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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on October 22, 2008: |
Pandora01
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I arrived at the Consulate at 7:15 a.m. and there were already 4 people waiting. At 7:30 a.m. the door opened. The security guard checked my letter and passport, then let me in. I had to wait before proceeding through the next door to the security check. When my turn came, the security guard asked me for my appointment letter and passport. I was then asked to empty my pockets. All my pockets, even the ones on my coat even though I had to take the coat off so it would go through the x-ray machine. The security guard who took care of me was a bit cold but ok in all respects. He's got a job to do and did it well. Once my pockets were emptied, I walked through the metal detector and then he checked me out with the handheld metal detector because I triggered the alarm. Silly me, I had forgotten to take my belt off and it has a trophy buckle on it. Plenty of metal to set off the alarm! Once he was satisfied, I put everything back in my pockets and he gave me back my letter and passport, along with an instruction sheet and a plastic square with a letter on it. Mine said D so I was fourth in line. Not bad!
Then I walked downstairs and waited for the elevator with the others while I reviewed the instruction sheet. I realized then I had forgotten to write my full name in the back of my passport pictures so I did that. 10 minutes later, the elevator door opened and a guy walked out. He asked for everybody who had received a plastic square to come forward. He took those back and we walked into the elevator. As a side note, he wants only the appointment letter, the instruction sheet and the plastic square. You keep your passport.
After a short ride up, we get to the 19th floor. It was 7:50 a.m. He indicates to us the area where we have to sit and the wait begins. I know others have mentioned this before, but the view of Montreal is truly beautiful from up there, especially at this time of the year with the trees changing color on Mont-Royal. After a while, I finally get called to window #10. I almost missed when they called me. My last name can be a little intimidating to say for some and I guess the lady who called me didn't want to take any chances because she called "Letter D" while everybody else was being called by their name. Thanks to a fellow VJ member who caught it and told me I had just been called.
I'm very thankful for VJ because when I got to window #10, I was expecting the lady to ask me for my documents by name. Well, no way. She asked me to give her all the documents I had. Once I was done, she said "Anything else you want to give me?" Uh? I thought you were the one making sure I had given you everything (I didn't say that but thought it nevertheless). I'm glad I knew what needed to be given, else I might have missed something (well, I did miss something but more on that in the next parapraph). Once that was done, she gave me a piece of paper and told me to go to window #14 to pay the visa issuance fee, then to go sit and wait. She was cold and distant, and gave me the feeling she would have preferred being elsewhere that morning. As I was sitting down after paying the fee, I was thinking "Oh this is going to be fun if she's the one doing the interview." It was 8:50 a.m.
A little later, I (Letter D) get called again to window #10. She says I forgot to give her something but not what it is I forgot. Uh? again. I look through my papers (thanks to VJ again, everything was well classified in my folders) and notice that indeed I had forgotten to give the letter of intent from my fiance. Silly me. Guess I was a little too nervous. Once she has added the letter to my file, she then says "I'm going to ask you some questions really quick." Ok, here we go! She asks me for my current address, phone numbers, address I'll be moving to in the US and phone number in the US. Good thing I had memorized those! Then she had me put my fingers on the scanning machine to get my fingerprints. That went without a problem. Here's a tip for people who will go in the future: keep an eye on the little lights above the glass where you put your fingers. They'll light up and change colors as the machine reads your fingers. If one or more of the lights don't react, put more pressure on the corresponding finger. I did that and it worked perfectly. Then I was told to sit down and wait again. It was 9:15 a.m.
When I was called for the interview, it was a man's voice and this time he said my name. I was also amazed because he pronounced it perfectly. So I get up and walk into room #8. I'm nervous as can be by now because this is the moment when everything gets decided. He greets me with a huge smile and tells me that since I'll be standing during the interview I should put my stuff on the chair and if I want I can hang up my coat on the wall rack. I told him I'd keep my coat on because it's a little chilly in the Consulate and I'm also feeling a bit nervous. With a big smile, he said not to worry, that I was lucky I didn't get the person in the other interviewing room and then he laughed. That made me feel better because I thought "Here's a guy with a sense of humor and not someone as cold and distant as the lady I've seen so far." He asked me to sign the DS-156K form and to put my right thumb on the scanner to make sure it's really me. That felt kinda neat in a weird way. Then he made me swear that the information provided in the documents and that what I would tell him is the truth. (Now I'm wondering if I was sworn in after I signed the form or before.)
He asked me how my fiance and I had met and when we met for the first time. Then he asked me what I do for a living. He then started talking about graphic arts (I'm a graphic artist) and then photography (which I do as well as a hobby). Things turned into a casual conversation rather than an interview. By now I was totally relaxed. He then glanced again at my file, looked the affidavit of support over and then said "Well, everything's in order so I'm approving you!" A big smile broke on my lips and I said a big thank you. I wished him a nice day, took my things and walked out. By the time I was pushing the elevator button, it was 9:40 a.m.
Overall, I had a good experience at the Consulate. 
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #3494