From the CBC:
“Canadian residents face the longest waits in the world for U.S. visas”
A
CBC News analysis of wait times for appointments to obtain U.S. tourist visas
shows that while wait times in countries like India and Mexico have been
improving since November 2022, wait times in Canada have been getting worse. Six
of the 10 longest wait times around the world were recorded at the U.S. embassy
and consulate offices in Canada that offer visa appointments.
Currently,
those who apply for a B1/B2 visitor visa appointment in Ottawa or Quebec City
face the longest wait times in the world — 850 days. Halifax is not far behind
at 840 days, followed by Calgary at 839 days. Getting a visa appointment in
Toronto takes 753 days, while in Vancouver it's 731 days. Wait times can
fluctuate from day to day. Earlier this month, Toronto had the longest wait
time in the world — 900 days. The other locations with the longest current wait
times are Istanbul, Turkey (774 days), Bogota, Colombia (677 days), Guatemala
City, Guatemala (645 days) and Hermosillo, Mexico (576 days).
Why do Canadian residents have to wait so long for a U.S. visitor visa? American lawyer Greg Boos explains why there is a
processing backlog for Canadians' U.S. visitor visa applications. In
November 2022, a 464-day average wait time put Toronto in 23rd place around the
world, followed by Calgary in 30th place with a 371-day wait. In 2022,
the average wait time around the world was 167 days, while the average wait
time for Canadian residents was 345 days. Today, the average global wait time
for a U.S. visitor visa appointment is 151 days — but the average wait time for
Canadian residents has ballooned to 810 days.
U.S. warns of scams targeting visa applicants The wait times are now so long that U.S. officials are
warning of scammers preying on Canadian residents by promising them quicker
appointments in return for money. Applicants from India or Mexico —
which topped the list of average wait times in 2022 at 972 and 622 days,
respectively — now have to wait little more than a year, while applicants from
China face a 40-day wait for a visa interview. Wait times have decreased
at 109 locations around the world and have increased at 84 locations, including
all six Canadian locations that offer visa appointments.
U.S.
embassy officials declined CBC News' request for an interview but blamed the
long wait times on increased demand. "Across Canada, our embassy and
consulate teams are processing a record number of visas," the embassy said
in a media statement. "In 2023, the U.S. Embassy and consulates in Canada
issued more than 230,000 non-immigrant visas, the highest number ever." The
embassy refused to disclose the number of applications it has received from
Canadian residents in recent years, or to state whether security checks are
affecting wait times. The embassy said it is committed to reducing wait times
and has started a program to allow applicants to move existing appointments to
earlier dates at no additional cost. The wait times published on the U.S.
Department of State website reflect the first appointment currently available. "Most
applicants are getting interviews within 12 months of scheduling their
appointment," the embassy wrote. "Applicants with urgent travel needs
who meet certain criteria, including urgent business, humanitarian, or medical
criteria, can always apply for an expedited appointment." In a January
update, the State Department said its goal for 2024 was to bring interview wait
times down under 90 days in 90 per cent of its overseas posts.
While
Canadian citizens do not require a visa to visit the United States, that's not
the case for millions of others living in Canada, such as permanent residents,
students and temporary workers. Statistics Canada's 2021 census counted 3.1
million Canadian residents who did not have Canadian citizenship; 2.2 million
of them were permanent residents. If a Canadian resident comes from one of 41
countries where the U.S. has waived the visa requirement — such as Australia,
Israel and many European countries — the only requirement is to fill out an
Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application.
But
Canadian residents who come from countries that don't have visa waiver
arrangements with the United States — such as India, China, Mexico and many
countries in Africa and South America — have to apply for a B1/B2 visa. In
February 2023, six U.S. senators sent a letter to the State Department's Bureau
of Consular Affairs complaining that it was taking an average of 25 weeks
around the world to get a U.S. visitor visa appointment. "These delays
impact industries, businesses, universities and families across the United
States," the senators wrote. "Businesses that rely on tourism suffer
when would-be customers cannot get a visa appointment in a timely manner."
The
U.S. Travel Association has been lobbying the U.S. government to reduce what it
has described as "outrageous" visa interview wait times, saying it
creates a chilling effect on tourism to the U.S. "Excessive wait times
severely undercut U.S. global competitiveness and the Biden administration's
national goal for inbound visitation," the association said in a
statement. "The U.S. Department of State must remain laser focused on
solving this critical issue." The association was at a loss to explain why
the wait times for residents of the U.S.'s closest neighbour are among the
highest in the world. American immigration lawyer Greg Boos said the long wait
times for Canadian residents are the result of short-staffing at the State
Department and an increase in applications. "The consulates are always
short-staffed," said Boos, who works with Cascadia Cross Border Law in
Bellingham, Washington. "In my whole career, they have never had enough
staff." Boos said the consulates have been working on clearing the
backlog, which was made worse by the pandemic. "They started working
through the family visas first, they got through those," Boos said.
"Then they started working through the business visas. It took them a long
time to get through those backlogs. But there was a big backlog that developed
for the tourist visas or the B1/B2 visas. And they haven't gotten through
those." Recent immigration to Canada is also playing a role, said Boos. "Many
of the people that the Canadian government is accepting, and many people who
are coming there in refugee status and in those kinds of statuses, they are not
from the ESTA countries," he said. "They are from countries where the
United States requires them to get a formal visa prior to coming to visit the
United States." Boos said the U.S. could reduce visa wait times by
increasing the number of interview waivers for some categories of visas, hiring
more consular officers and extending operating hours at consulates.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/u-s-visas-canadian-residents-delays-1.7301250
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