Visa Approved! :)

[badspellor 0]

Well it's been 14 months and we've finally gotten our visa. Here's a brief review of our interview and POE experience:

We arrived in MTL on the 8th, the day before the interview and scoped out where the consulate was. We found the SNC-Lavalin building on the north corner of Rene-Levesque and Alexander - simple enough. We were going to ride the metro the next day to the interview but it ended up pouring down rain so I parked 2 blocks away (one Northeast, one southeast) in a $9 all day parking. It would have cost $8 round trip for the both of us on the metro anyway so no biggie. Got there around 7:15 and were the first ones at the door. A few more arrived before 7:30 when they opened the doors. Have your appointment letter and passport in hand. You need it before you can even proceed through security. We got letter A even after 2 got in front of us due to the delay with removing the key (they were non-immigrant visas). Security allowed purses and bags but kept anything electronic including car keys with the remote opener built in. He wouldn't take all the keys, he had to take off just that one. Okay. I could keep my wristwatch and didn't need to remove it for the metal detector. A guy in the back looks at the Xray calling out the number of electronic devices he sees and the other guard removes them. The shelves in the back hold your stuff until you're done inside. We got Door pushes then pulls open, down stairs and sit and wait for another guard until 7:45. There's a photo booth there, only $4 for pictures! Sure is a lot cheaper than passport photos! Guard leads us into the front of the elevator and takes our letters. We go up to the 19th floor (only other option is 22nd). Exit out rear of elevator and proceed left into an open area with lots of windows looking out over the city. There are washrooms, pop and vending machines up here. The walls were adorned with scenes of America. The elevator guard takes the letters around back. Shortly we get called up. She went through all our documents and verified our information was all correct and complete. She asked for the Xpresspost envelope. I asked if we could pick up the visa the next day at noon and she said no, go buy an envelope and come back. I got a "hall pass" for 8:30am and went northeast up Alexander to the Pharmaprix on the corner to buy the $16 envelope. Brought back the envelope just as we got called for the fingerprints (beneficiary of course) and had much difficulty with the machine getting acceptable prints. Sat back down and got called to a "window" that was really a door. Went inside and got sworn in. Questions were easy and limited. How/when did we meet, when was the proposal, visits to the states (how often, duration). She said she saw no reason not to approve us. She looked at the Xpresspost envelope and noticed the address was different than what was on the petition. I explained that we were hoping to pick up the visa tomorrow at noon but ... and she said, well how about tomorrow at 3pm? Perfect! So she gave us back the Xpresspost envelope, I have no idea what we'll do with it, and gave us a hall pass to get in the next day. Another couple with an IV saw us leave with the Xpresspost envelope and approached me asking if they needed to have it. I told him that we asked the interviewer if we could pick it up the next day and they said we could so that's why the envelope came back with us. We were out before 10am. Could have parked at a meter! Came back the next day, probably 3:08 due to heavy traffic with two lanes closed on the 720 into town. Just parked on the street and waited there. There was ours and one other visa waiting to be picked up.

3:30 we were on the road, but it was like a parking lot. Took over an hour just to get to Vaudreuil-Dorion on 20. Stopped at Tim's one last time for supper. Lineup at 1000 islands was about 400m long due to transport trucks blocking access to the car lanes. Finally got there and I was the second car in the line of the right lane and the guy in the front gets a thorough run through his car and trunk in primary. Finally he sends him to secondary and walks his ID into the office and blocks off the lane with an orange barrel leaving the light green. I back out to use the other lane. This guy in front of me is in a pickup truck. Next thing I know, the officer is yelling, get out of the car! Get out of the car! Hands behind your back! Well, isn't this great. Finally the officer from the original lane returns, moves the barrel and I back out and into the lane yet again. I say hello to the officer, he says, "Hi, how are you?" "Good, we're here to activate a CR-1 visa" "Oh! Congratulations!" He takes our passports, fills out a little square white piece of paper, puts the car's licence plate number and state/province abbreviation on it and instructs us to park in the lanes to the right under the canopy where they do the secondary inspection. We're greeted down there and she asks what brings us to secondary. I explain that we're there to activate the visa and she too offered her congratulations. Heck, everyone at this POE was very friendly. To us anyway, maybe not so much to the criminal they turned around earlier hahaha. She took my keys and pointed us the way to inside. Wasn't too long and we were asked for the packet from the embassy. The officer joked around with us and used our case to train someone else there how to process the CR-1. By the way, neither the consulate nor the POE wanted the Xray so I'm glad I didn't waste the money on getting one, CD or film. Had to do two right index finger ink fingerprints onto paper and sign. They stamped a lot of things including the passport right at the crease between the visa (a really fancy full page sticker on the next to last page of the passport) and the adjoining page. No "Welcome to the US" but didn't matter to us. Just happy about the 0 hassle factor and the friendliness. The sun was set at this point and it took us until 4am after a 90 minute nap to get home. Finally done, until removal of conditions!

Ah, so much for brief!

[MrsCat 6]

Yeah for you two! Great thorough review.

Congrats and Welcome to the United States badspellor(s)!

[Flames9_RN 358]

Great review. Congrarts

[raymaga 25]

Congrats on the visa and your move to the U.S.

[Emancipation 2]

Welcome home!

[Zee Bee 61]

Congratulations

[KarenCee 3]

Congratulations badspellor...and welcome to the US!!

[BH45 0]

Congrats and welcome to the US !!!

[brown_eyes 0]

Yay! What a great story!

[Mina76 0]

That's great, Congratulations and Welcome to the USA!!!

[antda 13]

Hi Badspellor,

Congratulations on getting your CR-1 visa approved and finally arriving here in the USA with your visa. Glad too that you didn't have any problems at your POE experience coming over. Thanks for sharing your detailed immigration story/experience on this message thread. By the way, you can post your story/experience under the "reviews" section on VJ too.

In the meantime, "Welcome to America, Badspellor!" and enjoy your time here in America.

And yes, don't forget to file the I-751 two years minus 90 days later.

Ant

Well it's been 14 months and we've finally gotten our visa. Here's a brief review of our interview and POE experience:

We arrived in MTL on the 8th, the day before the interview and scoped out where the consulate was. We found the SNC-Lavalin building on the north corner of Rene-Levesque and Alexander - simple enough. We were going to ride the metro the next day to the interview but it ended up pouring down rain so I parked 2 blocks away (one Northeast, one southeast) in a $9 all day parking. It would have cost $8 round trip for the both of us on the metro anyway so no biggie. Got there around 7:15 and were the first ones at the door. A few more arrived before 7:30 when they opened the doors. Have your appointment letter and passport in hand. You need it before you can even proceed through security. We got letter A even after 2 got in front of us due to the delay with removing the key (they were non-immigrant visas). Security allowed purses and bags but kept anything electronic including car keys with the remote opener built in. He wouldn't take all the keys, he had to take off just that one. Okay. I could keep my wristwatch and didn't need to remove it for the metal detector. A guy in the back looks at the Xray calling out the number of electronic devices he sees and the other guard removes them. The shelves in the back hold your stuff until you're done inside. We got Door pushes then pulls open, down stairs and sit and wait for another guard until 7:45. There's a photo booth there, only $4 for pictures! Sure is a lot cheaper than passport photos! Guard leads us into the front of the elevator and takes our letters. We go up to the 19th floor (only other option is 22nd). Exit out rear of elevator and proceed left into an open area with lots of windows looking out over the city. There are washrooms, pop and vending machines up here. The walls were adorned with scenes of America. The elevator guard takes the letters around back. Shortly we get called up. She went through all our documents and verified our information was all correct and complete. She asked for the Xpresspost envelope. I asked if we could pick up the visa the next day at noon and she said no, go buy an envelope and come back. I got a "hall pass" for 8:30am and went northeast up Alexander to the Pharmaprix on the corner to buy the $16 envelope. Brought back the envelope just as we got called for the fingerprints (beneficiary of course) and had much difficulty with the machine getting acceptable prints. Sat back down and got called to a "window" that was really a door. Went inside and got sworn in. Questions were easy and limited. How/when did we meet, when was the proposal, visits to the states (how often, duration). She said she saw no reason not to approve us. She looked at the Xpresspost envelope and noticed the address was different than what was on the petition. I explained that we were hoping to pick up the visa tomorrow at noon but ... and she said, well how about tomorrow at 3pm? Perfect! So she gave us back the Xpresspost envelope, I have no idea what we'll do with it, and gave us a hall pass to get in the next day. Another couple with an IV saw us leave with the Xpresspost envelope and approached me asking if they needed to have it. I told him that we asked the interviewer if we could pick it up the next day and they said we could so that's why the envelope came back with us. We were out before 10am. Could have parked at a meter! Came back the next day, probably 3:08 due to heavy traffic with two lanes closed on the 720 into town. Just parked on the street and waited there. There was ours and one other visa waiting to be picked up.

3:30 we were on the road, but it was like a parking lot. Took over an hour just to get to Vaudreuil-Dorion on 20. Stopped at Tim's one last time for supper. Lineup at 1000 islands was about 400m long due to transport trucks blocking access to the car lanes. Finally got there and I was the second car in the line of the right lane and the guy in the front gets a thorough run through his car and trunk in primary. Finally he sends him to secondary and walks his ID into the office and blocks off the lane with an orange barrel leaving the light green. I back out to use the other lane. This guy in front of me is in a pickup truck. Next thing I know, the officer is yelling, get out of the car! Get out of the car! Hands behind your back! Well, isn't this great. Finally the officer from the original lane returns, moves the barrel and I back out and into the lane yet again. I say hello to the officer, he says, "Hi, how are you?" "Good, we're here to activate a CR-1 visa" "Oh! Congratulations!" He takes our passports, fills out a little square white piece of paper, puts the car's licence plate number and state/province abbreviation on it and instructs us to park in the lanes to the right under the canopy where they do the secondary inspection. We're greeted down there and she asks what brings us to secondary. I explain that we're there to activate the visa and she too offered her congratulations. Heck, everyone at this POE was very friendly. To us anyway, maybe not so much to the criminal they turned around earlier hahaha. She took my keys and pointed us the way to inside. Wasn't too long and we were asked for the packet from the embassy. The officer joked around with us and used our case to train someone else there how to process the CR-1. By the way, neither the consulate nor the POE wanted the Xray so I'm glad I didn't waste the money on getting one, CD or film. Had to do two right index finger ink fingerprints onto paper and sign. They stamped a lot of things including the passport right at the crease between the visa (a really fancy full page sticker on the next to last page of the passport) and the adjoining page. No "Welcome to the US" but didn't matter to us. Just happy about the 0 hassle factor and the friendliness. The sun was set at this point and it took us until 4am after a 90 minute nap to get home. Finally done, until removal of conditions!

Ah, so much for brief!

[SpiritAlight 1]

Wow, great writing Badspellor.

Congrats on your next phase of your life!

[Carlawarla 1]

Congratulations and Welcome to the USA!

[Alexandra_v 0]

congratulations !!!!!

[badspellor 0]

Thanks everyone for the congrats! I do plan on adding a full review in the Reviews: Embassy/USCIS & POE section eventually. This one was just kind of hastily written ;-)