What this site has taught me...

[k34 0]

Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst!

I have been lurking here for a couple of weeks now and decided that it's time I became part of this site.

I am so glad I found this place so early in our process... we are going to be filing our I-129f within a couple of weeks if all works out. After what I have read here I feel pretty confident going into this on our own (i.e. without an attorney). Thanks so much, everyone!

I am in Windsor, ON and hoping to join my baby in Chicago ASAP! I was originally thinking of going the T-N route to start, but since I have a son, who is primarily with his father in Sarnia, that I spend every second weekend with, I decided that crossing the border so often with just a T-N was too risky considering I know that they have remarks in their computer system about me having a boyfriend in the US. I don't want to have to carry proof of my ties, etc. with me all the time and always be at the mercy of someone else to decide whether I could go home or not. It would be pretty devastating to start our life together there and then suddenly not be allowed back across.

All we are waiting for before filing is the certificate from my previous marriage to correlate with the name on my divorce papers, and then we should be starting our timeline! We do need those items for the initial filing, right?

I do have one question: The form asks about children -- my son will not be part of this application (I will be renting an apartment in Port Huron, MI, right across the border from Sarnia, for our weekends), but I am thinking that he needs to be listed anyway in the interest of full disclosure right? Should I address this issue in the cover letter? Or what? I want to do everything I can to avoid any kind of confusion or misunderstanding, since we are ready for me to move NOW, and don't want to cause any undue delays.

Edited June 14, 2008 by kelland34

[Teacher Mark 53]

Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst!

I have been lurking here for a couple of weeks now and decided that it's time I became part of this site.

I am so glad I found this place so early in our process... we are going to be filing our I-129f within a couple of weeks if all works out. After what I have read here I feel pretty confident going into this on our own (i.e. without an attorney). Thanks so much, everyone!

I am in Windsor, ON and hoping to join my baby in Chicago ASAP! I was originally thinking of going the T-N route to start, but since I have a son, who is primarily with his father in Sarnia, that I spend every second weekend with, I decided that crossing the border so often with just a T-N was too risky considering I know that they have remarks in their computer system about me having a boyfriend in the US. I don't want to have to carry proof of my ties, etc. with me all the time and always be at the mercy of someone else to decide whether I could go home or not. It would be pretty devastating to start our life together there and then suddenly not be allowed back across.

All we are waiting for before filing is the certificate from my previous marriage to correlate with the name on my divorce papers, and then we should be starting our timeline! We do need those items for the initial filing, right?

I do have one question: The form asks about children -- my son will not be part of this application (I will be renting an apartment in Port Huron, MI, right across the border from Sarnia, for our weekends), but I am thinking that he needs to be listed anyway in the interest of full disclosure right? Should I address this issue in the cover letter? Or what? I want to do everything I can to avoid any kind of confusion or misunderstanding, since we are ready for me to move NOW, and don't want to cause any undue delays.

Welcome! I'm glad to hear you two are so geographically close! I know it doesn't seem like it, but you are. It will go by quickly. The Customs Officials at Port Huron seem to be pretty cool. I've crossed back and forth there several times. THere's always the one trying to make a nmae for themselves though. I crossed at Windsor once and got a complete Jacka$$ (Canadian). A couple of months later I crossed there again and the guy was cool. As a Trucker though I can tell you that most of us prefer Huron. I'm going to leave the paperwork question up to someone else since I don't really know the answer. Good luck.

Edited June 14, 2008 by WideAwakeInTheUSA

[Krikit 1,164]

I do have one question: The form asks about children -- my son will not be part of this application (I will be renting an apartment in Port Huron, MI, right across the border from Sarnia, for our weekends), but I am thinking that he needs to be listed anyway in the interest of full disclosure right? Should I address this issue in the cover letter? Or what? I want to do everything I can to avoid any kind of confusion or misunderstanding, since we are ready for me to move NOW, and don't want to cause any undue delays.

Yes, you need to list any children on the form..... even if they are not accompanying you. You don't need to address it in a cover letter. It will get clarified in later forms when they ask you to list any children that are coming with you.

Welcome to VJ, Kell!

Edited June 16, 2008 by Krikit

[k34 0]

I do have one question: The form asks about children -- my son will not be part of this application (I will be renting an apartment in Port Huron, MI, right across the border from Sarnia, for our weekends), but I am thinking that he needs to be listed anyway in the interest of full disclosure right? Should I address this issue in the cover letter? Or what? I want to do everything I can to avoid any kind of confusion or misunderstanding, since we are ready for me to move NOW, and don't want to cause any undue delays.

Yes, you need to list any children on the form..... even if they are not accompanying you. You don't need to address it in a cover letter. It will get clarified in later forms when they ask you to list any children that are coming with you.

Welcome to VJ, Kell!

Thanks!

So many questions that are probably mostly pretty easy to answer if only you know where to look. Apparently here is a great place for that

Actually Kell is my son... Kelland34 somehow became my email address a long time ago so now I just use it as a login name when my preferred name is already taken, which it often is.

WideAwake -- now that you mention PH, I am thinking that may be a better place to cross when I move. I somehow expect things to go more smoothly there, and I have a feeling that I may even have a slightly better chance that I can get an EAD stamp there. I cross there a couple of times a month and have often found the officers to be not just nice but even chatty! Alternatively, Detroit is almost always all business.

[BH45 0]

Welcome to VJ.

Since I've been here, I've discovered that there will now be 3 Canadians living in the Chicago area. I, myself, will be in Palatine in just a few weeks. I'm so excited and can hardly wait.

Keep in touch. Maybe we'll all get together to celebrate some of "our" holidays.

[Carlawarla 1]

Just wanted to say hello and welcome kelland34! As krikit posted, you have to list your children on the forms, even if they don't accompany you. Hang out with us and you'll learn lots more about the process. Don't be afraid to ask questions!

Hoping for a speedy process!