A notice was issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) recently regarding certain changes in filing locations for persons applying from the United States or Canada for certain visas. According to CIC, the services offered from their offices in Buffalo, New York have been transferred across the North American network. The CIC says that this is a part of their broader strategy to centralize more of their overseas processing in Canada.
For visits to Canada lasting less than 6 months most Americans do not require visas. However, residents of the United States who are nationals of certain countries that require a visa to enter Canada need to apply for a visa. A list of visa exempt countries can be found on the CIC’s website.
A person living in the United States, but who is neither an American citizen or permanent resident, and belongs to a country that requires a Canandian visa, then that person needs to file his or her visa application at the Canadian visa offices at Los Angeles, Seattle, Detroit, Washington, D.C., or New York. People who have already filed their applications at the Buffalo office need not apply afresh. Their application will be processed completely at the Buffalo office itself. Applicants will be contacted with the final decision. Eligible students are encouraged to continue to apply online through MyCIC.
Americans or nationals of other countries seeking a study visa or a temporary work permit can submit their visa applications to the visa offices in Los Angeles and New York. People who have already filed for study and temporary work permits in Buffalo, Washington, D.C., Seattle and Detroit offices need not submit fresh applications, Their application will be processed to completion in these offices itself. Applicants will be contacted with the final decision.
Temporary residents in Canada who need a new visa can sumbit their applications to the Case Processing Pilot in Ottawa (CPP-O). Temporary residents who want to extend their stay in Canada need to submit their applications online through MyCIC.
An American or a national of another country currently residing in the United States or in Canada and who wants to apply for permanent residence in Canada through the Economic Class has to submit the application to the Centralized Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (CIO-S). If applying through the Family Class, the applications have to be submitted to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (CPC-M). Applications at both these locations that have been screened for positive eligibility will be forwarded to CPP-O for further processing. Applications currently in the Buffalo office will be transferred to CPP-O for processing. The processing centers will contact the applicants for the next step of processing or with the final decision.
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