Quebec CSQ Applicants in the USA
- Thread starter quebechopefull
- Start date
I had my interview on April 16. A lot of people have been sending me PMs asking for details about the interview, so here it goes:
For your reference, I work in the IT industry and so does my wife. Our interview was in New York City.
We arrived to the interview really early, but they didn't let us go up until exactly 30 minutes before our 9:30 appointment. At 9:00 they finally let us in and we waited in the lobby of the Quebec Government office until an immigration agent called our name. He lead us to his office and once there he started the interview speaking French. And his first question was: "What would you say is your level of French: beginner, intermediate or advanced?". We answered intermediate.
"Do you prefer to have this interview in French or English?". We answered French.
"Where did you study French and have you taken a French certification exam?". We answered no, and explained how we learned French.
Then he said, "Ok, now I'll switch back to English as I need to ask you some questions about your documents, and we'll continue in French a bit later". This surprised me, I was 100% prepared to have the whole interview in French.
He checked our US immigration forms (i797s), our university diplomas, our passports...and that was it.
When he finished checking those he asked in English: "Why do you want to move to Quebec?". I answered.
Next, he finally made the switch to French and asked my wife what is her profession, and she explained. Even though he didn't request them, at this point I gave him our updated resumes in French. And he liked that and asked if he could keep them. Our resumes in the original application were in English.
Next question was for me, in French: "Do you know how are you going to find a job in Montreal?". The company where I work has a branch in Montreal, and I had a list of all our customers based there, so I brought that up. We also attended a Quebec job fair which was organized by the French-American chamber of commerce in DC a couple months ago, so I also showed him the business cards and brochures we collected there.
He then started explaining (in French) that Quebec is almost completely francophone, and that while Quebec is not violent there is a constant struggle between the anglophone culture and the francophone culture, and he then asked us if we were aware and prepared for this?
I said yes, and talked a little bit about the history of Quebec and the history of that cultural struggle between French and English. He was very happy with my answer.
He finally asked: "Are you planning to continue studying French?". We said yes, and showed him a receipt from a course we are signed up for and that starts in May. I also showed him some books I've read in French (a book about the history of Quebec, and two other hockey books). He was happy with the book about Quebec.
And that was it, he approved our CSQ.
It took exactly 18 minutes from the moment the immigration officer came to get us from the lobby to the moment he approved our CSQ.
The best two pieces of advise I have are really nothing you don't already know: be prepared to have the interview in French (even if you end up having some or most of it in English) and research and plan what you intend to do once you land in Quebec as much as possible.
A lot of people use Quebec as a back door to get into Canada. Immigration officers know it and part of their job is to determine if you are amongst them. For me, Quebec has always been my dream and I have every intention of settling there, I have been preparing for it for years. And I think that's why our interview was so quick.
If you meet the selection criteria and you are really planning to go to Quebec and you have been planning and preparing to do so, there is no need to worry, you will succeed.
For your reference, I work in the IT industry and so does my wife. Our interview was in New York City.
We arrived to the interview really early, but they didn't let us go up until exactly 30 minutes before our 9:30 appointment. At 9:00 they finally let us in and we waited in the lobby of the Quebec Government office until an immigration agent called our name. He lead us to his office and once there he started the interview speaking French. And his first question was: "What would you say is your level of French: beginner, intermediate or advanced?". We answered intermediate.
"Do you prefer to have this interview in French or English?". We answered French.
"Where did you study French and have you taken a French certification exam?". We answered no, and explained how we learned French.
Then he said, "Ok, now I'll switch back to English as I need to ask you some questions about your documents, and we'll continue in French a bit later". This surprised me, I was 100% prepared to have the whole interview in French.
He checked our US immigration forms (i797s), our university diplomas, our passports...and that was it.
When he finished checking those he asked in English: "Why do you want to move to Quebec?". I answered.
Next, he finally made the switch to French and asked my wife what is her profession, and she explained. Even though he didn't request them, at this point I gave him our updated resumes in French. And he liked that and asked if he could keep them. Our resumes in the original application were in English.
Next question was for me, in French: "Do you know how are you going to find a job in Montreal?". The company where I work has a branch in Montreal, and I had a list of all our customers based there, so I brought that up. We also attended a Quebec job fair which was organized by the French-American chamber of commerce in DC a couple months ago, so I also showed him the business cards and brochures we collected there.
He then started explaining (in French) that Quebec is almost completely francophone, and that while Quebec is not violent there is a constant struggle between the anglophone culture and the francophone culture, and he then asked us if we were aware and prepared for this?
I said yes, and talked a little bit about the history of Quebec and the history of that cultural struggle between French and English. He was very happy with my answer.
He finally asked: "Are you planning to continue studying French?". We said yes, and showed him a receipt from a course we are signed up for and that starts in May. I also showed him some books I've read in French (a book about the history of Quebec, and two other hockey books). He was happy with the book about Quebec.
And that was it, he approved our CSQ.
It took exactly 18 minutes from the moment the immigration officer came to get us from the lobby to the moment he approved our CSQ.
The best two pieces of advise I have are really nothing you don't already know: be prepared to have the interview in French (even if you end up having some or most of it in English) and research and plan what you intend to do once you land in Quebec as much as possible.
A lot of people use Quebec as a back door to get into Canada. Immigration officers know it and part of their job is to determine if you are amongst them. For me, Quebec has always been my dream and I have every intention of settling there, I have been preparing for it for years. And I think that's why our interview was so quick.
If you meet the selection criteria and you are really planning to go to Quebec and you have been planning and preparing to do so, there is no need to worry, you will succeed.
RocketCity
Star Member
- Mar 15, 2013
- 12
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- BIQ Montreal
- NOC Code......
- U062
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- 21-11-2012
- Nomination.....
- 26-02-2014
- AOR Received.
- 09-05-2014
- Med's Request
- 09-05-2014
- Med's Done....
- 19-05-2014
- Interview........
- 26-02-2014
- Passport Req..
- RPRF Request 02-03-2015, PPR Request 10-03-2015
shootingstar
Hero Member
- Mar 28, 2011
- 5
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Montreal
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- Med's Done....
- 10/10/2013
- Interview........
- 18/4/2013
I had my interview in NY today, we have been given 6 months to submit TCF test results (SAD!). I will post my expereince soon.
Unortunately, our case has been VERY unfair, since we had DELF test results and still we were not granted the CSQ.
Unortunately, our case has been VERY unfair, since we had DELF test results and still we were not granted the CSQ.
I sent my application on July 2011, then got the AOR in September 2011.RocketCity said:
Then I was put on the interview waiting list on October 2012, and got my interview scheduled for December 11, 2012. But I wasn't able to assist, so I rescheduled and I was put on the waiting list again. And I finally had my interview on April 16.
What was your score on the DELF? It may not have been enough to get you over the threshold.shootingstar said:
And there's one more thing: How did you do in the interview, and in particular when speaking French? Remember it's an adaptability interview, if the officer feels your French is not good enough for you to successfully adapt in Quebec he can deny you the necessary adaptability points. So even if he gives you all the French language points you marked in your application, if you don't get the adaptability points, you may end up short. So in some ways you can say that French is double counted in the application.
In short, good knowledge of French is the single most essential criteria going into the selection interview.
Hello Guys !!
Congratulations to all of those who received their PR and best of luck for all those waiting. I applied for Quebec Immigration in Jan 2013 and i received a file number (I don't know if this means A.O.R) in March 2103 stating all the documents have been verified and they would call for interview. I just have couple of concerns:
Our french is very poor since we only took 6 hours of classes from Alliance Francaise (Los Angeles) and i am worried if my interview would in french ? I know during our application we haven't used any points for french since we had enough points . Is french really needed? Please advise
Also how long will the entire process take before i get PR from Quebec?
I would appreciate if you guys would respond to my questions
Thanks
Congratulations to all of those who received their PR and best of luck for all those waiting. I applied for Quebec Immigration in Jan 2013 and i received a file number (I don't know if this means A.O.R) in March 2103 stating all the documents have been verified and they would call for interview. I just have couple of concerns:
Our french is very poor since we only took 6 hours of classes from Alliance Francaise (Los Angeles) and i am worried if my interview would in french ? I know during our application we haven't used any points for french since we had enough points . Is french really needed? Please advise
Also how long will the entire process take before i get PR from Quebec?
I would appreciate if you guys would respond to my questions
Thanks
Hi everybody,
I submitted my CSQ application in November of 2012, and I just heard back from them today asking for some additional documents. The most confusing one for me is the proof of payment of social security contributions or proof of payment of income tax. I'd already submitted a W-2 form and paystubs with my application but this doesn't seem to be enough for them.
My question for those of you who already got accepted is: which tax or social security form(s) did you guys submit?
Thanks !
I submitted my CSQ application in November of 2012, and I just heard back from them today asking for some additional documents. The most confusing one for me is the proof of payment of social security contributions or proof of payment of income tax. I'd already submitted a W-2 form and paystubs with my application but this doesn't seem to be enough for them.
My question for those of you who already got accepted is: which tax or social security form(s) did you guys submit?
Thanks !
raistlin17phil
Hero Member
- Jul 17, 2012
- 5
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Montreal
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- 17-10-2012
- Doc's Request.
- 27-05-2014
- Nomination.....
- CSQ 15-09-2014
- AOR Received.
- 14-03-2014
- IELTS Request
- submitted with the application
- File Transfer...
- 01-01-2013
- Med's Request
- 02-07-2015
- Med's Done....
- 07-07-2015
- Interview........
- Waived (QSWP)
Thank you, bouchot, for sharing. I would just like to ask, what was your level of French when you had the interview? I'm concerned because I currently have an A2 level via Tefaq, and I'm currently doing a self-study (full time) to be able to get to B2 level. I'm currently doing the B1 book right now and supposing October 2013 is going to be the next interview month, do you think I will be able to understand and talk in French passably during interview? My profession is in the AOT priority list and I have already 55 points without my French under new rules (57 under old rules); some agencies say French language capability is not that important with my profession, but I really have my doubts. I will be very appreciative of any inputs. Thank you.bouchot said: