Express Entry: Canada Invites 636 PNP Candidates as Minister Offers Date for Next All-program Draw6/23/2022
Canada invited 636 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence on June 22. All invited candidates had previously received a nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and had a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) of at least 752. The minimum score was relatively high because Express Entry candidates get an automatic 600 points added to their score when they receive a provincial nomination. Without the nomination, the lowest-scoring candidates would have had 152 base points. In the previous draw, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited 932 Express Entry candidates with scores of at least 796. Could This Be the Last PNP Draw?Yesterday, CIC News spoke with Immigration Minister Sean Fraser at the Collision Conference in Toronto, where the minister said IRCC is “tentatively” looking to resume all-program draws on July 6. This past April, Fraser announced that Express Entry invitations for Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates will resume by early July, but at that time did not offer a date. Since September 2021, IRCC has only held draws for PNP candidates. IRCC has temporarily paused draws for CEC and FSWP candidates to reduce the Express Entry backlog, which was exacerbated by the pandemic. IRCC’s application inventory of the three Express Entry programs has improved since the announcement. As of June 1, it stands at 31,603 persons compared to 40,889 at the end of April. Although all-program draws could resume in two weeks, it may not be the end of PNP draws forever. Before the pandemic, IRCC occasionally held PNP-only draws. IRCC sees the PNP as paramount to supporting the economic development regions across Canada. Further, Bill C-19 is on its way to being passed in Canadian Parliament, which will allow IRCC to invite candidates whose profiles match the government’s economic priorities. For example, the government may hold occupation-specific draws for candidates who are working in an occupation where there is a labour shortage. What is Express Entry?Express Entry is the application management system for Canada’s three most popular immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. PNP candidates in the Express Entry pool have already qualified for at least one of these programs. Express Entry uses a points-based system, the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), to rank candidates’ profiles. The top-scoring candidates receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), and can then apply for permanent residency. WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is headed for “a lot of unnecessary loss of life,” the Biden administration says, if Congress fails to provide billions more dollars to brace for the pandemic’s next wave. Yet the quest for that money is in limbo, the latest victim of election-year gridlock that’s stalled or killed a host of Democratic priorities. President Joe Biden’s appeal for funds for vaccines, testing and treatments has hit opposition from Republicans, who’ve fused the fight with the precarious politics of immigration. Congress is in recess, and the next steps are uncertain, despite admonitions from White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha of damaging consequences from “every day we wait.” Administration officials say they’re running low on money to stock up on, or even begin to order, the latest vaccines, tests and treatments. Also lacking are funds to reimburse doctors treating uninsured patients and to help poor countries control the pandemic. House and Senate Democrats have been wrangling over how to resolve the stalemate and even over which chamber should vote first. It’s an open question whether they’ll ever get the GOP votes they’ll need to pull the legislation through the 50-50 Senate, and prospects in the narrowly divided House are unclear as well. “There is still an urgency to pass a COVID relief package,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week. “It’s very, very much needed.” Optimists hope the measure could start rolling once Congress returns next week. Pessimists say without quick resolution, Democrats may not have enough leverage to push the money to passage until early fall. That’s when they could stuff it into legislation that will probably be needed to finance government — a bill that would avert a federal shutdown, a pre-election distraction Republicans will be desperate to avoid. The heap of sidelined Democratic initiatives has grown this year, a victim of GOP opposition and rebellions by centrists like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Casualties include bills on voting rights, health care, environment, taxes, gun curbs, abortion rights, policing tactics and an investigation of the 2021 Capitol storming by then-President Donald Trump’s supporters. While lawmakers have approved massive packages financing federal agencies through September and helping Ukraine counter Russia’s invasion, other priorities are dead or drifting, even as Democrats’ days running Congress are likely dwindling. Republicans are favored to win House control in November’s elections and could grab the Senate as well, and Democrats’ frustration is clear.
“So far it hasn’t moved,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said of Biden’s latest $22.5 billion request for COVID-19, which he initially sent Congress three months ago. “But then neither has sensible gun legislation, neither has voting rights.” “The 50-50 Senate sucks,” she said. The COVID money is needed quickly, officials say. Their warnings have come with over 1 million U.S. deaths from the disease and a fresh variant that daily is hospitalizing over 100,000 Americans and killing more than 300. Both numbers are rising. Here are some things you should know about recent changes in immigration law and policy.
Automatic Employment Authorization Document extensions. The Department of Homeland Security has extended EADs 180 days in many categories. If you applied for an extension but haven’t heard back from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and your EAD is about to expire, print this page uscis.gov/eadautoextend and show it to your employer with your filing receipt. If you have a job particularly important to your employer, or to society in general, you may be able to get a USCIS appointment for EAD extension proof by calling (800) 375-5283. Even if your job is more typical, you might qualify for an EAD extension if you are about to be evicted or have another financial emergency. USCIS has agreed to expedite EAD requests for health care and child care workers. Temporary Protected Status for Cameroon, Sudan and Ukraine. TPS allows certain individuals to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation. They may also get permission to travel abroad. Natives of Cameroon and people who last lived there who have been here since April 14 qualify for TPS. The residence date for Sudan is March 1. For Ukraine, April 11. USCIS will now decide most I-751 cases without an interview. Certain permanent residents, mainly those who got green cards through marriage, get conditional permanent resident cards valid for two years. If USCIS approves your I-751, it issues you a permanent card — valid for 10 years and renewable. Prior to the new guidance, USCIS required interviews of all I-751 petitioners. Now, if you present enough evidence that your marriage is bona fide or “real,” USCIS will waive the interview. Typical proof includes joint bank or credit card accounts, letters or bills sent to you and your spouse at the same address, and proof that you have listed your spouse on your employment insurance or retirement account. You need not provide any particular type of proof. USCIS may call you in for an interview if you have a criminal record or your case is particularly complicated. |