June 20, 2002

Visa Exemption Ending for Commonwealth Citizens Residing in Canada

The State Department is planning to change its regulations at 22 CFR 41.2(b) to require "aliens resident in Canada…having a common nationality with nationals of Canada" to obtain nonimmigrant visas to enter the United States, according to Antoinette Marwitz, the new U.S. Consul General in Toronto. Currently, individuals, who are citizens of British Commonwealth countries are exempt from the nonimmigrant visa requirements. These individual have also been exempt from passport requirements if they are entering the U.S. from a Western Hemisphere country. In connection with the expected change regarding visas, the passport exemption may also be eliminated. Such exemptions for nationals residents in Bermuda would also be eliminated.

Courtesy of American Immigration Lawyers Association