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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on November 8, 2010: |
choles
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Hey all you wonderful people at VJ!!
Guess what? Thank God, we are happy to report that we are APPROVED, yay!!
Here is the story:
-lined up at 7:00am (wanted to at 6:45 but got late), was 1st in line
-parked VERRRRY conveniently right across the street (down alley-way into larrrge paid parking lot), literallly 30 second walk.
-ushered up, just like others have reported.
-since we got "A" on our lineup (for being 1st), we got called to the counter first. She took our docs, made us pay the $404, we took a seat, got called back to take finger-prints by same lady, then sat back down, then finally into the REAL interview room. Note, the 1st lady asked my wife "soo, when did u move back to the USA" to which we were stunned cos she had not moved back. Was this a trick question? Perhaps... we donno... "u were supposed to move back" hinting that for these types of visa u should... but again, maybe it was a trick qtn?
-In the real interview, man asked usual qtns... we got asked about many things, and for a second it felt like our interview WAS NOT going the way how others have described theirs... a few things which sounded wrong:
--> "the purpose of the immigrant visa is to re-unite families, you guys are already together, and you have a stable job, so why do u wanna move? "
--> After hearing my answer, he says "I'm gonna need to consult my colleague.." referring to the notes he took from our answers
I did note him taking notes, and he was jotting down our answers as we went.
As I answered each of his questions, he kept putting a tickmark/check-mark on his notepad, as if to say I have successfully answered his concern regarding that issue. I think they have to ensure we answer successfully with respect to things like: "intention" "residency" "liability" "health" ??? Not sure..
I know I read elsewhere on VJ about how a certain man mentioned to the interviewees that "i want to ensure you wont be a strain on the system and that you are healthy etc" so these IRLH things seem similar in concept.
Anyway, at the point where he appeared unhappy with our conversation thus far, and just finished saying 'okay, i will need to go check with my colleague" my wife intelligently told the man "actually sir, we wanted to show you the following things" and pulled out 3-4 of the MANY domicile proofs we had ready (he had not asked about us about re-establishing domicile yet upto this point).
So when we began to show each of the domicile proofs one after the other, he then began to nod his head and then said "yup yup, this is exactly what I need" (to the effect) and then was like "ok great.. i'll be right back" he went out of the room, came back in, and then finally said the golden words "(to the effect) well, based on this info, i'm happy to say that u r approved, welcome to the USA....(etc..)).
Then he said "but, I need to clarify some things" and then went onto say how one should not make POE, then leave for extended periods of time without notifying the nearest embassy, and that immigration officials are being picky about these things lately. I asked what about for vacations and stuff, to which he answered "well, I cant get into the details of things" meaning how many days can one stay out of the USA etc, but asked me to read up about it instead.
Anyway, by this time we were too happy and excited to push the subject... we said thank u to him several times and wished him a happy weekend.. and walked out 
We do want to say that
a) THANK U SOOO MUCH VISAJOURNEY - We thank God firstly, but we also feel that if it wasn't for this forum we MAY NOT have been approved... after reading SOOO many stories and using the various features and reviews, etc, we feel we stood the best chance of getting ours approved.. and I think that is EXACTLY what happened.
b) READ UP AS MUCH as you can on the forums about various people, their experiences, and ask questions when u are unsure... hopefully that will make the process that much easier
c) DON'T lie about stuff... it is well known that one lie leads to another.. so u may not be able to pull it off... these guys are pro's at interviewing so always do things the proper way, be confident and sincere in your answers, and GO IN prepared! It will show if you are not. I totally felt like the man was observing my eye movements and body language for signs of confidence vs. lies. Thank God we had nothing to hide
We hope it goes well for the rest of you....... Stay in touch.
Choles
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6845