Applicants who want to move to the United States permanently need to apply for an Immigrant Visa.
If you have already registered an account on this site, please click here to log in.
If you require more information please see below:
ATTENTION: Please allow at least 1 (one) week from the day of your interview appointment before you check the status of your documents by logging back to the website. You can also call our service at 514.400.2591 or send email to: contactus_en_CA@usvisa-info.com. Please do NOT contact the Consulate directly with any inquiries about your documents.
If you need only to register for courier service and do not need to schedule/reschedule an appointment, please review the instructions below. You may also use this step-by-step guide to walk through the process of registering your courier selection: http://csc.public.s3.amazonaws.com/Canada/How to Register for Courier Services.pdf
- Click on Login on the top of the page.
- Confirm that you have read the disclaimer information you will be taken to a page where you can enter your passport number, date of birth and nationality (country that issued your passport).
- Once you've entered that information you will be taken to an Applicant Summary page.
- Select "Schedule Appointment"
- Note: You will not need to actually schedule an appointment if you've already been provided one by the NVC or KCC), you will be able to enter in all your personal information.
- Select the appropriate trip purpose:
- Permanently Immigrate to the U.S. (Scheduled by NVC) or
- Permanently Immigrate to the U.S. (Diversity Visa)
- Select the consular location at which your appointment has been scheduled, and click in the box on the Affirm Eligibility for This Appointment page (again, you will not need to actually schedule an appointment).
- Then you will be able to select your DHL pickup location.
Once you've confirmed your DHL location by clicking submit, you may log out of the system until it is time to come back to check the status of your document for pickup after your appointment.
If you were not given an appointment or told by the consular section to schedule, you should not do so. You will be turned away if your application is not yet ready for processing, even if you schedule an appointment.
Click on the Visa Type you would like to know more about:
An applicant may be eligible to immigrate to the United States based on the relationship to a U.S. citizen or U.S. legal permanent resident ("green card holder"). If the applicant's spouse, parent, child, or sibling is a U.S. citizen, he/she can file an I-130 petition to begin the process with the Department of Homeland Security in the United States. If the applicant's spouse or parent is a legal permanent resident, he/she may also file an I-130 petition with the Department of Homeland Security in the United States, subject to certain age and marital status restrictions. If the applicant’s spouse or parent is U.S, citizen who lives outside of the United State he/she maybe be able to file a petition at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to begin the process. For more information, please consult these Web sites: www.dhs.gov or www.uscis.gov.
Only if the applicant's spouse or parent is a U.S. citizen and only if they live outside of the United States, they may be able to file a petition at the U.S. Consular Section to begin the process.
Applicants may not begin the application process themselves; only the U.S. citizen or resident relative may initiate the immigration process. Only after they have filed a petition and it has been approved can the Embassy or Consulate assist an applicant.
For more information, please consult this Web site:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/immigrants_1340.html.
Once the applicant's petition has been approved and is "current", the applicant will have to present evidence of eligibility to immigrate through evidence including a medical exam, a police report, and an affidavit of support from the U.S. citizen or resident who filed the petition. For additional information on the documents the applicant must submit along with the immigrant visa application, please see the instructions sent along with the applicant's appointment letter.
To apply for an employment-based immigrant visa, the U.S. firm offering the applicant the employment opportunity should contact the local United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office or Department of Labor in the United States for further information. The U.S. employer must begin the process by filing an I-140 petition with the Department of Homeland Security in the United States. Only after they have filed a petition and it has been approved can the Consular Section assist the applicant.
For more information, please consult: www.uscis.gov.
Once your petition has been approved and an appointment has been scheduled, the applicant will have to present evidence of eligibility to immigrate including a medical exam, a police report, and, if the business petitioning for the applicant is owned by the applicant's family, an affidavit of support from the U.S. citizen or resident who filed the petition. For additional information on the documents the applicant must submit along with the immigrant visa application, please see the instructions sent along with the applicant's appointment letter.
The Congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available approximately 50,000 diversity visas (DV) annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
For more information, please consult: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html#1.
If your entry is chosen and you are notified by the U.S. Government that you are a DV "winner", the applicant will have to present evidence of eligibility to immigrate including a medical exam, a police report, and documentary evidence or the applicant's educational or professional credentials. For additional information on the documents the applicant must submit along with the immigrant visa application, please see the instructions sent along with the applicant's appointment letter.
Canadian nationals do not qualify for the Diversity Lottery program.
For more information, including tips on how to protect yourself from DV fraud scams, please consult:
Entry Status Check at www.dvlottery.state.gov is the ONLY means by which lottery winners/selectees will be notified of their selection. Additionally, Entry Status Check will provide you, the successful selectee, instructions on how to proceed with your application and notify you of the date and time of your appointment for immigrant visa interview. The Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) will no longer mail out notification letters to Diversity Visa selectees. Those selected in the random drawing are NOT notified of their selection by e-mail. The above procedures are explained in the DV Lottery Instructions. The "Selection of Applicants" section of the DV Instructions provides information about the DV time frame and process.
At the interview, the applicant will have to present evidence of eligibility to immigrate including a medical exam, a police report, and documentary evidence or the applicant's educational or professional credentials.
There are other special categories of Immigrant Visas.
For more information, please consult: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1326.html.
Fiancé(e) Visas are included in this section because even though they are technically nonimmigrant visas, they are processed by the immigrant visa unit. This visa is for an applicant who is a fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen, an applicant who is engaged or contracted to be married. The marriage must be legally possible according to laws of the state in the United States where the marriage will take place.
The American citizen who wants to bring a foreign fiancé(e) to travel to the U S to marry and live in the United States must file Form I-129F with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office that serves the area where the U.S. citizen lives. This petition cannot be filed at an embassy, consulate or U.S. immigration office abroad.
After the USCIS approves the petition, it sends the petition to National Visa Center for processing, prior to sending it to the embassy or consulate where the fiancé(e) will apply for a K-1 nonimmigrant visa for a fiancé(e). Children of K-1 applicants should apply for a K-2 visa.
After getting the fiancé(e) visa, the fiancé(e) of the U.S. citizen enters the United States through a U.S. Port of Entry. The U.S. immigration official gives the fiancé(e) instructions on what to do when entering the United States The couple must get married within 90 days of the fiancé(e)'s entry into the United States.
A permanent resident card, commonly known as a green card, is evidence of the applicant's status as a permanent resident with a right to live and work permanently in the United States. It also is evidence of the applicant's registration in accordance with U.S. immigration laws. A green card is also called Form I-551.
If the applicant's previous card was lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed, please consult www.uscis.gov.
U.S. Immigrant Visa Processing in Canada
U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents may petition for the immigration to the United States of qualifying relatives who are citizens or legal residents of Canada. Procedures differ depending on where the petitioner and/or the beneficiary live.
U.S. citizens who are long-term (a year or more) legal residents of Canada may file a petition for the permanent immigration of a spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen at the U.S. Embassy or any of the U.S. Consulates in Canada. To find the nearest consulate in your district and instructions on how to file, please see this link:
http://www.consular.canada.usembassy.gov/usa_consulates_canada.asp
Residents of the Montreal Consular District may file immigrant visa petitions without an appointment any Tuesday or Thursday (except for legal holidays) between 2:00pm and 3:00 pm.
To see if you are resident in this district and for instructions on how to file, please go to http://www.consular.canada.usembassy.gov/usa_consulates_canada.asp
Please note that to file a petition, both petitioner and beneficiary must appear.
Please provide originals and one copy of all requested documents.
- I-130 petition form for each intending immigrant, regardless of age; http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-130.pdf
Download Form I-130 (201KB PDF)
Download Instructions for Form I-130 (83KB PDF) - G-325A form, including one for the petitioner, and one for the beneficiary (if filing for a spouse);
Download Form G-325A (513KB PDF) - 1 passport style photo for petitioner and beneficiary
(http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/frvi_3888.html) - Valid U.S. passport and/or original civil birth certificate of petitioner;
- Documents to show legal status in Canada for petitioner and beneficiary;
- Marriage certificate (if applicable);
- Petitioner's birth certificate (long form certificate showing parents names) if you are filing for a child or a parent;
- Beneficiary's complete long form birth certificate showing parents names.
- Divorce/Death certificate (if applicable);
- Email contact for petitioner and beneficiary;
- $420.00 USD filing fee (cash, visa credit card or money order paid to U.S. Treasury)
All forms can be downloaded here. Click here for guidance on photographs.
Once the petition is filed and approved the Consulate will provide you with a case number (the "MTL number,").
Immigrant visa petitions in the following circumstances must be filed in the United States:
- U.S. citizen petitioner does not reside in Canada;
- Beneficiary does not currently reside in Canada;
- All visa categories other than spouse/child/parent of a U.S. citizen.
Instructions on filing petitions can be found at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1306.html
http://www.consular.canada.usembassy.gov/immigration_usa_relative.asp
http://www.uscis.gov
Immigrant visa applications must be filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For the USCIS Service and Office nearest you go to: https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=SC
All immigrant visa petitions filed and approved in Canada are forwarded to the U.S. Consulate General in Montreal. The Consulate General will send an instruction letter (Packet 3) to the applicant, petitioner, or other designated representative requesting that the applicant prepare the appropriate forms, and checklist of documents, and return them to the Consulate General.
Once the petition has been approved by USCIS, it is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) in Portsmouth, NH. NVC will collect the necessary documents to complete the immigrant visa file and, once the file is complete, schedule the immigrant visa interview in Montreal. For directions on document preparation and appointment scheduling by NVC, please see these links:
Document Preparation: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3190.html
Appointment Scheduling: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3731.html
For a list of all physicians in Canada authorized to perform immigration medical exams, click here: http://travel.state.gov/pdf/medical/MTL-MED-ENGL-0005-1103.pdf.
All fiancé(e) petitions must be filed in the U.S.
See link: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_2994.html
The processing of approved fiancé(e) petitions combine elements of both non-immigrant and immigrant visa processing and are forwarded to Montreal for processing: http://travel.state.gov/visa/forms/forms_1342.html.
The Consulate General will send an instruction letter (Packet 3) to the applicant, petitioner, or other designated representative requesting that the applicant prepare the appropriate forms, and checklist of documents, and return them to the Consulate General.
- DS-156 – 2 copies https://evisaforms.state.gov/ds156.asp
- DS-156K – 1 copy http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/82063.pdf
- Form DS-160 – one copy, available online at https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/
- Confirmation receipt regarding Form DS-160 – one copy, available online at https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/
- DS-230 part I and part II – one copy per each applicant, including children
- Checklist of documents to gather for the interview – one copy per family is sufficient.
Once we have received the documents requested in Packet 3, the case is ready for scheduling. We will send the applicant or his/her designated representative another letter ("Packet 4") with instructions to contact CSC to schedule an interview appointment. Appointments are on first come, first served basis. All applicants must apply and be interviewed within one year of their initial appointment, or the petition will become invalid. Please see the following link for Packet 4:
*Return of your passport with visa and the immigration documents package:
If your visa application is approved, we will put your visa in your passport and send the completed visa packet and passport to you by DHL courier at no extra charge. Prior to your appointment date, you must register an account on this Web site and follow the steps to select a DHL location to pick up your visa. Please do this for all applicants that will be applying for a visa (including children). Please register your delivery location BEFORE going to your interview. If you do not, there may be a delay in the return of your visa.
Forms and documents required per Instruction Letter (Pkt3)
Forms and documents required for the interview (Pkt4)
