NY VAC - Processing Timeline/Delays

[albak]

First off, if you are reading this post to see whether NY VAC is the best place to send your passport for stamping/visa etc., then short answer is NO. DO NOT SEND YOUR PASSPORT TO THEM. Even if it is farther away, send your passport to LA VAC & save yourself 2-3 weeks.

Second, I am starting this thread to see the timeline for others who sent their passport to NY VAC in recent months. My timeline

Passport Sent - Feb 16 2022
Delivered - Feb 17 2022
First Escalation - March 3 2022
Escalation Response received on March 5 2022 stating that the passports will take 10-15 days to process
Until today no tracking number generated

If anyone else sent in a similar timeframe as me, appreciate if you can post so we can keep track of how they are processing.

 

[sjgoel]

In same boat - how do you escalate? I sent passport to VFS NY for Canada stamping.

 

[albak]

You can send an email to them if it’s been more than 5 business days since they received your passport. Here’s the email address - [email protected]

BTW, I finally received my tracking ID for one of the passports I had sent on Thursday. Edited the post to update timeline

 

[albak]

First off, if you are reading this post to see whether NY VAC is the best place to send your passport for stamping/visa etc., then short answer is NO. DO NOT SEND YOUR PASSPORT TO THEM. Even if it is farther away, send your passport to LA VAC & save yourself 2-3 weeks.

Second, I am starting this thread to see the timeline for others who sent their passport to NY VAC in recent months. My timeline

Passport Sent - Feb 16 2022
Delivered - Feb 17 2022
First Escalation - March 3 2022
Escalation Response received on March 5 2022 stating that the passports will take 10-15 days to process
Until today no tracking number generated

If anyone else sent in a similar timeframe as me, appreciate if you can post so we can keep track of how they are processing.

UPDATE - March 12
- On March 10, received a confirmation of application receipt email from NY VAC for both passports. This is not the same as the tracking number
- On March 11, received tracking ID for one of the passports and confirmation it’s been sent to IRCC

 

[sjgoel]

UPDATE - March 12
- On March 10, received a confirmation of application receipt email from NY VAC for both passports. This is not the same as the tracking number
- On March 11, received tracking ID for one of the passports and confirmation it’s been sent to IRCC

Thanks for the update. You got the confirmation after 3 weeks while for me it has only been 2 weeks. So need to cool my heels for another week at least. In my case:

Passports Delivered - Feb 28, 2022
First escalation by email - March 7, 2022 - no response.
Another escalation by phone - March 9, 2022 - VFS rep stock reply: Delay due to heavy rush, wait another week.
Another escalation through VFS twitter support: March 9, 2022: Asked for details, thereafter no response, despite reminders.
Another (2nd) escalation by email - March 14, 2022. Will update.

 

[aspirecanada2021]

@albak @sjgoel - What are the contact numbers and email ids to NY and LA VACs..... we have been trying to reach them regarding TRV for my father, but no responses of emails and no-one seems to picking up the phones.... can you please share the numbers and email ids here.... which email ids you used for escalation and how did you escalated...I mean to ask any particular subject line... or what did you used?

 

[sjgoel]

@albak @sjgoel - What are the contact numbers and email ids to NY and LA VACs..... we have been trying to reach them regarding TRV for my father, but no responses of emails and no-one seems to picking up the phones.... can you please share the numbers and email ids here.... which email ids you used for escalation and how did you escalated...I mean to ask any particular subject line... or what did you used?

Hello, the contact numbers are on the web page below but it is all useless. VFS is probably the worst company to deal with. The phone calls, emails, chats, etc. go absolutely nowhere. Since February 28th, I have contacted them nearly 40 times using all available means including Twitter and Facebook help, but it is like banging your head against the wall. After they received our passports on February 28th, I am still waiting for any confirmation of their having received them. It seems that they do not even open the envelopes for a couple of weeks.
https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/can/contact-us

 

[aspirecanada2021]

@sjgoel I can feel your pain.... the passports are most important thing in foreign country and ones needs to have regular updates of their passport.... please do comment here when you get updates at your end....

Also are following the numbers to contact VFS in USA

Please contact us for any information regarding the visa process:

Contact us by phone: 8882964511

Contact us by email: [email protected]

There is chat Now option also..... are these correct? I am guessing the phone number etc are common for VFS NY and LA ....

 

[sun2088]

Any updates? I sent my documents on March 7. It was received by the NY VAC on March 8th but since then no updates. Is it me or is the VFS process a bit...unclear/unorganized. Up until PR, I at least knew exactly what to provide and how. With the VFS process, I found so many irregularities such as with unclear instructions in providing the documents, lack of consistency between the website and instruction letter, misused/incorrect terms etc.

 

[albak]

UPDATE - March 12
- On March 10, received a confirmation of application receipt email from NY VAC for both passports. This is not the same as the tracking number
- On March 11, received tracking ID for one of the passports and confirmation it’s been sent to IRCC

Updated Timeline :
Passport Sent - Feb 16 2022
Delivered - Feb 17 2022
First Escalation - March 3 2022
Escalation Response received on March 5 2022 stating that the passports will take 10-15 days to process
- On March 10, received a confirmation of application receipt email from NY VAC for both passports. This is not the same as the tracking number
- On March 11, received tracking ID for one of the passports and confirmation it’s been sent to IRCC
- On March 14, IRCC confirmed receipt
- Later that same day, IRCC sent the decision pack back to VAC and an email was sent
- On March 14, I was able to see the status updated on the CIC portal as well
- March 15 - passport shipped from VAC to home address via FedEx and return shipping generated
- March 16 - passport received

Takeaways - from first receipt to tracking generation it takes a good 3 weeks. Thereafter the process is relatively quick
Avoid NYC VAC if possible and definitely not if you have immediate travel plans
Don’t expect quick response to any questions via any channels - Phone, web chat all didn’t work for me. The only mechanism that worked was email
Lastly if you are sending 2 applications for stamping, then its likely that tracking gets generated only for one because they combine the passports when they send to IRCC.
But after they receive the stamping you should receive an email about dispatching the passport

 

[aspirecanada2021]

Updated Timeline :
Passport Sent - Feb 16 2022
Delivered - Feb 17 2022
First Escalation - March 3 2022
Escalation Response received on March 5 2022 stating that the passports will take 10-15 days to process
- On March 10, received a confirmation of application receipt email from NY VAC for both passports. This is not the same as the tracking number
- On March 11, received tracking ID for one of the passports and confirmation it’s been sent to IRCC
- On March 14, IRCC confirmed receipt
- Later that same day, IRCC sent the decision pack back to VAC and an email was sent
- On March 14, I was able to see the status updated on the CIC portal as well
- March 15 - passport shipped from VAC to home address via FedEx and return shipping generated
- March 16 - passport received

Takeaways - from first receipt to tracking generation it takes a good 3 weeks. Thereafter the process is relatively quick
Avoid NYC VAC if possible and definitely not if you have immediate travel plans
Don’t expect quick response to any questions via any channels - Phone, web chat all didn’t work for me. The only mechanism that worked was email
Lastly if you are sending 2 applications for stamping, then its likely that tracking gets generated only for one because they combine the passports when they send to IRCC.
But after they receive the stamping you should receive an email about dispatching the passport

What was the email id that you were emailing and getting response/any tracking?

 

[sun2088]

Just received the tracking number. They received my application on March 8th and so in total, it took them about 10 business days to process my application.

 

[aspirecanada2021]

@sun2088 @albak @sjgoel

I am getting confused for using the two way courier service for visitor visa (TRV) stamping in USA for my father. My father's visa has been approved and I need to send the passport for visa stamping. Can people who have used it or know about the it shed some light?

After going to the link https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/can/additional-services and clicking to the registered user link for 2 way courier services, I created login for my father. After logging in

1. Here on the left side of screen, I have to click on "Buy Two way Courier FedEx labels" . After clicking on it.
2. The screen asks to Select Center and to select application category. I choose "Los Angeles", however the selection for application category is confusing me. There the options to be chosen are "Original Passport Submission" or "PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document) or "Temporary Resident Visa"

My question is which option should I choose for TRV stamping? We have to send the passport to VFS for TRV stamping ---- should we select "Original Passport Submission" or "Temporary Resident Visa"? Can somebody clarify please.

 

[sun2088]

@sun2088 @albak @sjgoel

I am getting confused for using the two way courier service for visitor visa (TRV) stamping in USA for my father. My father's visa has been approved and I need to send the passport for visa stamping. Can people who have used it or know about the it shed some light?

After going to the link https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/can/additional-services and clicking to the registered user link for 2 way courier services, I created login for my father. After logging in

1. Here on the left side of screen, I have to click on "Buy Two way Courier FedEx labels" . After clicking on it.
2. The screen asks to Select Center and to select application category. I choose "Los Angeles", however the selection for application category is confusing me. There the options to be chosen are "Original Passport Submission" or "PRTD (Permanent Resident Travel Document) or "Temporary Resident Visa"

My question is which option should I choose for TRV stamping? We have to send the passport to VFS for TRV stamping ---- should we select "Original Passport Submission" or "Temporary Resident Visa"? Can somebody clarify please.

I would select the TRV. The original passport and PRTD pertain more to permanent residents (per my understanding). Also, at the end of the day, the options don't exactly matter because I believe you that have to include the passport request letter within your documents right? So when you include that, even though you might select the wrong category, IRCC will still be able to process your request.

 

[aspirecanada2021]

@sun2088 Ok....thanks for the clarification.....