VANCOUVER CONSULATE QUESTIONS

[onourway 0]

Originally put this in general consulate forum, but re-posting here because it is more relevant. Hopefully I'm not breaking any major forum rules.

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Hello all,

I have some questions about the Vancouver BC consulate.

Thankfully, we've finally received our NOA2 and Vancouver has sent us Packet 3. I'm hoping those of you that have gone ahead of us will have some advice to share.

I am trying to coordinate my medical and interview date. I'm not in BC so I will be traveling to Vancouver for both the medical and interview. Ideally, I would like to schedule them the same day, and I understand this is possible, pending availability. I also know that you can only schedule medical exams on Wednesday and I'm not sure how likely it is to get an interview on a Wednesday. I'm wondering if trying to schedule them on the same day will significantly delay the process. I would much rather travel to Vancouver twice if that means getting the visa at a much earlier date.

For those of you that have recently scheduled your interview/medical, how far out are they scheduling them? How soon were you able to get your interview and schedule your medical? Will it take much longer to try and get them on the same Wednesday? Any thoughts?

I've scanned the timelines and tried to research it, but can't seem to get any consistent idea of what to expect.

Secondly, I am confused about when I actually receive the visa and can immigrate. I've heard the visa is ready for pick-up the same day and I've also heard that they will mail your visa and passport a few days later. When is the earliest conceivable time after your interview that you can cross the border and activate the visa? Same day? Day after? Few days later?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[HeatDeath 430]

My interview and approval was in April 2009, so things may obviously have changed. But in general:

You can cross the border the instant you get you passport back, along with your "Do Not Open" packet. If you have those in your hand, you can cross the border that afternoon.

I interviewed on a Wednesday at 1 pm, returned to the Consulate with my medical results at about 3:45 pm, was approved, and was told to come back the next day, after 2:15 pm, to pick up my visa and packet, which I did.

Once I had those in my hand, I could theoretically have gone straight to the airport and boarded a one-way flight to the US.

I don't have a solid handle on how common next-day pickup is. They never promised it, to me or anyone else since then, and indeed I was told [their standard practice] to bring an Expresspost envelope to the interview so they could mail my passport and packet to me. I didn't bother, having noticed that their was a post office right across the street and I could just run and get one if they confirmed that they needed it.

I suspect that in Vancouver it is less common than it was, and in Montreal it's basically unheard of. But I could totally be wrong.

[AlinaH 38]

Vancouver actually sends the visas to you via DHL now. You can't pick them up from the consulate anymore. I believe it's supposed to take about 4 days, depending on where you live of course. My interview is actually tomorrow and I booked it April 13th. So they are booking very fast. I had no problem picking the day I want. I've heard of lots of people getting it done on the same day, so I know it can be done. I picked the day after my medical because I'm not very far away. The only thing you should be aware of, is that apparently the consulate is closed ONE wednesday of every month. If you go on the consulate information on here, it will tell you which one, so just know that for booking your medical appt.

Just a note of advice...once you fax your packet 3 to the consulate, email them right away with your names and case number, let them know you faxed packet 3, and ask them to EMAIL you packet 4. I had packet 4 the day after I faxed packet 3, which really helped it move along fast. I could've been behind another week or more if I had waited for ti to come in the mail.

[soon2batexan 3]

When I had my interview last Summer, Vancouver consulate advised me that when I send in my packet 3 stuff to make sure that I request either a Wednesday or a Thursday interview date. They were very accommodating, and I got the Wednesday interview as requested. I also noted (when I faxed them my forms) that I was from out of province..I think I said something to the effect of "Wed of Thurs date please - traveling from AB". They're VERY familiar with the process. And don't worry about being out of the medical on time...my understanding is that they schedule an afternoon interview for those who are having medicals same day (unless your appt is on a Thursday, which may differ). Woking Medical knows the process well and will do their best to keep you on schedule. Most likely, you will go to your interview after lunch and they'll check you in then send you back to pick up your medical results. You can walk it, but it's a power walk. Probably quicker than finding parking twice though! It's about 6 blocks between the both.

[onourway 0]

Awesome.

Thanks so much for your help everyone. This answers all my questions (for now).

AlinaH - I took your advice and requested an email. They responded within an hour of my fax and I was able to book an interview two weeks away. This is much quicker than I anticipated so that is really helpful. If I waited for them to mail it to me, I probably would have had to wait for an additional week, at least.

Thanks again for everyone's help. I really appreciate it.

Best of luck to all.

[onourway 0]

Awesome.

Thanks so much for your help everyone. This answers all my questions (for now).

AlinaH - I took your advice and requested an email. They responded within an hour of my fax and I was able to book an interview two weeks away. This is much quicker than I anticipated so that is really helpful. If I waited for them to mail it to me, I probably would have had to wait for an additional week, at least.

Thanks again for everyone's help. I really appreciate it.

Best of luck to all.

[AlinaH 38]

Yay glad it all worked out

[frankielove 5]

Vancouver actually sends the visas to you via DHL now. You can't pick them up from the consulate anymore. I believe it's supposed to take about 4 days, depending on where you live of course. My interview is actually tomorrow and I booked it April 13th. So they are booking very fast. I had no problem picking the day I want. I've heard of lots of people getting it done on the same day, so I know it can be done. I picked the day after my medical because I'm not very far away. The only thing you should be aware of, is that apparently the consulate is closed ONE wednesday of every month. If you go on the consulate information on here, it will tell you which one, so just know that for booking your medical appt.

Just a note of advice...once you fax your packet 3 to the consulate, email them right away with your names and case number, let them know you faxed packet 3, and ask them to EMAIL you packet 4. I had packet 4 the day after I faxed packet 3, which really helped it move along fast. I could've been behind another week or more if I had waited for ti to come in the mail.

An update for future Vancouver travelers: We faxed our info this morning and emailed them that it was sent, asking them to please confirm receipt. Vancouver is awesome! Within a short time we had email confirmation of receipt with words that our application would be processed today.

We requested the emailed packet 4. We didn't receive what I expected, however received a response email with a link to the consulate website and words saying that an automated process generates the packet 4 letter they send in the mail and that we could go online over the weekend and schedule the interview date while we were waiting. This evening we were able to successfully schedule an appointment for the first available interview opportunity-- May 26. We decided to do medical on Wednesday and interview on Thursday. So glad to have this light at the end of the tunnel!