Visitor visa in processing for years, now urgent for invited conference talk

[yola]

Hi folks, I am trying to understand what happened and get advice on what I can do, here is the situation:

I am an F1 student in the US. I applied for visitor visa in Aug 2023 and completed biometrics in the US. Then I never hear back from IRCC. I submitted several webforms over the past two years but only received automatic reply. In Dec 2024, my passport expired and I renewed my passport.

In summer 2025, after learning that an important academic conference would be held in Canada, I submitted another webform to update IRCC. I then received a non-automatic reply with an agent name and number stating:
"We verified the information you provided and can confirm that your visitor visa application is still in process."
and
"
We would recommend that you submit a new online application only if:

• You submitted a visitor visa application before September 7, 2021, and
• Your situation has changed, and
• You are travelling for one of the reasons indicated on the website.

By submitting a new application, your previous visitor visa application will be withdrawn. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee of a refund.
"
Because my passport changed and my travel purpose changed to an academic conference as an invited speaker, I submitted a new online application after receiving the official invitation letter from the conference committee on Jan 5th 2026.

I again heard nothing, and now there are less than 20 days before my scheduled talk. I submitted another webform on Jan 22, 2026 and on Jan 24 I received a reply (with agent name and number) stating that action has been taken. Since then, there has been no visible update and no decision.

At this point, I am trying to understand:
Is there any action that could help at this point?
What's wrong with my application?
Will submitting another webform with supporting materials (my flight itinerary and hotel reservation) help?

I plan to submit another webform tomorrow and start calling IRCC everyday. I am wondering if this would help. If not, I would rather not bother with it and just find someone to present for me as soon as possible.

Thank you vey much

 

[Naturgrl]

Hi folks, I am trying to understand what happened and get advice on what I can do, here is the situation:

I am an F1 student in the US. I applied for visitor visa in Aug 2023 and completed biometrics in the US. Then I never hear back from IRCC. I submitted several webforms over the past two years but only received automatic reply. In Dec 2024, my passport expired and I renewed my passport.

In summer 2025, after learning that an important academic conference would be held in Canada, I submitted another webform to update IRCC. I then received a non-automatic reply with an agent name and number stating:
"We verified the information you provided and can confirm that your visitor visa application is still in process."
and
"
We would recommend that you submit a new online application only if:

• You submitted a visitor visa application before September 7, 2021, and
• Your situation has changed, and
• You are travelling for one of the reasons indicated on the website.

By submitting a new application, your previous visitor visa application will be withdrawn. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee of a refund.
"
Because my passport changed and my travel purpose changed to an academic conference as an invited speaker, I submitted a new online application after receiving the official invitation letter from the conference committee on Jan 5th 2026.

I again heard nothing, and now there are less than 20 days before my scheduled talk. I submitted another webform on Jan 22, 2026 and on Jan 24 I received a reply (with agent name and number) stating that action has been taken. Since then, there has been no visible update and no decision.

At this point, I am trying to understand:
Is there any action that could help at this point?
What's wrong with my application?
Will submitting another webform with supporting materials (my flight itinerary and hotel reservation) help?

I plan to submit another webform tomorrow and start calling IRCC everyday. I am wondering if this would help. If not, I would rather not bother with it and just find someone to present for me as soon as possible.

Thank you vey much

You are still within normal processing so why are you sending webforms? IRCC doesn't care that you have a conference in 20 days. A conference isn't an urgent reason to come to Canada to IRCC. You wait. What is your citizenship?

 

[yola]

You are still within normal processing so why are you sending webforms? IRCC doesn't care that you have a conference in 20 days. You wait. What is your citizenship?

China. I sent webforms because it is urgent, and my friends received decisions within 2 weeks...

 

[Naturgrl]

China. I sent webforms because it is urgent, and my friends received decisions within 2 weeks...

So your friends are Chinese. If so got lucky because security/immigration checks with Chinese government can take months, sometimes years. This is with waiting for Chinese security information. This is why your first TRV application was never processed. A conference isn't urgent to IRCC. Dying family member is urgent.

 

[yola]

So your friend is Chinese. If so got lucky because security/immigration checks with Chinese government can take months, sometimes years. This is with waiting for Chinese security information. A conference isn't urgent to IRCC. Dying family member is urgent.

I understand. But what confused me is that I am the only one facing this problem and common cases are people getting their visa shortly. In 2023, 5 of us applied Canada visa together for a winter travel plan and I was the only one having trouble getting it. Last year, 3 students in my department applied Canada visa for another conference meeting and everyone received their visa decision in 2 weeks. And this time, my lab mate also received his visa... Taking months and years for Canada visitor visa is uncommon to me... So I really want to know what's happening and what I can do to fix it

 

[canuck78]

I understand. But what confused me is that I am the only one facing this problem and common cases are people getting their visa shortly. In 2023, 5 of us applied Canada visa together for a winter travel plan and I was the only one having trouble getting it. Last year, 3 students in my department applied Canada visa for another conference meeting and everyone received their visa decision in 2 weeks. And this time, my lab mate also received his visa... Taking months and years for Canada visitor visa is uncommon to me... So I really want to know what's happening and what I can do to fix it

Do all the other applicants have the same background and immigration history as you do? You can’t compare processing times if profiles are different, travel history is different, etc. There is not much you can do since you are within normal processing time and this isn’t considered urgent travel. There is likely something in your background that raised concerns during your last application. At a minimum you will likely need a manual review which takes longer than a primarily AI processing that you receive after a few weeks.

 

[yola]

Do all the other applicants have the same background and immigration history as you do? You can’t compare processing times if profiles are different, travel history is different, etc. There is not much you can do since you are within normal processing time and this isn’t considered urgent travel.

I would say yes. We are all Chinese. We are doing PhD/Postdoc in the same department at the same school, holding F1/J1 visa. We all have clean travel history. That's why this situation confused me and sounds uncommon. One broader concern I have is the long-term impact. If this application is not decided in time and I miss this conference, do I need to apply again next year? Because this means as long as this conference happens in Canada, I cannot attend it. This would be a big loss for me and I don't want to wait in silence.

 

[Naturgrl]

I understand. But what confused me is that I am the only one facing this problem and common cases are people getting their visa shortly. In 2023, 5 of us applied Canada visa together for a winter travel plan and I was the only one having trouble getting it. Last year, 3 students in my department applied Canada visa for another conference meeting and everyone received their visa decision in 2 weeks. And this time, my lab mate also received his visa... Taking months and years for Canada visitor visa is uncommon to me... So I really want to know what's happening and what I can do to fix it

I guess all the students are Chinese too. The issue is that you never received a response for the first application. You didn't withdraw it or submit your new passport information via webform. Instead, you applied for a new one but you didn't meet the criteria. You should have ordered GCMS notes to see if it is stuck in security/immigration checks for the first application. The first application is still in process.

If you don't get a response back and the conference has passed then order GCMS notes. You may find that it has been stuck in security/background checks with China.

Hopefully you will be approved before the conference. But it is within normal processing times right now. It is not urgent - life or death situation.

 

[canuck78]

I would say yes. We are all Chinese. We are doing PhD/Postdoc in the same department at the same school, holding F1/J1 visa. We all have clean travel history. That's why this situation confused me and sounds uncommon. One broader concern I have is the long-term impact. If this application is not decided in time and I miss this conference, do I need to apply again next year? Because this means as long as this conference happens in Canada, I cannot attend it. This would be a big loss for me and I don't want to wait in

What do you mean by clean travel history? No other travel but China and US and no other visas, same expiry dates for your US visas, same family background, etc. All can influence approval. Agree that you should order GCMS notes if denied again. You also need to apply for your visa much earlier