Hi everyone,
We had our interview on February 13 in Montreal, and our experience was very similar to what others described here.
We arrived in Montreal the day before the interview and stayed in a hotel about 5-7 minute walk from the US Consulate, which helped a lot. We were able to walk the area the day before to make sure we knew exactly where the consulate was located.
Om the day of the interview, we arrived about 10 minutes before our scheduled time and waited outside. Our passports and photos were requested before entering. After security, we took the elevator to the first floor where all the steps took place.
1) First window: Document verification
We had renewed our passports in January, so they updated our passport information in the system. They checked our birth and marriage certificates, updated background checks, and confirmed the US address for the green card delivery.
2) Second window: Biometrics
They took biometrics for my husband and me only. Our daughter was not asked to provide biometrics.
3) Third window: Interview with Officer
First we took the oath. The Officer then began asking questions to my husband (main applicant) about his career. My husband brought an updated resume and letter of employment, which the officer asked to see. Questions asked:
What do you do?
How many years of experience do you have?
Where do you want to live in the US and why?
Have you been married before?
Is this your only child?
Have you been to the US before?
Have you ever been arrested?
Have you ever lived in a country besides your county of birth and Canada?
Have you ever had any issue entering the US?
At that point, the officer informed that we had been approved and that we should receive our passports back within 10 business days. He returned our original documents and gave us a paper explaining how to track the passport delivery. The following Monday was Family Day (a holiday), so the passports were mailed on Tuesday and arrived on Wednesday. However, only my husband's and daughter's passports were returned. Mine was not included.
My husband sent an enquiry to the email address listed on the tracking document on Feb 19, but we received a response asking us to wait (it appeared to be a templated response). On March 3 (after 10 business days), my husband called the phone number listed on the same document. He was told that no tracking number had yet been issued for my passport and we should continue waiting. He followed up via email on March 5, and yesterday (March 6) we received the same templated response.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Any suggestions on what we should do next? I am a bit concerned.