NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- It can take months for Canada to process visas and work permits when its temporary citizens apply through the traditional method.

However, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said there is a loophole that's causing Western New York ports of entry like the Rainbow Bridge and Peace Bridge to "look like a merry-go-round." He said the practice known as flagpoling, when people enter the U.S. and loop around the flagpoles before submitting paperwork upon reentry, can shorten the processing time to days.

"When someone from Canada shows up trying to do this, the applications take at least 30 minutes to process per person and it takes an agent away from others who want to get in," Schumer said.

He said the practices is creating delays for others trying to enter the U.S. and Canada. Niagara Falls Bridge Commission CEO Ken Bieger said it has been an issue for years but has gotten worse over the last six or seven.

"Those temporary residents of Canada seeking to flagpole many times show up stressed, confused and unprepared and not familiar with border processes. Individuals can be found lining up in the middle of night and sitting on the concrete on the center of our pedestrian walkway just to be first in line," Bieger said.

Last year, border officials said there were more than 20,000 claims of flagpoling at the northern border, the majority of which occurred at the three Western New York bridges. Schumer is asking the Canadian minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to close the loophole which he says impacts tourism, commerce and public safety.

Less than a year ago, there was a terrorism scare at the Rainbow Bridge where the majority leader spoke Tuesday.

"Our border people, one of their jobs is to move commerce quickly between the countries but another is to deal with terrorism, another is to deal with bad people and drugs and other things that might come across the border and they're diverted by this flagpoling," he said.

Schumer said flagpoling is one of many factors that is adding to wait times at border crossings. Another, he said is an insufficient number of border patrol agents.

The Senate border bill, which failed last week, would have included funding for 2,400 more agents but Schumer said he hopes to include it in the upcoming budget negotiations this summer.