Sorry about that. I clearly edited the quote incorrectly. Can someone report that for a fix?
Eta: I reported it. Didn’t know I could report myself.
Agreed. The fact that you’re not a professional or a big shot isn’t the reason why you have nothing to contribute to their society.
Actually, my understanding is that any province is allowed to set up its own immigration program, but that Quebec is the only one that has.
You don’t even know me man. :rolleyes:
You’ve not indicated what it is that you would contribute to our society.
We can always use more disaffected youth.
I’m 25, I don’t think I really qualify as “youth” anymore but thanks anyway. I have a lot of ideas and a will to work, but I have some limitations as well. I wouldn’t expect to live off of Canada’s welfare, but their workers’ rights do appeal to me compared to the poor conditions here in the States.
In Grosse Isle times, it was disinfected youth.
Good. Now that you understand the immigration criteria, you have an opportunity to work your way up the points ladder – in short, you have an opportunity to prove yourself. Be glad that you are in the USA, where it is possible for you to improve yourself and thereby greatly improve your odds at eligiblity for emigration to Canada.
Here’s another metric for it: immigrants as a percentage of countries’ population.
A fifth (20.5%) of Canada’s population is immigrant.
In the United States, it’s 14.3%.
That seems a good measure of which country is more welcoming of immigrants.
Yes, my young whippersnapper, you do.
For Canada, once you’ve acquired permanent resident status, you can apply for citizenship after living in Canada for a total of three years out of the previous four years.
“Young grasshopper, you will no longer be young when you can snatch the pebble from my hand. You will, however, have acquired wisdom…”
What, if anything, are you doing to change things in this area in your location? Are you lobbying representatives for greater workers rights, voting for candidates whose platforms promise workers’ rights more in line with those of Canada and its provinces, what?
I’m not saying that doing so would help your case in the eyes of Canadian authorities, but who knows what you might change in your state if you tried?
One of my neighbours is an electrician who makes more than me, and one of my clients in the oil patch was pulling in 320k per year plus a housing allowance as a second class stationary engineer. I think the key is to have a skill that is in demand, regardless of whether it is a trade or a profession. What our young friend does not seem to recognize is that the points system is not set up to prefer any particular class, but rather is set up to prefer people with skill sets that we need more of.
Probably true - The UK would welcome you with open arms.
As long as the person isn’t one of those dreaded Polish plumbers 
122 million Mexicans agree.
You have no concept of how much being born in the US is winning the lottery of life. The majority of the planet would be laughed out of the visa line for even trying to get a tourist visa to visit Disneyland, much less trying to immigrate.
For someone from, say, India to get a tourist visa they typically have to provide bank statements, family history, work history, and other documentation proving they have strong ties to their home. Then, maybe they will be considered-- and most likely not approved. In some countries they basically don’t issue tourist visas at all.
I know someone who just got a PhD from Harvard, and he’s looking like he won’t find a job that will sponsor a visa for him on time so he will have to return home. I’ve had US friends who married abroad and it took them a year just to be able to have their legal spouse over.
In 2008, 13.6 million people entered the diversity visa lottery to get US permanent residence-- for 55,000 spots. And note that even if selected for a visa, you still have to demonstrate you won’t become a burden, which translates to having a pretty large chunk of cash. Oh yeah-- even entering the lottery can make you ineligible to ever visit or study in the U.S.
And it’s not just the US that is closed to the world. Ever try to globe trot with a passport from a developing country? You and I can travel the world with relative ease. No country is closed to us (even North Korea happily accepts American tourists) and in most countries we either do not need a visa or can get one at the port of entry. Even notoriously hard visas, like China, can be processed pretty quickly.
Try doing that with a passport from, say, Ecuador. I had a friend from Ecuador who was traveling in Egypt and thought he’d pop into Israel. His American friends waltzed right in. But he was turned back-- Israel doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Ecuador. Or try being a Zambian who wants to visit Nepal. Nepal probably doesn’t have a consulate in Zambia. How are you going to get a visa? You could be looking at months or years of bureaucratic hoops. Where it takes an American five minutes and $30 (USD, please) and the border.
Getting refugee status in Canada is not simply a matter of “just showing up.” There’s a laundry list of requirements, a rather major one being that you have to demonstrate you’re legitimately in danger in the place you’re from and have no other legal options.
As you might imagine, the likelihood of some guy from Portland who just doesn’t like it there being accepted as a “refugee” is rather slight.