Montreal embassy EB-2 interview wait time-Part 2

[DTCC 14]

@kachabThanks!  Can I give the hotel address in Montreal for passport pick-up? Or Will they mail out the passport to nearby post office? Hope no option for in-person and/or same day  pick-up at the consulate.

[Leeching Spouse 87]

I want to share that we were able to transfer our IV case to another consulate given that we no longer reside in Canada. Happy to share back when we receive IL. I will remove my name from the tracking sheet.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Leeching Spouse

[miv2331 3]

43 minutes ago, TheMaverick said:

Folks I want to send a general email to montreal consulate to express some dissatisfaction on how they are not prioritizing EB category even when the the guidance to posts for the prioritization of consular services during the pandemic issued in November 2020 has been rescinded. Can someone provide the montreal consulate email address for this.

Email is on the status page, but I would guess they'll either ignore it or reply that Congress directed State Dept. to process IR visas withing 30 days and Family Preference visas within 60 days, but does not set a timeframe for EB...

[TheMaverick 47]

8 minutes ago, miv2331 said:

Email is on the status page, but I would guess they'll either ignore it or reply that Congress directed State Dept. to process IR visas withing 30 days and Family Preference visas within 60 days, but does not set a timeframe for EB...

Is this the correct one: Questions regarding immigrant visa applications: Canada.Visas@gdit-gss.com

[raisins 27]

14 minutes ago, TheMaverick said:

Is this the correct one: Questions regarding immigrant visa applications: Canada.Visas@gdit-gss.com

@TheMaverick As others have said there won't likely be any action. As a group, there was a coordinated effort earlier in the year where a big group of us all sent a coordinated email expressing our frustrations. Radio silence.

I don't see your information on the tracking sheet, have you added yourself for visibility: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14yZKxht6igwJPXPU0EehKmmN2hx1g3EchEuB5G0yNO4/edit#gid=0

 

 

34 minutes ago, Leeching Spouse said:

I want to share that we were able to transfer our IV case to another consulate given that we no longer reside in Canada. Happy to share back when we receive IL. I will remove my name from the tracking sheet.

That is good news @Leeching Spouse hopefully you'll have a better experience there. Can you share where you transferred it, and do you have any expectations on your appointment? Would be curious to hear how easy/hard this process was, and I've always heard you get a new DQ date (essentially move to the end of the line).

[kachab 30]

48 minutes ago, DTCC said:

@kachabThanks!  Can I give the hotel address in Montreal for passport pick-up? Or Will they mail out the passport to nearby post office? Hope no option for in-person and/or same day  pick-up at the consulate.

When you receive your interview letter and before your actual appointment, you will have to register online for the courier service (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/MTL-Montreal.html). This is where you will have to pick the post office or give the address you want them to send your passports and documents to. There is a list of specific post offices where they can be sent to, not any Canada Post Office. From what I remember, the post offices available were only in the main Canadian cities (Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, etc). People who live too far from those post office have no choice but to have them sent to their home address. Maybe it has changed, but there was no option to pick up directly at the Consulate. 

 

You probably can get your documents sent to the hotel, but I would personally tend to have them sent in a post office in Montreal since you will be sure that they will not fall into someone else's hands at the hotel reception and have trouble getting them. Also, I think you get them a day or two sooner if they are sent to a post office. If I remember correctly,  you also have to pay extra if you want to have your passport sent to an address other than a post office. 

 

When you register, if you pick the post office option, you will need to specify which ID you will show to pick your documents up and the address on it. I used my New York driver's license with my US address and I was asked to show it at the post office. They really checked if it matched the ID I said I would be using when I registered for the courier. I don't know if you also need to give an ID if they send to a home address. Maybe the postman has to check it and have you sign to give you the documents, I am not sure.  

 

 

[TheMaverick 47]

15 minutes ago, raisins said:

@TheMaverick As others have said there won't likely be any action. As a group, there was a coordinated effort earlier in the year where a big group of us all sent a coordinated email expressing our frustrations. Radio silence.

I don't see your information on the tracking sheet, have you added yourself for visibility: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14yZKxht6igwJPXPU0EehKmmN2hx1g3EchEuB5G0yNO4/edit#gid=0

 

 

That is good news @Leeching Spouse hopefully you'll have a better experience there. Can you share where you transferred it, and do you have any expectations on your appointment? Would be curious to hear how easy/hard this process was, and I've always heard you get a new DQ date (essentially move to the end of the line).

Folks I am a Canadian citizen but I also am a Overseas Citizen of India. My DQ is May 2022. Any idea how is India doing compared to Montreal. Considering that the DQ date resets will it be worth it to transfer to India

[JustHopeful 40]

28 minutes ago, Leeching Spouse said:

I want to share that we were able to transfer our IV case to another consulate given that we no longer reside in Canada. Happy to share back when we receive IL. I will remove my name from the tracking sheet.

That's great news!! Hopefully you will get your IL soon.

 

Can you please share the steps to transfer the case to another consulate? Thanks.

[TheMaverick 47]

I know there was a exercise sometime back to send email to Montreal. Does anyone have that template? It was a really good formatted document(diplomatic and precise). It will be great if someone can share that template. I know it will not matter but I atleast want to try. We can all do it again and again till they hear us. It does not cost us a dime to send that email. We should do it again I feel. 

[DTCC 14]

Thank you @kachab. This immensely helps.

 

Regardless  you live in Canada or not, Hope you can pick post office as option to collect your passport. Your response answer that part  as you picked-up your passport with US NY DL but just want to make sure.

 

 

[kachab 30]

1 minute ago, DTCC said:

Thank you @kachab. This immensely helps.

 

Regardless  you live in Canada or not, Hope you can pick post office as option to collect your passport. Your response answer that part  as you picked-up your passport with US NY DL but just want to make sure.

 

 

Yes, that's correct. I was actually in a situation very similar to yours. I had already been working for a few years in the US on non-immigrant work visas when I received my interview letter. The only government-issued ID I had other than my passport (which I obviously could not use to pick up at the post office!) was my NY driver's license. I remember it being a bit weird when I registered online though. I initially had the impression that the only way of getting it sent to a post office was if you had a Canadian ID and address, but it is not the case. The registration system is not really clear in my opinion. I had to read it a few times because the wording, which I don't remember exactly, was a bit weird. 

 

When I got to the post office, the first person who served me asked me if I also had a proof of my Canadian address. I told her I did not have any and someone more senior who was familiar with this passport pickup thing said I did not need any and that she just needed to check that my US ID matched the US ID I had registered with and that the Consulate gave them when they mailed my passport. 

[DTCC 14]

Thank you @kachab for the confirmation.

 

May I know when did your interview happen?  Pre or Post Pandemic?

[kachab 30]

1 minute ago, DTCC said:

Thank you @kachab for the confirmation.

 

May I know when did your interview happen?  Pre or Post Pandemic?

My interview was on January 19th, 2022, right in the middle of the omicron wave! There was also a snow storm on that day. I was really afraid they would cancel it at the last minute, but thankfully, it hasn't been the case. 

 

They seem to be almost up to date with the F visas, so they should start pushing to clear the EB backlog very soon. Hopefully you get your interview soon. 

[DTCC 14]

Thank you @kachab. Fingers Crossed!

[farzady 42]

3 hours ago, TheMaverick said:

Is this the correct one: Questions regarding immigrant visa applications: Canada.Visas@gdit-gss.com

montreal-iv-dv@state.gov

(438) 793-1947