When you add an applicant on the US visa appointment site for Canada (ais.usvisa-info.com), one question decides which appointments you will ever be shown:
Are you traveling from another country to apply for a U.S. visa in Canada?
The site adds a hint underneath: "Answer no if you live in Canada or you are a citizen of Canada."
Applicants call the two answers TCN Yes and TCN No. TCN stands for third country national: someone who is neither a citizen nor a resident of the country where they apply.
Key Point: Yes and No are not just a form field. They put you in two separate appointment pools. If you live in the United States and fly to Canada only for the interview, the correct answer is Yes.
What the Question Decides
| Your answer | Who it is for | Which dates you see |
|---|---|---|
| No (TCN No) | Canadian citizens and people who live in Canada | The local pool |
| Yes (TCN Yes) | Anyone traveling to Canada just to apply, such as H-1B, H-4, L-1 or F-1 holders living in the US | The visitor (TCN) pool |
The two pools release dates independently. A date that a Toronto resident can book may never appear in the TCN pool, and the other way round.
The TCN pool is small. Between September 2 and October 13, 2026, we tracked H-1B/H-4 TCN dates within the following 90 days at all seven Canadian posts. Vancouver showed 26 different interview dates over those six weeks. Calgary and Ottawa showed one each. Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Quebec City showed none.
Why People Answer No When They Shouldn't
The local pool usually has earlier dates, and for years nobody checked the answer. Many applicants living in the US picked No to get an earlier interview.
That stopped being safe in late 2025.
What Happens If You Answer No Without Living in Canada
These are first-hand accounts shared by applicants:
| When | Post | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Late September 2025 onward | Vancouver | The consulate emailed applicants holding TCN No appointments and asked them to confirm their legal status in Canada, with a deadline three days before the interview |
| October 2025 | Vancouver | An applicant who replied with only a Canadian visitor visa had an October 8 interview cancelled and was automatically rebooked into the earliest TCN Yes date, in August 2026 |
| October 2025 | Vancouver | An applicant who replied with a Canadian work permit kept the appointment |
| February 2026 | Toronto | A TCN No applicant on visitor status was interviewed without any check |
| March 2026 | Toronto | A TCN No applicant holding a Canadian open work permit was turned away at the fingerprint window and told to reschedule |
Two things stand out. Enforcement is uneven and changes without notice. And when it lands on you, the cost is high:
- You lose the date and get the earliest TCN date instead, which can be many months later.
- The visa fee is not refunded.
- In Canada every cancellation and reschedule counts toward the appointment attempt limit. See our article on the Canada 3-attempt limit.
- Flights and hotels for the original date are wasted.
The Toronto applicant phoned the embassy afterward. The answer was that with an open work permit, booking as TCN Yes is fine at any post.
"Conditional tcn" on the Details Page Is Not Your Answer
The applicant details page has a Special Programs box with a line called "Conditional tcn". Many applicants see a value there that looks different from what they chose and assume the site ignored their answer.
That line is a summary. It reflects the citizen or permanent resident declaration, not the travel question. Do not use it to check which pool you are in.
To check your real answer, open Edit for the applicant and look at the travel question itself.
Which Answer Is Right for You
| Your situation | Answer |
|---|---|
| You live in the US on H-1B, H-4, L-1, F-1 or OPT and will visit Canada for the interview | Yes |
| You hold a Canadian visitor visa or a Canadian work permit but actually live in the US | Yes |
| You live in Canada as a permanent resident, worker or student | No, and bring proof of your status |
| You are a Canadian citizen | No. Canadian citizens do not need a visa for most categories, including H-1B and F-1 |
| You hold Canadian PR but live in the US | Grey area. The question asks where you live. Applicants in this position report using No without being challenged, because they can show legal status in Canada |
The question asks where you live, not which documents you hold.
If You Already Booked Under No
Change it yourself before the consulate does it for you. Applicants who switched on their own report that they then had to book again from the TCN calendar.
Doing it early gives you a choice of TCN dates. Waiting for the email or the window refusal leaves you with whatever the system assigns.
How LuckyBee Treats This Question
When an order is placed, LuckyBee reads the applicant's answer on the account and compares it with the pool the order asks for. If they do not match, we stop before booking anything and tell you why. We never change your answers and never change your password.
For applicants in the TCN pool, the free Telegram channels US Visa Slot Alert H1B (CA) and US Visa Slot Alert F1 (CA) post TCN dates as they appear. Both are listed on our Slot Alerts page.
FAQ
Q: What does TCN mean on the US visa appointment site? A: Third country national. It means you are applying in a country where you are neither a citizen nor a resident, for example a Chinese or Indian national living in the US who interviews in Canada.
Q: I live in the US on H-1B and will fly to Vancouver for the interview. Yes or No? A: Yes. You are traveling from another country to apply, which is exactly what the question asks.
Q: I answered No to get an earlier date. What should I do? A: Change it to Yes and rebook from the TCN calendar before the consulate checks. Vancouver has emailed TCN No applicants for proof of legal status in Canada since late 2025, and Toronto has turned applicants away at the window since March 2026.
Q: Does answering Yes make a refusal more likely? A: The State Department says applicants outside their country of nationality or residence may find it harder to qualify. In the 2026 accounts we reviewed from Vancouver and Toronto, TCN Yes interviews went through normally, usually with a short social media review. Nothing guarantees an approval.
Q: Why does my details page show "Conditional tcn" with a different value from what I chose? A: That line summarizes the citizen or permanent resident declaration, not the travel question. Check the travel question on the Edit page instead.