F-1 Grad. Student in US, Research-Based Internship in Montreal, QC

[rohailhassan]

Hello Everyone,

I am an international student in the US (with F-1 visa) currently pursuing a MS/PhD degree. I have been offered a 3 month research-based paid internship by a company in Montreal, QC based on my prior research experience for the project they want me to work on. I will be applying for a temporary work visa while in New York.

My employers are willing to help me with the visa process and they only need me to figure out what I need (LMO, CAQ from MICC, etc.). I have read the available guides, did some scouting and found out that a LMO is required but exemption may be granted for some job categories (See "Academics and students: Researchers" in [1]), and CAQ is generally required.

My employer and I want the visa process to be as fast as possible so I could start my internship soon. My questions are

1) If I am exempt from LMO does my employer still need to apply and wait for the exemption to be approved or can I proceed with the visa application without it?
2) Is CAQ required in all cases or can I be exempt from it?

Thank you in advance,

Rohail

[1] cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-permit.asp

 

[scylla]

You do need a work permit and you can't apply for the work permit until you have an approved LMO. Your employer should start working on the advertising component / requirements of the LMO asap (if this hasn't been done already). Once the 1 month advertising requirements have been met and the LMO application has been submitted, the processing times for LMOs can be anywhere from 6-20 weeks.

 

[rohailhassan]

I see. So the work being research-based doesn't mean they can ask for exemption from LMO? Then what falls into the "Academics and Students: Researcher" category in (cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-permit.asp)?

When I say research-based I mean the project requires specific background and experience with specific technical tools the company has developed itself. My work is related to (going from general audience to more specific):

Electrical Engineering -> Power Electronics -> HVDC -> Renewable Energy -> architectures and control for offshore wind farms and bulk power transmission including wide-area control -> Real-time simulation and Hardware-in-the-loop demonstration using real-time digital simulators