further update on 'after 3 year ban'

[wally 0]

well, here I am again with an update. My previous post from May 09 is below.

About a month after my daughter sent forth her medical to Montreal, she received a letter stating her medical was not complete and that she had to go back for a more thorough examination. I can't remember what was needed but she and I decided that she had to tackle the marijuana issue. She called the Dr.'s office but they themselves were not sure what was required either. So, as usual, my daughter has her own timeline and decided she wanted to work in a resort in another province for the summer...virtually putting everything to a halt until she got back to school. I guess there's lots of extra time then. In the meanwhile, she got 2 drug tests and contacted people for character reference letters. This included professors, her rugby coach, her supervisor at work and friends. She said it was hard and embarrassing but she explained why she needed the letters and asked them to write about her performance, behaviour, lack of drug use etc. She also chose people who had known her for more than 2 years. None of these letters were notarized. In early Sept. when she got back to school she got the first available appt. with the doctor which was in Oct. 09. I guess the fact that she had to have a discussion with the doctor made it a harder appt. to book. That went well and the doctor said he still wasn't sure what the consulate wanted but would send her a copy of his report as well. He would not give her a timeline.

Fast forward to the last week of Nov. My daughter had not heard a word. I am now becoming concerned because her passport expires in May 2010. We know they will not issue a Visa if the passport is less than 6 months from expiry so I emailed the consulate (to the same operator that sent me emails)..expressing my concern. My daughter also emails the medical office to check on the status.

Two days later my daughter has an urgent voicemail requesting she call a number and name at the Consulate. She calls and they tell her that they have approved the Visa pending a copy of our 2008 tax return. This is to be faxed with URGENT and the agent's name written across the top. And that since her passport is close to expiry, they would be sending her her current passport so she could renew it and then send it back to them with a self -addressed envelope so they could put the VISA in it. They told her to act with urgency because her medical and police check will expire in April and she must enter the US before then. She was told that since there is such a back log of mail at the consulate, she was to label her mail to them as urgent and with the agent's name. She is very fortunate that her final exam is before the expiry date in April so we won't have the worry of her entering then going back to finish school.

Currently my daughter is waiting for her new passport. She received the old one a couple of days after the phone call.

It is hard to explain my relief and finally feeling like the immigration path is close to the end. Mind you, she'll have to remove conditions but still.

Oh and I also like to note that my daughter crosses the border 3 times a week for an internship at a Detroit hosp. for school. She is doing this using her driver's license only. Go figure.

Good luck to you all.

\PREVIOUS POST

I have not actively posted for a while and since we are back on the immigration boat, thought others might find my information helpful.

My two children and myself immigrated in 2005 to be with my second husband. We all now have our 10 year permanent resident card. My oldest kid received a 3 year ban from immigrating at the interview because she admitted to experimenting with marijauna during that previous summer. This was during her medical. I had no idea. She was 17 years old at the interview. She received a section 212 () (1). We were told she had to do drug tests, look at rehab. etc. Many tears were shed, discussions were held as to whether the rest of us would go ahead and move. The bottom line was she did not really want to move...wanted to graduate with her high school friends, wanted to stay near her dad. We all knew the petition could be restarted after the ban was over with. The concern was that we would have to act fast as she turns 21 a few months after the ban was over.

Okay, in the last 3 years, she has gone on to university....completing her 3rd year this past April. We wanted her to visit so applied for permission for a nonimmigrant to visit..Form I-192 back in 2006. She was sent a request for fingerprints. Of course she was way too busy with school and friends and whatever else to get those done despite two requests from US customs and border protection. I started getting upset with her cause I wanted her to visit. We had been to Canada 4 times the first year we were here and it was getting costly. Plus I had sent that huge fee with the I-192. Well, confession time...she goes to U of Windsor which is right on the Michigan border. She had joined the Detroit rugby club and in fact had been crossing over 2-3 times a week for practices and games. How you say? Each and every time she crossed, she was pulled into secondary and GRILLED. Each and every time she was permitted to enter. I told her she was taking a huge risk in obtaining a worse ban. She thought not. At Christmas of 2007, I bought her a flight to visit for 2 weeks. She brought evidence of school, part-time job, rental agreement. She was taken into secondary at Pearson airport and GRILLED. They let her enter. In fact, after a few weeks of going back and forth at Michigan, the border agents began to recognize her and the grilling was not as long...20 min. instead of close to an hour. In the last 12 months, she has gone to Florida, Tennesee, Indiana and who knows where else for rugby tournaments.

Well, the 3 years were up in October 2008 and we started discussing where she wanted to live. She wants to come here. We were also trying to time it so that she could complete her degree in Windsor in spring of 2010. I had some concern about her turning 21 this June so in March I contacted the Montreal Embassy via email asking what steps I had to take to re-open the petition. (not knowing where to start, I called USCIS and NVC. they told me I had to contact Montreal) They responded in a couple of days stating they would review her file and requested current addresses and phone numbers. After a couple of more days they sent another email requesting (copied from email):

(1) A new Medical Exam (see attachment for new locations) show them

this email as our request for the new medical

2) Valid passport

3) New Police Cert- Canada

4) Completed and signed DS-230 Part I & II, you may down load it

from: http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html

5) Self addressed Express post envelope (12 inches wide X 15 inches

long) purchased at Canada post.

6) 2 New Pictures (passport style photos)

and a money order for $400 USD.

We have everything completed. She has her police check and is picking up her medical tomorrow and will send the package through the day after. I have voiced my concern with her regarding drug testing...rehab...etc. but in her wisdom and her research has decided that those are only recommendations and not a must-do. I want to state now that she does not do drugs. She learned a harsh lesson back in 2005.

So now we are playing the waiting game once more. I feel encouraged that Montreal is requesting a self-addressed Express post envelope and that she has to send in her passport. I'm thinking and hoping there will not be another interview but we'll cross that bridge if we have to.

She is all stressed about her final school year...where and how but I told her we can't worry about that until we see what happens from Montreal. The 'where' might be a moot point if Montreal is slow in their final decision.

I'll update as we hear anything new.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

The great Wally! Nice to hear your daughter will be able to join you in the US. Best wishes to you!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Wow - what an 'adventure' - and not a fun one, I'm sure. Thanks for the update and congratulations on finally accomplishing the visa. Good luck to all of you.

[wally 0]

Well here we are updating again. I should be titling this post as "Don't lose hope".

As of today's date my daughter still does not have her Visa in hand. The Montreal Consulate has my daughter's renewed passport since early Dec. On Dec. 24th, 2009 she received a voicemail stating that her Visa is approved and the Montreal Consulate pending 2 more documents...we were to fax a current I-864 and a copy of our marriage certificate. That person wished her a Merry Christmas and congratulated her. We faxed both documents on Jan. 6. We were hoping to not fall into the holiday period. In Feb. my daughter emailed Montreal for a status inquiry..standard response..waiting 2 weeks..blah blah blah. In early March I sent an email and received the same response. I waited two weeks than contacted our congressman's office and faxed the release of information document to them. I waited another week before starting the phone calls. No answer...no answer. Remember now, my daughter's medical, police check etc. are expiring at the end of April. We are talking just weeks.

Finally, Friday March 26th I somehow get through by phone to the Washington DC office of our congressman. A wonderful lady there informs me that since the new Health Care Reform was voted on, they have been inudated with faxes, emails, calls and are having a heck of a time sorting through all that. She requests that I scan and email the release of info doc. directly to her and to call her as soon as I do it some she can look at it. She does that and then informs me she will forward it to the local immigration person in our state. She apologizes that I would not get a response from him at the end of 'this business day'.

Monday, March 29th I receive an email from the local immigration aide to state that he has made a written inquiry to Montreal followed up with a voicemail.

Thursday, April 1, I email the local aide asking for a status report. He responds the next day stating he will let us know when he hears anything. I respond with what would he consider a reasonable time before he would make another inguiry since we are now talking 'days' before my daughter's documents expire.

Monday, April 5th he responds stating he has made another written inquiry and follow up voicemail and would give them to the end of the week. If he didn't hear anything by then, he would contact the State Dept.'s liason in Washington DC.

Tuesday, April 6th, my husband gets a phone call from the aide saying Montreal phoned him and said they would give him an answer by the end of the week. I'm panicking cause I'm thinking 'just an answer? We need the Visa'. My husband reiterates the time crunch and the aide reassured him that if the Visa is not issued by the end of April, Montreal said there was not a concern with any documents expiring. I don't feel confident of this answer.

Tuesday April 6th, 4:00pm, my husband receives a call from the aide requesting we scan and email the I-864 and marriage certificate immediately to him. And that's where we stand. Will let you know how this roller coaster ends.

quote name='wally' date='04 December 2009 - 04:09 PM' timestamp='1259960971' post='3542275']

well, here I am again with an update. My previous post from May 09 is below.

About a month after my daughter sent forth her medical to Montreal, she received a letter stating her medical was not complete and that she had to go back for a more thorough examination. I can't remember what was needed but she and I decided that she had to tackle the marijuana issue. She called the Dr.'s office but they themselves were not sure what was required either. So, as usual, my daughter has her own timeline and decided she wanted to work in a resort in another province for the summer...virtually putting everything to a halt until she got back to school. I guess there's lots of extra time then. In the meanwhile, she got 2 drug tests and contacted people for character reference letters. This included professors, her rugby coach, her supervisor at work and friends. She said it was hard and embarrassing but she explained why she needed the letters and asked them to write about her performance, behaviour, lack of drug use etc. She also chose people who had known her for more than 2 years. None of these letters were notarized. In early Sept. when she got back to school she got the first available appt. with the doctor which was in Oct. 09. I guess the fact that she had to have a discussion with the doctor made it a harder appt. to book. That went well and the doctor said he still wasn't sure what the consulate wanted but would send her a copy of his report as well. He would not give her a timeline.

Fast forward to the last week of Nov. My daughter had not heard a word. I am now becoming concerned because her passport expires in May 2010. We know they will not issue a Visa if the passport is less than 6 months from expiry so I emailed the consulate (to the same operator that sent me emails)..expressing my concern. My daughter also emails the medical office to check on the status.

Two days later my daughter has an urgent voicemail requesting she call a number and name at the Consulate. She calls and they tell her that they have approved the Visa pending a copy of our 2008 tax return. This is to be faxed with URGENT and the agent's name written across the top. And that since her passport is close to expiry, they would be sending her her current passport so she could renew it and then send it back to them with a self -addressed envelope so they could put the VISA in it. They told her to act with urgency because her medical and police check will expire in April and she must enter the US before then. She was told that since there is such a back log of mail at the consulate, she was to label her mail to them as urgent and with the agent's name. She is very fortunate that her final exam is before the expiry date in April so we won't have the worry of her entering then going back to finish school.

Currently my daughter is waiting for her new passport. She received the old one a couple of days after the phone call.

It is hard to explain my relief and finally feeling like the immigration path is close to the end. Mind you, she'll have to remove conditions but still.

Oh and I also like to note that my daughter crosses the border 3 times a week for an internship at a Detroit hosp. for school. She is doing this using her driver's license only. Go figure.

Good luck to you all.

\PREVIOUS POST

I have not actively posted for a while and since we are back on the immigration boat, thought others might find my information helpful.

My two children and myself immigrated in 2005 to be with my second husband. We all now have our 10 year permanent resident card. My oldest kid received a 3 year ban from immigrating at the interview because she admitted to experimenting with marijauna during that previous summer. This was during her medical. I had no idea. She was 17 years old at the interview. She received a section 212 () (1). We were told she had to do drug tests, look at rehab. etc. Many tears were shed, discussions were held as to whether the rest of us would go ahead and move. The bottom line was she did not really want to move...wanted to graduate with her high school friends, wanted to stay near her dad. We all knew the petition could be restarted after the ban was over with. The concern was that we would have to act fast as she turns 21 a few months after the ban was over.

Okay, in the last 3 years, she has gone on to university....completing her 3rd year this past April. We wanted her to visit so applied for permission for a nonimmigrant to visit..Form I-192 back in 2006. She was sent a request for fingerprints. Of course she was way too busy with school and friends and whatever else to get those done despite two requests from US customs and border protection. I started getting upset with her cause I wanted her to visit. We had been to Canada 4 times the first year we were here and it was getting costly. Plus I had sent that huge fee with the I-192. Well, confession time...she goes to U of Windsor which is right on the Michigan border. She had joined the Detroit rugby club and in fact had been crossing over 2-3 times a week for practices and games. How you say? Each and every time she crossed, she was pulled into secondary and GRILLED. Each and every time she was permitted to enter. I told her she was taking a huge risk in obtaining a worse ban. She thought not. At Christmas of 2007, I bought her a flight to visit for 2 weeks. She brought evidence of school, part-time job, rental agreement. She was taken into secondary at Pearson airport and GRILLED. They let her enter. In fact, after a few weeks of going back and forth at Michigan, the border agents began to recognize her and the grilling was not as long...20 min. instead of close to an hour. In the last 12 months, she has gone to Florida, Tennesee, Indiana and who knows where else for rugby tournaments.

Well, the 3 years were up in October 2008 and we started discussing where she wanted to live. She wants to come here. We were also trying to time it so that she could complete her degree in Windsor in spring of 2010. I had some concern about her turning 21 this June so in March I contacted the Montreal Embassy via email asking what steps I had to take to re-open the petition. (not knowing where to start, I called USCIS and NVC. they told me I had to contact Montreal) They responded in a couple of days stating they would review her file and requested current addresses and phone numbers. After a couple of more days they sent another email requesting (copied from email):

(1) A new Medical Exam (see attachment for new locations) show them

this email as our request for the new medical

2) Valid passport

3) New Police Cert- Canada

4) Completed and signed DS-230 Part I & II, you may down load it

from: <a href="http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html" target="_blank">http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html</a>

5) Self addressed Express post envelope (12 inches wide X 15 inches

long) purchased at Canada post.

6) 2 New Pictures (passport style photos)

and a money order for $400 USD.

We have everything completed. She has her police check and is picking up her medical tomorrow and will send the package through the day after. I have voiced my concern with her regarding drug testing...rehab...etc. but in her wisdom and her research has decided that those are only recommendations and not a must-do. I want to state now that she does not do drugs. She learned a harsh lesson back in 2005.

So now we are playing the waiting game once more. I feel encouraged that Montreal is requesting a self-addressed Express post envelope and that she has to send in her passport. I'm thinking and hoping there will not be another interview but we'll cross that bridge if we have to.

She is all stressed about her final school year...where and how but I told her we can't worry about that until we see what happens from Montreal. The 'where' might be a moot point if Montreal is slow in their final decision.

I'll update as we hear anything new.

[Sam and Ben 2]

I'm so sorry that this has been such a mess for you. Hopefully they can provide you with answers very quickly so this stage may be over for you.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[Krikit 1,164]

Ugh. I'm so sorry. I was hoping to read good news. Sending out good vibes for a successful, and speedy, conclusion.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Holy #######, you can receive a ban for admitting to having smoked pot, in the past? I'm sorry, but thats effing insane.