K 1 Visa - Ottawa, Ontario

[Melisandre 5]

Hey guys!

Newbie here with lots of questions!

I'm a Canadian citizen residing in Ottawa, Ontario and will be for K1 visa soon. We got the giant spaceship looking US embassy here in Ottawa but I can't find any approved doctor for medical examination. Do I HAVE TO go to Toronto or Montreal for the medial exam even though the spaceship embassy is right here? What about the interview, can I at least have the interview here in Ottawa?

We plan to get married around the end of November 2014. Keeping all the process and everything in mind, when should my fiance file the petition in the United States. Does it take too long? I found out that I shouldn't go for my medical exam until asked by the embassy, but can I get my police record done prior? Their website says it takes about 6-8 weeks to get it.

Oh and I don't have any vaccination record handy as much as I know but I did get Polio and Tetanus and all that when I was a child, said my mother

Thank you so much to everyone in advance, I truly appreciate any advice/suggestion you might have for me! I'm sure I'll have more questions as I start to prepare for this whole...madness

[nightingalejules 678]

I think you have to go to Montreal or Vancouver for your interview. There might be a doctor in Ottawa to do the medical, but I don't know. The embassy in Ottawa doesn't do k1 visa interviews.

Right now the k1 visa process doesn't take too long, or so it appears. I'd do a little looking around on VJ to get averages, and then apply a couple months before that timeline. You have 6 months to use your visa, so better safe than sorry.

And I'd wait to do either police record or medical. You'll need them again to do your AOS and they're only valid for a limited time. Do them as close to the interview as you can. I think you can get a police record check much quicker than that, if you go in in person.

See if your mother has your vaccination record, or else go to a travel health services clinic and get them to requisition it. You can get blood tests to prove you've been vaccinated, but it costs way more than the shots.

Good luck!

[cee-gee 20]

Since you reside in Ontario, you will be going to Montréal for your visa interview. I'm not sure of wait times or procedures for the Montréal embassy, as I went to Vancouver; but you should be able to find the information in the guides:

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Canada&cty=Montreal

I am also unaware of the physicians that can perform the medical on that side of the country, but should be listed in the link above. You wont be able to schedule your medical at this stage, you will need to wait until you receive your noa2 (approval of I-129f). The medical is valid for one year. If you are unable to find proof of your vaccination records, you can have a titer test done (a blood test testing your immunity), and provide that for the medical. I would suggest waiting until closer to your medical.

Again, I would also suggest waiting to obtain your police record check; I was able to go to my local police station and have it in hand in 15 mins.

I can understand the excitement of filing and wanting to complete everything at once, but the only reason I suggest waiting is just in case there is a backlog or circumstances out of your control (knock on wood!), and if that does happen; you would have to possibly redo a titer test or police record check.

As for timelines, it really does vary from person to person. From filing to my poe was 6 months - 1 day, but I know other Canadians who waited 8-14 months...

Good luck on your journey!

[Melisandre 5]

Thank you so much for your reply!

The other question I have is when I'm contacted by the embassy do I submit my passport then? It's just I visit my fiance often and I plan to visit one more time prolly some time around September before the wedding in December, because my fiance would be moving. Do I not get to keep my passport while everything is being processed?

Also, What happens if my fiance and I get married in Canada and then he sponsors me from the States (R1?) Is that a better, safer way than K1?

[Canadatousa 7]

Thank you so much for your reply!

The other question I have is when I'm contacted by the embassy do I submit my passport then? It's just I visit my fiance often and I plan to visit one more time prolly some time around September before the wedding in December, because my fiance would be moving. Do I not get to keep my passport while everything is being processed?

Also, What happens if my fiance and I get married in Canada and then he sponsors me from the States (R1?) Is that a better, safer way than K1?

Hey I live in Ottawa too. You can get your police report same day if you go in. I went to the one on Bank Street (not the downtown location) and they last a year so long as you commit no crimes. Wait for your medical exam until closer to your interview date.

I don't know about k1 stuff but my husband and I are doing cr-1. We married at the courthouse in Ottawa in the fall of 2012 then had a large symbolic ceremony in the summer. It's not a really a matter of a safer choice, the biggest differences are cost, waiting, and ability to work. R-1's are taking a lot longer than k-1's at the moment but they cost less and you can work almost immediately. You'll have to go to MTL for the interview and exam.

[ricnally 258]

You'll have to do the medical in Montreal or Toronto and you can't schedule it until your interview is scheduled. They will approve your visa at the interview and that's when you give them your passport (so they can put the visa in it) and you'll get it back within a week or two.

[Melisandre 5]

Thank you so much everyone for your help.

We plan to file our petition on second week of April this year from Texas for K-1 visa. Do you think I can get my visa by November? We plan to get married in late November and be together for Christmas. I didn't realize how thorough and exhausting this would be until I started doing my research..

[Technicalglitch 2]

What the others said about having to go to Montreal for the interview and either Montreal or Toronto for the medical is correct. (I live in Ottawa too)

If you want to marry in November, apply now! We applied last August and I am just now at the stage where I can book my interview, and no interviews are available, so it may take a while for some slots to free up. Start the process and then you can slow it down when you get to the interview stage if you don't want to get the visa too quickly ... After the interview, from what I am told, if you are approved you get the visa very shortly afterwards. Once you are at the book-interview stage (also called "packet 4", but I am no expert on the lingo) you have up to one year to book your appointment, so you can slow down and take your time at that stage and know the rest of the paperwork is done.

[Pitaya 2,577]

~Moved from K-1 Process to Canada Regional Forum~

~Inquiry is country-specific, likely to get a better response at regional forum~

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Thank you so much everyone for your help.

We plan to file our petition on second week of April this year from Texas for K-1 visa. Do you think I can get my visa by November? We plan to get married in late November and be together for Christmas. I didn't realize how thorough and exhausting this would be until I started doing my research..

If you file in April, you're leaving 8 months until Nov in the hopes that everything will process smoothly. I would file earlier if possible and when it comes time you can select the interview date that suits you (Yes...K1's book their own interviews at a certain stage). You have 6 months from the date of issue to enter the US so even if you received it in Sept, you could take your time to decide on an appropriate entry date. Many moons ago I entered on Nov 12 and we married on Nov 24th. Those 2 weeks flew by!

Gawd forbid you need to order birth certificates or other documentation - start getting those in order now.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Udella&Wiz

[S & P 10]

It is HIGHLY suggested NOT to make solid wedding plans until you get your visa.... My now husband is from Ottawa too and we went the K1 route... and back in 2011 he had to go to Montreal or Toronto for his medical ( he opted for Montreal). Our time from start to finish was 10 months before he had his visa in hand, no RFE's or anything.... it took 5 weeks AFTER his approved interview to get his passport, while others who interviewed on the same day got theirs in 10 days... you just never know, I swear they pull random files and do more extensive processing or there is just one really slow person in Montreal as it seems out of every group somebody has an unusually long wait for no apparent reason. As the poster above said... the sooner you file the better. At best the process takes 8 months... at BEST ....so November seems really to be pushing the limit.

Good luck on your journey!!!

[Rob & Monika 87]

Never trust the timelines this early on. When we filed it looked like it would be a 6-7 month process... ended up being 9 1/2 and VSC was getting slower and slower. We filed in Feb and had the visa in hand in November. We could have shaved a month off between NOA2 and P3, but you haven't even filed yet. I would do it ASAP if you are aiming for a November wedding, and make sure you have packet 3 ready to send in before you even get a request for it.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Yes like others have stated, don't make any plans! have been a few on here that did...and they were out some $$$$$$

[NikLR 13,227]

Thank you so much everyone for your help.

We plan to file our petition on second week of April this year from Texas for K-1 visa. Do you think I can get my visa by November? We plan to get married in late November and be together for Christmas. I didn't realize how thorough and exhausting this would be until I started doing my research..

File now.

[Melisandre 5]

Thank you guys! Wow..this is...overwhelming!

I was looking at the checklist of all the records that are needed. I was born in Bangladesh and lived there till was 14. I have been living in Canada since. I am 26 now and visited Bangladesh only once for 2 weeks in the last 12 years. Am I going to need to get a police record from Bangladesh as well?