interview in MTL tomorrow (Sept 8)?

[molson 0]

hello, I'm just wondering if any visajourney users will be interviewing at MTL tomorrow morning, Sept 8...? if so, my husband and I will see you there!

good luck to all with upcoming interviews!

[trailmix 77]

Good luck to you tomorrow Molson...will be looking for your review..and approval of course!

[MrsCat 6]

good luck Molson! Best wishes tomorrow. Not sure that I saw anyone else with the same interview date.

[WaitForever 0]

I wish we were there with you! I think we missed the cutoff for a September interview. Congrats and good luck. I'd be curious to know if there are any K1 folks there with you - please let us know how it goes and I'd also like to know if there were a lot of people there waiting or not. I have this theory that they don't schedule a lot of interviews in September. Good Luck!

[naviomelo 0]

Good luck, I'm sure it'll go well!

[Carlawarla 1]

Best Wishes Molson!

I wish we were there with you! I think we missed the cutoff for a September interview. Congrats and good luck. I'd be curious to know if there are any K1 folks there with you - please let us know how it goes and I'd also like to know if there were a lot of people there waiting or not. I have this theory that they don't schedule a lot of interviews in September. Good Luck!

I would think that there is only a miniscule number of K-1 visa interviewees here on VJ.

[ChasingAmy 0]

Best Wishes Molson!

I wish we were there with you! I think we missed the cutoff for a September interview. Congrats and good luck. I'd be curious to know if there are any K1 folks there with you - please let us know how it goes and I'd also like to know if there were a lot of people there waiting or not. I have this theory that they don't schedule a lot of interviews in September. Good Luck!

I would think that there is only a miniscule number of K-1 visa interviewees here on VJ.

I sooo wish I was one of the miniscule numbers. Maybe next month I'll get my interview. *sigh*

[Flames9_RN 358]

Best of luck!!

[BH45 0]

Good luck Molson.

[MrsCat 6]

I'd be curious to know if there are any K1 folks there with you - please let us know how it goes and I'd also like to know if there were a lot of people there waiting or not. I have this theory that they don't schedule a lot of interviews in September.

I hate to break it to you - but the waiting room was full (as of August). There are many other services that the consulate performs other than just spousal/fiancee visa interviews. First thing in the morning there were only 4 of us in the K-1/CR-1 category. The other 60 or so people were there for a multitude of other reasons.

I am curious what your theory is that the don't schedule a lot of interviews in September?

In order to get a true sense of scheduling, you'd have to look at numbers provided by Montreal specifically. While VJ has many members, this is hardly a scientific valid representation of the population seeking K-1/CR-1 interviews in Montreal.

If you take my interview a few weeks ago as an example, 1/2 of the people were on VJ (that being 2/4). This is a not a reliable number to draw any relevance from since I cannot even imagine how many interviews there actually were in August for Montreal. Who knows how many people walked through the door after me.

Just because people on VJ aren't getting interviews for September really doesn't mean that no one is getting them, probably people in the regular world who aren't on VJ are getting them.

Here is my assumption - I think they're probably increasing the number of interviews that they are doing starting in September. When I spoke with my interviewer, he mentioned that a lot of people had been on summer vacation. Thereby decreasing the number of applicants they can go through. Typically, when fall comes, most people are done with vacation and staffing is back to near 100%. I would assume this means that they are able to schedule more interviews.

WaitForever - please know that I am not criticizing how you're spending your time while you're waiting to be with your beloved. Lord knows we've all been there.

And I know you're thinking in your head - "yeah, yeah, you can speak so calmly because you're done now." That might be true. I've had those thoughts too when we were applying and it seemed like everyone who had completed the process were telling me the same thing. But you'll both get through it.

After a time, I found that it was completely useless to presume how and when our file would be done. Me and a couple at our interview were one of the many who had our packages stuck at USCIS for 7-8 months. For no other reason than, we just happened to get into the wrong box. The more I obsessed about where our file was, the nastier I became. Finally - after listening to months of my b*tch, whining and moaning, my husband told me it was enough. Things would get done and shut it. Worrying about how many others who were sent in after us, wasn't going to change our circumstance. He was right. Thankfully a few weeks later, we got our approval.

Just a few months ago, I was predicting we'd be done in early October. Well it seems that NVC does subscribe to my telepathic channels and squeezed me into the last date of August. Whew.

I dunno - I guess you just have to ask yourself, is predicting what NVC/USCIS does going to change your circumstances? Is doing this going to create a positive effect for you and your relationship? If you can say yes - you're getting satisfaction from setting up a timeline for others, then perfect. Hold on to that meaning, and run with it. But if it is just making a little more angry by the day and wearing on you - stop.

Start doing the things you're gonna miss when you leave. Live in the moment - go for a ride, take pictures of your home, go for coffee with friends and don't talk about your visa process, bake something utterly delicious and gorge, call your sweetie and talk about the past (your first date, how you met, your first phone call). Remember all of those things that brought you joy before you started this insanely drawn out process - and engage.

Sorry to hijack your thread molson. Please start a new one for your actual review. No one needs to read one of my rants.

[WaitForever 0]

So cat: I understand that vj does not represent everyone - however its the only statistical sample I can use. I am trying to set expectations for myself, and hopefully for other VJers. You know that it all has to do with perception. If you think an interview is going to come through in August and it doesn't come through until October, then you are annoyed and agitated. If you thought it was coming in December and it comes in October, then you are elated. Unfortunately for us, we have to deal with the black hole which is this process - its like trying to predict the future by killing an animal and reading its entrails. I pore over stats and calculate things in order to attempt to get a better picture of when our process will end. If they just came out and told us - say had some kind of online status - or were a bit more forthcoming with information then maybe we wouldn't be doing this. This is actually helping me determine when to expect the appointment letter. It looks like they reduce the number of interviews in September, and then ramp back up in October and November. August should have been busy month, as you noticed. So now I now that I can expect my packet 4 between now and the end of this month, instead of expecting it late last month and getting irritated that its not here yet. So I can think about other things - secure in the knowledge that its not supposed to be here yet, so its not time to worry. Yet.

Oh ya...ditto for hijacking your thread. Sorry about that ....

Edited September 8, 2008 by WaitForever

[molson 0]

Thank you all for your good wishes! We were approved!

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post. We've had a crazy week getting everything ready.

Unfortunately, I cannot add any substantial information to the discussion about who and how many interviews are scheduled in September or the categories of visas the people who were there on Monday had applied for. There were around three others who arrived after us at the Consulate. Not to profile them, but none appeared to be spousal-based immigrants. (There was a father-son couple, a mother-daughter couple, and two other girls). Many others came in and out while we were in the waiting room, most of whom stopped first at the cashier, but I have no idea what they were there for.

As recommended earlier in this thread, I will post a separate review of our day.

Thank you all again for your supportive comments!

[WaitForever 0]

CONGRATULATIONS! Understand its totally anecdotal but it sounds like there weren't a lot of others there for any interview. I'll need to go over other peoples accounts on other months to see if there is anything to my theory. Thanks for the update!