Archives 2024

IRCC Update:

1. Study Abroad Letter of Attestation, PGWP+SOWP Policies Fully Explanation
   On Monday, February 5, 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) made an important update to its previous study abroad policy. The update not only elaborated on the details related to the new policy, but also clarified which groups of people are exempted from the requirement of providing a letter of support. At the same time, it was officially announced that the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP, or Post-Graduation Work Permit) for short-term graduate students will officially launch on February 15th. Here are the specific details:

Supporting Letter PAL: Who needs to submit it?

Most students applying for postsecondary education
Most students in non-degree graduate programs, such as certificate programs and graduate diploma programs, Any other applicant not included in the list of exceptions below
For applications submitted after 8:30 a.m. ET on January 22nd, if a PAL is required but not provided, the application will be returned.

The Commonwealth and Quebec are currently exploring ways to upgrade the existing CAQ to a PAL. This move is intended to streamline the process and save time and resources by avoiding applicants having to duplicate applications between the two systems. Merging the CAQ and PAL would be a solution that is both efficient and logical.

Certification Letter PAL: Who doesn’t need to submit it?

This information release adds visiting exchange students and family members of renewal or work visa holders in Canada, further expanding the scope of exemptions for letters of attestation.

• -Elementary or secondary school students
• -Master’s or doctoral students
• -Visiting or exchange students (new group)
• -Renewal and work visa holders in Canada (including student visa extensions)
• -Family members in Canada of visa renewal or work visa holders (new members)
• -Applicants who submitted or have had their visa application approved by January 22nd

PGWP Graduate Work Visa

The PGWP for Master’s degree graduates is effective from February 15, 2024 onwards. Those who have graduated from a master’s degree program with a duration of no more than 2 years and meet all other PGWP eligibility criteria will be able to obtain a longer 3-year post-graduation work permit.

For students graduating from public-private partnership university programs who are still currently enrolled and meet the other eligibility criteria, they will still be eligible for the PGWP. however, new students enrolled in such programs will no longer be eligible for the PGWP.

For students in other programs, the length of the graduation work visa will still be determined by the length of the program.

SOWP Spouse Work Visa

The eligibility of spouses and common-law partners of international students for Open Work Permits (SOWP) will be updated in the coming weeks.

Eligibility is limited to spouses and cohabiting partners of students in graduate (master’s and doctoral) and professional degree-granting programs. Spouses and cohabiting partners of international students extending existing work permits will continue to be eligible for this category once these changes come into effect.

Who is not eligible for an open work permit?

Spouses and cohabiting partners of international students at other levels (including undergraduate and university programs) will no longer be eligible for an Open Work Permit for Spouses, unless they already hold this work permit.

• What is PERM?
• How does PERM work?
• What about serious retrogression of the EB-3 and EB-2 visa categories?

What is PERM?
PERM is the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) program for permanent labor certification. These are some of the key points of PERM:

The U.S. employer must pay at least 100% of the “prevailing wage,” which is divided into four wage levels.
PERM labor certifications are filed electronically (or by mail) directly with the DOL.
DOL has a goal of making decisions on the electronically filed PERM applications at 45–60 days.

How does PERM work?
Under PERM, employers will obtain a Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) from the applicable State Workforce Agency (SWA) and conduct recruitment for the open position. If no able, qualified, and willing U.S. workers, apply for the position, the employer will complete and submit (online or by mail) a detailed form about the job duties, minimum requirements, wages, recruitment efforts, recruitment results, and so on to one of two DOL PERM processing centers. The DOL processing centers will conduct a quick anti-fraud check (to make sure the employer exists and has employees) and if the application is not selected for audit based on unpublished factors or based on random quality control factors, the DOL will certify the application.

Procedurally, the application is essentially approved “automatically” as long as the application does not trigger the DOL computer to send out an audit request based on unpublished factors and is not randomly selected for a quality control audit. That is, “good” cases under PERM will normally be approved by default.

What about serious retrogression of the EB-3 and EB-2 visa categories?

If you are from China, India, or the Philippines, the existing EB-3 retrogression could cause serious delays in your path to a green card. In addition, even the EB-2 category is expected to retrogress for at least China and India. If you are from one of these countries, you should also be aware that there are first-preference and second-preference categories that do not require a labor certification, such as Aliens of Extraordinary Ability (EB-1A), Outstanding Professors or Researchers (EB-1B), Multinational Executives or Managers (EB-1C), and National Interest Waiver (NIW). A petition successfully filed under one of these categories might allow you and your family to get your green cards potentially several years faster than waiting in the EB-3 line (and perhaps even a considerable period of time before other EB-2 cases). Not everyone qualifies for these other categories, though, so a careful review of your case is important. You can find more information about our free reviews for these types of cases on our Free Evaluations page.