Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Case completed today!!	CONGRATULATIONS!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-11-03 18:15:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Is it time to contact UCIS?	All, It has been over 100 days since we filed our I-130 (July 26, 06) Do you think I should contact USCIS? Me and my husband were thinking of contacting the congressman to see if he can do something for us if we dont hear anything by the end of the month. I was originally on the TN visa and have filed the I-130 and the I-129F. So far. nothing from both sides. (I-129F got transferred after sitting there for two months in the Missouri office) I'm starting to wonder if it's because I have entered some US addresses on my G froms that threw them off.. ( was working in the US since 2003) I just hope they didn't lose our file! It's encouraging to see approvals with others but at the same time, very discouraging that we filed before some of the others and are left behind.....	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-11-07 12:54:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Truly Thanksgiving....Rec'd NOA2	congratulations!!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-11-23 10:36:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved from CSC	No worries Riblet.. I really think you'll be next! You know.. I should be jumping up and down but I'm not... it just feels surreal right now.. on one hand i'm happy that we got approved.. on the other.. i'm starting to figure out how long it'll take before the interview at montreal! ahhah.. AND we can't do the CR1 interview in Vancouver.. that's just to bad! but no complaints...i'll continue to pray for the rest of us here in VJ!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-04 23:25:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved from CSC	I'm approved today! My husband called me tonight and told me the good news... we have been approved for the I-130 even though the online status said our case is still pending! Ok now i need to follow James' shortcuts.. can someone refresh my memory ? the james shortcut link i have is updated this january.. has there been more updates since then? fellow vjers who have used the shortcut recently... can you please provide some guidance?	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-04 22:59:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	total dollars for filing CR/1	Can someone who has their case completed and is waiting for an interview tell me how many money orders I would need to have and the amount of each money order? I just wanna be more proactive about it and have my husband get the money orders ready so when we receive any documents, we can send right away without making a trip to the bank (and wasting a day!) Also, can you please tell me who we should make the money order out to? I know there is a fee for the following: Type Cost Payable to AOS / I-864 $70 Department of State IV Bill $380 Department of State DS-230 ? ? Is there anything else that I missed? Can someone please shed some light? Thanks!! Edited by Our Mao, 06 December 2006 - 11:56 AM.	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-06 11:54:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	APPROVED	Congratulations!!! September approval.. nice...!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-06 13:46:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	YAY!! APPROVED!!	Congratulations Riblet!! I"m so happy for you!!! Ok so I think we're in a similar situation (Approved I-130 and in Canada).. do go ahead and read james' shortcuts!!! I also managed to call the automated hotline to find out if they have transferred (not yet) but I'll check in another week... once they have assigned a case number to me, I'll get the ball rolling by sending out that emai lfor the choice of agent, and so on and so forth.... We can figure this out together! Oh FYI, in a previous post I said i was gonna get the police certificate but i can't get it yet because I'll need some sort of request letter from USCIS. so i can't just walk to the police office and get it....	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-07 10:48:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Just spoke with USCIS misinformation about I824...	If we did happen to get a K3 faster, my husband was going to come down, apply for EAD, and then go back to Canada and keep working up there until he could work down here. At this point, even if K3 gets approved, that + applying for EAD would take about the same as getting a green card, and green card is obviously much better Yup! Me and my husband felt the same. If K3 is approved, I would enter, file EAD right away, return to Canada to work until EAD is ready, then enter the states. We figured that would be around 5 months (2 months to get the K3 and 3 months for the EAD). In our opinion, getting the green card would probably take the same amount of time!? Besides, our K-3 hasnt' been approved yet so that would not be an option for us now..	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-07 14:33:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Just spoke with USCIS misinformation about I824...	Tong and Wei, Those are very good questions but I dont know if I have the answer to them! ahhhh Well, in my case, my I-130 was approved before the I-129F. I dont know when the I-129F will be approved. But the I-130 is definitely better than the I-129F (for me anyway), because once you enter, you can work right away. You do not have to file for 'authorization for employment'. I really want/need to work right away when I enter the US (long story short, I was working in US, and my company in the US arranged for me to work in the Canada branch office while I wait for my approval. When I enter on the I-130, I can work right away. However, if I get the I-129F, I will enter, file for authorization for employment, wait ANOTHER three months for approval. I dont know if my company will be nice enough to do that for me so I think at this point in time, I'll go with the I-130.	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-07 12:38:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Just spoke with USCIS misinformation about I824...	I got the 'snail mail' letter and for me.. it said specifically that the entire file will be sent to New Hampshire.... FYI for you..!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-07 12:26:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	CASE COMPLETED!	thanks Bradyvicky! I read through it and i 'THINK" i get it now.. thanks!!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-07 10:49:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	CASE COMPLETED!	Hi bradyvicky! First of all, congratulations! your case is complete! Second of all.. i was wondering if you can help with a few questions i have. I just got my I-130 approved yesterday.. so i'm gonna go ahead and start reading up on James' shortcuts... I have a question: when you say your case is complete, how do u know? Do they send you something in the mail? or something else? i'm confused.. so i guess... once I complete james' shortcuts, (DS3032, AOS fee bill, IV fee, I-894, etc), all i do is wait for them to give me an interview date? Also, after I have received my NO2, when can i start on James' shortcuts? Please advise.. thank you very much in advance for answering my questions!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-05 11:41:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	DS-230 and Barcode Question	I'm starting to fill in my form DS-230 (as a practice) and I have a few questions: For #20, they ask you to list the places you have lived since 16. Does it matter whether you list them in ascending or descending order? i.e. Should I start from 13 to now .. or from now back to 16? For #22, they ask you to list all employment for the last ten years. Should I start with the most current to the oldest? I guess it's a matter of personal preference? For #23, I belong to a few professional accounting organizations but I dont know if they'll undestand if I give them the acronyms, should I attach a list and give them full descriptions? Also, for the barcode, when I generated mine, it's around 2 inches wide and 0.75 inches in height. Is this right? The reason I asked is because when I look at the DS-3032 (Choice of Agent Form), that barcode strip is very long!? 0.4 x 7.75" Can someone provide some insight? Thanks!!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-11 13:14:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Amount of fees and payable to?	I posted sometime last week to ask about how much the IV Bill and the filing of the DS-230 will be but did not receive any response. So I called the NVC and asked them. The lady who helped me was very helpful and even verified my and my husband's information. FYI, the IV Bill is still $70. The fee for filing the DS-230 is $380 according to her, NOT $335. The amount on the USCIS's website has not been updated. http://travel.state....types_1263.html Last but not least, they only accept either money orders or cashiers' checks. Make them payable to the "Department of State". FYI, she knows I'm filing from Canada. I dont know if the fees will be any different if you're filing from somewhere other than Canada.	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-11 18:43:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	IV Fee Bill	recall Edited by Our Mao, 02 January 2007 - 01:27 PM.	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-01-02 13:25:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	We have the Appointment!!!!!	Congratulations!!! I'm so happy for you guys! Hope all goes well in the interview and your wife will be in the US with you very soon! SO excited!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-01-03 14:50:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	still no NOA2	Hang in there!! My NOA1 date for I-129F was end of August and so far .. it's NOTHING!! Enjoy your holiday instead!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-20 12:53:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	INTERVIEW DATE SET!!!!	Congratulations! You guys are almost there!!!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-01-03 15:07:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Case Complete !!! Wohoo	Congratulations! I'm glad your case is completed and you were able to find your package in the mail! Hope you get an interview date soon!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-01-17 18:42:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved Finally	Congrats!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-01-19 10:31:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Approved!!!!	Congrats! Awesome news!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-01-31 17:15:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	DS230 Part II and James' Shortcuts	Cuci, As far as I understood from the instructions, the biographic page of the passport DOES NOT NEED to be notarized. The instructions simply asked for a copy of the biographic page of the passport. Nowhere does it say that it needs to be notarized. Save yourself some money!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-02-05 17:09:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	DS230 Part II and James' Shortcuts	Ok, I'm filing from Canada and I submitted the forms WITHOUT adding Part II... I overlooked that part.. ahhhhhhhhhh oh well too late now... Maybe amarceau can answer that question for you since her case is completed. I submitted mine last week.. I"m gonna call them now to see if they have received everything.. (the line is busy! argh) Will let you know what I find out. Hopefully I won't get a RFE because of that... doubt it! hahaa It's just me being optimistic! And you are right... I submitted the original birth certificate, police certificate and marriage certificate with a copy of my passport biographic page... the rest of the the material (military, divorce, etc) are not applicable in my case. That's all you need! Edited by Our Mao, 05 February 2007 - 01:44 PM.	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-02-05 13:40:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Case Completed At NVC	That's great news! Congratulations! I hope you get an interview date assigned soon! By the way, does NVC assign it for you or does the local consulate do that? I dont know if there's a difference? For Canada, it's assigned at the NVC.	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-02-06 14:15:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	DS-230 help please	I don't mean to get your hopes up but I sent in my DS-230 on Jan 31 and my case was completed on Feb 13.... 2 WEEKS! I think the key is whenever you send ANYTHING to ANYONE, make sure the package is neat and in good order... Having a cover letter and arranging the items in the order of your letter will help ANYONE out. Everyone likes to work on a neat file.... no one wants to work on a messy/sloppily put together files. (I'm talking about my own experience when I'm at work. I work on the neat ones first and let the messy ones sit there! HEHEHE) If people make the effort to do a good job when submitting docs, it'll make whoever is handling the case much happy and probably process it faster! Saves them the time to figure out what is what?!! Anyhow, that's just my opinion hehehe	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-02-22 14:42:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	CR-1 Interview a Success	Congrats!!!!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-02-21 11:46:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	I-864	Yes you can! send it in!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-02-22 14:44:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	OMG - Case Complete!!!	Hi Sandy!!! O my God Congratulations!!!! I was sure yours was one week behind me. is that funny or what??? I guess NVC had a good long break during Christmas and New Year's and now they're all PUMPED and getting our cases out the door!! Hope we'll all get an interview date in April!!! Everybody, be sure to post an interview date if and when you get one! This is so exciting.. We are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel!!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-02-21 10:01:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Civil Marriage done...family celebration in June 2007	Good! I thought he was gonna get married in the US, that's why I wrote that post! But if he's going to be getting married in Guyana, then there shouldn't be a problem. And vylex, you are right, the only thing he can't do is she won't be able to come back with his wife.	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-02-28 18:42:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Civil Marriage done...family celebration in June 2007	I dont wanna crush you but the average journay between six months to over a year! Look at my timeline. I submitted in July and my CR-1 was approved in Dec... My K3 was NEVER APPROVED. Typically people plan for their weddings after they have received their approval and lather the visas.... I'm sorry to say but this is a very lengthy process and you're better off paying any deposits for your wedding after you know when the interview will be.... I'm not trying to diss you but I just want you to have a realistic idea as to how long it'll take... Don't be mad at me!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-02-28 16:43:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	email from NVC	Riblet, I never got the email saying my case is completed?! ahhhhh But my case's complete right? According to the recording and according to the few calls I made and confirmed ? hahaha oh well.......	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-03-02 23:36:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	CR-1 Visa interview approved	Congrats!!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-03-07 14:06:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Things seem to be moving in Montreal	Ernie, Congratulations! Peter, I'm glad to hear that Montreal was a pleasant experience for you. I hope it'll be the same for me.. Ernie, Riblet and the rest of the gang having interviews in April in Montreal! =D	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-03-16 17:18:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Tracking Recently Approved I130 Petitions	Hi Riblet, Yes, there are quite a few Canadians on this thread..and yes we'll definitely help each other out! From the recording from the NVC line, we have to wait 6 - 8 weeks before we get the choice of agent and the IV bill. I guess once you get it, then you can email them with your choice of agent and send in the fee bill. Meanwhile, you can start filling in forms and gathering infomation from James' shortcuts, etc etc. So I'll post to let everyone know if they've sent us the package. Since we all got approved around the same time, I'd 'assume' we will get processed around the same time too! And yes you are right, according to James' shortcuts, they generate forms at the end of Monday so we should call on Tuesday morning to see if they generated anything! My hubby is coming to see me next week.. so excited! hahaha Have a great Christmas in Canada Riblet!	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-15 15:07:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Tracking Recently Approved I130 Petitions	According to the letter, our I-130 has been forwarded to NVC. They have also assigned me a case number on Dec 6. So we can start emailing them about the choice of agent and the fee bill when the automated system says they have sent out our package? My number starts with MTL, so I guess it's Montreal! haha	Our Mao	Female	0	2006-12-15 11:32:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Denied at POE	No, it will not affect the approval of your visa. They will probably ask you about it and you can tell them why you were denied. In most cases, it's just because you didn't have enough ties with Canada, etc etc. As long as you tell the truth, that's fine. I was refused at the border too and I documented that in my DS-230. I'm sure they'll ask me about it and I will definitely tell them about it when I go for my interview.	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-03-29 21:22:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	CR1 Visa Received - Colombia	Congratulations!!! I'm very happy for you!	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-04-08 20:55:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	DS-230 Supporting documents	Glady, You need to submit to the NVC the following ORIGINALS: 1. Birth Certificate 2. Marriage Certificate 3. Police Certificate (nation wide) The birth certificate and the marriage certificate will be returned to you when you have your interview in Montreal. Hope that helps.	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-04-11 17:35:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	How long is the wait for CR1/IR1 Iterviews in Montreal	Hello Glady, I am right behind you.... Definitely call NVC around June 15th... and check out the Canada forum Let's keep each other updated! All the best! -- Karen Since NVC schedules the IR1/CR1 interviews, are they normally scheduled quicker than if the montreal consulate scheduled it?! I know this is wishful thinking, just seeing if anyone knows. Yes, from my personal experience, I would have to say that for CR1/IR1 interviews, it's scheduled quicker than K3 and K1 interviews in Montreal. That was in April of this year. I dont know if they're still keeping that up.	Our Mao	Female	0	2007-06-14 15:05:00