The Canadian government has begun to more actively pursue foreign nationals with temporary status in the United States of America for immigration to Canada, capitalizing on the dysfunctional American immigration system.
The controversial state of American immigration policy has been heavily featured in the news recently, and the Canadian government is ready to capitalize on the policy blunders of their Southern neighbour to attract foreign nationals to Canada.
With the stalled immigration reforms in the United States, many foreign nationals in the United States are finding themselves in a precarious position. Countless individuals are in the United States on temporary visas but are unable to obtain permanent resident status. Canada is hoping to attract these individuals to immigrate and ultimately settle in Canada.
In particular, the Canadian government is hopeful that some of the tens of thousands of students who come to the United States to pursue higher education in one of the country’s many prestigious universities and colleges will make the decision to immigrate to Canada when they are unable to obtain permanent resident status in the United States.
The Canadian government plans to “aggressively” promote Canadian immigration opportunities, particularly the new Start-Up Visa in order to attract immigrants to Canada’s growing tech industry. Canada has already begun to implement this strategy, going as far as to commission a billboard in Silicon Valley targeting individuals frustrated with the American immigration system and suggesting that they “pivot to Canada.”
Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney summarized the federal government’s strategy to attract foreign nationals away from the United States and to Canada, stating that the government is “seeking very deliberately to benefit from the dysfunctional American immigration system […] If the United States doesn’t want to open the door to permanent residency for [foreign nationals], then that door will be opened in principle for them to come to Canada.”
FWCanada is a Montreal-based immigration law firm that provides professional legal services on Canadian immigration. For more tips and updates on Canadian immigration follow FWCanada on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
