U.S. cracks down on ‘visa fixers’ exploiting Canadian applicants
U.S. embassy officials have warned about the schemes since 2023 and say they are cancelling fraudulent appointments and revoking visas.
Third-party operators have for years advertised earlier U.S. visa appointments to applicants in Canada, sometimes requiring payment and access to applicants’ scheduling accounts.
The U.S. Embassy says it has warned applicants about the practice since May 2023 and has responded with anti-bot measures, appointment cancellations, visa revocations and referrals of suspected illegal activity to law enforcement.
The U.S. Embassy to Canada says it has revoked visas and cancelled appointments as part of efforts to combat abuse of the U.S. visa appointment scheduling system.
In response to Juno News, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said they’re aware of reports of so-called “visa fixers” and automated booking bots targeting applicants in Canada and have been working to counter their use.
“The U.S. Mission to Canada is aware of these reports and has been actively working to counter any exploitation of our visa appointment scheduling system by so-called ‘visa fixers’ or automated booking bots,” the spokesperson said.
