A Canadian immigration lawyer says a brand new U.S. coverage requiring most foreigners to use for inexperienced playing cards from their dwelling nations could trigger lengthy waits and issues for Canadians residing within the U.S. searching for everlasting residency.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies introduced Friday that foreigners residing within the States on short-term visas, similar to college students, short-term employees or guests, should undergo consular companies of their dwelling nations to use, with some exceptions.
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler says the coverage goals for the immigration system “to operate because the regulation meant as an alternative of incentivizing loopholes.”
Joel Guberman, a lawyer and companion at Toronto-based immigration agency Guberman Appleby, says the coverage got here “out of left subject” and it’s not clear what exceptions could possibly be made to the brand new regulation.
He says the one U.S. consulate in Canada that processes inexperienced card purposes is positioned in Montreal, which is able to probably be overwhelmed with instances on account of this new coverage, leading to lengthy wait instances stretching months and even years.
Guberman provides he has a number of purchasers who’re impacted by the change, and he anticipates his agency will obtain extra inquiries within the coming days from Canadians residing within the U.S. searching for everlasting residency.
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