I had my H1 8th year extension stamped at Montreal on Dec 12th, 2006. Some facts:
a. My first H1 was stamped at Chennai, India
b. 4th-6th year renewal stamped from Ottawa
b. 7th year renewal stamped from Ottawa
c. And now the 8th year renewal done at Montreal
d. With the same company for 7 years
e. Have a wife and two kids who did not accompany me to Montreal
Flew in to Montreal the night before for a 9am appointment and stayed at a hotel within walking distance(Delta Montreal). They don't allow any electronic devices including cellphones into the building. No backpacks or bags either. So if you bring anything other than papers with you, you will need to lose them.
The process goes like this:
1. Queue-up in front of the entrance to the consulate before doors open at 8am (there is a coffee shop around the corner if you get there early ! I also noticed that there was a paid parking lot right next to the consulate building if you plan to drive)
2. Around 8am they let you in after making sure that you have nothing but your clothes and papers on you.
3. After passing through security, make a left and go down the stairs to the ground floor, into a waiting area with chairs facing an elevator (there is no token system here so people just wait in these chairs in whatever order).
4. Around 8.15, a security guy brings people upstairs to the consulate in batches on the elevator.
5. Pay the application fee at a counter and then wait for your token to be called
6. Interview #1 - Two or three basic questions about employment history, compensation, immigration status and family. At Montreal, unlike Ottawa, they ask to see all the documents mentioned in the checklist - including transcripts from your college degree !
7. After the first conversation, waited for another 15 minutes and then my token was called again.
8. Interview #2 - The left-index-finger/right-index-finger routine with more or less the same questions from interview #1 from a different person. And they ask you to come back the next day at 3pm to pick up the passport.
I had a return flight booked for 6.30pm on the pick-up day. Checked-out late from the hotel at 1pm. Checked the bags with the concierge. There is a big mall on Rue Catherine near the consulate. Killed an hour and a half there. Went back to the hotel to check my cellphone with the concierge. Reached the consulate around 2.45. There was already a line forming outside. Unlike Ottawa, where they used to start giving out the passports before 3pm, the folks at Montreal make you wait until 3pm. The queue had grown by then. At 3pm they started handing out the passports with the I-797 sheets. Since everything looked good I was able to get my stuff from my hotel and catch my 6.30 flight back.
Notes from Montreal:
1. They collect the 797 forms with your passport at Montreal and return it the next day
2. To be safer, you need to lose everything except your clothes when you return to the consulate to pickup the passport. If there is an error in the passport or they lost your 797 or whatever and you need to go inside the building (happened to me once in Ottawa), you will need to make sure that you have nothing but your clothes on !
3. Even if you haven't applied for your I140, they ask you to check the box that says you have applied for immigration if this is a six-plus year H-extension
One last note, I have been reading stuff on this forum for the last year or so without bothering to contribute anything and recently realized that it was about time I made a post !
Hope this helps someone else.
a. My first H1 was stamped at Chennai, India
b. 4th-6th year renewal stamped from Ottawa
b. 7th year renewal stamped from Ottawa
c. And now the 8th year renewal done at Montreal
d. With the same company for 7 years
e. Have a wife and two kids who did not accompany me to Montreal
Flew in to Montreal the night before for a 9am appointment and stayed at a hotel within walking distance(Delta Montreal). They don't allow any electronic devices including cellphones into the building. No backpacks or bags either. So if you bring anything other than papers with you, you will need to lose them.
The process goes like this:
1. Queue-up in front of the entrance to the consulate before doors open at 8am (there is a coffee shop around the corner if you get there early ! I also noticed that there was a paid parking lot right next to the consulate building if you plan to drive)
2. Around 8am they let you in after making sure that you have nothing but your clothes and papers on you.
3. After passing through security, make a left and go down the stairs to the ground floor, into a waiting area with chairs facing an elevator (there is no token system here so people just wait in these chairs in whatever order).
4. Around 8.15, a security guy brings people upstairs to the consulate in batches on the elevator.
5. Pay the application fee at a counter and then wait for your token to be called
6. Interview #1 - Two or three basic questions about employment history, compensation, immigration status and family. At Montreal, unlike Ottawa, they ask to see all the documents mentioned in the checklist - including transcripts from your college degree !
7. After the first conversation, waited for another 15 minutes and then my token was called again.
8. Interview #2 - The left-index-finger/right-index-finger routine with more or less the same questions from interview #1 from a different person. And they ask you to come back the next day at 3pm to pick up the passport.
I had a return flight booked for 6.30pm on the pick-up day. Checked-out late from the hotel at 1pm. Checked the bags with the concierge. There is a big mall on Rue Catherine near the consulate. Killed an hour and a half there. Went back to the hotel to check my cellphone with the concierge. Reached the consulate around 2.45. There was already a line forming outside. Unlike Ottawa, where they used to start giving out the passports before 3pm, the folks at Montreal make you wait until 3pm. The queue had grown by then. At 3pm they started handing out the passports with the I-797 sheets. Since everything looked good I was able to get my stuff from my hotel and catch my 6.30 flight back.
Notes from Montreal:
1. They collect the 797 forms with your passport at Montreal and return it the next day
2. To be safer, you need to lose everything except your clothes when you return to the consulate to pickup the passport. If there is an error in the passport or they lost your 797 or whatever and you need to go inside the building (happened to me once in Ottawa), you will need to make sure that you have nothing but your clothes on !
3. Even if you haven't applied for your I140, they ask you to check the box that says you have applied for immigration if this is a six-plus year H-extension
One last note, I have been reading stuff on this forum for the last year or so without bothering to contribute anything and recently realized that it was about time I made a post !
Hope this helps someone else.