eiloo

Hello,

I've been informed by email that if I am unable to get an Interview by the expiry date on the I-797 then I would need to furnish them with a notarized letter from my fiancee stating that she would still be able and willing to marry. She will be visiting me over the holidays and I was wondering as I won't get an interview until early January, can we get the letter prepared "before" Christmas for use at the interview (sometime in January 2003). This would save us time in mailing the letter since she can bring it up with her. Will this be acceptable to the Consulate? Has anyone else gone through this procedure?

Thanks,

Ian

lil_tone76

As long as the letter is of reasonable date(give and take a few weeks), I don't think it would matter. They usually send you the packet 3 and tell you to get the checklist ready and from the time they receive the checklist till the interview date, they usually give you about 2-3 weeks. So they won't be expecting the letter to be dated that close to the interview date....am I making any sense??? LOL
From my experience, Montreal was a great consulate to go through. If you have any questions, email or phone them...they reply the emails really promptly but I find that phone calls were more helpful as they address the questions more directly as oppposed to the emails where some of the replies were rather vague.
My interiview date was on Dec 11, and the letter of intent that my fiance wrote was dated nov 25(either that or Dec 1, don't remember exactly)...
Well, I hope this helps but if not then email or call them up.

eiloo

Hey Lillian...

Actually... the letter I was referring to is *IF* your interview is after the expiry date of the I-797, Second NOA... then Montreal would require a letter notarized from the USC in order to confirm that they still wish to marry. I'm hoping I won't have to get that though...

Do you happen to have their contact phone number handy?

Thanks,

Ian

lil_tone76

Ian,

Regardless of whether or not the approval notice has expired, you are still required to bring a letter of intent from your fiancee. Here's the exact sentence from the appointment letter that I got from Montreal with regards to the letter:

"You must have the original notice of approved petition form I-797" (which, btw, they never asked for but you should bring it in any case) "and a letter signed by your U.S citizen fiance(e) stating that he/she is still willing to marry you upon your entry to the United States."

Also, note that even if the approval notice hasn't expired(was supposed to expire in Feb 2003 in my case), they revalidated it until April 2003. So you should get a letter from your fiancee, stating that she's still willing to get married to you, and will marry within 90 days of your arrival into the States AND to request that they extend the petition(whether or not it has expired). Note that the letter doesn't have to be notarized...simply has to be signed by your fiancee.

The Montreal phone number is (514) 398- 9695, ext. 3833(try calling between 3:30 and 4:30 pm...otherwise you'll be kept on hold at most of the other time slot) and the email is Montreal-IV/[email protected]

I stayed right across the street from the US Consulate in Montreal at La Tour Centreville Hotel. If you want, I have the 1-800 number you can call to make reservations.

If you have any more questions regarding Montreal Consulate, let me know and I'll be more than willing to share my experience with you.

-Lil