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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on April 17, 2019: |
justsomecanadaguy
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
I wanted to share my experience because I found the reviews here very helpful.
My interview appointment at the Montreal consulate was for 8:30am. I stayed at the Marriott Courtyard Downtown which is across the street and down one block. I would definitely recommend staying somewhere near the consulate so you're not worried about trying to get there before your appointment.
Although you have an appointment time it pays to be early (if you can) to your interview. I showed up at the consulate about 7:50am (doors open at 7:30am I believe) and if I had been 30 seconds earlier I would have been out of the consulate 45min sooner (I watched two people walk in as I was walking to the door). You are given a number based on the order you enter the consulate.
As others have described, there is a guard & receptionist when you first walk in. You will get checked in and given the number/paper explaining the order for your documents. You then wait for the security screening officer to wave you through the next set of doors and they have you empty all of your pockets. Everything goes through an x-ray machine then you go through a metal detector and get wanded after. I didn't bring my phone but based on other reviews it seems they will hold it for you, since I was staying across the street I just left it in my hotel safe.
After security you go down a flight of stairs, through a weird empty lobby/hallway room and then take an elevator up to the consulate. (Everything appears to be from the 1980's.)
Once on the consulate floor there are two sides to the waiting area, immigration and non-immigration. If you have a friendly security guard during this time he/she will ask you what you're here for and instruct you where to wait, as well as let you know about the spaces available to order your documents. The waiting areas are separated because the windows that service each type of request are on the matching sides of the floor.
There is a vending machine for snacks (chips, chocolate, protein bars, etc) and a vending machine for cans of pop. I didn't use either but many people did. I would assume they take Canadian coins but I can't say for sure. There are bathrooms and water fountains as well.
There are two different sets of windows on the immigration side. When your number is called up to the first set it is to take in your documents. In my case they took my passport, photos, medical record and original birth, marriage and police check documents. They did not want (or ask for) any copies. They did not want (or ask for) any of the affidavits of support nor any of the supporting documentation. (I asked if they wanted any of the copies/etc and they said no.) They asked if I had any new documents (for example, 2018 taxes) that were not already submitted via the website. I said no and they were satisfied. They took my fingerprints and gave me a pamphlet on domestic abuse.
I would definitely recommend you bring EVERYTHING just to be safe. Just because they did not want mine does not mean that is always what happens (based on reading other reviews). It also helped me feel better to over prepare and bring basically every piece of paper I could think of. I was also worried because my police check was from June 2018 and they changed the required type in September 2018 but this was not a problem. They didn't say anything about it.
I was done at the first set of windows within probably 10 minutes. Other people/couples that were called up before me were there after I sat back down.
The wait to be called up to the second set of windows was exceptionally long. I later found out this was because of computer issues earlier in the morning (this also seems to be a regular theme from other reviews). For a while only one number was getting called up at a time and it was a good 20-30 minutes between numbers (even though you saw the people leave withing 5-10min usually).
Again, this is why I said if I had been 30 seconds earlier I would have been out 45min sooner. I brought a small sudoku puzzle book to help pass the time. Everyone seemed very friendly and happy/excited if you'd rather spend the time talking with other applicants.
It was around 10:55am when I was finally called up to the second set of windows.
The consulate officer verified my photos were actually me as I approached the window. He was very friendly and apologized for the delay (explaining the computer problem). He scanned my fingerprints (only one hand) to, I assume, also verify I was the same person that had submitted the documents to the first set of windows. Then he had me raise my right hand and swear an oath that all documents I had submitted and everything I was about to say were accurate as far as I knew. He returned my original birth and marriage certificates. Then he asked me a few questions:
1) What is my marriage date (I thought this was odd as he was literally passing me the marriage certificate at the same time)? This may have just been a way to discuss the type of visa I would be getting since my spouse and I have been married for two years.
2) Where does my spouse live?
3) How did I meet my spouse?
4) When did I first physically meet my spouse?
5) What did my spouse do for a work? I replied with just the title then he asked a followup question. I gave a one sentence answer and he was satisfied.
6) What did I do for work? Again, I gave the title and he asked a followup question. I gave a one sentence answer and he was satisfied.
7) What is the longest I have stayed in the United States?
8) Have I or my spouse traveled to any other countries recently?
The consulate officer was exceptionally nice and pleasant. He was laughing and smiling as we talked. He then said my visa was approved and gave me an information sheet about next steps. He asked if I had any questions then said I can always email the consulate if anything comes to mind.
I was out of the consulate and back in my hotel room by 11:15am (eager to get my phone and spread the good news).
My spouse and I used a lawyer to help us through this entire process. It was very expensive and in the end added extra time (the lawyer's office was never as bad as the government but they still had their slow periods) but it's hard to say it wasn't worth it based on the outcome.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #26006