On December 5, 2017, the U.S. Mission in Canada (E Visa Unit, American Consulate General, Toronto) sent an alert announcing a new appointment scheduling system for E visa applications. The Mission said this is “strictly a processing change that will allow us to receive and review E visa applications before the applicant schedules an in-person interview (as opposed to the old system, which permitted applicants to schedule an appointment before submitting an application or supporting documentation).”
Under the new system, the U.S. Mission explained, E visa applications will be sorted into two processing streams based on the time needed to review the required documentation:
- New Cases and Renewals—First-time applicants and those wishing to renew the registration status of their E visa company will be offered a “deferred interview” appointment. While applicants will still need to first create an appointment profile and pay the required visa application fee online at https://ais.usvisa-info.com, the interview will be deferred until applicants have electronically submitted their application and supporting documents to the U.S. Consulate in Toronto via evisacanada@state.gov. Once their application has been reviewed, which requires at least 10 business days, the U.S. Mission will send applicants instructions on how to make an appointment for an in-person interview. Applicants will be unable to schedule an appointment until then. Only applications in the queue for “New Cases and Renewals” will be considered for company registration or re-registration.
- Employees of Registered Companies and Dependents—Employees of currently registered E visa companies, and qualifying family members of current E visa holders, may schedule the next available appointment in Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, or Toronto.