Approved!! IR-1 Interview

[chikarakobu 0]

On Monday, August 16th, I was officially welcomed to the USA! The interview went great except for a few minor hiccups.

Hiccup 1: My husband brought his cell phone (even though I had told him he couldn't) because he thought it would be OK as long as it was turned off. Luckily, it was still 6:50 or so at this point, so he was able to go back to our rental apartment to drop it off.

Hiccup 2: As soon as my husband left the apartment to come back to the consulate, the thunderstorm started. He arrived to the embassy soaked! Those of us at the front of the line all huddled under the very small covered area. The people in front and behind us were very nice (possibly K-1 VJers?)

Other than that, here's how it went down:

We got there just before 6:45 and there were already 2 groups of people in front of us. The couple at the very front got letter A, I don't know what happened to the people second in line because we (third in line) got letter B. We waited in the waiting area of the first floor, and then a few of us (maybe A-D?) were called into the elevator. There, we sat for about 15 minutes.

About 3 K-1ers got called up before I did. I think the person at my counter (a very nice young lady) was new because there was a guy looking over her shoulder at everything she was doing the whole time. She seemed to know what she was doing, and was very nice even though I kept screwing up the finger prints. This is what I was asked for:

2 pictures (the 2 previous ones I submitted with the I-130 were returned to me)

medical results in sealed envelope

my husband's (usc petitioner) 2009 tax return information.

Original marriage certificate

Original birth certificate

At one point, the lady asked, "is there anything else you'd like to submit" and I had no idea what to offer, since she already had the original DS-230 and affidavit of support.

After that, we sat and waited for the actual interview for about 20 minutes. A nice gentleman called us to one of the interview rooms and asked us questions like:

What do you do?

Have you lived anywhere other than Canada and Japan for more than 6 months?

(Can’t remember the exact wording, but something along the lines of) Have you ever been charged with a crime?

Have you ever been refused entry to the US?

Do you have a job lined up in the US?

He asked my husband:

How long have you lived in the US (he just became a naturalized citizen in September)

What do you do for work?

After that, he asked me to put my right thumb on a red scanner thing, and handed me the “welcome to the USA” letter. I think I got a little teary!

As we were walking out, the 2 K1ers congratulated us, another couple we hadn’t even seen asked us how it went, and even when we got outside, a man we recognized from the waiting room who must’ve gone out to buy an Expresspost envelope, asked us how it went and congratulated us! I guess we all can relate to each other…

We are staying at a rental apartment ($85/night) about 20 minutes from the Consulate, on the border of the Plateau area. It’s called Studios Montreal. They have several locations around town, some of which as closer to the consulate. They also have a B&B if you don’t need a kitchen. http://www.studiosmontreal.com/

Good luck to all those whose interviews are coming up, and a big thank you to those who posted their reviews and gave such helpful advice. Sorry if this review isn’t very detailed… I still can’t believe I’ve been approved!!

[slider100 8]

Congratulations!

KnR aka slider100

[birdnerd 5]

That's awesome, chika.

[mtlgato 2]

Congratulations!

Too bad about the thunderstorm. Montreal does have pretty rough weather. If it's not freezing cold, it's usually hot and potentially thunderstormy!

Anyway, so glad you're done and can move on with your life!!!!

C.

On Monday, August 16th, I was officially welcomed to the USA! The interview went great except for a few minor hiccups.

Hiccup 1: My husband brought his cell phone (even though I had told him he couldn't) because he thought it would be OK as long as it was turned off. Luckily, it was still 6:50 or so at this point, so he was able to go back to our rental apartment to drop it off.

Hiccup 2: As soon as my husband left the apartment to come back to the consulate, the thunderstorm started. He arrived to the embassy soaked! Those of us at the front of the line all huddled under the very small covered area. The people in front and behind us were very nice (possibly K-1 VJers?)

Other than that, here's how it went down:

We got there just before 6:45 and there were already 2 groups of people in front of us. The couple at the very front got letter A, I don't know what happened to the people second in line because we (third in line) got letter B. We waited in the waiting area of the first floor, and then a few of us (maybe A-D?) were called into the elevator. There, we sat for about 15 minutes.

About 3 K-1ers got called up before I did. I think the person at my counter (a very nice young lady) was new because there was a guy looking over her shoulder at everything she was doing the whole time. She seemed to know what she was doing, and was very nice even though I kept screwing up the finger prints. This is what I was asked for:

2 pictures (the 2 previous ones I submitted with the I-130 were returned to me)

medical results in sealed envelope

my husband's (usc petitioner) 2009 tax return information.

Original marriage certificate

Original birth certificate

At one point, the lady asked, "is there anything else you'd like to submit" and I had no idea what to offer, since she already had the original DS-230 and affidavit of support.

After that, we sat and waited for the actual interview for about 20 minutes. A nice gentleman called us to one of the interview rooms and asked us questions like:

What do you do?

Have you lived anywhere other than Canada and Japan for more than 6 months?

(Can’t remember the exact wording, but something along the lines of) Have you ever been charged with a crime?

Have you ever been refused entry to the US?

Do you have a job lined up in the US?

He asked my husband:

How long have you lived in the US (he just became a naturalized citizen in September)

What do you do for work?

After that, he asked me to put my right thumb on a red scanner thing, and handed me the “welcome to the USA” letter. I think I got a little teary!

As we were walking out, the 2 K1ers congratulated us, another couple we hadn’t even seen asked us how it went, and even when we got outside, a man we recognized from the waiting room who must’ve gone out to buy an Expresspost envelope, asked us how it went and congratulated us! I guess we all can relate to each other…

We are staying at a rental apartment ($85/night) about 20 minutes from the Consulate, on the border of the Plateau area. It’s called Studios Montreal. They have several locations around town, some of which as closer to the consulate. They also have a B&B if you don’t need a kitchen. http://www.studiosmontreal.com/

Good luck to all those whose interviews are coming up, and a big thank you to those who posted their reviews and gave such helpful advice. Sorry if this review isn’t very detailed… I still can’t believe I’ve been approved!!

[OBX 51]

Congratulations!

[sdw 10]

Congrats

[Craig-n-Jacquie 0]

A big congrats.....safe travels