ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview

Good. I will too. It's so insulting to be told "you're in the cue, etc." We obviously KNOW that we're in the cue. The question is: Why isn't the cue MOVING, like, AT ALL? When I asked that question explicitly to the operator at DoS he said, "Well, we make no guarantees when it comes to processing times. Some people wait 10 years for a visa." VERY discouraging. Honestly: I'm starting to regret ever embarking on this process.

C.


I may do this soon too. If we all call our senators, perhaps immigration will pay more attention, and do something about the Montreal bottleneck.

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-08-14 21:51:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview
I've added the green row highlighting for people who have their interview dates.

I've also added Sweetcheeksss and PixelUlu.
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-08-09 22:10:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview

Ok, YES! Here it is:

http://spreadsheets....uthkey=CKnQx7gC


What I meant to say is that I have not added anyone's recent data to the spreadsheet yet. You'll notice that I sorted it by Done@NVC. If people would rather sort it by a different column, we can discuss... :)

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-08-09 21:24:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview

Any developments on the Google doc?


Ok, YES! Here it is:

http://spreadsheets....uthkey=CKnQx7gC

I imported it straight from the last posted update in this topic from a couple weeks ago. I have not edited the data yet. I set the permissions so that anyone with the link can go in there and edit the spreadsheet. Everyone, please feel welcome to go ahead and start updating your info!

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-08-09 21:15:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview
We were case complete at NVC on June 4th and it's been over 2 months now waiting for an interview date.

I just called the Dept. of State today and they said "nope, not yet" and forwarded me to the NVC. I spoke with an NVC operator and she told me that they schedule interview on the 2nd week of each month, for the following month. I could tell from the tone in her voice that she was reciting this from a cheat sheet she had in front of her. Who knows if this is true, but if it is, then our best chance of getting a September interview will be during next week, the 2nd week of August.

Trailmix stopped updating the timeline spreadsheet so I haven't seen it in awhile. Is anyone planning to keep things up to date? I had suggested awhile back that we use a Google spreadsheet, which would be much faster and easier to maintain, but 2-3 people said they preferred Trailmix's tried and true method. Now that Trailmix is no longer doing this, what do you guys think? I would be glad to set it up initially.

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-08-05 14:36:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview

Ok so I just read somewhere that people are calling to see if they have a interview date yet, don't they email you when they schedule your date? Does calling nvc help? Because i will totally bug them if thats what is needed? Haha

Well you already know the answer to that - no it doen't help to call NVC. You'll be notified via email when you have your date. Hopefully you get yours soon !!

Yeah, with DCF we are waiting for a hard copy letter from Montreal with a(n) (eventual) date. Sadly, no email. You can try calling DoS to see if anything's been scheduled, they would probably know about it before you get your paper.


I'm hearing different people saying different things. Zenaxe said they email you when your interview date is assigned. Could it be that this is only for people signed up for "electronic processing"? Does DoS stand for Department of State? What role to they have in scheduling interviews and what is the web site / phone number?

Also... what does DCF stand for? :blush:
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-06-29 21:15:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview

Hi Jeremy and bwoo,

This has been suggested a few times, last year someone actually transferred the data on to a google spreadsheet if I remember correctly.

Personally I like being able to see the info right here - but that's just me. If one of you wants to transfer/maintain a google spreadsheet that's cool, but I will still maintain this one :)

This thread is really about that timeline, I am wondering if maybe we should start a separate thread for CR1/IR1 chat? bwoo you are right that the spreadsheet updates disrupt the flow of conversation in this thread, so maybe someone else would want to start another one?


You're right, it would be best to have the info right here where it belongs. There is a way to embed a Google Spreadsheet within an external web page, but as far as I can tell, this VisaJourney forum doesn't allow posts to embed anything except images and video.

Thank you Trailmix for maintaining this... it really is so helpful to all of us.
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-06-28 10:59:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview
I was just thinking about whether there might be a nicer way to maintain our timeline spreadsheet of everyone waiting for interviews.

Maybe this is a crazy idea... but has anyone thought of using something like Google Docs?

If you follow that link you'll need a free Google account. Then you can create spreadsheets and share them and invite others to collaborate. Then there's one clean, up-to-date document that is always up-to-date, and only the people invited can modify it, but anyone can view it.

The one we have been copy-and-pasting works, but if anyone likes the idea of Google Docs, we could give it a try. It might have some nice features, like sorting by different columns.

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-06-25 16:55:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview
I am really hoping to see chikarakobu and birdnerd get their visa interview dates any day now. If they don't, then there ain't much hope for the rest of us waiting and hoping for August interviews!
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-06-25 16:47:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview
Today we got our NVC case complete. Yippee! I've updated our row in the table.

What does it mean when someone's row is grey text instead of black?


Member...........NOA2......Case# @NVC......Sent I-864.....Sent DS-230......RFE....Done @NVC....Interview...DTI
Revenesque.....05/28/08.....--/--/--........12/21/09........12/21/09........N.....01/07/10.....04/27/10....110
ZansGirl.......03/09/09.....03/19/09........04/07/09........04/08/09........N.....09/25/09.....02/05/10....133
biglos.........03/30/09.....--/--/--........06/12/09........07/16/09........-.....08/28/09.....01/27/10....155
intuitionsys...04/01/09.....06/24/09........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....09/24/09.....02/10/10....139
justcheckin....04/06/09.....--/--/--........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....08/04/09.....01/13/10....162
hisgirl........04/17/09.....--/--/--........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....07/30/09.....01/20/10....174
americana2009..04/20/09..<-date filed I-130.--/--/--........--/--/--..sent pkt3>..07/23/09.....02/01/10....193
thund3r........04/21/09.....08/02/09........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....09/11/09.....02/08/10....150
Cindy&Greg.....04/07/09.....04/23/09........08/19/09........06/01/09........-.....09/28/09.....02/09/10....134
Blitz..........05/04/09.....--/--/--........11/04/09........11/04/09........N.....11/25/09.....03/18/10....113
andylans.......06/08/09..<-date filed I-130.--/--/--........--/--/--..sent pkt3>..07/22/09.....01/14/10....176
fifo...........06/22/09.....--/--/--........--/--/--........--/--/--........Y.....09/25/09.....02/24/10....152
lgg............06/25/09.....07/08/09........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....08/12/09.....01/26/10....167
MSPtoYYZ.......07/11/09.....--/--/--........--/--/--........--/--/--........Y.....03/01/10.....05/20/10.... 80
Bern...........07/14/09.....08/11/09........10/30/09........10/30/09........N.....11/19/09.....03/26/10....127
Malrothien.....07/15/09.....07/22/09........08/07/09........09/08/09........Y.....11/24/09.....03/01/10.... 97
Kuds1..........07/17/09.....07/23/09........--/--/--........08/28/09........Y.....10/01/09.....02/01/10....123
Lyn & Lisa.EP..07/22/09.....08/08/09........08/30/09........08/31//09.......-.....10/09/09.....02/09/10....138
La Souris.EP...07/30/09.....08/14/09........09/15/09........09/25/09........N.....10/02/09.....03/24/10....173
redBlue........08/13/09.....08/17/09........09/12/09........09/16/09........-.....09/26/09.....02/05/10....132
kballtex.EP....08/21/09.....09/01/09........09/15/09........09/25/09........-.....11/06/09.....03/11/10....125
Pauley.........08/21/09.....09/09/09........10/26/09........11/23/09........Y.....12/10/09.....03/18/10.... 98
sdhiman.EP.....08/26/09.....09/08/09........09/17/09........10/21/09........N.....11/02/09.....02/24/10....114
mike777.EP.....08/28/09.....--/--/--........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....12/11/09.....03/03/10.... 95
sdw..EP....... 08/28/09.....09/08/09........09/12/09........09/26/09........Y.....11/12/09.....03/02/10....110
Gordons2009....08/28/09.....--/--/--........12/27/09........01/27/10........-.....02/22/10.....05/27/10.... 94
helvetica_bold.09/03/09.....--/--/--........08/06/09........05/20/09........Y.....09/03/09.....01/19/10....138
andyw1.........09/09/09.....--/--/--........03/16/09........05/12/09........Y.....09/23/09.....02/24/10....154
Frequent Flyer.09/10/09.....09/25/09........10/26/09........11/02/09........N.....12/11/09.....03/25/10....104
redmen99.EP....09/11/09.....09/28/09........10/09/09........10/27/09........N.....11/09/09.....03/01/10....112
K & I..........09/11/09.....09/28/09........10/21/09........11/20/09........-.....12/23/09.....04/27/10....125
Salnik.........09/14/09.....09/29/09........10/06/09........10/24/09........Y.....12/23/09.....04/09/10....107
gladiator80....09/14/09.....09/29/09........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....01/04/10.....04/09/10.... 95
mast3r12.EP....09/17/09.....10/01/09........10/17/09........10/22/09........Y.....11/12/09.....03/09/10....117
wmtc...........09/18/09.....09/30/09........11/11/09........11/11/09........N.....12/01/09.....03/11/10....100
jmd32499.......09/23/09.....--/--/--........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....12/05/09.....03/10/10.... 95
JaJo08.........09/24/09.....10/07/09........11/10/09........12/29/09........-.....01/13/10.....04/15/10.... 92
She_Fitz.EP....09/26/09.....10/06/09........11/19/09........11/19/09........N.....12/10/09.....03/16/10.... 96
heljan.........09/29/09.....--/--/--........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....04/08/10.....06/18/10.... 71
WyattsTorch.EP.10/01/09.....10/14/09........10/26/09........10/26/09........Y.....11/12/09.....03/05/10....113
lonie.EP.......10/03/09.....10/06/09........11/13/09........11/23/09........N.....12/21/09.....04/27/10....127
Jeremy&Kathy.EP10/22/09.....11/02/09........04/10/10........03/27/10........Y.....06/04/10
Edmontongirl...11/02/09..<-date filed I-130/Approved Dec 30 --/--/--........N.....01/05/10.....03/11/10.... 65
birdnerd.......01/26/10..<-date filed I-130/Pkt 3 Mar 25....03/26/10........N.....04/28/10
mtlgato........02/05/10.....02/12/10........04/11/10........04/09/10........N.....05/12/10
chikarakobu....02/05/10.....--/--/--........03/18/10........03/30/10........-.....04/29/10
ValerieA.EP....02/10/10.....02/17/10........04/12/10........04/12/10
Married2009.EP.02/11/10.....02/18/10........03/09/10........04/06/10........-.....04/14/10.....07/13/10.... 90
CanadiandggalEP02/18/10.....02/25/10........03/23/10........03/28/10........Y.....05/18/10
Jadenjewel.EP..02/19/10.....03/02/10........04/28/10........04/28/10........-.....06/04/10
Saad&Sumera....03/01/10..<-date filed I-130
cndwife.EP.....03/09/10.....--/--/--........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....04/09/10.....06/23/10.... 75
FireRay.EP.....03/12/10.....03/19/10........04/04/10........04/12/10........-.....04/22/10.....07/26/10.... 95
Bwoo.EP........03/17/10.....03/23/10........04/05/10........04/12/10........-.....04/22/10.....07/27/10.... 96
leonsgal70.....03/18/10..<-date filed I-130/Pkt 3 Apr 26....04/26/10........N.....05/10/10
kimberlyk21....03/18/10..<-date filed I-130.--/--/--........05/10/10........N.....05/12/10
zenaxe.EP......03/24/10.....03/30/10........04/05/10........04/16/10........-.....04/23/10.....07/27/10.... 95
Musi.EP........03/24/10.....03/30/10........04/27/10........--/--/--........-.....05/19/10
Aklem..........03/25/10
CraignJacquie..04/02/10.....04/15/10........04/22/10........04/22/10
CanAmBride.....04/19/10.....--/--/--........--/--/--........--/--/--........-.....06/04/10
CAN2US.EP......04/22/10.....04/26/10........05/05/10........--/--/--........-.....05/19/10
jdcole.EP......05/03/10.....05/11/10........05/17/10
Martine&Dana...05/04/10.....05/12/10........05/18/10........05/21/10




DTI - Days between completion at NVC and interview
DCF - Direct Consular Filing
EP - Electronic Processing

Timeline page for 2007, 2008 and 2009 interviews Montreal: link

CR1/IR1 interview letter: link
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-06-04 18:19:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview

It seems like other people have had a very quick approval through the NVC with electronic processing. We had bad luck and got an erroneous RFE 3 weeks ago and we are still waiting for a supervisor to review the case...


Hey folks, I finally found out what was wrong with our DS-230. I think it might have been their printer that was malfunctional! If you are curious I've posted the details here:

http://www.visajourn...ost__p__3951893

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-05-21 14:41:00
CanadaIR1 / CR1 - Montreal Timeline to Interview
It seems like other people have had a very quick approval through the NVC with electronic processing. We had bad luck and got an erroneous RFE 3 weeks ago and we are still waiting for a supervisor to review the case. I'm sure we would be NVC approved by now and waiting for our interview date if it wasn't for this silly mistake!

Please feel free to add me to your statistics!

Service Center : Vermont Service Center
Consulate : Montreal, Canada
Marriage :
I-130 Sent : 2009-09-18
I-130 NOA1 : 2009-09-30
I-130 RFE :
I-130 RFE Sent :
I-130 Approved : 2009-10-22
NVC Received : 2009-11-02
Received DS-3032 / I-864 Bill : 2010-03-01
Pay I-864 Bill 2010-03-05
Receive I-864 Package : 2010-03-17
Return Completed I-864 : 2010-04-10
Return Completed DS-3032 : 2010-04-11
Receive IV Bill : 2010-03-25
Pay IV Bill : 2010-03-27
Receive Instruction Package : 2010-03-29
Erroneous RFE from NVC: 2010-04-26
Flagged for Supervisor Review: 2010-04-28
NVC Case Complete: (waiting)
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-05-18 09:43:00
CanadaProving domicile when not living in the U.S.

That said, it does specifically state in the adjudicator's field manual that the sponsor must prove their income by submitting the 1040 and slips - with regard to foreign income it states:

"State or foreign income tax returns are not acceptable; if submitted, they must be returned to the intending immigrant"


Hmmm... It doesn't say that foreign income is not acceptable; it says that foreign income tax returns are not acceptable. Like Simistar, I have US tax returns that were filed for the past 3 tax years. All of my income on those returns was foreign income (excluded with form 2555 in my return).

Since this is confusing I think I will err on the side of caution and send in proof of assets as well.

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-04-08 23:00:00
CanadaProving domicile when not living in the U.S.

Canadian income cannot be used for the I-864, affidavit of support - unless that income will continue from the same source after you move to the U.S.. A joint sponsor can be any U.S. citizen, they will also need to fill out an I-864 (as well as youself) and provide all of the documentation that goes with that.
...
As for getting a job offer, while that does help in proving reestablishing - it cannot be used for the affidavit of support - a job offer is not valid for that.


This was a concern for me too. If I have proof of current employment in Canada AND an accepted job offer letter in the US that states the salary, will these be sufficient for meeting the income requirement? From what you are saying, it sounds like this is not good enough to meet the income requirement. Do you think that in this situation it's a good idea to ALSO submit proof of assets to meet the 5x-poverty-level asset requirements, just in case they don't accept the new US job for meeting the income requirements?

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-04-08 13:30:00
CanadaProving domicile when not living in the U.S.

We both have been looking for jobs however, employers seem unimpressed when we tell them that we have NO IDEA when we could be available to start. So they always say, get back to us with a start date in mind. So how do I get a job offer, to prove domicile, if I dont have an interview date or any idea of when we'll be moving down?


Hi pinguino,

I am in exactly the same boat as you. In this post from 2 weeks ago I presented a similar question. I didn't really get a specific answer to this issue of "how to get a job offer months in advance". Moving down there ahead of my wife is NOT my first choice, and I suspect it's not yours either.

I did read through this entire thread and also some of the reviews that trailmix provided links for. Nobody seemed to have any major problem at the time that they mail in the I-864 to the NVC. Some people do get RFE for more domicile evidence, however. So, I was planning to attach a statement to my I-864 that explains my intention to work out a start date for a job offer as soon as my Visa interview date is known. I was hoping that this would be enough to pass through the "screening" step at the NVC and get my visa interview date. Then I would proceed to contact the prospective employer within 6 weeks of the interview date, and attempt to get a job offer that starts shortly after the interview date. I would have this offer letter at the Visa interview to show to the interviewer in person.

That was the best plan that I could think of. But things got better for me this week... on Monday I had a job interview with an employer that is willing to wait 3-4 months for me, and has told me they are preparing a job offer letter that has a flexible start date. I explained the immigration situation and the company was very understanding about this, and they even offered their attorney's time to give me a consultation. I am feeling quite lucky right now to have found an employer with this kind of flexibility!

If for some reason that falls through, I'll go back to my original plan of submitting the I-864 with a statement attached, explaining the situation.

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-04-07 20:29:00
CanadaProving domicile when not living in the U.S.
Hi Trailmix, Sunny, and Lenie,

Thanks for your advice. It sounds to me like the NVC reviews the AOS for completeness and acts as a "screen" before the actual interview. From what you've said, it seems that most people do manage to get their interviews without any RFE for proof of domicile at this stage. Worst case if I DO get an RFE then it will delay our case. This is annoying but it's far LESS annoying than having to physically move there now and be apart from my family for 3+ months. If there's any possibility that I can avoid separating from my family and get through successfully, then I'd like to try our best. It does seem like there's a chance, so it's a gamble, basically.

NOTE: I am not just a LPR of Canada, I am a Canadian citizen (dual). I worry they may be extra hard on me about domicile because of this fact.

Here is what I plan to do:

1. Mail the AOS now with good cover letter that states "proof of re-establishing domicile", previous job offer letter, finances, etc.
2. If it comes back RFE on domicile, resort to plan B and move there ahead of my family :(
3. If it's accepted, then wait a few weeks to get the visa interview date.
4. April 20th: Let's pretend, hypothetically that I get notice on April 20th that my visa interview is on June 1st.
5. April 21st: Contact the US employer that wants to hire me and get a job offer letter with start date around June 20th.
6. April 25th: Put my house on the market and sell it. Get the contract of sale as proof.
7. May 1st: Give notice to resign my current job in Canada. Get a letter from my employer as proof.
8. May 5th: Get an apartment in US with a signed lease agreement that starts June 1st.
9. May 10th: Get contract from movers to proof that we are moving our belongings.
10.June 1st: Come to Visa interview with:
- new job offer letter in US
- contract of sale of home in Canada
- job resignation letter from employer in Canada
- apartment lease agreement in US
- movers contract
11.If we are rejected, then I will move there without my wife, and she will stay with her mother in Canada to wait it out. :( :(
12.If we are accepted, yippee! :D :D :D

Can anyone think of a way to further improve this strategy? I am hoping that this strategy gives us the best chance of staying together. If that doesn't work out, then we will just have to separate. I really hope if that happens that it isn't months but weeks. Whatever happens, I will definitely be sharing it all with everyone here!

I am still wondering:
- How long it may take to get our notice of the Visa interview date from the time that my AOS is accepted by the NVC, and
- How long after the notice of interview the actual interview date is likely to be.

I had a hard time understanding the VJ timeline pages to estimate these steps. Does anyone recall how long these two steps took with their case?

Jeremy

To answer your first question, yes, I got an RFE for more proof of domicile from NVC. At that point I was just taking a stab in the dark. I had read the I-864 instructions and knew that domicile was a key item - I just had no idea what they would want. As you have probably read from my first blurb in this thread, I gathered what I hoped would be enough evidence and sent it. Couple of weeks later I had an RFE, not enough proof of domicile. I can only say that whomever reviewed our I-864 at NVC was experienced, because they also requested my Canadian tax returns for the last 3 years - to ensure my U.S. tax returns matched up. :) (that's pretty unusual btw, just don't want you to think you need to send your Canadian returns).

So, the old job offer and a letter of explanation - MIGHT get you through NVC, no one can say. My opinion is that it is not worth holding up your file for it. I personally think you need to send more than that. You have read this thread so you have an idea of other things you can do and really you should. Think about sending at least 5 pieces of evidence.

You don't often hear of people getting RFEs for proof of domicile at the NVC stage - but it might be a good thing if it did happen.


One more thing. Usually the AOS is just about proving the finances. The proof of
Domicile came up at the actual interview in Montreal. The only info I provided in the AOS was
a US address and all my bank statements/finacnces. I didn't send in any supporting documents for domicile
at that point. (Mostly because I didn't know any better and my lawyer was sure that my
healthy financial situation would be enough). My AOS was approved with no problem even
though there was no real Domicile documents included.


Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-03-24 13:58:00
CanadaProving domicile when not living in the U.S.
Hello everyone,

This is my first post after reading tons of great information and stories from all of you on VJ. It has all been EXTREMELY helpful so thank you all so much for sharing! I am now facing uncertainty about providing proof of domicile, at the time that I mail my AOS to the NVC. But first, a quick history:

I'm a US citizen but I've lived in Canada for 26 years (since I was 8). I'm a dual citizen of US/Canada in fact. My father is dual and my mother is Canadian. I am married now, living in Vancouver with my wife and 2 year old son. Last summer on a vacation to the US, we fell in love with Boulder, CO and decided we want to live there. It didn't take long to find employment there and I received a job offer in August 2009, but it required me to start within 2 months. At the time I was totally naive, having no clue about the time it takes for family immigration!

We discovered that the visa journey would take at least 8 months. I declined the job offer to stay with my family in Canada and wait out the process. We filed I-130's for both of them in September. All has gone smoothly and our case was transferred from USCIS to the NVC.

I recently received the next email from the NVC requesting me to send them the I-864, Affidavit of Support. I have done lots of reading and VJ has been particularly helpful in understanding the domicile requirement, which is now my main concern. Like many of you I fall under the category of needing to prove that I'm "re-establishing domicile".

Now for the problem. The NVC has instructed me to mail them my AOS now, with supporting proof and documents. To give the strongest proof I can (for re-establishing domicile), I want to provide a job offer accepted, and a rental lease agreement signed. However, they have not sent our case to the Montreal consulate yet and we don't know our visa interview date. The same employer still wants to hire me but is reluctant to provide a job offer with a start date more than 6 weeks away. Also, it is difficult to find an apartment to rent that is available more that 2 months in the future!

Based on the information I found in the VJ timeline, it looks like a few weeks after sending my AOS before our case moves to the Montreal consulate, a few more before we get our visa interview date, and the visa interview date is often 1-2 months out from the date that it was assigned. So my estimate is that our visa interview date will probably be in June. Have I estimated correctly?

There is just no way that I can get a job offer today with a start date that far in the future. Ditto for an apartment lease. I am worried that if I mail them my AOS and don't provide these items of proof, they will give me an RFE and request these items before transferring our case to the Montreal consulate. Do people ever get RFE on these items at this stage?

I was thinking about writing a cover letter that explains my situation, including the old (unaccepted) job offer from last year, and state my intention to have a new job offer and lease agreement with me by the time of our visa interview.

Will this suffice? Any other recommendations for how I can deal with this point in the process?

Much thanks,
Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-03-24 03:58:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog

My visa was approved last thursday june 9 from US Consulate in Monreal and it is now tuesday June 14 and I still havent received my passport through DHL. Does anyone know whats going on or how long it takes? and what exactly do I need to get the passport back from DHL?..any help would be appreciated..thanks!


Did you register for DHL delivery to a specific DHL location online? You should have got a "reference number". You can use this reference number at dhl.ca to check if your passport has been shipped yet. If it has been shipped then you will see the current status and whether it is ready for pickup yet.

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2011-06-14 11:14:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog

Hi

I was required to send additinal documents after the interview in Sept. 2010. It has been 22 weeks since I sent out the documents with the passport by DHL. However, I haven't got any reply. Could any body told me which phone no. I can call to check if the documents were delivered to IVM.

Thank you.

Jo Chin


Oh my, 22 weeks is absolutely terrible. Please read my original post at the beginning of this thread. I describe how I sent a fax to the consulate and received a call back the same day. There is no phone number where you can reach anyone. A fax describing your situation is your best bet. Make sure you address it to "IV Unit Supervisor".

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2011-03-30 21:40:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog

They could have noticed my email but its also for the 6-8 weeks grace period whenever we send documents to the embassy for review.
I got a letter and advised to redo medical and so we did booked asap. I guess my wait is getting extended...


That really sucks. They sent you a letter saying that you must redo the medical because it expired?? I can't believe they would do that when it is their own fault that it expired before they had time to process your case! Did this really happen??
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2011-01-05 10:39:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog

I called DH and they said the my reference Number is not valid, there is no "S" on it and this number is internal to the embassy when you send package back to them. I have not seen this before so maybe they are planning more documents to send to them and I am thinking if they require another medical exam.....
wheww...


Everyone gets a reference number (and the ability to log in to the CSC website) as soon as your interview is first scheduled. That reference number will be associated with any DHL shipments (either TO or FROM the consulate). At DHL.CA you can enter the reference number to track those shipments. If no shipment has been made yet, then DHL will say that there is no such reference number. Just keep checking with your reference number at DHL.CA and as soon as your visa has been issued you will be able tot see the tracking information.

It's possible that the consulate has slowed down for the holidays. You could try faxing them again in early January if you still haven't heard anything.
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-12-23 13:48:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog

Jeremy&Kathy, you said "ADVICE #7: Don't rely on the CSC website to tell you if your visa has been issued. Use the reference number obtained there to check the tracking status at dhl.ca." Are you saying there is a web site that tells you your visa status (hovewer unreliable that is)? How does this work? Thanks


People ask about this a lot on the Montreal Timeline topic. I answered recently here:

http://www.visajourn...ost__p__4337711
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-12-22 11:32:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog

...nothing happens today, nobody called no update
:help:

I'm willing to bet that the supervisor did get your fax. Perhaps he did not call but will still locate your file and get on it! Keep us updated...
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-12-22 11:30:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog

I did closed my eyes and crossed fingers and sent fax to IV Supervisor today.
Hopefully, he will get to it and Lord I am at work and if he calls me I have to find a place where I can talk to him privately.


Hi Tauruslady,

I wish you the best of luck with this... I don't know the correct spelling of Scott's last name. Foswell was my guess based on our phone conversation. I don't know if he is the only supervisor. Best to address it to "IV Unit Supervisor" but it sounds like that's what you did.

I'll be crossing my fingers and hoping for you. It will be informative to us all to find out what happens for you today.
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-12-21 11:43:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog

HI,

I'd been in long waiting and waiting endlessly since March just to get an interview schedule and after my interview, the Officer was not convinced of my financial docs I-864 and required me to submit a co-sponsor (NO CHECK ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING BOX). My interview was 2 weeks ahead of Jeremy&Kathy.

One week after the interview, we complied and submitted these documents together with our passports and I called to check with DOS notes and the agent told me that Montreal received it and is looking into our documents. I asked him if there are other documents required of us or some negative notes on my file, but he said none.

It says in the Refusal Letter issued to me during the interview that it will take 6-8 weeks to process and I respect that. That is why I am hesitant to call, fax or bother them as it may give them a negative impression and instead of approving us it will turn against us.

So, if I count my calendar it is already 6 weeks today and I have to wait for 2 more weeks ( to complete the 8 weeks) and that is by the end of December before bothering them.

Is it a good plan, what do you think?


If you are not desperate because you are separated for the holidays, or otherwise in dire circumstances as a result of the delays, then I think you are doing the right thing by waiting. When we sent the fax and got a call from the supervisor, he was tough on me and needed to be convinced that we deserved special treatment.
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-12-13 13:48:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog
As of this morning, dhl.ca shows that our visas have been shipped! THANK YOU MR. SCOTT F. THE IV UNIT SUPERVISOR!!
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-12-04 09:58:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresHow to Conquer the Montreal Consulate Backlog
I am starting this topic to share our story of how we managed to speed our way through the Montreal Consulate's backlog and get our IR-1 visas issued in a timely manner. The Montreal Consulate is notoriously slow and should you find yourself in the position of having to mail documents to Montreal post-interview, then read on. This topic applies to you.

At our interview on November 12, 2010, we were missing my wife Kathy's medical exam results from Dr. Sieden's office in Toronto. Our medical exam was on Monday November 8th, only 4 days before the interview. Kathy's chest x-ray showed a possible nodule that would need to be further analyzed and this delayed our results. Kathy had no previous x-rays to show that the nodule was there previously and not growing, so Dr. Sieden wanted a CT scan. It was very stressful finding out about this at the last minute. We were fortunate to find a walk-in clinic doctor who was very helpful. She had her assistant call all the local medical imaging labs, and was able to find a lab that could do the CT scan the same day. This was VERY lucky... CT scans can take weeks to schedule! Unfortunately the CT scan results weren't available in time for Dr. Sieden to see them and give us our results before the interview. We did get the CT scan results the following Monday and Kathy was fine (phew!).

ADVICE #1: Schedule your medical exam as far in advance of the interview as you possibly can. If our medical exam was only 1 or 2 days earlier we would have had time to deal with everything in time for the interview.

ADVICE #2: Get a chest X-ray from your family doctor months in advance of your interview. It doesn't hurt (figuratively or literally), and if there is a nodule that is questionable, then you can get a CT scan and deal with it long in advance.

The man at the consulate who was collecting our documents told us that we would need to send the medical exam results DHL courier as soon as we have them, and that they have a backlog of mail so it will be another few weeks of waiting before the visa is issued. He pointed to a large stack of documents on top of the cabinet behind him and said "that's mail that arrived over a month ago". We begged him for any information on how we could get our mail processed quicker. He told us to address our correspondence to "IV Unit Supervisor". This was the secret ingredient that ended up saving our butts.

ADVICE #3: Make sure that you are not missing ANYTHING at your interview. It will delay getting your visa by weeks.

Our actual interview went well and the officer said that our case looked great. As soon as the medical results were recieved, he couldn't see us having any problem getting the visas issued.

On November 18th, Kathy got her medical results from Dr. Sieden's office and immediately shipped them DHL to the Montreal Consulate. Through the dhl.ca tracking we could see that it was delivered on November 19th in the morning. We learned later that the Montreal Consulate screens all their mail for anthrax and other bad things, so it did not arrive upstairs at the IV Unit until November 23rd.

ADVICE #4: Don't assume they have your mail as soon as DHL says so. Add an extra 3 business days.

Not only did we address the DHL package directly to the IV Unit Supervisor, we also faxed the Montreal Consulate as well at two different fax numbers we tracked down: 514-398-0973 and 514-398-9748. The fax/email was a single page with large bold letters "PLEASE PRIORITIZE: URGENT: TRAVEL PENDING" addressed to the IV Unit Supervior. In the one-page fax, I briefly explained our situation that we are now separated and my wife is stuck in Toronto staying with friends, and we have paid our son's school fees and he is missing classes. I creatively begged and pleaded in various ways and asked them to do their best to prioritize our case, which was missing only the medical results and was otherwise approved.

Two hours after I sent the faxes to these two numbers, I got a call from a 514 number. It was the IV Unit Supervisor named Scott Foswell (sp?) with a french Canadian accent. He was very irate with me and asking why he has this letter on his desk with the huge bold font. I may have went a bit overboard, thinking that they probably ignore most stuff like this, but I was wrong. After a 10 minute conversation with Scott (who I presume was the IV Unit Supervisor), he was reassuring me that he would do his best to get our case processed quickly. I had told him that we had flights booked for December 7th, so that was a goal he could aim for.

ADVICE #5: If you DO get stuck in the Montreal Consulate's mail backlog, Send a fax to 514-398-0973 and 514-398-9748, and address it to "IV Unit Supervisor".

The things that really helped convince him to help us were:
- Our son was missing classes at school in the U.S. that we had paid his registration for
- We had a flight booked
- My son was 2 years old and I was missing weeks of his childhood
- The holidays were approaching and we desperately wanted to be together

He asked me why I paid for my son's school when there are no guarantees of when a visa will be issued. I told him that we had no choice because one of the pieces of evidence they specifically ask for is proof that children are registered for school. When I said this, his demeanor changed significantly. It really helped.

ADVICE #6: If you do fax the consulate, present good reasons why your situation is especially difficult and why you deserve to be processed quickly.

Scott offered no guarantees but did say he'd do his best. We left it at that and began waiting. At first, we were following these instructions to check whether our visa had been issued. Then we were told by another VJ member that this was basically useless because it didn't show any information until AFTER the visa had arrived at their DHL location. So then we began checking at dhl.ca using our "reference number" obtained through the CSC website.

ADVICE #7: Don't rely on the CSC website to tell you if your visa has been issued. Use the reference number obtained there to check the tracking status at dhl.ca.

On December 2, 2010, almost 2 weeks after the first fax I sent when the IV Unit Supervisor Scott Foswell (sp) called me, I faxed the consulate again. This time I did away with the crazy bold font and huge text across the top, not wanting to annoy him. I re-stated our situation and apologized for the interruption to his day, and issued a gentle reminder of our situation and of the fact that our scheduled flights were only 5 days away.

I got another call from Scott that afternoon after he received my fax. He said that he couldn't guarantee anything but would do his best. He said that he had located our file and would process it himself immediately. It would then be submitted for FBI name/fingerprint screening and if all goes well our visas would be printed THE NEXT DAY!! I couldn't believe our luck at getting his support like this. I have read stories on VJ of people waiting over 2 months and getting their congressmen involved. For what it's worth, the "secret technique" that seemed to do the trick was to fax the Montreal Consulate and address it to "IV Unit Supervisor".

Well, now anyone on VJ who reads this knows the secret technique that worked for me. I hope that it helps others avoid what can be a nightmarishly long wait.

Edited by Jeremy&Kathy, 02 December 2010 - 08:31 PM.

Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-12-02 20:30:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresThe Stupid RFE Thread
Ok, I have made progress today and I wanted to share this with others so they can learn from my experience.

Recap:
April 11: Submitted DS-230 electronically
April 26: RFE for "missing information" regarding 34. "Military Service".
April 28: Verified that this information was NOT incomplete. It was all there in the PDF that I sent.
April 28: Called NVC and spoke with operator. Operator submitted our case for supervisor review (10-15 days).
May 10: Called NVC, operator told me to continue waiting for review.
May 17: Called NVC, operator marked case for review AGAIN and told me to keep waiting.
May 21: Called NVC, operator put me on hold to speak with her supervisor. Came back and told me to call next week.
May 21: NVC called ME (wow!). A supervisor named Mari explained what was wrong.

Mari explained to me that page 2 of my DS-230 form was cut-off halfway down the page. This detail was NOT conveyed to me in my official RFE letter OR by any of the operators that I had spoken with before!!!

It is very strange, because I still have the exact copy of the PDF file that I emailed them, and the page is NOT cut off. I am wondering if perhaps they printed it out and their printer is what cut off the page!

Anyhow, I was instructed by Mari to send in a re-scan copy of page 2 ONLY, along with a cover letter and the bar code page. I just did that today and I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't take another 3 weeks for them to review and finally approve our case. We have been hoping for a July interview date and I've afraid we may have lost our chance because of this.

Anyhow, if I had been smart I would have demanded that an operator put me through to speak with a supervisor right away, the first time I called them on April 28th. It is ridiculous that it took 23 days just to get a proper explanation of what the missing information was!

So to all you other people, I strongly advise that if you get an RFE that doesn't make any sense, demand to speak with a supervisor right away so that you can get the details of what you need to re-submit ASAP.
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-05-21 14:36:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresThe Stupid RFE Thread
Update: I am STILL waiting for a supervisor to review my erroneous RFE from April 26th. The RFE said that I did not check Yes or No in the "Military Service" question on DS-230, but we DID check No very clearly. It has been 22 calendar days since the operator forwarded our case for supervisor review, so that they can see their own mistake and finally approve our case!!! :angry:

I am now seeing people who submitted their DS-230 on April 28th getting case complete at the NVC! It is taking them longer to review our case to correct their mistake than it takes them to do an entire case from submission!

I am really getting frustrated. I called in again and all the operator could do is flag our case for supervisor review AGAIN. I really hope that this did not reset our position in the queue. They said 10-15 days but it's been 22... this is driving me crazy.
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-05-20 23:49:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresThe Stupid RFE Thread
On Monday April 26, I was issued an RFE from the NVC in relation to our DS-230 form. I found out about it today when I called the automated phone system to check status, and it said that they recieved my packet but found that information was missing or incomplete. An operator told me that our RFE was because we had not checked the "Yes" or "No" box next to 34. Previous Military Service. When I looked at my copy of the submitted DS-230, we DID check the "No" box very clearly, and we had put N/A for all of the blanks below this question. I explained this to the operator, and she said that our case will be sent to a supervisor for review, so now we should wait another 8-10 days and check status again.

This was a mistake on the part of whomever reviewed our DS-230, and unfortunately has delayed our case by 2-3 weeks. It it nice to know, however, that it was NOT necessary for us to re-submit a new DS-230 in this case, and that the operator was able to instantly adjust the status of our case for review by a supervisor.

I just hope that this was indeed a mistake on their part and it doesn't come back again. The RFE made no sense at all!
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-04-29 00:04:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedureselectronic processing at NVC
I just switched over to electronic processing (Montreal) and so far so good.

It took almost 2 weeks before my OPTIN request was accepted. Then I got an email back that says I should scan and email them all forms and documents.

I can post updates here as to how it goes. If anyone wants to know specific details on the process I'd be glad to share what I know.

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-04-11 11:58:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresWhat is the false RFE at DS230?
On Monday April 26, I recieved a different type of "false RFE" from the NVC in relation to our DS-230 form. I called the automated phone system to check status, and it said that they recieved my packet but found that information was missing or incomplete. It said that I would recieve something stating the details of what was missing. We were already opted in for the new Electronic Processing option, but I had not yet recieved any details by mail. I got on the phone with an NVC operator to inquire about the details, and she told me that our RFE was caused by an incompleted question on the DS-230, where it asks about previous military service. I looked at my copy of the DS-230 to see what she was referring to, but we had in fact filled it in correctly by checking "No" and then "n/a" for the 4 blank spaces below. I explained this to the operator, and she said that our case will be sent to a supervisor for review, so now we should wait another 8-10 days.

This was a mistake on the part of whomever reviewed our DS-230, and unfortunately has delayed our case by 2-3 weeks. Hopefully it goes through to approval from here on!
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-04-28 23:50:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresMontreal Interview Time
We showed up at 6:30 and waited in the cold at least 40 minutes before anyone else arrived. There were 3 groups in line when doors opened at 7:30. It wouldn't have made any difference if we were 1st or 3rd in that line!

How'd it go today CanAmBride??

Edited by Jeremy&Kathy, 30 November 2010 - 06:25 PM.

Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-11-30 18:24:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresFamily visa petition in Montreal
Good news. I faxed the consulate a second time today and the supervisor called again. He is processing our case now and helping us get through faster. Here is a full post on our story with advice for others:

http://www.visajourn...sulate-backlog/
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-12-02 20:37:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresFamily visa petition in Montreal
Wow, I would strongly suspect that something is definitely wrong if it has been more than 2 months since you sent in your passports. Their automated phone system says 2-3 weeks. When we were at our interview the officer there told us 1 month.

You could try emailing or faxing the consulate. If you do, direct your correspondence to "IV Unit Supervisor" and make sure your primary applicant's case number and name appear in the subject line.

Fax: 514-398-9748 (or 514.398.0973, not sure which one is best)
Email: montreal-iv-dv@state.gov

I did this and I ended up getting a call from the supervisor himself. He was annoyed but at the same time understanding. I'm not sure if it helped... we are still waiting for our visas to be issued as well.

Jeremy
Jeremy&KathyMaleCanada2010-11-30 18:38:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresBirth Certificates
I recently applied to my local authority back in England for a copy of my birth certificate and they say that they lost some due to water damage back in the 90's. Mine happens to be one of them. What do I submit to the Vancouver consulate on the interview date in "lieu" of my birth certificate? Has anyone had / is having the same problem?
Dan and DruryMaleCanada2010-08-04 21:30:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresincome requirement
I would say that when I handed my documents over at the embassy, their checklist included the affidavit and other supporting documents from sponsor (finace/ee). They asked for tax documents, bank statements and work contract from employer. I would go armed to the teeth with evidence to be certain. Read the embassy reviews, they are very helpful.
Dan and DruryMaleCanada2010-09-29 10:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresWhen will you marry?
You don't have to elaborate or make up anything that is not true. Just tell them that once you have moved, you can start planning. or simply say: within 90 days!
Dan and DruryMaleCanada2011-06-08 17:29:00