How H-1B Visa Holders and Other Economic Immigrants Can Come to Canada
This week, the Trump administration issued a new executive order restricting economic immigration to the U.S. for the rest of the year. These types of visas allow more than half a million immigrants to enter the U.S. each year. The new ruling includes restrictions on the popular H-1B visa which allows American businesses to recruit hundreds of thousands of skilled workers every year. Many of those skilled workers will now be looking to Canada as a more welcoming alternative.
In a recent television interview, Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino stated that Canada would continue to welcome new immigrants. Canada has many programs and immigration streams that cater to the very skilled workers that the U.S. is now turning away.
The uncertainty surrounding the future of the H-1B visa has lead some experts to believe that there could be a shift away from the United States and towards Canada.
Moving to Canada with an H-1B Visa
If you’re already in the United States on an H-1B visa, you may be very well-positioned to make the move to Canada. Depending on your profile, you may choose to continue as a temporary foreign worker north of the border, or make the change to permanent residence.
Working temporarily in Canada
Over 300,000 foreign nationals enter Canada every year through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), which allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers for a limited amount of time.
In most cases, you need a valid job offer from a Canadian employer to be eligible for a Canadian work permit. However, unlike in the United States, there is no lottery system to determine who is accepted. If you and your employer meet the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) requirements, your application will be duly processed.
In June, 2017, the Government of Canada launched the Global Talent Stream, which provides a two-week processing standard for certain work permits if the Canadian employer is either referred to the Global Talent Stream by a designated partner, or hiring a worker in a position identified on the Global Talent occupations list.
Many of the identified occupations are in the information technology (IT) sector.
GLOBAL TALENT OCCUPATION LIST
| National Occupations Classification (NOC) code | Occupation title |
|---|---|
| 20012 | Computer and information systems managers |
| 21300 | Civil engineers |
| 21310 | Electrical and electronics engineers |
| 21330 | Mining engineers |
| 21390 | Aerospace engineers |
| 21311 | Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) |
| Sub-set of 21210* | Mathematicians and statisticians * Positions for actuaries or related occupations are excluded from this subset. |
| 21211 – Data scientists 21220 – Cybersecurity specialists 21221 – Business system specialists 21222 – Information systems specialists 21233 – Web designers | Information systems analysts and consultants |
| 21211 – Data scientists 21223 – Database analysts and data administrators | Database analysts and data administrators |
| 21231 – Software engineers and designers 21211 – Data scientists | Software engineers and designers |
| 21230 – Computer systems developers and programmers 21232 – Software developers and programmers 21234 – Web developers and programmers | Computer programmers and interactive media developers |
| 21233 – Web designers 21234 – Web developers and programmers | Web designers and developers |
| 22310 | Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians |
| 22220 | Computer network technicians (NOC 2021 occupation: Computer network and web technicians) |
| 22222 | Information systems testing technicians |
| Sub-set of 51120** | Producer, technical, creative and artistic director and project manager – Visual effects and video game |
| Sub-set of 52120*** | Digital media designers |
DESIGNATED PARTNERS
| Business Development Bank of Canada |
| Council of Canadian Innovators |
| Global Affairs Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service |
| Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada - Accelerated Growth Service |
| Invest in Canada |
| National Research Council - Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) |
| Privy Council Office, Special Projects Team |
| TECHNATION |
| Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (multiple locations across the region) |
| Ignite Fredericton |
| Venn Innovation |
| Government of New Brunswick – Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour |
| Genesis |
| Cape Breton Partnership |
| Government of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Business Inc. |
| Halifax Partnership |
| Government of Prince Edward Island, Island Investment Development Inc. |
| Burlington Economic Development Corporation |
| Invest Brampton |
| Invest in Hamilton |
| City of Mississauga |
| Communitech Corporation |
| Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario |
| Government of Ontario, Labour, Training and Skills Development – Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program |
| Government of Ontario, Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade – Ontario Investment Office |
| Invest Ottawa |
| Kingston Economic Development Corporation |
| London Economic Development Corporation |
| MaRS Discovery District |
| Regional Municipality of Niagara |
| York Region |
| Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership |
| Toronto Global |
| Town of Oakville |
| Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation |
| Invest Windsor Essex |
| Canadian Economic Development for Quebec Regions |
| For other designated referral partners located in Quebec for the Global Talent Stream, employers from Quebec are invited to consult Quebec’s ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) website (French only). |
| Calgary Economic Development |
| Edmonton Metropolitan Region Economic Development Company a.k.a Edmonton Global |
| Government of Alberta, Alberta Labour and Immigration |
| Accelerate Okanagan |
| BC Tech Association |
| Government of British Columbia, Ministry Municipal Affairs |
| Kootenay Association for Science & Technology |
| Launch Academy |
| Vancouver Economic Commission |
| Venture Kamloops |
| Economic Development Winnipeg |
| Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Education and Training |
| Tech Manitoba |
| Government of Saskatchewan, Ministry of Immigration and Career Training |
| Last updated May 10, 2022 |
|---|
Options to immigrate to Canada permanently
If you are already in the United States on an H-1B visa, you are likely a strong candidate for economic immigration to Canada.
There are three major federal Canadian economic immigration programs:
- Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
- Federal Skilled Trades (FST)
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
These programs are managed by the federal Express Entry system. If you meet the eligibility requirements for one of the programs managed by Express Entry, you can submit a profile to the Express Entry pool.
Once in the pool, your profile will receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score based on things like your age, level of education, and work experience. The highest-ranking candidates are issued invitations to apply (ITA) for permanent residence in periodic Express Entry draws.
As a skilled worker in the United States, you are most likely to meet the requirements for the Federal Skilled Worker program.
However, most Canadian provinces also offer pathways to permanent residence for skilled workers. While eligibility requirements and application procedures vary between provinces, there may be an option for you. If you are eligible for a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), you can apply to the province for a provincial nomination. If you are successful, you can then apply for Canadian permanent residence from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
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