July 2026 Outbound Immigration and Global Mobility Recap | Americas

Clark Hill’s Outbound Immigration & Global Mobility practice guides corporate clients and individuals through complex global immigration challenges worldwide.  We pride ourselves on creative, compliant, and people-centered solutions – looking at global mobility from a holistic perspective in an ever-changing immigration environment. Our team assists with short-term assignments, long-term relocations, consular processing, document procurement, document legalizations/apostilles, and business visas in 100+ countries worldwide.

Below is an overview of the major updates from July 2026 in the Americas region.

Americas

Canada:

Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Intake Paused

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have announced that it will pause the intake of new permanent residence sponsorship applications under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), effective July 15, 2026.

IRCC will not accept new interest to sponsor forms or issue new invitations to apply under the PGP program until further notice. Applications already submitted will continue to be processed, with the government targeting up to 15,000 permanent residence admissions through PGP in 2026, consistent with Canada’s 2026-2028 Immigration Level Plan (ILP).

Parents and grandparents who are not currently being sponsored may continue to consider the Super Visa, which allows eligible parents and grandparents to remain in Canada for up to five (5) years at a time and provide multiple entries for up to ten (10) years.

Temporary Foreign Worker Program Wage Thresholds Increase

On July 17, 2026, Canada announced an increase in provincial and territorial wage thresholds under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to determine whether a position is classified under the high-wage or low-wage Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) stream.

The thresholds are set at 20% above the applicable provincial or territorial median hourly wage and have increased across most of Canada. For example, Ontario’s threshold increased from CAD $36.00 to $36.92 per hour, British Columbia from $36.60 to $38.40, Alberta from $36.00 to $37.50, and Quebec from $34.62 to $36.00.

Positions that pay at or above the applicable threshold are processed under the high-wage stream, while positions below are processed under the low-wage stream, which is subject to additional restrictions and employer requirements.

Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Launches New Workforce Priority Stream

Effective July 21, 2026, Ontario launched the new Ontario Workforce Priority (OWP) stream under OINP, replacing the province’s previous immigration streams with a more flexible, employer-driven pathway.

The new stream provides a pathway to permanent residence for eligible foreign workers who have a qualifying job offer from an Ontario employer and the required work experience. Unlike the previous stream structure, eligibility is not limited to a fixed list of occupations; candidates may qualify with work experience across National Occupational Classification (NOC) categories, subject to program requirements and Ontario’s workforce priorities.

Eligible candidates may also have the option to pursue nomination through Express Entry, where applicable, providing an additional pathway toward permanent residence.

Canada Introduces New Eligibility Requirement for C20 Reciprocal Employment Work Permits

Effective July 29, 2026, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) updated its guidance for Labor Market Impact Assessment-exempt work permits under the C20 Reciprocal Employment category.

To qualify, a foreign national must now be currently employed by the company or organization outside Canada before the work permit application is submitted. An employer-employee relationship must already exist with the overseas organization; individuals who would begin employment with the company only upon arrival in Canada will not qualify under the C20 category.

IRCC also clarified that the reciprocity does not need to exist directly between Canada and the applicant’s country of nationality or residence. Multinational employers may demonstrate by showing that they create or maintain comparable employment opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents elsewhere within their global operations.

The new updated requirement applies to both new applications and work permit renewals. Employers should confirm the applicant’s existing overseas employment relationship and maintain documentation demonstrating reciprocal global employment opportunities before proceeding under the new C20 guidelines.

For additional information, please contact the Americas Immigration team at Americas@ClarkHill.com.

For further information on any of the updates in this bulletin, reach out to one of the members of our Outbound Immigration & Global Mobility team.

To view July’s updates for the EMEA and APAC regions, click the respective region.

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