Canadian snowbirds hoping for longer stays in U.S.
Jun 19, 2013, 5:00 AM | Updated: 5:00 am
PHOENIX — The Canadian Snowbirds Association is closely watching one debate in the Senate.
Lawmakers are looking at a proposed piece of legislation that would allow Canadian snowbirds to spend a couple more months in the United States.
“We actually been lobbying for the past couple of years to have Congress pass a Canadian Retiree Visa,” said CSA Research Officer Evan Rachkovsky.
According to Rachkovsky, Canadians citizens are only allowed six months in the U.S. The proposal would allow retirees aged 55 and older to stay and additional two months for a total of 240 days.
Supporters of the new Visa suggest that, under the current policy, snowbirds exhaust their allotted time in states like Arizona, California and Florida. Unfortunately, they are then barred from making day trips to northern states, which means communities are losing out on tourism dollars.
