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IMMIGRATION JULY 28, 2023 | The Indian Eye 36
Canada Begins New Program for Holders
of U.S. H-1B Visas – And They Really Do Mean
H-1B Visas, Not H-1B Status, Although Family
Members Need Not Have Any Kind of H-4
BY DAVID ISAACSON nouncement of the program • Form I-94, Arrival/De-
and backgrounder issued by parture Record
pdate: on July 18, Immigration, Refugees and • a recent utility bill
2023, IRCC posted Citizenship Canada (IRCC) • an income tax report
Uan announcement referred t“H-1B specialty • any document that proves
that the cap of 10,000 appli- occupation visa holders in you live in the US
cations for the new program the US” in such a way as The separate bullet
had been reached on July tsuggest that an actual H-1B point for “a copy of your
17 and the program was visa stamp was necessary. current H-1B visa” implies
closed. Sthe below post may As I explained in that post, that neither the Notice of
be only of theoretical inter- there are multiple circum- Action showing approval of
est unless Canada reopens stances under which one an H-1B application, nor a
the program at a later date. can be in valid H-1B status, Form I-94, will suffice with-
In a previous blog post, but not possess an H-1B out the visa. It is not clear
I described a new Cana- visa stamp as such, such as whether this seeming re- tus, and indeed some family why IRCC has imposed this
members whcould not qual-
quirement for a visa stamp
dian program for holders in the event of a change of was merely an imprecision ify for H-4 status will be el- requirement, but it appears
of H-1B visas, and flagged status or extension of stay. in language. There were igible for the new program. that they have done so.
the issue that the initial an- At the time, it was unclear One piece of good
alsother issues left open by Part 1, section 1(iii.) of news, however, is that there
the announcement. the temporary public pol- is nsimilar requirement for
IRCC has now pub- icy specifies as one of the
lished the application conditions tbe met that an family members of prin-
cipal H-1B applicants. In-
guidance for the new applicant for a work permit deed, not only are family
program, and has als- under the policy “holds an members of principal ap-
posted the underlying H-1B (Specialty Occupa- plicants not required thave
temporary public pol- tions category) visa issued an H-4 visa stamp, they are
icy established under by the United States of not even required thave H-4
section 25.2 of the Im- America that was valid at status, or be eligible for H-4
migration and Refugee the time the work permit status. As long as they are
Protection Act. (The application referred tin (i) a family member of an ap-
temporary public poli- was submitted”. This ref- proved principal applicant
cy is dated June 23, but erence ta visa, like the one under the definition con-
was only made public in the original IRCC an- tained in subsection 1(3) of
on its effective date of nouncement, could poten- the Immigration and Refu-
July 16.) Unfortunate- tially be read as ambiguous, gee Protection Regulations
ly, it appears from the but the application guid- (IRPR), and reside in the
temporary public poli- ance specifies that a visa United States, that is suffi-
cy and the application is a separate document re- cient.
guidance that IRCC quired in addition tan H-1B The definition of a
will indeed be requiring approval notice and poten- family member under sub-
principal applicants for tially Form I-94.
m of an open work permit The guidance states: section 1(3) of the IRPR is
CYRUS D. MEHTA & PARTNERS PLLC under the new program To apply, you’ll need somewhat broader than the
definition of a family mem-
thave an H-1B visa • a copy of your current
ber for H-4 purposes under
stamp, and not merely H-1B visa U.S. law.
H-1B status, as well as • Form I-797/I797B, Notice
reside in the United of Action The IRPR definition
includes “the spouse or
States. The good news • This is a letter from the common-law partner of the
is that there is nsimilar US government confirm- person” (here, of the prin-
requirement that de- ing your H-1B application
pendents of principal was approved. cipal applicant); “a depen-
applicants have either • proof that you live in the dent child of the person or
2 6th Floor of the person’s spouse or
H-4 visas or H-4 sta- US, such as common-law partner”; or
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