The Buffalo Shuffle Ending

From Yahoo Canada:
"Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate"

The Harper government is closing the Canadian consulate in Buffalo only 18 months after spending more than $1.5 million on renovations and signing a 10-year lease that is almost certain to stick taxpayers with millions in rent for empty offices, CBC News has learned. Foreign Affairs is expected to announce the closure, which will affect about 75 employees, sometime next week. One official estimates that abandoning the consulate's two floors in Buffalo's tallest downtown office tower will leave Canadian taxpayers on the hook for about $8 million in rent (that includes the renovation costs) between now and the end of the lease in 2020. The closure of one of Canada’s largest and oldest diplomatic outposts in the United States is the result of federal budget cuts and a major change to immigration rules. For decades, foreign students and temporary workers in the Toronto area wanting to extend their stay in Canada have been forced to travel to the Buffalo consulate to apply for the necessary changes to their visas. But the Harper government is putting an end to what became known in immigration circles as the "Buffalo shuffle" by getting rid of the requirement that foreigners have to leave the country for interviews regarding a requested visa change. Instead, officials say, foreigners wanting to alter their visas will be able to apply and pay the necessary fees online, and if an interview with Canadian officials is necessary, they will be conducted at immigration offices in Canada. All of the remaining functions of the Buffalo mission will be taken over by the consulate in New York City, the second-largest Canadian diplomatic office in the U.S. next to the main embassy in Washington.

^ It does seem a little dumb to spend all the money to fix the place up and sign a long lease just to turn around and shut it. I do like the new rule that will allow people to change their visa status inside Canada rather than leaving the country. ^

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada-closing-consulate-buffalo-n-y-144159594.html