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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on September 20, 2012: |
AstralEdge
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
MEDICAL (Medisys, 500 Sherbrooke West, Montreal):
I had my appointment on September 13th 2012 at 9am. When I first got there the receptionnist asked me for my interview letter, passport, shots record and 3 passport sized pictures (I brought US size pictures as I wasn't sure and it seems like it was alright). Then I sat down for about 30min and I was called to Dr. Alain Dubois' office. He looked in my ears, inside my mouth, knee reflex, he pressed on my abdomen, osculted my heart and lungs, took my blood pressure. He asked me if I ever was in a big accident which I had never been. Then I was sent back to the waiting room. I waited for about 15min and was called again this time for the X-Ray. I was then sent back to the waiting room again  After waiting 20 more minutes, I was called by a nurse who had me read something on the wall, took my weight and height, got a blood draw and verified if I needed any more shots. And I did... my dTap (Tetanus, Dyphteria, Pertussis) was expired. So she gave me this one and It made me feel funny so she had me sit in the waiting room for 15min to see if I'd feel better after a while. Once I was alright I got up and went back to the receptionnist to pay. Total: $215 for the exam, $40 for the shot plus taxes = $278. She instructed me to come pick up the results on September 18th after 2pm. On that day I got in Montreal earlier than planned so I decided to check on Medisys at about 1pm to see if my results were ready and they were! A brown enveloppe, a smaller white enveloppe and a document all stapled together with the mention: Do not open! Immigrant visa exam.
INTERVIEW (US Consulate in Montreal):
Please note that my initial interview had been set for January 18th 2012 by NVC. However I had to reschedule it for September 19th at 8am. I was sooo nervous. I over-prepared for it... but it's better than not being prepared enough I guess lol. So around 7:10am I walked from metro McGill to the consulate. There was already 5 people waiting by the door outside. 3 of them were ladies with handbags or large tote bags. I thought to myself... when this door opens the officer is going to turn them away... and indeed, he did. When the customs officer came to unlock the door he turned them all away. So my free advice even if it is repeated over and over again on VJ: Do yourself a favor and leave your bag at the hotel!! I had my stuff in a binder and because I was afraid it would rain my binder was in a large ziploc bag. I had no problem at all! When we got inside, right by the door a lady was checking interview letters and passports. She highlighted my name on a list and put a sticker(Name, Passport number) on the back of my passport. Then a customs officer motionned to me to come forward and take off my jacket and put my binder in a tray. I then went through the metal scanner, took my stuff and went down the stairs in the basement. I don't know why but everyone was sitting close to the stairs. I went to sit by the elevator all by myself. I had my little VJ strategy in mind haha!! When the officer came to let us all in the elevator, I was the first to get in and went to the back left corner. I was also the first to get out on the 19th floor and the first to go to window 14A. Obviously I got C1. I sat down and waited about 5min. A lady called me to window 4. All my original documents had already been submitted to NVC and she had a *huge* folder in front of her with all my stuff haha... She asked for my interview letter and passport. She then asked me if my address, the petitionner's address and the address at which I wanted my greencard to be sent to had changed. They all did so she used some corrector on my original DS-230 and asked me to fill the blanks with the new address. To which she sighed but hey not my problem. Life circumstances force you to move sometimes. She also took the small white enveloppe from the medical but gave me back the brown enveloppe and the stapled letter. I also informed her that my husband(petitionner) had started a new job 2 weeks ago. She did not seem remotely interested... I told her he filled a new I-864 which I had with me, aswell as a letter of employment. She said she needed the 2011 taxes return and she could take the letter of employment... I also offered the VA (Veterans affairs) compensation my husband gets every month but she didn't want it. Taxes return and letter of employment was enough for her. She then took my fingerprints. After that, she sent me back to the waiting room.
I waited for about 15min before I was called again. This time to window 8. A very nice man greeted me and asked me how I felt. I said I was fine but I was very nervous. To which he replied: You don't have to be, it is only an interview. So he had me lift my right hand and swear that I was telling the truth and that everything in my application was truthful and to the best of my knowledge. He then took a fingerprint of my right hand (as a signature to the oath i guess?) After that he opened my folder and gave me back my marriage and birth certificate originals. He asked if I had ever lived in another country. I had previously lived in Germany... so at first he thought I needed a police certificate from there. But after verification I didn't! He went through my file with me and stamped and signed a lot of stuff. He asked me to sign the bottom part of my DS-230. All of this while chatting with me. The conversation went like this:
- Where did you get married? Oh Colorado Springs is a beautiful place!
- Are you going to live in Arkansas? It's very hot there!
- So tell me: How does a pretty Canadian girl like you end up marrying an American guy?
- How did the dating thing go? (To which I replied very well... here is the proof! and he laughed and said it was the best answer he ever got to that question lol)
- What does your husband does for a living? What do you do for a living?
Also he seemed a tad surprised that I had not changed my lastname to my husband's in my passport. I explained I honestly didn't know how to proceed especially since Quebec won't let you change your lastname. He said in the US i definitely could do so as in the US you can call yourself Mickey Mouse if you want to. To which we both laughed.
Then he said: I am approving your visa!!!! He gave me an info sheet on how to get my passport+visa back and said it could be ready within 5 business days.
I had prepared proofs of relationship (Pictures, joint bank account, lease and insurances in both names, etc) aswell as another original of my birth certificate since I was worried because I had sent the first to NVC and I had another police certificate in hand (mine was expiring 10 days after the interview) and they asked for nothing of these!!! It was so much more simple than I thought It would be! It felt more like a double check of the paperwork that had already been approved by NVC and a little chat. And it was it!!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #10460