VFS Global Visa Application Centre - New York — Local services in New York

Hopefully the following can help people who are stressed out by the enormous negative reviews based on my experience in applying Canadian Tourist Visa. Biometric Experience: I submitted my application online and received the biometric in few hours. I made account in the NY CVAC website for appointment. The website EASILY IP BANS YOU WITHOUT WARNINGS (wrong password or leaving the page open for a long time). But since is IP ban, you can use another device to access your account and book from there if have to. Remember to print the VAC appointment as well as the IRCC requested documents.

When I got there, the security directs the floor to go (3). Take the VAC as entering highly secured embassy: DON'T BRING IN ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE DOCUMENTS NEEDED and DON'T ARRIVE TOO EARLY (follow what the appointment letter said). The process was pretty quick (less than 10 minutes). It was a Thursday, so I assume not many people book that day. Passport submission: In 2 weeks I got the passport submission letter from IRCC to send passport to VAC. I decided to travel and submit my passport physically (no appointments needed). This time it took me 45 minutes of wait (I assume because it was a Monday).

This is where I have issue with VAC: THEY NO LONGER ALLOW PASSPORT PICKUP ON SITE because it is "peak season." I was mad because I hated the idea of having my passport (which contains my US Visa) having sent via courier, which risks losing it. The VAC manager should understand that for some of us, VISAs in the passport are literally THE PILLAR OF OUR FUTURE. Losing them means we have to renew and risk the chance of wrongfully denied. Also I hated courier service because my apartment is old style with no door bell. I had to sit outside the whole day waiting for the package. I left 5 star just for people who only reads very bad and good reviews, but my honest review is 3 star just because of this.

The lady that handled my application was nice to explain the steps however. She made sure I checked my return address 3 times before taking my passport from me. Very decent customer service in general.

I received SMS and emails on where my passport is at, so I'm pretty lucky that the system worked for me: Monday: Submitted passport in the morning and was sent to IRCC around 6pm. Tuesday: IRCC received my passport and began processing around 1pm. Wednesday: IRCC dispatched my documents to VAC around 3pm. Thursday: VAC received, printed FEDEX label and sent to FEDEX between 9am-4pm. Friday: Received my passport with VISA in it.

Extra things I learned from the negative comments and my experience, hopefully giving you better decision on applying visa, and what the service is like:

1. try not to rely on two-way courier service. is better you pay extra for plane ticket and hotel than losing your passport and VISAs in transit (unless your passport is new and has nothing in it or you are willing to gamble your VISAs). Basically the less you rely on courier service, the better.
2. VAC respond to email and call very slowly. I tried their email system, it takes 3 business days. also their online chat is not working.
3. arrive exactly as what your appointment states and no bags/foods/drinks/etc. I strongly recommend having a hotel nearby (for people who don't live in NY) and have your bags/food/etc. stored there.
4. compared to some government officials I've worked with, VAC employees are pretty decent. the securities are tough, but are just doing their job. funny enough I saw a few rude customers instead (giving attitude for getting kicked out because they came way earlier than stated in their appointment form, or did not present a document that clearly stated they have to in the website). note there is no waiting room in the lobby, and remember: you are visiting a government commissioned company, not a resort.
5. assume you will take the whole day for a simple process in VAC.
6. call or email them if their pick-up service is available before applying visa (if you are...

Abstract: While in the waiting for my VISA appointment, I conducted an entire scientific experiment with the goal of quantifying wait times in VFS Global. I found that over the span of 1 hour, 12 tokens were called, meaning that we can expect 1 person to be called every 5 minutes. The results of this study will benefit myself, other VFS customers, potential VFS customers, and potentially VFS itself. By being informed about the rate at which people are called for their visa appointment, customers can plan their schedules accordingly. Perhaps VFS will also adjust the number of available time slots for customers to sign up for.

Observations: When I walked into the building and went through security, everything went as expected. I was then led to an elevator, but the security guard’s directions were unclear, and he got a bit mad that I didn’t understand.

Then I got to the waiting room and Brendan was extremely helpful and patient with me when I got mixed up between which documents I needed. He was doing a great job as the other staff members were continuously calling him over.

Some staff were very helpful, while others seemed easily annoyed.

I counted approximately 30 people waiting in the waiting room. I would estimate that every 10 minutes, 2-4 people got called to get their token.

Question: How long will it take before I am called from the waiting room?

Research: Some reviewers state that they completed the entire process in less than 15 minutes. Others waited 4 hours. Many expressed anger at not being able to bring food, water, or their computer after being forced to wait much longer than they expected (me included). Some suggest that it is only early morning appointments that are able to be completed in a short amount of time. Others suggest that there is a staffing shortage and that staff are underpaid, which may contribute to their negative attitudes.

Hypothesis: As my assigned appointment was not an early morning appointment, I should expect to wait a long time before my appointment.

According to my estimate of 2-4 people being called every 10 minutes and my count of 30 people in the waiting room, I should expect to wait a total of 75-150 minutes before being called. This is just an estimation, which is why study is being conducted to better constrain the length of time I should expect to wait.

Experiment: I noted every time that someone gets called to one of the booths within a one hour time period. I used this to extrapolate the time I will get called for my appointment.

Results: Over the span of one hour, 12 tokens were called. This means that on average, 1 person will be called every 5 minutes. There were some periods where many tokens were called in a short window of time and other periods with fewer.

Discussion: Being that there were 30 people ahead of me on line, I should have expected to wait 150 minutes for my appointment. This prediction was very accurate, as I waited 145 minutes (2 hours 25 minutes) in reality. One can calculate with fairly good accuracy how long one will need to wait for one’s visa by multiplying the number of people in the waiting room by 5 minutes.

Implications: As I was able to accurately predict how long I needed to wait for my visa, VFS should also have the ability to create an appointment registration website that accurately reflects the true appointment time. For VFS I posit the question: what is the purpose of scheduling an appointment time, if the actual appointment may be several...

Would rate zero stars if I could — utterly disrespectful, disorganized, and humiliating experience at VFS New York

I wasn’t planning to write a review, but this experience left me both frustrated and deeply disappointed.

I had an appointment scheduled for 11:30 AM, but I wasn’t able to leave the building until almost 4:00 PM. Despite having an official appointment time, there was absolutely no proper queue management, no clear communication, and no respect for applicants’ time. People were left standing around for hours with no updates, no explanation — just being told to “wait” while the staff moved at their own pace.

What made this worse was the treatment I received as an Asian applicant. From the moment I arrived at the 3rd floor, the staff at the elevator barely acknowledged me. One took my document without a word, didn’t explain a thing, and simply pointed a finger for me to walk away. It was cold, dismissive, and left me standing there confused and uncomfortable in a government service office where professionalism should be standard.

At the counter, when I handed over my visa photo, the staff picked it up, glanced at it with a look that made me feel blatantly judged and dismissed. There was a brief moment where I felt genuinely humiliated — like I wasn’t being seen as a person but as something lesser. No words were spoken, no instructions given. They just grabbed it, stared, and tossed it aside with a condescending air. It was a small gesture, but it carried weight — a silent, cutting kind of rudeness you don’t easily forget.

Then, while I was trying to ask about my documents, the staff casually started humming and singing while handling my case. It felt incredibly disrespectful and dismissive — as though my application wasn’t important enough to deserve proper attention. It was unprofessional, and as someone who came alone, it made me feel small and invisible.

Another issue — despite handing over my official Schengen visa photo, they ended up using the quick photo taken during my fingerprints instead. No one informed me about this decision. No one asked for my consent. They just took my photo, kept my official one, and used a low-quality picture without explanation. For a visa application process, this is unacceptable.

I can’t help but question whether this careless, indifferent behavior was partially because of my race and appearance — a young Asian woman, navigating this process alone in a foreign country. No one should ever be left wondering about that in a professional environment.

For an organization trusted to handle sensitive personal documents and applications, this level of neglect, disorganization, and lack of basic human decency is deeply concerning.

I sincerely hope both VFS Global and the Netherlands Embassy take this feedback seriously. VFS New York desperately needs to retrain its staff on professionalism, customer care, and cultural sensitivity.

This was one of the most unpleasant, disorganized, and humiliating administrative experiences...