H-1B visa: Canada is at it again, launching another government program to poach foreign talent from Silicon Valley

As vicious infighting in President Donald Trump s Make America Great Again movement over the controversial H- B visa magnifies uncertainty for foreign workers in the U S Canada last week approved a new fast track scheme to entice holders of the visa into taking their skills northward The budget Canada passed Nov contained a provision intended to strengthen the country s innovation ecosystem address labor shortages and attract top talent in healthcare research advanced industries and other key sectors through an accelerated pathway for H -B visa holders The budget did not provide details of the scheme but noted it would roll out in the coming months The move followed Trump s proclamation in September imposing a fee for new H- B visas issued to people outside the U S Related Articles Letters Allowing free speech at Berkeley is better than a brawl Letters The classroom is no place for teachers politics Trump s defense of H- B visas in sync with Silicon Valley sparks conflict within MAGA You don t have certain talents Trump defends H- B visas as needed despite moves to raise costs The Trump administration s H- B visa price hike will stifle innovation Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney three days later in a speech in New York at the Council on Foreign Relations revealed I understand you re changing your visa strategy Canada s Consul General for Silicon Valley and San Francisco Rana Sarkar notified this news organization that his country was seeking to strengthen its business activity and make it more self-sufficient and resilient to global shocks The H- B heavily used by Silicon Valley innovation companies has become an explosive issue for Republicans pitting supporters of the tech industry who promote the need to lure skilled workers from competing nations against anti-immigration hardliners who see the H- B as a mechanism for taking jobs from Americans Trump in his first administration cracked down on the H- B dramatically boosting denial rates for new visas in mostly targeting staffing companies A rule issued in his first term that raised minimum H- B pay was killed by a lawsuit from the Bay Area Council Stanford University and the U S Chamber of Commerce However Trump has become close to tech industry leaders bringing particular in as advisers and receiving millions of dollars in donations for his inauguration and new White House ballroom from companies and CEOs Contemporary statements by the president in assistance of the H- B have fueled a conservative backlash against the visa Meanwhile Trump s administration generated more uncertainty for H- B workers when earlier this month it stripped the ability for people holding the H- visa for spouses of H- B workers to receive automatic extensions for their work permits when their renewal applications have been submitted but not fully processed by immigration functionaries The H- B is intended for skilled foreign workers but researchers have discovered that staffing companies which supply contract workers to tech companies including Silicon Valley giants employ various holders of the visa at salaries below prevailing wages Annually new H- B visas are issued by lottery Tens of thousands of H- B holders are estimated to work in Silicon Valley This year Meta received H- B approvals Google received and Apple received federal leadership material show It s natural to expect that Canada wants to pull the globe-leading talent that we have in Silicon Valley noted Peter Leroe-Mu oz senior vice-president of tool and innovation at the Bay Area Council which represents businesses including Google Apple and Meta They believe there is present opportunity to poach skilled immigrant talent from the U S It s not the first time Canada has sought to capitalize on America s divisions over immigration by poaching prized hardware industry workers from the U S particularly Silicon Valley In Canada unveiled a initiative tailored to lure H- B workers away from Silicon Valley The H -B specialty occupation visa holder work permit activity hit its maximum of applications the day after it launched A decade earlier Canada put up a billboard by U S between San Francisco and Silicon Valley that reported H- B problems Pivot to Canada