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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on August 26, 2006: |
HumanUnit
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Hi all!! Very exciting news and I definitely had to update everyone here. I couldn't have done it without you!
Long backstory short: my husband and I live in Toronto, moving to New York City next month for my work. I'm the US citizen so we figured back when we were still engaged that the easiest route would be to get married quickly and get him a Green Card. So, done! That was in October of 2005 and I had all the papers ready to go for the CR1 visa as soon as the marriage certificate arrived in the mail! I used this site endlessly for information! Mostly my concerns were about definitions I didn't understand and also conflicting information that I was getting, for example about how many years of tax information you must provide. I was also under the impression it would take the rest of my life to get an interview but things fortuitously picked up for us this summer!
The interview was on Thursday, August 24th. From the advice on this forum, we knew to be there at like 7am and we were the first people let in at 7:30. Most people seemed to be there for the non-immigrant or temporary visas, and they go through those quicker. The actual time we spent talking to human beings probably added up to a total of five minutes - I kid you not. First you go through the scanner, and be advised that now they're also confiscating things like lip gloss. You get a little ticket and can come back for it later. You then go downstairs and wait on uncomfortable chairs until one of the officers takes you all upstairs. Like they say, go to the back of the elevator and when you get out, take a left. You go to a kiosk and get a number - we didn't know if there were any more fees to pay but apparently not if you're going the permanent visa route.
Next step - you're called into a little room where they just check over all your documents and look at your medical results. We updated our address, and even answered a couple of questions like "when did you get married". Amazingly, my husband messed up on our wedding date and my birth date. I was like, doh! But we just burst out laughing and luckily the officer thought it was pretty funny too. Then we went back to sit down for a few minutes before being called into a booth. It was not at all like I would have imagined - you're literally in a tiny booth, with a hard chair, with an officer behind a pane of glass. The gentleman officer was sooo incredibly nice - asked maybe five questions about when we were married, when we met, what we were planning to do in the US, and then told us he wouldn't waste our time and we were a straightforward case! So subject to the FBI fingerprinting, we're in!
Other random stuff - we stayed at the Hotel Tour de Centre Ville as most people recommend, just because it's close to the embassy. It was so gross - ugh! I was sooo glad we were out of there in a day. But what do you expect for $100 I guess  . Other thing - if you get a chance, have a meal at the St. James' pub near the Intercontinental Hotel. Amazing food, and so reasonable. Finally, bring some darned sweaters! For some reason Montreal is always freezing to me, even in August.
Hope that's helpful!! Again, thanks to Visa Journey for all the help! I've been singing this forum's praises everywhere - I would have ripped my hair out many times if it wasn't for you all! Off to update my timeline and post this in the embassy reviews now!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #797