Canadian Landed Immigrants Need Visas
Posted Mar 07, 2003

Starting March 17, 2003, most landed immigrants of Canada will need a visa and valid passport to enter the U.S. This is a change from the previous rule allowing Canadian landed immigrants, who had a common nationality with Canadians, to enter the U.S. without passports and visas. This former rule was known as the "Commonwealth Rule," as it applied to nationals of Ireland and the British Commonwealth. Canadian landed immigrants who are nationals of such countries as India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, among others, previously qualified under the Commonwealth Rule and did not need a visa to visit the U.S. as tourists. They will now need valid visas and passports to enter the U.S. for any reason. The complete list of subject countries is available on the Canadian Embassy WebSite under their "Traveling to the USA?" section.

The change is the result of ongoing security concerns. There is a limited exception for those landed immigrants who are also citizens of visa waiver countries. The visa waiver countries that are also part of the Commonwealth are Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Landed immigrants from these countries will continue to be able to enter the U.S. as visitors for business or pleasure, provided their stays are less than 90 days long. Landed immigrants from non-commonwealth, visa waiver countries are also not affected by this change and can continue to enter the U.S. under the visa waiver provisions.

The U.S. Embassy in Canada recently announced its new procedures for processing applications for Canadian landed immigrants who want to travel to the U.S. Detailed information can be found on the Embassy's WebSite, in the section cited above. Essentially, landed immigrants from non-commonwealth, visa waiver countries will have to make an application for a nonimmigrant visa to enter the U.S. as tourists under standard procedures used at consulates worldwide.

While these changes will make entry to the U.S. more difficult for certain Canadian landed immigrants who had previously been afforded this benefit, the increased proof of travel, at least, will aide those Canadian landed immigrants who have had difficulty proving their entry dates upon seeking to adjust status in the U.S. We hope that the increased visa requirements will not overburden the hu/manpower available at the U.S. consulates in Canada, so that business and emergency travel is not delayed significantly.