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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on September 6, 2010: |
Brenda2010
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
We arrived in Mtl the day before our interview, did a trial run from our hotel (Place D'Armes) to the consulate to see how long it'd take...15 min walk, not bad. Spent the day exploring old Mtl, trying to relax.
Double checked everything, several times! I decided to organise all documents by category in folders for ease of reference at the interview, they were:
- Folder 1: interview letter, passports (mine and his) and copies, birth certificates (mine and his) and copies, police certificates and copies, two passport photos, medical and xray
- Folder 2: copies of 129F, NOA1, NOA2, NOA3, Packet 2
- Folder 3: Affidavit of support, evidence of support (employment letter, pay stubs, bank statement, 3 years of taxes), proof of domicile (utility bill), intent to marry
- Folder 4: proof of ongoing relationship (boarding passes, wedding invitations, hotel receipts, phone bills, photos)
On August 24th we arrived at 6:45 am, already 4 people in front of us. Doors opened at 7:30 am (by then there were about 10 people behind us). Security check. We were not assigned a letter, first 5 people in were (A-E). Ushered into the waiting area. First 5 folks were taken up just before 8:00 am, then the rest of us about 15 minutes later. Tip: if you're not assigned a letter make sure you sit close to the elevator...it's not first come first served, but rather who can get to the elevator first!
Up to the interview floor, doors opened, stood in line to get our # then waited to be called. Called up at 9:00 am - fiance went to pay the fee while I handed over passports, birth certificate, police report, medical records and photos. Were told to sit back down.
About 1/2 hour later I was called back for fingerprints and that's when the fun began! Took them many tries to scan...think the woman was getting a little frustrated, she actually involved me in the process...looking at the screen, trying to tell if they were good enough! Bizarre, how the heck would I know? Anyway, after about 6 tries she thought she had a good set, told me to sit back down and I'd be called back for the actual interview.
Not 1 but 2 hours later, they call me back up. Same woman. Same problem. Fingerprints were not good enough so they had to redo them!! It took them 2 hours to figure that out, nice. More fooling around with the scanner then back to the waiting room.
:15 minutes later we were called to the interview. I thought I was in the clear but oh no - the officer said they were still having problems with the prints but she was the resident expert so she'd try and 'fix them' as best she could. Fix them? Ay yay yay. Anyway, she was leafing through our file while 'fixing' my prints, asked my fiance what he did for a living, did he enjoy it, asked us how we met, looked through the photos we originally submitted in our 129 F, asked for proof of support (we gave her copies of his employment letter, bank statement, pay stubs - she didn't want the originals nor anything else. Then she says, 'that's it then'. That's it what? I thought I was supposed to swear an oath, answer a barage of questions, she was supposed to say 'welcome to America'...so I say, what do we do now then? And she says, leave! So I ask, are we approved then? And she says, yup, you can go. Honestly, I was so disappointed - 5.5 hours and all I get is 'that's it then'? Too funny. We left the building at 12;15 - 5 1/2 hours! Lord.
For all those who are reading this/about to interview, hope this review helps gets you organised, calms your nerves, and at the very least makes you laugh. Good luck!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6569