Concerned Coronavirus may cause issues (merged)

[MovingToFlorida 71]

1 hour ago, bojek said:

Thanks a lot for that update. 

 

My flight was easily cancellable (for credits) online luckily. I was scared it would be a problem since I booked on Kayak (with Air Canada) and you can't directly do the cancellation it if you have a 3rd party seller ticket but I guess Kayak is just a portal and actually books you directly with the airline (vs like Expedia). Was afraid I'd have to call too, it might have calmed down since but a few days ago with the border closure news, I've heard of 48 hours wait times on their phone lines...That's insane! Anyways, the credit will be valid til December 31st, which I imagine they will extend if all of this gets much worse and lasts a long time but hopefully not...

 

If you have a medical scheduled at Medysis you might want to email them. Their clinics are closed until further notice and I was not emailed or contacted about it. I  found out by getting an autoreply when I wrote to them to say I would cancel but a few minutes later an actual person replied confirming my cancellation. 

 

 

I'm glad it was easy for you to cancel. I already had my medical. so I'm a little worried about that expiring along with my criminal check before the next appointment 

[MovingToFlorida 71]

Everyone who had had interviews canceled. Are you worried about your medicals and criminal checks expiring before they reschedule you? My criminal  check expires in May and we just got our medicals done which cost $1000 cause there is 4 of us (Family Visa) I really don't want to have to get all that again  😔

[Crazy Cat 39,285]

6 minutes ago, MovingToFlorida said:

Everyone who had had interviews canceled. Are you worried about your medicals and criminal checks expiring before they reschedule you? My criminal  check expires in May and we just got our medicals done which cost $1000 cause there is 4 of us (Family Visa) I really don't want to have to get all that again  😔

That might be a huge issue for a lot of folks....even people whose visas have already been issued (but can't travel).  Hopefully, this virus situation will improve soon.

[Kay__ 7]

1 hour ago, MovingToFlorida said:

Everyone who had had interviews canceled. Are you worried about your medicals and criminal checks expiring before they reschedule you? My criminal  check expires in May and we just got our medicals done which cost $1000 cause there is 4 of us (Family Visa) I really don't want to have to get all that again  😔

My interview got cancelled. I called montreal 2 times and noticed it is cancelled. But still no email from them. 

I know 1000$ is sucks. i spent 400$ myself cus police does not know privacy act.!!! that is why I found this website at that time last summer. Also Commissionaires submit my address WRONG so, it takes a month to get the police certificates. If they or me knows better, I might be in US with my wife now.... FML

now I'm hanging on the phone for 4 hours so far...

[Kay__ 7]

4 hours ago, dee&vee said:

Just called NVC. They told me that Montreal will reschedule the appointment if yours was cancelled. So we don’t need to schedule appointment ourselves and should ignore the email that had a link to re-schedule. It was probably just system generated email. NVC also said they don’t have any timeline on when Montreal will reschedule us. Everything depends on how soon things go back to normal. 

Thank you SOOO much your information. so all I need to do is waiting.. again....

[bojek 15]

 

39 minutes ago, Kay__ said:

My interview got cancelled. I called montreal 2 times and noticed it is cancelled. But still no email from them. 

I know 1000$ is sucks. i spent 400$ myself cus police does not know privacy act.!!! that is why I found this website at that time last summer. Also Commissionaires submit my address WRONG so, it takes a month to get the police certificates. If they or me knows better, I might be in US with my wife now.... FML

now I'm hanging on the phone for 4 hours so far...

That really sucks! If you do need to reschedule, check on here for advice. I was super confused too and so was my local RCMP office, I did end up having to do them twice because the first time I did them as "Immigrant to Canada" since we didn't know the option but that was the closest one to "immigration-related" purposes and I had missed the "privacy request act" part of the instructions. In the end the first certificate had an embossed seal and the privacy act one didn't so the first one seems like it would have actually been better, but I was planning on bringing both regardless. It'll only cost you 25-30$, every place should be able to do it even if the technician doesn't know how to if you can guide them more. It's awful you already spent 400 though.

 

It's odd that the embassy would reschedule itself since not every date will work for everyone. I think there's probably a ton of chaos and issues with communications in between workers and the different agencies and services so I wouldn't 100% count on things being rescheduled automatically but people here will be able to keep each other updated either way. Maybe the petition (I129-F for k1) validity date is what will be automatically extended? That was already the case, although "at the discretion of the embassy". 

 

@MovingToFlorida I believe the medical is valid for one year as long as you don't unseal the results, so if you just got them done, you should be good unless this turns into something much longer and god, I really hope not.  I'm not sure about police certificates. 

 

@Kay__I got two emails, both from donotreply@usvisa-info.com, so I assume yours would be something like this too. What are you waiting on the phone for exactly? 

 

The borders being officially closed makes me feel more separate from my fiance than anything ever. Knowing we wouldn't be able to be together if something bad happened is really upsetting but I'm trying to stay positive since I know a lot of people are in much worse situations and that this will pass...

 

Quote

You are receiving this message because you have an appointment at the U.S. Consulate General in Montreal on 04/22/2020 at (XXXX).

As of March 17, the United States Embassy in Canada and its Consulates are reducing routine visa appointments, including those for immigrant and fiancé visas.

At this time, your visa appointment is cancelled.

We will resume routine visa services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date at this time. When appointments are once again available, we will provide instructions on how to obtain one.

If you have an urgent matter, please contact us at Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov.

Thank you for your understanding, and please continue to monitor the information for updated guidance in the coming weeks at the Official Website for U.S. Visa Information and Appointments at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-CA/iv/information/contact_us

Regards,

U.S. Visa Information Support Team
http://canada.usvisa-info.com
 

Then the second one I got was:

 

 

Quote

 

The appointment(s) at the Consular Section Montreal for the following applicant(s) were cancelled.

 

Applicant Name		Consular Appointment Date
XXXXXXXX		2020-04-22

 

To schedule a new appointment or to get more information, please log into our website at: https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-CA/iv/users/sign_in.

Best regards,
The CSRA Visa Appointment and Information Service Team

 

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by bojek

[Kay__ 7]

11 minutes ago, bojek said:

 

 

 

@Kay__I got two emails, both from donotreply@usvisa-info.com, so I assume yours would be something like this too. What are you waiting on the phone for exactly? 

 

The borders being officially closed makes me feel more separate from my fiance than anything ever. Knowing we wouldn't be able to be together if something bad happened is really upsetting but I'm trying to stay positive since I know a lot of people are in much worse situations and that this will pass...

 

     Hi. no i'm on the phone for hotel cancellation. still on the phone this is terrible. and No i did not get any cancellation email yet. but I sent inquiry 

to montreal-iv-dv@state.gov and this is their answer.

 

 

Quote

Thank you for your inquiry to the Immigrant Visa Unit at U.S. Consulate Montreal.

Important information for visa applicants regarding novel coronavirus:  

As of March 17, 2020, the U.S. Consulate General Montreal is cancelling routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments.  We will resume routine visa services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date at this time. 

If you have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, please contact us at Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov 

Thank you for your understanding, and please continue to monitor the information for updated guidance in the coming weeks at the Official Website for U.S. Visa Information and Appointments at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-CA/iv/information/contact_us  

For further information about the Presidential Proclamations, please visit: 
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/Presidential-Proclamation-Coronavirus.html 

Thank you for your patience and cooperation,

OP03
Correspondence Unit
US Consulate General in Montreal

 

 

 

 

 

[MovingToFlorida 71]

Now that interviews have been canceled can someone tell mw how long my medical exam is good for? I thought it was 6 months but someone just said they thought it was 12 months. 

 

I tried to look it up but not sure if what I found is up to date/accurate. 

 

Depending how long rescheduling takes I really hope we don't have to get them again. that will be another $1000 for the 4 of us. 

[bojek 15]

My bad for the confusion, I think 12 months is regarding AOS and it seems to be 6 months. I was sure I read 1 year somewhere...I'm not finding anything super concrete either way but from other forum posts that seems to be what I'm seeing. Really sorry for that, I would edit my post but I think I can't anymore so if a mod sees that, feel free to edit it to avoid more confusion.  

 

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by bojek

[MovingToFlorida 71]

37 minutes ago, bojek said:

My bad for the confusion, I think 12 months is regarding AOS and it seems to be 6 months. I was sure I read 1 year somewhere...I'm not finding anything super concrete either way but from other forum posts that seems to be what I'm seeing. Really sorry for that, I would edit my post but I think I can't anymore so if a mod sees that, feel free to edit it to avoid more confusion.  

 

 

No worries I know criminal checks are good for a year. I thought medicals were 6 months and that's why visas are good for the same amount. they go together in that regard. 

 

I have emailed the doctor I got my medical done to ask. Hopefully they respond. 

 

Thanks!

[Dobbie 6]

Not concerned about my police certificate expiring (unless it takes until winter of 2020...yikes), but my passport is a huge problem. It expires March 2021...if not approved by September do I have to re-do the whole process, or would bringing the old and new passport be fine?

[Lemonslice 4,557]

1 minute ago, Dobbie said:

Not concerned about my police certificate expiring (unless it takes until winter of 2020...yikes), but my passport is a huge problem. It expires March 2021...if not approved by September do I have to re-do the whole process, or would bringing the old and new passport be fine?

It is a good idea to renew your passport now since it is more expensive/complicated from the US.  I suggest you renew your passport, no matter when your interview is scheduled.  

You can show your new passport at the interview, that is not a problem.

[MovingToFlorida 71]

41 minutes ago, Dobbie said:

Not concerned about my police certificate expiring (unless it takes until winter of 2020...yikes), but my passport is a huge problem. It expires March 2021...if not approved by September do I have to re-do the whole process, or would bringing the old and new passport be fine?

My daughter's passports were not going to have 6 months left by time our interview so we got them again and just bring the new passport and ask for the old one back so you have both if they ask at the interview. 

[Kay__ 7]

11 hours ago, dee&vee said:

Just called NVC. They told me that Montreal will reschedule the appointment if yours was cancelled. So we don’t need to schedule appointment ourselves and should ignore the email that had a link to re-schedule. It was probably just system generated email. NVC also said they don’t have any timeline on when Montreal will reschedule us. Everything depends on how soon things go back to normal. 

I'm just wanna make sure I don't get any cancelation email yet. so, I may assume that I do not have to contact NVC for re schedule and just wait...?

[MovingToFlorida 71]

12 minutes ago, Kay__ said:

I'm just wanna make sure I don't get any cancelation email yet. so, I may assume that I do not have to contact NVC for re schedule and just wait...?

I believe this is correct cause once nvc schedules you 1st appointment they hand the file over to the consulate. they don't do anything after that. Same if you were the one to cancel. You have to schedule it through the consulate site. 

 

I am still not sure if nvc knows for certain if the consulate will ask you to book it yourself or if the consulate will send you an appointment date. 

 

I am going to wait for instructions from the consulate like the email said and go from there. I'll keep an eye on their website too. I'm sure once the border opens again they will start processing interviews again.