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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on June 14, 2015: |
QueenieBee
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
I had my interview on Friday, June 12, 2015. My appointment time was 10am.
I arrived at the consulate around 7:10am and I was 4th in line.
At 7:30am two security guards came out and told us to go inside and wait in the hallway. A few people were sent away, because they had backpacks with them.
Once in the hallway, we had to go through security one by one. I handed over my cell phone and I received a tag for it. The security guard told me to go downstairs and take a seat.
Downstairs there's a photo booth where you can take passport photos for $10. It only takes cash, no credit cards. I took a seat (I wasn't the closest to the elevator, but still close enough) and as I was waiting I realized that we didn't get a number outside, so that meant that we would get them upstairs at the US Consulate. I knew right away from the previous reviews that I had to make sure to stand in the left corner in the back of the elevator to be the first to leave to get my number. The waiting room was filling up quickly and there were a few people who had to remain standing. As soon as a security guard showed up and said it was time to get into the elevator, I got up and we all headed for the elevator. As I said, there were a lot of people in the room, and most of them had the same thing in mind: to get that left corner spot facing the back of the elevator. But as all the other people were swarming towards the left side of the elevator doors, I went to the right side, so I passed all these people and ended up first in line to enter the elevator, next to 2 other ladies.
On the 19th floor, there was a friendly lady who greeted us and told us to form 2 lines: one for immigrant visas and one for non-immigrant visas. The 2 ladies and I were the first to exit the elevator, but since they were there for non-immigrant visas, I became the first in line for immigrant visas. I was so happy! The lady asked to see my interview letter and told me to wait for my number to be called. A few minutes later I was called to window 1 and the friendly lady took my original civil documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, police certificates), original I-864 and my medical envelope. She gave me the domestic violence pamphlet, told me to read it and wait for my number to be called again. I didn't have time to finish reading it, because a few minutes later my number was called for my interview.
The interview:
The consular officer was a young man with glasses. He asked the following questions:
- Why didn't my husband submit a W2 Form with the I-864? (My husband is a dual citizen who works in Canada, so we submitted a T4 Form, the Canadian equivalent, as per NVC's instructions)
- Are your kids moving to the US with you? Y
- Why did you fill in (on one of the other forms) that they are not immigrating with you? (Our kids are US citizens, and therefore they are technically not immigrating. We called the NVC about this, and this is what they told us to put on the form).
- Why are you moving to the US? (To be closer to family)
- What are you going to do in the US? (My husband and I both work for US based companies and we are telecommuters so we can continue working in the US)
- Have you ever visited the US? Y
- Have you ever been denied access to the US? N
- Have you ever stayed in the US for longer than 90 days? N
- Have you ever been arrested? N
Then he looked up all the scanned documents they had on file in the computer (I did EP) to compare them with the originals that I submitted. As he was clicking away, all I was thinking was: just give me the welcome letter already!
He finally said that he was going to issue me a visa, gave me the welcome letter, and said: Congratulations and welcome to the USA!
I was at the consulate at 7:10am and out by 8:30am.
My piece of advice: try to anticipate what they could ask you and bring extra documents with you to back you up. Even if you don't end up needing them, it will give you peace of mind knowing that you are well prepared for whatever question might come. With peace of mind comes confidence, and that will definitely help you through the interview process.
Thank you Saylin and VJ members for your help! This wouldn't have all gone so smoothly without you.
(updated on June 18, 2015)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #17052