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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on October 22, 2008: |
josephtremblay
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
First let me say that this is my first post on visajourney.com despite being a frequent visitor for several months. The community has been EXTREMELY helpful and the K-1 process wouldn't have been anywhere near as smooth without it.
Question: is it unusual to receive an appointment letter just a few days before the interview? I was wondering when I'd hear about my appointment (Packet 3 returned to Montreal early in September) so I sent an email to the consulate on October 8. They wrote back saying that a letter was being sent for an interview on October 22. By Friday, October 17 I still hadn't received the letter so I wrote the consulate again and they faxed me a copy (the letter arrived in the mail on Monday October 20). Thank God for email!
I arrived in Montreal last night and walked past the consulate (so I knew where to go in the morning) on the way to my hotel (The Embassy Suites on St. Antoine - less than a 10 minute walk to the consulate).
Left the hotel at 6:40, arrived at the consulate and was the only person there until about 7:15. By the time the doors opened at 7:30 there were about half a dozen people there. Cleared security (I hadn't brought anything that wasn't essential with me) and went downstairs to the waiting room with my letter A (YAY! First in line!).
Got taken upstairs at 7:45 and at 8:00 sharp was called to Window 11 to hand over my documents. Of the 3 inches and 2 pounds of documents I had with me, they only took 1/2 inch and 1/4 pound. The woman at Window 11 was very nice. When she asked how I was doing I said, "Just a little nervous." She asked why I was nervous. I replied, "Because I want to marry my sweetie and I'd like for you guys to say it's ok". She laughed.
Sat down for a few minutes then went to pay my fees at 8:15 (when the cashier opened). Sat down for another couple of minutes then got called back to Window 11 for fingerprinting.
Then the longest wait .... I knew there could sometimes be a long interval between fingerprints and the interview, but I was still nervous.
Then, around 8:40 a VERY happy sound male voice came over the loudspeaker directing me to Room 8. I went in and there was a very nice, cheerful man waiting behind the glass. When he asked how I was doing, I repeated the line about being nervous ... want to marry my sweetie ... and so on. He laughed. He had me swear that everything contained in the package was true to the best of my knowledge. When I signed the DS-156K he noticed I was a lefty and said, "Oh, we've got enough lefties in the US, I don't think I'm going to be able to approve you!" I replied that I think that may be ground for appeal. More laughter.
He asked a few questions about how Katie & I met, what she does for a living, what I do for a living, where she lives. He then asked if we had a lawyer helping us prepare the application. I said that we'd met with one to have the process explained to us, but we did everything on our own. He said the reason he asked is because when he sees this much paper lawyers are usually involved. I said, "No lawyers, just two very anal people" More laughter.
He then told me I was approved, adding that I was an ideal candidate, that Katie & I had done our homework regarding the visa process and he hoped that the rest of his interviews that day were as easy as mine. I thanked him profusely then went back to the hotel to call my sweetie!
Now lots of time for sightseeing in Montreal before I leave tomorrow,
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #3493