If you decide to travel to a U.S. Consulate located in Canada, you might need to apply for an Canadian Visitor Visa to enter Canada. The Canadian government requires many foreign nationals to apply for a Canadian Visitor Visa before applying for admission to (or entry into) Canada.

You can find excellent information, including a list of countries whose citizens require visas to visit Canada, at the websites of both the Detroit and New York City offices of the Canadian Consulates General. Detroit's website is http://can-am.gc.ca/detroit/.  New York's is http://can-am.gc.ca/new-york/ (this link leaves the Dinsmore & Shohl LLP Immigration Site).

If you are required to obtain a Canadian Visitor Visa, the Canadian Consulate will ask you to produce the Form I-797 Approval Notice that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) issued to your employer. The Canadian Consulate may also ask to see the appointment letter you will receive from the U.S. Consulate about a week or so after you make your appointment via the 1-888 or 1-900 phone number or via www.nvars.com (this link leaves the Dinsmore & Shohl LLP Immigration Site).

You may wish to call the Canadian Consulate nearest to where you reside to make arrangements to file your application and to find out precisely what you need to submit (such as your passport, Canadian Visitor Visa Application form, photographs, filing fees, copy of I-94 Card, copy of Form I-797 Approval Notice, etc.) and how long the visa issuing process will take.

Below is a list of Canadian consulates in the U.S. that issue Canadian Visitor Visas. There are other Canadian Consulate and trade offices in other U.S. cities, but to the best of our knowledge only the Canadian Consulates listed below issue Visitor Visas. Also, we are aware of the internet websites for the Canadian Consulates in Detroit and New York City, and have listed them. Please let us know if you locate others.