PATOS

Hi, I am a US citizen who has filed a K-1 Visa for my fiancee back on Oct 29th 2005. I live in the US and am trying to get my fiancee here with me.

My fiancee is a Filipina girl and when we filed in Oct. she DID live in the Philippines. My fiancee had previously applied & received a work Visa to Canada on Dec. 8th 2005, she moved to Edmonton on Jan 14th 2006.

Here's where the confusion sets in....

At the time we filed for the K-1 we put her address of her house in the Philippines and of course the Embassy she would have attended for the interview would have been Manila.

We just received our NOA2 on Feb 2. Our file went to the National Visa Center yesterday and I called to inquire as to how to get the Embassy changed to Canada since she no longer lives in the Philippines.

The lady yesterday at the NVC said I needed to call the US Consular in Montreal Canada so I did so this afternoon. The lady I spoke to was not very helpful and I didn't feel like she understood what I was asking as she told me at first to fax them a paper with my fiancee's new address in Edmonton and the case # from Manila.

I tried to explain to her that it has not been to Manila because she lives in Edmonton now and she said well you just have to wait and be patient and it will get to the right place.

I know at this point that the past 3 minutes have been a total waste of time and I just tell her thank you so much for the info and I hang up. I knew that I wasn't satisfied with this call and I was going to call right back so I could speak to a different person.

I did call right back and spoke to someone different. This lady said that I needed to call NVC to correct the address and that my fiancee had to have valid status of residence in Canada as a landed immigrant and\or needed to be in Canada for 6 months for Montreal (Montreal is where ALL K-1 Visas are handled) to be able to process the K-1 (Fiancee Visa).

So I called NVC again and the one I spoke to today said "I need to write a letter for request change of embassy and current address for Canada" and fax that to them, I have done this.

What I am unclear on and want to know is:

Does my fiancee have to live in Canada for at least 6 months before our fiancee Visa is processed in Montreal?

The one lady said she has to have valid status to be in Canada or be a landed immigrant. Well, she is Legally in Canada on a work Visa so isn't that sufficeint?

As long as she is legal in Canada why would she have to stay 6 months before they would start the filing of our K-1 in Montreal?

I'm confused because I am getting different info and it makes me wonder if either of the ladies at the Montreal office gave me any correct advice.

Can someone here shed some light on this for me?

All help is appreciated!

meauxna

Many consulates have a rule that the beneficiary (your fiancee) must have 6 months *forward* legal stay in the third country (where the beneficiary is not a citizen) before the Consulate will accept the case. This is to ensure that the beneficiary has sufficient legal stay in the 3rd country to complete her visa application.
I don't know if this is a guideline or an actual law; I just know that is is common practice and I've read it most often being applied to Canada.

So, I think you misunderstood and/or they misspoke. Also, K-1s can interview in Vancouver -or- Montreal. All Immigrant Visa applications must go to MTL.

PATOS

Thanks Meaxuna. Yes either they didn't understand what I was asking or I didn't fully understand them because I was getting different answers to the same question.

I hope that she does not have to stay in CAN for six months before they will process the case however. If this is the case then they will not even touch the file until 6 months or they will start processing everything but won't setup the interview until the 6 months is up?

It makes no sense to me that she has to stay there 6 months as we're trying to get her to the US not an issue with residing in Canada. What if she stays in Canada six months and Montreal started the processing then my fiancee had to go back to the Philippines in month 7 and 2 weeks say due to a family illness.

The process will have started and she would not be there for them to have time to process it in this case also. Thus, I don't see the point in having to stay for 6 months before they will do anything.

Im going to call the Quebec office and see if they can confirm or deny what we have been discussing.

I'll post once I find out. Thanks

PATOS

[QUOTE=PATOS]Thanks Meaxuna. Yes either they didn't understand what I was asking or I didn't fully understand them because I was getting different answers to the same question.

I hope that she does not have to stay in CAN for six months before they will process the case however. If this is the case then they will not even touch the file until 6 months or they will start processing everything but won't setup the interview until the 6 months is up?

It makes no sense to me that she has to stay there 6 months as we're trying to get her to the US not an issue with residing in Canada. What if she stays in Canada six months and Montreal started the processing then my fiancee had to go back to the Philippines in month 7 and 2 weeks say due to a family illness.

The process will have started and she would not be there for them to have time to process it in this case also. Thus, I don't see the point in having to stay for 6 months before they will do anything.

Im going to call the Vancouver office and see if they can confirm or deny what we have been discussing.

I'll post once I find out what Vancouver says. Thanks

meauxna

[QUOTE=PATOS] I think you misunderstood what I wrote as well.

She does not have to stay in Canada for 6 months.
She has to have legal permission to stay there at least that long. ie, she can not be a visitor in Canada.

The consulate in Canada wants to make sure she will be there to complete her case so they are not wasting their time with her.

If her current visa allows her to stay in Canada for the next 6 months or more, I don't understand the problem---that is all they are requiring.

PATOS

[QUOTE=meauxna]
Yes!!! Now we're on the same page She is perfectly legal to live & work in Canada for 6 months or more if she wanted. That's why it didnt make sense to me what the ladies were saying but your last post addresses\answers exactly what I wanted to know.

tamsuraiya

PATOS wrote:

    > Yes!!! Now we're on the same page :) She is perfectly legal to live &
    > work in Canada for 6 months or more if she wanted. That's why it didnt
    > make sense to me what the ladies were saying but your last post
    > addresses\answers exactly what I wanted to know.

Just to put all this in context:

This seems to be borrowed from the "universal rule" that is scarcely
"universal" because (1) it is often ignored, and (2) there are specific
agreements waiving it, that you can only enter a country if your
passport has six months left to run on its validity.

(Many countries, including the USA, will take you back on a passport
expired less than six months. And if you check the UN Treaty Database,
you find, among others:
"Exchange of notes constituting an agreement between the United States
and Trinidad and Tobago regarding extended validity of passports issued
by Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain, 12 Nov. 1969, 763 UNTS 9, No.
10907 (1971)".)

Trouble is, USCIS officers at the airport seem not to know: when I
asked last time the guy professed total ignorance of it.

So, to get back to your point: the basic "rule" in consular work is
that the applicant for a visa must be a resident of the country where
s/he is applying. But the consular officer can waive it if he wants.

I once had to fly from Brussels to New York (where I hadn't lived in 30
years) to get a UK residence visa. The consular officer in NY averred
that his collegue in Brussels was just being a jerk.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Hi:

Excellent questions. Unfortunately, I don't feel welcome in answering any of them.

Good luck.

fatbrit

Ian's position is already taken. And you would come a very distant second.

PATOS

Well....... I wasn't able to catch the file before it left NVC so it's on its way to Manila.

The file arrived at NVC on Monday and left just 3 1\2 days later on Thursday. The downside is that I couldn't make the change after a call Monday, a fax request Tue, a 2nd fax request on Wed. and it left Thursday am.

The upside is that it didnt take long for NVC to jump on it but in the end I expect it will have caused her Visa to be delayed at least 1 month longer than what it will eventually end up being by the time it goes to Manila, they mail it to my fiancee's parents house, packet is sent back to Manila & they are informed she is in Canada now, Manila forwards it to Vancouver, yada yada yada.

Oh well, all you can do is what you can do eh?

Noorah101

Can you not contact Manila and warn them that she's now in Canada? Maybe they can cut out the steps of sending out the packet, and just forward the file to Canada?

Rene

PATOS

Hi Rene, I have the number to the Manila Embassy and I am going to call them and try to "cut it off at the pass" but I am not expecting to have success at doing so.

If I couldn't do so in 3 attempts here in the U.S. I am doubtful I could get anyone to put forth the effort to act upon my request in Manila, but as I said I am planning on trying there too