CR1 at Montreal Consulate - Got it today!

[Madhavi 1]

So just wanted to share with everyone my experience and give some tips.

1) Firstly, address on the letter was wrong! They said it was 315 Place d'Youville, Montreal.. but instead it is actually 1155 Rue St. Alexandre! Good thing I got there an hour early so I could go in time to the correct location before they opened the doors.

2) Its totally outdoors without a shade. I was super scared that it was going to rain but fortunately it didn't. So advice - make sure you were a jacket with a hoodie - do not take an umbrella as they may not let you take that in!!!

3) After the opened the doors, the guy wouldn't let me bring my bag in even though it wasn't oversized. He let some other people take their bags and that was just weird. I had to throw my bag away because I didn't want to go bad to the hotel just to leave a bag. So make sure you take your documents only in a plastic bag which they seemed to allow.

4) There is no storage or lockers at the Montreal Consulate so don't even think of getting MP3 Players, Cell Phones etc. The coffee shop nearby keeps your items for a $10-$15 charge for emergencies.

5) After the guy checked the bag, they asked me if I registered for my DHL, which I had.. but they never said anywhere that I needed to get the confirmation number..so I (and MANY other people) were sent back to get that number or to register as we can't take cell phones right. And since it was 7:30am and the office opens only at 8.. we had to just wait. Fortunately for me, I called my husband and he had the number handy so it wasn't so bad but the others were there till 8:20ish

6) After getting in, it was fairly quick for them to check my documents. It helps to have them all labeled with a post it and it makes it faster.

7) Then was the torturous wait for the interview. For some reason, they didn't seem to go in order. I was 4th in line but people who came after me went before. My theory is that if you have small kids, they interview you earlier. It was quite boring as there are no magazines and TV plays some weird movies. Advice: Take a book or a magazine with you because there is a good chance you are going to wait a while!!!!

8) Finally after being there for nearly 2 hours (since they checked my documents) I was called for the interview. It was very smooth.. She made me say the oath and then asked me 2 questions.. How come I travel a lot and how I met my husband. After that, she gave me the letter saying visa was approved. I timed it - it took 6 minutes from the time I took the oath! That made me super happy :-)

Overall it was an okay experience. I was not impressed about the fact that there were so many misleading information especially about location and DHL services. Hope this helps other Canadians :-)

[Sandra G. 5,048]

Congrats.

[palhaço 2]

Congratulations!