Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday announced that the country will soon introduce proposals to welcome foreign workers who are now facing challenges due to the $100,000 H-1B visa application fee in the United States.

Carney said, “Not as many H-1B visa holders will get visas in the US. These people are skilled, and this is an opportunity for Canada… We will soon bring a proposal on this.” He added that many of these workers are enterprising and willing to move to Canada for better opportunities.

Indians are the largest group of immigrants to Canada. Between April 2022 and March 2023, around 15,000 of the 32,000 tech workers who moved to Canada were from India.

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In 2024, about 87,000 Indians became Canadian citizens, making them the biggest group of new citizens. In 2022, about 118,095 Indians became permanent residents, which was around 27-30% of all new permanent residents in Canada.

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What are the recent changes in H-1B visa system?

Trump administration has recently implemented a major change in its visa system, imposing a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas.

This makes it harder for companies, especially tech firms, to hire foreign workers.

The goal of this change is to protect American jobs, but it will affect many skilled foreign workers, especially from countries like India and China. These changes are expected to limit the number of foreign workers who can stay in the US.

Other countries welcome H-1B workers

With the new US visa restrictions, other countries are reaching out to Indian talent. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is exploring ways to eliminate visa fees for top global talent, especially in science and technology.

Germany is also looking to attract skilled Indian workers. Dr. Philipp Ackermann, the German Ambassador to India, recently invited talented Indians to work in Germany, saying that many Indian workers earn higher wages than their German counterparts and contribute greatly to society.