For H-1B holders watching U.S. policy tighten, Canada’s dedicated work permit stream is one of the most talked-about options in tech immigration. It also is not open right now, and the gap between the headlines and the official record is exactly where good preparation starts.
Canada ran a dedicated open work permit stream for H-1B specialty occupation visa holders once before, and it closed almost as fast as it opened. IRCC launched the measure on July 16, 2023, capped it at 10,000 applications, and reached that ceiling in a single day. The official IRCC page still carries a plain label at the top: Status: Closed. H-1B holders cannot submit new applications under that policy today.
What has changed is the signal. The federal government committed in its 2025 budget to relaunching an accelerated H-1B pathway, with healthcare, research, and advanced industries flagged as likely priority sectors. As of this writing, IRCC has not published new eligibility rules, an application date, or a cap for that relaunch. Treat any site promising that you can “apply now” with caution, and confirm the status directly on canada.ca before you act on it.
The pressure driving all of this comes from south of the border. On Sept. 19, 2025, the United States imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions, a cost that lands hardest on the tech sector that relies most heavily on the visa. Prime Minister Mark Carney said publicly that Canada intends to have “a clear offering” for the skilled workers affected, describing the moment as an opportunity to attract people who would previously have secured an H-1B.
That corridor between a more expensive U.S. system and a more welcoming Canadian one is the reason this pathway matters. When a dedicated stream reopens, demand will almost certainly outstrip supply the way it did in 2023. The applicants who move first will be the ones who prepared before the announcement rather than after it. My Visa Source, whose lawyers advise clients on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, treats the current quiet period as the window to get ready.
The 2023 rules were refreshingly simple. To qualify, you needed to hold a valid H-1B specialty occupation visa and be living in the United States when you applied. There was no Canadian job offer requirement, which is a large part of why the stream drew such intense interest.
A relaunch could look different. If Ottawa targets specific sectors the way the budget language suggests, eligibility may narrow toward fields such as healthcare or research, or it may attach a more direct route to permanent residence. The practical guidance is to prepare against the 2023 baseline while staying ready to adjust the moment official criteria appear, since the department can set new terms without much notice.
The appeal of the last stream was the type of permit it granted. It was an open work permit, which means the holder can work for almost any employer anywhere in Canada rather than being tied to a single sponsor the way an H-1B is. That flexibility lets a worker change jobs, move between provinces, and build Canadian work experience without filing a new application each time. In many cases a spouse or common-law partner qualified for their own work authorization, and time spent working in Canada can strengthen a later permanent residence profile. For a professional weighing a green card backlog against real mobility, those features are the draw.
There is real work to do while you wait, and it starts with paperwork. The document set from the last round is the sensible checklist to assemble today, because most of it will carry over to any relaunch. Based on how the stream ran, applicants should have ready:
• A copy of the current H-1B specialty occupation visa
• Form I-797 or I-797B (Notice of Action) confirming H-1B approval
• Proof of U.S. residence, such as Form I-94, a recent utility bill, or a tax document
• A valid passport and supporting identity documents
Most applicants under the 2023 measure did not need an upfront medical exam, though IRCC handled that on a case-by-case basis. Having these ready in advance is what separates a submission filed in the first hours from one that scrambles while the cap fills.
The 2023 process ran entirely through the IRCC online portal, and a relaunch will most likely follow the same path. Here is the sequence applicants worked through:
1. Create an IRCC portal account. First-time users receive a verification code by email. Anyone without a prior Unique Client Identifier entered eight zeros when the portal asked for one.
2. Start the temporary resident application. Applicants selected “Apply to visit, study or work in Canada as a temporary resident,” then confirmed they were ready to begin.
3. Choose the H-1B stream. When prompted, applicants selected the open work permit for an H-1B visa holder and completed the remaining questions.
4. Add family members if applying together. Answering “yes” to applying for more than one person and selecting “Family” as the group type let applicants attach a spouse or dependent children and submit the applications as a set.
Each step is straightforward on its own. The challenge is speed, and speed comes from having documents and portal access sorted before the stream opens.
Two things matter in the interim. First, maintain lawful H-1B status throughout any Canadian process. A Canadian work permit or permanent residence application does not automatically affect your U.S. status, but the timing around consular processing and any green card steps deserves careful coordination. Because My Visa Source advises across both jurisdictions, its Canadian and U.S. lawyers coordinate on that overlap so a move north does not put an existing U.S. filing at risk.
Second, the dedicated stream is not the only door into Canada, and for many people it is not the fastest one. H-1B holders can pursue Express Entry for permanent residence, or look at employer-driven routes such as the Global Talent Stream, which targets two-week processing for many technology roles, and the Intra-Company Transferee category for those relocating within a multinational employer. For a large share of applicants, one of these already-open pathways is a stronger near-term move than waiting on a stream with no confirmed date.
The dedicated H-1B work permit will likely return with the same urgency it carried in 2023, and the cap could close just as quickly. The applicants who benefit will be the ones who used the waiting period to prepare.
My Visa Source closely monitors immigration policy developments in Canada and the United States.
