Interview Problem. I'm so confused.

[FEW 0]

Today I had my IR-1 interview in Montreal.

I had copies of *everything* we have submitted.

The consular officer decided he wanted to look at my CV.

My CV.

That was the end.

Consular Officer: 'Where is your CV?'

Me: 'I didn't bring a CV.' (I couldn't even bring my laptop or a backpack. The only things I brought besides the copies of all our submitted papers were a sweater and an optics book.)

CO: 'Well then, that's going to cause a delay in your processing. Don't worry, you can email it to me...'

Me: 'Is this going to delay the process a lot? I was hoping that I'd receive my visa by the end of January.' (Interview on January 18th, + 10-14 days expected delay)

CO: 'I doubt very much that you'll be done by then.'

That was it. Don't pass go, don't collect 200$

The interview was slightly longer than what I've written above, pretty much following this outline:

- Do you promise to tell the truth?

- Where/when/how did you meet?

- What do you do?

- Explain your PhD thesis to me. (Analytical chemistry, biomedical spectroscopy)

- Let me take a look at your CV.

I have already emailed the requested information, and they told me that I won't need another interview, but they also sent me home with my passport.

I think I'll keep a copy of my CV with me at all times from now on... (picture me in bathroom with CV)

My wife's supervisor has even offered me a post-doc position for when I arrive there, but the consular officer *only* wanted to see the CV.

I'm so confused and demoralized.

Has this happened to anyone? Any idea of how long the delay will last? Is there some serious problem?

Oh- and they didn't want the chest x-rays. My CO said the x-rays weren't needed, and I could hang them on my wall if I wanted to. I wish I'd known earlier that I didn't need to lug around the 2.5x1.5 foot envelope in a snowstorm.

[Minya's wife 24]

wonder why the CO would want to see your CV, it has no bearing on your marriage based immigrant visa.....hmmm.

The CO probably wants to offer you CV editing advice.

Edited January 18, 2008 by Paula&Minya

[FEW 0]

I have no clue either. It's pretty frustrating seeing as I'm worried that him taking time to review my 4 page CV is going to cost me around a month longer before I am able to live with my wife and 1000$ in rent & other expenses (I'm 28 & will be fresh out of school with my PhD, so my CV is pretty simple). I'm used to describing my PhD to non-science people, and I have a standard 5 minute platform speech, but he kept asking for more details. It was really quite weird, I've been asked for detail about my PhD project by my future supervisor (who is in a very similar field).

wonder why the CO would want to see your CV, it has no bearing on your marriage based immigrant visa.....hmmm.

The CO probably wants to offer you CV editing advice.

Anyone else want CV editing advice?

[YuAndDan 153]

CV = Certificate of Vaccinations?

Immigrants (IR-1 and CR-1 Visas) need to be vaccinated before they can issue the visa, so you need to provide proof to the immigrations officer.

In particular they are looking for:

• Mumps, Measles, Rubella (MMR)
• Tetanus and diptheria toxoids
• Varicella (AKA Chicken Pox) (Can be tested for)

Edited January 18, 2008 by YuAndDan

[FEW 0]

Nope, CV like curriculum vitae, though he didn't say curriculum vitae, he also didn't clarify or ask about vaccines (we had been talking about my school & work history). I had all my medical stuff already successfully submitted, and my vaccination booklet with me.

CV = Certificate of Vaccinations?

Immigrants (IR-1 and CR-1 Visas) need to be vaccinated before they can issue the visa, so you need to provide proof to the immigrations officer.

In particular they are looking for:

• Mumps, Measles, Rubella (MMR)
• Tetanus and diptheria toxoids
• Varicella (AKA Chicken Pox) (Can be tested for)

[mateo 0]

It sounds as though he doubted that you were a PhD. Truly strange.

CV is used almost everywhere else in the world except in the US where it is Resume. Sounds silly, but if he was doubtful about a claim in the documents then that must have been why he denied it. Maybe just your age and a bit of jealousy!

M.

[FEW 0]

That does sound like a remote possibility. He was in the same general age range as I am, maybe he didn't think it was possible to get a PhD by 28? (He was probably between 28-32 years old) But my wife is also a PhD student. Why would we lie about both being PhD students in Chemistry?

It's easy enough to verify: I even had official university confirmation of student status letters with me that I'd gotten for each time I've visited my wife in the states. I specifically asked him if there's anything else he needed or that I could show him ('nope').

It sounds as though he doubted that you were a PhD. Truly strange.

CV is used almost everywhere else in the world except in the US where it is Resume. Sounds silly, but if he was doubtful about a claim in the documents then that must have been why he denied it. Maybe just your age and a bit of jealousy!

M.

[vsmtghdy 2]

That is the first time I heard a CO would ask for a CV from an applicant. That is weird, but yes, maybe he is just jealous that you're already have a Phd at your age. Hopefully this will not cause so much delay on your visa. Good Luck.

[FEW 0]

Thanks for the goodwill.

I can't say that I have my PhD yet. I will submit my thesis in the next 2 weeks, and then I still have to defend my thesis (about 2 months later). The big downside is that I'm not being paid anymore. It would have been REALLY nice if my thesis submission and visa granting somehow magically corresponded.

That is the first time I heard a CO would ask for a CV from an applicant. That is weird, but yes, maybe he is just jealous that you're already have a Phd at your age. Hopefully this will not cause so much delay on your visa. Good Luck.

[Enlighten one :) 5]

My lawyer advice, which at this point does not mean anything to me, that they may ignore everything that is regularly requested and ask for something that was not.

I thought he said that just to scare us, because I am demanding a substantial refund for his errors that he has admitted to.

When you said "CV" I had no idea what you were talking about. I would assume Certificate of Vaccination too.

[FEW 0]

Oh, one quick note, I noticed that there's another thread that my wife has already been replying on...

The other thread about my interview. (not started by me)

[FEW 0]

FYI: In Montreal, CV is a commonly used term for curriculum vitae, or resume. We call the Certificate of Vaccination the vaccination passport or vaccination booklet.

When you said "CV" I had no idea what you were talking about. I would assume Certificate of Vaccination too.

[pushbrk 12,814]

It sounds as though he doubted that you were a PhD. Truly strange.

CV is used almost everywhere else in the world except in the US where it is Resume. Sounds silly, but if he was doubtful about a claim in the documents then that must have been why he denied it. Maybe just your age and a bit of jealousy!

M.

People with highly technical backgrounds are commonly asked for for a resume. They are looking to see if there is something about your education or work that is of a sensitive nature or could be a security risk. Maybe he wants to determine whether you're a chemical warfare expert.

[trailmix 77]

It sounds as though he doubted that you were a PhD. Truly strange.

CV is used almost everywhere else in the world except in the US where it is Resume. Sounds silly, but if he was doubtful about a claim in the documents then that must have been why he denied it. Maybe just your age and a bit of jealousy!

M.

People with highly technical backgrounds are commonly asked for for a resume. They are looking to see if there is something about your education or work that is of a sensitive nature or could be a security risk. Maybe he wants to determine whether you're a chemical warfare expert.

That crossed my mind too, I mean them wondering if your qualifications should be of any concern.

Pushbrk can you think of any that have posted on VJ that the OP might refer to?

[FEW 0]

I think you're probably right.

Perhaps they have special instructions for scientists/engineers. He specifically asked 'so you work in the natural sciences?' Looking back that seems like a textbook question that would be written in an immigration manual. And that's when he started to ask about the details of my thesis. Perhaps he just played along asking for more & more details so that they can pass the interview video to someone for later processing to see if it all checks out.

When I described my project to him, he said something along the lines of "so you're a bit of a renaissance man". I work on problems that are multidisciplinary, in Chemistry, Physics, Medecine, and Engineering, though it's all towards the detection of disease for early detection and improved treatment (I'm pretty sure he understood that). Maybe it made him worried that I'm potentially dangerous?

I don't remember whether the renaissance man comment or the natural sciences question came up first...

I wish that it had been written somewhere that CV's (resume's) are sometimes requested at the interview, I'd have been happy to bring it along on the first trip! B)

People with highly technical backgrounds are commonly asked for for a resume. They are looking to see if there is something about your education or work that is of a sensitive nature or could be a security risk. Maybe he wants to determine whether you're a chemical warfare expert.