Montreal Consulate Interview

[HF & HB 6]

Review -  Montreal Consulate Interview:

 

I wanted to review my experience at the consulate in the hopes this will be helpful for others. I arrived a little after 6 am at the consulate and I was the first one there. At 7:30 the door was opened, and we were allowed inside one at a time. While waiting I had the opportunity to talk with many of the other applicants who were really nice, which was great. After I was allowed inside I was greeted by a lady who asked for my appointment confirmation email and passport. She then gave me a laminated sheet with a number #1 and then I went through security. The rules I read on the door outside was no liquids, gels, powders, etc. in our purse and the purse must be small. I only had a few items in my purse and I didn't bring my phone (others brought theirs but I'm not sure where they put them). I went through security with no problems. I then went into a room where we had a chance to arrange our documents in the order specified on the laminated sheet. We were all then escorted to an elevator that took us to the main room where the interview would be.

 

Shortly after, I was called up to one of the booths and was asked to give my papers one by one through the designated slot under the glass. The lady who took the papers was very nice. A couple of key things that I think may help other applicants regarding paperwork:

 

~For the Affidavit of Support I gave as much evidence as possible having read multiple VJ reviews:

         * Brought 3 years of tax returns, transcripts and W2s (she only wanted last years)

         * Employment letter and additional email proof of my fiance's company's policies as to why the letter doesn't mention whether the position is temp or permanent (and explained this to the lady who said that's fine)

        *  6 recent paystubs

        *  Signed letter from the bank stating current total, date opened, etc - Due to another policy at the bank I also brought 12 months of bank statements to show the total amount deposited since the signed bank letter did not include this total for the previous year (again I mentioned this to the lady and she was okay with that)

 

I had originals and copies of the required Packet 3 documents, a copy of my passport bio-metrics page, and in my case I also had my foreign birth certificate translated professionally. I was also asked to show the email with proof of payment for the interview.

 

After handing her all the documents asked for I sat back down and waited about 15 min or so until I was called up to another booth where the actual interviewer was. The interview itself was pretty quick and the questions were nothing too surprising. I was asked about the details of my immigration/citizenship in Canada, how/when I met my fiance, how/why we decided to marry (mainly because we got engaged not too long after meeting) and lastly, about his employment. The lady interviewing me was super nice and put me right at ease. I was able to explain things in a calm and comfortable fashion which was great. She then gave me the long awaited for pink slip and explained to me the steps to receiving my visa in the mail. In total it took just under 1 hour from the time I entered the building to complete everything. 

 

After the interview, I checked our case status on the CEAC case tracker and saw that on the same day the status changed from "Ready" to "Application Received". The next day after my interview it went to "Administrative Processing". This morning, 2 days after, it was Issued !! About 2 hours later I got a email notification from Canada Post with info to track my package.  😄

Edited July 13, 2019 by HF & HB

[Mrsjackson 300]

They have lockers for people (such as myself) who bring their phones. They give you a ticket to retrieve it after. Congrats