Moving from the US to Canada as an H-1B holder: the 2026 routes
Moving from the US to Canada as an H-1B holder in 2026: the special 2023 open work permit is closed, but Express Entry lets you apply for permanent residence — often in under a year — using your US experience, no Canadian job needed. The real routes, the process, and the honest trade-offs.
For an Indian on an H-1B, Canada has an obvious appeal: it is next door, it speaks English, its technology hubs pay in the same industries — and, crucially, it offers something the United States does not, a path to permanent residence measured in months rather than decades. Every time Washington raises the cost or the uncertainty of the H-1B, Canadian immigration lawyers get a wave of calls from Indian engineers in Seattle and San Jose. Here is how the move actually works in 2026, and the one myth to drop first.
The myth: the "H-1B open work permit" is gone
In July 2023 Canada launched a headline-grabbing scheme: a dedicated open work permit for H-1B holders, valid for up to three years and not tied to any single employer. It was wildly popular and hit its cap of 10,000 applications in about a day, then closed — and it has not reopened. If a consultant offers to get you "the Canada H-1B visa," walk away; that specific door shut in 2023. (Those who did get in that year face their own deadline — many of the 2023 permits must be extended or converted to a permanent-residence track by late 2026.)
Ottawa has signalled it wants to try again: its 2025 budget committed to an accelerated pathway aimed at US-based workers in STEM, healthcare, research and advanced industries, and in August 2026 the immigration department opened a consultation that named H-1B holders among its priorities. But as of 2026 no such stream is open, with no published rules or start date. Plan around the routes that exist now.
The real route: Express Entry
The workhorse is Express Entry, Canada's points-based system for skilled permanent residence — and its best feature for an H-1B holder is that you do not need Canadian experience or a Canadian job offer to enter the pool. Your US work counts.
- Federal Skilled Worker is the program most H-1B holders qualify under from the US: it scores foreign work experience, education, age and language (you'll sit an approved English test like IELTS or CELPIP). You create a profile, receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, and wait to be invited in a draw.
- Canadian Experience Class becomes available once you have a year of skilled Canadian work — relevant if you move first on a work permit, less so if you apply straight from the US.
- Category-based draws are the quiet advantage: Canada regularly runs targeted rounds for STEM occupations, healthcare, trades and French speakers, and these often invite candidates at lower CRS scores than the all-program draws. A software engineer who is mid-pack in the general pool can be comfortably above the line in a STEM-specific round.
If your CRS is not quite enough, a Provincial Nominee Program nomination adds a large block of points and effectively guarantees an invitation; provinces run their own streams for in-demand skills.
The headline difference from the American system: once you are invited and approved, you get permanent residence — not a temporary visa with a green card somewhere over a decade-long horizon. Citizenship follows after three years of residence.
If you want to move before you have PR
Many people would rather land in Canada and start working while the PR process runs. The honest position: this is harder than the PR route, because Indians are not covered by the CUSMA professional categories that let some Americans and Mexicans work in Canada easily. The practical options are a job offer with a work permit (often requiring the employer to complete a Labour Market Impact Assessment), an intra-company transfer if your employer has a Canadian office, or a study permit leading to a post-graduation work permit. For most established H-1B professionals, applying for Express Entry PR directly from the US — and moving once it lands — is cleaner than chasing a temporary permit first.
What the process actually involves
Express Entry is document-heavy but predictable, and you can do most of it from the US. You take an approved English test (IELTS or CELPIP); you have your degrees assessed through an Educational Credential Assessment; you show proof of settlement funds (waived if you already have a valid Canadian job offer or are working in Canada); then you create your profile, receive a ranking score, and wait for a draw. From an invitation to apply to a permanent-residence decision, IRCC generally aims for around six months. The whole journey, from that first English test to landing in Canada, is commonly several months to a year for a strong candidate — and that predictability is itself the argument.
The honest trade-offs
Canada is not simply "the US but easier." Before you file, weigh the real differences:
- Pay. Tech salaries in Toronto or Vancouver are typically lower than in the US hubs, in a weaker currency. For many the permanent-residence certainty is worth it; do the maths on your own field.
- Tax and cost of living. Personal taxes are generally higher; housing in Toronto and Vancouver is punishing. Healthcare, on the other hand, is public.
- Speed to security. This is the case for Canada. A strong Express Entry candidate can go from profile to permanent residence in well under a year — and to citizenship in three — while the same person could spend decades on H-1B renewals waiting for an Indian green-card number that, under the current visa bulletin, is years from being called.
The bottom line
For an Indian professional doing the arithmetic of a life on the H-1B — the rising fees, the reweighted lottery, the green-card wait that outlasts a child's entire school career — Canada's pitch is simple and, for once, not overstated: you can be a permanent resident in a year or two, and a citizen in five. That is not the right trade for everyone. But it is a real one, available now through the ordinary system, no special H-1B scheme required.
General information, not immigration advice; IRCC rules, draw cut-offs and program details change — check the official Government of Canada pages or a licensed representative. See also our map of H-1B alternatives and the O-1 vs the EB-1A for the routes that keep you in the US.
