Yesterday I was at the US Consulate General in Vancouver again, for the working Visa interview. I was amazed how efficient and responsive the US Consulate was. I do think they are one of the best governmental teams in the world.
After I got my Visitor for Pleasure Visa, I was told that I had to apply for my working Visa for my job in California and that my joining date would be Feb. 14 2009. However, the earliest Visa interview appointment date I could obtain on the On-line Visa Interview Appointment Reservation System was Feb. 17 2009, three days after my joining date.
I had experienced many, many, slow, bureaucratic and even corrupt embassies, consulates and governmental organizations in the world, and I did not expect that the US Consulate would consider my case seriously, having seen how many cases they had to deal with everyday.
But I thought I could as hell try, so I sent them an email on Jan. 23, explaining how urgent my case was and I needed to reschedule my appointment to an much earlier date.
Within 2-3 seconds I got their automatic email, telling me they would respond within 2 business days. Then within an hour, I got another personal email from them, asking me to give them an exact date. So I wrote back saying I would prefer any date before Feb 2.
Then, sadly, the weekend came, and based on my vast experience in Canada, nobody in the government would work on Saturday or Sunday.
Monday morning, ie Jan. 26, when I woke up, I checked my email and didn't find any email from them. Then I checked my On-line Visa Interview Appointment Reservation System, and found that my appointment date had been rescheduled to Jan. 26, which I had already missed.
I sent them another email, telling them that since I didn't check the On-line Reservation System on Saturday or Sunday, I missed the appointment. I also asked them to reschedule it again, to Jan. 27. Then within only one hour, they replied to my request by email, telling me that they appreciated the opportunity to serve me and that my new appointment date would be Jan. 27! There was no extra charge for my expedited appointment.
Yesterday, after a brief interview, the interviewer asked me to pick up my Visa in 2 days. While waiting to be interviewed, I saw that an interviewer rejected to issue a Russian woman a Visa. The interviewer told her that she failed to show any ties to Canada and so she couldn't issue her the Visa. It made sense to me, as the Russian woman was here in Canada on a temporary working Visa and now she wanted to go to the US. She looked so desperate and nervous.
Not all interviews were brief or relaxed. I saw that an East Indian guy was almost begging the interviewer to issue him a Visa and he went crazy when he was told to pick up the Visa in 2 days. I also saw that a family from South America spent much time explaining how much money they had in the bank (he said CAD$30,000) and what kind of bicycle store they were running here.
On the side of the interview counter was a notice--if you lie to the Consular, you may be kept out of the US forever.
On the way back home I saw the Russian woman again, in the lobby. She looked very depressed.
