Hi All,
I am happy to inform you that I got my visa stamping done yesterday, the 20th March. I went to LA in person and submitted my and my family members' passports early in the morning at 8:30 am and got them back around 2:45 pm. It went smooth, no hiccups.
For those who are planning to go for visa stamping in person, let me share my experiences. Since I am currently located within the U.S., I had decided to get the work done the same day. So I flew in to LA very early in the morn. I arrived at LAX at 6:30 am. It was quite chilly. The airport was empty. I strolled around a bit and decided to take super shuttle to the address of the Canadian consulate. I am glad that I did, because they charged only $16 whereas the taxi fare would be as much as $60 plus. So for those who are not driving, you can consider this option. The shuttle dropped me me off right in front of the consulate building. It appeared to me that the shuttle drivers know the place pretty well.
So I got to the hope st around 7:30 am--meaning I still had a good 1 hour before they would open the office. I strolled around bit and got inside the building. Remember that the consulate elevator would not start working until after 8:15 am as that's when they would allow you to get inside. I went to the 9th floor at around 8:20 am. I think I was the first person to get there but was followed by quite a few. The security guy was pretty friendly. So I went through the security and was seated. The immigration officers opened the window at 8:30 am sharp. I had to wait for another window to open as the first officer wasn't accepting passports for PR visas. I didn't have to wait for too long though as another guy opened the second window and I was asked to submit my documents to him. So I did. He checked if my passport had enough pages for visa stamping, the photos, RPRF fees, etc. and put them all in one file. Finally he gave me a token and asked me to come back at 2:30 pm for passport pick up. It all went smoothly.
I came out of the consulate building and grabbed a cup of coffee from starbucks one block from hope st. Then I strolled around a bit, aimlessly, since I did not know a specific place I wanted to go. However, one block from the hope st there's Macy's mall, if you are interested, although I did not find it fascinating or anything. Later I discovered that LA Public Library is right next to the consulate office. So here's an idea for those who are going to LA for visa stamping. I went there around noon. It's pretty big and you can sit there and read book for as long as you want.
Anyway, I came back to the consulate office after 2 pm. While waiting I befriended a couple of Indian guys. We went up around 2:15pm. followed the same security check procedures and were seated. They opened the window at 2:35 pm. When my turn came I was told that my passports weren't ready yet. I was shocked and worried as I had my return ticket booked already. Anyway I soon calmed down as I got to learn that I should get it back anyway. And I didn't have to wait for too long. I was called and they returned the passports and CPRs in one envelop. The officer asked me to check the spellings, etc. which I did. Afterwards, I came out of the consulate a relieved man. So that's all from my side. Thank God, it went smooth. If anyone has any specific questions, please let me know.
I thank everyone once again for all valuable suggestions through this long journey. Please wish me luck with landing and life thereafter.
Best wishes to you all.
Bonny
. I had written to LA VO couple of times, but haven't heard back from them too.