H1N1 Influenza (Flu)
The United States, Canada and Mexico continue to work together with international organizations in actively monitoring the H1N1 flu outbreak. For additional and latest information, please visit: http://www.flu.gov/
Related: [travel alerts][President Obama's remarks September 1, 2009].

15 October, 09
Dr. Karim Ahmed Dr. Karim Ahmed, director of international programs at the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington, D.C., paid a special visit to Masjid Al Salaam (Burnaby Mosque) September 30 while on a State Department-sponsored cross-country speaking tour on climate change. Dr. Ahmed is an expert on the impacts of climate change on human health [more].

15 October, 09
Consul General Phil Chicola talks to Bill on The Bill Good Show CG Phil Chicola appeared on the September 15, 2009 edition of the 'The Bill Good Show’, broadcasted on CKNW, the highest-rated talk show station in Vancouver, BC. The station's content is based on news and current events, therefore the CG answered questions about current CA-US border, trade, economy and health care issues. Phil Chicola also took the opportunity to introduce to the listeners our new American Ambassador to Canada, Mr. David Jacobson. Read Ambassador’s blog here. The show debuted with part of a song by Canadian band The Abrams Brothers, to honor the memory of American journalist and musician Daniel Pearl, promoting harmony for humanity during the Daniel Pearl World Music Days. here .

14 October, 09
America's representatives in British Columbia, Consul General Phil Chicola, Deputy Consul Kathleen Hill and Public Affairs Officer Charles Smith, were on-hand for the Vancouver Aquarium's designation. The ceremony recognizes the Vancouver Aquarium as a trendsetter in research and as an institution that 'walks the walk' in practicing what it preaches about caring for the environment. Illustrating the cross-border and inter-jurisdictional importance of the Learning Center designation, officials from the B.C. Parliament, Coastal America Partnership, NOAA, the EPA, and many others were also present. See other pictures here .

5 – 7 October, 09
Officials from the consulate traveled to the Yukon Territory to renew ties with government, cultural and academic institutions in the area. The consulate’s Public Affairs Officer and Public Affairs Assistant spent two days in meetings with key figures in Whitehorse, touching on topics such as climate change, education, museum curatorship and secure energy. For additional information and photographs of the visit, click here .

12 October 09
The Official Celebration: Second Amtrak train between Vancouver and Seattle
British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and Washington Governor Chris Gregoire were part of the October 12 official celebration of the new second Amtrak train travelling between Vancouver and Seattle. Deputy Consul General Kathleen Hill from U.S. Consulate General Vancouver also attended. Photos.  Special Amtrak discounts to and from Vancouver.

18 September 09
Lecture on energy security at the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS)
The Public Affairs section organized a lecture on energy security at the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) within University of Victoria. British Columbia has long been at the forefront of Canada’s ‘green’ movement, enthusiastically welcomed environmental expert Linda Mesaros.

This activity is part of the large joint effort that the US and Canada make in order to provide a safer future to the next generations. The Canadian audience was clearly curious, and invited Ms. Mesaros to share her extensive experience in the environmental and energy areas. The valuable information she provided about government-led implementation of green procurement programs, contract templates, building community awareness, all resonated with the Canadian audience. For Ms. Mesaros’ presentation follow the PICS website pics.uvic.ca or click here After Victoria, Public Affairs section brought environment and energy speaker Linda Mesaros to the University of British Columbia to address the Student Business Club. The talk highlighted the role of government as an instrument of positive social change in implementing and carrying out environmental policy. [listen to podcast] [view photos on FlickR]

17 September 09
Consul General Phil Chicola appeared on the September 17, 2009 edition of 'BC Almanac'.
Consul General Phil Chicola appeared on the September 17, 2009 edition of 'BC Almanac,' a province-wide radio talk show covering much of British Columbia. The CG was the subject of a wide-ranging, thirty-minute interview on one of the province's most-listened-to radio talk shows. Thanks to the format of the show, which allows listeners to call in and ask questions, the CG had the opportunity to reach Canadians and Americans living all across the province. He addressed a broad range of host- and caller-provided questions. Topics included trade, dual citizenship, border crossing and border security, the broader bilateral relationship, 'Buy America.' The CG fielded questions from listeners in West Vancouver, Port Coquitlam, Kootenay, and other locations knowledgeably and with his characteristic charm and professionalism. See picture here .

16 September 09
US Consulate General’s staff went on a tour of the Olympic Oval in Richmond.
US Consulate General’s staff went on a tour of the Olympic Oval in Richmond. The Oval will be the site of numerous events during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Many of the Olympic skating events will take place here. To find out more about the Oval, click here. View photos on FlickR .

Northbound Lanes of Interstate 5 At Peace Arch Land Port of Entry Officially Open Wednesday, September 2.
The official opening of the long-awaited new north-bound lanes of U.S. Interstate-5 in Blaine connecting to the Canadian border is on September 2. However, travelers and commuters will be happy to know those lanes are unofficially open for use now. Not only is this section of the I-5 ready ahead of schedule, but travelers will be happy that the opening is in time for the Labor Day weekend.

For many months a series of detours have been in place because the I-5 north-bound lanes were removed to facilitate construction of the new U.S. border station at Peace Arch.

Speakers for the opening ceremony at 11 a.m. will include Robin G. Graf, acting regional administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration; Paula Hammond, Washington State Secretary of Transportation; Michele James, director of field operations, Customs and Border Protection and Bonnie Onyon, Mayor, City of Blaine.

27 August 09
U.S. Alternative Energy Specialist speaks at T’Sou-ke Nation, Vancouver Island
The T’Sou-ke Nation at the picturesque southern end of Vancouver Island hosted a gathering of local experts on alternative energy to meet with U.S. State Department speaker Carl “Rick” Schwerdtfeger. Schwerdtfeger, based in New Hampshire, has expertise in solar energy, LED materials and Smart Grid technology. The T’Sou-ke have the largest solar installation in B.C. [more] For more photographs of the T’Sou-ke event, please click the link.

26 August 09
Vancouver Consulate presents Astronaut food to H.R. MacMillan Space Centre
"This is our space food," said Lisa McIntosh, holding out a box of what seemed to be a sorry looking sample of trash. Samples of dried food, designed for astronauts in space, had discolored with age and lost their vacuum seals after being handled by hundreds of children over the past six years.

We have tried everything to get new space food and have run into dead-ends everywhere, said McIntosh, director of Learning at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vanier Park.
U.S. Consulate General Vancouver made a call to NASA (U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and told the space food laboratory about the Space Centre's dilemma. Within a few weeks a whole new space meal arrived, including mac-and-cheese and candy.

Deputy Consul General Kathleen Hill officially presented the package to Space Centre executive director Rob Appleton on August 26. Before the presentation was completed, children were running up to finger the new food. Holding up a bag of gray mush, Cam Cronin who is in charge of public programming said the six-year-old sample of beef and broccoli wasn't much of an inspiration for kids to want to go up into space. [Slideshow]

21 August 09
Ramadan Kareem
As the new crescent moon ushers in Ramadan, the President extends his best wishes to Muslim communities in the United States and around the world.

Each Ramadan, the ninth month on the lunar calendar, Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset for 29 or 30 days. Fasting is a tradition in many religious faiths and is meant to increase spirituality, discipline, thankfulness, and consciousness of God's mercy. Ramadan is also a time of giving and reaching out to those less fortunate, and this summer, American Muslims have joined their fellow citizens in serving communities across the country. Over the course of the month, we will highlight the perspectives of various faiths on fasting and profile faith-based organizations making real impacts in American cities and towns. [more/video].

Just in time for Ramadan, the “Islam Around the World” flickr group has been launched!
flickr.com - The group asks you to share your images or create new ones that complete the phrase, “Islam is…” Tell us what Islam means to you in your life, your city, your country. Please add your photographs to our group and describe in the caption box what your image is about. We’d like to share as many of these images as possible on our blog, our website and our Facebook page. If you’d like us to include your photos among those we share elsewhere, please remove any copyright restrictions and let us know how you’d like to be credited.

Join the group and upload your photos or simply send your photos in an email to: state61per@photos.flickr.com. Include in the email: the title in the subject line, the description in the body and the photo attached. Please Tag the photos #Islam. You can do that by putting “tags: #Islam” in the body of your email.

17 August 09
First Nations Art displayed at US 2010 Olympic Coordination Office
In keeping with the 2010 Winter Olympics tribute to Canadian Aboriginal people, U.S. Consulate General Vancouver's Olympics Coordination Team has installed several art pieces representative of local cultures, in cooperation with Hill's Native Art gallery in Gastown.

Visitors to the U.S. 2010 office complex can feel the cultural spirit of Canada's First Nations and Inuit people in the surroundings of totem poles, prints, paintings, and carved masks and panels. [More/photos]

40th anniversary of the first human landing on the moon
Apollo 11 Celebration
Children of all ages huddled at the entrance of the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, building rockets out of empty soda bottles and paper. They were celebrating a milestone that awed the world exactly 40 years ago on July 20—the landing of Apollo 11 and its crew on the moon. The children’s excitement at making miniature “moon rockets” reinforced the significance of the 1969 achievement; even now, four decades later, in a time when technology advances miles by the day, the triumph of Apollo 11 continues to inspire. [more/photos].

Nick Proach
As a little boy with a knack for making models and a passion for space, Nick Proach never imagined his zeal for space exploration would define his career. [more/photo].

15 July 09
Fairleigh Dickinson University Visit
Students at the Vancouver campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University enjoyed a session with Consul General Phil Chicola who spoke about his career in the U.S. Foreign Service and told anecdotes of his career, such as encounters with the flamboyant president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. The consul general was hosted June 5 by Dr. Touss Sepehr, professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson.

6 July 09
Consulate General Vancouver's Independence Day celebration
A light drizzle didn't dampen the celebratory spirit of Consulate General Vancouver's Independence Day celebration on July 6.

Consul General Phil Chicola and the honorable Lt. Gov. Steven Point, representing the British Columbia provincial government, both spoke about the close ties between the U.S. and Canada, particularly between British Columbia and Washington State. The lieutenant governor, an elected chief of the Skowkale First Nation for 15 years and former tribal chair of the Sto:lo Nation government, said because First Nations territories extend to both sides of the international border he was able to work in the U.S. when he was young. Ties between the two countries are so close that he holds a U.S. social security number from those days.

Consul General Chicola read President Obama's July 4 message to some 370 guests at the garden party (see entire message on this website).

Contributing to the celebration were the color guard, comprised of members of the 39 Canadian Brigade Group HQ and U.S. Marine Aviation Training Support Group 53, and a brass quintet provided by the Band of the Fifteenth Field Regiment, Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. Mark Donnelly, anthem singer for the Vancouver Canucks, led the crowd in singing the Star-Spangled Banner and O Canada.

[Read more and view slideshow]]  [Read Joy Metcalfe's account]

President Obama's 4th of July Message
Today, we are called upon to remember not only the day our country was born, but also the indomitable spirit of the first American citizens who made that day possible. We are called to remember how unlikely it was that our American experiment would succeed at all; that a small band of patriots would declare independence from a powerful empire; and that they would form, in the new world, what the old world had never known - a government of, by, and for the people. [more]

04 July 09
Democrats Abroad (Vancouver) celebrate July 4
Democrats Abroad, Vancouver Chapter, hosted a July 4 picnic on Jerico Beach to mark Independence Day for the U.S. See the below link about the July 4 event, which was open to Democrats Abroad, families and friends, and the second link about the local organization. Consul General Phil Chicola spoke briefly at the July 4 event.
democratsabroad.org/node/9092
democratsabroad.org/group/canada-vancouver

29 June 09
Americans in the fictitious country of “Chatu”-- which for a few days was situated in the state of North Carolina-- were “rescued” in an evacuation exercise with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team from Fort Bragg. U.S. Consul General Phil Chicola, who is usually at the helm at U.S. Consulate General Vancouver, took part in the exercise playing the role of Ambassador of Chatu.

Consul General Chicola was chosen because he’s been involved in actual evacuations during his State Department career.

Canada underwent the largest-scale evacuation in the country’s history in July, 2006, when Lebanon was under fire. An estimated 50,000 Canadians were in Lebanon, some 30,000 registered with the Canadian embassy in Beirut.

For the exercise in North Carolina in June, more than 1,000 paratroopers, 70 airmen, State Department officials and people taking the roles of evacuees took part. Lessons learned from the exercise will help the Brigade refine its evacuation procedures.

An account of the exercise in The Fayette Observer. [photo slideshow]

18 June 09
Embassy Press Officer takes in local color in Surrey
US Embassy Press Officer Stacy White spent the day June 18 getting to know Vancouver, starting with a courtesy call to CBC, followed by a visit to the University of British Columbia School of Journalism. She was guest at a lunch hosted by editor Paula Carlson of the Surrey/North Delta Leader. They discussed how rapidly the City of Surrey is growing, the loss of Surrey farmland to development, and the effects on Surrey of being a border municipality. Ms. Carlson spoke about how the Leader has gained “unlimited space” for news volume on the Internet, updating paper new editions daily on the Internet. Ms. White also took the opportunity to see both the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway border crossings and construction of the new U.S. border station at Peace Arch. Ms. White had the lead for Mission Canada in reporting the effects of the June 1 implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative when passport or other secure document identification requirements kicked in for land and water arrivals to the United States.

16 June 09
Trafficking in Persons Report 2009
U.S. Embassy Canada congratulates University of British Columbia Professor Benjamin Perrin for his selection as a hero in the U.S. State Department's 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, released today, in Washington, D.C. The 175-country report is the most comprehensive worldwide report on the efforts of governments to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons, a modern-day form of slavery. Its findings are intended to raise global awareness and spur countries to take effective actions to counter trafficking in persons.

Professor Perrin is one of only nine individuals worldwide to be so honored this year, and is the first Canadian to receive this recognition. He is a leading anti-trafficking activist in Canada and founder of The Future Group, an NGO dedicated to combating human trafficking and the child sex trade around the world. Mr. Perrin has advocated for the adoption of a Canadian national action plan and has pushed for stronger enforcement and more effective victim services. [more/photo slideshow]
[Full Report] [Canada Section]
Benjamin Perrin speaks on the Nik and Marke Show, CHUM Radio – Talk 1410 FM - Listen here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) jointly operate the NEXUS trusted traveler program. To learn more about NEXUS, enroll in the program online or renew an expiring NEXUS card, click here.

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U.S. Consulate General Vancouver Closure Notice
Please be advised that the consular section will be closed to the public on the third Wednesday of every month for staff development. This includes the visa unit, american citizen services and notarial services. No items will be available for pick up.
Services will resume the next business day.
If there is an Emergency regarding a U.S. Citizen please call 604-685-4311.
We regret any inconvenience.
PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

SECURITY NOTICE TO ALL CONSULAR VISITORS.

April 2009: Ask The Consulate - ON THE BRIDGE: An Intern’s Experience at the US Consulate General Vancouver Sitting at my desk on the 22nd floor, high above the hustle and bustle of Vancouver’s downtown core, I gaze out my window onto the snow-capped North Shore mountains, Lions Gate Bridge and Stanley Park, and think, I could get used to life as an intern. I am an intern at the US Consulate General Vancouver and a Canadian citizen nonetheless. Interns are stereotypically looked upon as the coffee maker or Xerox guru. Despite being proficient at both tasks, my time at the US Consulate has been anything but ordinary. [Read More].

Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), for entry into the United States at land or sea borders, as of January 31, 2008:
- Oral declarations of citizenship alone will no longer be accepted;
- U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 19 and older will need to present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or naturalization certificate;
- Children ages 18 and under will only be required to present proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate;
- Passports and trusted traveler program cards - NEXUS, FAST, and SENTRI - will continue to be accepted for cross-border travel. All existing nonimmigrant visa and passport requirements will remain in effect and will not be altered by this change. A passport has been required for air travel since January 23, 2007. [read more on WHTI]
NEW. Entry requirements at land or sea borders in effect June 1, 2009:
Washington -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced today the final rule for the land and sea portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), a core 9/11 Commission recommendation. The WHTI final rule requires travelers to present a passport or other approved secure document denoting citizenship and identity for all land and sea travel into the United States. WHTI establishes document requirements for travelers entering the United States who were previously exempt, including citizens of the U.S., Canada and Bermuda. These document requirements will be effective June 1, 2009 [Press Release] [FAQs] .

Department of Homeland Security
Traveler Redress Inquiry Program
Travelers can now resolve possible watch list misidentification and travel screening problems with any of the department’s component agencies with DHS TRIP, an easy to use web site.

Rewards for Jusitce
Help the U.S. government stop terrorism.

Softwood Lumber

Trafficking in Persons

Environmental Issues

Employment and Student Opportunities the U.S. Consulate Vancouver

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