All visitors to Canada require a Temporary Resident Visa (“TRV”), except in such cases as prescribed by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR”). A comprehensive review of the conditions and trends in Taiwan was conducted and information was gathered during a technical visit in 2009. As a result of the positive trends identified in the review, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) has lifted the visa requirement for holders of an ordinary passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that includes the personal identification number of the individual.

Effective November 22, 2010, subsection 190(2) of the IRPR was amended to create an exemption from the visa requirement for holders of an ordinary passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that includes the personal identification number of the individual. Following the coming into force of the amendment to the regulations, overseas offices will no longer process any TRV applications submitted by holders of an ordinary passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that includes the personal identification number of the individual.

Taiwan also issues a return certificate that functions as an emergency passport, similar to the Canadian Emergency Travel Document. CIC is not exempting holders of the return certificate from the visa requirement. Should a person seek to transit or enter Canada with such a document, a TRV is required, unless the holder qualifies and meets the conditions of the Transit Without Visa Program (“TWOV”) or China Transit Trial (“CTT”).

Holders of passports that:

1. Do not contain a personal identification number; or
2. Are not issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan

are required to obtain a TRV prior to travelling to Canada, unless they qualify for the TWOV program or CTT pilot. These passports are often referred to as compatriot passports.

Existing permit holders of valid permits who are holders of an ordinary passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that includes the personal identification number of the individual should be advised that:

1. If they left Canada and are still holding a valid work or study permit which has been used to enter Canada, they do not need a TRV to return to Canada; or
2. If they are in Canada and holding a valid work or study permit which has been used to enter Canada, they may remain in Canada and continue to work or study according to the validity dates of their permit.

As of November 26, 2010, approximately 50,400 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has receipted 18,400 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers. The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000. However, some petitions are exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption provided to the first 20,000 petitions filed for a beneficiary who has obtained a U.S. master’s degree or higher. Others are completely exempt from the numerical limits.

Please note that up to 6,800 H-1B numbers may be set aside from the cap of 65,000 during each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the legislation implementing the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements. Unused numbers in this pool are made available for H-1B use for the next fiscal year.

For further information regarding the H-1B category, please review our H-1B article, which is available here.

As of November 26, 2010, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) receipted 20,579 petitions, toward the 33,000 H-2B cap amount for the first half of the fiscal year. This count includes 17,743 approved and 2,836 pending petitions.

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a statutory numerical limit, or “cap,” on the total number aliens who may be issued a visa or otherwise provided H-2B status (including through a change of status) during a fiscal year.

Currently, the H-2B cap set by Congress is 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 1st half of the fiscal year (October 1 – March 31) and 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 2nd half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30). Any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year will be made available for use by employers seeking to hire H-2B workers during the second half of the fiscal year. There is no “carry over” of unused H-2B numbers from one fiscal year to the next.

Generally, an H-2B worker who extends his/her stay in H-2B status will not be counted again against the H-2B cap. Similarly, the spouse and children of H-2B workers classified as H-4 nonimmigrants are not counted against this cap. Additionally petitions for the following types of workers are exempt the H-2B cap:

1. Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and
2. From November 28, 2009 until December 31, 2014, workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam.

Once the H-2B cap is reached, USCIS may only accept petitions for H-2B workers who are exempt from the H-2B cap.

On November 10, 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) published regulations in the Canada Gazette, which reinstate the Canadian Federal Immigrant Investor Program (“IIP”). These regulations came into force on December 1, 2010.

On June 26, 2010, CIC published proposed regulations in the Canada Gazette, which would increase the personal net worth and investment amounts utilized by the IIP. Under the proposed regulations, the investment required under the IIP would increase from $400,000.00CAD to $800,000.00CAD. In addition, the personal net worth required to qualify under the IIP would increase from $800,000.00CAD to $1.6 Million CAD.

CIC also published Ministerial Instructions in the Canada Gazette, which established a moratorium on new IIP applications from June 26, 2010, until the date that the final regulations became effective. According to the Ministerial Instructions, no applications under the program were to be accepted unless they were post-marked or received by CIC before June 26, 2010. The stated purpose of the moratorium was to mitigate the growing surge in such applications under the lower investment and personal net worth levels.

According to CIC, a net worth of $800,000CAD in 1999 was considered substantial enough to attract applicants with the financial wherewithal and expertise to make a significant positive economic contribution to Canada. However, due to increasing global wealth, CIC believed that a net worth of $800,000 was now within easy reach of a modest property owner in a large city, who may not have other transferable resources as originally envisioned. In addition, CIC stated that most other countries with similar programs now required an investment closer to $1 Million CAD.

The new regulations, which were published on November 10, 2010, reinstate the IIP and implement the higher investment and net worth levels that were initially announced on June 26, 2010. As of December 1, 2010, applicants under the IIP are required to invest $800,000CAD and to establish a personal net worth of $1.6 Million CAD.