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

Interview date 30 March 2004

Folks
I called Montreal today and was informed that my interview was scheduled for 30 March at Montreal.

We now have a 4 month old daughter who we must take with us to the consulate. When I last posted a message on this forum she was not born yet. I had to request the consulate to postpone my interview so that I could get my daughter's passport and get her included in my GC petition. They did listen to my request and re-scheduled the interview to 30 March 2004.

Does anyone know if the consulate allows baby food, a bag with baby necessities, etc. inside. If we are not allowed any bag with baby necessities, can we deposit the bag with the security or do we have to dump the bag. Any one with prior experience?

- Prithis
 
we were not allowed to take any food up, not even a donut. we did take some baby necessities, one to be exact. i don't know if they would make an exception for a younger baby. if the guard takes anything from you at the door, they give you a receipt. you can get your stuff when you leave.
 
Hi Prithis,

Congratulations to you, on the arrival of your baby daughter. Glad to know that you could reschedule your interview. Good luck
with your interview.
 
A shout out to all you CP'ers

Hello Everyone,
I'm *finally* nearing the end of the green card odyssey. The NVC (from the phone message) says that they completed my case on March 2nd, 2004. From what I can gather, they will request a Visa # on or about March 20th, 2004. Then, in early April 2004 they will schedule me (and my wife) for an interview in early May 2004.
Have I made any incorrect assumptions?
I am trying to nail down the approximate date....any help from the board is appreciated!
 
Hi,

My interview in Montreal went fine on March 5th. The official was very nice, and the interview lasted for a few minutes.

muffin1973 - I think you can expect an interview date between May 3rd to May 15th. My case got approved on Jan 5th and my interview was on March 5th. Call NVC at the end of the second week of April around 8.30 am in the morning and you should be able to get your interview date.
 
Shya2001 - thanks very much for the reply. I am glad that your interview worked out well in Montreal. I bet it is a *huge* relief to have that stamp in your passport. It's funny how you work so hard to get there, and in the end, all they give you is a stamp.

I don't want you to repeat details that are already posted on the board, but is there anything that you can add to the board re: your interview experience that isn't already on here?

So...call the NVC around April 9th at 8:30 am (Eastern?) to get the interview information? Is the number 514-398-9695, ext. 3833?

Thanks in advance.
 
Shya2001 - Congrats on getting through your interview, and thanks for your kind words earlier.

Rukkles - Thanks for sharing your experience with regard to taking a bag inside and leaving stuff with the guard. That really helps us to plan.

muffin1973 - My case was completed by NVC on 6-Oct-2003. Case was forwarded to Montreal on 21-Nov-2003. My original Interview date at Montreal was 8-Dec-2003. However I had to request the Consulate to postpone my interview as at that time I did not have any documents for my new-born daughter. They re-scheduled my interview to 30-Mar-2004 at my request (In Canada it takes ages to get the birth registered), and I am getting ready for it. This should give you some indications about your interview date. The number you mentioned is the US Consulate Montreal number. The NVC number is 1.603.3340700. However you can call Montreal (2pm-4.30pm) weekdays to get your interview date, once your case is in their system.

- Prithis
 
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Notarize your employment letter and Affidavit of Support

There are some posts regarding whether or not to notarize the employment letter and whether the Affidavit of Support is required for dependents for an employment based petition.

I decided to email the US Consulate at Montreal with specific questions regarding the above as I do not wish to take chances. Here is the copy/paste from their reply:

"Yes you must have a current employment letter and just have it notarized in the United States. If your family is not traveling the same time as you please present an affidavit of support on their behalf. "

However, there are specific cases on this forum where members have mentioned that their employment letter was not notarized. It would thus seem that while the requirement is to have a notarized employment letter, the consulate does overlook this. I guess it would be prudent to get it notarized anyway.

- Prithis
 
Hi from new Member.

Hi Group,
I am working in US on TN under 'Management Consultant' category. Is it advisable to go for GC with this category? Is Consular processing advisable or should I go for 485? What is the estimated time from applying I-140 upto GC?
Thanks in advance.
 
Asvar - It will be difficult, if not impossible, to apply for a green card while on a TN visa. The reason is that the TN visa is purely non-immigrant work visa. Suppose you apply for your GC while on a TN visa. The GC application could take upto 2 years to process. You will almost certainly have to apply for a new TN as your current TN will expire. You will be almost certainly refused a new TN as you have shown an intention to immigrate by virtue of your GC application. The TN visa creates a conflict of intent with the GC process. You should switch to a H1B visa, which is a "dual-intent" visa. The H1B is a non-immigrant work visa, but at the same time a H1B visa holder is allowed to apply for permanent residence.

Secondly, for the GC application you have to go through 3 stages - Labor, I-140, and AOS(485) or CP. In my case Labor took 3 months (my employing company uses Pittsburgh, PA for filing labor). However, I know cases in California where the Labour clearance took over a year (nearly 2 years). In my case the I-140 took 8 months, but I know cases where it took 3 months. After I-140, you can expect 5-6 months to the interview if you do CP. AOS seemed to be speeding up, but as per Ron Gotcher's website the AOS route is again slowing down with serious backlogs. On an average, about a year for AOS. Also, AOS has associated problems - you cannot leave the US without an Advance Payroll. Even if you get an Advanced Payroll, you could be denied entry back into the US. So I would certainly recommend CP over AOS, but you need to consider your particular situation.

Lastly, the categories for Labor are EB1, EB2, EB3 etc. You would probably fall under EB2 or EB3, but again, you need to consult an immigration professional or your company's HR/immigration department.

- Prithis
 
Prithis,
Thanks for the invaluable information, and I hope your interview on March 30th is smooth.
I'll be sure to call the NVC during the second week of April. My attorneys haven't been proactive - they waited 3 months before they called NVC to ask them to issue a bill for my wife. After that episode, I decided to get involved in the situation and not leave things entirely in their hands.
It sure seems as though people doing the CP on their own do it quicker than lawyers who handle it for them. Opinions on this?
 
Asvar,
I agree with Prithis.
In fact, I know people who were on TN Visa's who have applied for a green card and had problems. Prithis is right, it's the "dual intent" issue (the H-1B Visa circumvents this).
My advice would be to have your employer get ready to file a H-1B petition as soon as possible, i.e. April 1st, 2004 - read below. Once this is completed, then start the green card process. Then, the issue of "dual intent" would be moot.

"USCIS will process all petitions filed for first-time employment received by the end of business today (February 17, 2004). All petitions for first-time employment subject to the cap which are received after the end of business on February 17, 2004, will be returned to the petitioner/attorney along with the filing fees. The petition may be resubmitted when H-1B visa petitions become available for FY2005 (October 1, 2004). The earliest date that a petitioner may file a petition requesting FY2005 H-1B employment with a start date of October 1, 2004 or later, would be April 1, 2004."
 
Pritis and Muffin1973,
Thanks for your information. Its very useful.
I have a prospective employer offering me Labor substitution. Is labor substitution process advisable if we go for Consular Processing? Thanks,
 
Asvar,
If I understand your question correctly, you're asking whether you should go for a labor certification. Unless you can go the EB-1 route (either being an Alien of Extraordinary Ability EB-1(a), an Outstanding Researcher/Outstanding Professor EB-1(b) or a Manager and Executive Transferees EB-1(c)) then you pretty much have to go the labor certification route to get the eventual green card.
The labor certification process is lengthy, depending a lot on which service center you go through. Hopefully, other posters can shed light on which service centers are better than others to give you a better indication for your potential case.
Just so that you understand the process...
(1) Go through the labor certification
(2) Once the certification is approved, file I-140
(3) Once I-140 is approved, then opt for Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing.
The www.murthy.com website is an excellent source of FAQ's, etc.
 
Hi Prithis, muffin1973

Saw your note regarding employment letter. It is better to have it notarized. They asked me only for employment letter. No pay stubs, tax transcripts were asked although it is advisable to carry them with you. There was a post by Henry_s where he referred to a post by Najib on what documents to take. It was very detailed and good.

We are sending most of the docs with our packet 3 including Affidavit of Support, so I did not take any. My 3 year old daughter went with me and I took a diaper bag with diapers and very less food - a cookie packet and some cereal and there was no objection. My appointment was at 8.30 am and I entered the building at 8.00 am and after the checks I got token number 3 for the immigrant visa category. Once they check the documents, the consular official called the applicants in random order. Token number 7 was called before me. So it is does not make sense to go very early. An hour or so before the appointment time is sufficient.

Our daughter is an adopted child and most of the questions during the interview were all related to her papers. There is nothing to worry if the papers and docs are in order. Good luck to you both.

Henry_s - what did you decide? Did you attend the interview on March 8th. Keep us posted.
 
Thanks muffin1973.
Do we have to wait for I-140 approval for filing requst for Consular Processing? I heard that filing CP request along with I-140 will save time. Is it not true?
 
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Asvar,
Here's your options - when you file the I-140, you can opt for consular processing (CP) or adjustment of status (AOS) at that point.
If you opt for consular processing, you cannot begin the consular processing UNTIL the I-140 is approved. This is an absolute.
However, with an AOS (meaning that you're in the US legally) you can file the AOS and I-140 petition concurrently. This can be an advantage, because of AC-21. Basically, if you've applied for AOS for 180 days and you have an I-140 approval, you can change jobs (if the job is similar).
I hope that explains it adequately.
 
Hey Montreal CP'ers,
Just a quick question. How important is it to have the employment letter notarized. Can I get turned down at the interview for a non notarized letter? Any experiences?
 
Fernp,
I haven't done my interview yet, but it should be soon (perhaps early May).
But from what I can gather on the board, you are obligated to bring a notarized employment letter, though no one has ever been refused a visa because they lacked one.
A recent poster actually cut and pasted a section of an e-mail that he/she received from the Montreal Consulate on this exact matter.
So...you would be wise to bring a notarized employment letter to the interview. I always err on the side of caution.
 
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