Dear Mr Brown:

I heard that the United States will be changing its immigration system. Can you explain how it differs from the Canadian system?

— BT

Dear BT:

A Bill was introduced in the United States Senate that would significantly lower the number of legal immigrants entering the country from approximately one million per year to 540,000. Points would be given for language proficiency, education (weighted towards domestic institutions), job offers, wages offered, and age.

In the US, this category of immigration would stay fixed at 140,000 green cards a year. However, the Bill also includes $1,350,000 and $1,800,000 investments under the point category system.

The major parts of the Bill include:

• A decline in family immigration category from a cap of 480,000 immediate family members to 88,000 immigrants;

• The elimination of parents from the list of immediate family members eligible for a green card, in favour of just the nuclear family;

• A non-immigrant visa for parents of citizens for five years with eligibility for federal, state/provincial, and local benefits, and that the sponsor must pay for the upkeep of the parent;

• Changing the definition of what counts as a minor child, from under 21 years of age to under 18;

• Eliminating the diversity green card lottery. The diversity lottery grants 50,000 green cards annually to foreigners otherwise might never qualify in any way to immigrate to the US;

• Limiting the number of refugees admitted to the US to 50,000 in any given year.

Although the Bill lacked overwhelming support, President Donald Trump recently articulated his support of it. It has been suggested that the inspiration for the immigration changes in the US comes from the Canadian points-based immigration system.

Canadian system

For example, in comparison to the Canadian immigration system, please note the following:

• Economic immigration has been given more priority than family immigration, in which the main factors include: educational attainment; skilled work experience; the ability to address labour shortages; age; official language proficiency (English and/or French); and Canadian experience.

• The sponsorship of parents is a separate lottery system than the nuclear family.

• Canada already has a super visa system to accommodate parents in a similar manner.

• Canada recently changed the definition of a dependent child from under 22 to under 19 (although the age will revert back to under 22 this fall.

• Canada does not have a lottery.

• Canada accepts 20,000 to 25,000 refugees per year.

One must take into consideration that the US population is 10 times the size of Canada, when analysing the numbers.

It is ironic that Trump is being criticised by many for supporting a policy that has worked so well for Canada, which is considered a nation of immigrants that relies heavily on immigration. But then, the countries have different historical approaches to immigration.

Please visit jamaica2canada.com for additional information on Canadian permanent residence programmes, including Express Entry, the Study and Work progamme, Visitor’s visas or Appeals, etc.

Antonn Brown, BA, (Hons), LLB, MSc, RCIC, is an immigration counsel and an accredited Canadian education agent of JAMAICA2CANADA.COM-a Canadian immigration and education firm in Kingston.