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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on August 8, 2010: |
Rose416
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I am home from Montreal now and just ripped up my Package 4 letter! It's nice to finally say goodbye to the Montreal Consulate!
I had my K1 interview on Tuesday, August 3rd, and here is a little info on my experience.
I hope you find it useful and comforting at the same time. The prep leading up to the interview is stressful and the waiting long and frustrating, but before you know it you'll be celebrating too!
OK..so my mom and I stayed at Hotel St. Denis on Rue St. Denis (www.hotel-st-denis.com). If you're a CAA member it's pretty affordable. We had a nice big room with two double beds and a big TV for $107/night. Very comfortable, quiet and close to the Consulate. I could have walked but opted to take a cab ride (4 minutes away, $6) on the day of my interview.
Rue St. Denis also has lots of affordable restaurants, including an Italian one next door to the hotel. Delicious tiramisu :thumbs:
On the dreaded Interview Day, I woke up at 5 got to the consulate for 6:20am and was the only one there until a handful of people showed up around 6:45. The line grew rapidly around 7. Get there early! The doors were unlocked at 7:30am. Have your passport and Package 4 letter ready and remember: no electronics or food is permitted. I had my file folder in a plastic bag and was allowed to bring in an umbrella.
First in line, I was sent to the waiting room downstairs (in the dark as they hadn't turned on any lights yet!) I was given a number and soon after called by security to enter the secondary waiting room. After a brief wait my name was announced on the speaker (make sure you sit on the left side of the room otherwise you can't hear the announcements).
At the booth I was asked for:
- Passport + 1 copy (doesn't need to be notarized)
- Long form birth certificate + 1 copy (same as above)
- Package 4 letter with scheduled interview date
- Criminal record for Canada and UK (I lived there for 18 months)
- 2 Passport pics
- Recent letter of consent from Petitioner
- Affadavit of support/ co-sponsor + evidence of support (I had a photocopy of my fiance's birth certificate as they asked for proof of citizenship to back up support. Also incl., letter from employer, tax papers from 2009, signed letter from bank showing opening of account and activity, pay stubs.)
- Proof of domicile (rent agreement, recent hydro bill and visa bill)
- my massive Expresspost envelope (12*15) with my address filled in (don't put the consulates address)
- sealed medical results (they didn't ask for the x-ray. Why the heck do we have to carry that thing around then?!?!)
They didn't ask for any evidence of a relationship. I had email printouts and photos just in case.
I was asked if I had the printouts of form DS-160 (I only included the confirmation page when I sent in Package 3 as I had printer issues and didn't want to redo the form.)They didn't seem to mind that I didn't have it however.
I was then asked to go to the cashier and pay the $350 US. You are allowed to pay with credit cards or the Canadian equivalency. After this I waited again, until I was called back to my original booth to show my receipt and scan my fingerprints. Easy.
All of this was completed by 8:30am. Then the fun really began. The people I had waited outside with (early arrivals) started being called in for interviews (one guy was there for a k3 interview and others were receiving immigration). As the time rolled on and people came and went I started to get nervous. Did they forget about me? Why the heck am I still waiting at 10:30am? I thought I would be done and back at the hotel for breakfast by 9:30!! I noticed another couple who had been waiting since 7:30am. They were also k1-ers and equally nervous/annoyed. There are no phones in the consulate and only a couple of vending machines, so as the clock struck noon I was getting hungry and concerned for my worried mom and fiance (waiting for my news in California).
Finally at around 12:30 I was called up to another booth. At this point I was one of the half-dozen left in the once packed waiting room. I was told that I was a 'guinea pig' as the staff gets accustomed to a new K1 program. I suppose this is why there were no July interviews?? I had to stand at the window for 10 minutes while a group of people went over my file together and took notes for their own reference. Everyone was being really nice and apologetic and even joked with me about the whole thing.
So by the time I was called into the interview room at 1:15pm I was no longer nervous. I took an oath, and answered the simple questions. My interviewer was very friendly and joked about my fiance being a body builder in Venice beach (he isn't). He asked how we met and what my fiance does for work. He questioned my passport as I travelled lots before and have many stamps! We talked about the UK because he used to live there and he asked what I did for work while I was there on a working-holiday visa. He asked if I was ready to 'settle down'. YES!!!! He asked what I did for work and if we had our wedding date booked. Then, 5 minutes later he congratulated me for my visa being approved. I asked if it could be expedited (a K3er was told to come back tomorrow to pick up his passport) but this was nicely denied. He assured me it would be in my hands soon.
That's about it! 7 hours of waiting for a 5 minute interview! I am so happy it's over and wish you all the best of luck.
my thoughts for you is : eat a big breakfast before hand and bring a good book! Also, breathe!! You're going to do fine :dance:
At the end of the day I got a piece of paper from the consulate congratulating me on my engagement. Next week I will be with my fiance to finally celebrate and put all of this waiting and separation behind us.
Finally! :rofl:
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6450