Moving to Canada from the USA

[rhf123]

Hello everyone,

I had been working in the US on an H1-B visa till the end of March, 2020. Due to the current pandemic, my employment was terminated, and I am actively looking for new opportunities. The recently imposed immigration restrictions have made it difficult for me to find new opportunities and I have had multiple verbal job offers rescinded due to the difficulty associated with transitioning back to an H1-B visa.

Losing opportunities due to factors unrelated to my competence is really frustrating and this led me to start exploring job opportunities in Canada. I wanted your inputs on what are my best options to start working as soon as possible. I am noting down my skill-set below:

• Close to 6 years of experience in my domain (Data engineering).
• Master's in Computer Science from a reputed university in the United States.
• I am 29 years old.

As I understand, I should have a decent chance of immigrating to Canada using the Express Entry program but what I have heard (and read) is that it might take at least 6 months to go through the entire process. How feasible is it for me to start applying for job postings in Canada from the US. I do see a lot of LinkedIn job postings in my domain. Considering the current pandemic, is it even a good idea to explore this option? If yes, how likely am I to obtain a work permit in Canada based on my skill-set and what are the approximate timelines around it?

Answers to these questions would be really helpful. Thank you!

 

[scylla]

Hello everyone,

I had been working in the US on an H1-B visa till the end of March, 2020. Due to the current pandemic, my employment was terminated, and I am actively looking for new opportunities. The recently imposed immigration restrictions have made it difficult for me to find new opportunities and I have had multiple verbal job offers rescinded due to the difficulty associated with transitioning back to an H1-B visa.

Losing opportunities due to factors unrelated to my competence is really frustrating and this led me to start exploring job opportunities in Canada. I wanted your inputs on what are my best options to start working as soon as possible. I am noting down my skill-set below:

• Close to 6 years of experience in my domain (Data engineering).
• Master's in Computer Science from a reputed university in the United States.
• I am 29 years old.

As I understand, I should have a decent chance of immigrating to Canada using the Express Entry program but what I have heard (and read) is that it might take at least 6 months to go through the entire process. How feasible is it for me to start applying for job postings in Canada from the US. I do see a lot of LinkedIn job postings in my domain. Considering the current pandemic, is it even a good idea to explore this option? If yes, how likely am I to obtain a work permit in Canada based on my skill-set and what are the approximate timelines around it?

Answers to these questions would be really helpful. Thank you!

You can certainly apply for jobs in Canada. However the chances of securing a job offer before you are a PR quite low. In order for you to be able to apply for a work permit, the employer needs to go through the LMIA process which takes many months (with no guarantee of approval) and which requires the employer to advertise the job to prove no Canadian could be hired for the role. However by all means give it a go. You may get lucky given field you are in. If you are successful, assume timelines are at least 2-3 months if not significantly longer. The employer will need to obtain an approved LMIA and then you will need to apply for the work permit. Right now both processes are even slower than normal.

Right now Express Entry processing is taking longer than six months due to COVID-19. I would count on 8-12 (longer or shorter is always possible). You have a good chance if your score is 470 or higher. Note that Canada is not inviting FSW applicants at this time through Express Entry. These invitations have been paused for three months now and we do not know when they will restart. You'll need to have taken an English test (IELTS or CELPIP) and have completed your ECA before you can submit your profile for consideration.

 

[bustehirti]

Hello everyone,

I had been working in the US on an H1-B visa till the end of March, 2020. Due to the current pandemic, my employment was terminated, and I am actively looking for new opportunities. The recently imposed immigration restrictions have made it difficult for me to find new opportunities and I have had multiple verbal job offers rescinded due to the difficulty associated with transitioning back to an H1-B visa.

Losing opportunities due to factors unrelated to my competence is really frustrating and this led me to start exploring job opportunities in Canada. I wanted your inputs on what are my best options to start working as soon as possible. I am noting down my skill-set below:

• Close to 6 years of experience in my domain (Data engineering).
• Master's in Computer Science from a reputed university in the United States.
• I am 29 years old.

As I understand, I should have a decent chance of immigrating to Canada using the Express Entry program but what I have heard (and read) is that it might take at least 6 months to go through the entire process. How feasible is it for me to start applying for job postings in Canada from the US. I do see a lot of LinkedIn job postings in my domain. Considering the current pandemic, is it even a good idea to explore this option? If yes, how likely am I to obtain a work permit in Canada based on my skill-set and what are the approximate timelines around it?

Answers to these questions would be really helpful. Thank you!

Given the COVID situation, getting a job offer from Canadian employer might not be easy.
Your best shot is to give TOEFL(1-2 monts), get your education credentials validated by WES (4-5 months), create an EE profile and get ITA, apply and wait to get it approved(6-8 months)

Realistically you are looking at minimum 8-10 months before you can secure a PR card.

 

[rhf123]

Thank you for the responses, @scylla & @bustehirti. They are really helpful!

 

[scylla]

Given the COVID situation, getting a job offer from Canadian employer might not be easy.
Your best shot is to give TOEFL(1-2 monts), get your education credentials validated by WES (4-5 months), create an EE profile and get ITA, apply and wait to get it approved(6-8 months)

Realistically you are looking at minimum 8-10 months before you can secure a PR card.

TOEFL isn't accepted for immigration purposes.

 

[bustehirti]

TOEFL isn't accepted for immigration purposes.

My bad. Its IELTS