GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 

May 18, 2004 

The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. 

Chairman 

Committee on the Judiciary 

House of Representatives 

Subject: Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 

Dear Mr. Chairman: 

On October 21, 2002, we reported that consular staff at posts around the world held 

different views on balancing national security and customer service in the process of 

adjudicating visas.1

 Since then, the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has 

underscored the importance of visa operations in protecting our nation’s security and 

implemented many changes in visa processing to tighten security screening for 

applicants worldwide. 

Because of Canada’s proximity to the United States and the fact that many nationals 

from countries of concern apply for U.S. visas in Canada, you asked us to obtain the 

views of U.S. consular officers in Canada regarding the visa process. In response, we are 

providing information from consular staff who adjudicate U.S. visas in Canada regarding 

their perceptions of the importance of national security in the visa process, including 

impediments that could interfere with efforts to make security a top priority in visa 

processing. We interviewed 19 consular officers2

 and managers at the four largest visaissuing posts in Canada: the embassy in Ottawa and consulates in Toronto, Montreal, and 

Vancouver. 3 We conducted our work between January 2004 and March 2004 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

 

1

A visa is a travel document that allows a foreign visitor to present himself or herself at a port of entry for 

admission to the United States. In this report, we use the term “visa” to refer to nonimmigrant visas only. 

The United States also grants visas to people who intend to immigrate to the United States. See U.S. 

General Accounting Office, Border Security: Visa Process Should Be Strengthened as an Antiterrorism 

Tool, GAO-03-132NI (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 21, 2002) for more information on the visa adjudication 

process. 

2

We interviewed all consular officers currently involved in nonimmigrant visa processing, plus some 

additional officers who had done such processing the year before. 

 

3

Mission Canada comprises the embassy in Ottawa; consulates in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, 

Calgary, and Quebec City; and a U.S. presence in Winnipeg. The embassy and the six consulates issue 

nonimmigrant visas. Montreal issues both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. 

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548 
Page 2 GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 

Results in Brief

Consular officers and managers at U.S. posts in Canada said that, despite rising 

workloads and more labor-intensive processing requirements, they are placing an 

emphasis on security in visa operations. All of the officers with whom we spoke 

reported that security was their first concern in visa adjudication. Some officers said 

security was their top priority because they would consider themselves personally 

accountable if they failed to notice an applicant who posed a security risk. Other 

officers cited the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ standardized guidance as the source for 

their focus, while others credited post management with instilling a pro-security tone for 

visa operations. The officers acknowledged some challenges that could interfere with 

efforts to make security a top priority in visa processing. For example, some officers 

reported that new post-September 11 processing requirements for visas were more labor 

intensive, and they expressed concern that the requirements could reduce the time 

available for face-to-face interviews with some applicants. While most officers felt that 

they had enough time to screen applicants carefully for possible security risks, some of 

the newer officers at posts expressed concern about their ability to remain vigilant if the 

workload increased. This problem was most severe in Toronto, where workload was 

high and the consulate’s poor space configuration cramped operations. 

Background 

Since Canadian citizens generally do not need a visa to travel to the United States,4

consular officers at visa-issuing posts in Canada process visas almost exclusively for 

third-country nationals who are residing in, or visiting, Canada. Many of these thirdcountry nationals have “landed immigrant” status in Canada, a status similar to 

permanent residency in the United States. Consular officers also renew work and 

student visas for aliens residing in the United States who prefer to apply at a post in 

Canada rather than travel to their home country. Posts in Canada handle a diverse 

applicant pool. Nationals of more than 180 countries applied for visas in Toronto in 

2003, and more than 165 nationalities applied in Montreal. The wide range of 

nationalities creates a unique challenge for consular officers, who must be familiar with 

official documents from many countries and have an understanding of circumstances 

that affect each nationality’s eligibility for a visa. Some third-country national applicants 

are from countries of concern and require additional security clearance processes. 

The Bureau of Consular Affairs implemented many changes in visa processing after 

September 11 in an effort to tighten security screening for applicants worldwide. These 

changes include requiring interviews for the vast majority of visa applicants, new 

security clearance processes for certain types of applicants, and collecting fingerprints 

from most visa applicants.5

 The Bureau has issued guidance to keep posts worldwide 

 

4

Citizens of Canada do not need visas except under certain circumstances. 22 C.F.R. § 41.2(a). For 

example, if a Canadian is the fiancé/fiancée of a U.S. citizen, he/she must be in possession of a 

nonimmigrant visa. 22 C.F.R. § 41.2(k). 

5

State is installing digital fingerprint scanners at posts worldwide. All four posts we visited in Canada were 

equipped with the scanners. 
Page 3 GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 

apprised of these policy and procedural changes. Since February 2003, Consular Affairs 

has issued more than 60 Standard Operating Procedures in an effort to standardize visa 

operations worldwide. 

In addition to worldwide changes to visa processing, Consular Affairs implemented 

changes after September 11 that affected only posts in Canada. For example, in March 

2003, the United States began requiring that landed immigrants living in Canada from 

Commonwealth6 countries and Ireland obtain visas to enter the United States. Prior to 

March 2003, certain landed immigrants in Canada who originally came from 

Commonwealth countries (including India, Pakistan, and Malaysia) and Ireland were not 

required to have a visa or passport to visit the United States when entering from Canada. 

The change increased the workload at posts in Canada, particularly in Toronto. 

Consular Officers Said They Are Prioritizing Security 

Overall, the consular managers and officers we interviewed said they are emphasizing 

security concerns in visa processing over all other factors. One consular manager said 

security concerns trump all other issues in Canada, such as facilitation of trade and 

commerce. Several consular officers reported that they would hold themselves 

personally accountable if they issued a visa to an applicant who posed a security risk to 

the United States. None of the consular officers said they felt pressured by their 

managers to issue visas in cases where they felt the applicant posed a security risk. One 

officer reported that she believes Consular Affairs’ overarching policy is for consular 

officers always to err on the side of caution. Consular staff in Ottawa pointed to the 

results of several validation studies as confirmation that they are making good decisions 

on visa applicants. The staff attempted to contact approximately 300 individuals who 

had received visas between January 2002 and November 2003 to verify whether they had 

returned to Canada after using their visas to visit the United States; aside from one 

individual who they determined had remained in the United States, they ascertained that 

all the rest had returned to Canada. 

 

Consular officers cited several sources of guidance from the Bureau of Consular Affairs 

as being helpful in determining how to balance national security and customer service. 

Some consular officers said the Standard Operating Procedures were particularly 

helpful. Consular managers cited the benefit of attending conferences for consular 

section chiefs at the embassy in Ottawa. At these conferences, managers discussed 

implementation of post-September 11 changes to visa processing and ways that posts in 

Canada could implement them smoothly. One consular manager said that his policy to 

prioritize security came directly from the Ambassador in Ottawa, who said that border 

security was the most important issue for posts in Canada. 

 

6

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of more than 50 countries primarily composed of the 

United Kingdom and its former colonies. 
Page 4 GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 

Some Challenges Could Affect Focus on Security 

Although consular officers said that they placed an emphasis on security above all else in 

their visa processing, they reported some challenges that may negatively affect their 

ability to remain vigilant. Post-September 11 processing requirements for visas require 

more labor-intensive work for consular officers, such as fingerprinting applicants and 

processing special security clearance requests. In addition to the increased time it takes 

to adjudicate a visa applicant, the number of applications increased at posts in Canada, 

causing backlogs for appointments and long hours for some consular staff. While 

officers said they would always take the time they felt necessary to rule out any security 

concerns on an application, some also reported that workload pressures could affect 

their vigilance. From our observations at the busiest post, Toronto, we also questioned 

whether officers could remain alert after long days adjudicating visas. 

The post in Toronto expected an initial doubling of its workload for nonimmigrant visas 

with the imposition of the visa requirement for landed immigrants and an annual 

increase thereafter of 10 to 20 percent. Post management reported that Toronto saw a 

substantial increase in applications and that the increased numbers may last for 2 years. 

Toronto’s consular package7

 for fiscal year 2003 stated that post-September 11 special 

processing requirements for visas made operations less efficient and were negatively 

affecting employee morale. Toronto expanded the hours during which visa interviews 

are conducted to an all-day schedule. Some officers we interviewed spoke of the busy 

summer of 2003 as “agonizing” and said they had considered leaving the Foreign Service. 

One officer said that he told managers in both Toronto and Ottawa that he could not 

perform the required security aspects of his job at that pace. One consular manager also 

commented that officers told him they would like more time to scrutinize cases. He said 

that, as new consular officers, they had to learn to make decisions faster. He did not 

think he was causing them to make less security-conscious decisions, but he 

acknowledged they were under a lot of stress. Toronto’s busy visa operations are 

exacerbated by insufficient space and poor physical configuration of the consulate. The 

Consul General and the consular section chief in Toronto, as well as the Minister 

Counselor for Consular Affairs in Ottawa, acknowledged Toronto’s staff and space 

problems and said they were being addressed. Canada’s Mission Performance Plan for 

fiscal years 2005 and 2006 requested an additional consular officer for Toronto for each 

of these years and for a redesign of office space to ameliorate these problems. 

The post in Montreal expected a doubling of nonimmigrant visa workload when the visa 

requirement for landed immigrants went into effect but only saw a modest 5 percent 

increase in fiscal year 2003, according to the post’s consular package. Officers in 

Montreal said the number of visa applicants they processed daily was reasonable. 

However, the post’s consular package for fiscal year 2003 reported that post-September 

11 changes in visa processing affected the amount of time that officers spent on case 

adjudication and that if State continued to introduce labor-intensive processing changes 

 

7

All visa-issuing posts submit consular packages annually to State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. The 

packages contain a post’s summary report on all areas of consular work.
Page 5 GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 

without providing offsetting resources, it would eventually erode the amount of time that 

officers could spend face-to-face with applicants. The post estimated that officers may be 

devoting 40 percent less time to actual case adjudication than they did before September 

2001. 

The post in Vancouver saw a 20 percent increase in visa applications due to the visa 

requirement for landed immigrants and noted that post-September 11 visa processing 

required additional handling for all cases, reducing efficiency at the post and causing an 

appointment backlog.8 The consular manager reported that he took security concerns 

very seriously, yet he also wanted to reduce the appointment backlog because delayed 

appointments increased the post’s workload by requiring officers to respond to calls 

from applicants (or their attorneys) asking about the backlog. He told us he sets the 

number of appointments the post accepts to try to reduce the appointment backlog. 

Even when fingerprint scanners were installed at post in October 2003, adding to the 

adjudication time per case, he said the number of appointments per day was kept steady. 

 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 

The Department of State provided written comments on a draft of this report (see 

enclosure). State agreed with GAO’s characterization of visa operations at U.S. posts in 

Canada. State noted a number of actions it had taken to address issues in Toronto, 

including the authorization of funds to hire new consular staff and funds for State’s 

Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations to conduct a review of the physical 

infrastructure. Furthermore, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said it planned to send a 

Consular Management Assistance Team to Toronto in May 2004 to assess the consular 

section and make recommendations on how to improve the operation. 

Scope and Methodology 

To prepare this report, we conducted work at the Department of State, Department of 

Homeland Security, and Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. We 

conducted fieldwork at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa and at the consulates in Toronto, 

Montreal, and Vancouver. We (1) interviewed management and consular officials at State 

Department headquarters, as well as management personnel in charge of operations at 

the U.S. embassy and consulates, including the U.S. Ambassador to Canada and all 

Consuls General; (2) obtained input from all 19 consular officers and managers at the 

four posts who were involved in nonimmigrant visa processing using a standard list of 

questions with follow-up interview questions; and (3) interviewed law enforcement 

officials at posts. We spent significant time observing visa processing and attending 

interagency meetings at post. We collected and reviewed data from each post on 

workload statistics and refusal rates. As we used this information for background 

purposes only, we did not assess the reliability of the data. We also obtained each post’s 

consular package, the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ worldwide guidance for visa 

operations, and State’s Office of the Inspector General reports. 

 

8

All posts we visited used an appointment booking system to control the number of applicants who arrived 

per day. Consular managers set the number of appointments that the posts accepted each day. 
Page 6 GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 

We are sending copies of this report to other interested Members of Congress. We are 

also sending copies to the Secretary of State. We will make copies available to others 

upon request. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site 

at http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-

4128 or at fordj@gao.gov. Kate Brentzel, John Brummet, Lori Kmetz, Janey Cohen, Mary 

Moutsos, and Martin De Alteriis contributed to this report. 

Sincerely yours, 

Jess T. Ford 

Director, International Affairs and Trade 

Enclosure
Enclosure 

Page 7 GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 

Comments from the Department of State 
Enclosure 

Page 8 GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 
Enclosure 

Page 9 GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada 

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