Consulate Review: Vancouver, Canada
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
August 19, 2015 |
| Embassy Review : |
Since Vancouver reviews seem to be rare...
First my medical with Dr. Cheema:
I went for my medical with Dr. Cheema on Friday August 14th. My appointment was at 11:45. I showed up early, but there was definitely no room to squeeze me in. This office gets VERY busy. Non-stop from what I saw. I waited until about 11:45 when I was called up to the desk where they took all my information. They needed my passport, another piece of photo ID, 4 passport photos, vaccination records, and the interview letter. I had already made copies of everything, but if you haven't done that, they will need to do it for you. The girl at the desk will confirm if you have had chicken pox, and when you had them. Then, it's back to waiting for Dr. Cheema. I waited another 5 minutes or so then was called up. The nurse checked my weight and height, then had me take a seat in the office. I didn't wait long for Dr. Cheema to make his appearance. He is a lovely man. Quite personable. For the 5 minutes tops I spent with him. He started by going through a long list of potential ailments. to which I continually replied no, trying to keep up with him checking things off on the forms. He then checked my eye site. Sort of. I was about 2-3 letters in with each eye before he moved on. He checked my heart, etc. Had me breathe for him. Everything was sooo fast. Had the nurse come in and checked my pelvis (clothing DID remain on the entire time, nothing even a little intrusive) and under my arms. Declared me healthy, wished me luck with my marriage, and he was off. So I went back up to the counter where I was given the blood test form, and X-Ray forms, as well as some forms with my passport picture attached to it. That part goes to the X-Ray clinic. They say the other building is 10 blocks away. They lie. It's FAR. I chose to take the bus, and it took about 10 minutes. The X-Ray clinic is right inside the front door to the right when you get there. There was no line when I went in. If you have long hair, bring a hair tie. You will need to pull your hair back. You basically take off everything above the waist, put on one of those attractive gowns, and take a deep breath in front of the machine. I was in and out in minutes. Next is the blood test. You go up one floor. You have to take a number from the machine immediately as you go in. It was busy, but it moved quickly. Once you are done, you are good to leave. The entire process took an hour and 15 minutes. I was done everything by 1.
Fun fact, since this is something us Canadians don't get often over here... There is an Ihop between the doctors office and the X-Ray clinic. If you are going to spend part of your day in Surrey, may as well enjoy some stuffed French toast!
now, the interview. I had my interview August 18th at 10:00AM. First thing to note about the Vancouver consulate is, they run rather efficiently. Their communication by email is quick, and cancellations appear to be frequent. My original appointment happened to be on September 29th. From there it moved to the 15th, to the 1st, and then as of last week, August 18th. So within 3-4 weeks, it moved up a month and a half. I arrived at the embassy early, around 9:25 or so. I left my bag at the Quiznos across the street, where they held onto it for $10. I felt this was easier since I had to check out of my hotel before I left. I left my wallet, iPad and phone in it, and it was all there and fine. Totally trustworthy in my books! I thought the embassy was going to tell me to come back sooner to 10, but they didn't. The first guy checked my DS160 and passport, didn't ask for the appointment letter though. They checked my little purse, made sure I didn't have anything on me that I shouldn't. The list is long, believe me. they will check for any sealed envelopes as well. I only had my medical results. I moved from there to the back of the line to head in. They let about 6 people up at a time it seemed like. It didn't take too long to get let in, though I wouldn't know... I had no phone! Once it was my turn I went up the stairs, and was met with airport security. You put your stuff in the tub, go through the metal detector, gather your stuff, and wait by the elevator. Luckily, there was an incredibly nervous, yet highly enjoyable and amusing kid waiting as well. He kept marching through the metal detector. They had to tell him so many times to walk through naturally, and not to march. It seemed to make it worse. Lol. Broke the tension, everyone laughed. I know it was sure helpful to me. So whoever you are, buddy... Thanks! If you need the bathroom at all, you are told to go here, as there is no bathroom once you get to the 20th floor. I don't even know where they would put one, it's cramped and filled. Once we got to the 20th floor, I got lucky, and was the first one of 3 K1's to get up there, so I was the first to hit Window B. I flipped the switch, and was met by an incredibly wonderful, warm and charming woman. She was just amazing. She took all of my stuff... passport, DS160, birth certificate, police check and I-137. She joked around a lot, and was great. She gave me my number and I had a seat. She warned me that when I see my number and it says window 1, ignore it, as window 1 is downstairs. I took a seat and waited, and waited and waited. Talked to a few others there for the same reason. It was nice to meet others in the same boat. Finally, in what felt like forever, again, no way to tell the time, and they conveniently have no clock in there, my number was called to go to Window 2. I get there... He can't process me there. So lets try somewhere else. I get called up to Window 3. He can't process me there either. K1's need a finger print scanner. The one at window 3 didn't work, and there wasn't one at window 2. Now I am starting to panic as you can imagine, wondering if this is a sign. Finally, after waiting even longer, I am called up to Window 4. The scanner works. I get a nice, personable younger guy. Basically, he explained what was going to happen. First, he took my finger prints, then the sworn statements, then some interview questions, and then a file review.
He asked me barely any questions: How did you meet your fiance? When did we decide to meet? How did he propose? (he guessed the end of my story!) and then, asked about our wedding plans.
Super simple and easy. Once done, he went through all the documents that he was given. I had an entire massively filled binder with proof of relationship with me, and he didn't even ask for it. He said he felt bad that he didn't need to see it, since I was ready with it. I put a lot of work in! But he finished with telling me that I was approved.
I would like to note, that it is very anti-climatic. Lol. There are no balloons, confetti, or even an ice cream cake. It feels like after all the waiting, there should be.
I went back to Window B after the approval, where it was explained what would happen. I walked/ran out of the building and back over to the Quiznos to get my stuff, and was pretty shocked to see that it wasn't even 11:30. So it wasn't a really long process. It just felt it. All in all, a pretty amazing experience, that is FINALLY over!
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| Rating : |
Very Good |
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ver 5.0