Where to start? [Rambling post!]

I actually had a pretty good time. I was hardly nervous at ALL. I was going to take the bus to Montreal on Monday but the stuff my fiance sent me for the i-134 hadn't arrived in the mail so I was hoping I'd get it on Tuesday. It didn't come, though - and my dad in his joking way said he was sure it would come on Wednesday (ie., after I'd already been long gone and was probably already at my interview.) Well, the documents he sent as further proof that he is able to support me still haven't arrived, so I was a little worried about that but I figured that the form said I only needed that stuff if he was SELF-employed so I just hoped for the best and didn't let myself get too nervous about it. I mean we don't have a suspicious looking case in the slightest - we're both at the age when people tend to get married, neither of us have been married before or have any children, we're the same age, etc.

So anyway, I left my house shortly before 1:00 p.m. yesterday and got on the 2:00 p.m. bus to Montreal. I have two bilingual friends in Montreal (French being their native tongue, definitely useful!) - one of whom I actually met online years ago, and the other I met because she was formerly the online friend's roommate and I had visited her in Montreal previously. They met me at the bus terminal at 4:20 p.m. when I arrived, and we headed down rue St. Hubert and then rue St. Catherine just wandering, talking and glancing at the stores and such. I had asked my friend that I was staying with if she could bring her camera because I left mine at home since I knew the Consulate didn't want electronic devices in there, plus I also decided I wanted to go straight home from the interview (so I even wore the same clothes as I had on yesterday - my friend was gracious and lent me pyjamas and toothpaste!) We laughed at some "art" display on rue St. Catherine - it was bizarre - no idea what it was for but there were about 3 pairs of pants arranged in some fashion. Well anyway as we wantered down rue St. Catherine, we weren't actually looking for it, but I noticed we had reached rue St. Alexandre, so of course I exclaimed - "This is the street I have to go to tomorrow! The Consulate is somewhere on this street!" So we walked down it and found the Consulate pretty quickly, and my friend took a picture of the super tall building.

So we thought that was pretty cool, that we found it, and then we went back to St. Catherine and continued down there. We stopped in a mall near McGill and went to the food court where we all ordered delicious Thai food. They gave us a lot of food and my friend ended up putting the rest of hers AND the rest of mine in a container, so she had her lunch all set for work today! We just chatted some more and just generally had a nice time. Then we went to a Bubble Tea/Smoothie place where I think they got bubble tea and I got a smoothie which was delicious. We looked at the display in the mall - they had some artwork thing with water bottles. Too bad we didn't get a picture of that. Then we went into Carleton Cards and were having fun looking at the cards, etc.

It was finally just about 7:30 or so when the friend I was staying with, and our mutual friend parted ways on the metro. H & I took the metro to a bus stop, where we had to wait about 15 minutes for the bus that goes near her place. I saw a payphone and of course immediately took that opportunity to get out my calling card and call my fiance and tell him I was in Montreal safely and we found the Consulate and everything. We were able to talk for about 7 minutes which was really nice. Then the bus came, we got on, arrived at H's place... I met her roommate and her cat... we chatted a tiny bit and then I asked if they had a stapler (I wanted to staple some of my papers together and then I was showing H some of the stuff I had to bring - so H was joking to her roommate that she must NEVER marry an American guy because of all the paperwork you had to bring! lol) Anyways, so that was that... we were already pretty tired. They started watching some French TV - I don't really care for TV but do find it kind of interesting when it comes to the French language, so I was trying to see if I could pick up any of the words (I'm not fully bilingual but I do understand French fairly well) but anyway, I was just about to fall asleep on the couch so H asked me if I wanted to sleep in her bed (which is rather far away from the TV, lol - that was very nice of her to let me sleep there - I would have just used the couch!) But anyways, I was asleep by 9:00 p.m. and we had decided to get up at 6:00 a.m. so we could catch the 7:00 a.m. bus...

So we were up at 6:00 a.m. this morning, took our showers, etc., ate small & quick breakfasts and were out the door just before 7:00 a.m. We got the bus just before it was about to leave, and took it to the metro station, where we took the metro to Place D'Arts, and then walked from there. Something super convenient about those streets in Montreal is that it seemed like there were big maps on literally every block, so we glanced at it for a few seconds to figure out where we were going.

We got to the Consulate at about 7:38 p.m. H had some time so she thought she'd wait for me until she had to leave for work but of course we pretty quickly found out that security was RIGHT after the entrance and unless she was a sponsor she couldn't come in with me so she just left. There were already quite a few people there in line.

What I had with me:
-a tiny purse with my wallet, chapsticks, hairbrush, toothbrush.
-my Bible (for something to read)
-my paperwork in a big plastic bag (in case it rained - which it didn't)

I didn't bother bringing my X-Ray and am glad that I didn't.

There was a guy who asked to see our appointment letters, so I showed him mine. There was a lady ahead of me in line who, after he went back inside, commented "It's nerve-wracking!" (because everything was clearly so formal, etc.) So we chatted a bit and I discovered she was applying for a K1 as well, and then another lady applying for a K-3 arrived behind us and asked us something...I can't remember what but these two ladies and I ended up being together practically everywhere - it was funny how that turned out but it sure made the time go by a lot faster and we all just hit it off I guess.

After we got inside there was another guy who asked to see our appointment letters. He asked me if I had anything in my pockets, to which I replied, "No, I don't think so" and checked, and sure enough, nothing. Then he told me to show him my passport and appointment letter and to take my jacket off and put it in those container thingies. It was rather like at an airport except security was literally right at the entrance. I had to go through the metal detector and then he had to tell me to put my arms out so he could run the metal detector near all parts of my body (front, then back, arms outspread.) Then he told me he had to check my purse so I said "Sure, that's fine." Then either him or another officer (I can't remember - there were maybe 5 of them) told me to go down the steps and someone would come with me on the elevator to room 19 and then I think he said to go to gate 14.

Anyways, there was already a rather large group ahead of us that the guy was taking up the elevator. There were a few people still waiting and then one of the ladies I had been speaking with came to sit next to me and we chatted some more, and the other lady joined us as well when she cleared security. Found out some more about each other's situations - these two ladies were in the process MUCH longer than me - and we thought it was long for us!!! The K-3 girl got married in October 2006 and they started their process in November 2006 and the K-1 started their paperwork in September 2006! We started ours in March 2007! A couple of minutes later the guy who was escorting us on the elevator got us to line up and then showed us two different interview letters and said that the people with an interview letter "like this" (with a big date on the top) had to go to a certain window when we reached the 19th floor, and the other people had to go to 14 (interestingly enough, only me and the other two ladies I was talking with had the appointment letter with the smaller type.) Well anyways, I went straight to the back of the elevator but funnily enough that wasn't because of VJ - I just went straight to the back and once I was there I realized "Oh yeah, I guess this is the elevator the folks on VJ meant!!!" So I found that kind of funny. So when we got up we found "14" and just sat in the front row together, while we noticed everyone else going to the other number. We were pretty confused - all of those people seemed to be getting numbers but we got nothing.

Finally one of the ladies decided to mention what had happened to the lady who was first in line at window 14 and then told me to come in line and go first... I was kinda confused still but I figured, okay!! The window opened just before 8:30 a.m. I think. The lady asked me for my appointment letter and then asked if I brought an Xpress post envelope to see if it was the right size. That was that; she gave me a number and told me to go sit in the waiting area until my number was called. My two new friends were after me so we got C1, C2 and C3. Oh yeah, before I go on, it turned out that the lady in line was jennmac!!! I would not have known at all (I had no idea if I was even going to recognize her - besides that there were just so many people there!) but as I was getting my number, I overheard them chatting and someone saying "That's Melissa!!!" and then something about "VisaJourney" so right away I knew it must be her. So once I got my number I just quickly turned around and asked if she was "jennmac" and she said yes and asked if I got there okay and everything, and then I went to wait for my number to be called. I felt so bad though b/c that was the only time we got to talk.

I don't remember how long it took for my number to be called because the ladies and I filled the time with getting to know each other and what we had to go through in the process, etc., but my number was called and I was instructed to go to Window 6. I don't think I realized it quite at first but the thing kept beeping until I arrived.

I had a nice blonde lady. This was the point where I was basically handing over all my paperwork. Let me see if I can remember the order it was asked for in...

I think it went something like this:

- Appointment Letter
- MEDICAL (which she opened and read through)
- Passport
- Birth Certificate, Original & Copy
(I think at this point she asked a few questions, but it seemed almost more like she was just thinking/reading out loud - "Your name is ------, birthdate ------"
- Police Certificate (Original only)
- Affidavit of Support with supporting documents (i-134, Letters from employers, bank statement)
(I had my fiance's part-time employer's letter as well, so she asked about that as well - "So he holds down two jobs?" etc.)
- Letter from fiance stating he still is willing to marry me
(A couple more questions - "Do you have any siblings in the states?" I said "No" but then I couldn't help throwing in that I did have some in Canada so she replied kinda jokingly, and lightening up, "So are you trying to get away from them, is that what you're trying to tell me?" lol so I kinda laughed and said "No, I'm going to miss them a lot!")

And then she asked for the 156K (seemed like we both just about forgot, lol) so I said "Yes" and looked for it, and she saw it maybe a second before I did and said in a nice voice, "There it is!" kinda smiling.

Then she gave me my number back and told me to sit nearby and near the front and that I'd be called for fingerprinting.

Went out and sat with my new friends while I waited. They finally called my name maybe 20 minutes later, I'm not sure. Messed up on my last name but whatever...I figured what are the chances of someone having that similar of a name to me? lol So I went and sure enough it was for me.

The fingerprinting was done with a computer and some kind of blue machine (done by the same lady who took all my paperwork.) She told me to put my left hand with 4 fingers on the blue thing as shown in the diagram nearby. I did it once but I think I might have moved my fingers a bit or something because she had to ask me to do it again. Then she did my right hand (4 fingers) and that one I only had to do once. Then she got me to do my two thumbs (I had to stand on my tiptoes for that - I'm not THAT short, but I wouldn't have been able to balance quite properly if I wasn't on my toes - kinda funny) but I had to do them twice as well, and the second time she said, "Perfect!" At some point she also asked me if I ever had any problems entering the U.S. so I said no. She also asked me when my wedding date was so I told her the date we had planned.

When we were done the fingerprints she gave me my number again and told me to wait again until my number was called and said "Good luck!"

So I waited - more chitcatting with my new friends during which time we exchanged contact info, etc. - and then I was called by name (this time they got my last name right - I didn't even hear my first name, but anyway) - so I went to look for "8" but got confused at first. Number 8 is not a window like the others - it's a door. I went passed it and saw window 9 and then I saw window 6 I think, and then I realized, "Oh, there's 8. I guess I have to go inside." I was so confused when I opened the door though because the two officers who were there were behind a glass, so I thought I was looking in a mirror. LOL. But I didn't see them on the other side so I was really confused. Finally it hit me - Oh, it's another window, and they are at the other side of the window. haha

So I went to the slot and gave them my number, etc. One of them was the black blonde lady that I've read about on here but she said absolutely nothing the entire time; she was just watching me and listening to the conversation between me and the other officer. Another lady - I can't really remember much of what she looks like except that she was an older lady. Very very formal. She asked me literally about 5 simple questions. "Are you and your fiance free to marry? Have either of you been married before? Do either of you have any children?" No. No. "If that's the case then can I get you to sign here?" She filled in what she had to fill in on the 156K and then got me to sign and asked when we were getting married, as she was explaining about the 6 months to enter the U.S. and the 90 days to get married after arrival in the U.S. So I told her the date we were planning around "probably" and then as she was explaining the length of time we had I kind of laughed and said it would be long before then and explained that we wanted to get married AS SOON AS POSSIBLE once I got the visa. She told me they'd be able to send me my visa in a couple of days (or maybe they wouldn't be able to send it for a couple of days, I'm not sure.) Because of all the going back and forth, I was kind of stunned - I asked, "Can I leave now?" lol I probably sounded like I was baffled by the whole process...like, "Come on, we have a real relationship, why do we have to go through all of this crazy stuff just to get married?" I think that drew kind of a half smile on their faces (not sure) but she said "Yes, you can leave now" in a nice voice. I was soooo happy!!!

I came out smiling and went to chat quickly with the two ladies, and also looked around for Jenn. They commented that that was quick but I don't think they quite realized that I was already DONE (I don't think I quite realized it either, lol.) So they just started chatting with each other and I waited for a moment before cutting in and telling them I was done and they said I could leave. They were fascinated - "Wow, that was fast!" etc. It was about 9:30 a.m. so I was there for about 2 hours or not even.

So said good-bye to them and told them to email me and tell me how it goes, and asked if they saw Jenn but they hadn't. Then I headed for the elevator - I had no idea if I'd be able to find the bus terminal, being on my own now, but I wanted to get there in time for the 10:00 a.m. bus.

Once I got downstairs I saw there were payphones and of course pulled out my calling card and immediately called my fiance at work. Someone else (I know her though) answered so I just told her I had finished my interview and was approved for the visa and asked her to tell my fiance. Then I called my dad and told him as well...and then I was out the door of that place. I almost went the wrong way but then I vaguely recalled from yesterday from which direction my other friends and I had found the Consulate. So I walked up Ste. Alexandre, then down Ste. Catherine, and only had to glance at a map once. Once I knew where the bus terminal was I was running, and I made it JUST in time. I got there at 9:57 I believe. So I got back to Ottawa shortly after noon, and I arrived home shortly before 1.

I would have stayed longer to spend more time with my Montreal friends but didn't want to sit around waiting for 6 hours!

And here I am. Now I'll be watching Canada Post's web-site! I'm guessing I'll get my visa sometime next week.

The End. (Until we cross our POE, and are married and have to go through AOS of course paperwork I plan to try to get together before I move so we don't have to spend too much time on it after we're married )

PS. By the way I wanted my fiance to come but we decided that he wouldn't come because he wanted to take his time off work the week after we are married instead of the week of the interview

And also, it kicked in that I was probably going to be approved on the metro this morning. Tears of joy were about to come to my eyes that this day we've waited for for so long had finally arrived and we are so close to finally being able to get married. I do wish I could tell my fiance in person but I had to do it over email and he'll be coming to pick me up most likely so we will cross the border together. And on the way back it was so surreal and I kept asking myself if I was dreaming that I was finally done the interview and approved... !

Great review, thanks Melissa...be sure to update your timeline when you get your Visa

I'm not going with Doug for the same reason; it costs us way too much for both of us to be off at the same time, we're saving it for Florida....best of luck, and CONGRATS!

Thanks!

I just realized I put 7:38 p.m. in my review when I meant a.m., and I also just realized I forgot about the part about having to go back to window 14 to pay the $100 USD and get my receipt! And of course she also took the Xpress post envelope...and folded it in half (so much for trying to keep all my paperwork tidy! LOL)

That's so nice, your review made me smile! It's good that you weren't too nervous and that all in all it sounds like they treated you very nicely.

Great review! Congrats

Great review! thank for the update... i'm nervous to have my interview (if the notice ever comes!)... so this makes me feel at ease. nothing really to be nervous about! CONGRATULATIONS! ALL THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was quite the read, I'm sure you're glad it is all over with, it seems like you had a good time there even though it was short. I am glad and happy for you and I am very happy that Debbie the first blond you met was having a good day.

Great review - and congratulations:-)!

SUPER FANTASTIC REVIEW!!!! Funny as heck too!!!
Congrats on the approval!!!!

Great review! I'm so happy for you. Hopefully things go smoothly for me too next week!

Thanks Ron! For some reason I thought Debbie was the black blonde? I didn't meet her first, I barely met her at all actually... or was Debbie the other one (the one taking my paperwork)? I did see "Debbie" written on my paperwork (I think.)

By the way thanks for the email; I just received it today as well.

What was funny? lol (The pants thing?) Just curious so I can laugh too, haha

Edit: OH, nm, LOL I can see what you mean by funny...after re-reading some of the things that happened. haha

Yeah, I guess I had a fun/funny time and I'm glad my time in Montreal wasn't boring...I remember someone recently saying their time in Montreal was a total waste of time and I can't say that for myself. I must say it does seem silly to that we have to go all the way to Montreal to pay $100, get fingerprinted, and sign a document.

Another nice thing about the $100 is that I practically felt like I didn't even pay them anything. I had taken the $80 out a few months ago already so I wasn't even including it in my earnings so it was like I lost nothing. I know that's not true but it's kinda what it felt like. So funny!

My dad says that if it was him and I said "Can I go now?" he would have taken it to mean "Can I go to the States now?" and he would have said "After you get your visa" LOL

Yay!! Congrats Melyssa!!!!!

Glad it went all smooth for you!

Now you can turn the page and get ready for your moving !!!! When is it ?

SOON is all I can say for sure right now!

Plus it depends when I get my visa in the mail...

OH I forgot to say they did give me back my original birth certificate! I don't like my passport being out of my possession though but it is for a good reason!

Congrats!! Great review!!!

congrats!

Congratulations!! All the best to you guys

Congrats Mel
I'm glad it was such a smooth experience, minus the confusing parts!!!

Congrats....MTL doesn't sound that scary....hope when mine comes along, its as good as your experience

Congratulations!

I think I'm dreaming again....

Congrats!! As much as a hassle it is to get a response from Mtl, which can be a bit disturbing for some, once at the actual consulate its a very decent place. yes some grumpy people, but for the most part a good crowd and its a fairly painless evolution if you have all your paperwork in order.

Yeah.

Well I think I'm dreaming AGAIN because I checked Canada Post's web-site last night on a whim while talking with my fiance on the phone during a break in the conversation. He said he was going to brush his teeth so I grabbed the opportunity to check the tracking #, just in case and definitely not expecting to see anything, but it said my visa package was accepted at the post office at 9 something a.m. THURSDAY. This means I should be getting my visa today right?! Two days?! It's overnight xpress so... ! I'm dreaming! I had to read that little statement on the website over a few times because I don't think I quite believed what I was reading. Crazy!

Question: do I have to be the one to sign for it or can someone else living at my house sign for it? I don't think I want to leave the house and am hoping it will just come in the morning but I do have a couple of things that I want to get done today if possible. I remember Tinker saying hers didn't come til 4 p.m. I think. Hmm...

What a nice change from the long wait on an interview with Montreal...definitely something me and my fiance are smiling and excited about!

Wow, hopefully you do get it sometime today. As far as I know, you don't have to be the one who signs for it. I have gotten things come to my house for my mom(same last name as me) and my stepdad(different last name) and had no problems signing for it. Just to be sure though, you might want to be there, if possible.

Yes, I hope it comes early if it is coming today - at least that way I won't be wondering all day if it really will come! I'll probably end up waiting for it - at least for a few hours... I'm tempted to go to the local post office and see if they have it and I can just pick it up myself, haha. I just realized it doesn't open til 9:00 a.m. though. Well, it's almost 9:00 a.m.

[quote name='Melyssa' date='Oct 19 2007, 08:47 AM' post='1268142'

Yes, I hope it comes early if it is coming today - at least that way I won't be wondering all day if it really will come! I'll probably end up waiting for it - at least for a few hours... I'm tempted to go to the local post office and see if they have it and I can just pick it up myself, haha. I just realized it doesn't open til 9:00 a.m. though. Well, it's almost 9:00 a.m.
[/quote]


Mr. Postman look and see..OHHH YEAH, is there a letter in your bag for me...Please please, Mr. Po woah oh oh oast man!!!!
LOL Ok *end singing*
I hope it comes early!!!!

Me too! It hasn't come yet but we just called the post office to ask about it and they said because it's Xpress and overnight it SHOULD be delivered today but it might not have made it from Montreal's post office yet because it's a little less priority than "Priority" mail...but they said I might not get it until 5 p.m. I guess we'll see!