How to Book a US Visa Appointment From Canada

Quick Answer: US Visa Appointment from Canada at a Glance

Key Takeaways

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• Canadian citizens usually don't need a US visa for tourism or business trips, but there are some exceptions.
• Permanent residents may need a visa, depending on their passport. Citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries get an ESTA instead for stays of up to 90 days.
• Visa applicants complete the DS-160 at ceac.state.gov, then create an account, pay and book on the appointment site at ais.usvisa-info.com.
• The fee is US$185 for visitor, student and exchange visas and US$205 for H and L work visas. It is non-refundable, whether or not you get the visa.
• Six posts take regular appointments: Calgary, Halifax, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto and Vancouver. Montreal handles nonimmigrant visas in emergencies only.
• Wait times change by post, so check the State Department's tool before you book.

Your Passport Decides Whether You Need a US Visa

In most cases, Canadian citizens don't need a US visa for tourism or business, and they can usually stay up to six months without one. The Government of Canada's US travel advice notes there are some exceptions. It also says Canadians and other foreign nationals visiting the US for longer than 30 days must be registered with the US government. You can look up your I-94 record on the US Customs and Border Protection website to see if you were registered automatically when you entered. The rule follows your passport, not your Canadian address. Hold a PR card alongside an Indian, Filipino, Chinese or Pakistani passport? The PR card changes nothing about US entry rules. The United States doesn't extend visa-free access based on where you live.

The Government of Canada says permanent residents may need a US nonimmigrant visa (a temporary US entry authorization issued to foreign nationals), which they must get before entry, and must travel on a valid passport from their country of citizenship. If that country is in the Visa Waiver Program, you don't need a visa for stays of up to 90 days, but you must get an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) before you leave. Since January 1, 2026, a US proclamation has also suspended or limited entry and visa issuance for nationals of 39 countries, as the US Embassy in Canada's visa page explains, so check whether yours is one of them before you pay the fee. Keep proof of your permanent resident status with you as well: the Government of Canada says you must carry it to re-enter Canada.

The Purpose of Your Trip Sets the Visa Type

The category depends on the purpose of your trip. The appointment site's visa categories page describes the common ones:

• B-1/B-2: business trips, holidays, family visits or medical treatment, for up to six months
• F-1: academic or language study on an approved course (M-1 covers vocational study)
• H-1B: work in a specialty occupation that needs highly specialized knowledge and a specific course of higher education
• J-1: people approved to take part in a US exchange visitor program
• L-1: staff who have worked abroad for one continuous year in the last three, moving to a US branch, parent, affiliate or subsidiary of the same employer as a manager, executive or specialized-knowledge worker

The same passport rule applies if you're in Canada on a study or work permit: you need a visa if your country's citizens need one, or an ESTA if it's in the Visa Waiver Program. Your right to live in Canada doesn't change your US entry status.

Where you apply is a real choice. The US Embassy in Canada tells nonimmigrant visa applicants to book in their country of residence or nationality, so if you live in Canada you can apply here or back home. Compare both on the State Department's wait-times tool before you pay, because a visa fee paid in one country can't be used to book an appointment in another.

How to Book a US Visa Appointment: Step by Step

The booking process spans two websites and five steps. Complete them in order. The appointment site's step list says each applicant must finish the DS-160 before using any of its services, and it has you create your account before you pay.

Step 1: Complete the DS-160 at ceac.state.gov

The DS-160 (the official US State Department nonimmigrant visa application form) is where every application begins. Go to ceac.state.gov, choose the post in Canada where you plan to apply, and work through the form with your passport in hand.

Print or save the DS-160 confirmation page. The barcode on that page follows you through every remaining step.

Step 2: Create Your AIS Account

Create your account on the appointment site at ais.usvisa-info.com, add each applicant's details, enter each DS-160 confirmation number and choose where you want your documents delivered. Type the DS-160 number carefully. The site lets you correct it only once, at least three business days before your interview, and it must match the confirmation page you bring.

Step 3: Pay the MRV Fee

Pay the MRV (Machine Readable Visa) fee from your account, by Visa or Mastercard or in cash. A cash payment can take up to two business days to register before you can book. The appointment site's fee schedule sets the fee at US$185 for visitor (B), student (F, M), exchange (J) and TN visas, among others; US$205 for H, L, O, P, Q and R visas; US$265 for K visas; and US$315 for E visas. The MRV fee is non-refundable, covers one application and is valid for one year from payment, and you must book within that year. If the visa is denied, that fee stays with the State Department, and applying again means a new fee. A refusal marked 221(g) is the exception: it lists extra steps to finish your application, and you don't pay the fee again. Other fees can apply on top: student (F, M) and exchange (J) applicants also pay a separate SEVIS fee, and a reciprocity fee may apply depending on your citizenship and visa type.

Step 4: Choose a Canadian Consulate Location

The appointment site lists seven posts in Canada, and six of them take regular visa appointments: the US Embassy in Ottawa and the consulates in Calgary, Halifax, Quebec City, Toronto and Vancouver. The Montreal consulate is prioritizing immigrant visas and, as the US Embassy's appointment page notes, takes nonimmigrant visa cases in emergencies only.

When you book, the site asks you to select the post where you plan to apply. Choose on current wait times, not just distance, and skip Montreal unless your case is an emergency.

Step 5: Select Your Slot and Save the Confirmation

Once you've chosen a post, available dates appear. Pick a slot, confirm the booking, then print the confirmation and instructions page. The appointment site lists it among the documents every applicant brings to the interview.

Renewing a visitor visa? You may not need an interview. The questions the appointment site asks while you book decide whether you qualify for its renewal interview waiver. If you do, you send your documents by courier or drop them off instead. Its general conditions include a B-1/B-2 visa that is still valid or expired within the past 12 months, issued when you were at least 18. You must also apply in the consular district where you live. Your last visa can't have been lost, stolen or revoked, and any past visa refusal must have been overcome or waived. A consular officer can still ask for an interview, and the site lists 55 countries whose nationals must attend in person, even to renew.

US Visa Appointment Wait Times and Interview Day Preparation

Wait times vary by post, and the US Embassy in Canada sends Canada residents to the State Department's tool to check them.

Open the State Department's official US visa wait-times page and select a post to see its current estimate. Check it before you settle on a booking location.

You can sign in to your account as often as you like to look for an earlier slot. The appointment site's FAQ warns that refreshing a page over and over for a long time can get your account deactivated, and its terms of use ban bots and scripts.

Expedited appointments are for urgent, unforeseen situations, such as a funeral, a medical emergency or a school start date, and you need proof. The same FAQ sets the order: submit your DS-160, pay the fee and book the first available regular appointment, then sign in, click "Continue", select "Request Expedite" and follow the instructions. The consular section decides at its discretion. For a visitor (B) visa, the site also describes a Paid Expedite option: an extra US$750 per applicant for an appointment within the next 10 business days. It is a pilot: the State Department's fee rule runs it from July 1 to December 31, 2026. It appears in your account only where the option is offered, it is non-refundable, and it doesn't guarantee a visa. You can book a Paid Expedite slot only once, with no rescheduling, and missing it forfeits the fee.

What to bring on interview day

The appointment site's document list asks in-person applicants to bring original documents. Every visa type needs:

• The DS-160 confirmation page, printed
• The confirmation and instructions page printed from the appointment site
• Your passport, valid for at least six months beyond your stay in the US unless your country is exempt by agreement, plus the passport with your most recent US visa, if you have one
• One 5 x 5 cm (2 x 2 inch) colour photo taken within the last six months
• A copy of proof of your legal status in Canada

Students and exchange visitors bring more. For F and M student visas, the appointment site's list adds the Form I-20 from your US school, signed by you and a school official, and your SEVIS I-901 fee receipt. Bring the original I-20: the Department of Homeland Security's Study in the States site says you're expected to have it at your visa interview. J exchange visitors bring the original Form DS-2019 from their program sponsor and the SEVIS fee receipt. The US Embassy in Canada also tells F, M and J applicants, among others, to set all their social media accounts to public.

Bring supporting papers as well:

• Bank statements or recent pay stubs demonstrating financial means
• Evidence of ties to Canada or your home country: employment letter, lease, family documentation, school enrolment

That last category matters. The appointment site says the officer may ask for proof of why you're travelling, that you'll leave the US afterwards and that you can pay for the trip. Proof of your job or family ties may be enough to show why you're going and that you'll return home.

Keep your answers direct and concrete: what you'll do in the US, when you'll leave and what brings you back. You don't need a plane ticket for the interview, and the appointment site strongly advises not to book travel until you have your passport and visa.

Print every page before you go. The US Embassy in Canada's visa process requirements ban mobile phones, laptops and other electronic devices inside the embassy and consulates, along with backpacks, luggage and large bags (a purse up to 12 x 10 x 6 inches is fine). There's nowhere to store them, so leave them at home, at your hotel or in your car. Generally only applicants go in, so drivers and friends wait outside, though a child, an applicant over 80 or one with a disability may bring one person to help. If you don't speak English well enough for the interview and staff can't interview you in your language, you may bring one interpreter. Consular staff decide on the day.

Visa in hand, the trip itself needs planning. Our Florida weather guide for Canadians covers the weather month by month, and our New York weather guide does the same for the city.

Sort out health cover before you go as well. Our guide to travel insurance for Canadians explains what a policy should cover and how claims work.

Staying Connected in the United States After Visa Approval

An eSIM (a digital SIM you add by scanning a QR code, with no physical card) is a simple way to get data in the United States once your visa is approved. If you're new to them, here's how an eSIM works. You can set it up on home Wi-Fi before your trip. No kiosk, no airport SIM counter, no plastic tray to manage at arrivals.

Roaming on your Canadian plan adds up. In October 2026, Bell's Roam Better cost $13 a day in the US, charged for at most 20 days per line in a billing period, and Rogers' US daily rate was $16. Both sold a 14-day US pass for $60 and a 30-day US pass for $80, so a three-month snowbird winter on 30-day passes runs $240. TELUS sets its own US rates, so check yours before you go.

A prepaid eSIM is the other route. You pay for US eSIM data plans up front, so you know the cost before you cross the border. HelloRoam connects to 212+ networks worldwide, with 24/7 support if anything goes wrong.

You can keep your Canadian number active alongside a US eSIM on a Dual SIM phone. Apple lists Dual SIM support on the iPhone XS, XR and later, and Google on the Pixel 3a and later. Apple adds that to use two carriers, your carrier must unlock your iPhone. In Canada, the CRTC has required new phones to be sold unlocked since December 1, 2017. You can also ask your carrier to unlock an older one for free. Your Canadian SIM handles calls and texts while the eSIM runs US data, with no forwarding setup. But on Bell, making or answering a call or sending a text on your Canadian line still triggers the Roam Better daily charge, and Rogers' roaming billing FAQ says you're billed for roaming if you send a text or make or answer a call.

Booking in Canada Without Permanent Residence

You don't need permanent residence to book in Canada. If you live in Canada on a study or work permit, you book like any other Canada resident and bring proof of your legal status in Canada. If you don't live in Canada, expect a very long wait. The US Embassy in Canada says applicants who don't live in Canada can expect to wait about 600 calendar days for an appointment, so compare that with the wait in your country of residence or nationality before you pay.

In that case, the ties the officer looks for are to your home country, so bring proof of your job, family or studies there.

Studying in Canada and planning a US holiday? The appointment site lists holidays and family visits under the visitor (B) visa, while the student (F) visa is for an approved course of study at a US school. For the copy of your legal status in Canada, bring your study permit, the document Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issues to let you study here.

Rescheduling a US Visa Appointment in Canada

Rescheduling a US visa appointment in Canada through the AIS portal doesn't forfeit your MRV fee. Sign in to the appointment site to move it. What you do next depends on who made the change.

Path 1: You initiated the change. Pick a new date in your account. There's no new fee while you stay with a post in Canada and your fee is still valid.

Check your fee's expiry date before you move an appointment: it's on the payment receipt in your account. The appointment site's notice on fee validity says that after that date you can't cancel or reschedule without paying a new fee. An interview already booked for a later date still stands, so plan to attend it.

Path 2: The consulate cancelled your appointment. If you get a cancellation email, don't go to the old appointment. Sign in, select "Continue" and follow the "Reschedule Appointment" steps to pick a new date. The appointment site's FAQ also suggests checking your appointment in your account a day or two before it, because cancellation emails can land in spam.

If the new date is too late for an urgent, unforeseen trip, use the Request Expedite steps in the wait-times section above, with proof of the need.

One practical point on travel prep: if you've already bought mobile data for the US leg of your trip, check when its validity period starts before you lock in revised travel dates.