Report on Montreal K1 interview

[mjk1 0]

Sorry for the long delay in posting this, but it`s been hectic.

The first step was the medical, which I had done at Medisys. It was quite perfunctory, which surprised me. A chest x-ray, eye/ear/throat inspection, and the doctor went over my list of meds which I had brought. (I had listed meds name, strength, and dosage). Then came an unexpected hitch...one of my meds was an antidepressant called Effexor. The doctor asked why I was on it, for how long, had I ever thought about getting off of it. I was thinking this was weird, and then he asked if I could get my doctor to fax him a letter stating why I was on it and that she (family doc) had been following my progress. I spent 3 nerve wracking days trying to get this done (doc was out of town, doc was busy, dealing with receptionist at my docs office who is a real...well, i`m sure you get it). I got it in the end though. I would suggest anyone taking an antidepressant get this letter before going and save yourself some grief. The doctor didn`t explain himself...I thought he was abrupt verging on rude. I was annoyed.

We had left aq 5 day gap between the medical and the interview (my fiancee and I) so we did a lot of walking and sightseeing. We scoped out the consulate ahead of time, it was a 10 min walk from our hotel (Holiday Inn). We went early, but not too early for our 9 am appointment, as it was pouring rain and we didn`t want to end up soaked. We stood in line about 10-15 mins and then went through security (much the same as airport security). They stress no backpacks or purses on the websites and in your info packets, but there were HUGE totes and backpacks being taken in with no problem. I thought that was odd. anyway, upstairs in the elevator, we stand in line, I show my passport at the window, and I can`t remember what else they asked for...maybe my appointment letter? anyway, we were issued a number/letter combination on a ticket and sat down and waited. We were then called to another window (we waited about an hour or so) where we submitted paperwork. The forms we had filled out, birth certificate, passport, pictures, etc. Then while I was doing this, my fiancee went to pay the fee. Then we discovered we were missing the DS156. I had read on the wbsite that it was no longer being used, and had been replaced by the DS160. I was told at the consulate that they were in the process of switching to the DS160, and we needed both. I was very nervous, and I was panicking over this form. (I actually had to sit down and put my head down so I wouldn`t faint...I know, i`m a wimp). The lady was ever so nice though, and said it wasn`t the end of the world, that we could go out to the waiting room where they had public comps and fill it out, hit print and it would print in her office. We did that, and waited a bit and all was well. Back to the waiting room.

Then we were called by name to a very small room (more like a booth) for our interview. The interviewer asked questions like where we had met, how many times I had been to visit, and about my fiancees job. He told her what he could (he works for a contracter to the US military, (he is ex-air force),, as a com tech. Because of security issues, that`s all he can say) I was holding my breath...I knew because of national security issues he couldn`t give any details, but he had a letter from his employer and income tax reports as well as banking info, so it was ok.

That was the only hurdle, and it wasn`t even much of an issue, like I said, I was just nervous. The magic words were said "you are approved" and my fiancee grabbed me, yelled wa-hoo and kissed me.

I asked how long it took to mail out the visa, as we wanted to spend xmas together. She said at least 3 weeks...if it came sooner, it would be a bonus, but as it was xmas, it might take the full three weeks. I said that we would likely miss xmas, but it couldn`t be helped. She asked when we were flying home, I said 'day after tomorrow'. She did some paper shuffling and stamping of documents and said she would push it through, and we could get it the next day at 3 o`clock. I thanked her happily, and we left. All in all it was a fairly smooth experiance...I had thought it would be much worse than it was, and the people working there were very VERY sweet, kind and patient.

[Sam and Ben 2]

Congratulations on the approval, and on having the visa in hand the next day. Glad to hear that the experience was mostly smooth for you both.

[Arabella 4]

Congratulations on the approval, and on having the visa in hand the next day. Glad to hear that the experience was mostly smooth for you both.

Grats on your approval!

[slider100 8]

:dance: Congratulations !!! :dance:

[Rhiannercakes 14]

Congratulations!

[kizza 1]

Congratulations

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Congrats on your approval! I'm glad you'll be stopping by woods on a snowy evening, rather than a Spring-thawed one!

All in all it was a fairly smooth experiance...I had thought it would be much worse than it was, and the people working there were very VERY sweet, kind and patient.

You know, I think pretty much every review has mentioned how nice the staff at the Consulate are...which always leads me to reiterate that the problem with the backlog at Montreal is definitely out of their hands. I'm convinced that these folks want to see us approved, and would make sure it was sooner rather than later if possible.

That's NOT brownnosing...it's just that people often complain about "Montreal" in an all-encompassing way, when the distinction really ought to be made between the Consulate itself, and the procedural issues that stem from higher levels.

Edited December 13, 2009 by Wyatt's Torch

[Danu 19]

Congrats on your approval! I'm glad you'll be stopping by woods on a snowy evening, rather than a Spring-thawed one!

All in all it was a fairly smooth experiance...I had thought it would be much worse than it was, and the people working there were very VERY sweet, kind and patient.

You know, I think pretty much every review has mentioned how nice the staff at the Consulate are...which always leads me to reiterate that the problem with the backlog at Montreal is definitely out of their hands. I'm convinced that these folks want to see us approved, and would make sure it was sooner rather than later if possible.

That's NOT brownnosing...it's just that people often complain about "Montreal" in an all-encompassing way, when the distinction really ought to be made between the Consulate itself, and the procedural issues that stem from higher levels.

Yeah I definately agree. I was told the issue is that theres certain visas that have number limits that they need to crank out priority so that other countries dont grab all of them. On top of that they have all the K1's for the east and all the CR1/IR1's to deal with, as well as dealing with any American citizens that have issues up here. Add staffing issues and the normal influx that they get in the fall due to the same influx we hit going through USCIS in the spring and its just a recipe for backlog. The people are so compassionate though and really try to help out. They love us for coming so prepared too!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Congrats on the approval, getting the visa the next day, and being able to spend Christmas in your new home! Lucky you missed this weeks ridiculous CO cold snap!

[sdw 10]

Congrats

[mjk1 0]

Thanks everyone! We are now at the stage of the final interview...at the end of this month. One major glitch...I had to have gall bladder surgery this week. It was a nasty surgery (If the surgeon is scared it does nothing for your piece of mind) and I am sick as a dog from the antibiotics. My husband is so sweet though, very patient and is looking after me like i`m gold. I hope I don`t have to reschedule the appointment...I don`t know how they would feel about that...