Postponing Interview/CR1 Issuance

[GnC2010 2]

Hi all, thank you for reading my question.

I have an interview for my CR1 Visa at the Montreal Embassy in April, however my husband is not in the US now as he has just been deployed to Iraq for approximately a year or more. I do not wish to move to the US until such time as he returns (or, at least a lot closer to that time) because my family and friends are in Canada and I have a job I really like too. The scheduling website will allow me to re-schedule as late as July. Should I:

- re-schedule for July, and then re-schedule again (I suspect it will give me more dates to choose from at that point).

- do the interview in July but ask for them to give me an extension (longer than the usual 6 months is it?) for which I can enter the US

I guess what I am really wondering is whether anyone has heard of them giving you more than 6 months to enter the US, or if there is ever a penalty for postponing the interview more than once? The website doesn't seem to take issue with it, but after everything we went through to get to this point (won't go into the details here) I want to be extra careful and get all the facts!

FYI I have tried getting this information from the Military Help Line (via email as the phone number doesn't work outside of the US), but all they did was refer me to the USCIS and DoS websites.

Thank you for any information you can provide.

~C

[ceciliaottawa 0]

Hi all, thank you for reading my question.

I have an interview for my CR1 Visa at the Montreal Embassy in April, however my husband is not in the US now as he has just been deployed to Iraq for approximately a year or more. I do not wish to move to the US until such time as he returns (or, at least a lot closer to that time) because my family and friends are in Canada and I have a job I really like too. The scheduling website will allow me to re-schedule as late as July. Should I:

- re-schedule for July, and then re-schedule again (I suspect it will give me more dates to choose from at that point).

- do the interview in July but ask for them to give me an extension (longer than the usual 6 months is it?) for which I can enter the US

I guess what I am really wondering is whether anyone has heard of them giving you more than 6 months to enter the US, or if there is ever a penalty for postponing the interview more than once? The website doesn't seem to take issue with it, but after everything we went through to get to this point (won't go into the details here) I want to be extra careful and get all the facts!

FYI I have tried getting this information from the Military Help Line (via email as the phone number doesn't work outside of the US), but all they did was refer me to the USCIS and DoS websites.

Thank you for any information you can provide.

~C

Hi there, I do not know about your question but my husband is in the military as well and I am able to call the military help line from canada through gmail. I also cannot contact that number through a regular phone, but gmail (google email) has a feature that you can call the US and Canada from there and I can contact the military help line through that. Hope it helps!

[GnC2010 2]

Oh cool, thank you for the tip ceciliaottawa

Oh cool, thank you for the tip ceciliaottawa

[Krikit 1,165]

Hi GnC. Here's a post which will be helpful: Rescheduling Interview

Another, or an additional, option for you..... When I went for my interview I was given the option of requesting a delay of issuance of my visa related to a discussion we were having. All I'd have to do was mail in my passport when I was ready to move.

I'm going to move your thread from the IR-1/CR-1 Process forum to the Canada Regional Forum as your question is Consulate-specific.

[GnC2010 2]

Thank you Krikit. I noticed on the other thread you referred me to that this can be problematic in Montreal nowadays. When did you do yours and how long did it take? Do you know of any official documentation/website that discusses the delay of issuance? Thanks again.

[Sweetcheeksss 91]

That's what I was going to point out - asking Montreal to delay issuance of your visa and having to send in your passport will probably be veeeeery frustrating to you. As I'm sure you've already read on VJ, Montreal is soooooo slow and when you send things to them, more often than not, it takes 6 or 8 weeks for them to even GET to your mail.

But I understand where you are coming from, my hubby just deployed too but thankfully I was able to get here a couple of months before he left. Good luck with everything! And God bless your hubby.

[M&Pooh 12]

I think, you're forgetting about one more way to get extra 6 months.

You can go through the process, enter the US, get a GC stamp (I551) in your passport and RETURN BACK TO CANADA.

Up to 6 months out of country wouldn't jeopardize your status.

So, the timeline might look like:

July '11 - interview

January '12 - entering the US with IV

January '12 - returning to Canada

July '12 - coming back to the US

When you husband is returning from the mission?

[Krikit 1,165]

Thank you Krikit. I noticed on the other thread you referred me to that this can be problematic in Montreal nowadays. When did you do yours and how long did it take? Do you know of any official documentation/website that discusses the delay of issuance? Thanks again.

There is nothing official on the topic. You have to ask at the interview. But, yes, Montreal has become very problematic due to understaffing. At the time I went through the process they were much faster. Since you would have a pretty good idea of the timelines you're hoping for, you could build the expected delay into your plan. But M&Pooh has a good point also. It seems you have lots of options so it's all good.

[GnC2010 2]

That's what I was going to point out - asking Montreal to delay issuance of your visa and having to send in your passport will probably be veeeeery frustrating to you. As I'm sure you've already read on VJ, Montreal is soooooo slow and when you send things to them, more often than not, it takes 6 or 8 weeks for them to even GET to your mail.

But I understand where you are coming from, my hubby just deployed too but thankfully I was able to get here a couple of months before he left. Good luck with everything! And God bless your hubby.

Thanks sweetcheeksss for your good points

I think, you're forgetting about one more way to get extra 6 months.

You can go through the process, enter the US, get a GC stamp (I551) in your passport and RETURN BACK TO CANADA.

Up to 6 months out of country wouldn't jeopardize your status.

So, the timeline might look like:

July '11 - interview

January '12 - entering the US with IV

January '12 - returning to Canada

July '12 - coming back to the US

When you husband is returning from the mission?

Thank you M& Pooh. I don't know when he will return, but probably the earliest would be Feb 2012.

There is nothing official on the topic. You have to ask at the interview. But, yes, Montreal has become very problematic due to understaffing. At the time I went through the process they were much faster. Since you would have a pretty good idea of the timelines you're hoping for, you could build the expected delay into your plan. But M&Pooh has a good point also. It seems you have lots of options so it's all good.

Thanks again Krikit, much appreciated.

[GnC2010 2]

Anyone know if there is anything special I would need to apply for while I was in the US to leave the US for longer than 6 months, or would I just need the green card? I remember someone telling me once about some sort of special permission to leave the US for longer than 6 months... It would be better if I could go to the US in July rather than January (because of my work schedule)...

[Krikit 1,165]

You need a re-entry permit if you're going to be outside the country for more than a year. Link

[GnC2010 2]

Thank you