Calgary US Consulate

[Avery 0]

My husband and I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Which left us the choice of either file our I130 by mailing or driving to our "local" US consulate office which happens to be in Calgary. So in the interest of time and money we decided to head out to Calgary.

After many many questions (thank you all who helped) and collecting more data than I could even want to know about myself, we packed up and headed out. We left Sunday afternoon at 3:00PM. The drive itself was not too terrible. The dreaded run of Saskatchewan wasn't as bad as told. Mind you I don't mind rolling hills dotted with cows. I was actually pretty excited being a city girl myself. It took about 7 hours to get to Regina and then another 6 to make it to Calgary itself. We arrived about 4:30AM. Calgary time.

Now if you live in a weird town like Winnipeg (or so I'm told it's weird) where you don't have freeways or by-passes and the like; Driving in Calgary and any other city for that matter is really ... really bizarre. I am ever so grateful we borrowed someone's GPS or else I would have never found a thing! We scoped around downtown and found the building we would have to be at in a few hours and then ran around to find some parking. Which actually wasn't too hard to find. We did opt to park at the convention center mostly out of convenience and I was too tired to price compare anything. It was about 5:00AM. So we changed and sat and waited. I think I fell asleep a few times.

7:30AM rolled around and we picked up all our paper work and left anything electronic we had in the car. We actually had a friend come along to drive us so he stayed behind to safe guard (sleep actually) the vehicle.

We walked into the office building and walked kinda looking dazed and confused until we saw the "office" where we would wait to be brought up to consulate. The main floor office consisted of a sign on the wall beside a filing cabinet. Along the wall near it was a line up area that was roped off. I was highly amused. There were two people already waiting so we plunked ourselves in line and waited. By the time 8:00 rolled around there were over 15 people waiting. From what I saw we were the only couple and everyone else was applying for visa's.

An older gentleman came down and set up the rest of the "office". He put a little flag holder on top of the filing cabinet and flipped out a table. Took out his trusty wand and started ushering people forward. He asked our purpose and took my things to investigate them and then wanded us down. We were then moved to the next line to wait before going up. After he had about 8 people we all went to the elevator where he so graciously noted that because my husband was an American citizen he would go first. LOL The look on his face was so priceless. It was somewhere between embarrassment and feeling bad. I of course couldn't help but to remind him that he was special.

When we got to the top he lined us up in order and instructed us to wait to be called. There was another officer who called us into a room that had the xray machine thing and the airport gateway. He took our id and our things and then scanned them. We were then instructed to walk through the magical gateway and collect our things. We then headed to the waiting room.

The waiting room was fairly large. On one side it had several windows and booths. The kind you would see at like a money mart. The front of the room was filled with chairs and there was a tv as well. We sat down and waited to be called. We were assigned a different number from the rest. A### vs V### to indicated which type of service we would receive. We were soon called to the first window and handed in our I130 and G325A for both of us. We were sent to go sit and wait again.

It was only about 10 minutes before we were called again to the next window to hand in the rest of our information. Marriage Certificate, Passports, Drivers Licence's, Work Permit, one passport photo of each of us. She photo copied what I already didn't have copies of and gave us our NOA2 and instructed us to wait to be called to pay for everything. Now keep in mind after a month's prep work and only needing the very basics I was mildly confused. Delighted, but still confused. LOL My husband reassured me that it was most likely because we were married for almost two years now. Mind you I am glad I over prepared as much as I did.

Shortly after we were called to the next window to pay. We did so by credit card. I was kinda glad because getting money orders and the like is such a pain and costs extra. They do not take interac (debit) to some of you! We then left. That was it... and it was 9:00AM. Most of our time there was just waiting to be called.

We received a letter stating that we would receive our next package in 4-6 weeks and then an interview would be scheduled within the next 6 months. Mind you from watching the rest of your time lines I don't think I will be waiting that long. We were both very happy and relieved.

We took off that day and headed back to Winnipeg.

Now all I have to do is worry about prepping for the medical! >< I didn't have a very good childhood growing up so I was unstable and did dumb things. I have since fully recovered and gawd its been years and years. I did some looking on the site and seems I will have to go through a psych eval. Has anyone else had this? All the posts I've read are from 2006 and most end up being denied. So I've been fretting my brains out. But I have every intention to be honest and will prepare the most I can, just not sure what to prepare with.

I digress; Winnipeger's if you can DFC, do it! Well worth it and it will save you time in the long run! =)

<3

[Avery 0]

Oh yea, a few things I found out and had question's about.

1. You do not have to book an appointment.

2. It's open at 8:00AM

3. Be there early!

4. If all your partner has is a work permit they can qualify to file! (She was even only asking for a visitor permit and provincial driver's license.)

[Krikit 1,165]

That's cool. I've never heard of anyone filing that way. Great post! Thank you.

Oh, I never had the psych exam but I sometimes think that anyone who deliberately puts themselves through this needs one.

[YuAndDan 153]

Yep, you can file DCF at any of the US Consulate, however you will still need to travel to Montreal to interview for the visa.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Indeed. We lived in Edmonton; filed in Calgary just like Avery described, but of course, ALL immigrant visas hold interviews in Montreal

[trailmix 77]

Glad it went so smoothly for you guys

[Krikit 1,165]

I know. I meant filing in person.

Yep, you can file DCF at any of the US Consulate, however you will still need to travel to Montreal to interview for the visa.

Indeed. We lived in Edmonton; filed in Calgary just like Avery described, but of course, ALL immigrant visas hold interviews in Montreal

[Pucca23 0]

Oh yea, a few things I found out and had question's about.

1. You do not have to book an appointment.

2. It's open at 8:00AM

3. Be there early!

4. If all your partner has is a work permit they can qualify to file! (She was even only asking for a visitor permit and provincial driver's license.)

Hello,

really interested!

Did you give evidences that bona fides of your marriage at the consulate in Calgary when you deposit your I-130 form?

or Evidences that bona fides of your marriage, are they more for the interview?

thank you.

[trailmix 77]

You must present them at them with the I-130 - from the I-130 instructions:

NOTE: In addition to the required documentation listed above, you should submit one or more of the following types of documentation that may evidence that bona fides of your marriage:

E. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or

F. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or

G. Documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources; or

H. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, the petitioner, and your spouse together; or

I. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. (Each affidavit must contain the full name and address, date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner of beneficiary, if any, and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage); or

J. Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union.

Edited May 22, 2009 by trailmix

[Avery 0]

Very odd actually, the didn't want any of that information from us. She didn't even take a photocopy. All she said was to hang onto it for the final interview in Montreal. However I am not sure if that is because my husband and I have been married almost 2 years now. =)

But I definitely would bring anything you have just in case. =) I know I was brimmed with evidence! LOL

Edited May 22, 2009 by Avery