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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on October 25, 2008: |
babyontheway
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Hello VJ.
I am very happy to announce that after such a long wait I had my interview yesterday morning in Montreal and I was approved. I wanted to write about my experience to help those who are going after me as VJ was invaluable for our application process.
1) I drove to Montreal from SW Ontario on thursday the 16th because my interview was the 17th at 8am. I stayed at the Best Western Europa on Rue Drummond which was an older but well appointed hotel. It was expensive for a small room but it was 5 or 6 blocks from the Consulate building and easily walkable right down B. Rene Levesque. I had read another VJer's experience and found out that despite the interview being at 8am they open the doors at 7:30 but to arrive well before that. I left the hotel at 6:30 and arrived by 6:45am. I was second in line at that point behind another couple that had stayed at the same hotel but they drove. The line grew pretty quickly and was 10 or 15 people by 7:30. The guards opened the doors at 7:30 sharp, maybe even a little before. They asked for the interview letter and my passport to verify I was supposed to be there. They let me in and sent me to one side of the room which resembled an airport security check. The guards were very methodical and impersonal so dont be offended. Just doing their job I guess. They attached a hard plastic "letter B" to my interview letter with an instruction sheet. They had me empty my pockets into a tray and take off my belt, jacket, etc. I walked throught the metal detector and they instructed me to collect my belongings and take the letter through a door, down the stairs and into the waiting room and sit down.
2) Another guard showed up about 10 minutes later off of an elevator and asked everyone with a hard plastic letter to get on the elevator. He took us to the 19th floor took our interview letters and had us all sit down again and wait for our names to be called. (Beautiful view of Montreal from the 19th by the way, too bad we cant have cameras up there.) About a 15 or 20 minute wait and the letter A was called, another 2 minutes and they called my letter to window #10 and I took my documents to her. She asked for documents in the order that was on the instruction sheet given to me downstairs. (passport & copy, 2 photos, birth cert. & copy, evidence of support, etc.) SHe asked me to sit back down and wait for her to call me. She called me back in about 10 minutes and was mad because on some forms I had my middle initials (ran out of room) and some I had my full name written out. She corrected this for me and I thanked her kindly. She asked why I didnt have the long form of the birth certificate stating my parents names and I said I didnt know they existed. She accepted that. She asked me to take this form to the cashier and pay, then sit back down with my receipt and wait to be called again for the interview.
3) Letter A was called for his interview, went in, and came out smiling about 5 minutes later so I felt good about it but it took the a long time to call letter B. I waited and waited and became increasingly nervous like something was wrong but in time the called my letter, maybe 20 or 25 minutes. I went into booth 8 which resmbled the others but was in a tiny room with a door. He was the nicest person we have dealt with this whole time and seemed genuinely happy to be able to help with the process. He asked questions like: where we met, how long we have known each other, when we plan opn getting married, what she does for a living, what I do for a living, where we are going to live, when I am planning on heading to the states, and he had the photos we sent in as proof and he went through them as asked where they all had been taken. He asked me to tell him why I had been stopped crossing the border before and laughed as he clearedup the flag that was in the system attached to my passport. He was satisfied after about 5 or 10 minutes and told me that we would be approved. He was just a great guy and told me I should have the visa in the mail the middle of next week. I got on the elevator, went back down and started the 8 hour drive home.
4) Those of you going soon here is some advice. Think about getting a long form birth certificate. They let me through with my short one but they might not be so nice next time. Have everything ready to go. They will get mad if you dont have everything at the ready, I's dotted and T's crossed. Bring exact change. Wayyy easier. Dont take the guards downstairs personally. They are trained to be like that. Be calm. I was getting very nervous for no reason. The interviewer is really wonderful and makes you feel good about the process. Lastly, GOOD LUCK!!
Thanks to everyone for their help here on VJ. I hope this makes your interview process easier.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #3508