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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on February 13, 2019: |
Nashvan
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
We arrived at 7:20 our 7:30am appt. The night before an email was issued by the Consulate stating that despite severe weather, visa services will remain open but staffing may be limited/delayed. There were roughly seven people before us in line. At 7:30, the CBSA officer let us in one (couple) at a time. Inside a lady at a podium checked our passports and put a sticker with my name and appt time on the back of mine. She also gave me a laminated sheet with #8 on it that listed the order our documents should be in.
After the podium, we went through security one at a time, shoes on. Then we walked downstairs into the elevator waiting area where we organized our documents but the elevator arrived pretty fast so we only organized half. A security guard sent us (10-ish people) to the 19th floor where there are more chairs and counters to organize papers. The chairs on the side closer to the elevator are for immigrant visas (K-1s). Another security guard was very polite and helped people find seats when it got crowded. We finished organizing our documents here.
Due to heavy snow, staffing was limited to one window until a second one opened up after 9:00. The first person approved (#2) left around 9:00. I was called to the documents window at 9:15. The man there asked for my documents similar to the order of the laminated sheet. He also took my biometric signature on a fingerprint scanner. He put my documents in a folder and said I could sit down and wait for my number to be called again. I sat down at 9:25 and got called to the interview window at 9:30.
The interviewer there made me hold up my right hand and agree to tell the truth. Then he asked questions like:
- How old were you when you moved to Canada? (I am a Canadian citizen not born in Canada)
- How/when did you meet your fiance?
- When did you meet in person?
- Where does your fiance live?
- What does your fiance do for work?
- Ever have problems crossing the border or with the law?
Afterwards, he said you're approved and gave me a pink approval sheet and mail info sheet. We left around 9:45, after 2h 25m.
Tips:
- If staying overnight in Montreal, stay close to the Consulate. We stayed at Le Square Phillips (3 min walk, flat land = easy in snow).
- Bring photocopies of everything. They might take original documents.
- Don't bring any electronics (phone, car keys, USBs) or bags -- makes security so much easier.
- Listen carefully for your number. Staff announcing aren't always articulate.
- Stand closer to the window to hear the staff because it's hard to hear them through the glass.
- All vending machine snacks and drinks are $2 CAD each so bring toonies or exact change if you want them.
- Sweaty fingertips are good for the fingerprint scanner.
- It's better to bring more than not have what they request. Some people were complaining that it's a waste to bring stuff that isn't listed (proof of relationship, petitioner domicile) but this is your earliest chance to prove your case, so might as well be prepared!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #25580