Applying for work visa from Canada

[talasb 0]

Hello,

 

I have a conference/exhibition in the states happening in January. I'm a student residing in Vancouver with a Syria citizenship. The current wait times in the US embassy says 385 days, is that really the case or is it shorter? I'm not sure if I should go ahead and apply or whether they wont give me an appointment before December, any recommendations?

 

 

[Boiler 45,519]

Begs the question which visa but with the backlog that may well be what they re quoting, you might expect long AP as well.

[JeanneAdil 6,508]

do u have Canadian residency?

 

[Just Paul 4,595]

Apply for the visa - Normally a B2 or B1 is issued to visit a conference.  A work visa is for employment while in the US.  I used to work with an overseas telecom manufacturer and they had their employees coming for conferences/ trade shows / meetings on B1/B2 all the time.  If this is truly a "work visa" then the employer would handle it.

[talasb 0]

I know it's a B1 visa that I will be applying for. I have a study permit in Canada not a permanent residence. I'm just worried about the wait time so I was wondering if anyone recently applied for it and how long it took

[JeanneAdil 6,508]

Can I apply for a U.S. visa outside my country of citizenship?

It is possible to apply for a U.S. visa in a country other than the country from which you hold your passport; this is called applying as a “Third Country National”.  While most Embassies accept applications from Third Country Nationals, not all do so. You should check the website of the Embassy at which you plan to apply for the visa to see if they accept applications from "Third Country Nationals."

There are risks in applying for a visa in a country other than your own. Since the F-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa, the Embassy Official must determine if you are planning to immigrate to the U.S. and judge the likelihood of your returning to your home country once your program in the U.S. is complete. Officials in other countries will probably not be familiar with your country of citizenship and may not be comfortable in making this determination. Also, if for any reason you are denied a visa, you would not be able to re-enter the U.S., even if your current F-1 visa had not expired. (The visa denial would in effect invalidate your current visa.)  Therefore, we advise students not to apply for a new visa as a Third Country National unless there is a real need to do so.

[JeanneAdil 6,508]

1 minute ago, JeanneAdil said:

Can I apply for a U.S. visa outside my country of citizenship?

It is possible to apply for a U.S. visa in a country other than the country from which you hold your passport; this is called applying as a “Third Country National”.  While most Embassies accept applications from Third Country Nationals, not all do so. You should check the website of the Embassy at which you plan to apply for the visa to see if they accept applications from "Third Country Nationals."

There are risks in applying for a visa in a country other than your own. Since the F-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa, the Embassy Official must determine if you are planning to immigrate to the U.S. and judge the likelihood of your returning to your home country once your program in the U.S. is complete. Officials in other countries will probably not be familiar with your country of citizenship and may not be comfortable in making this determination. Also, if for any reason you are denied a visa, you would not be able to re-enter the U.S., even if your current F-1 visa had not expired. (The visa denial would in effect invalidate your current visa.)  Therefore, we advise students not to apply for a new visa as a Third Country National unless there is a real need to do so.

quoted from

 http://www.middlebury.edu/international/isss/FAQ/AcademicyearFAQ/node/106951

[talasb 0]

I do not have a current US visa and I just want to apply for a B1 visa for a work conference that lasts for a week. My issue is the wait time

[JeanneAdil 6,508]

7 minutes ago, talasb said:

I do not have a current US visa and I just want to apply for a B1 visa for a work conference that lasts for a week. My issue is the wait time

Wait time is what it is and embassy is giving priority to family and K1 visas at this time because of the huge back log from covid issues

[Coco8 1,042]

You should apply for the visa in Canada. You are living there with a student visa, so it's fine. Whether you'll get it or not, it's another issue, but going to your country of origin is not necessarily going to speed things up given that we are in a pandemic and your country of origin is Syria. I'd say you have good chances since you have a student visa in Canada. It's worth trying.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

3 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

Can I apply for a U.S. visa outside my country of citizenship?

It is possible to apply for a U.S. visa in a country other than the country from which you hold your passport; this is called applying as a “Third Country National”.  While most Embassies accept applications from Third Country Nationals, not all do so. You should check the website of the Embassy at which you plan to apply for the visa to see if they accept applications from "Third Country Nationals."

There are risks in applying for a visa in a country other than your own. Since the F-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa, the Embassy Official must determine if you are planning to immigrate to the U.S. and judge the likelihood of your returning to your home country once your program in the U.S. is complete. Officials in other countries will probably not be familiar with your country of citizenship and may not be comfortable in making this determination. Also, if for any reason you are denied a visa, you would not be able to re-enter the U.S., even if your current F-1 visa had not expired. (The visa denial would in effect invalidate your current visa.)  Therefore, we advise students not to apply for a new visa as a Third Country National unless there is a real need to do so.

He is presently residing in Canada on a study permit, it’s the obvious place to apply for a b visa. 

 

OP, check the various US consulates around Canada. There are a number of them (6 or 7 I think?) When I last looked there were some wildly varying wait time differences, it might be worth traveling to another city to get an earlier appointment. Good luck.

[SalishSea 17,829]

4 hours ago, talasb said:

I do not have a current US visa and I just want to apply for a B1 visa for a work conference that lasts for a week. My issue is the wait time

Not a lot you can do about the wait time.  It is what it is.

 

I'm sure the conference has a zoom option, like they all do these days.

[SalishSea 17,829]

3 hours ago, Coco8 said:

You should apply for the visa in Canada. You are living there with a student visa, so it's fine. Whether you'll get it or not, it's another issue, but going to your country of origin is not necessarily going to speed things up given that we are in a pandemic and your country of origin is Syria. I'd say you have good chances since you have a student visa in Canada. It's worth trying.

There has not been a US embassy in Syria for nearly a decade.