January 29, 2013 — Effective January 29, 2013, the Visa and Immigration Sections at the Canadian Embassy in Caracas and the Canadian Consulates General in Detroit and Seattle are closed. In addition, the Visa and Immigration Section at the Embassy in Washington, D.C. will have some services transferred to other offices. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is making changes to the way it operates in Canada and abroad. It is stepping up the pace of modernizing the way it works.
Closures to our operations network are not simply a matter of achieving savings; they are also a result of the transformative change that is taking place in program delivery. For example, online submission of applications for temporary resident lines of business is now available and makes it possible to move processing to where capacity exists. By centralizing some of this work, we can reduce our overseas network with a view to better focus programs and services, streamline internal operations, transform the way we do business and achieve better results for Canadians. The decision to close this visa office is tied to that strategy.
Persons who have already submitted applications do not need to do anything. Their files will continue to be processed. People who are submitting new Temporary Resident applications should do so online. Persons applying for Permanent Residence should continue to submit applications to the centralised offices in Canada, unless otherwise directed by CIC.
