Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
October 12, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
I arrived at the Montreal Consulate at about 7:05am, there was one person ahead of me who said he had been there since 5:30am. More people started to show up shortly after, and there were at least a dozen people in line by the time they opened the door. I had an accordion folder with all my paperwork and just my car key (no other keys). They checked my courier letter and passport and sent me on to the scanner, where I had to take off my jacket, empty my pockets, and walk through. The man at the scanner was very nice and warm and welcoming. He took my car key and gave me a little claim ticket for it. I went downstairs and sat right by the elevator with the man who was ahead of me in line. After most of the first group of people were downstairs, they opened the elevator and I went in, moving to the back of the elevator since I knew it opened at the back. It seems quite a lot of people didn't know that though, and stayed to the front of it. It's a sharp left after getting off the elevator to get your ticket number, the lady just wanted to see my interview letter, then gave me number C2, and then it was time to sit and wait.
They called the tickets mostly in order, except for people at window #2. So the order was called as: C1, C3, C4, C5, C7, C8, C9, etc. The lady opened the #2 window at just after 8:30am, and I was the first called up to it. She was a bit older than me I think, glasses and blonde hair. She told me to give her my medical results and all the documents I wanted to submit at the same time, she didn't ask for them in any order. She sorted through them, and gave me back almost everything that I had photocopies of, including most things that my checklist had said I should have photocopies of. The checklist that I had received said I had already submitted photos and didn't need more, but the info on the website had said to bring two photos, so I did, just in case. I'm glad I did, as the lady said she needed them. She was pleasant enough, but a little abrupt, definitely not very friendly, just doing her job. She checked off everything on her list, going over my documents a few times, asked me a couple of questions, like if I had ever lived anywhere else and my parent's names, took my fingerprints, and told me to have a seat and wait to be called up again.
When I was called again, it was to a window further back, it was the younger black lady. She was professional and also pleasant enough, though not very friendly. She asked me to read the oath, looked through my documents a few times, and then asked me how my husband and I met and when we got married. She then asked me to walk her through our relationship, and she also asked if I had lived anywhere else, how often I had visited my husband, where he worked and what he did for work, where I worked, and if I had ever had any trouble crossing the border. I gave her a letter from my husband that he had asked me to give her, since he couldn't be there with me, which she read, said it was very sweet, and handed it back to me. She did not ask for any proof of relationship. I was putting the letter back in my folder when she put the letter through the window slot and said congratulations you are approved, you should receive your passport soon and you can cross anytime after that. I was a bit flustered, and said that's it? I can be with my husband for Christmas? She said yes, that was it! I was a little stunned, and a lot happy, and thanked her and left, probably dancing a bit on the way out.
All in all, it was pretty much what I expected from everything I had read here at VJ. Everyone at the embassy was professional and business-line. I cannot say anyone was rude, but except for the really nice man at the scanner at the door, I cannot say anyone was overly friendly or warm either. The best advice I can give is be there early, be polite, and be prepared, with every single document you could possibly need, everything on your checklist, everything listed on the website, and copies of everything. |
| Rating : |
Good |
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ver 5.0