Visa approved!

[bradleyboy 0]

My wife's visa interview (IR-1) yesterday in Montreal went great. Here's a summary of our visit to the consulate.

We live in Montreal, so getting there was no problem. We arrived at the consulate at about 6:30am, and while some people were milling around, no one was actually lined up at the door so we parked ourselves there Eventually, everyone else started lining up as well, and when the doors opened at about 7:30am, we all started filing in. A family went in before us, but they were there on a non-immigrant visa, so we received the prized letter "A". We cleared security quickly (I had all of our documents in a clear, accordion file folder) and were sent downstairs to wait by the elevator.

About 7:45am a security officer came and took the first three or four letters up to the 19th floor. Once upstairs, we waited 10 minutes or so and were called back to one of the windows. There, we were asked for my wife's medical exam results (just the results, they had no interest in the x-ray), her passport pictures and the xpresspost prepaid mailer. She then asked us a few questions like where did we meet, how long have we been married, if I still lived in Canada, and when are we planning on moving. Since I still live in Canada, I knew domicile would be an issue. At the NVC stage, our house was not yet completed (it was under construction), so all I could send was the deed to the property it was built on. The house was completed shortly after NVC completed our case, so I was able to bring utility bills, mortgage statements and proof of home insurance for the new house to the interview. She definitely wanted to see more proof than the property deed, so I handed over the mortgage statements and the insurance proof. She seemed satisfied with that and made copies for our file. I am also self-employed, and even though I sent in 3 years of tax returns, I fully expected to be asked for more proof of my income, but she never asked and sent us back to the waiting room.

Somewhere around 8:30 we were called back to do the fingerprinting. As I have read before here many times, the systems in the consulate are slow and the officer seemed frustrated trying to get it to start. Finally she did, and after a few false starts the fingerprinting was complete. Once again, we were sent back to the waiting room.

By this time, it was getting pretty full in the consulate. With all the chatter, crying babies, etc, I was very glad to hear our name called to booth 8 at around 9am. We went it to find a very nice guy behind a window who welcomed us, asked us how our day had gone so far, then he proceeded to give us both the oath. Once we were under oath, he asked us each questions very casually, he was not intimidating at all and kept us both at ease through the entire interview, which we appreciated. He meticulously went through all of our application, asking about where we met, why I had originally come to Canada, when we were married, where we were moving back to, what kind of work I do (I own a software company), what kind of software I develop, then made a funny quip about how the government needed to catch up in that regard, to which I wholeheartedly agreed. He also brought up domicile, then looked over the mortgage statements and insurance paperwork we had submitted earlier at the other window and was satisfied with that. He looked over my tax returns and seemed satisfied with them, so again I didn't need any more financial proof. After some other smalltalk, he looked up with a smile and said, "Congratulations, we are able to issue you a visa!" He then explained exactly what would happen, gave us a letter with basically that same information, and wished us luck. We skipped out of the interview booth on cloud nine and were out of the consulate by 9:30am. All in all, it took almost exactly 2 hours from the time the doors opened, not too bad!

My only disappointment in the process was that I had this huge folder of paperwork that I had prepared, and in the end they only asked for 3 pieces of paper But in the end, I guess you never know what 3 pieces of paper they will ask for, so it is best to be prepared. After this experience, I'm also convinced that it is a huge plus if the petitioner can attend the interview. Even though we've been married for 5+ years now, I think the fact that we were there together made it easier on them, and in turn easier on us.

Anyway, many thanks to all the folks here at VJ! I read nearly every consulate review for Montreal and felt more than prepared. Now, I just need some tips on how to make boxes pack themselves...anyone know how to do that?

Edited August 13, 2009 by bradleyboy

[essjay 0]

Congratulations.... And good luck for the future.....

[domegirl1978 1]

YAY! CONGRATS! Glad to hear all went well for you!

[Holliday 4]

Yay! Congratulations!

[trailmix 77]

Congratulations! When are you moving?

I have no idea how to make boxes pack themselves, but it's a nice idea!

[Misty1979 0]

Congrats!

[Bern. 3]

YAY. Congrats!!

[bowflex 0]

Congrats!!!!

[SomberCat 0]

Excellent! Congratulations and thanks SO much for the review.

[ashenflowers 5]

Congratulations! And yes, thank you for the review. They are so very helpful for the rest of us anxiously waiting for that stage!! Good luck packing!

[minnew 4]

Congratulations!!

[meowmeowmeow 0]

congratulations, great news!!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Congrats on the approval!!

I tried rather hard to make the boxes pack themselves... I even waited til a couple days before the move in hopes they would learn but it never worked out for me...

[childress_london 3]

Congratulations!

Has anyone not had a statement from the bank for affidavit of support and been OK? I have letter of employment with my annual salary, 3 years of tax transcripts, and I've printed out my pay stubs for this year. I just don't really want to bother with the bank if I don't have to.

[AbbynSheryl 0]

thank u for sharing

abby n sheryl