Calling all 221g - Only Vancouver Consulate


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22 hours ago, biodallas said:

Hey man/woman, I am in Ottawa for 221G but your calculation is a good indicator. My interview was on Oct 4th, I got email yesterday (21st) to submit passport. I will do so on Monday so few days after that should be done. 

Thanks for responding. if you can post your experience/timeline after submitting the passport, then I will update the details with more information on post-email to ppt received timeline.

So far 4 people were on the best case prediction, with only 1 being on the worst case date. So my take is that Ottawa is picking up again and the best case scenario is more likely.

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Hi Folks,

My story:

Interview date & Time: 14th October 7.45 am

2. Case created / Status update:  12th Oct / 14th Oct

3. # of working days so far: 6

4. Consulate kept any docs : I-797, Job offer, DS-160

5. Consulate kept Passport : Yes

6. VO comment: Email documents described on 221g yellow slip ASAP (CV, description of grad school research, list of publications)

7. Color of 221g : Yellow

First time H1b Visa Stamping. No issues on previous stampings (all F-1)

Additional details. VO asked about the the previous visa types (F-1 OPT), PhD major (biology), salary at current job, industry segment (biotech), job offer (provided at the interview), current title and responsibilities, job location, and CV/Pubs/description of research (did not have on hand - emailed on the same day to the AP email address and got 2 confirmations of receipt - automatic and man-written). Explained to VO that I am no longer doing research; his response was "OK, describe your PhD research then and produce the list of publications (if any). It is in your best interest to email these docs to us as soon as possible."

Just moved from Vancouver to Victoria - it is way cheaper to stay here compared to Vancouver.

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12 hours ago, VanWanderer said:

Hi Folks,

My story:

Interview date & Time: 14th October 7.45 am

2. Case created / Status update:  12th Oct / 14th Oct

3. # of working days so far: 6

4. Consulate kept any docs : I-797, Job offer, DS-160

5. Consulate kept Passport : Yes

6. VO comment: Email documents described on 221g yellow slip ASAP (CV, description of grad school research, list of publications)

7. Color of 221g : Yellow

First time H1b Visa Stamping. No issues on previous stampings (all F-1)

Additional details. VO asked about the the previous visa types (F-1 OPT), PhD major (biology), salary at current job, industry segment (biotech), job offer (provided at the interview), current title and responsibilities, job location, and CV/Pubs/description of research (did not have on hand - emailed on the same day to the AP email address and got 2 confirmations of receipt - automatic and man-written). Explained to VO that I am no longer doing research; his response was "OK, describe your PhD research then and produce the list of publications (if any). It is in your best interest to email these docs to us as soon as possible."

Just moved from Vancouver to Victoria - it is way cheaper to stay here compared to Vancouver.

hi VanWanderer, you are definitely in TAL. There is one more person from Oct 12th in TAL here. Yours is Oct 14th (going by interview date). Estimate is that you should see an update around Nov 1 or 2 (+ number of days you took to send the docs to the consulate). There is a WhatsApp group on which we are sharing the info. Message RohiniK to get added to it.

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14 hours ago, VanWanderer said:

Hi Folks,

My story:

Interview date & Time: 14th October 7.45 am

2. Case created / Status update:  12th Oct / 14th Oct

3. # of working days so far: 6

4. Consulate kept any docs : I-797, Job offer, DS-160

5. Consulate kept Passport : Yes

6. VO comment: Email documents described on 221g yellow slip ASAP (CV, description of grad school research, list of publications)

7. Color of 221g : Yellow

First time H1b Visa Stamping. No issues on previous stampings (all F-1)

Additional details. VO asked about the the previous visa types (F-1 OPT), PhD major (biology), salary at current job, industry segment (biotech), job offer (provided at the interview), current title and responsibilities, job location, and CV/Pubs/description of research (did not have on hand - emailed on the same day to the AP email address and got 2 confirmations of receipt - automatic and man-written). Explained to VO that I am no longer doing research; his response was "OK, describe your PhD research then and produce the list of publications (if any). It is in your best interest to email these docs to us as soon as possible."

Just moved from Vancouver to Victoria - it is way cheaper to stay here compared to Vancouver.

Can you tell us if they kept your passport or returned it? Also, noticed that you did email the docs back the same day, so I do not think there should be much delay due to that (if at all a day's impact). I hope it is sooner, but give it about 14 working days including your date of interview.

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On 10/23/2016 at 8:03 PM, RoSogolla_221g said:

Thanks for responding. if you can post your experience/timeline after submitting the passport, then I will update the details with more information on post-email to ppt received timeline.

So far 4 people were on the best case prediction, with only 1 being on the worst case date. So my take is that Ottawa is picking up again and the best case scenario is more likely.

I dropped the passport at Embassy today

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Final Notes:

Interview date Oct 3rd @ Vancouver Consulate.

Employment related Questions: Who do you work for, what do you do, a couple more about the company. Lasted about 15 sec.

Education background, PhD area, described research (even though not related to primary job). Asked for CV, gave resume. Asked publications are not listed. Provided him with printed copies of publications (not dissertation just the papers).

Knew 221G is coming again and was given a printed sheet with221G information. No other docs required. Told will take 2-3 weeks. (Color of sheet was white, but I have posted elsewhere, that I do not believe color matters, particularly when they just print it out, it will usually be white. See my other posts on this).

Kept passport and I797. I asked if they will be kept for now. I was then offered to take them back. Asked if that makes a difference. VO said that it can cause up to 1-week delay as they will have to request it back. So I decided to leave it with them.

First status changed on Oct 21st. Date changed, but status was Admin Processing (must have changed to ready at some point of time, but that is temporary). Waited for 3 weeks, 14 working days (Oct 10th was a holiday).

Waited for the weekend, on Oct 24th status changed to Issued around 11AM. (Had emailed the consulate to see if they have any update, and they responded that it is issued, right around the time when my status changed).

Pick Up Experience

Oct 24th: Emailed back to ask if it is possible to pick passport from Consulate.

Around 2 PM, got response that except for emergency, they will not allow.

Around 2:15ish, got email with tracking information.

Around 3 PM got email from CPC with tracking information.

Around 4 PM, tracking started working, even though they say it may take some time. Showed that package picked up at Richmond.

FYI – nothing to worry – I saw that the package was showing en-route to Ontaria (Widby, ON). Went to the post office to ask and they did not give any clear response, just said that check for pick up email. Told me that if package is processed tonight at Richmond, it will come tomorrow, else one more day. They told me that packages usually come by 11AM, but wait for email. So checked after 8 PM and package was processed at Richmond.

Oct 25th: Was hoping that the package is indeed coming locally. Saw the update at around 9:20 that package arrived and is ready for pickup. Left for Post office immediately. Got the pick up email on my way. At the post office, they just need your ID and then tracking number. They will ask for pickup email, but were happy to just use the tracking number from previous email on phone or tracking printout.

Just for info, make sure the address in the CPC email is correct pick up address. As long as that is correct, you are fine. Once you try to track the package, it will who that it is en-route to Ontario. Post office folks confirmed later that it is a known issue and the package comes to the correct location.

Package had passport and I797.

For TAL cases, there is a clearance received line on your passport (as some already know). The date was Oct 19th. Passport is valid for 2 years from the date passport was issued (as is expected because clearance is valid for 2 years).

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49 minutes ago, RoSogolla_221g said:

Final Notes:

Interview date Oct 3rd @ Vancouver Consulate.

Employment related Questions: Who do you work for, what do you do, a couple more about the company. Lasted about 15 sec.

Education background, PhD area, described research (even though not related to primary job). Asked for CV, gave resume. Asked publications are not listed. Provided him with printed copies of publications (not dissertation just the papers).

Knew 221G is coming again and was given a printed sheet with221G information. No other docs required. Told will take 2-3 weeks. (Color of sheet was white, but I have posted elsewhere, that I do not believe color matters, particularly when they just print it out, it will usually be white. See my other posts on this).

Kept passport and I797. I asked if they will be kept for now. I was then offered to take them back. Asked if that makes a difference. VO said that it can cause up to 1-week delay as they will have to request it back. So I decided to leave it with them.

First status changed on Oct 21st. Date changed, but status was Admin Processing (must have changed to ready at some point of time, but that is temporary). Waited for 3 weeks, 14 working days (Oct 10th was a holiday).

Waited for the weekend, on Oct 24th status changed to Issued around 11AM. (Had emailed the consulate to see if they have any update, and they responded that it is issued, right around the time when my status changed).

Pick Up Experience

Oct 24th: Emailed back to ask if it is possible to pick passport from Consulate.

Around 2 PM, got response that except for emergency, they will not allow.

Around 2:15ish, got email with tracking information.

Around 3 PM got email from CPC with tracking information.

Around 4 PM, tracking started working, even though they say it may take some time. Showed that package picked up at Richmond.

FYI – nothing to worry – I saw that the package was showing en-route to Ontaria (Widby, ON). Went to the post office to ask and they did not give any clear response, just said that check for pick up email. Told me that if package is processed tonight at Richmond, it will come tomorrow, else one more day. They told me that packages usually come by 11AM, but wait for email. So checked after 8 PM and package was processed at Richmond.

Oct 25th: Was hoping that the package is indeed coming locally. Saw the update at around 9:20 that package arrived and is ready for pickup. Left for Post office immediately. Got the pick up email on my way. At the post office, they just need your ID and then tracking number. They will ask for pickup email, but were happy to just use the tracking number from previous email on phone or tracking printout.

Just for info, make sure the address in the CPC email is correct pick up address. As long as that is correct, you are fine. Once you try to track the package, it will who that it is en-route to Ontario. Post office folks confirmed later that it is a known issue and the package comes to the correct location.

Package had passport and I797.

For TAL cases, there is a clearance received line on your passport (as some already know). The date was Oct 19th. Passport is valid for 2 years from the date passport was issued (as is expected because clearance is valid for 2 years).

Good call on asking to leave the passport, I should have thought of that and saved few more days and travel from Toronto to Ottawa and back. I dropped of passport yesterday, still waiting for any update. CEAC still says Admin Processing, so there is still that.

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20 hours ago, biodallas said:

Good call on asking to leave the passport, I should have thought of that and saved few more days and travel from Toronto to Ottawa and back. I dropped of passport yesterday, still waiting for any update. CEAC still says Admin Processing, so there is still that.

So you would not have needed to travel to send the passport back. Just for reference, you can ship it back from any of the approved Post office locations (and not just the one you picked up initially). The return shipping is covered in your fees. Alternatively, you can also use your own shipping method, but then you pay on your own.

For getting passport back, you can change the pickup location (see other post on that).

And yes, it will keep saying Admin processing (don't confuse it with 221G admin processing). This state will remain till it changes to Issued (so 2-3 days).

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2 hours ago, RoSogolla_221g said:

So you would not have needed to travel to send the passport back. Just for reference, you can ship it back from any of the approved Post office locations (and not just the one you picked up initially). The return shipping is covered in your fees. Alternatively, you can also use your own shipping method, but then you pay on your own.

For getting passport back, you can change the pickup location (see other post on that).

And yes, it will keep saying Admin processing (don't confuse it with 221G admin processing). This state will remain till it changes to Issued (so 2-3 days).

You are right, I could have shipped it via CPC but the email I got asked me to drop it in person. Now that could have just been a template email, but I didn't want to take chances of any more delays because you know... whatever

For Return: Yes, I changed it to Toronto for pickup. Passport shipped today, delivery tomorrow  

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19 hours ago, biodallas said:

You are right, I could have shipped it via CPC but the email I got asked me to drop it in person. Now that could have just been a template email, but I didn't want to take chances of any more delays because you know... whatever

For Return: Yes, I changed it to Toronto for pickup. Passport shipped today, delivery tomorrow  

Great, Congrats!!! The ordeal officially ends.

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Here's my summary:

Interviewed on 13th Oct and VO said they needed to do some processing and asked to check back in 10 days. No additional docs were requested then or later. 

Case Updated Date changed on 27th Oct, which is also the day I received security clearance. Status still said AP.

28th Oct morning I emailed the Consulate requesting for passport pick up at Consulate due to a personal emergency. They obliged and asked me to pick up the passport same day at Consulate in the afternoon. 

Interview to Clearance took exactly 10 business days. I would say mine is best case scenario. 

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Final Update:

Interview Date - October 6, 2016 (Thursday) at 7.45 am

Interview Summary: Biotech background. VO requested my resume and publications, if any. Gave a copy of my resume. VO kept the I-797 copy, returned my passport and gave 221g for additional processing.

First Update: Received email on October 25, 2016 (Tuesday) for passport submission. NOTE: Online CEAC status date was not update even after receiving email.

Shipped passport the same day. Tracking showed passport was delivered on October 27, 2016 (Thursday). Since I didn't get any updates, I sent an email to vancouverap@state.gov on October 31, 2016 requesting for an update and timeline on when to expect my passport back. Got a response within 30 mins which said they are currently processing and I would get an email from Canada Post with Passport Pick-up instructions.

Second Update: 'Status Update Date' changed to October 31, 2016 (Monday) after receiving the response from AP department. Status was still 'Administrative Processing'

Third update: November 1, 2016 (Tuesday) - Status changed to issued. Received an email with tracking which showed delivery date as November 3, 2016 (Thursday). 

Received 'Package ready for pick-up' email from Canada Post at 11.30 am on November 3rd, 2016 (Thursday) 

Approx. Wait time to get an update: 13 Business days (excluding national holidays)

Total Wait time (From the Day of Interview to passport pick-up) - 20 Business days (excluding any holidays).

 

 

 

 

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My final update:

Interview date & Time: 14th October

2. Case created / Status update:  12th Oct / 14th Oct

3. # of working days so far: 13 days to status change to Issued; 16 days to passport receipt

4. Consulate kept any docs : I-797, Job offer, DS-160

5. Consulate kept Passport : Yes

6. VO comment: Email documents described on 221g yellow slip ASAP (CV, description of grad school research, list of publications)

7. Color of 221g : Yellow

First time H1b Visa Stamping. No issues on previous stampings (all F-1)

Additional details. VO asked about the the previous visa types (F-1 OPT), PhD major (biology), salary at current job, industry segment (biotech), job offer (provided at the interview), current title and responsibilities, job location, and CV/Pubs/description of research (did not have on hand - emailed on the same day to the AP email address and got 2 confirmations of receipt - automatic and man-written). Explained to VO that I am no longer doing research; his response was "OK, describe your PhD research then and produce the list of publications (if any). It is in your best interest to email these docs to us as soon as possible."

Visa was issued for 2 years, with "clearance received" remark. The clearance date on the visa was November 1; Issuance date was November 2.

CPC took over 24 hours to process the passport at the sorting facility (Richmond).

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Hi Guys! This is my story. Is anyone waiting for to get the update?

Interview date & Time: 7th November 9.30 am

2. Case created / Status update:  Nope. But for status mail I  got reply on 11/16/16 that "Still in processing and no docs required".

3. # of working days so far: 8

4. Consulate kept any docs : I-797 and LCA

5. Consulate kept Passport : Yes

6. VO comment: 221g yellow slip, but no docs requested or mentioned in yellow slip.

7. Color of 221g : Yellow

Additional Details: This is my H1B extension stamping and I am working for same company and client for almost 4yrs. They verified about LCA address and my client location address which is different but within commutable distance.

 

 

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On ‎11‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 0:54 PM, balan2002cbe said:

Hi Guys! This is my story. Is anyone waiting for to get the update?

Interview date & Time: 7th November 9.30 am

2. Case created / Status update:  Nope. But for status mail I  got reply on 11/16/16 that "Still in processing and no docs required".

3. # of working days so far: 8

4. Consulate kept any docs : I-797 and LCA

5. Consulate kept Passport : Yes

6. VO comment: 221g yellow slip, but no docs requested or mentioned in yellow slip.

7. Color of 221g : Yellow

Additional Details: This is my H1B extension stamping and I am working for same company and client for almost 4yrs. They verified about LCA address and my client location address which is different but within commutable distance.

 

 

Did you get it? It should not have taken so long. If you have, please update it so that other users can be helped with this data.

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