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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on August 22, 2015: |
tjhfx
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Ever since we started our K-1 visa process this website has been a great source of information and all my questions have been answered. Although there are numerous reviews for each consulate, I feel like I should add to it.
My interview was yesterday and I got approved. My appointment was at 7.40AM on August 21, 2015. I stayed at the Le Square Phillips Hôtel & Suites which is just one block away from the consulate and only about 3 blocks away from Medisys, where I had completed my medical on Monday (they need three days for processing and I picked up results on Thursday afternoon).
I arrived at the consulate at 7.15AM since I had heard that people arrived anywhere after 7AM and there were about 10 people in a line outside the entrance. At around 7.30 security put up a line. A few minutes later a lady showed up asking people for people with immigrant visas to come forward. I was given a number (#4) and asked if I had signed up for Loomis express and sent through security. As a side note, I have heard that people were able to bring their finance with them and sometimes they turn them away. They did not let my fiancé enter with me and I saw another persons finance being turned away as well. As other reviews and the packet 4 letter suggest, pack lightly and don't bring any unnecessary things such as phones, tablets or laptops with you. I went through security within 30 seconds (I had nothing but a folder with all the paperwork and my wallet) and was sent down a set of stairs into the basement, where I waited for about 10-15 and by then, about 30 others were downstairs as well until a security officer came down to let us into the elevator to the 19th floor where the consulate is located.
When I arrived upstairs a woman stood there and told everybody with a number (immigrant visa) to sit down in the middle. There seemed to be some confusion whether we had to line up with a bunch of other people or not but we were told to sit down until we were called up. There are several windows (8 in total I believe) and it appeared that window 1 and 2 were the ones that took the initial paperwork required for immigrant visas. After about 10 minutes of waiting I was called up to window 2 and a woman asked me for my appointment letter, passport, birth certificate, criminal record checks, medical (they did not take the CD with the X-ray but instead, told me to take it to the states for my future family doctor), affidavit of support including supporting documentation, letter of intent and 2 pictures. She asked a few questions: where I would be living and where I lived now and took my finger prints. She gave me a pamphlet on domestic violence and said I know you received this previously but I am obligated to give it to you and sent me back to wait again. I did find that I had to raise my voice quite a bit as she couldn't hear me through the machine and I couldn't hear her well either.
While it may not mean much it seemed like window 1 only took people who received an odd number while window 2 took only people with even numbers. I'm saying this as number 1 was asked to go to window 1 and number 2 to go to window 2. When the person at window 2 finished first I was asked to go to window 2 while the person that had number 3 was still waiting and she was called up when I sat down and person number 1 finished.
After about 10 minutes I was asked to go to window 7 for my actual interview where a younger guy asked me to read the oath on the side of the window. Window 7 was a bit more secluded than the other windows and he seemed to be in some sort of box also secluded from the rest of the staff in the office. He asked basic questions, like when and where did you first meet your finance? Where does your finance live? How long have you been in Canada? Where do you live? Where do you intend to live? Have you ever been refused entry at the border? I think that was it. After that, he typed some stuff into his computer and told me I was approved and gave me a piece of paper saying "Welcome to the United States" and he congratulated me. He told me I would get my passport in about 2 weeks via Loomis courier.
All in all I think I was out at around 9AM. It was relatively painless and as long as you are prepared, you fulfill all the requirements and your relationship is bona fide I think you're good.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #17617