thenextman

Right. No flu shot needed if your medical is in the summer. Good luck!

It takes a day or two before the system updates and you're able to register. It's normal. Keep trying. Congratulations to all that got their interview letter! Good luck.

I don't know about IR5. For our IR1, we just used the guidelines on the I864 instructions which say: "You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant’s admission or adjustment of status." And we wrote a letter to that affect and uploaded to the NVC. It sounds like you are on the right path with opening a bank account, registering for school....

Like EC&IC said, sounds like you have a similar situation to us: my spouse and I were living in Canada until I got my residency. My spouse is a homemaker and hadn't lived in the US for 6+ years, no tax returns etc.... We had a joint sponsor. All we submitted to NVC on this regard was a letter from my spouse, explaining that she planned to domicile in the US once I got my residency. Nothing more than that.

Congratulations! Your experience at the consulate reflects mine almost exactly.

I was equally confused by this. I had my spouse (petitioner) original birth certificate at the interview but they didn't want to see it.

You might be able to fix it at interview time; before the interview you'll see a consular officer who will take your documents and confirm a bunch of information from your visa application. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much about it.... The stamped visa serves as entitlement to work, and you should just be able to go directly to a social security office and get things fixed up. They're easy to work with and cards are normally issued within 10 days.

Yes, it's normal. Don't panic!

My interview was also on a Thursday, but due to other factors my visa wasn't approved immediately and didn't become "ready" until 13 days later (the second Wednesday following my interview)

Good news and congratulations! No tracker that I'm aware of, you just need to keep checking the site. The next status is "Issued" and shortly after you should get tracking information for your passport return. My visa was "Ready" by the Wednesday and transitioned to "Issued" the next day (Thursday) with tracking available shortly after. I had my passport back by Friday. That seems consistent with most people that report receiving their passport on either a Friday or Monday. I would guess that if you had your interview last Thursday, maybe the visa wasn't ready in time to go out that day. I'd expect and hope for it to be issued and sent this Thursday. Do post an update with your experience!

Good advice! Make sure you're clear on what vaccines are needed; not everything is needed for all age groups. Good luck

Yes, it might not be quite current; I know the user that maintains the spreadsheet does so in their spare time. The average DQ -> IL seems to track at around 90 days (and that corresponds with what NVC themselves say for processing). You should probably expect to receive your IL in July or August. Good luck!

Have you seen the spreadsheet?

It might not strictly answer your question, but there are statistics published for the number of visas issued every month. In February, Montreal issued 20 CR1 visas and 78 IR1 visas. January, around 170 total, December around 120 total. November around 140. My guess is that people are DQ'd by the NVC in order, but interviews are scheduled according to the capacity of the consulate which seems to be around 100-150 visas per month. Like I said, just a guess...

Telus Health seems "good enough", but just allow 10-15 business days for the results to get to the consulate before your interview Good luck!

The physical results are valid for six months; and that will reflect on the expiration of your visa (if and when it's issued). Something to bear in mind, but honestly a 6 week lead time between medical and interview sounds good to me. For example: my medical was March 8th; interview March 16th; visa issued around the end of March. The expiration on my visa was September 8th. Good luck!

If I can offer a counterpoint, or additional advice; I had my physical at Telus in Montreal. They told me that 5 business days / 1 week was required to deliver the results to the consulate; and I planned my appointment and travel accordingly. After the physical the, clinic revealed it's actually 10-15 business days. This meant my results were not ready at interview time (in the end, it took 9 business days), and added _at least_ one week to the whole process (and a lot of undue stress). So, if you go with Telus, you should bear this in mind (regardless what they tell you on the phone). Good luck

Thank you for the information!

Thank you! That's very helpful. I'll need to pass the knowledge test _and_ road test - Ohio is one of the only states that won't transfer a foreign (or even out-of-state) license. I originally passed my test 22 years ago too so yes - pretty nervous! Thanks again

Hello everyone I know this might not be strictly on-topic for this thread, but maybe someone can share their experience or point me to some further information... I entered the US last week on my IR1 visa by air. I was processed at secondary screening and admitted to the US; the BO did not stamp my visa or give me any extra documents. Yesterday I received my social security number and would now like to apply for my Ohio drivers license. The documentation requirements ask for my green card (which I don't have yet, and understand might take up to 90 days), or: "FOREIGN PASSPORT WITH VISA - Unexpired foreign passport with a valid, unexpired U.S. visa affixed accompanied by the approved I-94 form documenting the applicant's most recent admittance into the United States. Must also present a supplemental original and valid document issued by the USCIS or the successor agency to the USCIS showing the dates of legal presence" Ok, so I have my passport and visa but no I94. When I go to retrieve my most recent I94 from the official website, it only gives me my _prior_ entry (B2) in October last year. Am I supposed to have an I94 in this case? Does anyone know something about this? What about the "supplemental original and valid document... showing the dates of legal presence"? Thanks so much in advance!!!

I'm wanting to share my final experience in case someone finds it useful. I also updated my timeline. March 8th: - Medical at Telus Montreal March 16th: - Interviewed at consulate in Montreal. - Officer explained he intends to approve my visa, but hasn't received the medical results yet. - Case updated on CEAC ("Refused") March 21st: - Telus tells me over the phone that they submitted my results to the consulate March 23rd: - Telus sends a confirmation email that my results were submitted to the consulate, with vaccine information March 24: - Case updated on CEAC ("Refused") - This happened early (like, before the consulate office hours), so I have to assume this was my medical results "entering the system" March 28: - Case updated on CEAC ("Refused") March 29: - Case updated on CEAC ("Ready", then "Issued") March 30: - Received tracking information from Canada Post March 31: - Passport ready for pick up at Canada Post in Montreal April 2: - Entered the US by air from Montreal. Lessons learned: - Telus say 5 business days for medical results on the phone, but the actuality is that they take 10-15 business days. - It wasn't a big delay for that but certainly added stress and annoyance - Entering by air was very straightforward, an extra 5-10 minutes in secondary screening (they even seemed to bump me to the front of the line). Usual annoyances with airport screening and immigration lines apply. - The border office didn't stamp my visa which seems irregular? I didn't think about it until later. The users and shared information in this forum helped me keep my sanity, especially over the last 6 months of this process. This is the fourth and hopefully last time I tackle foreign immigration (Canadian PR, Canadian citizenship, Canadian PR for Mrs TheNextman, US IR1) and certainly the longest and most difficult. I couldn't have got this far without you guys! Congratulations to all who received their visas already and good luck to those still waiting!

Interview letters seem to get sent out once per month, over the course of 2 or 3 days. The timing of the letters seems to change but generally seems to be either around the middle of the month, or close to the end of the month. It sounds like you missed the current batch but wish you good luck for April!

One thing you can do to be proactive is ensure you have all the needed vaccinations. Telus is the only panel clinic that gives missing vaccinations, but they charge a premium over your pharmacy or family doctor. The list of vaccinations needed is age dependent.

This is the contact information for the clinic: https://www.telus.com/en/health/care-centres/locations/montreal-downtown You need to call the number to make an appointment. They don't make appointments more than about 30 days out from the interview date. They will tell you everything you need for the appointment. When you make the appointment they will tell you 5 business days for the results; but this is not strictly true. At the appointment they tell you it's 10-15 days and this was my experience. So plan accordingly if you must use the Telus clinic.

Keeping my fingers crossed for approval of my visa imminently... New question: when entering the US and activating the IR1 visa, how's the process at the border? I'll enter by air, which necessitates pre clearance at the airport in Canada. I'm assuming it's not a simple "wave you through" type of thing, I'm anticipating that they'll be a visit to secondary and extra time and paperwork. Just trying to judge things as having had delays at pre clearance before, it's always stressful for actually making your flight Can anyone share relevant experience? Thank you!