Background: Indian Citizen with H1B visa living in USA
1. April 6, 2019 - Submitted all the necessary documents online and paid 185 CAD in cic site.
2. April 6, 2019 - 2 notifications/updates in my cic profile. 'Confirmation of Online Application Transmission' and 'Submission Confirmation'.
3. April 7, 2019 - 'Biometrics Collection Letter' notification/update in my cic profile.
4. April 11, 2019 - Provided Biometrics at New York VAC. Appointment was needed. I booked the appointment at
https://www.vfsglobal.ca/Canada/usa/schedule-an-appointment.html. Original Passport and 'Biometrics Collection Letter' printout were needed for the appointment.
5. April 15, 2019 - 2 notifications/updates in my cic profile. 'Correspondence Letter' and 'Original Passport Request'.
6. April 17,2019 - Dropped off my passport in person at New York VAC. No appointment needed. Printout of Passport request, Original Passport, 2 signed consent forms, Contact information printout (address, email and ph no) and payment of USD 19.90. They accept cards. They gave me a receipt.
7. April 18, 2019 - Passport ready for pick up. 5 email notifications from VFS between April 17th and 18th.
8. April 22, 2019 - Picked up the passport in person. The receipt which they gave during passport drop off and id proof (US driving license/state id) were needed for passport pick up.
Instead of going in person, Passport dropoff and pick up can be done through post/courier. But I would strongly suggest to do it in person. During my 3 visits (biomentrics, passport dropoff, passport pickup) to New York VAC, Many people who chose the postal method were there to complain about that their passports were not received.