Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) recently announced they are consulting with relevant stakeholders about changing various aspects of the Federal Skilled Worker Program. CIC is considering changing the number of points awarded in three of the six selection factors. CIC is also proposing changes to educational requirements and stricter rules for assessing the validity of Canadian job offers. According to CIC, these suggested changes are meant to reflect the current needs of the Canadian economy and enable immigrants to better integrate into the Canadian economy.

Points Changes in Selection Factors
Applicants will still be required to attain at least 67 points out of 100, in addition to meeting eligibility requirements, in order to qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker Program. CIC is proposing to change the maximum number of points applicants can receive in the following three selection factors: language, age, and work experience. Currently, applicants can receive a maximum of 24 points for their first and second official Canadian language, a maximum of 10 points for age if an applicant is between the ages of 21 and 49, and a maximum of 21 points for paid skilled work experience within the past 10 years.

i. Language
One proposed change would increase the number of points applicants can receive for a first official Canadian language (English or French) to 20 points, rather than the current 16. CIC is also considering establishing minimum language requirements for certain occupational skill levels. A higher minimum language requirement would be required for applicants with work experience in professional occupations, such as doctors, nurses, and engineers. Applicants with work experience in skilled trades would have a lower minimum language requirement.

ii. Age
CIC is proposing to increase the number of points in the age factor from 10 to a maximum of 12 points. Rather than maximum points being awarded until age 49, the suggested change will only allow applicants to gain maximum age points until the age of 35.

iii. Work Experience
CIC is proposing to lower the maximum points for work experience from 21 to 15 points and increase the years of experience required to obtain maximum points. CIC has noted that foreign work experience is not a strong indicator of success in the Canadian labour market and the additional points would be more beneficial in the language and age factor.

Other proposed changes
In order to make the Federal Skilled Worker Program more accessible to applicants with trade skills, CIC is proposing to reduce the number of years associated with education for those with a trade or non-university certificate. Currently, applicants who have a one year trade diploma must have also completed 13 years of full-time education in order to claim maximum points for that diploma under the education factor. Applicants who have a two year trade diploma must have completed 14 years and those with a three year trade diploma must have completed 15 years of education. If the proposed change is accepted, applicants with trade diplomas would be able to claim maximum points for their education with fewer years of full-time education.

CIC is also considering requiring applicants to prove their credentials are recognized by the appropriate Canadian authorities if their profession is regulated in Canada. For example, engineering is a regulated profession in Canada. Under the proposed change, any applicant who has work experience as an engineer would be required to have their credentials recognized by a Canadian professional licensing body before they submit their application for Canadian permanent residency.

Finally, CIC is proposing to establish clearer regulations for assessing employers and assessing whether a job offer is genuine. The Arranged Employment factor is an important aspect of the Federal Skilled Worker Program and CIC has noted that applicants who have Arranged Employment fare better upon arrival in Canada compared to those who do not have Arranged Employment. There have been numerous cases of fraudulent job offers from employers looking to exploit immigrants for money. With clearer guidelines for assessing job offers and employers, CIC is hoping to deter potential fraud.

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Compared to Indians programmers and software engineers who come with other visas such as L1 and B1, their visas is not so flexible for changing jobs, which is the best fact of H1 visa. Most Indians obtain their work visas from company such as Wipro, Infosys, Satyam or TCS. But there are some who got their visas from Desi consultants.

There many advantages of H1 Visa.  When you are working, you are able to change your employer, meaning that you can easily change your work at any time. Besides, if you get your H1 visa, it is valid and legal for 3 years and you can easily lengthen its validity for 3 years more.

Other advantage of H1 visa is after you get it, you can apply for US Green Card that starts with Labor certification after few months you join the company. But, you also need to know that H1 visa also has disadvantages.

The first one is, if you plan to switch your job, your new employer has to pay for the transfer fee but this is not a problem as if you are working with big companies, they will surely do not mind in paying the transfer fee for you. But, somehow, there are also some Indian companies that take money from you indirectly or claim a bond.

You should act fast to get this visa. This is because, there are a maximum number of quota of 65 000 H1 visas that get filled up rapidly and always done by lottery system. Always remember to be well prepared to file your H1 visa.

Lastly, put in mind to apply for your visa one year earlier so that you will not have problems getting your visa.  Get everything ready, your US offer letter, passport and other documents by December.