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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on December 2, 2020: |
fjxs
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
My interview was on November 9th, and it was for myself and my 18-year-old son, for a CR1 & CR2 visa:
Getting There:
I left my phone & smart watch at the hotel, and then realized as soon as I left that I had no way of telling if I was on time or too early! If you are going to do this, I suggest also taking a printed map with street names on it – Montreal is FULL of construction detours, so it is quite possible you will have to detour at some point, even if you are just walking. And also make sure you write down the actual address – I almost didn't see the building and how to double back to find it! I knew what block it was on, but the entry to the consulate was fairly nondescript, so I almost missed it. (It is right between the RBC bank and a Pharmaprix.)
Security:
You have to arrive just on time, and you go through airport-style security. We had to give our interview time, show our passports, and use hand sanitizer to be let in the door. I just brought my folder full of documents, a reusable tote bag to carry it in, a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and some tissues. I wasn't sure if I was allowed the sanitizer, but they said it was fine. (The website says no liquids, so that is why I asked.) They do have hand sanitizer upstairs in the waiting area, so you don't really need to bring it. But I was happy to have it to use right after fingerprints, etc.
Documents:
As soon as you go upstairs, you have to check in at one of the windows and give them your passports. If someone is already at the window, you just sit down and wait for them to leave, then go up. After checking in, we had to wait about 15 minutes to be called up to give them documents.
She called "last name family", so we both went up. The woman first asked who the petitioner was, then wanted both mine & my husbands (the petitioner) name, address, and phone number. She asked for the following documents (she did all of mine & my fingerprints first, then went through all of my son's & took his fingerprints):
- mine & my son's long form birth certificate
- mine & my son's police certificate (we had the one that said "other", and it was accepted)
- my marriage certificate
- one passport photo from each of us (which she scanned then returned)
- she asked if I had any more recent financial info, so I gave her my husband's 2019 tax transcript
She only took original documents. Also worth noting - some of the documents had changed since I uploaded them with the DS-260 (my son's passport and the police certificates). I brought the old ones, but she didn't ask for them. I also had not uploaded the new ones beforehand. (I'm really not sure what the "correct" thing to do is, just reporting my own experience.) She then gave me the domestic abuse pamphlet, and we sat back down to wait to be called up for the interview. This part of the process took about 15 minutes.
Interview:
We waited around 20 minutes to be called for the interview. He only called my name, but my son came up with me and I asked if it was supposed to be just me or both of us. He said he could do us both together. We both took on oath and gave one hand of fingerprints again. For the questions, he asked me to tell him about my husband and our relationship, what my husband does, the longest I have stayed in the US, and when the last time I was there was. He then asked my son what he plans on doing after we move. My son seemed unsure how to answer (he's not really sure what his plans are!) so I just said that we had looked into colleges there and he will be able to get into the college nearby, but he's not sure what he wants to do yet. The interviewer seemed fine with that answer and said he remembers what it was like to be that age. Overall the whole thing felt more conversational than like being "interviewed".
He then gave back our birth certificates and the marriage certificate, gave me the Welcome to America letter, and told me that the visa entry date would be tied to the medical so I could enter up to 6 months after the medical. He asked if we had any questions, and that was it. The interview part probably took less than 10 minutes. Overall, we were in the consulate for about 1 hour total.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #28853