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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on March 26, 2007: |
EmilyRugBurn
Rating:  | Review Topic: K3 Visa
My appointment was on Monday March 19th, 2007 and scheduled for 9am. My husband and I arrived at the consulate at 7:15am (a family of 4 arrived shortly thereafter). The consulate doors opened at 7:30am. First stop was security. We emptied all our pockets, took off our coats, mitts & hats and walked through the metal detector. After we cleared security I was given a small, laminated square piece of paper that said "A Window 9" and we were told to wait in the adjacent room (in front of an elevator) until a guard came to take us up to the 19th floor. We waited for about 15-20 minutes. Several other people (10-15) arrived during this time.
As soon as the guard removed the rope from in front of the elevator, we hustled to the front of the line so we could be first on; we went straight to the back. When we reached the 19th floor (it was the only stop), the rear doors opened and so we were first ones off. To get to Window #9, you walk straight past the vending machines and hang a right at the first hallway. At window #9 a kind lady asked me for 2 copies of the DS-156, the original I-134 (and any additional evidence of support), my birth certificate and a copy, my marriage certificate and a copy, my original police certificate and the XpressPost envelope I brought with me. (Oddly enough, she did not ask me for the DS-230 Part II.) She then gave me a piece of paper and told me the fee was $100 USD. I was to go back out to the main room and wait for the cashier at Window #14 (she wasn't going to be open until 8:30am). It took about 10 seconds to pay the cashier. I was then instructed to take my receipt to Window #11. When I did, the lady told me to wait until my name was called. When my name was called, I was instructed to go to window #7 which was actually a little room. The interviewer was at a desk behind a glass wall.
He was young, attractive and very friendly; we said good morning to each other and he told me the first thing we were doing was taking (digital) fingerprints. We had a hard time with this because it seems that I do not fingerprint well (I didn't even know that was possible). After we joked a bit, he had me sign both copies of the DS-156, handed me back my original birth certificate and marriage certificate and then asked me 3 questions: "How did you meet your spouse?", "Why do you want to move to the US?" and "Where do you plan on living in the US?". Seems he used to be in the same industry so we chit-chatted about it for a bit. He was actually very lovely. After I answered all the questions, he said "Well, everything here's in order so congratulations and good luck to you! You'll receive your passport in the mail within a week." I then told him that he just made me the happiest person on the entire planet. 
Although the average time for people to receive their passports (avec Visa) from Montreal in the mail seems to be 2-3 days, I did not receive my Visa until 1 full week later (5 business days). Had I remembered to get the tracking number from the XpressPost envelope before handing it over, I would have had a MUCH less stressful weekend. So word to the wise -- DON'T forget to write down your tracking number!
All in all, it was a great experience! Good luck to you!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #1423