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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on February 26, 2020: |
From the Brook
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Everything went super smooth. Even though I'd read reviews saying they wouldn't let me in before my appointment time, I couldn't consciously not arrive 15min early, so after he told me to come back (as I expected) I had a juice across the street and came back with 2min to spare.
I was the first person with an 8am appointment admitted, but Americans kept coming in after me and I had to wait to go through security until they all went through because—as I heard the security guard say 10 times—"American's get to go first." Makes sense. It took 15min from when I entered to to get through security. They took my phone (turned off) and gave me a key to get it back. I took the elevator to the first floor as directed.
As I had the first number, as soon as walked off the elevator the security guard pointed me to the left towards window 5 where my number was displayed above it. The woman was so lovely and took all my forms. I was never given any laminated piece of paper as depicted in other reviews. She asked my address and phone number, then the same for my fiance. She said the stars were aligned because we had the same street number, haha. Then she asked me for the documents. I think this was the order:
- passport & colour copy of biographical page
- original Intent to Marry Letter (copy not requested)
- birth certificate & colour copy
- original police certificates (PRIVACY ACT, of course) and I had one for Australia as well (copies not requested for either)
- medical results (she returned the smaller envelope containing my x-ray, saying just to give that to my doctor for my own records)
- 2 passport photos
- Affidavit of Support & supporting documents - 2019 taxes, employment letter, recent pay-stub, account statements (Copies not requested, unless you want originals returned.)
She then took all my fingerprints, and we joked about how short my pinkie fingers are and that my fiance better find that endearing, haha. She never took my evidence of domicile or any evidence of our relationship.
I went and sat down for maybe 5-10min, and then was called to window 1. This woman was also lovely. She had me take a quick oath with my right hand raised, and then scanned my fingers again as an electronic signature for said oath. It felt more like a conversation than an interview because she seemed very casual, so I'm not certain I remember the order correctly. She asked me:
- To confirm he was my fiance
- What was the longest time I've spent in the US (because it was 5mo, I expected a follow up money/ work question, but she just asked if I was with him the whole time, and when I said Yes she moved on.)
- How we met, then why he was in the city where we met at that time
- What year that we met
- How much time we've been able to spend together (which was quite a lot given the easy 6mo tourist visa and our flexible employment situations)
- If we were still planning on getting married when and where it stated on the IML (and then she told me she vacations at that place almost every summer, and when I said how much I loved it there, she asked if I'd been there. I don't think that was an interview question, just conversation, but who knows.) I told her yes, but our legal ceremony would be somewhere else much sooner than that, which is also stated on the IML.
- If I've ever have had trouble at the border - No
- If I'd been to China in the last 2 weeks (Coronavirus related, most definitely—yikes!)
I was confident going in as I couldn't see a reason to not get approved. Any nerves were just because I was so worried I'd missed something or forgot a copy of something, but she didn't look at half the stuff I brought.
I was out of the building by 8:40am and called my fiance with the good news! Soooo quick compared to what I'd expected.
Everyone was incredible friendly. There was one security guard who seemed a bit fed up with people not knowing the rules about water bottles, coffees and electronics, but he wasn't rude/ mean, just seemed frustrated and assertive. So, don't bring any electronic items or food/ coffee! Make sure your phone is turned off before going through the x-ray, and all your pockets (even of your jacket that will go in a bin) are empty.
I think it's impossible to not have a little bit of nerves regarding being prepared, but overall, they make it super easy for you to feel comfortable and walk you through every step without expecting you to know what's happening. (Except that one security guy.)
Hope this helpful! You got this!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #28103