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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on December 6, 2014: |
Melisandre
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My interview was on a very cold day in Montreal at 7:40 am. I live in Ottawa and from here it's about 2.5 hours drive. I had initially planned to get there a day before and stay the night but the anticipation and anxiety prolly would have killed me. So I decided to go there on my interview day. My dad and I left around 4:30 am and got to Montreal around 6:45. According to my gps I was 5 minutes away from the embassy but it was so confusing because of construction road blocks and one way streets! It was insane. We circled the place for 20 minutes! Finally found it and got there around 7:10. There were 3 people there (a group of friends) and the door was locked of course. Within 10 minutes of me getting there more people started coming. Even though we weren't technically in a line people were still nice enough to maintain a line until this awful man and his family showed up. He came with his wife and daughter who was prolly my age and they all started pushing people and made it behind me even though there were 4 people behind me! I had no personal space left. He had no clue of course that I understand the native language he was speaking and he was telling his wife and daughters to "push these idiots, use your elbow when the door opens and run behind me." I was so mad but I didn't say anything. It was about 7:30 and I saw people on the other side of the door, guards and security people. The door opened and the door guard instantly started behaving very rudely with everyone. He let families with small children and babies go in first even if they weren't in line. Which I thought was very nice and considerate for a rude man to do as it was terribly cold and windy. Then he said line up one by one by the wall so we all took steps back and as we were moving he came out and screamed "Do you know what a wall is? Stand by the wall I said!"..We "figured" out what a wall was and lined up by it and by then this rude man and his family pushed me and stood in front of me. I told myself I won't lose my cool and pretend it didn't happen. So we started going inside one by one, by groups or family. A lady checked my passport, marked my name off a list, checked my loomis confirmation and asked to proceed towards security check. There were two scanning machines. The rude man and his family got to one machine and I got to one. I got done within seconds as I knew not to bring absolutely anything with me other than the documents and some money, thanks to VJ. The man had water bottle, food, pocket knife and what not so he got in trouble. I know it's not nice of me but that made me happy : Anyways so after the security check I waited in line behind 5 people (3 individuals and a couple with a baby). Then I saw this guy whom I had chatted with outside. He was from Toronto and he had his phone and his backpack on him! I told him I don't think they're going to allow you to bring it he said he didn't have anywhere to leave it he just came from Toronto this morning. So it was his turn to get checked and as soon as the mean guard saw his backpack he kicked him out not only from the line but from the building! I stood in line and watched this guy get brutally insulted. The guy said is there a locker anywhere near where I could keep it and the guard said "Does this look like a mall to you? Are you that stupid? If you want to come in this building act like it!"..I couldn't believe my ears. Yes, he should have known better and not bring a backpack but there's no reason to be this rude and call him names. He might be super powerful in the US consulate Mr. security but outside this building no one gives a damn! My blood was boiling by then..good thing they asked us to go downstairs then and I didn't have to listen to any more of his infuriating words. So I go downstairs and there are 2 payphones on the side, both out of order. As you walk in, there's a door and about 10 chairs, when you go past it you see an elevator and there's a barricade in front of it and lots of chairs on both sides. Thanks to VJ I knew to stay close to the elevator. More people started coming in, most people preferred to sit where those 10 chairs are by the door as they thought this is prolly the door that you go through, including that evil man and his family. In my head I was like haaa suckaaa. So people were all sitting there and eventually every seat got occupied. I heard the man tell his family "As soon as the door opens push everyone in front of you and run! Even if it's children push them out of your way".. I wanted to pull my own hair out. Why are people like this! Anyways one of the security people came in around 8:00, moved the barricade from in front of the elevator and said go to 19th floor and it became hell. I had to take a look at the man and his family and they were visibly upset that they had chosen to be so far away from the elevator and us "idiots" by the door that's no good. Now once the elevator door opened only a few people seemed to know about the whole "face the back of the elevator as it opens from the other side when it stops" theory. It was just me and another lady and the couple with the baby. I heard the mom tell the dad "I have faith in you! Make us proud" and winked haha! We got to the 19th floor and as soon as the door opened the couple went around 14A/14B counter and I headed straight toward the reception lady who gave me a card that said "#1" (Yusssss!!!) I couldn't believe I got #1 after already dealing with so much nonsense of people. Before I could even sit down and take my coat off I heard announcement "#1 come to window 1" I was like whaaat. I ran to the window and it was a very nice lady who greeted me with a nice good morning unlike anyone else so far at that darn consulate and I couldn't believe my ears. By then I had forgotten what it's like to be treated nicely! She asked for my passport, i-134, letter of intent, 2 copies of photo, police record check, birth certificate, my fiance's employer's letter, his tax return papers, my appointment fee receipt and that's it! I asked her if she would like his recent pay stubs and his bank statements and she said no. Then she told me to go sit down and they'd call me. I picked up my stuff and turned around and there were 30 people in a line behind me by then! If I weren't in the back of the elevator I'd have been in the back of this line. I couldn't believe it. So I went to the seating area waiting to be called up. It was 8:15 by then. I was so happy I thought great I'd be done soon as I'm #1. I didn't get called till 10 am! I was surprised it was taking them so long I got scared thinking something was wrong. So they announced for me to go to window 8 and I was greeted by another nice lady. She told me their system had been down all morning, it keeps dropping connection that's why it took them so long. In my head I was like of course, the system would screw up the same day I have my interview, just my luck haha. So we started talking and the whole conversation was less than 5 minutes! She asked me when did I meet my fiance, if I met his parents, what's our wedding plan and that's it! She didn't ask to see anything! I had a whole pile of pictures, boarding passes, vacation confirmations, receipt of engagement ring everything with me and she didn't ask to see a single thing! She looked at me and said "Well this is the easiest part, you’re getting the visa. Welcome to the United States!"..I thanked her with the dorkiest smile and said she's the best haha. She wished me good luck and I was ready to go! Yeeei! Couldn't wait to tell my fiance and my dad the good news! My dad was waiting for me outside somewhere and I was supposed to call him after it was over but I didn't bring my phone with me. The payphones downstairs were out of order. Remember the old mean guard? I was dumb enough to ask him if he could tell me if there are any payphones around as the ones downstairs are broken. He took one look at me and said "Do I look like a tour guide to you?" I just left the building and wished him lots of inconvenience in my head. Anyways, overall great experience. Half the people who wait there with you for visas are unfriendly and downright rude. The rude man with family who called others idiots in his native language and asked his wife to push children are prolly one of the worst people I have ever seen. I'll never understand this entitled, crabby mentality. The office staff are really nice. If you have all the documents and have your story straight there's nothing to be afraid of. The guard however, was one despicable person. It's a very stressful and hostile environment so you have to try your best to not let it get to you. Have all your documents ready, be smart about getting there early, keep calm and all will go well 
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #15737