Individuals who are currently in the United States without proper documentation may decide to move to Canada at some point. Knowing how a move of this nature can affect an immigrant can help an immigrant make a more informed decision.
Reasons for Move
Immigrants may decide to move from the United States to Canada for a number of reasons. Many immigrants may wind up disenchanted with the United States and may suffer discrimination. They may be fearful of being found out by immigration officials and may fear removal. They may find new opportunities with the northern neighbor. Sometimes, an immigrant may struggle for years to feel at home and to try to obtain lawful status. However, sometimes a law-abiding person who has worked hard for years may still be removed from the country due to the unlawful entry into it. For many undocumented immigrants, an order of removal is issued that thwarts their attempts to live a respectable life. This situation can cause major distress for family members who have acclimated in the new country.
Difficulties in the Immigration System
The patchwork of laws, regulations and policies in the United States are complex. Sometimes they contradict each other. There may be different treatment of state and federal laws. Additionally, immigration laws are subject to change at any time. In addition to established laws like the Immigration and Nationality Act, executive orders and policy decisions can provide discretionary treatment toward certain immigrants.
Rather than living through the fear and apprehension of one day being found out, there are alternatives. One common alternative is for the immigrant to move northward to Canada. Canada’s immigration laws differ from the American immigration laws. Their principles are generally based on promoting immigration while the United States is often focused on preventing immigration.
Reasons for Differences in Immigration Systems
The United States generally feels that it has limited resources in order to feed and support the population. While Canada is much larger than the United States geographically speaking, the population of Canada only roughly makes up ten percent of the population of the United States. Canada quite literally has more space for more people. Canada officials realize that in order for the country to remain competitive with other industrialized nations, it is necessary to promote immigration. Immigration can attract great minds and talents of people across the globe. Every year, Canada admits approximately one percent of its existing population. This number is set at about 250,000 people a year. Additionally, Canada is much more immigration-friendly. Governmental programs exist to assist new immigrants to come into the country and beautifully integrate into the Canadian way of life.
Canada has visas that individuals with or without legal immigration status in the United States may be able to use. One example of this is the point system. This is a skilled worker visa system for individuals with certain skills. Additionally, there are visas for individuals who are self-employed and entrepreneurs. There are also family visas. Foreign students who are studying in Canada have a direct path to acquire permanent resident status in Canada. This is much different than the system in the United States that views students as non-immigrants and educates the individual but then expects him or her to leave. After acquiring permanent resident status through some of these visas, Canadian immigrants can then pursue citizenship of the country.
Additionally, many immigrants can have their Canadian visa interview in the United States. This allows them to have an interview in a relatively comfortable setting, rather than having to travel to a third world country.
There are several pathways to citizenship in Canada. Individuals who have citizenship in the country obtain additional benefits. For example, immigrants can travel to many other countries without first having to acquire a visa. Citizenship from Canada allows a person to freely enter the United States. This is because individuals who are citizens of Canada are not required to obtain a visa to travel to the United States. The North American Free Trade Agreement allows individuals who are citizens of Canada to live, work and do business in the United States.
Individuals who are currently living in the United States with undocumented status may want to consider moving to Canada as a possible solution to resolve their immigration problems in the United States. Canada’s more progressive and promoted immigration status may open doors that are closed in the United States.