Foreign Canadian Residents Face World’s Longest US Visa Wait Times, Exceeding 800 Days – VisaGuide.News

While countries like India and Mexico have seen improvements in visa appointment wait times since November 2022, the situation in Canada is showing the opposite.

As a result, foreign Canadian residents needing a United States visa are facing the longest wait times globally, VisaGuide.World reports.

Canadian Cities Dominate Global List of Longest US Visa Wait Times

Among the ten most extended wait times worldwide, six are at US embassy and consulate locations in Canada. Applicants for B1/B2 visitor visas in Ottawa or Quebec City currently endure the longest waits, with appointments averaging 850 days. Halifax follows closely at 840 days and Calgary at 839 days. Toronto and Vancouver have wait times of 753 and 731 days, respectively.

According to CBC News, wait times are subject to change, as Toronto recently recorded the longest wait globally at 900 days earlier this month. Other locations with significant wait times include destinations as follows:

• Istanbul, Türkiye (774 days)
• Bogotá, Colombia (677 days)
• Guatemala City, Guatemala (645 days)
• Hermosillo, Mexico (576 days)

Canada’s Visa Wait Times Surge to 810 Days Despite Global Reductions

In November 2022, Toronto’s average wait time of 464 days placed it 23rd globally, while Calgary was 30th with a 371-day wait. At that time, the global average was 167 days, with Canadian residents facing an average wait of 345. However currently, the global average wait time for a US visitor visa is 151 days, but Canadian residents now face an extraordinary 810-day wait.

Globally, wait times have improved at 109 locations but worsened at 84, including all six Canadian sites that offer visa appointments. While applicants from countries like India and Mexico, which had the longest waits in 2022 (972 and 622 days, respectively), now face waits of just over a year, those from China enjoy a much shorter 40-day wait.

US Warns of Visa Scam Exploiting Canadian Wait Times

The prolonged wait times have prompted US officials to warn about scammers targeting Canadian foreign residents with offers of expedited appointments for a fee. As VisaGuide.World previously reported, thousands of people have fallen victim to such schemes. The US State Department has set a goal to reduce interview wait times to under 90 days at 90 percent of its overseas posts by 2024.

Although Canadian citizens do not need a visa to visit the US, many residents of Canada, including permanent residents, students, and temporary workers, do. Statistics Canada’s 2021 census shows 3.1 million Canadian residents are without Canadian citizenship, including 2.2 million permanent residents.