Yeah i saw your status and then asked if you knew it was the norm to expect a change in a day- anyways thanks and have a good day
Hi @Sairam - one question - when you say you checked daily to reschedule the appointment to an earlier date (from Oct 2023 to Oct 2022) - how do we do that?
Just keep on checking the same site where you scheduled your original appointment. Proceed with the rescheduling and see what slots are available. If anything suits you, proceed with it else cancel the operation and your existing appointment will be kept intact.
I think one can reschedule an appointment either 2-3 times.
Thanks for the information.
Hi @Sairam Is there a telegram channel where the visa slot availability for Canada US consulates is discussed? It’s easier to find open slots that way
Please add me as well if there is such a channel 
I think the group you are referring to is named “Canada (USA visa appointment)” - I can’t find a link from the group description, so you may just be able to search telegram for that group.
Posting my interview experience here - I also hold an I-140 and about 10 years of US work exp -
Spouse and I also took our US citizen kid along, they didn’t really ask for any documentation for him but I did carry his US passport and birth certificate just in case.
The interviewer’s first question though was about the kid once she saw him. “How is your kid a US citizen, were you working in the US?”, “What was your visa status when working in the US”, “Do you have family in the US” - both of these questions applied to my spouse as well. “Do you have family in Canada?” , “What is your purpose of visit”, and then she said it was approved.
Surprisingly the day after the appt it was “Issued” and the very next day it was “Ready for pickup”.
Cheers
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Hi All - Posting my experience from US visitor visa application. I had my interview in Toronto consulate today at 7:45 AM. I reached ~20 min before the interview and parked my car in this lot → https://maps.app.goo.gl/5fycF7F2ma8mHnW29. This parking lot is right opposite to the consulate and is a walk of ~100 meters. When I reached the consulate there was already a queue standing in front of the building. There were 2 queues -
- queue to the checkin counter which validated your passport against the appointment date/time.
- the queue to get inside the consulate building. We waited for about 40-45 min before our turn for checkin.
Once the checkin was done - we were inside the main building in the next 5 min. Once you enter the building - the first thing will be a security check (remove jackets, additional layers of clothing, wallet, purse, etc.). After the security check you go through a door to enter a ramp to walk into the interview area. Before entering the interview room - there was a small kiosk/desk at the door where they checked our DS-160 confirmation and Canadian residency proof (I had our PR cards). After this check - you enter the main room ( I am calling it a room because it is indeed a small room and not a hall). In this room there are 3 types of counter.
- Counter Type 1 - Passport and Canadian residency proof check (again!)
- Counter Type 2 - Biometrics/Fingerprints
- Counter Type 3 - Interview
In the interview - we were asked 5 questions. Listing them down below -
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Q1 - Why do you want to travel to the US?
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Q2 - What was your last visa in the US?
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Q3 - When did you move to Canada?
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Q4 - What do you do in Canada?
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Q5 (to my wife) - What is your highest education degree?
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Pro-tip 1- Try to reach 40-45 min before the appointment time. I had reached 20 min before and had to wait for 45-50 min before getting inside the consulate building.
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Pro-tip 2 - Please be mindful of the weather, temperature of your appointment day. I had my 4 years old son with me and it was bitter cold. Please carry snow pants, snow gloves for your kid(s) (and also for yourself if required) if it is a cold day. Waiting in a queue outside in this cold isn’t fun.
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Pro-tip 3 - Make sure you remove all electronics (this includes AirPods, watches as well) before entering the consulate building. While standing in the queue both me and my wife realized that we were wearing smart watches and I had to go back to the car to keep them.
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Pro-tip 4 - No food item or liquid items are allowed inside the consulate. My son had a candy in his jacket pocket and I was asked to throw it away.
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Pro-tip 5 - There is a washroom inside the consulate. So don’t worry about finding one if you are close to entering the building.
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Pro-tip 6 - You can apply for a US visitor with an expired PR card. Our PR cards are expired and currently under renewal. However this had no bearing on the visa outcome/process. We were not asked any question on why is our PR card expired.
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Thanks for sharing your update, how long was your appointment wait time, i.e when were you able to book this appointment?
I booked my appointment in November 2022. The initial appointment date was March 2024 but I could reschedule it to February 2024 after monitoring the site for several months.
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Thanks for sharing your experience! We have our appointment coming up in April. This is helpful.
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Hi @souviksengupta Do you know how long it takes to get the passport back? Did you already get the passport back?
Our appointment was on a Wednesday. We got the email from consulate on Friday with tracking number details. However since this is Family Day long weekend in Canada - we are expecting the passports to be delivered on Tuesday.
Thanks for the info!
Hi @souviksengupta @MissMapleFry Could you please mention the list of documents you took for the US visa appointment (I assume you applied for B2)? There is a list of required documents mentioned in the email from US visa services, but then there are “may be” required documents that are not mentioned exhaustively. I have my interview coming up soon.
For instance, few specific questions I have are:
- Did you take a letter of employment from your Canada employer? Or did you just take paystubs?
- For proof of funds, I assume you just took last 3 month bank statements for the bank where you have some liquid funds?
- If you are going to say that you want to visit family in US, did you take any letter from them?
- I may have missed asking something above, hence the request for the list of documents you took.
Thanks so much!
We took along paystubs, offer letters, and 3-month bank statements. We didn’t take anything that wasn’t listed in the ‘List of documents’ and they never requested to see anything. For no. 3, we didn’t show any documents.
Just wanted to share an update on this:
We booked our B2 visa appointment back in October 2022, for December 2023. In Nov 2023, we got an email from the US visa system that our appointment has to be rescheduled as no interviews can be held at the Consulate on our scheduled date for some reason. They automatically rescheduled it to April 2024. So we had a 18-month gap b/w booking the appointment and the interview date.
We had our interview this morning at US Consulate Toronto for B2 visa. Our visa was approved. The officer only asked 2 questions - why do you want to visit the US and what do you do for work. Then she was typing something on the computer for a minute and then said your visa is approved, you will get your passport in a week.
Regarding rest of the interview day process and tips, refer to the great post https://community.movnorth.com/t/us-visitor-visa-from-canada/4643/70?u=arjun-humain by @souviksengupta
The only thing I want to add is to take your car with you if you have a car. You have easy parking in a garage outside the consulate (bit expensive though at 20$) but worth it as you may need to go back to your car to keep things like phone, other electronics, AirTags and so on. It’s easy to forget you have a prohibited item that you can’t take inside. You only realize it when standing in line. There is some locker facility somewhere nearby I think, in case you don’t have a car.
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