CONTACTING CONSULATE IN MONTREAL

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

I sent in our packet 3 last week. They say they do not confirm receipt, I would hate to wait 2 months to find out they never got it.

How long should I wait to contact them? 1 or 2 weeks?

Also, what is the best way to contact Montreal Embassy, by email? or by phone?

The email I have is montreal-iv-dv@state.gov is this right? if I call, what is the number? Do they actually have a call centre where they take quires etc?

Also, has anyone ever called and found out that they were scheduled for an interview prior to actually getting packet 4?

Any, has anyone ever put in a request for a 'rush' date, due to circumstances?

I'm hoping to get an interview before the end of May, my current lease expires June 1st and i'm paying a lot of money for rent... I have to give 60 days notice to my landlord but worry if I give notice and don't get an interview I will have no place to go... and if I wait to give notice until after I get approved, I will have to pay for an extra 2 months I won't be living here.

We need to be down there for June, as my son needs to be assessed for school, and I need to have enough time to get him into grade 1.... in the US they are a year behind us and they want to enroll him in kindergarten...AGAIN! cause he doesn't meet the age requirement. So it'll give us time to get the schooling organized and try to get the AP underway so he can start visiting his dad here in Toronto again...

ok, now this has become a family discussion... not sure if I should have posted here....

Am I the only one that has so many worries? lol!

[k34 0]

Yes to your first few questions: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=2703894

As for the rest of it, yes, it's so stressful and complicated not knowing exactly when your life is about to change so significantly! As far as requesting rush processing though, you have to have some pretty outstanding circumstances, I believe. There are some cases discussed on the forums if you search.

Edited March 6, 2009 by k34

[francie 0]

3 days after i sent my packet 3, i emailed them if i submitted all the requirements they needed, and i got a reply saying that everything is complete and im now n the waiting list. try to email again maybe ul get a nicer operator who will answer your question.

[SapphireDreams 71]

They have been very responsive for me over email. Just be sure to put your MTL# in your subject line and keep the email short. 1-2 sentences.

I think your best option is to request a date before June 1st - explain why. They will probably put a note on your file, but not guarantee it. I requested after March 13 and got March 18 - so they did honour my request - but it was an easy one. I mean, I'm sure they get dozens of requests and I coordinate things for a living so I'm guessing they do what they can, but only can do so much.

Looks like you'll get an interview in June with current timelines - so if I was in your situation, I would give my landlord notice for a move out date of June 30th to be safe. I'd rather have a 1 month buffer than be homeless.

You can call the DOS to find out if you have an interview.. I'd call them at the end of April. Some people start calling them weekly. I didn't call them until February and get my packet 3 in November... and when I called I was scheduled so it saved me a lot of let down.

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

They have been very responsive for me over email. Just be sure to put your MTL# in your subject line and keep the email short. 1-2 sentences.

I think your best option is to request a date before June 1st - explain why. They will probably put a note on your file, but not guarantee it. I requested after March 13 and got March 18 - so they did honour my request - but it was an easy one. I mean, I'm sure they get dozens of requests and I coordinate things for a living so I'm guessing they do what they can, but only can do so much.

Looks like you'll get an interview in June with current timelines - so if I was in your situation, I would give my landlord notice for a move out date of June 30th to be safe. I'd rather have a 1 month buffer than be homeless.

You can call the DOS to find out if you have an interview.. I'd call them at the end of April. Some people start calling them weekly. I didn't call them until February and get my packet 3 in November... and when I called I was scheduled so it saved me a lot of let down.

So if I email them am I reading the address right? montreal-iv-dv@state.gov cause they have it 'cap'd' on the form wanna make sure. And if I call, i'm not calling Montreal direct but calling this number : (202) 663-1225 ?

Thanks guys

[JillA 2]

That's not the phone number for Montreal. They cannot accept phone calls, you have to e-mail them.

[francie 0]

that is the phone number of Department of State where you can get information regarding your case e.g. status of the case. so far all i hear from them is im still in the waiting list. i call them twice a week. lol

[July09Bride 1]

I was reading on another thread somewhere that someone had sent in their P3 at the end of January and was still awaiting an interview date as of a couple of days ago.

We know that the Consulate in Montreal received ours on 3/3 at 7:42 am b/c we sent it XpressPost & saw the delivery time.

But, the person who replied in the other thread really makes me nervous and quite anxiety ridden right now!!! With so many people in my family and none living near me (I'm in Michigan and they're all in Arizona, California, and Missouri) and the economy the way it is, people asked for us to select a date (based on the K-1 process) and stupid as it may be, we did.

So, now, we're waiting for his interview... have a wedding date of July 17, 2009... and the potential to have a July or later interview???!!! I think I'm about to cry. Really, I think I am. I'm past the point of frustration and anger. Those two emotions overcame me while we were at the hotel the night before his med exam and the night I got back home after the nightmare day of the medical exam.

I guess I'll try calling and if I don't get a response, I'll send an email with our request and info about the wedding, etc. <sigh> Guess it won't do any harm to try, right?

Wow, and I thought planning a wedding was going to be stressful. That's NOTHING compared to this... and he's the one going through it all, I'm the USC!!!

[July09Bride 1]

I saw this info from k34 on another thread and thought I'd share it here... in regards to calling.

after you have a case number from the consulate, you can call the Department of State at 202 663 1225 ( press 1, 0, 4, 3, 0 )

Hopefully that might help someone here.

[SapphireDreams 71]

I was reading on another thread somewhere that someone had sent in their P3 at the end of January and was still awaiting an interview date as of a couple of days ago.

We know that the Consulate in Montreal received ours on 3/3 at 7:42 am b/c we sent it XpressPost & saw the delivery time.

But, the person who replied in the other thread really makes me nervous and quite anxiety ridden right now!!! With so many people in my family and none living near me (I'm in Michigan and they're all in Arizona, California, and Missouri) and the economy the way it is, people asked for us to select a date (based on the K-1 process) and stupid as it may be, we did.

So, now, we're waiting for his interview... have a wedding date of July 17, 2009... and the potential to have a July or later interview???!!! I think I'm about to cry. Really, I think I am. I'm past the point of frustration and anger. Those two emotions overcame me while we were at the hotel the night before his med exam and the night I got back home after the nightmare day of the medical exam.

I guess I'll try calling and if I don't get a response, I'll send an email with our request and info about the wedding, etc. <sigh> Guess it won't do any harm to try, right?

Wow, and I thought planning a wedding was going to be stressful. That's NOTHING compared to this... and he's the one going through it all, I'm the USC!!!

Definitely try, I think they will do their best... I mean you could always just have the wedding and not legally get married and then have him cross back for the interview. It's the best worst-case scenario I can think of.

Just wondering though - why didn't you send back Packet 3 the day after you got it? Did you think you needed to have the medical complete before you could send it back?

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

I was reading on another thread somewhere that someone had sent in their P3 at the end of January and was still awaiting an interview date as of a couple of days ago.

We know that the Consulate in Montreal received ours on 3/3 at 7:42 am b/c we sent it XpressPost & saw the delivery time.

But, the person who replied in the other thread really makes me nervous and quite anxiety ridden right now!!! With so many people in my family and none living near me (I'm in Michigan and they're all in Arizona, California, and Missouri) and the economy the way it is, people asked for us to select a date (based on the K-1 process) and stupid as it may be, we did.

So, now, we're waiting for his interview... have a wedding date of July 17, 2009... and the potential to have a July or later interview???!!! I think I'm about to cry. Really, I think I am. I'm past the point of frustration and anger. Those two emotions overcame me while we were at the hotel the night before his med exam and the night I got back home after the nightmare day of the medical exam.

I guess I'll try calling and if I don't get a response, I'll send an email with our request and info about the wedding, etc. <sigh> Guess it won't do any harm to try, right?

Wow, and I thought planning a wedding was going to be stressful. That's NOTHING compared to this... and he's the one going through it all, I'm the USC!!!

Oh, girl, I hear ya... my opinion... you may not wanna hear it...but i've been following people's timelines, and right now it appears that notification is being sent somewhere around the 2 month mark (from them rec'ving your packet 3) it's about 2 months before you will see a packet 4 with your interview date....and from the time you rec've it, generally the interview is within a month. So you and I are at the same time frame. I'm expecting an optimistic date of late May, and can realistically or likely be anytime in June. I saw another post where someone sent in their stuff late 2008 (Dec), and just got an interview date of the last week of April... that puts you and I into late may or june... Let me know if you hear back, i'll keep you posted....

I just sent an email this week to see if they could confirm rec't of my package 3... I get Xpress post confirmation, but I never wrote on the package the actual dept... so I hope they forwarded. I also plan on starting to call that number. I also requested that if possible to have an interview date of late May, as our wedding is set for June. I know they cannot commit and it's a long shot, but figured I would try

I wonder if they know how often your calling and get irritated? lol!

[July09Bride 1]

Definitely try, I think they will do their best... I mean you could always just have the wedding and not legally get married and then have him cross back for the interview. It's the best worst-case scenario I can think of.

Just wondering though - why didn't you send back Packet 3 the day after you got it? Did you think you needed to have the medical complete before you could send it back?

Yeah... I really wanted to send it back the next day... but he had the info in London and I was here in MI. Then, when I saw him a couple of weeks later, the checklist said Medical Exam completed. The word that got me was COMPLETED. From how it was written (I'm an English teacher so I get screwed A LOT b/c people don't know how to properly explain themselves and I take it literally, as written), I read that we couldn't return the P3 until after... which is why we sent it the afternoon the day he completed the Exam.

I guess, I could handle a July Interview (as long as he had the Visa in hand by the 15th)... but his K1 approval expires May 12. Doesn't the interview have to be before that or else, wouldn't we need to file for an approval extension?

<sigh>

This is so tough.

Krista (aka July09Bride)

[July09Bride 1]

Oh, girl, I hear ya... my opinion... you may not wanna hear it...but i've been following people's timelines, and right now it appears that notification is being sent somewhere around the 2 month mark (from them rec'ving your packet 3) it's about 2 months before you will see a packet 4 with your interview date....and from the time you rec've it, generally the interview is within a month. So you and I are at the same time frame. I'm expecting an optimistic date of late May, and can realistically or likely be anytime in June. I saw another post where someone sent in their stuff late 2008 (Dec), and just got an interview date of the last week of April... that puts you and I into late may or june... Let me know if you hear back, i'll keep you posted....

I just sent an email this week to see if they could confirm rec't of my package 3... I get Xpress post confirmation, but I never wrote on the package the actual dept... so I hope they forwarded. I also plan on starting to call that number. I also requested that if possible to have an interview date of late May, as our wedding is set for June. I know they cannot commit and it's a long shot, but figured I would try

I wonder if they know how often your calling and get irritated? lol!

I dunno, but whether or not this makes sense, misery loves company. Knowing that someone else is in the same boat almost makes me feel better. Your wedding is before ours, so you've GOT to be stressing!!! I know how stressed & bothered I am by all of this... and I've got a couple of weeks on you.

I will definitely be calling AND emailing. Here's my rationale.... Calling gets me to the Departmentof State in DC to check on packet/interview list. Emailing gets me into the Consulate (where the papers actually are) and hopes of a note being attached to the file for a date early due to wedding date.

As for keeping in touch, you bet! Things are always easier to handle when you've got someone around who understands.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

If it makes you feel any better I'm in a very similar position! I have a wedding planned for August 6th and I'm waiting on an interview date as well. I do have about a month cushion on you, but in this game, you never really know whats going to happen. I'm just trying my best to be optimistic and not think about the worst case scenario. The good news is that a lot of vendors will let you change your dates with very little penalty, as long as you aren't canceling completely and you choose an off-peak date. Trust me, i've asked! I wanted to make sure that if something happens I won't be out 10 grand+. The biggest problem is my family and friends who are planning a trip out to Colorado for the wedding... but I told them to wait until they got confirmation from me to book anything. If they choose not to listen then so be it...

The honeymoon we have book is a little more concerning... You can't really do much changing around with that unless you want to pay out the butt. I figure, worst case scenario is that I have my honeymoon before my wedding... Either way I get to go to Disneyworld!

Talk about stressful eh? Did I mention I'm in my last semester of university? So i'm doing the visa thing, planning a wedding, and finishing my honors BA while holding a part time job. I'm really looking forward to that period between my entry in the US and the time I have to go to work. I need a break!!

Good luck to everyone! It will all work out.

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

HAHA! We're pathetic! I love it! And yes, misery does love amigos!!!

Our wedding is more loosely based... we are planning for a beach wedding down in Miami... and just to two of us... we'll hold off on the much bigger event until later on... so we have been tracking progress and will firm up bookings etc...after that. We really just need to book a hotel, flight, get the license and find a minister lol!

The other thing that's a little time sensitive is my son's schooling... he is currently in Kindergarten here in Ontario, and the age requirements are different in the States...soooo in order for me to get him into Grade 1, he is set to be assessed in June by the school board. Otherwise they want him to enroll for Kindergarten AGAIN! Here in Canada it's two years of Kindergarten... the poor kid will have 1 year of pre school and 3 years of block building before he even starts school I worry that he won't be stimulated.... So in order for me to really get married and on that, we ideally need to be there in June But then again, that's the #######-retentive OCD 'gotta have it yesterday' part of me talking... oh wait... there are no other facets to me? lol!

ps. July09Bride... so weird, my K3 checklist read 'arrange for a medical exam...' I took that as.... make the appmnt, and as long as an appmnt is in place then we are good. Also, I have seen posters on here say that as long as your case is active and with the Consulate, then your NOA2 approval automatically stays active even past the 'expiry date' but someone may want to confirm that... mine expires May 20th...

....the saga continues....