On March 29, 2012, the Government of Canada announced that it will reduce the backlog of Federal Skilled Worker Applications. To achieve this goal, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will return all Federal Skilled Worker Applications for Permanent Residence filed prior to February 27, 2008, unprocessed, together with applicants’ government fees.

By adopting this strategy, the Government of Canada will reduce the Federal Skilled Worker Class backlog by nearly 300,000 Applications, leaving approximately 160,000 Federal Skilled Worker Applications, filed after February 27, 2008, in the processing queue. According to the Government of Canada, the plan will ultimately allow the government to ensure skilled newcomers actually meet current labour market needs and processing times for the Federal Skilled Worker Class will be reduced dramatically to a maximum of six (6) to twelve (12) months, regardless of the applicant’s country of origin.

While the news is good for those whose Federal Skilled Worker Applications were filed after February 27, 2008, the news is obviously not good for those who filed prior to February 27, 2008 and who have been patiently waiting for years. Notwithstanding this fact, once these applicants are returned their Applications and their government fees, nothing precludes them from reapplying for Permanent Residence in Canada either as Federal Skilled Workers (assuming they meet current eligibility requirements and selection criteria) or in any other Canadian Immigration program (i.e. Provincial Nominee Programs, the Business Class, etc.).

Within the coming weeks, Abrams & Krochak will be contacting all of its clients who filed Federal Skilled Worker Applications for Permanent Residence in Canada prior to February 27, 2008 with further details/instructions as more information becomes available from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In the interim, those individuals are encouraged to regularly visit our website for any announcements from Citizenship and Immigration Canada that may be of benefit to them should they wish to reapply. Similarly, if they wish to have their eligibility to reapply for Permanent Residence in Canada assessed by Abrams & Krochak, they are encouraged to visit http://www.abramsandkrochak.com.

AKCANADA IMMIGRATION NEWS

2011 is finally at an end. It was a year full of changes and new developments with respect to Canada’s Immigration system. This newsletter is a synopsis of all of those changes/new developments, which will continue to have an impact, well into 2012.

I. PARENTAL/GRANDPARENT SPONSORSHIPS – NEW “SUPER VISA”

Effective November 5, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada was not accepting any new applications to sponsor parents or grandparents for up to twenty-four (24) months. The Department’s rationale for this decision was that the “temporary pause” would allow the Government of Canada to focus on those applicants already awaiting a decision and reduce the backlog in the parents and grandparents category.

As an alternative to sponsorship, the Government of Canada introduced the new “Parent and Grandparent Super Visa,” which will be valid for up to ten (10) years. The multiple-entry visa will allow an applicant to remain in Canada for up to twenty-four (24) months at a time without the need for renewal of their status. The Parent and Grandparent Super Visa came into effect on December 1, 2011, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada will be able to issue the visas, on average, within eight (8) weeks of the application. Parent and Grandparent Super Visa applicants will be required to obtain private Canadian health-care insurance for their stay in Canada.

Before submitting an application for a Super Visa, it is necessary to have a letter of invitation from a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, proof that the Canadian citizen or permanent resident has sufficient income or savings to support the visitor for the duration of the visit, and some evidence of the visitor’s ties to his/her country of citizenship to satisfy the visa officer that the visitor will return home at the end of the visit.

II. INVESTOR CATEGORY QUOTA

For the first time, ever, Citizenship and Immigration Canada imposed a quota on new applications in the Investor Category of the Business Class. Under new rules announced by the Government of Canada on June 24, 2011, a maximum of seven hundred (700) Investor Applications would be considered for processing from July 1, 2011 until June 30, 2012. The quota was quickly met.

If you wish to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada as an Investor with our assistance, it is IMPERATIVE that you retain/engage our services AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE so that we can have your entire Application package prepared and ready for filing by July 1, 2012 when the new quota for Investor Applications for the period of July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013 is announced.

III. ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY MORATORIUM

Also on June 24, 2011, the Government of Canada announced that it is currently reviewing the Entrepreneur Category of the Business Class and imposed a moratorium on new applications. As a result, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has temporarily stopped accepting new applications until the review is finalized (the date of which is currently unknown).

IV. FEDERAL SKILLED WORKER QUOTA, DEMAND LIST AND POSSIBLE CHANGES TO POINTS SYSTEM

A. Quota

Under new rules announced by the Government of Canada on June 24, 2011, a maximum of ten thousand (10,000) Federal Skilled Worker Applications would be considered for processing from July 1, 2011 until June 30, 2012. Within the ten thousand (10,000) cap, a maximum of five hundred (500) Federal Skilled Worker Applications per eligible occupation (any one (1) of the twenty-nine (29) occupations that appears on Canada’s General Occupations (Demand) List) would be considered for processing from July 1, 2011 until June 30, 2012. The General Occupations (Demand) List for the period of July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 remained the same as that for the period of June 26, 2010 to June 30, 2011.

As of January 16, 2012, 6,774 Federal Skilled Worker applications had already been received by the Centralized Intake Office and the quotas for the following occupations had already been filled:

• Restaurant and Food Service Managers
• Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
• Biologists and Related Scientists
• Specialist Physicians
• General Practitioners and Family Physicians
• Dentists
• Pharmacists
• Registered Nurses

B. Demand List

As of January 16, 2012, the quotas for the following occupations remain unfilled:

• Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
• Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
• Architects
• Physiotherapists
• Medical Radiation Technologists
• Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
• Licensed Practical Nurses
• Psychologists
• Social Workers
• Chefs
• Cooks
• Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
• Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades
• Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)
• Industrial Electricians
• Plumbers
• Welders & Related Machine Operators
• Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
• Crane Operators
• Drillers & Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction
• Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service

If you wish to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada as a Federal Skilled Worker in one of the jobs whose quota has not yet been filled, it is imperative that you do so as quickly as possible so that your Application for Permanent Residence is filed before the quota for your particular occupation is reached OR the quota for ALL Federal Skilled Worker Applications is reached. Otherwise, you may have to wait until the new General Occupations (Demand) List is announced on July 1, 2012; however, should you do so, you run the risk that your occupation might no longer appear on that List, thereby rendering you ineligible to immigrate to Canada as a Federal Skilled Worker.

C. Possible Changes to Points System

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is proposing changes to the Federal Skilled Worker program to help Canada select immigrants who have the best chance of integrating and making a better contribution to the Canadian economy.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is consulting with stakeholders and the public on the proposed changes. The input received through the consultation process will be taken into account in the development of new regulations, which could take effect as early as the late spring/summer of 2012!

What are some of the proposed changes?

• introducing minimum official language thresholds and increasing points for language;
• making changes to the assessment of education points to reflect a foreign educational credential’s value in Canada;
• redistributing points for age to benefit younger immigrants who will be active members of the workforce for a longer timeframe;
• reducing points for foreign work experience and increasing points for Canadian work experience;
• increasing the integrity of and simplifying the process for the Arranged Employment factor; and
• facilitating the immigration of skilled tradespersons through criteria that are more specific to those in the skilled trades.

V. SELF-EMPLOYED CATEGORY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO FEDERAL SKILLED WORKER CLASS

Although there is a moratorium on new applications from Entrepreneurs, the quota for Investors is full and the quotas for the Federal Skilled Worker Class are quickly filling, one category of Immigration, which remains open and which has no quota is the Self-Employed category.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, a self-employed person means a foreign national who has relevant experience and has the intention and ability to be self-employed in Canada and to make a significant contribution to specified economic activities in Canada.

Relevant experience means a minimum of two (2) years of experience, during the period beginning five (5) years before the date of application for a permanent resident visa and ending on the day a decision is made on the application in any one of the following occupations:

I. Professional Occupations in Art and Culture

A. Librarians, Archivists, Conservators and Curators

• 5111 Librarians
• 5112 Conservators and Curators
• 5113 Archivists

B. Writing, Translating and Public Relations Professionals

• 5121 Authors and Writers
• 5122 Editors
• 5123 Journalists
• 5124 Professional Occupations in Public Relations and Communications
• 5125 Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters

C. Creative and Performing Artists

• 5131 Producers, Directors, Choreographers and Related Occupations
• 5132 Conductors, Composers and Arrangers
• 5133 Musicians and Singers
• 5134 Dancers
• 5135 Actors and Comedians
• 5136 Painters, Sculptors and Other Visual Artists

II. Technical and Skilled Occupations in Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport

A. Technical Occupations in Libraries, Archives, Museums and Art Galleries

• 5211 Library and Archive Technicians and Assistants
• 5212 Technical Occupations Related to Museums and Art Galleries

B. Photographers, Graphic Arts Technicians and Technical and Co-ordinating Occupations in Motion Pictures, Broadcasting and the Performing Arts

• 5221 Photographers
• 5222 Film and Video Camera Operators
• 5223 Graphic Arts Technicians
• 5224 Broadcast Technicians
• 5225 Audio and Video Recording Technicians
• 5226 Other Technical and Co-ordinating Occupations in Motion Pictures, Broadcasting and the Performing Arts
• 5227 Support Occupations in Motion Pictures, Broadcasting and the Performing Arts

C. Announcers and Other Performers

• 5231 Announcers and Other Broadcasters
• 5232 Other Performers

D. Creative Designers and Craftspersons

• 5241 Graphic Designers and Illustrators
• 5242 Interior Designers
• 5243 Theatre, Fashion, Exhibit and Other Creative Designers
• 5244 Artisans and Craftspersons
• 5245 Patternmakers – Textile, Leather and Fur Products

E. Athletes, Coaches, Referees and Related Occupations

• 5251 Athletes
• 5252 Coaches
• 5253 Sports Officials and Referees
• 5254 Program Leaders and Instructors in Recreation, Sport and Fitness

If you have self-employed work experience in any of these occupations and would like to be considered for admission to Canada as a self-employed business immigrant, please complete our Online Assessment Questionnaire at http://www.abramsandkrochak.com and we will assess your eligibility to do so within one (1) business day.

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We hope you enjoyed this Newsletter. To keep up-to-date on Canadian Immigration news, please read our blog at http://www.akcanada.com

Abrams & Krochak has been helping people tens of thousands of people from around the world immigrate to Canada since 1996. If you need assistance with respect to applying for:

• Permanent Residence (Federal Skilled Worker Class/Business Class/Family Class)
• Citizenship
• Permanent Resident Card Renewal
• Super Visa
• Work Permit
• Study Permit
• Visitor Visa

please send us a message at http://www.akcanada.com/contact.cfm and we will respond to your query within one (1) business day.

If you would like your eligibility to immigrate to Canada as a Federal Skilled Worker, Business Immigrant or Member of the Family Class assessed by Abrams & Krochak OR if you would like your eligibility to sponsor a Member of the Family Class assessed by Abrams & Krochak, please visit:

http://www.abramsandkrochak.com

Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a very Happy New Year!

This blog is directed to the many individuals who contacted the law offices of Abrams & Krochak in 2010 or 2011 to explore the possibility of immigrating to Canada as a skilled worker with Abrams & Krochak’s assistance. If you have not already applied and are still considering migrating to Canada as a skilled worker and had your eligibility to do so favourably assessed by Abrams & Krochak, we STRONGLY suggest that you proceed NOW with your proposed Canadian Immigration plans. Otherwise, you might lose out on your one and only opportunity to create a new life and a bright future for yourself and your loved ones in this country.

Much is happening in Canada, right now, which could negatively affect your eligibility to immigrate:

1. Federal Skilled Worker Quotas

For the period of July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) imposed a quota of 20,000 new Federal Skilled Worker Applications with a maximum of 1,000 applicants in each of the 29 jobs that appeared on the General Occupations (Demand) List. For the period of July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012, CIC kept the same General Occupations (Demand) List of 29 jobs; however, it slashed the quotas in half. CIC imposed a new quota of only 10,000 new Federal Skilled Worker Applications with a maximum of 500 applicants in each of the 29 jobs that appeared on the General Occupations (Demand) List.

Who knows what quotas CIC will impose when it publishes the new General Occupations (Demand) List on July 1, 2012?

As of January 9, 2012, quotas for the July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 time period were already filling fast. A total of 6,205 Federal Skilled Worker Applications out of a possible 10,000 had already been received by CIC and the quotas for the following jobs had already been filled:

0631 – Restaurant and Food Service Managers

1122 – Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management

2121 – Biologists and Related Scientists

3131 – Pharmacists

3152 – Registered Nurses

Furthermore, the quotas for the following jobs were very close to being filled:

3111 – Specialist Physicians

3112 – General Practitioners and Family Physicians

3113 – Dentists

2. Federal Skilled Worker Points System

CIC is proposing changes to the Federal Skilled Worker program to help Canada select immigrants who have the best chance of integrating and making a better contribution to the Canadian economy.

CIC is consulting with stakeholders and the public on the proposed changes. The input received through the consultation process will be taken into account in the development of new regulations, which could take effect as early as the late spring/summer of 2012!

What are some of the proposed changes?

introducing minimum official language thresholds and increasing points for language;

making changes to the assessment of education points to reflect a foreign educational credential’s value in Canada;

redistributing points for age to benefit younger immigrants who will be active members of the workforce for a longer timeframe;

reducing points for foreign work experience and increasing points for Canadian work experience;

increasing the integrity of and simplifying the process for the Arranged Employment factor; and

facilitating the immigration of skilled tradespersons through criteria that are more specific to those in the skilled trades.

3. Federal Skilled Worker General Occupations (Demand) List

In late June/early July 2012, CIC will be releasing a new General Occupations (Demand) List for the July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013 period. There is a misconception on the part of many people that the List will be a repeat of this year’s List. To set the record straight, there is ABSOLUTELY NO GUARANTEE that the new List will remain the same as the old List and that the jobs that appear on the old List will also appear on the new List. If your job is currently in demand and on the List but disappears from the new List, you will lose the opportunity to migrate as a skilled worker unless you have Arranged Employment (which is difficult to obtain).

4. What Does This All Mean?

With so much uncertainty in the air as to what will happen with the Federal Skilled Worker Class (i.e. its quotas, the way points are assessed and which jobs will be in demand), one thing IS certain: NOW is the time to apply if you know you qualify and the quota for your occupation has not yet been filled.

To retain/engage Abrams & Krochak’s services, please follow the instructions that were previously provided to you by our firm.  If you have misplaced or deleted those instructions, please send us a message at http://www.akcanada.com/contact.cfm and we will be pleased to send you those instructions, via e-mail, again.

If you would like your eligibility to immigrate to Canada as a Federal Skilled Worker reassessed by Abrams & Krochak, please visit:

http://www.abramsandkrochak.com

It is a New Year and time for new beginnings. Start a new life for yourself and your loved ones in Canada while you still have the chance!

An interesting article on the health of the Canadian economy and Canadian job market

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By John Ferri, GlobalPost

Usually, you hear stories of people fleeing to America, not the other way around.

But the jittery state of the U.S. economy is driving an increasing number of its citizens to seek better prospects north of the border.

Americans are the latest economic refugees, and they’re heading to Canada.

As he prepares to campaign for re-election, U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to make a speech Thursday night that calls for immediate stimulus spending to create jobs and improve infrastructure.

But those reforms will be difficult to make. Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have resisted any efforts to boost the economy through additional spending.

As life in the U.S. worsens, prospects in Canada seem all the brighter.

Canadian officials say the number of Americans applying for temporary work visas doubled between 2008 and 2010.

Immigration lawyers in Toronto and the border city of Windsor, right across from job-starved Detroit, say they’re seeing a dramatic growth in clients seeking to come to Canada to work, or even as permanent residents.

So, is this a reversal of fortunes on an historic scale? Has Canada become “el Norte”?

Well, not quite. The number of U.S. citizens working in Canada is, at least by global migration standards, relatively small with some 30,000 at the beginning of last year.

Still, Americans make up the second-largest group of temporary workers in Canada, behind only Filipinos, most of whom work as nannies.

Canada was one of the few to escape the 2008 financial meltdown relatively unscathed, a turn of events largely attributed to Ottawa’s long-standing refusal to deregulate the banking sector.

“I’m looking for a quiet, calm, sane, civilized society to start the next phase of my life,” said Michael, an out-of-work, white-collar professional from Michigan who is seeking a temporary visa to come to Canada.

Like several others interviewed for this article, he did not want his full name used for fear of drawing unwanted scrutiny to his application.

Though he describes himself as both patriotic and a conservative, Michael says he’s lost faith in U.S. leadership — “on both sides of the aisle” — for failing to stem the excesses that led to the collapse of Wall Street, and for the current political brinkmanship over the debt ceiling.

“I’m looking for a country where the first role of the government is to protect its citizens,” he said. “It looks to me like all [of Canada’s] three major political parties seem to have proven that they are much more responsible than our leadership.”

Workers like Michael are drawn to Canada’s lower unemployment rate — 7 percent in July compared to 9.1 in the U.S. — and sustained economic strength in major centers such as Toronto, which alone attracts an estimated 100,000 new arrivals a year.

These include not only people with temporary work visas, or those seeking permanent residency, but also increasing numbers of university students, drawn by highly-ranked Canadian schools where tuition, even at 3 or 4 times the rates for Canadians, is still a fraction of what it costs to attend many colleges in the U.S.

John Cameron’s mother lost her senior position at a bank branch in Maine in 2009 at the same time he was trying to finalize his choices for his freshman year in college.

He had his eye on American universities such as Loyola, University of Maryland, Columbia and Fordham.

His father, thinking about the finances, suggested the University of Toronto. Cameron was reluctant, but now he’s a Canadian convert.

”I really love it,” he said. “[It’s] hands-down one of the best schools in North America.”

Toronto has also become home to a couple in their mid-30s from New York City who both lost their full-time jobs in Manhattan in the wake of the 2008 crash. They now live in Canada on temporary visas.

“It’s important for us to live in a place with a lot of diversity and a good cultural sector,” said the woman, who asked that their names be withheld to avoid compromising their residency status in Canada. She says she was surprised at how quickly and efficiently they were able to qualify for Ontario health care.

Some Canadians who had considered America their adopted home are going back.

Al Brickman recently gave up on the United States after 30 years of running a Canadian-owned construction-supply business in Atlanta, Ga.

“I really did hold out for about two years,” he said, but business had bottomed-out in the economy. Brickman said that his billings, once around $100,000, had dropped on some months by as much as 95 percent.

Brickman moved home to Toronto to work at his company there, where he has a steady job as a general manager. His American wife and their 11-week-old baby, are now trying to emigrate to join him.

Since he got back, Brickman said he’s been fielding calls from American friends hoping he can get them a job up north, too.

Shawn Shepard, a legal software supervisor who was among hundreds laid off by his Manhattan law firm in 2008, is hoping a Canadian employer will sponsor him.

Shepard, who lives in Jersey City, N.J., is a regular visitor to Canada, with friends in Montreal and Toronto. With 20 years of experience, and, he admitted, “the arrogance of being a U.S. citizen,” he figured it would be a snap.

But now, he’s found himself in the classic migrant dilemma: “In order to get a work visa, you need a job offer. In order to get a job offer, you need a work visa.” And even if he were to interest a prospective employer, a visa would only be issued if the employer can show that no Canadian was qualified for the job.

“The economy up there is doing very well, despite the global slump,” Shepard wistfully told this reporter, a gainfully employed Canadian. “Your politicians didn’t put you in the same mess that ours did.”