Skilled Immigrants: Immigration Minister

Visa Applications Dept: Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says the changes, which are effective immediately, were needed to avoid creating new backlogs and processing times under the foreign worker program. In the first quarter of this year alone, there were more than 33,000 applications, according to government figures, according to Vancouver Sun. In revamping the system, the government cut nine occupations from the original list of 38. It removed 20 occupations from the original list, kept 18 and added 11 new ones and the federal government has put a cap of 20,000 on the number of visa applications it will review from skilled immigrants over the next 12 months and also has reduced the number of occupations under which foreign workers can apply. The applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The caps, to last until June 30, 2011, do not apply to foreign workers with a job offer in hand. As reported in the news.
@t vancouver sun, jason kenney