 Submit New Consulate Review
Submit New Local CIS Office Review
Statistics: Country || Local CIS Office
Canada US Consulate Reviews
Average Rating: 4.2
/ 5
1651 Review(s)
|
| Vancouver, Canada |  Review #5213 on November 10, 2009: |
liz25
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
The Interview was not stressful at all. The hardest part was waiting for 2 hours. When first arriving to the Consulate in Vancouver, I went through 2 security check points which included metal detectors. When I finally got to the waiting area, I sat for about 20 minutes before being called up. The first person I spoke to, asked for all documentation. Word of advice: make sure to have a photocopy of your birth certificate, signed Affidavit of Support and any evidence of your U.S Fiance(e)'s income. ie. tax returns, paystubs, bank letters, employment letter etc. After handing all documentation to the first lady, I went back to the waiting room to wait. About half hour later, I was called up to have my fingerprints taken. That took about a minute, and then I was sent back to wait again. Finally after another half hour or so, I was called up for the actual interview. I was asked to read a few paragraphs on the DS 156K and then the last paragraph was an oath that I had to read out loud. The interview portion took no more than 10 minutes. The questions I was asked were:
- Where did you and your fiance meet?
- When did you meet?
- When did you officially declare that you were together?
- When did you get engaged?
- When is the wedding?
- What does your fiance do for a living?
- How much does you fiance make?
- Where does your fiance work?
- What do you do for a living?
- Are you going to work when you permanently move to the U.S? And what job will you do?
- Do you have any evidence here of your Bonafide relationship? (I had photo's. She quickly skimmed them asked about a picture of me, my fiance and my niece)
After all questions were asked, she quickly skimmed security checks on her computer and said that no criminal records came up. Then she said, I was approved! She told me to speak to her colleague at window B for pick up information. I was told I could pick up my visa on Thurs!
| | | Montreal, Canada | Review #5210 on November 9, 2009: |
cdn_gewels
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
I got to the Consulate at 6:30 am and was first in line. When security was in place by about 7:30 am, they took the interview letter and passport and then assigned my interview letter with letter "A."
Once we were brought upstairs, we were asked to sit down in the large waiting area. I was called by name over the intercom to wicket 11. I thought this was a good sign - it's my lucky number! From what I can remember, the very nice blond-haired lady requested: my passport, a photocopy of my passport photo page, my police check, my sealed medical results (minus the x-ray), my birth certificate (it's in French, so I also gave her a notarized translation), 2 US-sized passport photos, my already self-addressed X-Presspost envelope and a more recent letter of intent from my fiance.
I was then given a little piece of paper to bring with me to the cashier to pay $131. I had all bills and the exact amount in US. No issues there. Side note: I over-heard another applicant at another window who said she had made a deposit with Scotia Bank for the payment, but there seemed to be an issue, so she was asked to go to a bank to get cash.
Once back to window 11 with my receipt, I waited a few minutes for the lady to return. We took my finger prints and then I was asked to return to the waiting area.
No more than 15 minutes later I was called to window 8 by name. This was the interview room. A very nice, smiling man (whom I later learned was the Director) greeted me and asked me to close the door behind me. He told me that lady at window 11 was impressed with my organization and had even put a sticky note with "Most organized app. ever" written on it and stuck it to the front of my file! I was asked to raise my right hand and I made an oath that I was telling the truth. I was then asked for my I-134. I handed him the completed form, along with a bank letter, tax receipts from the last 3 years, and a letter from my fiance's employer. The man then said, "So, tell me about your honey." I thought that was cute! We spoke of how we met, why we decided I would move, when I planned to move, what my fiance does for work, where I currently work, and where I plan to work when I move. We also spoke of my many visits, and also about Disney World - where it all began for my fiance and I. He then asked if I by chance had a copy of my fiance's passport photo page (we submitted a photo copy of his birth certificate with the I-129F). I confirmed that I did have a colour copy, but I also offered my fiance's original birth certificate which he was very pleased to see. The man didn't ask for any pictures, but I had made a little album and he looked through the first few pages when I offered it to him. As the interview came to an end, the very nice man smiled and congratulated me on my approval. He then had a little bit of concern on his face when he went to explain that if I planned to move in February, I wouldn't be able to travel back and forth before then with the visa in my passport. I explained to him that I was aware of the rule, but thought it was really nice of him to have concern. He was so nice that I honestly wasn't nervous at all. It was truly a positive experience. He looked at his computer screen once we were done. He told me it was now 9:01 and wished me a good rest of the day.
Walking back into the waiting room I got hugs from my fellow VJers KnJ and Missa and then headed back to the exit on my own.
As for my organization, I honestly just had everything in an accordian file folder that had 13 separate slots, each labelled. It was just easy to pull stuff out as each document was requested, so it went fairly quickly. I think it was a bonus to have my fiance's original birth certificate. I also believe they appreciated the notarized translation of my birth certificate.
It feels good to have this part of the journey complete!
| | | Montreal, Canada | Review #5206 on November 7, 2009: |
KnJ
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Interviewed November 6th, my fiance (USC) came with me. Arrived approximately 7:10am and was 4th in line. by 7:30 there were at least 30 people waiting in line outside. I received letter "D". We didn't really wait for the elevator, because we were the first batch through. We were brought upstairs, and we waited in a bank of separate chairs on the far side. The next group of people they brought up, and all subsequent, were directed to line up for a number.
Those of us with letters were not called up in order - presumably each person taking the documents was assigned a case, and we were called up in the order those people were ready to receive the documents. When I was called up to the window, the woman was very cheerful and smiling. She asked me for documents one at a time, including original + 1 copy of my long form birth certificate.
I had things organized as follows - one folder of originals and one of copies in the same order (each flagged and labelled so I could pull out the right doc regardless of what order she asked for them). In all I was able to put my file folders including additional evidence (which was never requested) into one file pocket/portfolio, the kind with the elastics to hold it together. This allowed me to only need to rifle through two different piles, and not have to separate out copies she didn't ask for. I didn't bring the x-ray.
As a sidenote, they folded my xpresspost envelope so it is more convenient to put in the file, so don't worry about doing the same, it's SO much easier to carry that way.
We were then sent to pay, and told to return to the window to get fingerprints taken and give her the receipt of my payment. The line up for the cashier is beside the line up where people were waiting for numbers. You line up to the left of the sash to make payment, and a couple in the other line were going to go ahead of me but she actually stopped them to move us through to pay. It all seemed very efficient. The cashier asked for bills -- so don't bring change. They check if the bills are counterfeit. They do give change if needed. (We supplied $100 + $40 + $1)
Upon returning to the document lady to get fingerprinted, I supplied the receipt and had to give fingerprints of all fingers on each hand, and then thumbs of both hands. While I was doing this, the man who was to interview me dropped by and said hello, and then he said 'Oh this is Karen and Jason? The famous KnJ! Excellent, I'll see you soon, and we'll chat about VJ after the interview." He was very warm.
I was told to sit back in the original bank of chairs and wait, and they will call me by name. It was nice to have cdn_gewels (who, by the way, was the first one done!) and Missa to talk to. The room kept getting busier and busier! Some people had to use the computer terminals to fill out more forms. Others had giant messy stacks of paper, or tiny Xpresspost envelopes, and I wondered how they'd fare.
We were called into a room with a door, and closed the door behind us, the CO was very friendly, smiling, and made warm eye contact. I think he was a supervisor, but I'm not sure of his name. He asked me to hold up my right hand and he gave the oath. Then we chatted, he asked how we met and when. He asked J directly what he does. He also asked when we got serious and decided to go forth with marriage, and if there was any period of time after that when we broke up. I answered that we had a rough patch for a bit when I stayed wth him as a visitor and got sick, but we worked through it and I said ultimately it made us stronger.
Then he had us leave the room and wait outside, he said there was a finalization of the background check or something. Very shortly after that we were called back in, and he told me I was approved! He said congratulations, and gave me a sheet with information on "what's next", said it would take 7-10 business days to get the visa. asked if we had any questions. He explained the ability to travel outside the country etc.
After the interview, he remarked to us that the people who come in and have used VJ are the most organized (he even gave nods to cdn_gewels!), and that they really like doing K-1s and CR-1s because it is a happy situation. They are very cognizant of how much our lives are on hold and in uncertainty because of delays and such, and they really are doing everything they can. He said in terms of receiving the visa, they are working overtime, he's bringing his people in on Saturday, to process visas. It was very reassuring to hear that, he said even though he doesn't want to be making people work overtime like that, they are doing whatever they can to speed things up. The fact that he was working (turns out he was the head of the consulate), conveys that they are working overtime and are all contributing to speeding up the proces.
I think we were out of the building at 9:30am, elated and we spent a bit of time in MTL kicking around before J drove back to Boston and I took the train to Toronto. Huge huge kudos to VJ for making this sooo much easier and less stressful than I think it otherwise would've been.
| | | Montreal, Canada | Review #5205 on November 7, 2009: |
Missa
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
everyone made us feel totally comfortable, and were so happy for us because we seemed so happy. After passing through security ( they gave dale a ticket because like an idiot he brought his phone but it was no problem) we went downstairs and were told to wait. we did for about 10 mins, then the security guard came and took us up in the elevator. we all got in line at the cashier ( but we didn't have to pay at this point, they just gave us a paper of what we needed to get together and a number. it was pretty straight forward, have your passport, pictures, police report and affidavit ready + your envelope ready. we then waited and waited and waited until our number was called.
When i handed in all of my forms to the girl at booth 10 the girl beside me at booth 9 didn't have copies, she was missing stuff, and she had to take so much time to fill everything out. my CO was so surprised that i had everything she asked for even a second copy of the ds-156 and 156k and she even commented how well organized i was. then she sent me to pay at another window and bring her back the rcpt right away. after she had everything in order she took my fingerprints on the green machine and i was so sick that i got right an left mixed up and we laugh about that. she then sent me to sit back down with everyone else. many many people in the room now, we saw a guy with makeup on, a huge jewish family with adorable little kids and many people who didn't have Canadian passports too.
we were finally called for our interview.we were called into this small room. the CO was actually the director of the consulate, you know, the guy on the website lol. we talked about visa journey, he invited us to take our coats off and he was pleased that dale came with me. he made us feel more comfortable by saying he totally understands what a long and hard trip its been but assured us that we were at the end. i loved that he talked to us like we genuinely understood the entire process. he talked about redflags and that we would have been flagged if there was anything wrong with our case but everything was clean. he had to ask a few questions about us. when we met and how, did we know right away it was special. and where we planned to live once i moved to the states. he didn't ask to see any of our evidence and i have a feeling its because he's been following all of our stories on VJ for a while. he also asked if i had ever been in trouble with the law , i said no that i was clean and he asked if i had ever been refused. i laugh and said pulled into secondary almost every trip but never denied.
he told us congrats that our case is solid and that he was approving us. yay!
you can't really know what its like until you experience it, no amount of description can ever give a clear picture of the end of the journey.
| | | Montreal, Canada | Review #5144 on October 27, 2009: |
simistar
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
First of all, thanks for the heads up VJers to be there just before 7am...I was the first in line! And boy was it cooooold out this morning! Another couple showed up about five mins after I did (I think they're members on here, but never got their user name(s)) so we chatted until they opened the doors...which I think was at 7:30, but I didn't have a watch on me. A few more people had joined the line by then.
Went through security...
Went down some stairs where you're told to wait in a chair outside the elevator. You're also given a form saying what documents/items to have ready to show, so most people get this organized while they wait for the elevator guy to come and get you...
At about 7:45am a few of us from the front of the line were taken up in the elevator... We were told to sit and wait until our names were called.
It was cold and foggy, so unfortunately, couldn't see the view everyone raves about :-)
Just before 8:30am I was called up to a window to submit my documents...
The lady here was pretty nice...she seemed to appreciate that I had everything organized:-)
She told me to go pay at the cashier and come back to be fingerprinted...
There was a bit of a line at the cashier, but I paid, and went back. She wasn't there at first, but when she re-appeared she called me up right away...
She said everything looked in order, took my fingerprints and told me to go back to the main waiting room and wait to be called to an interview room.
*I should note here that of the documents that were asked for, none of them were our "proof of domicile" documents/items...perhaps this is my fault, I should have asked the lady whether she wanted them... But she never asked so I figured I would just show them at the interview....
At around five to 9am I was called in the interview room...
I was kind of thrown off! I guess I was just expecting it to look different:-) It's a pretty small cubicle-like room with a window that you talk through...and you stand...at least my interviewer asked me to...
Anyway, he was...okay...not super nice, but not rude either...
He looked through all my submitted documents and asked me when we would be moving.
I said since we weren't sure how this would turn out, we would move as soon as we could after I got my visa.
That is seriously ALL he asked me!
Then he started explaining domicile and how visas are meant to re-unite people and since my husband and I already live together that doesn't apply here, BLAH BLAH BLAH... Honestly, I don't even think he knew what he was talking about! I certainly didn't! :-)
But the bottom line at the end of all his talking was that everything in my file looked good except that my husband would have to move the States first so he could establish domicile, and then we could proceed further with the visa...
WTF??
Well, thank goodness I had read about ALL about this on VJ!
So after I politely listened and nodded to everything he said... I pointed to my file folder on the chair and said I have some proof of domicile...
But before I could finish my sentence, he cut me off and said he didn't need to see it, that there was nothing I could show him that would prove domicile because my husband lives in Canada, not the United States.
Again, WTF???
He started to repeat himself about the whole visa meant to reunite people speech but he was interrupted by some other US consulate employee knocking at his door. He asked to excuse himself b/c there was some kind of emergency to deal with.
He came in and out a few more times while I just stood there waiting... He apologized each time saying this was unusual, but there was an emergency...
While he was busy dealing with all that, I'm thinking, Jesus, he won't even let me SHOW him what I brought to prove domicile!!
I think my heart stopped beating for a few seconds:-)
When he came back and was done dealing with the emergency, I gently and VERY nicely said, it was our understanding that since we don't currently live in the United States, that all we had to do was prove that were are "re-establishing" domicile...
He said, well, yes, but you'd need a job offer, a lease agreement...
And I said, WE HAVE ALL THAT!
And he said, Oh, okay...well, then yes, let me have a look at what you've got...
(FINALLY, thank you! I think maybe him having to leave me waiting maybe made him feel a bit bad? or not...who knows:-))
So, I showed him the job offer letter...he read it...
I also showed him a letter from my husband's parents saying were going to be staying with them and paying X amount in rent and X amount for utilities.
*This is important -- we also attached an "official" lease agreement that both of us AND both his parents signed...it was a lease form we downloaded from the Internet... He looked at this and I think this "official" looking document is what really got him to admit it as proof of domicile.
I had other things too...
My husband's valid US drivers license...
A bank statement showing a joint US dollar account in Canada
A listing agreement with our real estate agent to sell our place...
Mail from over a couple years addressed to my husband at his parent's current address...
He wouldn't accept ANY of these!
BUT, he did accept the job offer letter and the "lease agreement" with my husband's parents and FINALLY said, I've got enough and my visa is approved!!!
Oh, I should mention that at some point, he asked how my husband and I met...but seriously, he only asked like TWO questions total...
I was out of there by about 9:15am!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!! I couldn't have done it without everyone's help on here!! 
| | | Now Showing Records 1326 to 1330 (of 1651 total) | |
Pages: First 264 265 266 267 268 Last
|
|
