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| Montreal, Canada |  Review on May 29, 2009: |
Argent
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Hi All,
We had our interview earlier this week (05/26), in Montreal. My wife was the one being interviewed for the CR-1. Wanted to post a review for those of you who are getting ready for their interviews. Posting a somewhat lengthy review just so I don't miss any details that might be helpful to folks.
We got to the US consulate at 6:45AM - it was freezing cold (especially after the 90+ degree temperatures in Texas). There were a couple of folks already waiting there ahead of us. At 7:30, the security folks opened the door. Pls be aware that they do not allow you to carry any type of bag/handbag inside. We had a laptop bag with all of our papers/documents in it but they did not allow us to take it inside. They let my wife go inside while I had to walk back a few blocks to the parking lot to put the bag back in the car - wasn't much fun walking in the cold. You need to carry all your documents in a clear plastic bag - they do allow ladies purses inside. The security check was a little slow and very thorough - they took the key chain with our car/house keys apart and hung on to it while we went in for the interview (got it back on the way out). We had a muscial birthday card that my wife had sent me (in case they wanted to see letters etc that we had exchanged)- the security staff grilled my wife on that but let her carry it in. So pls carry only the essential documents to avoid delays.
Once past the security check though, it was pretty smooth. We went into a small waiting area downstairs and waited for a security guard to come and take us up to the 19th floor in the elevator. We got the letter "C" since we were third in line. Waited in the reception area upstairs for our letter to be called on the PA system and once called, went to one of the windows. The lady behind the glass was extremely nice and friendly. She confirmed my wife's name, address in canada as well as my address. She asked me if I had my 2008 tax return documents, which I did, so I gave her that. She then told us to wait while she went to her desk to key in all the info into their system. We waited at the window for about 5 minutes. Once she came back, she my wife's fingerprints - they have the fingerprint scanner at each window, so it takes just a couple of minutes. Once done, she asked us to go wait outside in the main waiting area and wait for our name to be called for the last step of the process. We had barely gotten to the waiting area, when they called out our name asking us to come into one of the booths (it's more like a closet with no windows and the lady doing the interview was behind a glass window). Again this lady was very nice, polite and professional. She had my wife take a quick oath, then asked how and when we met, made a few case notes in her computer, returned us the original marriage certificate and said all was good. She said it was her second case of the day where there were no issues and all was good. We would get the passport back with the visa in about 5 days or so. We did ask if we could come by the following day to pick up the passport but were told that they do that only in emergencies. We were out of the consulate at 9:10AM. Pls remember to carry the Canada post express mail envelope as specified in the documents required for the interview. The lady ahead of us in line did not bring one and had to scramble out to go buy one. We do expect to get the passport in the mail today (05/29)- we got the tracking number on the envelope we bought and have been tracking it.
Think I covered everything - if I think of anything I missed, I'll post it later. Good luck to everyone.
Argent
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #4470