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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on October 16, 2015: |
ArroTG
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
I had my interview on October 13, 2015 at 8:30AM. I arrived at the location on St. Alexandre a little after 8:00AM and waited in a short line to clear security. It's very much like an airport, where you clear out your pockets, have your possessions scanned, and go through a metal detector. The woman working waved me down with a wand, checked my cell phone in, and then let me proceed down the stairs and to the elevator. People going for immigrant visas got plasticized cards. Those going for non immigrant visas did not. I got #10.
On the 19th floor there was a greeter waiting to sort those who came up in the elevator. Immigrant visa appointments sat in the chairs in the middle section, and non-immigrant went to the back to form a line. There are a line of "tellers" with glass windows to take your information, and then a hallway down which the more private interviews take place. When I arrived they were working with #4 and #5 (windows 1 and 2 served immigrant visas, 1 dealing with odd numbers, 2 with evens) and it was almost exactly an hour from the time I arrived in the lobby before I saw a teller to give in my information. She collected all my original files, took my fingerprint scans, asked me to confirm the address of my spouse and my Canadian address, gave me a pamphlet on domestic abuse, and told me to wait for my number to be called for the interview. My number was called minutes after I sat down, and I went to see the young male CO at window 8.
The officer was extremely nice and polite, and asked me to swear that I was telling the truth and understood concealing/lying was an offense, and got me to affirm it by scanning my fingerprints. He asked to see several documents (including my original I-864EZ, as we did EP), and asked me basic questions about my spouse and my relationship. If we met in Montreal; when we met; when we met for the first time in personal and who did the traveling; where my spouse lives; why does she live there (it's a very small town of 600 so it made sense to ask). I had brought a lot of evidence of bona fide relationship from before we filed and then the period after we filed (so from Sept 2014 to present day), but he didn't ask for any evidence for anything I said. He made a comment about how I'd stayed in the states for 5 months and how I was "toeing the line", and I replied that my spouse and I always tried to see each other as much as we could. He seemed content with the answer, but told me that toeing the line can get me in trouble. Then he made a joke, so I knew he was just pushing me a little bit.
In the end we were missing one of the documents we needed (my spouse had not sent a copy of his W2s, and I think I just about died from disappointment. The CO was really nice and even helped me look through my financial documents for it because he wanted to see it approved,) and so we were given a paper instructing us how to send it via courier and sent away. I asked how long it would delay us, and the CO told us maybe a day or two. I live in Montreal, so the same day I submitted the 2014 W2 requested (the next day), it arrived. The instructions say to allow 6 to 8 weeks for processing, but I am hopeful that I will be lucky.
So, make sure you bring all of your original documents. If you are unknowledgeable like me, a W2 is like a Canadian T4, and if you file the I-864EZ you need to include it, not just your tax transcripts. Had I had that file with me, we would have been approved at the interview. Ah well.
Despite the request for more information, my experience was very positive. Everyone was polite, patient, and helpful. Be confident, be prepared, and you'll be just fine.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #18071