COVID-19 UPDATE: OPERATIONS AND SERVICE STANDARDS AT THE U.S EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN CANADA

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on operations and service standards at US consulates and embassies in Canada and around the world. In response to public health and safety guidelines issued by the Government of Canada, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates General in Canada suspended all routine consular services on Monday, March 23, 2020 with emergency services available for American citizens only. Recently, however, the embassy and consulates in Canada have announced the resumption of non-emergency U.S. citizen and non-immigrant visa services.

As of October 15, 2020, all posts have resumed full citizen services for passports and CRBA, with priority being given to emergency situations as determined on a case-by-case basis. Notary and U.S. citizenship renunciation services, however, are still restricted in Toronto and Montreal. Limited services for non-immigrant visas have resumed at all posts with the exception of Calgary and Montreal, which continue to offer emergency services only. The Montreal consulate has also resumed limited services for immigrant and fiancé visas.  As a result, this has somewhat relieved backlogs at the National Visa Center (NVC) that were significant prior to the pandemic.  NVC is located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and is responsible for pre-processing of the visa appointment and document confirmation prior to the scheduling of the immigrant visa interview.

The website for U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Canada reports increased wait times and substantial processing backlogs due to the pandemic. Wait times for appointments will also be longer than usual. Non-immigrant visa applicants who have paid the visa application processing fee and are still waiting to schedule a visa appointment will have the validity of their MRV fee payments extended to December 31, 2021.  The effects of the pandemic are reflected in monthly statistics compiled by the US Department of State (DOS) since the onset of consular service suspensions in March 2020. At Canadian posts, in August 2020, the total number of non-immigrant visas issued decreased by about 92% from the total issued six months earlier in March 2020.

As the resumption of visa processing is slowly building, two COVID-19 presidential proclamations (P.P. 10014 and 10052) remain in effect, suspending visa issuance for some immigrant visa types until December 31, 2020, as well as the issuance of three non-immigrant work visa types: L visas, and most H visas and J visas, and their dependents in each category. Fortunately, these proclamations contain exceptions including those whose entry would be in the “national interest.” On August 12, 2020, the DOS issued guidelines for requesting national interest exemption waivers. While not a comprehensive set of instructions, it provides helpful information as which visa applicants may qualify for an exemption, including those traveling as public health or healthcare professionals and applicants seeking to resume ongoing employment in the U.S. in the same position with the same employer and visa classification. The DOS guidelines instruct travelers who believe their entry falls into one of the enumerated categories or may otherwise be in the national interest to request a visa application appointment at the nearest embassy or consulate. Decisions will be made at the time of interview as to whether a traveler has established  their eligibility for a visa pursuant to an exception.

We are hopeful that the various Department of State services continue the slow reopening.  The experiences we have had are well managed.  Specific to Toronto’s E-2 unit, which is where all new E-2 companies are registered and initially established, we are seeing encouraging signs of a significant increase in available appointments.   We are optimistic, based on our conversations with the E-2 unit, recent experiences with individual cases since reopening, and basic logic, that the Consulate is keen to make appointments as streamlined as possible.  The E-2 unit in Toronto is making a concerted effort to identify any areas of doubt or insufficient documentation well in advance of the appointment via email correspondence.  It has been a tremendous benefit so far, as it reduces any need for paperwork the day of the appointment, and instead allows for the officers to focus on a more comprehensive discussion with the applicant(s).  The E-2 unit is unique and somewhat independent from the regular non-immigrant services, so it may not be something that will ultimately be applied to other non-immigrant visa classifications, but it is an encouraging and welcomed line of communication with the Consulate.

Overall, we are encouraged by this progress in consular service resumptions and will continue to monitor ongoing developments. If you wish to discuss your options for travel to the U.S., including visa applications and national interest exemptions, please contact our office.

Sources:

• US Embassies and Consulates in Canada, “Consular Operations Update,”: https://ca.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/consular-operations-updates/
• US Department of State, “Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance Statistics,”: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html
• US Department of State, “National Interest Exceptions to Presidential Proclamations (10014 & 10052) Suspending the Entry of Immigrants and Nonimmigrants Presenting a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak,”