Visiting the US has never been my dream, maybe because many of my friends wanted to go there so desperately, and I do not like to go with the mainstream, maybe because I have heard numerous stories from friends how difficult it is to secure an appointment for a US visa and the amount of documents one has to submit to the US embassy.
This autumn, however, my sister is due to give birth to a baby girl after 10 years of trying to get pregnant and I felt I had to be one of the first people to take a peak at my little niece. Therefore, I braced myself and searched the net for information about getting a non-immigrant visa to the US.
If you live in Canada, but you are not a permanent resident, and you intend to visit the USA on a short-term stay, you will need to obtain a visa, except if you are a citizen of a country in the US Visa Waiver Program. The visa you need to apply for will depend on the purpose of your visit and the length of time you plan to stay there. If you plan to stay for up to 6 months, then you have to apply for a non-immigrant visa. The purpose of your visit can vary from tourism to business or study course.
The United States embassy and consulates in Canada will only issue non-immigrant visas after a successful face-to-face interview. You can schedule the interview in the U.S Embassy in Ottawa, and selected Consulates General in Canada regardless of where you currently live and indeed, some consulates have more appointment vacancies than others do. The fee for the interview is a non-refundable $8.40 CAD, payable by Visa, MasterCard or American Express.
U.S. visa appointments are scarce and are booked as soon as they become available. Generally, it can take anything between 6 to 10 weeks to obtain an appointment at one of Canada’s U.S. Consulates. Depending on the type of visa, you will need to fill out application forms also known as DS -156, DS-157 and DS-158 forms. In addition, you may be required to submit a passport-sized photo, proof of legal in status in Canada and your valid passport for at least 6 months and an application fee. Again, these documents vary depending on what kind of visa you are applying for.
You can go through this procedure yourself and that is what I tried to do at first. However, I found the procedure to be too time-consuming and sometimes confusing, so I decided to hire professionals to help me with the appointment and the documents.
I got my visa appointment in Toronto in November and I plan to travel to the land of unlimited opportunities for the Christmas holidays and say hello to my US-born niece. Now that I have gone through the process, I wish I had braved it earlier and had a nice and warm Florida vacation in August.
To learn more about US visa appointments, visit
