Vancouver interviews for K1 - how long until you received your visa and passport?

[de3wcfan 3]

My fiance has his interview in Vancouver on June 23rd, and we are wondering if anyone has had any experience in getting approved in the Vancouver office and how long it took to get your passport back with the visa? Our daughter turns three months on June 21st and we are hoping he doesn't have to stay in Canada long waiting to pick up paperwork.

[templeton 120]

Last June it took about a week to get mine back.

[bfulton71 9]

This January it took about 5 business days from the interview date to get my package. it will come quickly!

[strifescenario 6]

Western Canadians!

Share your stories! What was the interview like? What was in packet 3?

I have been ready for this interview since January 2015 - ready in that I have almost everything on that check list (except one form that I can't fill out before I get a case number). How long did it take you to see a doctor and do the medical?

Is anyone from Alberta? How did the embassy contact you? What were their timelines for booking you in for your interview from the time NVC sent them the paperwork?

Anything helps!

Thank you!

[de3wcfan 3]

Western Canadians!

Share your stories! What was the interview like? What was in packet 3?

I have been ready for this interview since January 2015 - ready in that I have almost everything on that check list (except one form that I can't fill out before I get a case number). How long did it take you to see a doctor and do the medical?

Is anyone from Alberta? How did the embassy contact you? What were their timelines for booking you in for your interview from the time NVC sent them the paperwork?

Anything helps!

Thank you!

My fiance is from Vancouver. The Vancouver consulate contacted him by email stating they had received the packet from NVC within a week or two of the NVC status saying his case was in transit. They told him to download packet 3 which is merely a checklist of documents that they need you to have. Once you gather all those documents, you fax them the checklist only stating you have everything on that list and are ready to schedule your interview. You can download packet 3 ahead of time from the Canada portal to see what's on there that they will be requesting. Once we faxed the checklist back saying we had everything on that list, my fiance received an email within a day or two saying we were cleared to schedule the interview. You have to pay the fee first and then you can schedule it. Unfortunately, it's a long wait. We scheduled the interview back in March and the first available date at that time was June 23rd. We've been waiting three months for this interview. They only do them on Tuesday mornings and the dates fill up quickly.

[strifescenario 6]

My fiance is from Vancouver. The Vancouver consulate contacted him by email stating they had received the packet from NVC within a week or two of the NVC status saying his case was in transit. They told him to download packet 3 which is merely a checklist of documents that they need you to have. Once you gather all those documents, you fax them the checklist only stating you have everything on that list and are ready to schedule your interview. You can download packet 3 ahead of time from the Canada portal to see what's on there that they will be requesting. Once we faxed the checklist back saying we had everything on that list, my fiance received an email within a day or two saying we were cleared to schedule the interview. You have to pay the fee first and then you can schedule it. Unfortunately, it's a long wait. We scheduled the interview back in March and the first available date at that time was June 23rd. We've been waiting three months for this interview. They only do them on Tuesday mornings and the dates fill up quickly.

I can't thank you enough for sharing your experience. This is exactly what I was afraid of - the long wait that makes no sense. Has your fiance already done the medical exam? Or is this done a day or two before the interview? I live in Calgary, but I presume I will only be able to see one of the doctor's in Vancouver, so I'm trying to understand if I will have to go there twice, or I can do the exam the day before and go in for the interview the next day.

P.S. What is this 'Canada Portal' exactly where I can view the packet 3? Could you forward a link to me, or how could I find it?

Edited June 8, 2015 by strifescenario

[de3wcfan 3]

I can't thank you enough for sharing your experience. This is exactly what I was afraid of - the long wait that makes no sense. Has your fiance already done the medical exam? Or is this done a day or two before the interview? I live in Calgary, but I presume I will only be able to see one of the doctor's in Vancouver, so I'm trying to understand if I will have to go there twice, or I can do the exam the day before and go in for the interview the next day.

P.S. What is this 'Canada Portal' exactly where I can view the packet 3? Could you forward a link to me, or how could I find it?

I knew I was forgetting something in that response. We are using Dr. Cheema in Vancouver and he will not schedule a medical until you know your interview date. Once we had the date set of June 23rd, he scheduled the medical for the very preceding Friday, June 19th. As I understand it, you go to the medical on Friday and then go back on Monday and pick up a sealed envelope with your medical information in it to take with you to the interview on Tuesday morning. With them only doing interviews on Tuesdays and with you having to schedule a medical on one day and have time to go back the next day to pick up the medical report, that backs you up to the Friday before to have time to get it all completed. Fortunately his home is in Vancouver so it's not a big problem for us, but for anyone coming in from far away it makes for having to stay an extended period of time to get it all done. And, yes, I totally agree with the complete idiocy of having to wait 90 days to get an interview scheduled. I even tried to email the consulate asking for an expedited date due to the birth of our daughter, but the response I got was the appointment scheduling is an automated system and it's first come first serve on the dates. You have to schedule it online and literally there were no dates back in March when we scheduled it until June 23rd. We picked the first available date.

[de3wcfan 3]

I can't thank you enough for sharing your experience. This is exactly what I was afraid of - the long wait that makes no sense. Has your fiance already done the medical exam? Or is this done a day or two before the interview? I live in Calgary, but I presume I will only be able to see one of the doctor's in Vancouver, so I'm trying to understand if I will have to go there twice, or I can do the exam the day before and go in for the interview the next day.

P.S. What is this 'Canada Portal' exactly where I can view the packet 3? Could you forward a link to me, or how could I find it?

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Canada&cty=Vancouver

See if this link takes you to the Vancouver portal page. It has a lot of information on the page and tells you how to get the Packet 3 download. You may have to copy and paste the link.

[templeton 120]

As others say, your medical results aren't available until the following day, so whatever day you end up scheduling your interview for, book your medical at least two business days prior to that. (My interview was on a Friday, so I booked the medical for the Wednesday prior to that).

The medical office and the consulate aren't anywhere close to each other. The SkyTrain can get you a block from the consulate, so think about staying somewhere that has decent access to that. Then you don't have to worry about driving. Otherwise I rented a car to get myself to the medical, and then back again the next day. Also keep in mind that you have to go to three different clinics during the medical process - the exam office to start, then x-rays and blood test are all done in different locations. The doctor's office isn't THAT far from the other two (x-ray and blood are basically across the street from each other), but still a fair hike if you were walking. Overall I just thought that renting a car for a few days wouldn't be much more money (maybe less) than taking cabs anywhere, and gave me more freedom.

In the end, it's a lot of stress and running around, but it wasn't as big of a deal as I imagined it might be. Despite double and triple checking everything, you still worry you forgot some crucial piece of paper, or something will go missing, or you'll get lost. Just be sure to give yourself lots of time to get where you need to go. And there's always that feeling of helplessness that goes with any situation when you're entirely at the mercy of someone else's decision. But everyone I dealt with throughout my time in Vancouver was helpful and polite, and it all went smoothly.

[ricnally 258]

2 years ago, had my interview on June 25th. It was a Tuesday and I picked up my passport with visa Friday morning (and on a plane 2 hours later!)

[MissPearls 38]

It took 3 months to get an interview date? Is that for real? I have been waiting for my NOA2 for more than 7 months now already, and to think I will have another hopelessly long wait is devastating. Did you watch for cancellations?

[de3wcfan 3]

It took 3 months to get an interview date? Is that for real? I have been waiting for my NOA2 for more than 7 months now already, and to think I will have another hopelessly long wait is devastating. Did you watch for cancellations?

We scheduled our interview date the end of March, first part of April and the first available date was June 23rd. I was shocked at the length of time it was going to take. We emailed the Vancouver consulate asking for a quicker date or to be put on some cancellation list and were told that was the first available date and there is no such thing as a cancellation list. It's not been that bad for us because my fiance has been in the states with me helping take care of our daughter. He is flying home tomorrow to get ready for his medical this Friday and interview next Tuesday. I'm now seeing issues with some computer hack and visas being delayed so I have no idea what's going to happen. I am just ready for this part to be over!

[theanswerisdance 144]

Western Canadians!

Share your stories! What was the interview like? What was in packet 3?

I have been ready for this interview since January 2015 - ready in that I have almost everything on that check list (except one form that I can't fill out before I get a case number). How long did it take you to see a doctor and do the medical?

Is anyone from Alberta? How did the embassy contact you? What were their timelines for booking you in for your interview from the time NVC sent them the paperwork?

Anything helps!

Thank you!

Here's the link to my medical and interview experience from March 2015. I tried to be as in-depth as possible. I'm from Alberta so hopefully that gives you something to go on! Note that as of March, the only interviews were on Tuesdays, which meant you HAD to go to Vancouver prior to the weekend to do your medical, because the medical results won't be ready until after 3 PM the business day AFTER the exam...meaning you can't get it done on the Monday, since it wouldn't be ready till late Tuesday, and the interview is on Tuesday. This may have changed, but it was a huge annoyance to have to fly in on Thursday night, for a Friday morning medical, wait all weekend, pick up the results on Monday afternoon, then go for the interview on Tuesday morning, and fly out Tuesday night. Maybe this has changed though! Message me if you have any questions. Good luck!

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=16373

[strifescenario 6]

Here's the link to my medical and interview experience from March 2015. I tried to be as in-depth as possible. I'm from Alberta so hopefully that gives you something to go on! Note that as of March, the only interviews were on Tuesdays, which meant you HAD to go to Vancouver prior to the weekend to do your medical, because the medical results won't be ready until after 3 PM the business day AFTER the exam...meaning you can't get it done on the Monday, since it wouldn't be ready till late Tuesday, and the interview is on Tuesday. This may have changed, but it was a huge annoyance to have to fly in on Thursday night, for a Friday morning medical, wait all weekend, pick up the results on Monday afternoon, then go for the interview on Tuesday morning, and fly out Tuesday night. Maybe this has changed though! Message me if you have any questions. Good luck!

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=16373

Oh my god- thank you. I literally cannot thank you enough. As I'm sure you all know, it is very difficult not to get discouraged throughout this entire process. We never anticipated it would be this complex or take this long to get our visa. We are still at our NOA1 stage and reaching six months with no news. The fact that Vancouver interviews seem to take 3 months to book is even MORE heartbreaking to me, but I would rather know the exact date and just be ready.

I will read your entire post because every bit of information helps. Thank you so much for sharing your stories, without this site we would be completely in the dark about the process.

[MissPearls 38]

I spent a few hours last week going through a bunch of timelines and found that the interviews average anywhere from 1 month to close to 3. So hopefully we all get interviews closer to the 1 month mark.