Montreal Interview Tracker -- Part DeuX [Ara2000, AttaBoy, CDN_CPER, Dongky, Enduring, GC Indian, Ja

Leaving for Montreal

I\'ll be leaving for Montreal on Saturday. Gonna pack up the car with my family and two bags of documents to make the 6 hour drive from New York. Medical is on Monday and the interview is on Thursday (9th). Suffice it to say, every possible scenario that could go wrong has played itself in my head several times. I\'ll be glad when this is over. Brian.
 
Good luck

thanks to those who posted about the cards...
Good Luck Leroythelion...hope everything works out.
pkv2
 
Good Luck Leroy

It sounds like we are cut from the same cloth Leroy. I too have played out every possible scenario in my head, but actually am feeling pretty confident.

I\'m spending this afternoon organizing all my paperwork and my flight across the continent (Seattle ---> Vancouver -----> Montreal.) Boy, this is a lot of fun. I can\'t wait for it to be over.

Good luck, I\'m sure everything will go smooth as butter.
 
No Title

Brian:

I was feeling the same way a month ago...but once I got there, things went smoothly. If you are polite and courteous to the staff, they will let you take whatever time you need to hand over documents etc. and I got asked very few questions. Believe me, I was recopying/pasting DS230 forms the night before the interview out of worrying about every little item, and it just never became an issue.
As long as you have all your documents plus the common ones they might ask for like tax forms or W-2s, youll be set. Think of the interview as a verification of whats in the DS230 forms...they certainly didnt ask me anything that wasnt on them.

Good luck in Montreal...enjoy the city, lots of fun things to see and do. And if you have kids, try the Biosphere. Metro takes you right there and its a low key way to spend an afternoon.
 
Thanks everybody

Funny, I was sitting at my desk at work re-filling DS230 forms. My wife thinks I\'m crazy for worrying like a fool.

Thanks for the advice on Montreal. Actually, my wife and I both were born and grew up there, so it\'ll be a week of shuttling the kids to see their grandparents and trying to get in some golf with old friends, if the 15 cm of snow they got last week has melted. Brian.
 
Update

140 AD: 12/26/2001
NVC RD: 01/18/2002
NVC IV Case Created: 01/23/2002 (petition entered into the system)
NVC Generated Packet 3: 02/18/2002
PKT3-YOU: 02/23/02 (received by attorney)
PKT3 to St. Louis: 02/26/02
St.Louis to NVC: 03/07/02 (received by NVC-NH)
PKT3 NVC review Completed: 03/21/2002

*Called NVC this morning and received my interview date - 06/07/2002. She also told me that they were mailing PKT4 and appointment letter to my attorney today.

That\'s it for now, I guess my next post will be of my CP interview experience.
 
I have same day interview

Called NVC today. my interview is on June 07, 9:30 am( is time important?). NVC is sending this information along with List of doctors( I am going in toronto) and other instructions. I am from India and don\'t have any medical record. I have got test done for MMR and others showing that I had vaccination.

Is it possible that I could send my medical record to the doctor office in toronto and ask them to check if I am missing anything. I checked the vaccination requirements on a web site that list many many items.

Any help is appreciated

Cheers
 
vaccinations

Hello rWeThere,
i think (experienced CPers please correct) that if you are able to show medical record..then we don\'t have to take the particular vaccines otherwise,we need to.
i do not have a medical record as well and am from India as well...therefore, i am planning to take all the vaccinations that they say i should.

Question for you:
did you have to send in multiple police certificates in Packet III for all places that you may have lived in India or did you just send one from the Consulate General of India in North America (Canada or USA). i lived in multiple places in India before living in Canada and the US...NVC said one certificate from the Indian Consulate General is enough, alongwith RCMP certificate, but just checking what you did.
thanks and please reply,
pkv2
 
Just one PC for india

Hi pkv2,

thanks for the posting.

I had one PC for India from Indian Consulate, Toronto. Along with that I sent Finger Print Based PC from Montreal(RCMP). I lived in multiple place but all in punjab. I believe it does not matter how many places you live in Canada.

One more question about vaccination.

I got my antibody titers done. One of the MMR item, Mumps Virus antibodies count is show as 0.73; it is supposed to be more than 1.09 to be positive. All other virus antibodies are shown positive. Does this means I need to get the injection again or doctors would be able to accept this. Does anyone had any such problem?

Thanks and Cheers
 
antibody titers????

Hello rWeThere,
good question....you might want to check this with the doctors...but if the antibody titers came back positive, probably the antibody is still active!

do not know...maybe there\'s some doctors in the group.
cheers,
pkv2
 
Vaccinations

Well, my husband had the antibody titre and it showed that he was not immune to Rubella. However the panel physician didn\'t give him any vaccinations - he also should have had a tetanus shot.

I did not have immunity to varicella, but wasn\'t given any vaccinations, either. We had our medicals done in London, Ontario and each doctor may be different, but our doctor wasn\'t too fussy about the vaccinations.

I wouldn\'t worry about it too much. The doctor will give you any vaccinations that you need.

We had no problems at the consulate.
 
Time and Vaccinations

rWeThere,

My family and I just completed our CP interview on Friday, May 3rd in Montreal.

Re: Time

Going from Morgan\'s post, we decided to walk to the consulate at 7:30 am, unfortunately the guard at the door told us that we wouldn\'t be let in earlier than an hour before our appointment (9:30). Your mileage may vary. That allowed us to go to the cafe in the same building to have a light breakfast, so it wasn\'t all bad. Plus, it start snowing at about 8:10, so it was nice to be right there.

Re: Vaccinations

For the average adult (18 - 64, I think), three vaccinations were required: MMR, Tetanus, and Varicella (chicken pox). The exception is if you have already had the chicken pox, which the doctor should ask you (again, this is going from our experience last week at Dr. Seiden\'s office in Montreal). In my case, I was able to get the second MMR vaccine from my family doctor, I had chicken pox, and the doctor in Montreal gave me the Tetanus shot. The immunization part of the medical really wasn\'t as big of a deal as I thought it would be, though I was way worried beforehand that the proof that I had wouldn\'t be enough. It was.

Note: We weren\'t asked for our IRS forms at the interview and neither were the two others ahead of us. One of them asked the screener and she said that they "weren\'t asking for them anymore." That was news to me, and of course you should always bring more than enough info with you, but has anyone else heard that?
 
Helpful info

Hi yawnto,

that is very helpful to know about the medical exam procedure. I am from Toronto and am planning to go to toronto during 2nd half of May to finish my Medical exam( I will have enough time, in case... ). As my interview is June 07, I can go directly to Montreal.
Now I am going to rethink my plan.

I guess it is easy to get place to stay near consulate. What kind of overnight stay rate is normal. are those places at walk able distance?

I guess I may have more questions, but that is all for now.

cheers,
 
About Vaccinations- A consideration

One thing you folks may want to consider re: Vaccinations. Although you may get out of getting them from some of the panel physicians (for ages 18-64 as noted in other posts you need MMR, Tetanus/Diptheria, and Chicken Pox (can verbally declare you had CPox and no shot required)), if you should ever require them in the US, it could be problematic. There is currently a shortage of many core vaccines in the US (notably all three noted above are in short supply) and thus would likely be costly if you needed them once in the US, and it might take time to get them given the current shortage. I got my TD booster when I went for my medical (had no choice from the doctor I saw in Ottawa) and the cost was included. I had a current MMR and had already had Cpox as a kid. I believe I heard the Seiden clinics in Montreal and Toronto charge $10 Canadian each for MMR and TD, which is a bargain.

Just food for thought. Im not sure if some/all all US medical insurance plans cover these shots if given in the US, but if they dont, each shot could be $50-75 US if ever required.
 
Hotel

> "I guess it is easy to get place to stay near consulate. What kind of overnight stay rate is normal. are those places at walk able distance?"

We stayed at the Wyndham for about $120 a night, which wasn\'t bad. It\'s a 3 minute walk from the Consulate with a 4 year old in tow, and not a bad place. Parking is pretty silly though, $21 + tip for valet parking with in/out privileges, or $18 every time you move the car.
 
Vaccinations

Here is some info that helped me:

Why do I need these vaccinations if they are not required in my home country?
Immunization requirements may differ from location to location. That being the case, your doctor may tell you that the vaccine(s) are not required for health reasons in your current place of residence. However, unless there is a valid medical reason known as (contraindication) as to why you cannot have the vaccine or you can prove to the Consular Official who processes your application that vaccination would be contrary to your religious beliefs or moral convictions, it is necessary for you to be in compliance with the vaccination requirements.

How do I bring written proof of my immunizations?
You must provide the panel physician with a written record of you vaccine history. Ideally the written proof should list each dose of each vaccine you have been given -- the date (month, day, year) and who gave you the vaccine. You cannot simply tell the panel physician that you had vaccinations as a child. We cannot accept notes from you doctor like: "Vaccinations up to date" or "Does not require additional vaccines."
When no written vaccination history is available, you may present the Panel Physician with written laboratory proof of immunity in the form of antibody titers. A titer report should be dated and either be on your doctor\'s letterhead or be a copy of the actual laboratory report. Your personal physician can arrange the necessary blood tests. However, depending upon where you live, test results may not be available for a number of weeks. When no written vaccination history is available, but you can recall receiving immunization injections, we strongly recommend you discussing having antibody titres to determine whether additional immunizations are medically necessay.

What if I unable to bring proof of my immunizations or antibody titer results?
If you have no record of immunization and have chosen not to have antibody titers done then you would be required to have the vaccine(s) necessary to bring you into compliance with immunization requirements.

Where should I get immunizations if I require them?
We strongly recommend that you review the requirements for yourself and your family well in advance of your appointment with the panel physician and then go to your own family physician to receive the injections. He or she knows you best.

Hope this helps you.
 
No Title

Seiden in Montreal was going to charge me $110 for the vaccine but later he decided that I don\'t need it. The blood titer showed non-immune for one of the things I forgot which one.
 
No Title

Successful CP on 5-6-02. Quick hints and will answer any questions you have.
1. Tony Studio will tell you that you need 4 photos (I guess he tries to double his income), he says one set of two photos for the consulate and another set for POE. Based on previous posts on this board; I told him that I need only one set (two photos) and that was fine. The two pictures we gave the consulate one was on the visa and the other one was in a plastic bag for the GC.
2. I did not receive IRS 9003 in my pkt 4 and was not required. (Although I did have a downloaded copy and asked the lady if she wants it she looked at it like she was disgusted and said "no no specially not an uncolored copy". OK! end of discussion.
 
Ara2000: Congratulations!

... and good luck with your post GC life.

1. Photos: it is best to get them taken by I-485 photographers near your local INS office in the US. The requirements are the same, it is convenient and usually cheaper (after discounts) than Tony\'s.

2. IRS-9003 was long gone for AOS with I-485. Looks like it is gone from CP as well. Great!
 
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