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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on May 6, 2015: |
Sparkles2013
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
I am so excited to write this!
I suppose I shall start at the beginning. We called the NVC to find out the status of our case 14 days before the interview. The operator informed us that our case was completed and that our interview had been scheduled! (Apparently this was done the day prior, but the email hadn't gone out yet). I Received the email several hours later that same day!
I immediately called the nearest panel physician to me- they were completely booked. I called a second (twice!) and no one answered, i did leave a voicemail on the second call, but I never did hear back! That same day, I emailed Dr Lyndon Mascarenhas, and within a few hours I had my medical booked! (Do NOT wait until the last minute to schedule your medical! Get at it as soon as possible!!) I ended up emailing them back a few days later, as I was nervous that the results wouldn't be ready in time- the receptionist agreed with me and was able to bump me up few days. The medical itself was very simple and basic- Took less than an hour from start to finish.
The Montreal experience:
Hubby and I arrived in Montreal the day before my interview. We rented an apartment from aribandb.com (as it was less expensive than a hotel, about $70 for the night, plus we had our own kitchen (aka saved on meals!)). The apartment was about a 10 minute walk from the consulate- given that it was 22 degrees and sunny not an issue to walk there! We walked down so that I would know where to go the next morning. We spend the rest of the afternoon just wandering around- we have been to Montreal before, so we skipped the touristy places and just explored the neighbourhoods. We had an EXCELLENT dinner at "Wilfred sur Laurier"- I would highly recommend it!
Interview day:
I was up nice and early (aka 530)- took my time to shower, dry my hair, make myself look presentable.. all that fun stuff! And left the apartment just before 7am. When I arrived at the consulate, there were about 5 people ahead of me in line. By the time the guard opened the doors, the line was about 20 people long! We signed in with a women just inside the doors. She asked to see my passport, DS260 and Loomis conformation. Then it was time to go through the metal detectors (think of going through the airport). I only had my file folder and the keys the the apartment. I was through in less than 60 sec (even the guard commented on how quick it was!) I did see a few people with purses, however the man behind me was denied access to the building as he had a laptop bag. The guard told him he would have to walk to the nearby mall and check it into a locker (even though there was no laptop in it!). I then followed Saylin's directions and sat down by the elevators. There weren't many chairs set up, so a few people didn't have anywhere to sit. I believe I was there for about 20 minutes before going up to the 19th floor. Everyone SWARMED the elevator! We were seriously packed in there. It didnt matter who was in line first outside, that elevator kinda leveled the playing field. Once upstairs, everyone lined up with reception. For immigrant visas you only need to show your passport (so keep it handy!)I was given #4. I sat down in the chairs for a few minutes before being called up (before #3...not sure why). The lady at the window asked for my original documents, and took my fingerprints. Now, here is where I made a boo boo. When she was looking over my affidavit of support- she told me that the signature was missing. I didn't understand the instructions- I had the correct document, but it was a reprint of the one we had submitted, and my husband hadn't signed it. She took everything, gave me the domestic abuse pamphlet and instructed me to go sit down. Less than 10 minutes later I was called up to another window. I read the oath and then he officer there asked me a few basic questions:
When did we get married?
What did my husband do for a living?
Had I ever been to the USA?
Had I ever entered illegally?
Had I ever been deported?
Had I been married before? Had my husband?
Canadian and US address
Had I ever been arrested?
Then came the form review... as previously mentioned, I was missing a signature. I explained that my husband was about 10 minutes away. The guard gave me a re-entry pass (retained all my docs and passport) and told me to come back before 3pm. I raced back to my husband, had him sign and date the form (in BLUE) and then racked back to the consulate (round trip was less than 30 minutes). When i got back, i showed the guard at the doors my re-entry pass. The receptionist on the the stairs then called upstairs. Once she was off the phone, she told me to go directly to window 7. I went through security again (just as quickly) and went back upstairs. The officer at window 7 was with another applicant, so the receptionist had me stand at the little opening to the window. In less than 10 minutes, I was back at the window with the signed form (the office was impressed that I was back so quickly!). He returned my documents to me and then told me that my visa was approved!
I am SO HAPPY!! (irritated at myself that I overlooked something so simple, but I am glad that it was resolved so quickly!) javascript:emoticon(' ')
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #16760