Montreal embassy EB-2 interview wait time

[topman 42]

23 minutes ago, VA21202 said:

I’ll probably add it as a tab on the tracker or will share the link to a Google doc with the template on it. So hopefully you all should be able to just copy paste and send it. 

Thanks for taking the lead on this..Count me in!

 

Just a thought, in addition to the email, how about we also collectively post on Montreal consulates social media accounts like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc? It will give external visibility to employment-based cases waiting for years to get an interview in Canada.

[Leeching Spouse 87]

25 minutes ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

Could you please share the source of the removal of the prioritisation guidelines? I am interested because applicants in the immediate family categories are under  the impression it is still in place…. Would help to know what the current guideline is.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/visa-services-operating-status-update.html
 

“Although local conditions and restrictions at individual consular posts may continue to fluctuate, the guidance to posts for the prioritization of consular services during the pandemic issued in November 2020 has been rescinded.”

[VA21202 109]

32 minutes ago, topman said:

Thanks for taking the lead on this..Count me in!

 

Just a thought, in addition to the email, how about we also collectively post on Montreal consulates social media accounts like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc? It will give external visibility to employment-based cases waiting for years to get an interview in Canada.

Thanks! Yes for sure, that would be good too. I personally am not on social media but can see how this can help with improving visibility  for those who are actively on there, good call.

Edited January 25, 2022 by VA21202

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

20 minutes ago, CanadianMD said:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/visa-services-operating-status-update.html
 

“Although local conditions and restrictions at individual consular posts may continue to fluctuate, the guidance to posts for the prioritization of consular services during the pandemic issued in November 2020 has been rescinded.”

Thanks for this. I didn’t see where it says it was rescinded because it was unlawful (although I understand why DoS may not admit that on their official website).

 

The posting also says, “Embassies and consulates have broad discretion to determine how to prioritize visa appointments among the range of visa classes as safely as possible, subject to local conditions and restrictions.”

The way I read this, DoS has left it to the consulates to prioritise as they see fit based on “local conditions and restrictions.” This would be referring to COVID restrictions, and may also refer to  the distribution of the types of visa applicants among the various categories at each consulate.

 

Someone compared Seoul to Montréal earlier… With Canada being so close to the US geographically and culturally, the immediate family cases at Montréal is bound to be a whole lot higher than at Seoul. 
 

My instinct is Seoul is issuing more EB visas than IRs simply because there aren’t as many immediate relatives of US citizens there applying.

 

The local condition at Montréal is that the immediate family category IS the majority of the cases with the consulate. The priority of the any consulate is always to service US citizens, and in extension their immediate relatives. I believe consulates always prioritise these IRs over EBs. It’s just that in places like Seoul where there are fewer IRs than EBs, most of the consulates efforts are concentrated on EBs.

 

The good news of course is that after 2 years of incredible backlog, the IR categories are mostly cleared. So EBs have reason to believe Montréal can focus on them.

 

I must qualify this by saying, there are a number of IRs waiting in AP right now, and Montréal would also need to concentrate a percentage of their efforts in clearing them.

 

Oh another thing, the biggest change that occured with the introduction of the tiered approach was that K1 was put on equal footing to IRs. Perhaps this revocation refers to consulates not needing to prioritise K1s anymore as much as IRs.

Edited January 25, 2022 by From_CAN_2_US

[VA21202 109]

18 minutes ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

The good news of course is that after 2 years of incredible backlog, the IR categories are mostly cleared. So EBs have reason to believe Montréal can focus on them.

 

Thanks a lot for your insight, precisely. Our attempt or concern is not about the unlawful nature of this but rather to make the good news point you stated actually good news. One would think that after reducing a backlog of one category to almost nothing, the consulate would look at other hugely backlogged categories and try to do something about it. As we observed in the Dec stats, 75% of the interviews still went to a different category. Our attempt is to help the officials reconsider the distribution or even just speak to it in a meaningful way. Everyone knows the priority is for spouse’s of Citizens as opposed to future citizens, no dispute about that

Edited January 25, 2022 by VA21202

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

32 minutes ago, CanadianMD said:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/visa-services-operating-status-update.html
 

“Although local conditions and restrictions at individual consular posts may continue to fluctuate, the guidance to posts for the prioritization of consular services during the pandemic issued in November 2020 has been rescinded.”

Wasn’t the tiered approach introduced in April/ May 2021? This update may not be referring to it at all…

[Perseus 10]

59 minutes ago, topman said:

Thanks for taking the lead on this..Count me in!

 

Just a thought, in addition to the email, how about we also collectively post on Montreal consulates social media accounts like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc? It will give external visibility to employment-based cases waiting for years to get an interview in Canada.

Very good idea! It’s much more important to draw public attention.

[Leeching Spouse 87]

2 hours ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

Thanks for this. I didn’t see where it says it was rescinded because it was unlawful (although I understand why DoS may not admit that on their official website).

 

The posting also says, “Embassies and consulates have broad discretion to determine how to prioritize visa appointments among the range of visa classes as safely as possible, subject to local conditions and restrictions.”

The way I read this, DoS has left it to the consulates to prioritise as they see fit based on “local conditions and restrictions.” This would be referring to COVID restrictions, and may also refer to  the distribution of the types of visa applicants among the various categories at each consulate.

 

Someone compared Seoul to Montréal earlier… With Canada being so close to the US geographically and culturally, the immediate family cases at Montréal is bound to be a whole lot higher than at Seoul. 
 

My instinct is Seoul is issuing more EB visas than IRs simply because there aren’t as many immediate relatives of US citizens there applying.

 

The local condition at Montréal is that the immediate family category IS the majority of the cases with the consulate. The priority of the any consulate is always to service US citizens, and in extension their immediate relatives. I believe consulates always prioritise these IRs over EBs. It’s just that in places like Seoul where there are fewer IRs than EBs, most of the consulates efforts are concentrated on EBs.

 

The good news of course is that after 2 years of incredible backlog, the IR categories are mostly cleared. So EBs have reason to believe Montréal can focus on them.

 

I must qualify this by saying, there are a number of IRs waiting in AP right now, and Montréal would also need to concentrate a percentage of their efforts in clearing them.

 

Oh another thing, the biggest change that occured with the introduction of the tiered approach was that K1 was put on equal footing to IRs. Perhaps this revocation refers to consulates not needing to prioritise K1s anymore as much as IRs.

Consulates have always had the discretion to do things as they see fit, even without this sentence and before the decree.

 

When the wait time is <6 months for IR1/CR1 compared to >2 years for EB, it is clear that they are neglecting EB.

 

Now the underlying reason for this discrepancy could be as benign and simple as wanting to reunite couples rather than economic migrants.

 

Interpreted differently and more maliciously however, Canada may have struck an undisclosed deal with the US to slow the brain drain of skilled workers through delays in issuing visas, given that individuals who qualify for EB visas (EB1>EB2>EB3) are among some of the most desirable workers of any economy.

Edited January 25, 2022 by CanadianMD

[Hanif 2]

2 minutes ago, CanadianMD said:

Consulates have always had the discretion to do things as they see fit, even without this sentence and before the decree.

 

When the wait time is <6 months for IR1/CR1 compared to >2 years for EB, it is clear that they are neglecting EB.

 

Now the underlying reason for this discrepancy could be as benign and simple as wanting to reunite couples rather than economic migrants.

 

Interpreted differently and more maliciously however, Canada may have struck an undisclosed deal with the US to slow the brain drain of skilled workers through delays in issuing visas, given that individuals who qualify for EB visas (EB1>EB2>EB3) are among some of the most desirable workers of any economy.

Interesting Theory.

[pow123 14]

4 minutes ago, CanadianMD said:

Consulates have always had the discretion to do things as they see fit, even without this sentence and before the decree.

 

When the wait time is <6 months for IR1/CR1 compared to >2 years for EB, it is clear that they are neglecting EB.

 

Now the underlying reason for this discrepancy could be as benign and simple as wanting to reunite couples rather than economic migrants.

 

Interpreted differently and more maliciously however, Canada may have struck an undisclosed deal with the US to slow the brain drain of skilled workers through delays in issuing visas, given that individuals who qualify for EB visas (EB1>EB2>EB3) are among some of the most desirable workers of any economy.

Ask any attorney about of the prioritization scheme and they will tell you it is unlawful. No one has had the time and money to follow through with a lawsuit but i am confident that if it continues like this, they will come.

[Leeching Spouse 87]

13 minutes ago, Hanif said:

Interesting Theory.

Thanks. I recognize that this is speculative at best.

 

It is very interesting to monitor the trends in types and quality of migrants who are emigrating from Canada to USA, and vice versa.

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

36 minutes ago, CanadianMD said:

Consulates have always had the discretion to do things as they see fit, even without this sentence and before the decree.

 

When the wait time is <6 months for IR1/CR1 compared to >2 years for EB, it is clear that they are neglecting EB.

 

Now the underlying reason for this discrepancy could be as benign and simple as wanting to reunite couples rather than economic migrants.

 

Interpreted differently and more maliciously however, Canada may have struck an undisclosed deal with the US to slow the brain drain of skilled workers through delays in issuing visas, given that individuals who qualify for EB visas (EB1>EB2>EB3) are among some of the most desirable workers of any economy.

I won’t engage in conspiracy theories…

 

But just for information, until November 2021, the wait for IRs was about 10-12 months. It only reduced very recently to under 6 months as of Dec 2021/ Jan 2022.

 

I perceive this as good news for EBs….

 

I remember in the IR1/CR1 forum, there were some complaining of IR1/CR1 being ignored in favour of K1s, and K1 were ahead by 4 months or so for a while. Personally though, I saw it as a victory every time I saw K1s progress, because it meant backlog was reducing and our turns would be up next. 
 

Wish everyone here good luck…

Edited January 25, 2022 by From_CAN_2_US

[VA21202 109]

15 minutes ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

 Personally though, I saw it as a victory every time I saw K1s progress, because it meant backlog was reducing and our turns would be up next. 
 

Thanks @From_CAN_2_US, we have also been seeing it as a victory every time IR1/CR1 jumps 2-3 months in one go…to the point that there are now folks who’ve DQ’ed in Dec and were hoping for ILs in Jan. Hopefully it will work out soon. 

Edited January 25, 2022 by VA21202

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

10 minutes ago, VA21202 said:

Thanks @From_CAN_2_US, we have also been seeing it as a victory every time IR1/CR1 jumps 2-3 months in one go…to the point that there are now folks who’ve DQ’ed in Dec and were hoping for ILs in Jan. Hopefully it will work out soon. 

I know, it’s incredible how they shortened the wait. I think they issued ILs in Jan for applicants until mid Nov DQ. So the wait appears to be 2 months at this point for IRs.

 

A good reference to see how things will  pan out in the future for EBs, might be London consulate. London similarly brought their IR backlog to nothing around August/ September 2021. I didn’t follow what’s happening there with EBs, but I had a feeling Montreal would be following the same trend as London for IRs, and it turned out to be right.

Edited January 25, 2022 by From_CAN_2_US

[VA21202 109]

7 minutes ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

A good reference to see how things will  pan out in the future for EBs, might be London consulate. London similarly brought their IR backlog to nothing around August/ September 2021. I didn’t follow what’s happening there with EBs, but I had a feeling Montreal would be following the same trend as London for IRs, and it turned out to be right.

Great insight! Thanks, I hope your prediction turns out to be right. For London indeed it looks like the EB visas issued in December was double the number of IR/CR when in prior months it used to be just a small fraction of IR/CR.