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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on January 30, 2025: |
lilsweetie
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-5 Visa
Interview was 8:30am Tues. Jan 28, 2025. IR5 for both parents.
We arrived at the consulate at 8:15am. No wait, only a couple other parties were there with appointments at 8:45 and 9:00. It seems that they do appointments in 15 minute increments. They checked the passports against their appointment list. My dad’s appointment didn’t show up on the list! This caused a bit of a scare. We showed them our interview letters and the guard went inside to check if they could interview him with my mom. Thankfully they let him in, but I have no idea why they didn’t have a record of his appointment. His appointment date and time was clearly listed on AIS and on the interview letters we received. I was not able to go inside with them.
First thing they did was put a sticker on the back of the passport and give you a slip of paper with a number on it, then you go through security. Had to remove all coats, but could leave shoes on. After security there were a bunch of very small lockers for phones and smartwatches. After security you go up one floor in an elevator to a large waiting room with plastic chairs and a counter with windows that they serve you at. It was a lot like the set up at the DMV.
They give you a yellow laminated care with a list that said something like, “Please make sure you have these documents”:
• 1 Photo – which they scanned in and returned to us
• Marriage Certificate
• Divorce Certificate if applicable
• Applicant’s Passport
• Affidavit of Support – but they did not look at it or ask for it at any time
• Petitioner Birth Certificate
The wait was about 30 minutes until their number was displayed on the TV monitor and what counter to go to. The officer asked for each document one at a time and reviewed it, then gave it back. When she was done, she asked them to sit down again and wait again to be called up for fingerprinting and the interview.
The wait was about 20 minutes. The officer was extremely pleasant and kind. One of the nicest people we’ve encountered through the entire process. Firstly, she had them swear an oath that everything they say is the truth. Then they were fingerprinted (all 10 fingers, digitally), and then she only asked 3 questions.
• What does your daughter do for a living?
• Where will you be living when you move to the USA?
• Please confirm that the only countries you have lived in for longer than 6 months are: X, Y, Z.
That was it! She gave them a sheet with the AIS website and next steps and said, “I am approving your visa. Congratulations, go and celebrate! It will take 1-1.5 weeks for the visa to be issued after we finish up some back-end work on the visa.
The whole process took about 1.5 hours but most of that time was spent waiting.
Later the same day, we checked CEAC and the status had already been updated to ISSUED.
The next morning we received an email with the tracking #. Interview 1/28, Issued 1/28, Mailed out via Canada Post Xpressmail 1/29, ETA 1/31.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #33541