Hi,

I applied for a work permit, for a postdoc position, in person at the Canadian Consulate in New York City on June 3rd. I am an Egyptian Citizen and my wife is Russian (we both hold F1 visas in the U.S.). The officer told me that I should come in person to get my work permit after 10 business days. However, I contacted them by email after 14 days to make sure that the work permit is ready before I head to New York (200 miles from my residence place). They told me that my file will not be finalized until July 6th and that I can send a self-addressed envelope to get my documents back. Until now it is more than 6 weeks and I have not heard from them, and the mail tracking system shows that they have not yet sent my documents back. I sent an inquiry but no any reply. Now, I feel a bit worried. Should I make a trip to New York City to ask about the status of my application, or this is normal? I appreciate any help!

Unfortunately, it seems common for applications at this visa office to run considerably over their predicted delays recently. Cases that previously took as little as one week to process there are now taking as many as 10-12.