Montreal embassy EB-2 interview wait time

[vancitycdn8 16]

Hi everyone!

Apologies for the delayed response on this thread. My interview on April 26 in Montreal went perfectly and I was approved! All in all, I was in and out of the building in 40 minutes. Like others have previously stated, DO NOT bring any bags or backpacks as they will ask you to leave them outside of the building.

First, you go through security and they ask you to place your phones away in a locker. Then you take the elevator up to the 2nd floor and wait for your number to be called. The first interview was just checking all our original documents and taking our fingerprints. Then you wait some more and they call you up again a 2nd time for the interview. The staff were very friendly and there really wasn't anything to be worried about. They ask you the same questions that you've answered previously in this entire process -- residential address, where have you travelled in the last few years, what do you do for work, what are you going to do for work in the US, are you married etc. Very standard questions. They seem to have the answers already on their computer but they're just making sure you're stating the same information.

The staff member told me that getting my passport back with the printed visa inside it would take 2-3 weeks. Although the following morning (April 27) I received a tracking number for my passport delivery and on the morning of April 28 (2 days after the interview!) I had my passport in my hands in Toronto. The passport also came with a thick sealed envelope (DO NOT OPEN) that I have to take to the border officer upon entering the US for the first time as a permanent resident.

Thank you to everyone for all your help and support during these long 2 years! This forum has been a godsend with all the information that it has provided. I wish you all the best with your future ILs and interviews!

[F2J_March 49]

Thank you for the update and congratulations!!! 

[Sorrel 83]

1 hour ago, vancitycdn8 said:

Hi everyone!

Apologies for the delayed response on this thread. My interview on April 26 in Montreal went perfectly and I was approved! All in all, I was in and out of the building in 40 minutes. Like others have previously stated, DO NOT bring any bags or backpacks as they will ask you to leave them outside of the building.

First, you go through security and they ask you to place your phones away in a locker. Then you take the elevator up to the 2nd floor and wait for your number to be called. The first interview was just checking all our original documents and taking our fingerprints. Then you wait some more and they call you up again a 2nd time for the interview. The staff were very friendly and there really wasn't anything to be worried about. They ask you the same questions that you've answered previously in this entire process -- residential address, where have you travelled in the last few years, what do you do for work, what are you going to do for work in the US, are you married etc. Very standard questions. They seem to have the answers already on their computer but they're just making sure you're stating the same information.

The staff member told me that getting my passport back with the printed visa inside it would take 2-3 weeks. Although the following morning (April 27) I received a tracking number for my passport delivery and on the morning of April 28 (2 days after the interview!) I had my passport in my hands in Toronto. The passport also came with a thick sealed envelope (DO NOT OPEN) that I have to take to the border officer upon entering the US for the first time as a permanent resident.

Thank you to everyone for all your help and support during these long 2 years! This forum has been a godsend with all the information that it has provided. I wish you all the best with your future ILs and interviews!

Thank you!  Good luck in the States!

 

[pow123 14]

No EB interviews for May?

[Sorrel 83]

52 minutes ago, pow123 said:

No EB interviews for May?

Nothing!  Do you think they are now going to catch up on the F2A,  F3 and F4's, the same way they caught up on IR/CR categories?  

[VA21202 109]

43 minutes ago, Sorrel said:

Nothing!  Do you think they are now going to catch up on the F2A,  F3 and F4's, the same way they caught up on IR/CR categories?  

Hey @Sorrel, I sure hope that’s not the case. I’m thinking if it would make sense for you to write to Montreal, this time stating that you have a DQ date in March and that you saw the Apr 5 update on the website that says most letters for EB were DQ’ed in March 2020. I feel like you might have better luck with them responding by asking if you were missed, as opposed to all of us asking about generic EB processing updates like last time. Up to you of course, just sharing my thought. Thanks!

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

4 hours ago, Sorrel said:

Nothing!  Do you think they are now going to catch up on the F2A,  F3 and F4's, the same way they caught up on IR/CR categories?  

I hope not, but it is possible, because Family preference is tier 3, while EB falls into tier 4. The saving grace is that the family preference category has way fewer cases than IR1/CR1, so it might go quickly.

I agree with @VA21202, there is a chance you were skipped over, and I see no harm in you emailing both MTL and NVC. They will likely respond that your turn is just not up yet (even if you were skipped because they never admit fault), but if you were indeed skipped, you would be prioritised for the next batch.

[VA21202 109]

50 minutes ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

I hope not, but it is possible, because Family preference is tier 3, while EB falls into tier 4. The saving grace is that the family preference category has way fewer cases than IR1/CR1, so it might go quickly.

I agree with @VA21202, there is a chance you were skipped over, and I see no harm in you emailing both MTL and NVC. They will likely respond that your turn is just not up yet (even if you were skipped because they never admit fault), but if you were indeed skipped, you would be prioritised for the next batch.

For the record, I don’t think Sorrel was skipped (they just mentioned March 2020 but in reality we saw some Feb DQ cases and an early March DQ letter go out during the Mar 31 IL release) but definitely well within reason to assume that and use that as leverage to get a response from MTL

[Sorrel 83]

1 hour ago, VA21202 said:

For the record, I don’t think Sorrel was skipped (they just mentioned March 2020 but in reality we saw some Feb DQ cases and an early March DQ letter go out during the Mar 31 IL release) but definitely well within reason to assume that and use that as leverage to get a response from MTL

I have just sent an email to Montreal, asking them to check if we were inadvertently skipped, and to confirm we will be in the next batch of IL letters.  

[VA21202 109]

20 minutes ago, Sorrel said:

I have just sent an email to Montreal, asking them to check if we were inadvertently skipped, and to confirm we will be in the next batch of IL letters.  

Appreciate it, thanks and good luck!

[F2J_March 49]

As per my lawyer, people from EB categories who were dqd from early 2020 to Mid 2020 have got interview letter. If thats the case, I dont know why none of the people from this forum got IL..weird!!

[VA21202 109]

14 minutes ago, F2J_March said:

As per my lawyer, people from EB categories who were dqd from early 2020 to Mid 2020 have got interview letter. If thats the case, I dont know why none of the people from this forum got IL..weird!!

Thanks for sharing. Your lawyer is speaking specifically about Montreal right? Interesting…My DQ is Jun 10, 2020…so depending on what dates the lawyer saw to determine it as mid-2020, I’d be interested in writing to MTL too to see if there were any misses.

[F2J_March 49]

Mine is from Montreal so when we discuss, she generally refers to cases specific to Montreal. I was also quite surprised when she wrote about it so I already send her email asking/confirminh if she is specifically taking about cases from Montreal.

 

I haven't heard back from her yet. I will keep this group posted once I hear back.

[3LabMom 76]

1 hour ago, F2J_March said:

As per my lawyer, people from EB categories who were dqd from early 2020 to Mid 2020 have got interview letter. If thats the case, I dont know why none of the people from this forum got IL..weird!!

I wonder if some of the others are not active and that's why?  But odd that @Sorrel didn't get one.  @LMIV @topman @corg @RKD @Dip - Any updates?

[F2J_March 49]

She was talking about Montreal apparently.