Trouble scheduling an interview in Montreal

[CarolineandDan 0]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a little confused. We finally got our P4 - approval to schedule an interview last week (after almost a year!). We were superbly excited until I went to schedule an interview online and got ''There are no available appointments at this time.'' as a response. I have read that I need to simply refresh the page until a interview becomes available. Is this true? If so, is there a time that works best? i.E. mornings, afternoons, business day vs. not, ect. Can somebody confirm that I am refreshing the right page - see PDF attachment.

Thank you so much.

Caroline

interview page.pdf

[hikergirl 277]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a little confused. We finally got our P4 - approval to schedule an interview last week (after almost a year!). We were superbly excited until I went to schedule an interview online and got ''There are no available appointments at this time.'' as a response. I have read that I need to simply refresh the page until a interview becomes available. Is this true? If so, is there a time that works best? i.E. mornings, afternoons, business day vs. not, ect. Can somebody confirm that I am refreshing the right page - see PDF attachment.

Thank you so much.

Caroline

There are currently a bunch of VJers trying to get interview times for Montreal. You may want to watch this thread to see if they post if appointments come available: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/328892-are-they-trying-to-weed-us-out/

[tolowyn 0]

yup that would be the right page. i dont think there is a best time or day. possibly early early morning. montreal is slow and packed (just like everything else in this city!!) cancellations become available at random, and new dates open pretty much whenever. its a game of luck. and its work. sitting there all day clicking refresh everyday until you see something open up. you could get click and happen to click right when theres a cancellation and get a sooner date. but just keep at it. good luck!!

[CarolineandDan 0]

Thank you for clarifying

Technically, if somebody were to cancel at midnight - would that interview be available immediately online or would it need to be reprocessed and posted by the consulate? I'm trying to figure out if anybody has ever booked an interview outside office hours.

Thanks again!

[Inky 1,110]

There have been rumor that nothing will be open for interview appointments until November. Please watch the other thread thats already been started for people waiting for interviews.

[hikergirl 277]

There are currently a bunch of VJers trying to get interview times for Montreal. You may want to watch this thread to see if they post if appointments come available: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/328892-are-they-trying-to-weed-us-out/

OOPS sorry linked the wrong thread for you to watch. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/328143-montreal-interviews/

[Blumchen 0]

Where are you located? I heard that this is typical for Montreal, and some people have their NOA2's expire before they can even get the interview. Montreal takes all the CR and student visas, which makes it busier. If it's possible, maybe you can get your case transferred to the Vancouver Consulate, which is a very efficient and well run consulate office. It might be worth the trip if you're stuck waiting until November... I got an appointment 3 weeks after completing my medical, and was in and out of there 45 minutes total! My NOA is set to expire in 4 days and I'm already moving next weekend!

[CarolineandDan 0]

Where are you located? I heard that this is typical for Montreal, and some people have their NOA2's expire before they can even get the interview. Montreal takes all the CR and student visas, which makes it busier. If it's possible, maybe you can get your case transferred to the Vancouver Consulate, which is a very efficient and well run consulate office. It might be worth the trip if you're stuck waiting until November... I got an appointment 3 weeks after completing my medical, and was in and out of there 45 minutes total! My NOA is set to expire in 4 days and I'm already moving next weekend!

Mmm...I am about a 10 mins drive from the Montreal consulate. I have considered Vancouver, I'm just worried that if I transfer my case it'll be an even bigger disaster. Have you heard of anybody transferring consulates before?

OOh, and also, my NO2 expired September 2nd. I was told however that this date was not of any consequence as long as the visa application was still in progress. Do you know if this is incorrect?

[Andy and Kayla 45]

Usually they won't allow you to transfer consulates unless you physically move to an area that is under Vancouver's "territory". I've seen a couple of people who have relatives out that direction move in with them for that reason, but they won't allow you to transfer just because Montreal is slow.

Sorry!

Oh, and also, my NO2 expired September 2nd. I was told however that this date was not of any consequence as long as the visa application was still in progress. Do you know if this is incorrect?

That's fine. A lot of people have NOA2s that expire before their Montreal interview - it gets extended for you.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Andy and Kayla

[Blumchen 0]

Mmm...I am about a 10 mins drive from the Montreal consulate. I have considered Vancouver, I'm just worried that if I transfer my case it'll be an even bigger disaster. Have you heard of anybody transferring consulates before?

OOh, and also, my NO2 expired September 2nd. I was told however that this date was not of any consequence as long as the visa application was still in progress. Do you know if this is incorrect?

I have heard of cases being transferred, but usually because the applicant was within or closer to the Vancouver area and was given Montreal. But the NOA2 expiration shouldn't be a problem, because you are actively trying to get the interview date.

[CarolineandDan 0]

Thank you so much for all your help! I feel a little less frustrated now that I know I'm at least trying with the right process:) Thanks again.

[Shirley Ann 6]

Thank you so much for all your help! I feel a little less frustrated now that I know I'm at least trying with the right process:) Thanks again.

We are in the same boat and yes it is a lot of work to keep refreshing the page every free moment but that is our only option. I understand that yes they do pop up outside normal office hours. Someone posted the other day that she was in the site at 6:00am and got one. Randy and I take turns so that we can each have a break but we've been trying since the middle of August.

Try not to get too frustrated.. stay positive and just keep trying. This is the last step and we're almost there!!

Good luck to all of us who are waiting.

[Junola 0]

I just received my packet 4 today but I have been trying to schedule an apt for 2 weeks now. I thought was doing this wrong. I can't believe the US consulate in Montreal is just leaving people hanging!!! I mean has this happened in the past? Can we write a letter to a congressman or senator about this?

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Yes, it happens all the time. Montreal is incredibly backlogged, and unfortunately, this is nothing new. There's nothing to do but wait.

[kdlangfan 1]

Many of us know how frustrating the refreshing for an appointment ordeal is....we've been there! But don't give up....really you'll get an appointment out of nowhere. As Shirley Ann mentioned above, I got my appointment very early in the morning....it was actually 7am when I got the appointment but I had been refreshing since 6am...it was July 1st, Canadian holiday, and suddenly after an hour of refreshing, an appointment suddenly appeared!

So yes appointments do become available at strange times. I grabbed the first appointment which was August 30 and then immediately posted on VJ for everyone who was waiting to refresh right away because there were appointments available. In all, I think I spent a good month refreshing...it took that long from the time I got my packet 4 to the time I got an appointment.

During this process, there have been many, many times I have thought, "that's not fair"! But hey, life isn't fair. It doesn't matter who applies first, who is the first in line, who gets the soonest appointment...it's all random and you have absolutely no control over it. The only thing to do is sit back, keep your cool and roll with the punches. It will happen, just be patient.