Transit Visa Application Taking Longer than Usual

[PeaBrane]

My friend and I are returning from Morocco back to the US on December 25th. The tickets I bought have a layover in Montreal, Canada. I'm a Canadian citizen, so I don't need any visa. However, my friend is a Bengali citizen with an F1 student visa in the US.

I am aware that he would need transit visa to go through Canada, so I helped him apply on Oct 15, which I thought should be sufficient time. However, I haven't heard anything from the IRCC yet, and the visa application is not even at the Review of eligibility stage yet:

https://imgur.com/a/5yM1MUC

I am a bit worried because we will leave for Morocco on December 9th, and I don't know if we will have enough time to wait for the application decision to be finalized plus getting his passport mailed back and forth.

Is this waiting time usual? And is there any way I can expedite the visa application process?

 

[monkeys89]

My friend and I are returning from Morocco back to the US on December 25th. The tickets I bought have a layover in Montreal, Canada. I'm a Canadian citizen, so I don't need any visa. However, my friend is a Bengali citizen with an F1 student visa in the US.

I am aware that he would need transit visa to go through Canada, so I helped him apply on Oct 15, which I thought should be sufficient time. However, I haven't heard anything from the IRCC yet, and the visa application is not even at the Review of eligibility stage yet:

https://imgur.com/a/5yM1MUC

I am a bit worried because we will leave for Morocco on December 9th, and I don't know if we will have enough time to wait for the application decision to be finalized plus getting his passport mailed back and forth.

Is this waiting time usual? And is there any way I can expedite the visa application process?

The current average visa processing time for Morocco is 23 days but this does not include the transit time from the VAC to the CIC offices or time for any required biometrics. Add in any complicated factors or hard-to-verify information and your friend's application could well take longer.

The generally advised rule is not to purchase tickets until you have the visa in hand. I would look into changing flights.

 

[PeaBrane]

The current average visa processing time for Morocco is 23 days but this does not include the transit time from the VAC to the CIC offices or time for any required biometrics. Add in any complicated factors or hard-to-verify information and your friend's application could well take longer.

The generally advised rule is not to purchase tickets until you have the visa in hand. I would look into changing flights.

We are not applying from Morocco, we are applying from the US. And my friend is a Bengali citizen. We live close to a VAC office located in Los Angeles, is it possible to just walk in obtain a transit visa?

 

[monkeys89]

We are not applying from Morocco, we are applying from the US. And my friend is a Bengali citizen. We live close to a VAC office located in Los Angeles, is it possible to just walk in obtain a transit visa?

No, it's not possible to walk in and get a transit visa.

CIC is likely checking your friend's details with Morocco, hence some delay.