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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on September 12, 2012: |
RJay74
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
My wife had her interview on September 11 and I accompanied her, as we are both living in Toronto.
Stayed at Hotel Zero 1 which was about a 7 minute walk to the Consulate and we were second in line behind one man when we arrived at 6:45. Just after 7:30, they opened the door (were about a dozen people behind us at this point), a guard came out, and informed the man in front of us his bag was too large. He then waved my wife and I inside, so we were first in the building! Right inside the door was a lady who asked to see my wife's appointment letter, passport, and Loomis confirmation. She also asked to see my passport and, as a US citizen, I had no problems being let inside. Then we went through a metal detector. Much better than the airport; shoes stay ON!! Were then told to go down some steps and wait by the elevator. At 8:00, guard from the metal detector came and took down a barrier that was in front of the elevator, let people on, and told us to push the button for the 19th floor. We were also first in and first out of the elevator!!
On the 19th floor, went to window 14 where we got a ticket with C1 and told to have a seat and they'd call us. About 5 minutes later, we get called to window 1 where a lady went through a checklist of all the required documents and scanned my wife's fingerprints. We had our papers well organized, so that only took about 10 minutes before we were told to have a seat and they'd call us for the interview. Was about 8:20 by this time and then at 8:30, an announcement was made over the PA that they would be observing a moment of silence at 8:46 for the victims of 9/11 and that all consulate staff were invited to assemble. After this announcement, all of the staff left the windows and did not come back until around 9.
Just a little after 9, we got called back for the interview. A very nice man greeted us and apologized for the "longer than usual wait". Swore us both in, took another scan of my wife's fingerprints, and then asked a few questions about where was I living, what type of work did we do, when and where did we get married and then opened up our case file. I had typed up a letter explaining how I would satisfy the US domicile requirement, so he stopped on that and said "Oh, I see you are familiar with the domicile requirement". He then asked "So you do have somewhere to live inside the US?" Told him, yes, that my parents had said we could live with them and I also had a signed document from them indicating as much, which we had submitted to the lady at the first window. He reviewed this, set it aside, and then reviewed my I-864. After that, he closed the folder, typed a couple more things into his computer, and said he had just 3 more "standard" questions to ask. Have you ever had any issues crossing a US border, have you ever been convicted of a felony, and a third one I don't remember. After my wife said "No" to all 3, he said "Ok, I am approving your visa. Welcome to the United States!". We each thanked him and left through the same way we came in. When we were leaving, one of the guards by the front door asked "How did it go?", to which my wife replied "I'm approved!!", and he said "Congratulations! We are happy for you!". Were out the door and on the street around 9:20.
We found everyone at the consulate to be very courteous and respectful, certainly not like the rude, impersonal employees you can encounter at the DMV or other govt. offices. Even the interview felt more like just a conversation than someone grilling you or trying to trip you up on something.
Couple of tips from our experience:
- Believe the reviews that advise leaving bags at your hotel or car if at all possible. If the guard says it's too big, you're not getting in.
- To breeze through the first window, have your documents in order as listed on the checklist that comes with your appointment letter.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #10382