Canada Immigration and K1 Guide for Vancouver

[Mk/Mk 0]

What is the Form DS-156K ? I thought we only needed the DS-160 with the barcode on it...The instruction sheet doesn't ask for it...

[NikLR 13,220]

It's an old form before online forms. The DS-160 replaced it. Don't worry about it.

[MissPearls 38]

Does anyone know how long it usually takes for your case to show as "Ready" once Vancouver has received your case? They received mine, and I'm going crazy waiting for it to change from "In transit".

[strifescenario 6]

Hello!!!!!

My PEOPLE!!!!

Vancouverites! I'm so happy to have found you!

I read through this whole thread, it yes - things have changed in terms of forms and requirements since this thread began.

I'm based out of Calgary, and our case just got forwarded from the NVC to Vancouver on Friday (August 7th). SO good to see MissPearls's timeline - because I had exact same questions. Also - I feel for you for being stuck at TSC, we ended up being there for 210 days before we got our approval.

I'm hoping someone can tell me how Vancouver communicates with you.
I am hoping that they email packet 3 and I'm okay to just email the scanned versions of things back to them, rather than waiting and sending things via snail mail. Can someone confirm?
Also, based on MissPearl's timeline, Vancouver seems to be pretty quick to get in contact with you. Can someone confirm this to be true?

Were you tracking your case via CEAC? Did you end up contacting them before they contacted you?
I'd like to hear all your stories and experiences.

Thank you everyone in advance!

[MissPearls 38]

Hey Strifescenario!

Flipping through my email, I saw my name thrown around quite a bit, so I thought I would try to chime in a bit more here!

Vancouver is actually pretty decent with times. So congratulations on being out of the TSC and out of the NVC! I spent 220 days at TSC, so I TOTALLY get the pain of it. Worst wait of your life. It took a little over a week to get to Vancouver. It actually took overnight once sent, but a week before they scanned my file. I obsessively tracked the status on the CEAC site until it went to "READY", then without waiting, I emailed the DS160 and Packet 3 checklist to the embassy. There is NO need to wait for the letter, in fact, I never received a letter. It took less than 24 hours to get Packet 4, and about 5 minutes past that to pay the fee and book my interview.

I will say, interviews are tough to come by. My original date was September 29th, and I cried. Literally. Lol. However, within a few weeks, I was booked in for September 1st. There are always cancellations, so take whatever you can. At this exact moment, there are still dates for September 15th and 29th. So you will get a September interview if you choose.

Once you have an interview date, you can contact Dr. Cheema as well. Their office is just as fast. I received an email back from them within the hour, and they worked with me to book the best date for myself knowing I was looking for cancellations at the time. It worked perfectly, they booked me for August 17th.

Hope this helps!! Good luck, and again, congratulations, the worst is over, the rest gets easier and faster!

[TrufflePiggy 3]

Hey Strifescenario!

Flipping through my email, I saw my name thrown around quite a bit, so I thought I would try to chime in a bit more here!

Vancouver is actually pretty decent with times. So congratulations on being out of the TSC and out of the NVC! I spent 220 days at TSC, so I TOTALLY get the pain of it. Worst wait of your life. It took a little over a week to get to Vancouver. It actually took overnight once sent, but a week before they scanned my file. I obsessively tracked the status on the CEAC site until it went to "READY", then without waiting, I emailed the DS160 and Packet 3 checklist to the embassy. There is NO need to wait for the letter, in fact, I never received a letter. It took less than 24 hours to get Packet 4, and about 5 minutes past that to pay the fee and book my interview.

I will say, interviews are tough to come by. My original date was September 29th, and I cried. Literally. Lol. However, within a few weeks, I was booked in for September 1st. There are always cancellations, so take whatever you can. At this exact moment, there are still dates for September 15th and 29th. So you will get a September interview if you choose.

Once you have an interview date, you can contact Dr. Cheema as well. Their office is just as fast. I received an email back from them within the hour, and they worked with me to book the best date for myself knowing I was looking for cancellations at the time. It worked perfectly, they booked me for August 17th.

Hope this helps!! Good luck, and again, congratulations, the worst is over, the rest gets easier and faster!

I just checked my status on the CEAC website today, and my application is ready as of July 22. It says that my interview will be in Montreal. My case number starts with VAC, so does that mean it will be a Vancouver interview? I live in Victoria.

Also, did anyone else not receive anything in the mail like MissPearls?

Your case is ready for you to schedule an interview at the U.S. Consulate General in Montreal. If you have already scheduled an interview appointment, please prepare your documents as directed in your appointment letter and appear at the Consulate on the appointed date and time. Otherwise, please wait until you have been notified of your interview appointment. Additional information about how Immigrant Visa interview appointments are scheduled can be found at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3731.html

[MissPearls 38]

You will be in Vancouver. Mine said the same thing! I think it's pretty normal to not receive anything. I would submit your Packet 3 and DS160 if you have it. You'll get an interview date soon!

also, with cancellations, I managed to get a last minute appointment for this coming Tuesday. So, super excited. Refreshing the appointment website definitely works!

[TrufflePiggy 3]

You will be in Vancouver. Mine said the same thing! I think it's pretty normal to not receive anything. I would submit your Packet 3 and DS160 if you have it. You'll get an interview date soon!

also, with cancellations, I managed to get a last minute appointment for this coming Tuesday. So, super excited. Refreshing the appointment website definitely works!

Thank you!!

[TrufflePiggy 3]

So i've not recieved anything in the mail (packet 3). My status said ready on CEAC website. I filled out DS-160.

Can someone post a 2015 vancouver link to packet 3? Otherwise I might just email for it.

Thx in advance.

You will be in Vancouver. Mine said the same thing! I think it's pretty normal to not receive anything. I would submit your Packet 3 and DS160 if you have it. You'll get an interview date soon!

also, with cancellations, I managed to get a last minute appointment for this coming Tuesday. So, super excited. Refreshing the appointment website definitely works!

[TrufflePiggy 3]

You will be in Vancouver. Mine said the same thing! I think it's pretty normal to not receive anything. I would submit your Packet 3 and DS160 if you have it. You'll get an interview date soon!

also, with cancellations, I managed to get a last minute appointment for this coming Tuesday. So, super excited. Refreshing the appointment website definitely works!

MissPearls,

So if I'm counting correctly you switched your interview date 3 times? When you mentioned refreshing website, how often or what times were you doing this. I've got a Oct 20th interview booked, but really praying for something sooner. Any tricks to getting a new interview would be much appreciated.

-TP

[MissPearls 38]

Yep, 3 times from getting my original date. The first time, it was a Friday night around 10 pacific time. The next 2 times it was super early in the morning. The final time, when I got the last interview, it was about 4am pacific time. Working overnights has its benefits! Basically, just refreshing non-stop all day, everyday! That was what I did.

Good luck getting a different date! Are you close enough to Vancouver that you can take a last minute appointment? My last one was less than a week away. And I saw another beforehand that was less than a week away as well.

[TrufflePiggy 3]

I managed to switch mine a total of 3 times and now my interview is sept 22nd. I found early in the mornings and early in the week worked for me!

[shiny1713 5]

Hello all! Received our NOA2 on Wednesday and are excited to move into the next step of this process. Does anyone have the link to the DS-160 or updated Packet 3? The info in the original post appears to be outdated and references/links to an old form.

Thanks in advance!

[PickleChips 56]

Hello all! Received our NOA2 on Wednesday and are excited to move into the next step of this process. Does anyone have the link to the DS-160 or updated Packet 3? The info in the original post appears to be outdated and references/links to an old form.

Thanks in advance!

I just googled these, just look them over to make sure they are right.

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/canada/303578/pdfs/K1-K3-packet3.pdf

https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/default.aspx

[shiny1713 5]

I just googled these, just look them over to make sure they are right.

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/canada/303578/pdfs/K1-K3-packet3.pdf

https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/default.aspx

Thank you! It looks like the first link is still the old packet 3 (references an older form than the DS-160) but I hadn't come across the second link. I'd been looking for the wrong things I think since I usually consider myself a google master. Appreciate the help!