How long from Interview to received Visa

[TNJ17 1,329]

The interview process is for the immigrant to receive a visa. The petitioner doesn’t need to attend because they are not asking for a visa to travel. 

[Schnoozle 13]

7 minutes ago, acidrain said:

I am sorry to hear you are going through this. We applied for IR1/IR2 and I seem to recall reading somewhere that children don't have to attend the interview. I was planning on my son attending with me but the thought entered my mind to leave him at home. I realize rules are rules. But this rule makes no sense. It's weird in our case the petitioner (USC) doesn't have to show up but a 5 year old does?

 

Montreal is difficult to deal with and I am still waiting to book an interview a month after cc. I can't imagine trying to deal with them in an emergency. They don't have enough resources or personnel to deal with the demand.

 

The other option is to approach a US senator/congressperson who can send an enquiry. The other option would be to contact the US embassy in Ottawa. The person who answered the phone was able to give me a contact number when I had a social security number problem. I am sure you tried the general email address but that can take days.

Yes I sent the email a week ago with no reply, I just called the same line that I used to schedule our last appointments, she said she will forward another email to the department that would schedule the appointment.  Lets hope this approach goes quicker.   

[acidrain 325]

17 minutes ago, TNJ17 said:

The interview process is for the immigrant to receive a visa. The petitioner doesn’t need to attend because they are not asking for a visa to travel. 

I get the general theory why applicants have to attend the interview. They want to verify the info we provided.

 

My spouse who is the USC brought up how bizarre it is my son and I attend but not him. Not that we are complaining as it would be more airfare and time off work. If you think about it, it's odd they never have to establish any contact on the phone or in person with the US citizen. How does USCIS/NVC or the Montreal Consulate know the petition isn't a scam? I realize Canada is a low fraud country but if they need to have a 5 year old verify their identity, why wouldn't they need to verify the identity of the person claiming financial responsibility for everyone? I'm just saying.

Edited January 17, 2018 by acidrain

[TNJ17 1,329]

12 minutes ago, acidrain said:

I get the general theory why applicants have to attend the interview. They want to verify the info we provided.

 

My spouse who is the USC brought up how bizarre it is my son and I attend but not him. Not that we are complaining as it would be more airfare and time off work. If you think about it, it's odd they never have to establish any contact on the phone or in person with the US citizen. How does USCIS/NVC or the Montreal Consulate know the petition isn't a scam? I realize Canada is a low fraud country but if they need to have a 5 year old verify their identity, why wouldn't they need to verify the identity of the person claiming financial responsibility for everyone? I'm just saying.

Again, the 5 yr old is the one traveling and asking for permission to enter the US. Not the petitioner. The reason why the petitioner does not need to be at your interview is not because you’re from Canada. That is how it is for every country. The US citizen isn’t the one asking to enter the US. Most countries don’t even allow the petitioner to be present at all. 

[acidrain 325]

8 minutes ago, TNJ17 said:

Again, the 5 yr old is the one traveling and asking for permission to enter the US. Not the petitioner. The reason why the petitioner does not need to be at your interview is not because you’re from Canada. That is how it is for every country. The US citizen isn’t the one asking to enter the US. Most countries don’t even allow the petitioner to be present at all. 

Most 5 year olds are not capable of understanding why they are at the interview. Is he going to fail the interview if he doesn't want to tell them his name? I personally don't see the point of the exercise. Especially for those of us who know how difficult it is to travel with young children across the country.

 

I should add there are a lot of people who have complained (in the consulate reviews) about children acting out. They don't exactly make the situation easy when you can't bring purses, electronics, bags or toys. Add on the stress the kids feed off of while parents wait for the interview. If attending the interview is a requirement they could at least try to make it more kid friendly.

[Scandi 4,166]

Why are you in a rush with your visa when your child hasn't even been to the interview yet? Or you're planning on moving to the states without him and then have him come afterwards? Either way, it hasn't been that long since the interview, give it 30days and then call them to inquire about it.

 

Also, no matter what they say at your interview, you're not technically approved until the ceac status changes to "issued". So your passport isn't on its way to you yet since you're still in AP and therefore haven't been approved yet.

[Schnoozle 13]

6 hours ago, Scandi said:

Why are you in a rush with your visa when your child hasn't even been to the interview yet? Or you're planning on moving to the states without him and then have him come afterwards? Either way, it hasn't been that long since the interview, give it 30days and then call them to inquire about it.

 

Also, no matter what they say at your interview, you're not technically approved until the ceac status changes to "issued". So your passport isn't on its way to you yet since you're still in AP and therefore haven't been approved yet.

I’m rushed because I’m 26 Weeks pregnant. Yes I plan to go ahead of my child settle in and find an OBGYN.  

[acidrain 325]

6 hours ago, Schnoozle said:

I’m rushed because I’m 26 Weeks pregnant. Yes I plan to go ahead of my child settle in and find an OBGYN.  

I know for K1 visas you guys book your own interviews. Since your son technically missed his interview can you go on their website and rebook the interview using his case number? 

[Schnoozle 13]

2 hours ago, acidrain said:

I know for K1 visas you guys book your own interviews. Since your son technically missed his interview can you go on their website and rebook the interview using his case number? 

Its absolutely frustrating!  After some advice here on the Forum I did contact the same phone line that they give us to schedule our Visa interviews.  The first agent said she would forward the case on to the correct department, that I would be contacted via email or phone.  A few hours later I received an email from Montreal that contained all the info from my original appointment on January 10th.  So I called back inquiring as there was no new info about scheduling an appearance at a future date.  The second agent I spoke too said that in fact what the previous agent says she had done is simply not possible.  I need to go back into usvisa-info.com and took me to a link that has me email a brief description of my situation to canada_contactus+ca+info+en@visaops.net, as well as the document I had received from the immigration officer.  So I did.  Then I called back to confirm with the consulate, make sure things are showing, and there is something moving forward.  The 3rd agent told me, in fact the info I had received from the previous 2 agents is not how to schedule an appearance, but that the only way to reschedule is to declare a missed appointment and to reschedule.  So I have done that as well.  The good news is that I did receive an email from Montreal this morning stating that the case has been escalated,  I called Montreal, who also stated the same thing, and that I need to wait for the correct department to get in touch.  

 

Here's hoping. 

[acidrain 325]

@Schnoozle I am glad to hear the consulate is at least trying to help you despite the conflicting information. The fact they are saying the case has been escalated sounds promising. I saw in another thread for K1 there are a lot of available appointments for Feb. I know for IR1/IR2 we got pretty much the first available appointment as they schedule mid month. So the consulate fortunately shouldn't be very busy in terms of booking interviews. Obviously the key is for someone to act on the file.

[Schnoozle 13]

1 minute ago, acidrain said:

@Schnoozle I am glad to hear the consulate is at least trying to help you despite the conflicting information. The fact they are saying the case has been escalated sounds promising. I saw in another thread for K1 there are a lot of available appointments for Feb. I know for IR1/IR2 we got pretty much the first available appointment as they schedule mid month. So the consulate fortunately shouldn't be very busy in terms of booking interviews. Obviously the key is for someone to act on the file.

Thank you! That is encouraging.  

[Schnoozle 13]

I got notice my visa is on the way!  Thank you everyone.  Still waiting to book that second appointment to get booked, but at least we can see progress.