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Montreal, Canada | Review on March 20, 2020: | ADW & JOP
Rating: | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Consular Interview in Montreal, Canada
I arrived in Montreal the day prior. It started off a little bumpy, as there was some mechanical issue with the first Westjet plane at Toronto Pearson Airport so we had to disembark and board another flight to Montreal.
I took an Uber from Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport to my hotel at Residence Inn by Marriott (cost about $33 CAD). I chose this hotel because it was a 3-minute walk away from the US Consulate General. I also had “gold†membership status (thanks to my American Express which I obtained for immigration purposes) and received a free upgrade and a late check-out at 2 pm.
I arrived at my interview at 0915. My appointment time was 0930. As expected, I was turned away by the security guard. They would not allow me to wait out the time in the hallway because of the RBC security guard so I went over to Second Cup to pass the time because it was raining. I returned at around 0928 and was allowed in. By this point, I was 5th in line. I passed my passport to one of the security guards and the provided me with two tickets and my passport back with a sticker in the back. The security guards were actually quite strict, asking one attendee why she needed to have 5 earphones on her. There was an elderly couple in front of me who didn’t understand their instructions and the security guard was not too pleased. I was on my best behavior so I had no issues going through. I had also left most of my belongs and electronics in a safe in the hotel.
I followed the instructions to the 1st floor where there was a medium-size waiting room. The interview windows were in a L-shape. Windows 1-5 one side, windows 6-11 on another. Windows 12 was reserved for US citizens.
I waited until 0950 when my number was called up. They asked for 1 of the my 2 tickets. They also asked for my passport, passport photo x 1, original birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce certificate. I also provided them with two police certificates (the first one was ripped at the top, and they requested a photocopy of the new police certificate as well). They asked if my spouse updated our i-864 and we had because I moved to a different address, and they took the original copy of the updated i-864. The officer noted she had a copy of our tax transcript from 2018 and asked if we filed our 2019 taxes. I told the officer no but I had my spouses’ 2019 W2s. The officer asked for a copy (not original) and took a quick look at the W2. I suspect the officer looked at my spouse’s wage as she stated “that’s enoughâ€. The officer then took my fingerprints.
I was given the domestic violence pamphlet and told to sit back down in the waiting room to wait for my interview. I sat there from 0955 to about 1110. I note there was about 10 interviewees ahead of me before I was called up. My interview went by really fast, probably the fastest of the people ahead of me. I estimate it took less than 2-3 minutes. I started the interview by asking the officer to confirm my name on file because the NVC interview letter repeated my middle names and the officer confirmed it. The officer asked if I had any questions regarding the domestic violence pamphlet and told me that he reviewed my file already and made me take an oath of honesty and made me e-sign with my fingerprints. The officer then asked me to produce my spouse’s name, city/state, and whether I have travelled outside the United States or Canada recently. I told the officer I traveled to a country that was not at high-risk of COVID-19 in November 2019 and the officer was fine with that. The officer explained that there are a lot of travel restrictions and to simplify matters, he recommended not to travel to any of the countries affected by the travel restrictions. I explained I had no intentions to travel anywhere non-essential given the current situation with COVID-19.
The officer told me my visa was approved and that it will be printed out and mailed to my designated address. I should expect it back before 2-3 weeks. I was not required to produce the DS-5540 or my healthcare insurance letter.
I left the consulate at around 1115 and returned to my hotel room. I received a call from the interviewing officer explaining that my fingerprints did not register so I returned to the consulate at 1130. The security guards were informed that I would be returning and I was told to go back to the same window where I gave my fingerprints again. This time I was assured it went through before leaving at 1135.
Overall, my interview went well. I have been quite happy with the hotel where I plan to stay before my departure flight.
Good luck with everyone who is still undergoing the process.
Interview: Friday, March 13, 2020
Issued AP: Monday, March 16, 2020
Issued - Shipping in 5 days: Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Shipped: Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Tracking information from Canada Post: Thursday, March 19, 2020
Passport in hand: Friday, March 20, 2020
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