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Canada US Consulate Reviews
Average Rating: 4.2
/ 5
1651 Review(s)
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| Montreal, Canada |  Review #4384 on May 15, 2009: |
chadlaure
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
We arrived at the embassy by 635-640am and we were 2nd in line, another couple was already there. It's sunny but cold and windy. Later, people arrived little by little. Doing small talks with the woman from the first couple, she told us that they will open the doors at 8 because she came the day before and checked with them. I'm freezing and I don't want to stay any longer outside. I was pretty sure they were going to open the doors at 730am, but who knows, that might have been the "winter" hours and now they were switching to the "summer" hours.
Anyway, 730ish, they opened the doors. I gave them my passport, interview letter and my fiance passport. The guard asked who he was so I replied that he is my US fiance. It's fine, we entered, get scanned, checked etc. They attached our passports, interview letter and the letter "B" together and told us to go downstairs and wait for the elevator that will come pick us up at 745am.
745am the elevator came down and we're going to the 19th floor. That is true, the view is really nice but I was more concentrating on what will happen next. They called the letter A and by 8am my name was called to the window 9 I think.
A very nice guy welcomed us and asked for some forms one by one. He only wanted one copy of each. He was nice and asked us how we met and if we had wedding plans yet. It was very easy. He told us to go pay at the cashier, then take a seat and that he'll call us when he is done working on our file.
Of course at the cashier there were tons of people that don't know what is going on so it took a bit of time. We paid, got our receipt, took a seat and waited again.
By 830-840am, the guy called us again to that same window, we gave him the receipt and he took my finger prints (the 10 fingers, not just the index like at the airport). Then he told us to go take a seat again and that we will be called again.
At 910ish, we are called to a different window, which is actually the "room that is as big as a closet" as people pictured it It is small indeed but I was expecting something smaller.
The lady welcomed us with a big smile and said "oh you brought your US fiance!!" She was so happy that was funny. She had some papers and made some notes but nothing too crazy. She asked us how we met, when did he propose and how. Since he proposed at an airport (small one) after I flew a plane (YES!!) and that he is a skydiver, they started talking about skydiving and if it was dangerous etc. She said "oh you have interesting lives!!". She asked him what he was doing (he is back to school), what does he study (political science and french and she replied "oh two things close to my heart), and asked him what he was doing before (green beret) so she thanked him for serving their country. She asked me what I was doing and if I planned to do the same thing in the US. But most of the time, she was actually talking with him...
Then she said "well everything is in order so I can tell you that you K1 visa is approved!" YES!
She told us some rules and gave us a paper but it was more like things we know already (6 months to enter, 90 days to get married etc...)
It was 915-920ish! DONE and happy.
It's not bad at all and I actually agree that is the easiest part of the process. Maybe also because you actually see the people who are handling your case and that they are nice!
| | | Montreal, Canada | Review #4366 on May 13, 2009: |
OBX
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Montreal Consulate: May 12, 2009 CR1 Interview Review
7:10 a.m. Arrived at consulate, there were 2 couples and one single person already there when we arrived.
7:35 a.m. By this time there were approximately 10 people now in line. Doors opened. The guard motioned for the line to form to the left. He asked for my passport, interview letter, my husband’s passport and what our relationship was. My interview time was listed as 9:30 a.m. but being there early was not a problem. He asked if we had our cell phones. There were a number of people that were turned away because they were carrying large messenger- type shoulder bags. They did return later so I am assuming they went to their cars to store them. I had two large plastic accordion style files, my x-ray, Expresspost envelope and another file of papers and my wallet; all in a recyclable shopping bag. That was fine. Others had plastic bags.
We were then cleared to enter the first set of doors. We walked up a few steps and waited at the next set of doors to go through security. Once the people in front of us were cleared we were instructed to enter, remove everything from our pockets, jackets, and remove our watches and belts. The security guard took our passports and clipped them to a letter (we were “D”) and a form, the form outlined what documents we would need and in what order. (More about this form later but I didn’t need it.) Everything was placed into wooden bins and run through the scanner. They manually checked my bag, wallet and my husband’s wallet after it was scanned. We walked though the security scanner, I was fine, and they scanned my husband with the wand. He had forgotten his US passport card in one of his pockets and the bar on the card was setting off the wand! It was all good though, the guards were very nice.
7:42 a.m. By the time we gathered up all of our papers the guard told us to go down the stairs and wait by the elevators and we would be going up in 3 minutes. Yes, he was that specific!
7:45 a.m. Right on cue the elevator doors opened. (FYI there is a photo booth near the elevators for anyone who might need to have any retaken.)
Our group of A – E entered the elevator and yes those from VJ (I am assuming) all faced the back. For those not in the know, the guard did specify the doors opened from the rear. We exit onto the 19th floor and were directed to sit in the chairs directly ahead of us. It is a large room with a beautiful view of Montreal. There are vending machines and washrooms handy.
8:05 a.m. The first person is called. Processing begins!! While waiting, I scan the organizational list we were given. It did mention photos and the medical x-ray report but didn’t seem applicable to the CR1 so I ignored it!
8:30 a.m. My name was called to booth #11, down a short hall (past the washrooms) and to the left. My husband came with me. A very pleasant woman was behind a glass window. The booth was open and there was a short wall separating it from the adjacent booth but we could hear the person beside us. The agent had our original file in front of her. She had the two photos I had submitted with my DS-230 in front of her. She asked me which photo I would like to use and did NOT need the 2 new ones I had brought. She asked me to scan the first page of the original I-130 form and verify that our name, addresses and other identifying info was still the same while she processed my pictures. She returned shortly, took back the I-130 and asked for my husband’s 2008 tax return. We also brought 2009 pay stubs to date and she took those as well. She then returned my original birth certificate, marriage certificate and divorce certificate. She took my Expresspost envelope. She did not measure it. She took only the sealed brown medical envelope, NOT the copy of the vaccination checklist or the x-ray report and not the x-ray itself either. (She said those were for my records.) She then took my fingerprints. Four fingers from the right hand, four from the left and then the two thumbs together. You just press firmly on a small scanning machine while she checks on her computer that it registers correctly. Then we were instructed to wait back in the waiting room and we would be called to room 7 or 8. All of this took only 10 minutes.
8:40 a.m. – Waited and chatted with other filers. By now the room was filling up
8:55 a.m. with people. The elevator was bringing up small groups every 5 minutes or so but the majority of those people were seated to the right of our group. Perhaps these were for other visa classifications.
8:55 a.m. – Show time!! We were called to room #8. For some reason I think we were
9:05 a.m. the first to interview even though we were letter “D”. These rooms are right across from the washrooms. The CO was a middle aged woman, pleasant but not as cheery as the first agent. I asked if my husband could accompany me and that was fine. She was logging onto her computer and waiting for it to tell her which finger I was going to use to verify my identity. The computer picked a finger and she instructed me to place it firmly on a small scanner and then we proceeded. She had me swear / verify that all information I had on my form and would give her was true. My husband was not required to do this.
The majority of the interview time was taken up with her reviewing our file. All of the original forms were there as well as those we had given to the first agent. She only wanted the first few sheets of the 2008 tax return. She verified the number of people in the household and asked whether or not any of my children would be accompanying me. She gave my husband back all of his supporting forms, 2009 paystubs and the transcripts from the previous years we had submitted to NVC with the I-864. She did offer to shred them if he didn’t need them returned. She kept checking through our file; there was a sheet beside her with check marks on it. It appeared that she was just verifying that all of the necessary documents had been received. She was very thorough. She had me sign part II of the DS-230. Then she asked only a few questions and typed the answers into the computer as I spoke. There was not a lot of eye contact so I didn’t feel as though I was being interrogated at all.
QUESTIONS:
When did you meet?
(She didn’t want our entire romantic history and after 27 years it IS a long story…she only wanted the dates we met and we came back together again. All of this was entered in the computer and she asked for no evidence at all. )
Was my husband still employed by the same company? YES
Was I currently working? NO
Had I ever lived outside of Canada? NO
More typing into the computer, she then took a pink highlighter and wrote on the outside of our filer folder “OK to be……” I couldn’t read her writing but the OK was enough for me.
She then said the “facial recognition check” was slow coming through the computer, asked if either of us had ever had any issues crossing at the border, we said no. She double checked that she had my passport and mailing envelope. She then smiled and said “Well, I’m sure everything will be fine. You can go.”
Then we hugged, kissed and I started to cry.
Overall it was very straightforward. The CO was efficient yet pleasant and not intimidating. She had a job to do and was just focused on making sure everything was in order.
| | | Vancouver, Canada | Review #4336 on May 5, 2009: |
FutureMrsHarmon
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I had my petition received by the Vancouver consulate on April 27th. It took a total of a week from them receiving the petition to me having my interview date set. I had my packet 3 ready for faxing back in two days, and was in relatively constant contact with them. They were very prompt with answering email inquiries, and were very helpful with the answers given. I had downloaded Packet 3 off of the website prior to receiving the letter in the mail, so was able to prep beforehand.
I also was told there was a 6-8 week wait for an interview, and as such when I requested my interview date, I chose a month away, that being June 2nd. I figured that this would allow them to suggest the soonest possible date. To my surprise this interview date was approved! It is on a Tuesday, not sure if this is part of the reason, as I have heard earlier in the week has more openings. So instead of 6-8 weeks I'm waiting a grand total of 4 weeks.
All in all I am very pleased with my experience, and am now excitedly waiting for the interview, praying it's approved so I can marry my fiance!
| | | Ottowa, Canada | Review #4332 on May 5, 2009: |
elsoar
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing
Filed for DCF through the Ottawa Embassy. Took a while to figure out how to get an appointment - first we emailed, then we were instructed to phone and left a voicemail with the American Citizen Services Office, then we were redirected to the Consular Section. Brian from the Consular Section knew what to do and gave us an appointment to file the I-130. First he emailed us a checklist which we had to return by email to indicate we were ready to file the I-130 (had our support documents) and then he emailed us back with a appointment date and time. We were told appointments for the I-130 normally take place on Tuesday or Thursday at 2pm and it takes 1-2 weeks to get an appointment.
At the day/time of the appointment you show up at the Embassy and go through the security screening, like an airport. (We were told in advance: You will enter on the Sussex side of the building through the main entrance – but do not bring any large bags with you, as security will not let you enter. Just bring your docs, and a small wallet.) Then you go to a waiting room with windows like they have for bank tellers or train station agents. You meet with an agent through the window who reviews all documents submitted, viewing your originals and intialing your copies to indicate she has done so, and pay the fee (credit cards accepted). Ottawa then forwards your I-130 to Montreal for processing and gives you a yellow sheet with a bit of info about the process. At this point we were told the whole DCF process would take between 6-12 months. For the I-130, we had all our paperwork together Jan 20 and started trying to make an appointment that day - ended up with a Feb 3 appointment to file. Our IV (final) interview in Montreal is scheduled for June so the DCF will (hopefully) have taken us a bit under 5 months from start to finish.
Experience at the Embassy itself was great, but I took a point off the rating for the difficulty we had in figuring out how to get an appointment!
| | | Montreal, Canada | Review #4328 on May 4, 2009: |
Hugglebuggles
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
We arrived at 4:30 on Tuesday afternoon, walked over to the consulate which was very easy to find (especially given the protests occurring outside) and then walked over to the mall for some window shopping and food. We stayed at the Hilton in the Bonaventure center, so It was about a 15 minute walk. It was worth the extra distance to sleep in a Hilton bed! Its like snuggling with a cloud.
On Wednesday morning we left our hotel around 6:30 and got to the consulate around 6:45. I thought we were way too early and we were going to be standing outside in the cold like losers, but there was already a mini line. Two people were in front of us, which was perfectly fine, I didn’t really want the added pressure of being numero uno anyways. While we were standing in line, we met up with a fellow Vj’er, Sarah (Denverbound) and spent most of the waiting time talking. Ironic that we met at the medical back in March, got the same interview date and we are both headed to the same place!
The doors opened promptly at 7:30 and the security guard started letting people in. I feel bad for saying this, but I had a very hard time understanding what he was saying! He had a very interesting accent, and I had to try really hard to listen to what he was saying. He made a gesture towards my fiancé Bill, so I told him, this is my American fiancé and he nodded. He then asked Bill what he did for a living… Bill answered and the guard replied, “good, because we aren’t letting attorney’s into the building anymore.” So there is the answer to the confusing discrepancy between the information in the packet 4’s and the information provided on the consulate website.
We were led through security, and a very nice man helped us through. I expected the guards to be very intimidating and rude based on previous reviews, but he was actually very kind and helpful. We then went down some stairs and waited for the guard to come and lead us up the elevator. I tried to get all my paperwork prepared in order (as it asked for on the sheet the security guard had given me) but I didn’t have enough time! I was just frantic trying to organize everything and I ended up getting a little snappy with my fiancé who was just sitting there (sorry darling!) In the end, It didn’t even matter, the list meant nothing.
We got up to the 19th (?) floor at 8:10. Around 8:30 people began to be called to have their paperwork taken. My name was called about 15 minutes later, and I went up to booth 9. The lady there was nice, but not as helpful as I would have liked. She greeted me and then said, “ok give me all your documents.” I said, “everything? All the forms and everything?” and she told me yes, that she wanted everything all at once. So I just grabbed all my documents and sent it under the window. She handed me back all the copies I had included (apparently she didn’t want a copy of anything except my passport bio page and my birth certificate). I forgot to give her the second copy of my DS 156 and I completely forgot the DS 156K, so I handed that to her separately and she took a look at everything one by one, and completed a checklist to insure I included all the documentation I was required to. She made me a little nervous, as she took a lot of time imputing information into the computer. She’d look at the computer, look down at the paperwork, look at the computer, look at the ceiling, start talking to a coworker, look back at the computer, and I started to get really concerned! Like there was something terribly wrong and the computer was rejecting me! But all was well… She asked a couple questions to confirm my phone number and my e-mail. She laughed at my silly e-mail address (i_luv_democracy) and I explained to her how nerdy political science students really are. She then told my fiancé to go pay the processing fee and that I should wait at the window and prepare to get my finger prints taken. After greasing up in some purel hand sanitizer, I had my finger prints done. Now CSI will be able to find me.
After the document fun was complete, we went back to the waiting room and waited for our name to be called into an interview. After seeing two successful interviews completed, my name was called to room 8 (the only room being used on this particular morning, I’d hate to be one of the people who actually came at 9am). As a lot of people have said, the room is tiny! Literally smaller than my closet. There was an older lady dressed really casually sitting behind the door and she gave me a warm smile, I knew right then it was going to go well. She swore me in, but not my fiancé. Then she asked me to confirm one thing on my application. She asked that, since I’m in school now, if I would be studying in the US (probably because I said no on the DS 156) and I explained to her that I am graduating in June, so no. She then flipped through our original I-129F petition, and started reading the page about how we met. She seemed really interested, and very surprised that we have known each other since 2005. She then asked my fiancé how far of a drive it was from North Carolina to NY State (not sure why, probably just small talk). Then she turned to the list of trips I had included with the DS 230 and she thanked me for providing such a helpful list, and that it made things easy for her. She then asked if I had ever spent 5 or 6 months at a time in the US, and I told her no, that the longest I had ever spent at one time is 2 weeks. Other than that, she asked us when we were planning on getting married, who was coming and where in Colorado it was going to be! Very simple. No hard questions at all. We were all finished by 10am! 
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