Do I need a visa to visit the United States?

Are you a Canadian Permanent Resident/Landed Immigrant or a foreign national — a non-Canadian citizen — in Canada and want to visit the United States for a brief stay?

If you are not a citizen of one of the Visa Waiver Program countries, you will need to obtain a visitor visa in order to enter the United States as a tourist.

Visa Waiver Program Countries:

If you are a citizen of one of the above countries, you will need to register for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before you enter the United States. Click here to read our blog entry about ESTA.

If not, you should make a visa appointment AS SOON AS POSSIBLE at a U.S. Consulate in Canada because it can take anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks to obtain an appointment.

Do-It-Yourself

To make an appointment, call 1-888-840-0032. You will need a credit card. This is merely to obtain a reference number in order to get an appointment. It can cost more than $30 just to do so. We hear how difficult and time-consuming this process can be for clients.

The regular phone number for the U.S. Consulate in Toronto is 416-595-1700, but it is difficult to reach an operator. Another number for general inquiries at the Consulate is 1-900-451-2778, however we hear that it cannot be dialed from within Canada.

Need help?

If you need assistance or an appointment sooner than the one you can obtain on your own, you may also call Immigroup, a private Canadian company, at 1-866-760-2623.

Immigroup charges a fee in addition to the U.S. government’s US$131 filing fee, however, you will get an appointment sooner than the one you try to get on your own. Immigroup also instructs you on the process and the types of documents you will need. To learn more about this, click here.

More information about U.S. visitor visas can be found at:

U.S. Department of State visa types

U.S. Embassy – Consular Services Canada