got visa, now what?

[tdotca 41]

Sorry if the title is misleading but not sure what to call it. I have my interview next week and not looking forward to standing outside in Montreal!!

With all my digits crossed, I am hoping for approval.

I have gone through posts after posts but after awhile , got headache and more confused.

.

Let's say got the approval and have visa in hand. Now what? Yes I want to move and be with my fiancé as I did not go through all this stress for nothing however , one normally can't simply get up and leave the next day or week or even month. Supposedly one has a job(I am not informing my boss until I get THE approval/visa and since my company is international, would inquire about potentially working from the US. ) and other responsibilities to handle/cancel, which you can't quit/cancel until you get that approval/visa.

1)how long can you wait before you go to POE? I have read a few posts that you might have 6mths. I know that once you cross that POE, you have to get married in 90days. From others' timelines, I see a very short time span (ie a few days to max a couple of weeks) from time of visa in hand to POE.

2)reading posts , it doesn't seem like people did much in packing or such. I can pack and take several suitcases with me at POE but what about the rest? Box them up and once I am in, send later for them? I can't actually drive my stuff over (In Toronto ; going to California). What did others do?

3) can I travel as a tourist even though I have the visa (not ready to permanently move yet)? Just want to go over for a weekend or such. If I quit my job, how do I prove my ties to Canada? If I travel via car, can't really show a return ticket.

4) My appointment is at 740am however information on the Consulate's site says doors open at 8:30am , say what? Then all the posts says first come , first served ( stand at back of elevator etc etc). Can things be even more confusing?!

As a footnote, everything seems to be at the whim of the POE officer(got visa and they can deny you) and that worries me the most.

As usual, I am very appreciative and thankful to all those who reply.

Still need to do a timeline as well but after going through all these posts, it is the last thing on my mind. :-)

Valerie

[mrszorak44 7]

Hi Valerie,

I pretty much waited after my interview to know if my K1 Visa was granted or not before I told my work that I was planning to resign in 2 months time.

I do believe that the K1 Visa is valid 3 months from the date of your medical exam (or is it 6 months). I might be wrong, so others for sure will correct me.

That span of time pretty much gave me a good amount of time to wrap it up with my previous job and pack my stuff.

I entered the US with my fiancé, and though I thought I wasn't gonna panic at POE in Chicago. I did. As soon as the plane was landing I was having panic attacks - but you know what? Stress level was low when we were talking to the POE officer. He called us in a secondary room and waited for 10 minutes or so , I thought they'll deny me to enter but that didn't happen. The POE officer just reminded us that we need to get married 90 days as I entered and my visa is a one-time entry only.

I hope you get through your interview and POE with no stress at all. God bless!

[mrszorak44 7]

Oh, to answer your other questions. I didn't have a lot of option to pack most of my belongings in 2 suitcases, so they just have to wait when I return.

Im pretty sure once you get approved of the K1 Visa, they will cancel your tourist. At least that's what they did with mine, maybe they do it differently with Canadians?

[ricnally 258]

People who get married within days or a week of POE (I am one) probably did so because they felt they'd waited long enough (9 months for me til NOA2), but you can certainly slow things down. Re: moving your stuff: Shipsmart is very good for small moves that don't involve furniture--they only take stuff in boxes. You also have 10 years after (POE) to move your belongings, so you can do it a bit at a time, if you wish. 18 months after POE, I just moved the remainder of my stuff that was in storage in Canada. It wasn't very much, but there were about 7 pieces of furniture so I couldn't use shipsmart. I used UPack and it was less expensive than other moving companies, but I still got hosed cuz I didn't really have enough for their minimum (paid about 3K to move a pile of stuff about 8' x 5' x 5' from Ottawa to SoCal). Re: travelling to US and NOT using K1 visa: many Canadians have done this succesfully, if they just want to visit, but not formally move yet, (and start the 90-day clock on the K1). Lastly, you will NOT be denied when you finally do POE, so don't worry about that.

[Ms Hogan 295]

I don't know about fiance visas very much but I thought you were required to be married within 90 days or something??? Someone will be able to answer. I don't want to speak out of turn but I thought there is something about having to get marrried within a set time limit.

Oh, to answer your other questions. I didn't have a lot of option to pack most of my belongings in 2 suitcases, so they just have to wait when I return.

Im pretty sure once you get approved of the K1 Visa, they will cancel your tourist. At least that's what they did with mine, maybe they do it differently with Canadians?

Canadians do not need tourist visas to visit America.

[chiggins82 88]

My thoughts:

1. I believe once you have your visa you can move at anytime. But you need your visa and passport first. Most K-1 seems to be valid for six months from the interview date. They will tell you at the interview

2. totally depends on your situation. You can move them yourself, hire a moving company... and you could do it before or after. for a K-1 using a moving company, they will need you to have crossed the border before your goods can. I am not sure how long you have to import your stuff, but I know you have quite a bit of time. If you wanted and were able to, you could move and then come back with your AP and move your stuff at a later date.

3. Technically, I hear that yes you can go to the US without activating your visa (I actually heard someone ask this at my interview yesterday and the consulate said yes as long as they did not activate the visa). Same rules apply as always... you may need to prove ties to home and if you don't satisfy that, they could turn you away.

4. Not sure where you are interviewing? I went in Vancouver and I was about 40 minutes early. They turned me away which meant I sat next to the line up until they said I could line up. My time was 7:30 and when I did get inside, they then told me they were not ready for K-1 yet and I had to sit and wait a bit longer. If you are in Montreal, maybe someone else can comment? I would just follow the instruction on how early to be and they will tell you what to do when you are there.

Hope that helps a little.

[Ms Hogan 295]

Sorry if the title is misleading but not sure what to call it. I have my interview next week and not looking forward to standing outside in Montreal!!

With all my digits crossed, I am hoping for approval.

I have gone through posts after posts but after awhile , got headache and more confused.

.

Let's say got the approval and have visa in hand. Now what? Yes I want to move and be with my fiancé as I did not go through all this stress for nothing however , one normally can't simply get up and leave the next day or week or even month. Supposedly one has a job(I am not informing my boss until I get THE approval/visa and since my company is international, would inquire about potentially working from the US. ) and other responsibilities to handle/cancel, which you can't quit/cancel until you get that approval/visa.

1)how long can you wait before you go to POE? I have read a few posts that you might have 6mths. I know that once you cross that POE, you have to get married in 90days. From others' timelines, I see a very short time span (ie a few days to max a couple of weeks) from time of visa in hand to POE.

2)reading posts , it doesn't seem like people did much in packing or such. I can pack and take several suitcases with me at POE but what about the rest? Box them up and once I am in, send later for them? I can't actually drive my stuff over (In Toronto ; going to California). What did others do?

3) can I travel as a tourist even though I have the visa (not ready to permanently move yet)? Just want to go over for a weekend or such. If I quit my job, how do I prove my ties to Canada? If I travel via car, can't really show a return ticket.

4) My appointment is at 740am however information on the Consulate's site says doors open at 8:30am , say what? Then all the posts says first come , first served ( stand at back of elevator etc etc). Can things be even more confusing?!

As a footnote, everything seems to be at the whim of the POE officer(got visa and they can deny you) and that worries me the most.

As usual, I am very appreciative and thankful to all those who reply.

Still need to do a timeline as well but after going through all these posts, it is the last thing on my mind. :-)

Valerie

I won't try to answer all of your questions because I simply didn't do a K1 so I don't know all those details.

What I do know is that your POE window is based on your medical expiring which is reflected in the date of the visa placed in your passport.

I was not moving right away after getting my visa. If you look at my timeline you can see that my interview and approval happened in March of 2013. We didn't actually move until June (kids were in school) BUT because I traveled back and forth in between that time I did have to complete my POE during a visit a couple weeks after the approval. So we (me and kids) did that and then didn't actually move until June. We traveled in between and did have to explain a couple of times that were weren't moving yet due to school or me not being finished with my job etc. It was never a problem. When I did the POE the officer just reminded me that I should make my full move within 6 months or I would not be meeting the residency requirements.

Different information gets thrown around and interpreted in different ways so the things one officer at the border says to one person and how it is understood will vary compared to what another ones says to someone else. I have read many times that people say you don't have to "activate" your visa but it is in your passport so they will know is there. You can ask them to hold off on completing the process or they may send you on your merry way to secondary processing. The person at the border gets to decide, not us.

[NikLR 13,227]

Sorry if the title is misleading but not sure what to call it. I have my interview next week and not looking forward to standing outside in Montreal!!

With all my digits crossed, I am hoping for approval.

I have gone through posts after posts but after awhile , got headache and more confused.

.

Let's say got the approval and have visa in hand. Now what? Yes I want to move and be with my fiancé as I did not go through all this stress for nothing however , one normally can't simply get up and leave the next day or week or even month. Supposedly one has a job(I am not informing my boss until I get THE approval/visa and since my company is international, would inquire about potentially working from the US. ) and other responsibilities to handle/cancel, which you can't quit/cancel until you get that approval/visa.

1)how long can you wait before you go to POE? I have read a few posts that you might have 6mths. I know that once you cross that POE, you have to get married in 90days. From others' timelines, I see a very short time span (ie a few days to max a couple of weeks) from time of visa in hand to POE.

2)reading posts , it doesn't seem like people did much in packing or such. I can pack and take several suitcases with me at POE but what about the rest? Box them up and once I am in, send later for them? I can't actually drive my stuff over (In Toronto ; going to California). What did others do?

3) can I travel as a tourist even though I have the visa (not ready to permanently move yet)? Just want to go over for a weekend or such. If I quit my job, how do I prove my ties to Canada? If I travel via car, can't really show a return ticket.

4) My appointment is at 740am however information on the Consulate's site says doors open at 8:30am , say what? Then all the posts says first come , first served ( stand at back of elevator etc etc). Can things be even more confusing?!

As a footnote, everything seems to be at the whim of the POE officer(got visa and they can deny you) and that worries me the most.

As usual, I am very appreciative and thankful to all those who reply.

Still need to do a timeline as well but after going through all these posts, it is the last thing on my mind. :-)

Valerie

1) You have 6 months from the date of the medical to POE. You can use all of this time if you choose or barely any of it. I gave my notice at my job before my interview and notice at my apartment. I could have taken either one back if needed but I was pretty darn confident for the interview. The only part that worried me was timing to get my visa and passport back.

The quicker you do everything, the quicker you can send off the AOS package (which is what a K1 needs to do to become an LPR or green card holder) which means the quicker you can work, travel outside the USA, collect EI, etc...

2) I took a uhaul worth. You can do that, OR since you're moving such a long distance, then look into u-pack or other shipping companies. You have 10 years to move your things but only about a year to import a car.

3) Not really. Occasionally a K1 may get through as a visitor but it's pretty rare. I honestly wouldn't bother.

4) They open the front doors at about 73)am, let people inside, and the main part of the consulate opens later. It is first come first serve so be there before the doors open to get out quickly. It really depends on how much waiting outside you want to do vs waiting inside. My interview was in late spring so I wasn't worried about getting cold and needed to leave early to check out of my hotel and catch my plane at 2pm.

[tdotca 41]

Thanks for all the replies. Upack seems to be the choice of shippers so I will keep this company in mind. Or Shipsmart since I don't really have really big items .

Forgive my ignorance, what does AP mean? I see this a lot in many posts and/or some timelines.

NLR, hope your interview went well!

[andymack 19]

Thanks for all the replies. Upack seems to be the choice of shippers so I will keep this company in mind. Or Shipsmart since I don't really have really big items .

Forgive my ignorance, what does AP mean? I see this a lot in many posts and/or some timelines.

NLR, hope your interview went well!

AP stands for Advanced Parole. It allows you to leave and return to the USA while your AOS is still being processed. If you leave without the proper paperwork the government will consider you to be abandoning your AOS application, and then you would be returning on a visitor visa since you have already used up the one-time K1 entry.

Edited January 15, 2015 by andymack

[NikLR 13,227]

Thanks for all the replies. Upack seems to be the choice of shippers so I will keep this company in mind. Or Shipsmart since I don't really have really big items .

Forgive my ignorance, what does AP mean? I see this a lot in many posts and/or some timelines.

NLR, hope your interview went well!

Advance Parole.

It did.. I was out by 9am.

I file for ROC in 2 months.

[tdotca 41]

"NLR, hope your interview went well!"... I am sorry, I think this should have been chiggins82 as I saw on your timeline that you had the interview on 1/13/2015.

NLR, I am glad too that yours went well. :-)