After k1 interview`

[roxmatt 0]

I have received my interview date for Sept 27, However I would like to know. DO I get the visa right away in Montreal? or through the mail? How long is that process? And when I receive it do I have anything else i need to do or can I go to the US right away?

[Inky 1,111]

You get it in the mail

[J&N* 68]

They will tell you in your interview if you're approved or not, and they'll take your passport, stamp it, and DHL it to you, within a week or 2, depends on the embassy and the country. You can travel within 6 months of the visa issue date, just take the brown envelope with you!

Good luck.

[Inky 1,111]

They do not use DHL to deliver in canada. They use the postal system. You must bring an express post mailer packet with the size indicated in the instructions from packet 3 which you should already have and already have read through.

[HeatDeath 430]

Once you receive the visa there is nothing else you have to do before you leave. If you car is packed and your affairs are in order you could leave that afternoon.

Now bear in mind, as you almost certainly know, once you enter the US on a K-1 visa you cannot leave the US until you have either an AP document or a green card in hand. You apply for both of those as soon as possible after you get married (which as you almost certainly know must be within 90 days of entering the US), so we're talking at least 2-3, and more likely 4-6 months before you can go back to Canada, even to visit. So you'll want to make sure you've set any Canadian affairs you can't deal with "by remote control", as it were, in order.

You probably won't want to still be owning real estate in Canada. You'll want to make sure you've set up bank accounts such that you can access your money from the US. You'll need manufacturer's compliance letters so you can import your car into the US. If you have stocks or securities you'll at some point need to make sure your dividend cheques are being sent to an address where you can get them or have someone deposit them for you. Ditto GST rebate cheques. If you've quit your job to relocate get your EI claim in,. Etc.

But if all that is set up, and you're all packed, the visa is the last piece of documentation you need, and as I said, you could leave the afternoon it shows up in the mail.

Edited August 14, 2010 by HeatDeath