Visa & Passport Timing AFTER Interview

[ABodden 1]

Hello,

This has probably been asked but I can't seem to find it anywhere. My fiance (from Canada) and I (USA) are wondering about how long after the visa interview (& approval), will his visa and passport be available to pick up? What is the estimated timing & how long did it take for you, if you've received it already. We are going to set up our interview but we don't know if we want to pick it up or have it sent to his house. Our interview will be in Montreal (about 7 hours away from his house) so I'm visiting for two weeks to drive there with him and then there is an option to pick up in Mississauga. Do you think I will still be there by the time it is ready? Just looking for general answers. Thank you in advance. 

[Cryssiekins 976]

Back in September 2016, it took me 2 weeks to receive my passport back.  I was told at the interview it would be 5 business days, so on the 6th business day when I still didn’t have a CP tracking number, I emailed the Embassy and later that day the status changed to “issued” and then I was emailed a tracking number.  I don’t recall having an option to pick it up (I lived right outside Mississauga) at that time, but that may have changed.  

[Nashvan 133]

It could take days or weeks before your visa is issued, even after verbal approval due to Administrative Processing. No one can say for sure when it will arrive. I picked mine up in Vancouver 8 days after the interview.

[ABodden 1]

11 hours ago, Cryssiekins said:

Back in September 2016, it took me 2 weeks to receive my passport back.  I was told at the interview it would be 5 business days, so on the 6th business day when I still didn’t have a CP tracking number, I emailed the Embassy and later that day the status changed to “issued” and then I was emailed a tracking number.  I don’t recall having an option to pick it up (I lived right outside Mississauga) at that time, but that may have changed.  

Okay, thank you so much. Another question, when you registered for your interview, did you have a problem with it saying "No appointments available"? My fiance called to schedule (like the email said) but then was told he HAD to schedule online and the guy wouldn't answer his questions... Do they just have like blocks of time available randomly?

10 hours ago, Vans said:

It could take days or weeks before your visa is issued, even after verbal approval due to Administrative Processing. No one can say for sure when it will arrive. I picked mine up in Vancouver 8 days after the interview.

Okay, thanks!

[Cryssiekins 976]

36 minutes ago, April K said:

Okay, thank you so much. Another question, when you registered for your interview, did you have a problem with it saying "No appointments available"? My fiance called to schedule (like the email said) but then was told he HAD to schedule online and the guy wouldn't answer his questions... Do they just have like blocks of time available randomly?

Okay, thanks!

From what I remember, I did it online, and it gave me chunks of time on certain days.  Like I wanted a Monday or Friday to coordinate time off from work, but K1 interviews were only done on certain days, so I wound up with a Wednesday at 11am, which sucked.  Then I found out that “appointments” were just their way to stagger traffic into the Embassy, so I showed up to get in line at like 6:30 (doors opened at 7:30) and was first in line, so I was through with the whole thing by 9am (which was great since I had a 7+ hour drive back with my parents who came with me for company since my husband couldn’t take off from work).  I am pretty sure they stopped the letting you in early thing though. 

 

If you stay overnight, the Courtyard by Marriott is a literal block away, so you don’t have to deal with driving and parking in Montreal (awful!).

 

From posts on here, seems the interviews are booking up quickly, so may not be as easy to get something fast. 

[Mike E 11,723]

15 hours ago, April K said:

Hello,

This has probably been asked but I can't seem to find it anywhere. My fiance (from Canada) and I (USA) are wondering about how long after the visa interview (& approval), will his visa and passport be available to pick up? What is the estimated timing & how long did it take for you, if you've received it already. We are going to set up our interview but we don't know if we want to pick it up or have it sent to his house. Our interview will be in Montreal (about 7 hours away from his house) so I'm visiting for two weeks to drive there with him and then there is an option to pick up in Mississauga. Do you think I will still be there by the time it is ready? Just looking for general answers. Thank you in advance. 

My wife's passport and visa was available 5 working days after her interview. Mind you, her interview was December 26. There are a lot of USA and Myanmar government holidays around that time. It ended up being nearly 2 calendar weeks.