On January 28 and 29, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) announced the closure of two overseas offices, and further restructured its North American Processing Network. The restructuring includes the closure of immigration sections of the Canadian consulates in Detroit and Seattle.
Closure of Detroit and Seattle Visa Offices
Effectively immediately, the visa offices in Seattle and Detroit are closed. As well, the visa office at Washington D.C. will be very limited in the services which it provides.
New U.S. and Canada based Temporary Resident Visa, Study Permit, and Work Permit applications can now be submitted on-line, or to the appropriate visa office as described in the table below. In brief, study permits will be processed in Los Angeles, and work permits will be processed in New York.
Individuals with applications in processing do not need to take any steps to ensure that the processing of their applications will continue, as their files are being transferred to their respective new offices.
Online
New York
Los Angeles
Washington D.C.
Visitor Visas
Visitor Visas
Visitor Visas
Services for diplomats, government officials, and their family members
Work Permits
Work Permits
Study Permits
Study Permits
Temporary Resident Permits
Temporary Resident Permits
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation
Authorizations to Return to Canada
Authorizations to Return to Canada
As well, permanent residence applications in the economic programs and the Family Class will no longer be referred from the Central Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia (the “CIO“), or the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario (“CPC-M“), to visa offices in the United States.
Ending of Immigration Services at the Canadian Embassies in Seoul and Caracas
Effective immediately, CIC is no longer processing applications at the Canadian Embassies in Seoul, South Korea, and Caracas, Venezuela. Depending on the type of application,
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Restructuring of North American Processing Network (Continued)
In a previous post, I wrote about how on May 29, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) restructured its North American Processing Network. The restructuring included the closure of immigration section of the Canadian consualte in Buffalo, as well as the realigninment of Work Permit and Study Permit functions of the Canadian consulates in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Detroit, and Seattle. For information on those changes, I encourage you to read that post.
On June 11, 2012, CIC released a further Operational Bulletin detailing additional changes to which consulates which process Temporary Resident Permit applications, Rehab applications, and Authorization to Return to Canada applications. .
Re-Configuring the U.S. Network (TRPs, Rehab, and ARC)
Effectively June 18, the Seattle, Detroit, and New York consulates will no longer be processing new TRP, Rehab, and ARC applications. Only the Los Angeles and Washington DC consulates will process new applications in these categories. Furthermore, applicants residing in the United States will not be able to choose which consulate to submit their application to. Applicants living in the United States east of the Mississippi River (including in Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and St. Pierre et Miqueldon) must apply to the Washington DC Consulate. Applicants residing in the United States living west of the Mississippi River must apply to the Los Angeles consulate.
The following table more clearly shows the breakdown of the new immigration duties of the US Consulates.
New York
Los Angeles
Washington D.C.
Detroit
Seattle
Visitor Visa
Verification of Entry
Returning Resident
Visitor Visa
Verification of Entry
Returning Resident
Visitor Visa
Verification of Entry
Returning Resident
Visitor Visa
Verification of Entry
Returning Resident
Study Permit (U.S.
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