At the moment, there is no retiree visa for the United States – although such a visa it would no doubt be very popular. As it stands now, Canadians who wish to spend time in the United States as retirees cannot stay there year-round. 
Canadians who spend their winters in the United States – affectionately called “snowbirds”, are limited in the amount of time they can spend in the United States per year. Right now, they are only allowed to remain in the United States for six months of every year, whether they choose to stay in one big chunk or they choose to break it up into shorter trips. This is the maximum amount of time that Canadians can remain in the United States legally and without any kind of a visa. There are exceptions if they successfully apply for extensions of their status but the rule of thumb is six months.
This is not enough time for many Canadians, and the Canadian Snowbirds Association has been lobbying for an increase in the amount of time allowed in the United States for quite a long time.
New immigration reforms will allow Canadians to remain in the United States longer
Now, the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan immigration reform, if it were to become law, would allow Canadians to stay in the United States for eight months instead of six months.
However, a sponsor of the bill, Senator Chuck Schumer wants to introduce a nonimmigrant retiree visa that would allow Canadians to live in the United States all year if they owned at least $500,000 worth of property in the United States.
SnowBirds Rejoice!
This would be a great move for the United States and for Canadians, encouraging more Canadian tourism and boosting the economies of warmer states that welcome hundreds of thousands of Canadians every single year.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
