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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on October 24, 2011: |
mikevee
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
So we arrived at the front doors of the consulate at 6:00ish am. We expected to be the first but was beaten there by someone who had been there since 5:30 am. I'm glad we decided to get the extra sleep!
The doors promptly opened at 7:30ish and we began to go through security. After we removed most of what we were wearing (just kidding... just coats, belts, keys, change, wallets, etc.) we were directed downstairs and instructed to sit closest to the elevator door. Having realized the previous night (Sunday evening, about 8:30 pm) we realized the passport photos were missing and everything that could possibly print anything was closed, we were pleasantly surprised to find a photo booth for your passport photos. It costs $10 and they only accept coins and $5's and $10's. We were fortunate enough to have that available to us and in exchange for the money and the picture taking experience we got 6 passport photos. More than needed, but better than none!
After sitting for about a half hour we got to go up in the elevator for the famous 19th floor! As per the instructions of other VJers (that's you guys) we went to the other side of the elevator so when we arrived at the 19th floor we would be first out. We were instructed to go to window 14B for our number. When we arrived and the doors opened we were a little confused to where 14B was. We followed the little yellow arrows on the floor and they took us left around the corner and we waited for the lady at the window to raise the curtain so she could issue us our numbers.
We got our number... C2. We waited about 10 minutes and the ding went off and on the number counter C2 appeared and it said to go to window 10. When we got to number 10 there was a guy who wasn't very friendly who took the passport. He said he would return shortly. However, we overheard he was having issues logging into his computer. So we were instructed to go to window 11 where this kind and friendly blonde lady helped us. She took the fingerprints and all the original documents for review. We asked if we needed to fill out a DS-230 even though we already filled out a DS-260 online. She said she would take it because we had it with us but it wasn't necessary. She then instructed us to return to the waiting area and wait for our number.
Fifteen mintues later our number came up again for window 7! There was a upbeat guy who smiled a lot. He was going through the file (first time he saw it) and he dropped the passport on the ground. He got out of the chair to pick it up and said whispered to us "Sorry!" And we were like, "It's okay, you did it gracefully." And we all laughed.
He ask us to tell him about our situation, what are you going to do once you are moved to the US. And then he asked us who proposed to who (really? They have to ask that... it's obvious to me!) how we met and when we got married. And then he said I have approved you, Welcome to the US! And then he asked about if we're registered with DHL. He said the Visa would be processed tonight and we should receive it in 5 days.
After that we made our way to the elevator and we happily exited the building and prepared to find a Starbucks for a celebratory Chai Latte (our favorite!).
The most important things to note are:
-LISTEN (you'd be surprise how many people don't)
-follow the instructions the security people give you
-be organized
-be honest (very very helpful!)
-bring lots of evidence because if you don't bring it they will ask for it
-bring something to read, or in our case Mad Libs for the wait
-be very polite regardless of the outcome
Thank you US Consulate!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #8586