A Guide to live and study in Canada – Canadian Immigration

Immigration in Canada has become a quite desirable process for people. Under this program, the prospective immigrants are allowed to migrate under the Express Entry program. Three classes of immigrants are actually eligible to apply for the Express Entry program. Those candidates who are eligible for Express Entry for Canada immigration are sent an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence. Now they have a time period of 60 days after receiving the ITA to do so.

Canadian Experience class

The immigration to Canada process has been streamlined under the Express Entry. Now, the three classes are:

· Canadian Experience class: Under this category, those candidates are eligible who actually have an experience of 1 year in Canada.

· It's also important to have the requisite language skills to prove your worth for application to this category.

· This immigration to Canada category is not applicable for application of permanent residence inside Quebec.

Federal skilled trades

It's important for such candidates to actually go for a precise language test. It's also crucial to know that under such immigration to Canada programs, the educational credential assessment is necessary. This ECA is important for education which has been received outside of Canada.

But such ECA is not important if;

· The candidate possesses one year of work experience in this country

· The work experience is in a particular skilled trade which is listed on Canada's NOC.

· The candidates also need to know that this Express Entry class is also not eligible for permanent residency in Quebec.

Federal skilled worker

The candidate also needs to have a full-time work experience of 1,560 hours in a year or the same in part-time. However, the candidate needs to have received payments for such work and any unpaid work shall not be counted towards this Express Entry class. The work experience should be at the different skill levels of type 0, or either level B or A.

· An educational credential assessment is not required if you possess a Canadian high school or secondary degree, diploma or certificate.

·The language skills of a candidate are required, in either language such as French or English.

Apart from fulfilling all these qualifications, you also need to have a valid job offer with LMIA which stands for Labor Market Impactassessment. This implies that if you receive a job, it won't impact the job of any existing Canadians.

Living and study in Canada will become very easy if you make some efforts. Canadian people are very friendly and the laws for the immigrants are also very friendly Canadian immigration remains at the top of the list of immigration countries. 

Work visas restored to specialized Canadian nurses working in U.S.

After a week of confusion, U.S. border officials are once again granting professional work visas to specialized Canadian nurses working at American hospitals. 

Nurses and hospitals have been in a frenzy in the past week as visa applications for advanced practice nurses and advanced clinical nurse practitioners working in Detroit hospitals were denied.

Canadian citizens holding these positions in the U.S. have been approved for non-immigrant professional (TN) visas under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for years.

But that recently changed when nurses applying for renewals and new visas were being denied, according to officials at Henry Ford Hospital. At least one Henry Ford nurse was turned away at the border last week. 

A U.S. Customs spokesperson, on Friday, said the agency needed to get clarification on whether the specialized Canadian nurses qualified for TN visas.

"These nurses fall under the registered nurse (category) of the TN visa status," said Kristoffer Grogan, public affairs officer with U.S. Customs.

That clarification came Friday after members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association contacted customs to find out why the nurse applications were being rejected, even though they had been approved for years.

"They said the issue is being sorted out and nurses who are otherwise eligible will be able to enter the United States," said Melanie Goldberg, vice-chairperson of the association's Michigan chapter. 

Immigration lawyer Drew Porter said he believes the issue stems from someone suddenly having a different interpretation of nurses as defined under NAFTA.

"This issue has been resolved and the nurses can return to the port of entry on Monday," said Porter, a U.S. lawyer based in Windsor, Ont. who is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Staff at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit said they have heard from several nurses who had been denied the TN work visas, despite having them for years.

Patti Kunkel was one of many nurses worried when people started having their visa applications denied. The advanced clinical nurse practitioner, who lives in LaSalle — a small community near Windsor — and works at Henry Ford was worried the changes would affect all nurses.

"I was asked about my visa and when the expiry of my visa was, which concerns me because I'm always worried I could get pulled in (to secondary inspection)," she said Thursday, describing her experience crossing the border. Source: ca news

Now 313 Skilled Workers are Applying for Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program

Canada has ten provinces and three territories. Each province is providing Provincial Nominee Programs to nationals across the world. Currently, in a draw on March 16, there are 313 candidates got an invitation to apply for Manitoba PNP. Manitoba requires skilled persons having a certain set of skills to enter. If you are a Pakistani National and wants to get Immigration to Canada then Manitoba should be your first choice. There are some Manitoba Provincial Nominee Programs Requirements which are available at the official website. Moreover, you have to show your intention to settle in Manitoba.

Skilled Workers Draw at 16 February 2017  

In this draw 250 candidates got an invitation to apply, those invitations are called as Letter of Advice (LAA). You can apply to get immigration to Manitoba in the Sub Category of Skilled Workers. There are about 63 applicants who received LAA form the Manitoba.

Here are few lines about the initiatives of Manitoba for this program:

Exploratory Visits

This category is for those who are qualified for the pre-approved Exploratory Visit. The Government of Manitoba warmly looking for the prospective candidates who met the required criteria for the Exploratory Visit.

Recruitment Missions

If you are a Skilled Worker and having the interest to settle in Manitoba then in this recruitment some representatives of Manitoba conduct an interview to assess you according to the criteria. Moreover, you have to provide your Expression of Interest (EOI) to Manitoba.

Importance of EOI

If you have provided your EIO then you can receive the LAA form the government of Manitoba. Once you got the certificate then you can apply for Immigration to Canada.

Points system

Once you have provided all data then you will be eligible for the special point system to rank in the list of all candidates. Under this point system, each applicant can get up to 1000 points in this Point System.

Immigration to Canada is now quite easy to approach. You can apply for any of the ten provinces for Provincial Nominee Program. These PNPs are attracting the more and more immigrants to make Canada their favorite destination for immigration. If you are planning to move to Canada then you should not waste a single minute. Presently, the immigration laws in Canada are very friendly for the immigrants. As immigrants from the world, if you form Pakistan then you should apply for immigration to Canada also.

Trump’s Immigration Policies Pose a Test for Canada and Its Open Borders

Canada has long been viewed as a country that is open to migrants. But the reality is far more complex and is increasingly colored by events taking place south of the border.

In particular, the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, which took effect in 2004 and requires asylum-seekers to apply for refuge in their first country of arrival, has cast some doubt on the narrative of Canadian tolerance. 

Over the past decade, Canadian authorities have denied entrance to thousands of migrants seeking asylum, many of them from African countries such as Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana. 

In all likelihood, it has discouraged many more from attempting to reach the border in the first place. ...

Source: worldpoliticsreview

“No change to visa requirements for Sri Lankan travellers – High Commission of Canada

The High Commission of Canada to Sri Lanka reports that there has been no recent changes to visa requirements for Sri Lankan travellers.

“Sri Lankan citizens require visas for travel to Canada. There have been no recent changes to visa requirements for Sri Lankan travellers” –  the  Canadian High Commission reported as there has been reports claiming a change in Canadian visa requirements for Sri Lankan travellers.

The Canadian High Commission further noted that in case of a change to visa requirements, it would be announced by the Government of Canada via Government of Canada websites, social media and press releases.

The High Commission of Canada encourages all travelers to verify visa and entry requirements and ensure that they have proper visas required for entry to Canada in advance of travel.

Sri Lankan citizens contemplating travel to Canada are encouraged for accurate information on visa and entry requirements for Canada and for more information on how to apply. Source: newsfirst

New Canadian Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program Details

Canada has launched an important program for the immigrants across the world. This program is named as Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program. AIPP is launched on 6^th march 2017 and is attracting the nationals from every country of the world. This is a special program for those individuals who are serious to settle in Atlantic and help to boost its economy.

The government of Atlantic is now accepting 2000 applications approximately in the current year. Skilled individuals will have to get a job offer from the employer to apply for this program. If you are a Pakistani national and searching for Immigration to Canada then this program can make your dreams true. This unique program will process not less than 2,000 new applications in 2017.

The Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will process the applications more quickly and within six months IRCC will accept more than 75% application in this year. There are few provinces of Canada who are with the collaboration to the Federal Government taking part in this AIPP. These provinces are as under;

1. Prince Edward Island (PEI)
2. Nova Scotia
3. Newfoundland and Labrador
4. New Brunswick

Moreover, there are few subprograms under the AIPP and those are as under.

If you are a skilled worker then you can apply in the programs mentioned below;

1. The Atlantic High-Skilled Program (AHSP)
2. The Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program (AISP)

If you are an International Graduate then you can apply under this program;

1. The Atlantic International Graduate Program (AIGP).

The above mentioned three subprograms having the same requirements as required under the AIPP Canada.

Three attractive points of the AIPP which makes this program more attractive in the present times!

                     i.            The AIPP completely works outside the sphere of Express Entry system.

                    ii.            No point system is for this AIPP.

                  iii.            A general rule; first come first served will follow by the AIPP.

Immigration to Canada is very popular among the nationals of the world’s every country. In fact, Canada is providing different attractive and distinctive programs to the immigrants. Pakistani applicants are also welcomed along with the other applicants from the world. The Canadian government wants to allow more and more immigrants to enter and help to boost its economy.

Trump's ban on immigration could have an unexpected beneficiary

President Trump's executive order on "merit-based immigration" could have an unexpected beneficiary: Canadian start-ups.

Venture capitalists and angel investors in Canada said his executive order could cause highly educated immigrants — an important talent pool for fast-growing technology companies who need engineers, developers and salespeople — to seek work in hubs across the border, like Toronto and Vancouver, rather than in Silicon Valley.

The executive order, which Trump signed in January, prevents Syrian refugees from entering the United States for an indefinite period, suspended all refugees' admissions for 120 days and prevented citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days. On Wednesday, administration officials said Trump will drop Iraq from the list in a new immigration order he is expected to sign this month. The Pentagon and State Department had urged the administration to reconsider, because Iraq has played an essential role in fighting the Islamic State Group.

Drawing on links with cities farther south — like Seattle and San Francisco — Vancouver, Canada's third-largest city, has pulled in thousands of skilled workers and entrepreneurs in recent years. Now U.S. tech companies are increasingly sending inquiries to Canadian economic development authorities to see how they can shift workers north of the border. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson has been reported to say these requests have risen sharply.

Many of the world's largest tech groups already operate in Vancouver. They include Amazon, which is looking to add to its staff of 700 in Vancouver.

"There is a real shortage of talented people who can do the jobs that are needed," said Janet Bannister, a general partner in Toronto- and Montreal-based Real Ventures, which bills itself as Canada's largest and most active early-stage venture capital firm. "There are many very qualified, ambitious, hardworking people who will no longer be able to go to the U.S. Many of those people will come to Canada, as Canada embraces diversity. The Canadian business community will benefit as a result."

Cost is also an important consideration. A skilled worker in British Columbia earns around $1,222 a week, compared to $3,400 in California, according to BC Stats, a government agency.

Protectionism unfurled

Trump is moving full speed ahead on his immigration policies, despite many protests against them. In his speech to Congress on Tuesday night, Trump said the country is taking "strong measures to protect our nation from radical Islamic terrorism."

"According to data provided by the Department of Justice, the vast majority of individuals convicted for terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country," he said. "We have seen the attacks at home — from Boston to San Bernardino to the Pentagon and, yes, even the World Trade Center."

Trump also mentioned that his administration has been working on "improving vetting procedures."

"[W]e will shortly be taking new steps to keep our nation safe — and to keep out those who would do us harm," he said.

More than 50 lawsuits have reportedly been filed against the order.

Many in Canada's tech community opposed the original executive order. In response to it, more than 150 entrepreneurs, investors and others signed an open letter embracing diversity in Betakit, a publication that covers Canadian start-up news and tech innovation. The technology community in Canada includes a large number of transplants from other countries. In Toronto, one important hub, 49 percent of the population is made up of immigrants, of whom 31 percent arrived between 2000 and 2011, according to the city of Toronto.

The letter calls on the Canadian federal government to institute "an immediate and targeted visa providing those currently displaced by the US. executive order with temporary residency in Canada."

"This visa would allow these residents to live and work in Canada with access to benefits until such time as they can complete the application process for permanent residency if they so choose," the letter says. "We encourage provincial and municipal governments across Canada to lend support as they can." Read More: cnbc

Ontario’s Popular Immigration Streams is Reopening Next Week!

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is going to accept applications regarding its three much popular immigration streams. These streams are as under.

• The International Masters Graduate Stream
• The Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream
• The International D. Graduate Stream

There was a temporary pause on these streams during last May, as their annual allocations have reached its limit.

Furthermore, a new user-friendly process of submitting an online application was on its way. This process will start after reopening of these OINP streams. According to the government of Ontario, this overhauled system will speed up the application process. It will allow employers to look for skilled workers in a hassle-free manner.

A clear message to the Provincial Government is out there. The following streams will experience a pause and reopen periodically.

• The International D. Graduate stream
• International Masters Graduate stream
• Human Capital Priorities stream

The basic purpose this strategy is to process existing applications in an efficient manner.

For the year 2017, overall allocations for OINP are 6,000 and include all applications related to OINP streams. No doubt, the number of allocations is going up, as the province’s allocation was just 2,500 in 2014.

International Ph.D. Graduate Stream

This Stream focuses on such individuals who graduated from one of Ontario’s publicly funded universities in a Ph.D. program. A job offer is not required for this stream as it operates outside the Express Entry System.

International Masters Graduate Stream

This specific Stream operates outside the Express Entry system. It targets individuals who have graduated from one of Ontario’s publicly funded universities, with a Master’s degree. Besides this, it is not necessary to provide a job offer.

Eligible candidates residing outside Ontario are capable of applying, once this stream reopens. It is possible for applicants to hire an alternate service provider to obtain their language test.

Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream

The reopening of Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream, will receive a great response by the candidates of federal Express Entry pool. Once this stream reopens, OINP will start looking into federal Express Entry pool to find qualified candidates. After this, eligible candidates will receive Notifications of Interest, which is an invitation to apply.

It is necessary for the candidate to be a part of Express Entry pool. In addition, the candidate must have 400 or more points in Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The applicant can also get 600 additional CRS points if he or she obtains an OINP nomination certificate through this stream. The 400 CRS points threshold is relatively lesser than any one of the Express Entry draws, conducted previously. This may enhance the chances of eligibility under the OINP Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream.

According to a statement shared by Laura Albanese (Ontario’s Minister of Immigration), “Ontario is helping to make our province even stronger”. Further stated, “Immigration is the right key for competing in today’s global economy in a better way. This helps in growing our workforce and stimulating innovation. By attracting people with skills and abilities, we can easily fill labor market gaps.” Source: immigrationexperts

Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities and Graduate Streams to Reopen

One of the most popular Canadian immigration streams aligned with the Express Entry selection system will reopen next week, with Ontario set to begin inviting candidates through the Human Capital Priorities Stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP).

In addition, the OINP streams for eligible Master’s and PhD graduates will also reopen.

These three streams, among the most popular under the OINP, had been placed under a temporary pause since May, 2016.

Speaking at the announcement of this reopening, Ontario’s Minister of Immigration, Laura Albanese, stated that “Immigration is key to stimulating innovation, growing our workforce and keeping us competitive in today’s global economy. By helping attract the people who have the skills and abilities we need to fill labour market gaps, Ontario is helping ensure businesses are better able to prosper and make our province even stronger.”

News of the Human Capital Priorities Stream reopening is likely to be greeted with enthusiasm by many Express Entry candidates, as this stream proved to be an attainable pathway to Canada for many candidates when it was previously issuing Notifications of Interest (NOIs, effectively an invitation to apply to the program). This being an enhanced stream, successful applicants obtain 600 additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points and an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence at a subsequent draw from the pool.

When this stream reopens, the OINP will begin searching the federal Express Entry pool for qualified candidates and issue Notifications of Interest.

To be eligible under the Ontario Human Capital Priorities Stream under the most recent intake cycle, candidates must:

• Score a minimum of 400 points under the CRS. The score must remain at or above 400 during both the Ontario nomination processing stage and at the federal application for permanent residence processing stage;
• Have a minimum level of work experience;
  • Candidates who choose to be assessed against the Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC) criteria must have at least one year of continuous and full-time employment experience, or part-time equivalent, in a National Occupation Classification (NOC) level 0, A, or B occupation in the five years prior to the date of the Notification of Interest from the OINP.
  • Candidates who choose to be assessed against the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) criteria must have at least one year of cumulative and full-time employment experience, or part-time equivalent, in a NOC 0, A, or B occupation in Canada in the three years prior to the date of the NOI from the OINP.
• Have a Canadian Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree OR an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report produced by a designated organization indicating that their foreign education credential is equivalent to a Canadian Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD;
• Demonstrate a language proficiency level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 or above in all four competencies (speaking, reading, writing, and listening);
  • Language proficiency must be proved by test results from one of the following designated testing agencies:
    • IELTS (General Training Test only) for English;
    • CELPIP (General test only) for English; or
    • TEF for French;
• Intend to reside in Ontario, as demonstrated by a statement of intent and indication of ties to Ontario;
• Possess sufficient funds to cover settlement costs in Ontario. This must be supported by bank statements; and
• Meet the additional criteria under either the FSWP or CEC.

These criteria are subject to change, and the OINP has stated that further details may be revealed next week.

International PhD Graduate Stream

Individuals who have graduated from a PhD program at one of Ontario’s publicly funded universities may be eligible to apply to the OINP International PhD Graduate Stream. This stream operates outside the Express Entry system, and a job offer is not required.

International Masters Graduate Stream

The International Masters Graduate Stream, which operates outside the Express Entry system, targets individuals who have graduated with a Master’s degree from one of Ontario’s publicly funded universities. A job offer is not required.

When this stream reopens, eligible candidates will now be able to apply if they are residing outside Ontario. Applicants will also now have the option of using an alternate service provider to obtain their language test, though exactly what this entails is not clear at this time. Source: cicnews

Manitoba Introducing New Provincial Nominee Program for 2017

Canada is the most favorite destination for immigrants; there are eight provinces of Canada which are providing Provincial Nominee Programs. Manitoba introducing a revised Provincial Nominee Program to attract more and more immigrants across the world to enter Canada.

For skilled persons who are applying for skilled immigration to Canada must have a successful job offer and that job offer must be certified by the Labor Market. If we put a deep eye to the new labor market strategy which clearly shows that this strategy is only to give benefit to labor market only. But, this new strategy gives the highest opportunities to the skilled workers.

Why Manitoba Introducing New Strategy?

Manitoba government is in the hands of progressive conservatives and this new change introduced by the progressive conservatives. You can say that the credit goes to the progressive conservatives to initiate this new change.  Labor market of Manitoba and its projection plans clearly shows that skilled workers and skilled occupation will get approval and also receive the request from Manitoba province. Manitoba government is on the way to generate approximately 167k job for natives and to the immigrants.

There are different trades which require workers having particular skills. Moreover, services and sales sector require workers in the coming years. There are other sectors like health, finance, and business trades who are also willing to announce job openings. If you possess the certain required skills then you can apply and get the benefit to become a permanent residence in Canada.

In fact, Manitoba government wants to allow more and more immigrants to enter and boost its economy. If you are from Pakistan and looking for Canadian Immigration for Pakistani, then this new change is extremely beneficial for you.

Further Important Changes Coming in 2017

Currently, there is no fee demand from the applicants for an application or for processing of the application. We are expecting that Canadian Immigration will introduce a non-refundable fee schedule in which a sum of 500 CAD will be charged from the applicant. This change will be applicable in April 2017 and if the applicants are from Pakistan the criteria will be same as for the other country applicants.

In fact, this fee of 500 CAD will be charged not only to help the cause of eliminating the backlog but to refine the applicants who are willing to enter Manitoba through MPNP. Moreover, this fee will be payable by those applicants who are picked up from Expression of Interest (EOI) pool. This will lead the government to release some new programs right after April 2017.

Canadians less tolerant of uncontrolled immigration than Americans: poll

When you talk to Canadians, you develop the impression that they’re a tolerant lot that largely rejects the disaffected rhetoric sweeping countries around the world.

But there is at least one area concerning immigrants in which Canadians feel stronger than people from many other countries, including the U.S., said an Ipsos poll provided exclusively to Global News Wednesday night.

Canadians mostly shun a harder-edged approach on issues such as immigration, terrorism and confidence in institutions, a study titled “Power to the People?” found.

For example, only 37 per cent of Canadians agreed with the statement “Society is broken,” compared to 66 per cent in the United States and 79 per cent in Poland, where that feeling was strongest.

Canadians also showed comparatively more confidence in institutions like banks, the justice system and the media than people in other countries did.

They also appeared to show more tolerant attitudes on immigration — in most instances, anyway.

Canadians were among the least likely to feel like strangers in their own country, and to worry about the effects of immigration on jobs.

They were, however, on the higher end of countries who didn’t feel that Canada would be better off with uncontrolled immigration.

Sixty-nine per cent of Canadian respondents disagreed with the statement, “[My country] would be better off if we let in all the immigrants who wanted to come here.”

It tied it with France, and came up behind only Israel (77 per cent), Belgium (72 per cent), Hungary (72 per cent) and Serbia (72 per cent).

Canada also outranked the United States, where only 57 per cent disagreed that their country would be better off if America let in all the immigrants who wanted to go there.

Israel, Hungary and Belgium also ranked near the top of the list of countries whose respondents felt their nations would be stronger if immigration were stopped altogether (Canada was on the lower end of that list).

“I think they are worried about the issue of security,” Ipsos president Darrell Bricker said of Canadians, in an interview with Global News.

“There is some concern about some of the things that have been happening negatively in the Middle East finding their way here.”

At the same time, Bricker said that Canadians showed a “sense of fairness” around immigration.

“They’re just not open anybody at any time,” he said.

Canada has welcomed over 40,000 Syrian refugees since Nov. 4, 2015. And in accepting them, the Canadian government is acting “a little on the edge of Canadians’ level of tolerance,” Bricker added.

“There’s just a sort of general embracing of the idea of particularly humanitarian types of immigration, particularly from that part of the world, that the Canadian public’s more tentative about,” he said.

Canadians nevertheless think very differently from other countries that not only feel more strongly that the system is broken, but are also experiencing more nativist attitudes.

Countries experiencing these feelings include Israel, France, Italy, Hungary and Turkey.

Most of these countries have been dealing with a combination of immigration and people who feel “deeply disaffected by their current governments.”

“France is a great example,” Bricker said.

“People’s attitudes about immigration, particularly Islamic, and given the terrorist incidents there and in Belgium, people are very on edge there.”

The survey gleaned its data from 16,597 interviews with adults aged 18 to 64 years old in 23 countries, between Oct. 21 and Nov. 4.

The countries were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the U.S.

Between 500 and just over 1,000 people participated in each country via the Ipsos Online Panel. Results from countries where 1,000 were polled were accurate to within +/- 3.5 percentage points.

Data from countries where 500 were polled was accurate to within five percentage points. Source: globalnews

Trump Planning Work Visa Order That Could Impact Canadians: Report

Last week’s market euphoria that saw stock indexes hit all-time highs came to a sudden halt on Monday morning as a new reality sank in for traders.

Stocks, led by tech companies, dove on a report that President Donald Trump is planning to restrict the issuance of certain popular work visas, a move that could affect thousands of Canadians, and hundreds of thousands of others.

According to a draft executive order seen by Bloomberg, the Trump administration has plans to overhaul the H1-B visa that many tech companies rely on to fill high-skilled positions.

The order would cap the number of people admitted to the U.S. under that and a number of other work visas, at 85,000 per year. This cap would also apply to the L-1, E-2 and B1 visas, Bloomberg reported.

That’s a significant decrease in the issuance of these visas. There were more than 172,000 visas issued in the H1-B category alone in 2015, according to data from the U.S. State Department.

High-skilled Canadian workers in the U.S. are admitted under TN-1 visa, which the Trump administration is reportedly not targeting with this executive order. However, more than 2,900 visas from the affected categories were issued to people in Canada in 2015, State Department numbers show. The category includes intra-company transfers.

"We believe this [executive order] will limit the ability of businesses to bring professionals who they employ abroad from performing any services in the U.S. under the B-1 (business visitor) category," said Ted Ruthizer, a business immigration lawyer with New York-based Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel LLP.

"Foreign companies that have invested heavily in their U.S. subsidiary companies would likely be prohibited from having any of their employees qualify for the E-2 (treaty investor) status."

It's unknown how the executive order would be implemented, or whether Canadian visa holders would be exempt. The Trump administration has shown a tendency to backtrack on some of the more extreme elements of its executive orders.

The NASDAQ Composite index of tech stocks fell 1 per cent within 45 minutes of opening, as traders absorbed the possible impact of this news.

It was the largest drop for the NASDAQ since last September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were also down 1 per cent at 11 a.m. ET, marking their largest drops since last fall.

The H1-B visa has been commonly used to hire people in STEM (scientific, technical, engineering and mathematical) fields, and many tech companies say they could not find the high-skilled employees they need without it.

However, in recent years critics have argued the visa has started to be used in instances where it shouldn’t be used, that is, when U.S. residents are available to do the work.

Trump’s executive orders on Friday banning entry to citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries has had an immediate impact on the U.S.’s largest tech companies. Google ordered all its staff traveling abroad to return to the U.S. immediately. At least 100 of its employees are affected by Trump’s order, Bloomberg reported.

“We’re aware of 76 Microsoft employees who are citizens of these countries and have a U.S. visa and are therefore affected by this new order,” Microsoft stated in a letter to staff on Friday, adding there may be more.

In a letter to staff obtained by Business Insider, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated the executive orders are “not a policy we support.

"Apple believes deeply in the importance of immigration — both to our company and to our nation's future. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do." Source: huffingtonpost

CANADA’S EXPRESS ENTRY PROGRAM: TWO YEARS IN REVIEW

When Canada's new immigration program, Express Entry, was introduced on January 1, 2015, it completely transformed Canada's economic immigration stream.
Gone were the days where an applicant controlled their own destiny. Now prospective immigrants need to register a profile on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) portal, and wait for an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
Draws from the pool of registrants are generally made twice a month and are based upon an applicant's Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS). IRCC promised that processing times for applicants who received ITAs would be sped up and processed in six months or less. Let's take a look at how Express Entry has fared for the past two years and what may be in store for 2017.

The ITA draws are announced by way of Ministerial Instructions each month.

The start of 2015 saw ITA draws issued to registrants with very high CRS scores but over the course of the year, the CRS scores fell significantly from a high of 886 in January to a low of 450 in Fall of 2015. 2015 saw a total of 23 draws with five draws at over 700 CRS points and the majority between 450-489 CRS points.
The scores for 2016 overall were consistently lower than 2015. 2016 had a total of 27 ITA draws with only one at over 700 CRS points, 2 over 500, and the majority between 453 and 497.
However, no CRS score lower than 450 has received an ITA as of yet.

Up until November 19, 2016 applicants were able to obtain 600 CRS points if they had a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) based work permit.
These 600 CRS points were in addition to the points that an applicant would earn for their education, language proficiency and foreign and Canadian work experience which could lead to scores of over 1000 CRS points which virtually guaranteed an ITA to an applicant with an LMIA.
However, in November, Canada's then Immigration Minister, John McCallum reduced the CRS points for an LMIA based work permit from 600 to 50. He also changed the definition of an offer of employment to include people in Canada on certain kinds of work permits such as for Intra-Company Transferees or persons on work permits pursuant to a bilateral trade agreement such as NAFTA.
This levelled the playing field for persons already working in Canada and further strengthened the significance of Canadian work experience within Canada's economic immigration program.

Unfortunately, the Minister's November announcements did not provide significant points increases for Post Graduate Work permit holders.
Minister McCallum has been on record as saying that international students are the most desirable of prospective immigrants but so far Express Entry has not been tweaked to bring an ITA to most international students.
Given the changes made for additional CRS points and the drastic reduction of points issued to LMIA work permit holders, ITAs are likely to be issued in the coming months below the 450-point threshold. 2017 may be the Express Entry Year of the International student!

Source: asianpacificpost