Earlier this month we reported that the State Department had changed its policy regarding landed immigrants in Canada seeking entry to the US. Landed immigrants from many countries have not needed a visa to enter the US. Under the new rule, landed immigrants will have to seek visas to enter the US and will not receive special entry concessions as Canadian citizens do.

Citizens of the following Commonwealth countries as well as Ireland were previously exempt from seeking a visa if they possessed landed immigrant status:

Antigua & Barbuda	Grenada	Namibia	South Africa
Australia	Guyana	Nauru	Sri Lanka
Bahamas	India	New Zealand	Swaziland
Bangladesh	Ireland	Nigeria	Tanzania
Barbados	Jamaica	Pakistan	Tonga
Belize	Kenya	Papua New Guinea	Trinidad & Tobago
Botswana	Kiribati	Samoa	Tuvalu
Brunei	Lesotho	St. Kitts & Nevis	Uganda
Cameroon	Malawi	St. Lucia	United Kingdom (its colonies, territories, and dependencies)
Cyprus	Malaysia	St. Vincent & the Grenadines	Vanuatu
Dominica	Maldives	Seychelles	Zambia
Fiji	Malta	Sierra Leone	Zimbabwe
Gambia	Mauritius	Singapore
Ghana	Mozambique	Solomon Islands

Countries in bold italics are Visa Waiver countries and nationals of those countries can still seek entry under that program.

The State Department has now released additional information on procedures for landed immigrants seeking visas to come to the United States. The new rules will begin on March 17th and after that date all landed immigrants seeking entry to the US must possess a valid passport and non-immigrant visa. All consulates in Canada have now been instructed to accept applications from the affected landed immigrants.

Specific details on applying for visas can be found at the web site of the US Embassy in Ottawa at http://www.usembassycanada.gov/content/content.asp?section=travel&document=landed_newrequirements_021803.