Canadian October + November 2018 Case Complete To Interview For Spousal Visa Filers Thread

[BananaButton5 175]

1 hour ago, Alyssamac90 said:

Hi everyone! My interview went well this morning at 730 and i was approved! I got there at 7:25 and I wasn’t number 8. I’m glad I didn’t get there before because it wasn’t freezing and doors didn’t open till 730. I asked about picking up my passport in person because of a trip I have planned and they said they don’t generally allow that unless there’s an emergency. I will update when I get my tracking number and passport! So encouraged to hear that @BananaButton5got their passport back in two business days to Ottawa! Yay! Things seem to be moving along better. If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me! We didn’t get out of there until around 1030.. it was slowwwww.

Congrats!!!! 

[MissMyHusband 22]

9 hours ago, Alyssamac90 said:

Hi everyone! My interview went well this morning at 730 and i was approved! I got there at 7:25 and I wasn’t number 8. I’m glad I didn’t get there before because it wasn’t freezing and doors didn’t open till 730. I asked about picking up my passport in person because of a trip I have planned and they said they don’t generally allow that unless there’s an emergency. I will update when I get my tracking number and passport! So encouraged to hear that @BananaButton5got their passport back in two business days to Ottawa! Yay! Things seem to be moving along better. If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me! We didn’t get out of there until around 1030.. it was slowwwww.

Congrats on your approval and I hope that the visa comes soon. How do they give you the instructions to pay the visa fee? 

[Kat & Jim 47]

Good luck to everyone who has an interview today, @Invisigoth, @BChance and @MissMyHusband ! 

[Invisigoth 16]

12 minutes ago, Kat & Jim said:

Good luck to everyone who has an interview today, @Invisigoth, @BChance and @MissMyHusband ! 

Wide awake and ready to go!

Edited January 14, 2019 by Invisigoth

[BChance 38]

6 hours ago, Invisigoth said:

Wide awake and ready to go!

Approved!!!! Thank you everyone!!! This was definately the easiest part. 3 minutes!!

[MissMyHusband 22]

1 hour ago, BChance said:

Approved!!!! Thank you everyone!!! This was definately the easiest part. 3 minutes!!

Congrats. What did they say the timeframe was before you would get your visa/passport?

[MissMyHusband 22]

How did your interview go today? Did they give you a timeframe on when you should get the visa/passport back?

[BChance 38]

15 minutes ago, MissMyHusband said:

Congrats. What did they say the timeframe was before you would get your visa/passport?

Thanks. They said 10 days, but I really doubt it will take that long. I’ll keep ya posted!!

[KN2018 18]

I had my IR-1 interview this morning at the Consulate in Montreal. Here is a recap for anyone that might find it useful:

 

My interview was scheduled for 8:00 this morning at the Consulate in Montreal. I am from BC but the timing worked out that I had been visiting my spouse in the US  (East Coast) for Christmas so I came directly to Montreal from visiting him. I, therefore, scheduled my medical in Montreal and stayed 6 days in an Airbnb awaiting my medical results and the interview. I was slightly begrudging of the idea that I would be staying 6 days alone in Montreal in the dead of winter, but I really enjoyed playing tourist. It is kind of a special experience to visit Quebec in the winter - perhaps a rite of passage for all Canadians. Some things that I did were: walked up Mont-Royal, walked around the Old City, visited Musee des Beaux-Arts, shopped the after-Christmas sales on Rue Saint Catherine, and enjoyed the amazing food and cafes in Montreal. If you're feeling a little negative, like I was, about having to come all the way to Montreal - try to look at the silver lining. Montreal is a really beautiful city!

 

This morning, I left my Airbnb at 7:00 for my 8:00 AM appointment at the Consulate. I arrived just before 7:30 and there were 3 applicants in line ahead of me (2 families and 1 other lady). We went inside, one by one, and presented our letter and passport to the attendant. She gave us the infamous laminated page with your number and the list of documents you need to organize. I passed through security (just like the airport) and they took my phone and gave me a ticket to pick it up afterwards. We then went down some stairs and waited in the waiting room for about 15 minutes. My biggest piece of advice is to have your documents organized and in order. There is lots of information on the exact documents you need and order on the Consulate review page as well as the checklist the NVC publishes. I had organized all of these documents in a file folio the night before and I brought a binder with all of our paperwork from the whole process (start to finish) as well. I noticed some other people had to rummage around to find what they needed and put it in order. For me, having it all prepared removed a lot of my anxiety.

 

We were then taken upstairs in the elevator and instructed to wait in the immigrant visa area. We were called over a loud speaker one-by-one by our number to come present our documentation. A few things I was slightly nervous about were my police check (new one with the privacy act) and the Affidavit of support (I-860). Police check was fine - no need to also request the Visa one - the privacy act is what they want. Affidavit was also fine - she asked me if I had my husband's W2 and I said "No. I have his tax transcripts and tax returns", she said it was ok and she didn't even ask to look at them. I was asked to sit again and wait for my interview. I brought a book and read. The waiting room did start to get quite full and I was glad I brought something to occupy myself because otherwise you're just staring at the wall or fretting about your documents.

 

I was then called, by number, to do the interview. I swore that I would tell the truth. She asked me "Where did you and your husband meet?", "Where was he living at the time?", "When did you get married?", "What does your husband do?", "Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offence?", "Have you ever had trouble entering the US?", "Have you ever stayed in the US more than 6 months?" and "Have you travelled outside of North America or Europe in the last five years?". She said everything looks good and congratulations! I was so happy and did an awkward little celebration! She handed me two white pages of instructions about how I will receive the visa and I was one my way. I was leaving the Consulate and calling my husband to tell him the good news by 9:15.

[Invisigoth 16]

My husband was approved Monday morning!

I'm not sure I need to do a summary of our experience.  KN2018 provided a really nice summary of what it was like.

I will let you all know when my husband gets his Visa and how long it took. He opted to have it sent to his home.

Stay tuned!

[Kat & Jim 47]

@MissMyHusband, how did your husband’s interview go on Monday ? Hope everything went well. 😋

[Kat & Jim 47]

@Pinkyone19, Good luck in you interview tomorrow, Wednesday ! 😋

[MissMyHusband 22]

5 hours ago, Kat & Jim said:

@MissMyHusband, how did your husband’s interview go on Monday ? Hope everything went well. 😋

Thank you for asking. We are in limbo. We did get our "welcome to the US" paper, but they said our visa has to go to Administrative Process for further review. So we didn't get denied, but we also didn't hear the words "you are approved". The lady at the US Consulate said she didn't foresee any issues and we should get our visa in 2-3 weeks. We called our lawyer, he said not to worry. Why did this happen? Well we think b/c in 2017, right after we got engaged, my husband was coming to visit me in the US. Because he was so excited, when asked at the border "why are you coming to US"? He said " to visit my fiance"instead of the usual "my girlfriend" answer. He was taken to secondary, told we had to have a K1 and that he had more ties to the US than Canada b/c he could work remotely and sold his house. He explained that he was not ready to move to the US as he had a job in Canada and he had employees that reported to him. We weren't even planning on getting married until Nov 2018. The plan was never to do the K1 process. Then they took his Nexus card, which he was denied when he applied to get it back. So while in secondary, he withdrew his application to come to the US that day, then they gave him a list of documents to show solvency to Canada. He tried again the next day and they let him in (after going to secondary, etc again). So we decided to get married after he returned to Canada. We got married in Canada January 2018 , applied right away for spouse visa and I have had to go to Canada to visit him each month, b/c he was again told that he couldn't come visit me after we got married when he tried to visit in March of that year.  He has visited the US for both work and vacation for many, many years, and has no criminal record. He never stayed in the US for more than 1 month. We both are very good financially so that is not the issue either. We think that just because he said the word "fiance"- we do not know what that first CBP officer (who was not very nice) put in his file, and we will never know , but it has caused us to have this issue- it is mind boggling. I am watching on VJ to see when others get their visa returned to see when we may hear some news.    Does anyone know if there is a status update on ceac.state.gov website when you get your visa? We are searching for any clues. We are on pins and needles. It is hard to not worry. 

Edited January 16, 2019 by MissMyHusband
added more info

[Pinkyone19 3]

7 hours ago, Kat & Jim said:

@Pinkyone19, Good luck in you interview tomorrow, Wednesday ! 😋

Thank you!! 😀

[BChance 38]

7 hours ago, MissMyHusband said:

Thank you for asking. We are in limbo. We did get our "welcome to the US" paper, but they said our visa has to go to Administrative Process for further review. So we didn't get denied, but we also didn't hear the words "you are approved". The lady at the US Consulate said she didn't foresee any issues and we should get our visa in 2-3 weeks. We called our lawyer, he said not to worry. Why did this happen? Well we think b/c in 2017, right after we got engaged, my husband was coming to visit me in the US. Because he was so excited, when asked at the border "why are you coming to US"? He said " to visit my fiance"instead of the usual "my girlfriend" answer. He was taken to secondary, told we had to have a K1 and that he had more ties to the US than Canada b/c he could work remotely and sold his house. He explained that he was not ready to move to the US as he had a job in Canada and he had employees that reported to him. We weren't even planning on getting married until Nov 2018. The plan was never to do the K1 process. Then they took his Nexus card, which he was denied when he applied to get it back. So while in secondary, he withdrew his application to come to the US that day, then they gave him a list of documents to show solvency to Canada. He tried again the next day and they let him in (after going to secondary, etc again). So we decided to get married after he returned to Canada. We got married in Canada January 2018 , applied right away for spouse visa and I have had to go to Canada to visit him each month, b/c he was again told that he couldn't come visit me after we got married when he tried to visit in March of that year.  He has visited the US for both work and vacation for many, many years, and has no criminal record. He never stayed in the US for more than 1 month. We both are very good financially so that is not the issue either. We think that just because he said the word "fiance"- we do not know what that first CBP officer (who was not very nice) put in his file, and we will never know , but it has caused us to have this issue- it is mind boggling. I am watching on VJ to see when others get their visa returned to see when we may hear some news.    Does anyone know if there is a status update on ceac.state.gov website when you get your visa? We are searching for any clues. We are on pins and needles. It is hard to not worry. 

Aw, hope yours get resolved quickly. I was approved Monday. Yesterday my CEAC changed from Issued to Issue For Final Processing and this morning I received a tracking number. But the tracking isn’t activated yet. I paid for home deliver. Maybe tomorrow?