Changing consulates -- waiting time?

[yonglin 1]

I'm a Swedish citizen studying in a very long graduate program in Canada on a study permit. The only time I can (ethically and economically) withdraw from my program is at the end of this fall semester. Although I would be technically out of status (in Canada) when I withdraw from my program, my study permit does not expire until 2013 and I would probably not be subject to deportation. However, I may get into trouble if I tried to re-enter Canada, and cannot work here.

Partly for this reason, and partly because waiting times in Montreal seem *a lot* longer than in Stockholm, we requested to interview for the K-1 in Stockholm. However, after sitting for a month at the NVC, the case was sent to Montreal early last week and I'm expecting packet 3 from there any day now. Given the interview scheduling issues at Montreal, it seems unlikely that I would be done by the end of the year, though. For this reason, we are considering asking the Stockholm embassy to request transferring the case from Montreal to Stockholm.

Yesterday, I sent an e-mail to the Stockholm immigrant visa section. They offered to transfer the case, but added "... you should note that there will be a waiting period of three months or more before we can schedule you for an interview (once you notify us that you are documentary qualified)." Now, I have a heard time deciding whether

1. The situation in STK really changed after they decided to interview immigrant visa candidates from all Scandinavian countries there, and the interview waiting time suddenly tripled

2. This "waiting period" applies to transferred cases only

3. They are just being overly cautious about instilling any kind of hope in the interviewees

If I'm only able to schedule a Montreal interview in spring, I'm worried the consular officer will question my current status in Canada ("waiting for an interview at the Montreal consulate?"). I think I might also go crazy being here on my own without being able to do anything: I probably wouldn't be able to go abroad (visiting the SO in the US, my family in Sweden) because of fear not being let into Canada again for the interview. That is, things are starting to get a bit kafkaesque. Come to think about it, a three-month waiting period actually doesn't seem too bad...

What do you think would be the best course of action? I'm particularly curious about whether anyone has ever heard about a waiting period applying to transferred cases only.

Thank you so much.

[Inky 1,111]

You realize you don't have to wait for packet 3 from Montreal, the entire packet is all available on their US embassy website. You can access it and download it and get everything done and send it back to Montreal before they even mail you the Packet 3 in the mail.

[yonglin 1]

Thank you, inky. Yes, I realize -- the guides to the Canadian process here on VJ are very clear and extensive.

I'm mainly worried about the interview scheduling issues (described here, for example). It seems that recently, a significant number of people have been waiting for weeks and even months without even being able to schedule an interview.