Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
January 26, 2010 |
| Embassy Review : |
Okay all, so here’s my indepth review of our Interview/Montreal experience.... it’s probably gonna be long so... bear with me...
We got into Montreal a day and a half early and on the second day, we took a stroll by the consulate -- you would NOT believe how many people we saw with the ExpressPost envelope and xray envelope -- pretty crazy, actually. We took that time to actually speak to a very nice security guard who happened to be outside -- I told him that were just casing out the place for our interview tomorrow and he told us, “get here as early as you possibly can -- the line up forms fast and long...” he also told us about bringing our stuff in a bag and all the other things we already knew -- he was a super nice guy.
It was really warm THAT day but the morning we had to actually wait was quite a lot colder. we were up at 6 am and out the door by about 20 to 7, I went and staked my place in line while my husband went and got us some coffee and timbits... we shared those with the family next in line behind us -- they had two little kids and you CANNOT eat timbits while two little kids watch you -- not cool.
So at about 7:45 the doors finally opened and the guard let us in and put us through security. As we were first, we got the coveted letter A.
We were then taken to a small room until a guard came about 5 minutes later and took us up the elevator (we already knew which way to face!) We sat there for about 5 minutes until my name was called and we went into a booth where a very nice lady said hello and asked me for my passport, medical results and Expresspost envelope... she asked me to verify that the data on my ds 230 was correct and had me sign the second page. She did NOT ask me for any of the other passport photos I had or anything else. We sat down for another 5 minutes until she called us back and proceeded to take my fingerprints. That was cool. She said I had very good fingerprinting fingers (note to self: do NOT commit crimes without gloves! J/K). She was done with us and sent us back out to the waiting room and said that we would be called by name. We sat there for probably about 30 minute or a titch more -- in that time husband thought it was awesome to read all about the US in french so I had him every 2 seconds going, “what’s this word in english?...” fun times as I’m not nervous or anything! 
So, at that point, the waiting room was really full of people -- like jam-packed. Finally they called my name to come to room 7 and we both went -- it was show time! When we walked in, it was an enclosed booth in a room... behind the glass was a really nice woman -- early middle age, long straight hair and very nice. She had us swear, right hands raised, that everything we had/were going to say was the truth and that we were under oath. She then asked me how we had met, when was the first time we met in person (we had met on a travel website quite by accident, FYI) and when I answered she asked my husband to confirm my answers. She asked me what my husband did for a living and then she asked him if had medical insurance in the US and he answered that he did. She asked me if I’d ever had any trouble at the border, “no” , If I had ever been arrested anywhere in the world, “no”. Then she said, “you must really like hats”... I said “oh yeah, i sure do” I realized it was because in the wedding photos we had sent in to the USCIS waaaaay back when, I had sent some wedding pictures of us and in them, I am wearing a vintage hat from the 1940s... so... in my books that was our ‘trip up’ question? not sure, but it was good on her part -- i think she really knew what she was doing. But, I do like hats and I was wearing one and... we’re a bonefide couple so... no worries but maybe if we weren’t legit? Anyway, it was one of those questions that made me think, oooh, trying to trip me up, are you?
Anyway, she then asked my husband, “when did you ask LGG to marry you...” we both laughed as he and I always talked about marriage and what we should do about us and how and everything like that but in the end, I asked him (told?) to marry me when we were in the bahamas. he got the locale right but he said a year early. I corrected him and he was like oh yeah! I had a minute of panic but it didn’t seem to mar us at all. She then asked us to confirm the date that we got married. My husband has the WORST memory of anyone alive -- he really is a scatterbrained/genius scientist type. But, all in all it went well. after that last question of when we got married she said, well, that satisfies me, and this all looks good, I’d like to welcome you to the United States! And we were both really happy, I clapped my hands and was Like thank you SO much and my husband, true to fashion goes, “right on! we’re early enough that we can still go get breakfast!”
all in all? Everyone in Montreal was super nice, super friendly and very efficient. I have zero complaints about anything -- they are doing their job and they are doing it well. We had a really nice experience and really enjoyed our time in Montreal, our time together and the whole interview experience.
My husband bought me a montreal canadienes shirt so I could have it with me in the US. They are my team and Montreal, my city FYI... .
So, enough rambling. My words of advice? Be early. As early as you can. dress warm for the weather -- we were lucky, it was pretty warm. If you were prepared for all the other steps, you will be fine for this one. What I suspect? Is that even before you get in there, they pretty much already know that you are approved or not -- I doubt very much there is too much one could do to screw it up...
So, if anyone has any questions or wants to k now anything, please PM or whatever, I am truly happy to help. We had a really good experience and I hope our POE goes just as well.
I am very much looking forward to my getting my passport back with my visa in it.
Talk to you all later...
xoxo
LGG |
| Rating : |
Very Good |
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ver 5.0