IRCC September 22 Processing Times: US Super Visa Wait Plunges 50 Days, Canada Work Permits Rise for the First Time Since June

IRCC published its temporary residence processing update on September 22, 2026, comparing new estimates against the September 16 figures. The headline mover is the US super visa wait, which dropped by 50 days in a single cycle — from 116 days down to 66. On the other side, Canada's in-Canada work permit estimate rose for the first time since early June, and IRCC quietly switched how it reports that number altogether.

Work permits — Canada's estimate rises, and changes format

*IRCC switched its in-Canada work permit figure from a days-based estimate to a weeks-based one this cycle. At 16 weeks (112 days), it's roughly in line with the prior 109-day reading, but it marks the first upward move for Canada's in-Canada work permit wait since it began its slow decline in early June.

Service standard: 120 days for in-Canada submissions (initial and extensions); 60 days for outside-Canada submissions.

The US applicant wait climbed to 4 weeks, continuing the jump that started the previous cycle. The Philippines moved the other way, dropping back a week to 6.

Study permits — no movement anywhere, for the first time since July

Every country on this list held exactly where it was last update — the first time that's happened for study permits since IRCC's July 17 update. After a rough stretch where Canada and Nigeria both slipped a week in mid-September, this cycle is a pause rather than a reversal.

Service standard: 120 days for in-Canada submissions (initial and extensions); 60 days for outside-Canada submissions.

Visitor visas — slower almost everywhere, but only by days

Nigeria's visitor visa wait keeps setting the pace at the slow end — 93 days now, up from 87 — and remains the longest estimate of any country tracked across all four categories in this update.

Service standard: 14 days for outside-Canada submissions.

Super visas — the US applicant's wait nearly gets cut in half

Service standard: 112 days.

This is the number that stands out this cycle. US super visa applicants went from the longest wait of any country on the super visa list to comfortably the shortest, a 43% drop in a single update. IRCC doesn't publish the reason behind individual country swings this size, but a move like this usually reflects either a data correction or a working-off of a backlog that had built up in that specific queue — either way, it's the kind of number worth confirming still holds if you're applying from the US in the coming weeks, since a jump back up wouldn't be unprecedented.

What this means for you

If you're applying for a work permit from within Canada: the small rise this cycle isn't a reversal of the downward trend so much as IRCC changing how it reports the number. Don't read too much into a single week's move — watch the next update or two to see if the format change settles into a clearer trend.

If you're applying for a super visa from the United States: this is a meaningfully better moment to apply than two weeks ago, at least based on the current estimate. If your paperwork is ready, there's no reason to wait for it to move further in your favor.

If you're applying for a visitor visa from Nigeria, Pakistan, or India: waits crept up again this cycle, continuing a slower stretch for these three countries. Build the extra week or two into your travel planning rather than assuming the fastest recent estimate will hold.

If you're applying for a study permit: nothing changed this cycle — good news if you were bracing for another increase, but not a signal that times are about to drop. See our study permit guide for what affects your specific timeline.

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Sources

• CIC News — Canada updates timelines for temporary residence applicants
• Canada.ca — Check current IRCC processing times