To increase the number of French speakers residing in Canada outside of Quebec, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced today that French-speaking and bilingual candidates will receive additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points under the Express Entry system.

The change announced today will see the current number of points increase from 15 to 25 for French-speaking candidates and from 30 to 50 for bilingual candidates. The increase in points will obviously improve the chances of French-speaking and bilingual Express Entry applicants receiving an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence in Canada.

If you are a French speaker or you are bilingual and wish to have your eligibility to immigrate to Canada under the Express Entry System assessed by our firm at no charge to you, please visit https://www.akcanada.com/assessment1.php.  Likewise, if you are a French speaker or you are bilingual and you have already had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada under the Express Entry System assessed by our firm and wish to proceed with your proposed Canadian Immigration plans, please send us an e-mail or contact us, via our website, at https://www.akcanada.com/contact.php.

Today, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced details for the opening of the 2020 Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program (PGP).

Over a 3-week period, from 12 noon Eastern Daylight Time on October 13, 2020, to 12 noon Eastern Standard Time on November 3, 2020, Canadian citizens and permanent residents who wish to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada will have an opportunity to submit an interest to sponsor form online.

From those who submit an interest to sponsor form online, IRCC will randomly select potential sponsors and send them an invitation to submit an Application. Selected applicants will have 60 days to submit their Application.  A maximum of 10,000 Applications will be accepted for processing as part of the 2020 PGP intake. In 2021, IRCC will open a new intake of interest to sponsor forms to accept a total of 30,000 new Applications.

Given that many sponsors may have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, IRCC is introducing a temporary public policy that will reduce the income requirement for the 2020 tax year to the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30%.

If you are an existing PGP client of Abrams & Krochak and you require more information regarding today’s announcement, please send an e-mail to info@akcanada.com with your name and file number.  If you are not yet a PGP client of Abrams & Krochak, but you are interested in sponsoring a parent or grandparent to immigrate to Canada with Abrams & Krochak’s assistance, please complete our Parent/Grandparent Sponsorship Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire at https://www.akcanada.com/assessment4.php and you will receive our assessment within one (1) business day.

On September 24, 2020, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC), announced that the Government of Canada would be taking action to speed up the processing of Spousal Sponsorship Applications.

IRCC has increased the number of decision makers on Spousal Sponsorship Applications in Canada by 66%, to process these applications more quickly and reduce couples’ wait times.

With these initiatives, IRCC aims to accelerate, prioritize and finalize approximately 6,000 applications each month from October until December 2020. Combined with processing to date, this rate will lead to about 49,000 decisions by the end of this year.

On Monday, June 22, 2020, the Trump administration announced that it was extending a ban on Green Cards issued outside the United States until the end of the year and adding many temporary work visas to the freeze, including those used heavily by technology companies and multinational corporations.

The policy behind the freeze is to free up jobs in the American economy which has suffered because of COVID-19. It is estimated that the restrictions will free up to 525,000 jobs for Americans.

The ban, while temporary, would amount to major restructuring of legal immigration if made permanent. Long-term changes targeting high-tech workers are also being sought.

The ban on new visas also applies to H-1B visas, which are widely used by major American and Indian technology company workers and their families, H-2B visas for non-agricultural seasonal workers, J-1 visas for cultural exchanges and L-1 visas for managers and other key employees of multinational corporations.

By contrast, Canada plans on welcoming 341,000 new permanent residents in 2020, 351,000 in 2021, and 361,000 in 2022 while reducing application processing times and improving service delivery and client services at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, notwithstanding COVID-19.

For those who are/were considering American Immigration, Canada may be a more viable and attractive option right now, especially considering the current uncertainty surrounding U.S. Immigration and all of the political chaos and unrest in the United States.