|
|
| Montreal, Canada |  Review on August 9, 2010: |
machnikt
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
arrived just before 7 am. 2 people already waited. One person got there at 6:20! Bring an umbrella if you arrive early; there is no canopy where you have to wait in the line outside the building.
The security guard let us in at around 7:30. (Do not bring any substantial belongings. A gentleman with a small briefcase was told to leave and come back without it. He had been somewhere at the front end of the queue...) The queue really grows around 7:30 am. You can leave your cell phone and small items at the security desk.
We were taken to the basement and told to wait. (there is a photo booth in the basement, $4 for passport photos).
Security guard came down in the elevator (probably around 8 am) and took the first 4 people upstairs. They called us up one by one to bank-teller-like windows where they collected the medical exam results and the self addressed, prepaid envelope. They gave me a chance to correct any personal info on file such as addresses, phone numbers, etc. This was to ensure that my green card got sent to the current address (nice! thank you! I had an old address on file.)
I was asked if I had the tax return for 2009 for my sponsor (the affidavit of support was filed in April 2008 before my sponsor filed the 2009 tax return) I said I didn't have it, and they didn't press the matter any further. There were a few awkward attempts at chitchatting and I was told to go back to the waiting room and wait.
I got called 15 minutes later to a different window and my fingerprints were taken. I was asked to sit down and wait. At around 9:45 I was called up to the interview room. The interview went really fast. I was asked where my wife and I met, when we got married, where she worked, what I did for living. The person went through all my documentation fairly quickly and wanted to make sure that all the originals were there. She said that everything was in order and I should have my visa soon. I asked if I could pick up my passport the next day, as my flight back to Vancouver wasn't till the following evening. She said they only did that in cases of emergencies. She asked if I had an emergency. I said "no, I was just excited to get my visa." She gave me a note and told me to come back the next day at 14:00 to pick up my passport.
I came back the next day at 13:50. They told me to come back at 14:00. A bit more waiting and my passport with my visa inside + a do-not-open envelope were handed over to me.
Overall, not a bad experience, akin to going through the security at an airport and a passport control - be confident and brief in your responses + have all the documentation in order, etc.
Note, you'll need 2 passport photos. I believe that the NVC website says you need one photo only.
The x-ray was not asked for.
Nobody wanted to see our photos or any evidence of the validity of our marriage apart for the marriage certificate.
The interview seems to be just a formality. Mine took less than 10 minutes and a $600 flight from Vancouver to Montreal!
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6452