Canada opens doors for 10,000 H-1B visa holders, Indian techies to benefit
New Delhi, June 28
Canada will create an open work-permit stream to allow 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the US to come and work in the country, a move that could benefit thousands of Indian tech professionals.
Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said one of the programmes was specifically aimed at the US. “The H-1B open work permit of up to three years will be available by July 16. The spouses and dependants of such visa holders will also be eligible for a temporary resident visa to work or study,” the Canadian government said in a release.
Wooing skilled workers from US
- Non-immigrant H-1B visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers in jobs requiring technical expertise
- Canada hoping to attract professionals affected by massive layoffs by US tech giants
Thousands of highly skilled foreign workers, including Indians, in the US have lost their jobs due to a series of recent layoffs by companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon. According to US media reports, nearly two lakh IT workers have been laid off since November last year.
Experts say between 30 and 40 per cent of skilled workers are Indians, a significant number of whom are on H-1B and L1 visas.
