United States Consulate

Went to renew a passport, I had waited too long to renew by mail. Showed up 20 minutes before my appointment and only a 5 minute line to get inside. They checked my documentation before security screening, then waited to go upstairs. Everyone was very professional, and once my documents were submitted and reviewed I was done in another 20 minutes. You can bring a cellphone turned off but no bags or backpacks. The process is easy if you have everything required.

Everything is organized like clockwork — very efficient and fast, considering that only one officer conducts the interviews. Despite what the instructions say, phones are actually allowed; they just have to be turned off. The staff is quite friendly and helpful

BE CAREFUL, THE SECURITY STAFF HAS A BUSINESS WITH BACKPACKS OR PERSONAL ITEMS.nnToday, I had my appointment at this American embassy. The service provided by the consulate staff is good; however, what outrages me is the business the security personnel have regarding personal items. Today, I arrived with my suitcase for the visa appointment, and the security staff informed me that I could not bring my suitcase into the appointment and that I needed to leave it at a convenience store nearby. They even handed me a yellow card with a small map showing the location of this store. However, once I left the embassy, I found another place with a sign indicating they also stored luggage and personal items, much closer than what the security guards had indicated. So, I decided to store my suitcase at this closer place, a bakery right next to the embassy. Once I stored my suitcase, the bakery gave me a small card to identify my backpack when I returned to claim it.nnTo my surprise, when I re-entered the embassy for my appointment and showed the small card from the bakery, the security personnel seemed somewhat annoyed and told me that this was not the place they had directed me to and that I had to RETURN and take my backpack to the store they mentioned. Honestly, since I was a bit rushed and didn’t want to miss my appointment, I ran back and requested my suitcase to take it to the store indicated by the security personnel. When I arrived at this new store not to mention the culture of these people, but I can say that they are not trustworthy at all, they charged me $25 to store my suitcase. I found it absurd and illogical that they would charge such an exorbitant amount just to hold my suitcase for a short time, especially since the bakery had only charged me $5. In the end, I ended up storing my backpack in this expensive place because I didn’t want to miss my appointment and feared that the security personnel would not let me enter.nnMy final conclusion is that it is highly likely that these security personnel at the embassy have some kind of BUSINESS arrangement with the convenience store staff, as they must receive some commission for directing people to store their luggage there, which is obviously the place that charges the most. There is nothing you can do about it because the security staff will surely send you back as well. I do not agree with these kinds of incidents, simply because they have that business arrangement.

I went to US consulate on Monday morning. It was a very systematic and secured process. First the security guard checked if I had all the documents and I didn’t carry anything hazardous. The. There were 2 ladies who checked all my documents and pinned them together. Then I went through security check where they check every minute details. I had to take off my coat and shoes. Then we were took to another officer in a queue. She asked me about my employment status. Then they took my fingerprints. Then comes the real interview. They asked my basic questions like when did I move to Canada, whom do I live with but for others they asked a lot of questions like about thier work status, work profile, what does a day look like, how much they make, how did they get this job. So it was an easy and smooth process. Don’t be scared.

Came in for my US Visa appointment, total process time was about an hour and half. Everyone there were very friendly, clear instructions make everything went smooth and easy. It was a good experience for me.