Skilled Worker Immigration

USA

Every fiscal year (October 1st – September 30th), approximately 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are made available to qualified applicants under the provisions of U.S. immigration law. Employment based immigrant visas are divided into five preference categories. Certain spouses and children may accompany or follow-to-join employment-based immigrants.

The First Steps toward an Immigrant Visa: Labor Certification and Filing a Petition

To be considered for an immigrant visa under some of the employment-based categories below, the applicant’s prospective employer or agent must first obtain a labor certification approval from the Department of Labor. Once received (if required), the employer then files an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the appropriate employment-based preference category. (NOTE: Persons with extraordinary abilities in the Employment First preference category are able to file their own petitions.)

CANADA

Skilled workers are chosen as permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French, and other factors. These things often help them succeed in Canada.

Since January 1, 2015, completing an Express Entry profile is the first step in immigrating to Canada permanently as a skilled worker under the:

  • Federal Skilled Worker Program,
  • Federal Skilled Trades Program, and
  • Canadian Experience Class.

Under the Express Entry system, government will invite people to apply for permanent residence based on the information they enter in an online profile. You cannot apply directly to any of these programs unless they send you an invitation to apply.

AUSTRALIA

Work and live in Australia with this permanent resident work visa. Certain foreign-national skilled workers who hold occupations on Australia’s Skilled Occupations List may be eligible for such visa. This visa requires the applicant to complete a skills test and be nominated by a state or territory government.

  • Work and live in Australia indefinitely
  • Opportunity to study in Australia
  • Enroll in Medicare, Australia’s state-run healthcare program
  • Opportunity to apply for Australian citizenship
  • Sponsor relatives for permanent residence
  • Travel in and out of Australia as you please

NEW ZEALAND

Government invites people who have the skills to contribute to New Zealand’s economic growth to apply for this visa. Before they can invite you to apply, they’ll first need you to send an Expression of Interest (EOI) telling them about your educational background, work experience, and qualifications. If your Expression of Interest is successful they’ll offer you the opportunity to apply to live and work in New Zealand indefinitely.

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