at the border, they didn't ask me if I wanted to import a car, so if I hadn't brought it up, it would have been a pita later. They did not allow my fiance to wait for me (we were in two separate cars), but others have not had a problem. He'll probably be able to wait, but you might want to come up with a Plan B meeting place in case he can't.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2012-08-19 09:57:00
Canada	What Are You Reading?	Currently reading: The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown (I love these books about ancient mysteries) Snakes in Suits - Babiak and Hare Life - Keith Richards Recent Books: Bossypants - Tina Fey - She is funnier than i thought she was (audio book) The Hour I First Believed - Wally Lamb (I absolutely loved This Much is True, but this one was a bit of a rambling tale. I'm still not exactly sure what it's about.) South of Broad - Pat Conroy (not his best story, but his writing is sometimes so beautiful, it makes me cry) My Reading Life - Pat Conroy - this is a man who loves, loves, loves, loves books and writers. (audio book) The Red Queen - Philippa Gregory - (historically interesting, but she has written better books) Committed - Elizabeth Gilbert (interesting journey through the U.S. immigration process) Living from the Overflow - Michael Beckwith (inspiring)	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2011-07-16 09:18:00
Canada	New Jersey Driver's Licence and Plates	I have tried to find out how long a Canadian licence is valid here and all I've been able to see is the 60 day thing, though that's impossible to do. The woman at DMV didn't seem too concerned about me driving on my Canadian licence. She was more concerned that I had NJ insurance. If you drive without insurance here you can lose your licence for a year or something like that. I also received a letter from our insurance company warning us about the 60 days (I'm on hubby's insurance). It didn't say they wouldn't insure me, but it was a stern letter . We'll see. About the cops, Treble, you're right. I've seen more police since I've moved here than ever before. That's another reason why taxes are so high ... every little town has its own police force, complete with a chief and everything. Even with lots of police on the road, people drive so crazy. Instead of the Garden State I call it the Tailgating state. Ha.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-09-24 09:10:00
Canada	New Jersey Driver's Licence and Plates	It would have been nice if somewhere they said that you needed a green card. On the MVC web site, it says that an I-94 is a 4 pointer.It doesn't say anything about a green card. But, we all know reality differs depending on who you talk to, etc. Laura, I think you're ok on your Canadian driver's licence. They didn't say anything to me today.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-09-23 20:34:00
Canada	New Jersey Driver's Licence and Plates	For my NJ friends here, I thought I'd share my experience of trying to get a driver's licence. NJ says you have to get a licence and plates within 60 days of entering, so I'm a little behind on that so I thought I'd better get it done. I go to the MVC after reading about it on the web site. I have my '6 Points' of ID, plus social security, plus utility bill with my name on it. So, everything seems to be in order and then she sees that my I-94 and tells me that my visa has to have 60 days left on it to process the licence and it has less than 30 days. She told me I need the NOA1 or NOA2 for AOS (not sure which) in order to process it. She insisted that I woudl get a new and updated i-94 when I received that. Or maybe I just need my green card. At the end of the day it's impossible to meet their 60 rule cuz you can't get social security that fast. At least she said, don't worry about the 60 day rule. Administration. Argh! Anyone else run into this?	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-09-23 13:57:00
Canada	Sigh....	I'm with ya sister! I just mailed mine this morning. I can't believe it took me so long to finish it! But at least it's done and now we wait. Here's to transfers, no RFE's, and speedy approvals for us all!	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-01 13:31:00
Canada	What do we do???	Wow Laura. I'm so sorry this has happened. Very stressful. It sounds like you may have received some good advice that is making you feel better. I'm sure it will all work itself out, but I know that kind of news would have freaked me out too. Hang in there!	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-08 09:39:00
Canada	our interview is tomorrow	Congratulations! I'm sure it feels like a huge weight off your shoulders!	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-14 10:22:00
Canada	Reviewing documents for interview	When I was at the consulate, they asked for documents one-by-one. I made sure I had my accordian file organized so that all my documents were separated, along with copies of everything just in case. Also, the clerk takes your 156k and then in your interview they hand it back to you to sign in the interviewer's presence. The interview in Montreal is all about you, so any documents are about you. However, I would have your fiance's divorce decree on hand as well. I can't remember if they asked for it, but we had it. As far as evidence, if I were you I'd bring evidence but I wouldn't go overboard. I spent way too long organizing all that stuff and it never came up. As it turns out they rarely if ever ask for it. I guess everyone has to decide individually how much they're comfortable bringing or leaving behind. To me, being prepared is better than the risk of not having something they want.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-10 11:07:00
Canada	Calling all Jerseyians Once again!	I think Jill said she was going to be here November 15, so how about some time after that. Jill, is that right?	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-17 10:31:00
Canada	Calling all Jerseyians Once again!	QUOTE (thetreble @ Oct 7 2008, 01:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> But yes while I agree with south jersey, there is nothing there. It's really just a bunch of shore towns. Wait a minute. Nothing there? We're here! LOL! How about Red Bank. It's kinda cute. I haven't been there in a couple of years so I'm not too sure what's there. Or Cookman Ave in Asbury Park is pretty interesting. Lots of galleries, stores and interesting restaurants.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-10 11:16:00
Canada	Calling all Jerseyians Once again!	Count me in! Like you said, it's small state, so I can go pretty much anywhere. Maybe Central NJ if we have people from both north and south? Just a thought.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-07 12:23:00
Canada	US Consulate in Montreal Review	Congratulations Pandora! Glad it all went so well for you.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-22 15:37:00
Canada	In need of your real estate help!	I know what you mean Krikit. It just seems a little more loosey goosey here. Maybe because the real estate market was pretty hot in Canada when I was buying and selling.	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-17 12:38:00
Canada	In need of your real estate help!	Mandy, we're in the burbs of Philly, Haddon Township / Collingswood / Cherry Hill area. Also, the other thing about making an offer for a home in the U.S. is that it seems like there's a lot more flexibility after you make the offer. In Canada, it seems that once you make the offer and it's accepted, it's legally binding and very difficult to retract. In the U.S. it can be conditional on financing or the home inspection and it SEEMS LIKE (not absolutely sure) that you can get out if it's not meeting your needs. I'm not a real estate expert, but that was my experience. So, if you really want a place, you can make an offer you're happy with. They don't need to accept it. Or they can negotiate with you. The process is very stressful, so hang in there!	Gypsyangel	Female	Canada	2008-10-17 10:42:00