AshleyJill

20 hours ago, bellajio1 said:

It is absolutely nothing about NVC, it is about the Consulate in Montreal that treats Employment based cases inferior to marriage based and anything else. Every month the consulate will send the list of interview spots for each type of case and NVC just fill them based on that availability. I am not sure why they clear marriage based up to April CC already but EB2 is not moving at all from Dec last year. Everyone should post on their facebook or send them email to pressure them to treat us more humanely. 

Having been through the painful waiting game you all are currently experiencing, let me share some of my experiences:

Enlisting the help of your local Rep or Senator is pretty much useless and a waste of time.  Unless you have extenuating circumstances that would warrant and expedite, they can't do anything!  Trust me, I've tried.

What I would suggest, if you are working with a lawyer, is seeing if they can reach out to any of their Dept of State liaisons. It's NOT the NVC, but it's the Consulate and something needs to change because it is clear as day that they do not prioritize or care about employment based visa's when ours are just as important as family based ones. 

As a last resort, I would suggest going on Twitter.  The Montreal Consulate is on there and does pay attention to them.  I would also call out the Dept of State and any Senators or Reps that you feel care about immigration reform.  Don't disparage them, just state the facts.  Maybe it was coincidence, but I did this and within a week I got my interview date.

Good luck to those still waiting...

On 4/18/2019 at 8:19 AM, mo85 said:

Hi all, 

 

For those that have completed their interview this month- do you have any helpful tips or feedback? Also, how long did it take to get your passport back? Please let us know. 

 

Thank you!

The interview process is quite simple actually.  You will have all your documents verified first, before having your actual interview with the consulate officer.  Questions are very basic and simple - who will you work for? What is your degree in? Where will you live?.  The process itself including all the waiting at the consulate took me about 2 hours total.

As for receiving your passport back, I stayed in Montreal for a week and chose to pick it up locally at the post office.  I had my interview on a Friday and was able to pick up my passport at the post office the following Friday around lunch time.

On 4/18/2019 at 10:30 PM, Kate8kate0 said:

 May I ask, has anybody had any success with expediting their interview?  Originally from the UK currently a permanent resident in Canada.  I am going to be having my interview at the Montreal consulate and I am worried that I will not get my interview/GC in time for my daughter starting school in September in the USA. Do you think I have a chance of requesting expediting of my appointment date for this reason? I should imagine not; as everybody would be doing this I suppose, but I thought I’d ask

 

 Any advice and information will be appreciated thanks!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is highly unlikely you would get an expedite request approved on that basis.  I tried 2x - once for financial reasons and another due to medical, including a personal letter from my doctor.  Both were denied.  While they do respond to the requests quickly, Montreal is very very particular about expedite requests and does not approve them all that often.

Has anyone had any problems tracking their passport/visa packet after an approved interview?  My CEAC status has shown issued since Friday.  I finally got courier tracking information this morning but Canada Post tracking saying the number can't be found.  I'm picking it up in Montreal and am trying to adjust my travel plans around all this, and am trying to determine whether I'd be able to pick it up tomorrow or could be stuck for another weekend here.  TIA  

On 3/26/2019 at 2:03 PM, dskar said:

vRace, Some updates on timelines post interview... My interview was on 3/20 and I received my passport along with immigrant package back yesterday (3/25). Tracking shows visa issued on 3/21 and packet picked up by Canada Post on 3/22 at 3 PM. I opted for home delivery therefore package was delivered to my home address around 2 PM on 3/25. Delivery is via express post which means you can expect to receive it within 24 hours once it's been picked up by Canada Post. Week-end does not count.

 

The passport had immigrant visa sticker in it. I reported at the land border crossing today and had my passport stamped by CBP. That "Admitted under E21 class" stamp is good for one year and will serve as my green card for all practical purposes until the plastic card arrives. The officer removed the I-94 for my previous status and kept it. He asked if I had paid the $220 "immigrant fee" (which is presumed to cover printing of the card itself) and I said yes - showed him the receipt. He said the physical card could take as long as one year to arrive and if I don't get the plastic card before expiry of the current stamp, I'll need to go to a local USCIS office where they will extend it for another year and so on. And there was another "Welcome to the USA, we are glad to have you".

 

A long journey ends here today (kind of). I'm very happy

@dskar Did you pay for premium processing/delivery or just select the local Canada Post for pick up? My interview was Friday 3/22 and was approved.  The tracking has shown my visa as Issued since late Friday but I am still awaiting tracking information, so just curious if I missed something when selecting the local post office for pick up. Fingers crossed I get the tracking tomorrow.  

Just got my interview email as well.  Interview March 22.  CC was Nov 6.  EB3

11 minutes ago, ascb said:

The country of chargeability only plays a role in determining if one's priority date is current. If someone was born in Armenia, but is a naturalized Canadian citizen living in Canada, their chargeability will be Armenia, but their CP will be done at the Montreal consulate. For the purposes of this discussion, it is assumed that everyone expecting an interview is current on their priority dates, regardless of where they (or their spouse) was born.

 

That said, yes, we all will go with what our respective lawyers suggest. However, it would be prudent for us to pay attention to what other folks in the same boat are experiencing or have experienced. Lawyers may or may not have information specific to a particular CP center. There are over 150 centers in the world where CP occurs, and each CP center has their own policy on the factors they use in scheduling interviews. NVC clearly states they receive open slots from the respective consulates, and the NVC computer just fills them. I tried finding out from NVC analyst if she knew the logic for the algorithm, but that information is not known to the analyst. All NVC says is that it is usually on a FIFO method for all applications where the priority date is current, but there are other factors that may play a role. Such as, the type of application (EB1/2/3, Family etc.), potentially the priority date itself, if someone has kids reaching 21 soon etc., and hopefully being able to exchange whatever little information we can on sites like these may enable us to get insights over and beyond what NVC or lawyers may state out of a book.

Again - no one can 100% be certain how things are done there.  I was told 6-8 weeks to get my case number but had it in under 3 weeks.  While this site is super helpful in realizing that you're not alone in the process and helping to sort out and avoid possible administrative and paperwork errors, I find that it's easy to become pessimistic about the process if you pay too much attention to everyone else's timeline.  Sure it can help be somewhat of a predictor - but for EB's there's just not enough information or data here for us to make conclusions.  

I'm optimistic about my own based on my own experiences, process and attorney's guidance. 

13 minutes ago, ascb said:

Well, I hope your lawyer's EB clients from Canada represent a more typical dataset. Based on information on this thread, looks like you and I may not have our interview until April-May, 2019.

With all due respect to everyone going through the process - which really is painful and long, there just doesn't appear to be enough "data" on this site with respect to EB Visas to really make those determinations.  From what I've gathered, there are people filing for EB visas at Montreal yet their "Foreign State of Chargeability" is another country, no one possibly knows how the EB-1/2/3 etc factor in to things, and I'm sure there could be a multitude other things that affect processing.  

Frankly I think there are far too many factors that could lead to all different kinds of processing times and interview dates.  I'm going to rely on my lawyer and her advice as it's been pretty accurate and sound for my whole process.

10 minutes ago, GottaLoveCalif said:

Thanks again Ashley. I was hoping my approval would come after 6 months but it looks like typical cases at TSC take about 9 months. Do you happen to know the processing time for some similar cases at TSC? I know the website says 7 to 9.5 months but I am just being optimistic. My lawyer says they have approval from April so mine shouldn't be too far.

I couldn't tell you.  Mine was filed with premium processing which guarantees you a response in 15 days.  You should be able to do a search for other EB timelines through this site.  However you'll find that there isn't a lot of information pertaining to EB's from Canada.

In my experience so far, always go with what the gov't website says for planning, and then some.

10 minutes ago, GottaLoveCalif said:

Thanks Ashley. Do they issue the visa shortly after the interview?

I'm waiting on my interview myself, but from what I've read on here most are either able to pick up at the consulate within 3-5 business days, or pending no postal strike, it is sent to you within 2 weeks.

44 minutes ago, GottaLoveCalif said:

Hi everyone, I am kind of new here currently waiting for my NIW approval at TSC for the past 5 months. Does anyone know once that is approved how long does the rest of process take if I plan to apply for my visa at Montreal Consulate? I know 5 months into the process is way too early but I am planning to renew my contract at work and lease a place so I have got to have a proper plan. Appreciate it.

Once you get your approval from USCIS it will take about 4-6 weeks before you get your case number from NVC.  Then plan for about 1-2 weeks for payment, DS-260 and document submission.  Then around another 1-2 weeks for case complete, possibly 3-4 weeks.  After that it's currently a shot in the dark as to the timing for interviews at the consulate.  If I were you I'd plan on around 6 months from approval from USCIS.

19 minutes ago, CanMon said:

My TN status did expire and I still do not have an interview. At least with CP you can renew TN status, though it is highly recommended to file the I-129 rather than risk doing it at the border.

How are you able to renew TN status while doing CP?  TN is a non-immigrant visa and you are required to prove that you have non-immigrant intent.  USCIS can see that there is an open visa for CP and will typically deny.

I'm only asking to get a grasp on what the overall process is and try to understand what affects NVC processing.  I've spent a lot of time in the forums and have heard of it taking 6+ weeks to get a case number from NVC, whereas in my own case I got mine in around 2 weeks.  Same with CC - others have taken weeks, whereas my own was just 5 days. 

While I'm sure that a lot of what NVC does is somewhat random, there is some rhyme or reason as to timing and dates that things are processed, and Priority Dates certainly factor into that.

There isn't a lot of information or timelines on this site with respect to EB visa's except for those that appear to take much longer than what is typical based on my lawyers experience with other clients.

I'm actually not sure but was asking to see if I could help determine what is affecting this.  The lawyer I'm working with has other Canadian clients with EB visa's who have gotten interviews in just 30 days - one was just in May.  There seems to be some possible anomalies.

Apologies for trying to help.

Well this is a very depressing thread to read - just got CC on November 6th.  Looks like I'll be waiting awhile if these timelines hold true.

Question - what are people's Priority Dates? 

On 11/6/2018 at 1:37 PM, azs said:

and no conflicts with TN?

If you're working with a good immigration lawyer they should be able to go from TN to EB no problem.  Just make sure your TN won't be expiring during the PERM/EB process as it will be very difficult to renew - speaking from personal experience!

27 minutes ago, BananaButton5 said:

I read somewhere that if the interview falls in flu season the beneficiary needs to get the flu shot prior to the medical exam. I have a couple questions, my fiance tried to go get a flu shot today, but since he has an Alberta medical card and he is currently in Ontario they said he needed to provide an Ontario card to get the shot.  He wasn't planning on going back to Alberta before the interview. Is there anywhere in Ontario that will give him the flu shot without an Ontario card? Alternatively, can they give him the flu shot at the medical itself? Just seeing what the options are before considering flying back to Alberta for one shot. Thanks! 

Where in Ontario did he go?  Try going to one of the pharmacies - Shoppers Drug Mart or Rexall both offer flu shots.  Most regional health departments should start to have free clinics.  Yes, you can get it at the medical exam from what I've read on here, but it costs way more than just getting it locally if possible.

Just wanted to see what others experiences were when having their medical exam done and providing their vaccination record.  I can't find my little yellow book/record, but my family's doctor office was able to provide me with the dates via telephone.  When providing the vaccination records to the examiner, what specifically do they want?  If I have the dates etc written down, is that enough?  Or do I need something from my doctor himself? 

Thanks in advance.

38 minutes ago, Groundbeaver said:

I'm just wondering when did they change the website to the current requirement which is "does not include fingerprints". The letter I received today was dated Oct. 23. It gives me a feeling that they changed after that date.

The conversation I had with them was on October 23rd.  When I checked the site yesterday, the 24th, the information had not been updated.  Today though after seeing your post, I checked and saw that it had been updated to state "does not include fingerprints" in bold letters.

This is all on the NVC in my opinion - and anyone being rejected should be calling and complaining.  I would imagine others before me had noticed the same conflicting information as I did.  It is nice to know that since speaking to them about this on Tuesday they have at least corrected their website, now if only those working within the office could get on the same page.

I would suggest you call them again and perhaps even explain this thread, and information that we've all learned as of late

7 minutes ago, Groundbeaver said:

I just checked their website, it says "does not include fingerprint". But mine was rejected because it does not display fingerprint...

 

Well this is frustrating.  Did you request the record that includes "RCMP National Repository entire holdings" ?  I just submitted all my documents and only included the non-fingerprint version of this report, but as directed by the NVC customer service rep included a letter detailing my phone conversation requesting for clarification.  So I guess we'll see...

Just wanted to provide a clarification that I obtained from NVC today regarding the RCMP certified criminal check.  Their website states that fingerprints must be shown on the document, however per their September 10, 2018 update requiring the check be requested under the Canadian Privacy Act the document you receive does not have fingerprints shown.

I spoke to a NVC rep and supervisor today and they confirmed that the document they use for comparison and approval does NOT have fingerprints on it.  They are looking into this on their end and updating things accordingly.  Please continue to use the September 10, 2018 update/comments when requesting the certified criminal check.

Just wanted to provide a clarification that I obtained from NVC today regarding the RCMP certified criminal check.  Their website states that fingerprints must be shown on the document, however per their September 10, 2018 update requiring the check be requested under the Canadian Privacy Act the document you receive does not have fingerprints shown.

I spoke to a NVC rep and supervisor today and they confirmed that the document they use for comparison and approval does NOT have fingerprints on it.  They are looking into this on their end and updating things accordingly.  Please continue to use the September 10, 2018 update/comments when requesting the certified criminal check.