The new high price for this American visa could be a blessing for Canadian technology

While the Trump administration is traveling to limit some qualified workers to enter a specialized visa, the Canadian technology sector is preparing for the bit – hoping that the new restriction will send talent in the North.

The H-1B visa, whose champions include the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, is a common immigration path for international technological talents recruited by American companies. But the White House sorts out American costs of $ 100,000 on new requests for the visa, forcing companies to pay strongly for their recruits or to find workers in the United States

H-1B visas were already difficult to obtain, as thousands of foreign students learn each year to obtain a diploma from American universities, explains Becky Fu von Trapp, an immigration lawyer and founding partner at Von Trapp Law PLLC in Stowe, VT.

“They want to stay in America, but the lottery system and the visa limits forced them to go out,” she said.

“Canada has built an entire industry by capturing this talent. And with these costs of $ 100,000, this trend is about to become much stronger,” she said. “It is almost a gift because each time the United States firmly the door on world talent, Canada wins.”

Canada will almost certainly benefit from the United States’s decision to limit new H-1B visas, according to immigration lawyers, talent recruiters and business leaders who spoke with CBC News. But some argue that the country cannot count on its southern neighbor either as a feeder for the best technological talents.

“There will be a clear service effect for Canada at all levels,” said Andres Pelenur, an immigration lawyer and founding partner in the border law firm in Toronto.

Look | Trump announces costs of $ 100,000 on H-1B visas:

Trump’s price on H-1B visa arouses confusion

Changes in the Trump administration in the H-1B qualified worker visa, including a price of $ 100,000, caused major confusion and panic this weekend. The White House said that the costs are reserved for new candidates – but this decision has raised concerns about the potential impact.

The visa is not exclusive to the technological sector, but 60% of H -1B holders since 2012 have occupied computer -related jobs, according to Pew Research – and the visa is strongly used by giants like Apple, Amazon and Google.

But even with an H-1B, the path of American permanent residence or a green card is already long and difficult, sometimes taking a decade.

“I think we will see a lot of people abroad who planned to enter the United States on an H-1B, who will now rotate to Canada and try to see if they can find a job here,” he said.

Smaller and medium-sized companies that cannot afford the costs of $ 100,000 could rather open offices in Canada, he added-keeping these workers in North American time zones while facing less expenses and documents for the equivalent Canadian visa.

Canada’s technological talent problem

Some leaders consider the new American policy as a silver lining for Canada’s technological industry.

“Think about it as a massive musical chairs game. Top talent is looking for a place to sit down and America has just eliminated many of their options,” according to Martin Basiri, CEO of passing, a Toronto company that associates workers abroad highly qualified with employers in Canada and the United States

“Canada can either look since the touch while skilled workers rush for the remaining seats, or it can quickly add new chairs for the best players,” he wrote in a memo on Monday, published by the Build Canada reflection group, who pleads for a public policy adapted to technology.

But Basiri also warned that American companies could rush to recruit Canadian workers under the TN visa, which allows Canadian and Mexican professionals to work temporarily in the United States for a maximum of three years with indefinite renewals.

It would not be the first time that the United States has been withdrawing on skilled workers for Canada. In 2023, the federal government launched A new work permit To attract H-1B holders after mass technical layoffs hit the United States

The temporary program struck its ceiling almost immediately, 10,000 candidates called for a permit of more than 48 hours. Although some hoped that the program would be extended, it was not – and some analysts have raised doubts that the number of candidates won far from the possible adoption.

“ We should certainly lean ”

“In recent years, we have made Canada a little more difficult to bring technological talents here,” said Ilya Brotzky, CEO and Co -founder of Vanhack, a Vancouver -based technological recruitment company.

The members of the Canada Technological Community have often said that the country had trouble investing in its own industries and that businesses find it difficult to obtain capital, which makes them more difficult to develop and attract qualified workers.

Meanwhile, criticisms of Canada’s immigration system argue that the pandemic era reforms have moved attention to qualified immigrants. And when Ottawa tried to recalibrate some of these programs earlier this year, provincial leaders feared that this will limit the entry of qualified international workers and affects the economy.

In the heels of the American announcement, Canada “should certainly bend,” added Brotzky. “We could bring excellent software engineers that will add their skills and create jobs in Canada.”

The disadvantage of relying on American policy changes for talents is that it is not a model of sustainable recruitment for Canadian industries. The country is sometimes considered a “maintenance pen” for qualified workers waiting to enter the United States, explains Daniel Wigdor, managing director of AXL, an incubator for Canadian artificial intelligence companies.

“One of the reasons why people want to go to Northern California to work and they are ready to take a risk for their family is that if it does not work in company A, they can walk on the street B,” he said.

The more Canada can attract international companies to its coast, “the more we actually offer people to do an exciting job here in Canada.”