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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on June 19, 2015: |
JJ Day
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
I had my interview in Montreal on Wednesday and it was far less stressful than I was anticipating. My experience does not differ that much from what others have posted on here, but here are the highlights:
- I showed up at the consulate right when they opened at 8:15am and was greeted with a smile by a very friendly woman. She looked at my passport and Loomis conformation letter, then told me to come back closer to my interview time. My interview was at 9am and they did not let me come up until 8:45am. Then at 8:45am, she gave me a number and told me I could go in. To those who have interviews coming up, don't bother showing up early. Sleep in, grab some breakfast, walk the area. In short, relax.
- Security was no problem because I only brought my paperwork and some change. They asked me to empty my pockets into a container, remove my belt, and walk through the metal detector.
- There were far fewer people there than I expected, so don't worry about rushing to the front of any line or getting onto the elevator first. (I rode up all by myself.) Just calmly wait your turn and know that you will be interviewed. Whether you are #16 or #37 in line, rest assured that the wait will not be very long. It may feel long, but being worried out about your place in line will only make the experience more stressful than it needs to be.
- Once up the elevator, I was greeted again by another friendly woman who told me to sit in the immigrant visa waiting area. At 9:15am, my number was called and went to one of the many windows. The man at the window was extremely nice and collected my documents. This took about 5 minutes, then he told me to sit down and wait for my number to be called again for the interview.
- At 9:35am, my number was called again and I went to another window. My interviewer was a very nice young man. I was immediately put at ease because he seemed to have already looked at my documents and was very prepared. Then he asked me to read an oath that everything I was about to say was the truth.
- My take away is this: THEY WANT YOU TO SUCCEED. The best advice I've read on these message boards was to only answer the questions they ask, and do not offer any more information than they request. The shorter the interview, the better chance of success. They see a lot of people in a day and want each interview to be as simple as possible. All of the questions he asked were yes/no questions. I wanted to answer in more detail because I had evidence for everything, but I resisted that temptation and just answered yes/no.
- Here were the questions he asked: You met in the United States? (Yes.) You were married in Canada? (Yes.) Have you ever lived in the United States? (Yes.) You had a student visa? (Yes.) Have you ever been arrested? (No.) Your husband lives with you in Canada? (Yes.) Will he be moving to the United States before you? (Yes.) Then I heard the words I had been waiting to hear all year: Congratulations, your visa has been approved. The entire interview was about 2 minutes seconds long. He apologized about the fact that they have been unable to print visas because of a security breach, but that they are doing all they can to resolve the issue and I will likely receive my passport back within 4-6 weeks.
- I was most concerned about the issue of domicile because my husband lives with me in Canada. I had tons of paperwork to prove that he is moving back before me, but it never even came up. Still, I was glad I had it all because it put me at ease.
- On the elevator ride down at 9:45am, I almost broke down into tears. I was so happy! My advice to everyone is to answer each question honestly and succinctly, and you will be fine. If you have a legitimate marriage and nothing to hide, there is nothing to worry about.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #17096