Confirmation

Just called DOS up. They confirmed the case was at the US Consulate in Montreal. The operator couldn't give me the exact date it was received, she just said it was sometime between Monday and today. As long as my case is there, that's good enough for me!

~Lindsay

Shipment delivered

So, according to DHL's website, with the tracking number I found yesterday, the shipment arrived in Montreal this afternoon at 12:36pm and signed by "IRENA". Whether or not my case was actually in that shipment, I'm not 100% sure, but I have a good feeling it was. I'm going to call up DOS tomorrow and see if an operator can confirm that my case has indeed been received by the US Consulate in Montreal.

~Lindsay

P.S. Wow, two posts in one day!

Booked my medical

Just called up Medisys and asked them a few questions (since their website is lacking in any kind of information on the medical). There are two places available in Montreal for medicals. I already had most of my answers for Dr Seidens from their website. I decided to go with Medisys since it was $35 cheaper. And when I called and asked about butterfly needles (I've been told they're easier to get to the vein and less painful), the guy on the phone told me they were available! So, I called back a few minutes after my Q&A and asked to be booked for a medical. I got scheduled for April 6th (next week!!!) at 10am.

I am now going to freak out for the next week about the blood test as I have mentioned before that I hate needles. And I've never had a blood test done before either. Hoping I don't pass out or anything. If anyone has any suggestions to help my blood test go smoother, please, please, please leave a comment. I already know I'm not going to watch and that I'll lie down if possible. I've also heard that drinking a lot of water ahead of time helps with blood circulation, as well as keeping warm. Anything else?

~Lindsay

Case sent to Montreal

I called an operator up yesterday to see if our case has been shipped to the US Consulate in Montreal. According to John, it had been sent on March 28th, the day I called. When I called the AVR this morning, it confirmed: "NVC has completed the processing of this application and has forwarded it to the embassy or consulate in Montreal on March 28th, 2011. Please contact the embassy or consulate for further questions."

Now, a couple of months ago, I found this thread with instructions on how you can track your case from NVC to the US Embassy or Consulate. You go to DHL.com and select 'Track by Reference' under the Track option. You then put in "EXP 28 MAR 2011A" as the reference number (changing the dates according to your case). Hit 'Track', and a bunch of shipments should appear, going to numerous countries. Now the thread I found said to use the day before the case was sent out as the reference number, but the day before for our case was a Sunday. I tried using Friday's date, but there were no cases sent to Canada. But when I used Monday's date, there was a shipment heading to Montreal, Canada.

If for whatever reason you want to track my case along with me, just use tracking number: 8768131783 and put it in the box here. I'm not 100% positive of course that my case is included in that shipment, but I'd say it's a very good chance. I also have signed up for email notifications on the shipment, but I'm crazy, so :D

I think I'll call up DOS a day after I see the shipment has been delivered to see if my case was received by Montreal, just to be sure.

~Lindsay

Very touching article

Back in November, I wrote a post about a mass transfer of I-130 files from CSC to TSC. I have been following the thread created on the topic from day 1 and still continue to do so. One man, Wade Grant, frustrated with how inefficient the process was going for him, reached out to the media to raise awareness of this issue. Finally, after weeks, a news agency picked up his story and wrote an article which was just published online today. I encourage each and every one of you to read his touching story and spread the news article. Everyone should be aware of how broken this system can really be. Forget about illegal immigration, let's focus on how the legal system really works, or in reality, how it's not working.

Article can be found here.

~Lindsay

Interview letter received

Very, very short update:

So, at 6am on Saturday, both Ben and I received the interview package by email. If you want to see screenshots, go here.

~Lindsay

INTERVIEW DATE ASSIGNED!!!

Omg!! It's been about 30 minutes and I'm still shaking.

So, two people on VJ got interview dates assigned today. I was super excited! So, I decided to call DOS an hour early, I was just feeling good about it. I called, asked if an interview date had been assigned and gave over my NVC case number. I was put on hold for a bit and then she came back and repeated the case number to verify. Usually they don't ask the case number again, so I was getting excited. She then asked the petitioner's name; I got even more excited. She finally said the interview date was assigned! I heard her say May 13th, at 8am. I then called up NVC to see if they had this date as well. Gary, the operator, said he had good news for me and that an interview date had been assigned for May 3rd, at 8am. I must have heard the DOS operator wrong, it wasn't the 13th, but the 3rd. Just in case though, I called another NVC operator to verify, and it is indeed May 3rd! :D

Just waiting on the interview letter now. Should get it either today or sometime soon. The operator said I should get it by the latest by the end of next week.

I'm going to call up the two panel physicians in Montreal next week and ask a few questions I have about the medical. Then I'll figure out which place to get my medical done and then book it for sometime in April.

I am so glad I didn't listen to all the operators who told me they only schedule interviews in the second week and to not call back again until the second week of April. It was complete lies and I knew it. And now, I'm proof of that. It's the fourth week, yet my interview was assigned!

~Lindsay