O1 Visa wait times in Ottawa

[Floydie]

I had my interview for an O1 visa in Ottawa on the morning of June 11, 2013, along with my 3 dependant family members.

 

I was told everything was in order and that it would be 2-3 days before my passport was ready for collection from Loomis, and I would receive an email saying so. 

 

It is now Saturday and I have heard nothing, nor has my status on the CSC website changed. I am starting to worry as I need to be in the US by Tuesday June 19, latest. 

 

Can anyone advise of current waiting times for O1 visas in Ottawa? Is the above normal? Most people I have spoken to seem to get their passports back in 1 or 2 days.

 

Thanks if anyone has any insights.

[Floydie]

UPDATE: I've checked the ceac.state.gov visa tracker website and seen that my visa, and that of my wife's (which is an O3) are both in 'Administrative Processing'. However my two children's O3 visas are listed as having now been issued. Is this odd?

[Floydie]

INFO: 

 

I decided to post a couple of links to similar threads for anyone who may be researching a similar situation. I hope this is what is going on for me (see threads) despite my location being Ottawa and my visa an O1.

 

http://forum.murthy.com/index.php?/topic/58026-visa-approved-hyderabad-consulate-but-status-is-showing-as-administrative-processing/

 

http://forum.murthy.com/index.php?/topic/57878-h1-b-visa-stamping-mumbai-experience/

[Floydie]

UPDATE: morning of Monday June 17 my and my wife's visa status updated to 'Issued' on ceac website.

 

Still waiting to hear from consulate about when I can collect passport from Loomis.

 

Does anyone know if it's possible to try and collect PP from consulate directly, in person?

[Floydie]

FINAL UPDATE: Just after posting the above I called the embassy in Ottawa to see if it would be possible to go in and collect my PP from there, rather than wait for Loomis to pick it up, then process it and email me to get it from them, etc. I was told that the 'Admin Processing' status was because their computer system was playing up all week, and they were unable to enter my and my wife's info at the same time as my children's, or something. So it was a technical glitch and nothing more. I was told I could come in and pick up our PPs straight away, which I did. We then jumped on the next flight to the US. A great outcome since, at the start of the day, we didn't know how long we would be stuck in Ottawa or why or visas were under Admin Processing. Huge relief.

 

Funny that nobody else has ended up posting on this thread except for me! However I wanted to keep updating because there is very little anecdotal material on O1 visa experiences, compared to H visas, etc, so I hope it will be a help to others who may be going through this stage of the O1 visa journey.

 

June 11: visa interview

June 14: status update (2 issued, 2 in AP)

June 17: status update to all issued

June 17: called consulate, went in and collected PP in person

June 17: landed in the US

[t75]

There were no posters because O-1 is not a common visa discussed on this forum.