Visa to USA for Canadian permanent residents

[toby]

Once you are a PR, you still need a consular visa to travel through or to the the USA. Has anyone solved this problem?

For example, has any recent PR obtained a multi-year travel visa for the US? Or must one wait for several years before the USA will have enough confidence to grant a multi-year visa?

There is also the "NEXUS" card (is that the right name?) , which allows unrestricted travel to then US, but I hear it takes about three years before the US will award one to a new PR.

 

[scylla]

I can only comment on Nexus. To qualify for Nexus, you must be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada or the United States, and lived continuously in one or both of those countries for at least the past three years.

Note that the Nexus card does not allow unrestricted travel to the US. It just allows you to bypass formal immigration/customs.

 

[steaky]

Anybody tried calling the telephone numbers from this website?

http://vancouver.usconsulate.gov/content/textonly.asp?section=visas&subsection1=&subsection2=&document=applying


I tried one, but in the end it ask me to hang up and try later

 

[Rossei]

I want to make this topic live again!

My wife and I have recently become PR in Canada. We haven't received our PR cards yet. I've been living (studying+working) in Canada for last 7 years and possess 5-year long US Visitor Visa (B2) which will expire in 2013. Now, I want my wife to apply for it as well. She landed in Canada few weeks back and not working or studying at this moment. I know that she should stay in Canada for a considerable time before applying for US Visa.

I was long planning to fly to Texas to meet my old school friends who are either working or in post-grad level. And I have like 10 days off from work during this coming X-Mas. Moreover, I live only 2 blocks away from US Consulate-Toronto.

So, what's your thought on this? Should she wait much longer before applying for a US Visitor Visa? Or, we can give a shot.

 

[foreverlove]

Hi everyone! I am a permanent resident and i would like to visit my Mom who lives in Wisconsin,USA. Do i need to get a us visa? Where should i go to get it and how long will it takes? I live in Saskatchewan .I hope someone here can answer my questions.Thanks.

 

[newtone]

Your wife needs a visa, Canadian PR is not a replacement for Canadian passport. If she needed visa before she got PR she will require a visa to go to US after getting PR. Just apply there should not be a problem

 

[foreverlove]

Hi newtone! how long does it takes to get us visa?

 

[Alabaman]

2 days from the day of interview... but first you have to book an appointment with one of the US embassies.

 

[foreverlove]

2 days from the day of interview... but first you have to book an appointment with one of the US embassies.

Thanks for the reply, and how long will it takes to book for an appointment? My husband and I are planning to visit my Mom in the US on the last week of December . Do you think I can have visa before that time?

 

[newtone]

No, it takes atleast 3 weeks to get an appointment date and then once you get the interview give another 5 business days for the passport to arrive at a DHL facility

 

[foreverlove]

No, it takes atleast 3 weeks to get an appointment date and then once you get the interview give another 5 business days for the passport to arrive at a DHL facility

Thanks newtone! if ever i got a visa do you know how long before it expires?

 

[Alabaman]

Thanks newtone! if ever i got a visa do you know how long before it expires?

How long it takes to get an appointment depends on the embassy. So check the calendar for the embassies you would like to attend your interview at. I know it can be hard to get an interview date at the Toronto embassy and relatively easy to get a date at the Calgary embassy.

If granted a visa, the expiration date would be up to the consular officer. It is not unusual to get 10 year visa as a Canadian PR. However, I have heard of PRs granted just 3 months visa.

 

[Aithnielle]

Hi everyone ! I am in canada for about a month and half and plan to apply for US visa as soon as my permanent resident card arrives! That should be in a few weeks. So i will just need my Armenian passprt and Canadian PR card to apply ? Is that just it ? And what are the chances for getting a visa ? And if i do get it, for how long is it issued ? Thanks in advance

 

[Msafiri]

You need to prove to the US consular officer that you will leave the US after your visit...he/she will look at your ties to Canada or any other country. Unless you've established some solid ties in your very short time in Canada you risk a refusal...ties effectively means a solid job that you will come back to...others include family, education, bank balance etc but they carry less weight on review. If granted visa then duration may be from 3 - 120 months depends on your citizenship and if consulate decides you are low risk.

 

[Dejaavu]

Msafiri is right.
Basically any US visa applicant seeking to get a non-immigrant visa to the US has to prove to the consular officer that he/she is not an intending immigrant to the US. The burden of proof is on the applicant. The biggest factors are having a job and family ties.
My friend applied right after he landed as PR and he was rejected. The consular officer said he didn't have enough ties in Canada to come back to.
The same goes for Canadian citizens and visa-waiver countries citizens seeking admission at the port of entry in to the US. Although they do not need visas, they have to prove to US Customs and Border Protection officers that they are not intending immigrants and they are in the US for temporary visit and that they have strong ties to the countries they reside permanently.

I know quite a few stories of even Canadian citizens denied entry to the US as they couldn't convince a CBP officer they were not intending immigrants to the US.