luggage, interview, hotel, and where to store

[flowingly 0]

so i have these huge xrays and xpresspost envelope, can i take them with me on the plane? do they have to be in some luggage of some sort, or can we not have it carry-on? we'd have to hold them on our laps. also said on site about planes and stuff we can take on can only be in a plastic bag and less than 1 oz. umm, what about my opened makeup items and stuff? i guess i can just use the hotel shampoo, but the hotel doesnt have makeup for me, haha. do they have to be in a plastic bag IN my purse? said only plastic bags on the site. so no purses? i'm so confused. then our interview is at 8:30am, so we'd check out of the hotel before we leave or we'd have to pay for an extra day (and our plane back is at 5:30, so we have enough time). so, while we're at the interview and checked out of the hotel, where do we store our bags and my purse? my husband said he read on this site of some cafe across the street from montreal consulate that has lockboxes or lockers or something to purchase for storage. can anyone tell me about those? where? how much? how big?

thanks! i'm so nervous and worried now. we're leaving like 2am wednesday morning to drive to toronto.

[Cassie 8]

so i have these huge xrays and xpresspost envelope, can i take them with me on the plane? do they have to be in some luggage of some sort, or can we not have it carry-on? we'd have to hold them on our laps. also said on site about planes and stuff we can take on can only be in a plastic bag and less than 1 oz. umm, what about my opened makeup items and stuff? i guess i can just use the hotel shampoo, but the hotel doesnt have makeup for me, haha. do they have to be in a plastic bag IN my purse? said only plastic bags on the site. so no purses? i'm so confused. then our interview is at 8:30am, so we'd check out of the hotel before we leave or we'd have to pay for an extra day (and our plane back is at 5:30, so we have enough time). so, while we're at the interview and checked out of the hotel, where do we store our bags and my purse? my husband said he read on this site of some cafe across the street from montreal consulate that has lockboxes or lockers or something to purchase for storage. can anyone tell me about those? where? how much? how big?

thanks! i'm so nervous and worried now. we're leaving like 2am wednesday morning to drive to toronto.

1. roll up the x-ray (DO NOT CREASE IT) and put it in a cardboard mailing tube, much easier to transport. I personally took all my evidence with me in a carry-on bag because I did not want to risk the possibility of putting it in checked luggage and having the airlines lose my luggage.

2. If you stay at the Hotel Centre-Ville across the street, they have a storage room for luggage for their customers, even if you are checking out that morning (they are very used to having people staying there for interviews the next day). If you are not staying there, there was a cafe right next door that will keep your stuff for a fee ($5, but that was a couple of years ago). I am not sure if they still do that or not.

3. If you are taking everything as carry-on on the plane, you will have to conform to their regulations. Makeup (as far as I can remember) should be ok, it's the aerosol cans and gels and such they have a problem with.....or you can just put all that stuff in checked luggage and they won't care. If you take any of that stuff on the plane with you, have it in a case or something that the customs/security people can see it or reach it easily.

4. You can have a purse in the consulate, but it has to be small. No huge bags, no backpacks, etc. I carried all my evidence in a strong plastic bag and that was fine. The security people at the front door are very thorough and will turn you back if you don't follow the rules.

[flowingly 0]

1. roll up the x-ray (DO NOT CREASE IT) and put it in a cardboard mailing tube, much easier to transport. I personally took all my evidence with me in a carry-on bag because I did not want to risk the possibility of putting it in checked luggage and having the airlines lose my luggage.

2. If you stay at the Hotel Centre-Ville across the street, they have a storage room for luggage for their customers, even if you are checking out that morning (they are very used to having people staying there for interviews the next day). If you are not staying there, there was a cafe right next door that will keep your stuff for a fee ($5, but that was a couple of years ago). I am not sure if they still do that or not.

3. If you are taking everything as carry-on on the plane, you will have to conform to their regulations. Makeup (as far as I can remember) should be ok, it's the aerosol cans and gels and such they have a problem with.....or you can just put all that stuff in checked luggage and they won't care. If you take any of that stuff on the plane with you, have it in a case or something that the customs/security people can see it or reach it easily.

4. You can have a purse in the consulate, but it has to be small. No huge bags, no backpacks, etc. I carried all my evidence in a strong plastic bag and that was fine. The security people at the front door are very thorough and will turn you back if you don't follow the rules.

thank you. no, we are staying at a different hotel, but i'm glad to hear about the cafe. PHEW! its been a few years since i've flown, gym-bag-sized bags are still considered carry-on size, correct? i figure we could be very careful and just half-roll the xrays in it. i wish the xrays were sealed like the medical, hah. i keep worrying itll fly out or something. i assume the cafe doesnt just keep our stuff like behind the counter, but in some sort of more private non-accessable area? on a lighter note, i hear montreal is beautiful, i wish i wasnt there for business, hehe. although we're getting there early the day before to check out the city

[Cassie 8]

1. roll up the x-ray (DO NOT CREASE IT) and put it in a cardboard mailing tube, much easier to transport. I personally took all my evidence with me in a carry-on bag because I did not want to risk the possibility of putting it in checked luggage and having the airlines lose my luggage.

2. If you stay at the Hotel Centre-Ville across the street, they have a storage room for luggage for their customers, even if you are checking out that morning (they are very used to having people staying there for interviews the next day). If you are not staying there, there was a cafe right next door that will keep your stuff for a fee ($5, but that was a couple of years ago). I am not sure if they still do that or not.

3. If you are taking everything as carry-on on the plane, you will have to conform to their regulations. Makeup (as far as I can remember) should be ok, it's the aerosol cans and gels and such they have a problem with.....or you can just put all that stuff in checked luggage and they won't care. If you take any of that stuff on the plane with you, have it in a case or something that the customs/security people can see it or reach it easily.

4. You can have a purse in the consulate, but it has to be small. No huge bags, no backpacks, etc. I carried all my evidence in a strong plastic bag and that was fine. The security people at the front door are very thorough and will turn you back if you don't follow the rules.

thank you. no, we are staying at a different hotel, but i'm glad to hear about the cafe. PHEW! its been a few years since i've flown, gym-bag-sized bags are still considered carry-on size, correct? i figure we could be very careful and just half-roll the xrays in it. i wish the xrays were sealed like the medical, hah. i keep worrying itll fly out or something. i assume the cafe doesnt just keep our stuff like behind the counter, but in some sort of more private non-accessable area? on a lighter note, i hear montreal is beautiful, i wish i wasnt there for business, hehe. although we're getting there early the day before to check out the city

I don't know about the cafe, I only bought something there, I didn't use their storage facilities. Maybe search around more of the Canada forum to see if anyone describes it. As far as the x-ray is concerned, either roll it up and protect it in a cardboard tube or lie it flat in a bag. If you get a crease in it, it damages the integrity of the image and basically renders it useless (my mom was an x-ray technician and this is what she told me). As far as teh size of your carryon bags, many airlines have dimensions on their websites, you might want to check it out.

[Tinker 0]

As far as the liquid, it's 3oz bottles, stored in a 1 quart clear ziploc bag, that you will have to produce and show security as you go through, have it easily accessable!!!

Airport security is really strict on the size, they'll even pull your toothpaste if it's more then 3oz, so take a used tube.

Liquid makeup is normally 3oz and under, so you should be alright that way.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Most hotels wil allow you to store stuff there for a few hours if you ask nicely.

[bowflex 0]

Thank you all for helping her out We're getting pretty antsy now after all the waiting to make sure this goes right With any luck at this time tomorrow we'll be having a great experience, preparing to get her stuff moved back and have her with me next week!

[bowflex 0]

Thank you all for helping her out We're getting pretty antsy now after all the waiting to make sure this goes right With any luck at this time tomorrow we'll be having a great experience, preparing to get her stuff moved back and have her with me next week!

Note: I'm losing tracks of days, will be 2 days (Thursday), stupid work days leading up to the trip are destroying my time skills

[Emancipation 2]

The express envelope, i folded up and placed safely into the accordian file folder - after i of course jotted down the tracking number hee hee..

I just put a rubber band around my x-rays, took them to the consulate and had "Wicket Lady" tell me that they were only for the reference of my new American Dr. and i would not need them for the interview. Better safe than sorry I figure but that is what she told me.

As far as the plane goes, put all your liquids in the plastic bag, and whether it's in your purse or your luggage, they will ask you to pull the plastic bag out for a look see. (I just brought as little of that stuff with me when flying into Montreal- i figured i didn't have to have the full "tada" look for the consular officers)

[Mephys 2]

just a note about the purse?? how small is small enough..

I go one that can barely fit a wallet and a cell phone in it ( cell phone just a size reference, no im not bringing mine )

So would that be alright ? even if there is a small pocket inside it? ill empty it anyways.

[Emancipation 2]

The less you take with you the faster you reach the interview floor

Honestly... I saw the officers go through a woman's purse.. like took EVERYTHING out, and it held them up through security, and we got ahead of them in the line up as a result! But 5-10 minutes they arrived upstairs - it didn't appear that the purse ment they couldn't enter the building, and they were interviewed - so don't panic or anything. SO.. I would say (in my limited experience), take everything out that you don't need, and you should be fine. Read over their list of "don't bring's" and if none of that is in the wallet (it sounds more like a wallet than anything) you should be okay. I only took the accordian file with me (our car was parked 2 blocks away). Could your contents of the purse (ID, bus pass whatnot), not fit into the file folder? Just a thought for ya