When Nathan Chen, an international student from China, decided to explore what he calls the “real America,” he didn’t anticipate the lengthy wait. Living and studying in Halifax, this is Chen’s first visit to North America, and he was eager to see more.
To enter the United States, Chen needed a visa, which required an in-person interview at one of the seven U.S. embassy or consulate locations in Canada. That’s where his troubles began.
Chen is among thousands in Canada facing U.S. visa wait times that can extend up to two years. This backlog has spawned an industry of online schemes claiming to expedite the process, but some have scammed individuals out of money or hijacked their accounts.
Struggling to book an in-person interview, Chen found the scheduling website perpetually full. “I checked it every day,” he said. “Two a.m., 3 a.m., 6 a.m.,” he recalled, eventually finding the first available date in 2025.
As of late June, official wait times at U.S. consulates in Canada ranged from 700 to 900 days, depending on the location.
High Demand and Illegitimate Services
Many international students, temporary foreign workers, or permanent residents in Canada require a U.S. visa for tourism, business, conventions, or medical treatment. Chen, wanting to visit the U.S. for tourism, also sought a visa for more convenient travel between North America and his home near Beijing.
While waiting for his appointment, Chen came across an advertisement on a Chinese-language buy-and-sell website promising earlier appointment slots within days for $300 CAD. Similar ads in English were found on Instagram and Facebook.
Despite reservations about the fairness of these services, Chen decided to try one, with CBC observing. After transferring the money to someone in Shanghai, he provided his visa account information, allowing them to act on his behalf. The advertiser claimed appointments were hard to get immediately but possible within months.
In the past year, U.S. consulates in Canada have heard similar stories and are warning against sharing account information. “Applicants turn over access to their account, and the scammer does nothing,” said Elizabeth Power from the U.S. State Department in Ottawa. Reports have surfaced of applicants losing both money and account control.
The U.S. State Department is prioritizing efforts to offer more appointments to those waiting the longest, Power said.
Black Market for Visa Appointments
This issue is part of a global trend studied by economists at the WZB Berlin Social Science Centre. Scalpers charge fees for faster appointment access, a practice observed in places like Beirut during the Syrian refugee crisis.
Rustamdjan Hakimov, an associate professor of economics at the University of Lausanne, described one type of scalper who rebooks people for a fee by monitoring cancellations or new slots. Some scalpers use bots to book all available appointments, leading to many no-shows.
Hakimov’s team suggested that government agencies could assign slots randomly to those who apply each day, rather than on a first-come-first-served basis, to counter bots. Cancelled appointments should also be randomly reassigned.
Growing Problems
The U.S. State Department does not believe its visa booking system is being infiltrated by bots but continues to enhance security measures. “We’re working on the back end to prevent scams, but applicants need to protect themselves too,” Power said.
Hakimov believes financial inequality underpins this issue, which will persist as services become more digitalized.
CBC contacted the Chinese advertiser, who claimed to have booked thousands of appointments in Canada but declined to detail their operations.
For Chen, the service didn’t work. A friend eventually found him an open slot in Toronto, where he rebooked. He secured his account password and advises others against using third-party services. “If they [U.S. State Department] take action, they can stop third-party interference,” Chen said.