IR-1/CR-1 Montreal DQ'd private message group goes public CONTINUED

[VIR CHAMP 25]

1 minute ago, Ptitchou said:

Thanks! 

 

I didn't drive here, I took the train. Toronto to Montreal is about 6 hours by train and since I bought in advance, it cost $100 round trip. 

 

I am staying at the Sheraton, which is less than a 5 minute walk from the consulate. There's a Provigo grocery store around the corner from here, so I picked up some food and water for my room last night. 

 

I can't offer advice on parking, but I can say that my last experience with driving to Montreal on a summer visit, we had such a huge difficulty with parking that we vowed never to take the car here again. 

Thanks for getting back. I am just over an hour away from Montreal so was thinking to drive there. I will probably look for some nearby lots and will book in advance.
Again, congrats!!

[Ptitchou 117]

21 minutes ago, VIR CHAMP said:

Thanks for getting back. I am just over an hour away from Montreal so was thinking to drive there. I will probably look for some nearby lots and will book in advance.
Again, congrats!!

Ah yes well then that makes sense! I've had some luck with https://en.parkopedia.ca/parking/montreal/

There's an Indigo parking lot near the consulate, but there's also AutoParc Stanley right beside my hotel that's covered and 24 hours. 

 

Good luck! 

 

[mam521 2,062]

27 minutes ago, VIR CHAMP said:

Thanks for getting back. I am just over an hour away from Montreal so was thinking to drive there. I will probably look for some nearby lots and will book in advance.
Again, congrats!!

Oh lord...Montreal...the city of orange...construction orange!  Good luck!

[INF 96]

Day 4 of waiting for an email from the Montreal consulate, no email in sight. Ridiculous! I guess I’ll keep waiting till next Monday and send a follow up! 

Edited February 8, 2021 by INF

[acmanu 68]

Another question amazing people - I need vaccine for Tdap and MMR and possibly the flu shot aswell. Does anyone know if I will get those on the day of my Medical exam or do I need to get them separately from somewhere else? Thank you!

[KStene22 79]

8 minutes ago, acmanu said:

Another question amazing people - I need vaccine for Tdap and MMR and possibly the flu shot aswell. Does anyone know if I will get those on the day of my Medical exam or do I need to get them separately from somewhere else? Thank you!

It might depend on where you go for your medical.  If you get your vaccines at home before going it is free, though.  I had MMR updated and got the flu shot 1.5 weeks ago and did not have to pay.  

[bort_s 63]

10 minutes ago, acmanu said:

Another question amazing people - I need vaccine for Tdap and MMR and possibly the flu shot aswell. Does anyone know if I will get those on the day of my Medical exam or do I need to get them separately from somewhere else? Thank you!

My medical is next week and needed a couple vaccines and had them done at home prior to going.  I got flu shot, updated MMR and updated tetanus and didnt pay for any of them.  

Edited February 8, 2021 by bort_s

[CrystalNeufeld 39]

This may have been answered somewhere else and we have read the website but just wondering other peoples’ experiences. 
 

We were looking at what my husband has to take to his appointment at the consulate and it says he needs the originals of anything he had to submit and also asks for our original marriage certificate and my birth certificate. 
 

I will have to mail my birth certificate to him, I sent our original marriage certificate before but I guess I wasnt thinking theyd want more than a photocopy of my birth certificate. 
 

Anything else I would have here in the US I should send him the original of that isnt on that list? Does he need to take photocopies of my paperwork I sent on my end like my passport or license or the property card, or proof that my previous husband passed away? 

 

I guess its just getting close and is so unreal, I expect us to read over something and mess things up. Super paranoid! 
 

Thanks in advance for helping with my anxiety questions. 

[Emilini 10]

Hey all, a while ago, I sent an email to Montreal asking them to clarify the Criminal Record Check debate.  This is my email to them and their response:

 

Greetings.    I am anticipating my interview will happen in March (I was documentarily qualified on June 3rd 2020)

There is a bit of confusion when it comes to the new criminal record check requirement titled "Criminal record check for personal use".  I had my criminal record check done in May 2020 and it was the "privacy record check" which was the check required by the NVC and was approved.

Since my privacy record check is not yet expired, am I still required to get a new criminal record check with the new name or will my current one suffice?

Please let me know so that I can inform my visajourney peers

 

 

This is their Response

Good morning,

Police certificates expire after one year, unless the certificate was issued from your country of previous residence and you have not returned there since the police certificate was issued. If at the time of your interview the following three items are all true, you must bring a new police certificate to your visa interview: 

• You are more than 16 years old;
• The police certificate submitted to NVC was obtained more than one year ago; and
• You still live in the country that issued the certificate.

The Certified Criminal Record Check requested under the Privacy Act is fingerprint-based is required by U.S. Consular posts in Canada. For more information on how to request this document, visit rcmp-grc.gc.ca. You may also visit this website for additional information: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Canada.html

 

Regards,

 

OP76

Consular Correspondence Unit | Immigrant Visa

U.S. Consulate General

Montreal, Canada

[Zhyn 26]

4 minutes ago, CrystalNeufeld said:

This may have been answered somewhere else and we have read the website but just wondering other peoples’ experiences. 
 

We were looking at what my husband has to take to his appointment at the consulate and it says he needs the originals of anything he had to submit and also asks for our original marriage certificate and my birth certificate. 
 

I will have to mail my birth certificate to him, I sent our original marriage certificate before but I guess I wasnt thinking theyd want more than a photocopy of my birth certificate. 
 

Anything else I would have here in the US I should send him the original of that isnt on that list? Does he need to take photocopies of my paperwork I sent on my end like my passport or license or the property card, or proof that my previous husband passed away? 

 

I guess its just getting close and is so unreal, I expect us to read over something and mess things up. Super paranoid! 
 

Thanks in advance for helping with my anxiety questions. 

I was just going through the same list, and I don't think we need an original, or a copy of the petitioners birth certificate.

The pre-interview checklist says "Your original birth certificate and that of your petitioner if applicable, English translation, and a photocopy." I think you only need it if it was requested specifically.

 

There is this old thread as well: 

 

 

But I would also feel better hearing from others as well.

[CrystalNeufeld 39]

4 minutes ago, Zhyn said:

I was just going through the same list, and I don't think we need an original, or a copy of the petitioners birth certificate.

The pre-interview checklist says "Your original birth certificate and that of your petitioner if applicable, English translation, and a photocopy." I think you only need it if it was requested specifically.

 

There is this old thread as well: 

 

 

But I would also feel better hearing from others as well.

Yes. Id rather chance mailing all my originals than to chance they ask for something and he doesnt have it and then we get denied or have to wait longer! 
 

Thanks for your reply!

[mizzem 144]

2 hours ago, VIR CHAMP said:

Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing your experience.
Did you drive there ? May you share any tips for parking?

We drove there from Toronto on Jan. 29th. Fortunately we had good weather and the drive was fine. There was parking at our hotel which was within walking distance of the consulate but also just around the corner from the consulate there is a safe covered parking on Stanley street. You could park there as it's very close. Good luck!

[mizzem 144]

1 hour ago, acmanu said:

Another question amazing people - I need vaccine for Tdap and MMR and possibly the flu shot aswell. Does anyone know if I will get those on the day of my Medical exam or do I need to get them separately from somewhere else? Thank you!

My husband needed one additional vaccine but his doctor did not give them. (Dr. Zatzman) Luckily the medical building had a walk in clinic and he was able to go in there and get it and take the proof right back to the doctor. Had to pay extra $120 for it on top of the medical. I would get them in advance from your family doctor to save yourself a lot of money

Edited February 8, 2021 by mizzem

[acmanu 68]

So I just contacted Dr Cheema and he said they will administer Tdap and MMR for $45 each. Haven't asked for the flu shot but seems like according to FAQ's it is still required if interview is in March, so will request that too! 

[KStene22 79]

DQ May 23

Interview: Feb 8th 10:00 am  APPROVED!

 

What may be less common about my case is that we had to reestablish my husband’s domicile, and were approved with no issues.  

 

Here are some quick notes on my process:

 

1. Security was the same as everyone else’s description.  Airport style security, kept my phone.  

2. Went to window 7 where I was asked for my passport.  Sat down.  

3. Called to window 4, and was asked to submit originals of my birth certificate, marriage certificate and 1 passport photo.  He also asked if my AOS needed any updating.  I said my husband changed employers but he said that was ok and didn’t change anything.  He then asked who lives at the address we intend to live at in the US (since we are both in Canada).  Sat down. 

4. Called to window 11 for the final interviewing process.  

   1. Oath and fingerprints

   2. She commented she hadn’t seen a SK marriage certificate in a long time.

   3. Since my husband lives in Canada she asked about his US citizenship.  I explained he was born in the US and came to college in SK, then stayed after marrying me.  She said we would talk about our US plan at the end.  

   4. How did you meet?

   5. Why are you wanting to move now, after having been married for almost 11 years?

      • I explained that after getting married I had 2 years left of my degree in Regina, then we stayed for financial reasons, then we started our family.  Our first 3 kids were born within 3.5 yrs and life felt chaotic - at this point she interjected and said, “I did the exact same thing!  I know exactly what you’re talking about.” and that was it.

   6. What does your husband do for work? - He is a cabinet maker and finish carpenter.

   7. Do you have a joint sponsor and who is he to you?

   8. Then she said, “What are all of these documents I see that you’ve submitted?  Wow.”  I told her we followed a list of things to reestablish my husband’s domicile and tried to provide everything on the list.  

      • We provided proof that we were preparing to list our Canadian residence, emails to prove communication with local employment connections in the US, a rent-to-own agreement for the family ranch property which includes the family home as well as a cabinetry shop, pics of the shop, bank statements, proof of PO box ownership, letter of intent to homeschool our oldest child, and prepared passport applications for our four kids. 

      • She only looked through the bank statement, PO box and lease agreement.  When we talked about the lease agreement I explained that it is family land which we would be the 4th generation to own, and that it includes a family home as well as the cabinetry shop that my late Father-in-law worked out of.  She seemed to immediately put the pieces together herself, remembering that my husband is also a cabinet maker, and I didn’t even have to tell her that my husband planned to work out of the shop.  She said, “This looks great.  I’m just going to put a note at the bottom here that you’ve met the requirements.”

   9. Do you have Birth Abroad certificates or passports for your children?

      • I said we had all the paperwork ready but hadn’t been able to go to the consulate yet due to COVID.  She was very nice and gave me info on how to get my kid’s paperwork expedited in Calgary (closest to us).  

   10. She checked that my medical was in, and said she would be able to approve my visa!  

 

I had uploaded updated versions of my husband’s taxes, our joint sponsor’s 2019 tax transcript and W-2, our lease agreement, and my joint sponsor’s license, which had expired.  I was not asked to show any of these.  

 

She also let me know that at my first entry into the US I would have another interview, and to expect it to be about 30 minutes.

 

So grateful for this forum!  We have done everything ourselves from start to finish thanks to the experiences of others posted on here.