Operational Bulletin 496 - January 29 2013
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
Changes to the United States of America (U.S.) Processing Network
Summary
The purpose of this Operational Bulletin (OB) is to provide information regarding further changes to the United States of America (U.S.) processing network, including the closure of the visa sections in the Canadian Consulates General in Detroit and Seattle.
Background
As of January 29, 2013, the U.S. processing network has been restructured to further streamline processing of Temporary Resident and Permanent Resident applications abroad. As part of the restructuring, the visa offices in Detroit and Seattle will be closed and workloads transferred to other offices. The Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. will cease processing of Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), Rehabilitation and Authority to Return to Canada (ARC) applications. TRP, Rehabilitation and ARC applications should now be submitted to either of the visa offices in New York or Los Angeles.
Effective immediately, new U.S. and Canada based Temporary Resident Visa (TRV), Study Permit and Work Permit applications can be submitted online or to the appropriate visa office. All study permit applications will be processed at the visa office in Los Angeles and all work permit applications will be processed at the visa office in New York. The east-west divide along the Mississippi, previously instructed in OBs 427 and 435, will cease to be a determining factor in where to submit applications.
This OB supersedes OBs 427 and 435, which have both been expired.
Instructions
TEMPORARY RESIDENT VISA (TRV), STUDY PERMIT, WORK PERMIT APPLICATIONS
Applications currently in process in Detroit and Seattle will continue to be processed and finalized at those offices. If necessary, any cases that are unable to be finalized in Detroit or Seattle will be transferred to the visa offices in New York or Los Angeles, respectively, for processing. Any applications submitted by mail to these visa offices which are postmarked after February 5, 2013, will be returned to sender.
New U.S. and Canada based Temporary Resident applications can be submitted online. All work permit applications will now be processed at the visa office in New York and all study permit applications will now be processed at the visa office in Los Angeles unless otherwise directed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
TEMPORARY RESIDENT PERMIT (TRP), REHABILITATION, AUTHORITY TO RETURN TO CANADA (ARC), PERMANENT RESIDENT TRAVEL DOCUMENT (PRTD) APPLICATIONS
Applications currently in process in Detroit, Seattle and Washington, D.C. will be transferred immediately to New York for continued processing.
Applications submitted by mail to these visa offices which are postmarked after February 5, 2013, will be returned to sender. Any applications submitted in person as of January 29, 2013, at the visa office in Washington, D.C. will be returned to the applicant.
New TRP, Rehabilitation, ARC and PRTD applications should be submitted to the visa offices in either New York or Los Angeles.
Applicants who received a request to submit further documentation in support of these categories of applications from the visa offices in Detroit, Seattle or Washington, D.C. and have not already done so are to submit the documents directly to the visa offices in New York. There is no longer any mail delivery to Detroit or Seattle, and any documentation mailed in to the visa office in Washington, D.C. and postmarked after February 5, 2013, will be returned to the sender.
Applicants who had already sent in the requested supporting documentation to the visa offices in Detroit, Seattle or Washington, D.C. do not need to re-submit the documents, as they will be transferred to New York or Los Angeles, as appropriate.
PERMANENT RESIDENT (PR) APPLICATIONS
With the closure of the Buffalo visa office in May 2012, all PR applications from Buffalo and all new PR processing were transferred to the Case Processing Centre – Ottawa (CPC-O). PR applications currently in Seattle or Detroit will be sent to Los Angeles and New York respectively for processing.
As of January 29, 2013, offices in the U.S. will no longer be referred new Economic Class PR applications for processing, except to conduct interviews, investigations and finalize applications. All Economic Class applications should continue to be submitted to the Centralized Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (CIO-S).
All Family Class applications should continue to first be submitted to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (CPC-M).
Applications for Family Members of Protected Persons (DR2), Dependent of a Live-in Caregiver (LC2), Adoption (Citizenship and Permanent Residence) and One Year Window (OYW) by persons residing in the U.S. should be submitted to the visa office in Los Angeles for processing.
Overview of the U.S. Network
The following is an overview of the re-structured U.S. visa office network processing responsibilities:
| Online | New York | Los Angeles | Washington D.C. |
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Permanent Resident
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External Client Enquiries
During the transition period, CIC will make all efforts to minimize processing delays. We ask that applicants and their representatives avoid contacting the visa office during this time. Applicants will be contacted by the visa office as soon as the processing of their application is complete.
Enquiries may be directed to the appropriate visa office, or, if you are in Canada, by e-mail to question@cic.gc.ca.
Web Sites
Expiry of Directives
These directives will remain in force until further notice. Further instructions will be communicated as required.
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