U.S. Consulates participating in the Advance Visa Appointment Program are located in the following Canadian cities (from west to east): Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax. The U.S. Consulates in Canada schedule appointments via a "1-888" or a "1-900" telephone number (either 1-888-840-0032 for calls charged to a credit card or 1-900-443-3131 for calls charged to your phone number), or via the internet at www.nvars.com. The 1-888 and 1-900 calls are "toll calls" (meaning time charges or other charges apply). Booking an appointment through the www.nvars.com website costs a flat fee chargeable over the Internet to a major credit card. The internet site operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

You can find excellent information about how to apply for a visa at a border post at the DOS website located at
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1260.html#TCN

Please note that most U.S. Consulates usually will issue a Nonimmigrant Visa to a successful applicant during the afternoon of the day following the scheduled appointment, though some Consulates might issue Visas the same day. Nationals of a few countries are required to undergo a Security Advisory Opinion clearance before they are issued a U.S. Visa -- a process that in some cases can take several weeks.

U.S. Consulates participating in the Advance Visa Appointment Program are located in the following Mexican cities: Ciudad Juarez, Matamoros, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana. Eligible Third Country Nationals residing the U.S. who wish to apply for a Visa in Mexico must make their interview appointment on-line at www.usvisa-mexico.com. The following applicants may apply at a U.S. Consulate in Mexico:

• Applicants seeking to renew their C1/D, D, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P and R Visas, if the initial Visa was issued in the applicant's home country or at one of the border posts in the past few years.
• Applicants for Visas that reflect a change of status (e.g., F-1 to H-1B or F-1 to J), provided the applicant originally entered the U.S. in other than B status and possesses an original Change of Status Notice (I-797) from the Department of Homeland Security;
• Applicants possessing B Visas issued in their home country with annotations showing intent to change visa status, such as Prospective Student.

The following persons may NOT apply for a visa at a U.S. Consulate in Mexico:

• Applicants who entered the U.S. with a B Visa issued in their home country that changed status to another visa category, e.g., F-1, J-1, H-1B, but the visa did not have an annotation indicating intent to change status;
• Applicants who have been out of status in the U.S. having violated the terms of their visas or having overstayed the validity indicated on their I-94 Cards.
• A, B, E, G and Q Visa applications, including renewals are not accepted from Third Country Nationals that are not resident in the appropriate Consular District;
• Citizens of Iran, Sudan, Iraq, North Korea, Cuba and Syria.

The self-service website is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.usvisa-mexico.com. To use the service the applicant must purchase a PIN for US$10.00 payable by Visa or MasterCard. Please note that the PIN will expire 10 days after the appointment date. If an appointment is not scheduled, the PIN will expire 90 days after purchase. The PIN provides for 3 scheduling opportunities so that an applicant can schedule an appointment and reschedule it up to 2 additional times if necessary. Appointments cannot be changed or cancelled within 5 business days of the appointment date.

For further information the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City operates a Customer Service Center that is available Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm CST and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm CST. There are several payment options for accessing the Customer Service Center, including an option to pay by Visa or MasterCard via a toll-free number from the U.S.:

From the U.S.: 1-900-476-1212 with a cost of US $1.25 per minute; 1-800-919-1754 with a cost of U.S. $7.00 per call payable by Visa or MasterCard.

From Mexico: 01-900-849-49-49 with a cost of 12 Mexican Pesos per minute; 01-800-112-85-00 by purchasing a PIN at any BANAMEX branch for U.S. $10.00.

US or Mexico: (01-477) 788-7070 with a cost of 50 Mexican Pesos plus tax per call payable by Visa or MasterCard. Long distance charges are additional.

If you decide to travel to a U.S. Consulate located in Canada, you probably need to apply for a 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://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/detroit/ New York's is www.canada-ny.org.

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 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (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.

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 only the Canadian Consulates listed below issue Visitor Visas. More information about the various Canadian Consulates can be found at www.cic.gc.ca/english/offices/missions.html

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

You can find excellent information at the website of the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C. -- see http://portal.sre.gob.mx/washington/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=80&op=page&SubMenu= There are many Mexican Consulates located throughout the U.S.. The Mexican consulate in New York has valuable information posted to its website and is worth visiting both for the information posted there and for some of the links that are available. Please visit http://www.consulmexny.org/eng/visas_fmt.htm