September 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 September 2026 in the Americas region.

Americas

Canada:

Special Permanent Residence Pathways for Hong Kong Residents Closed

Effective August 31, 2026, Canada closed its special permanent residence pathways for eligible Hong Kong residents to new applications. Introduced in 2021, the programs provided permanent residence options for eligible applicants with qualifying Canadian education or work experience.

Applications submitted on or before August 31, 2026, will continue to be processed. Eligible applicants with pending permanent residence applications may also continue to apply for an open work permit while their application is being processed. The open work permit policy is currently scheduled to remain in effect until May 2029.

Hong Kong residents who did not apply before the deadline will need to consider other available Canadian permanent residence options. Applicants with pending applications are not affected by the closure and may continue to benefit from the open work permit provisions, where eligible.

New LMIA Requirements Tighten Employer Eligibility

Effective September 18, 2026, Canada introduced updated guidance clarifying which businesses qualify as employers for Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. An eligible employer must have a genuine employer-employee relationship with the foreign worker, including responsibility for hiring, working conditions, supervision, and payment of wages.

Under the updated guidance, staffing and employment agencies cannot obtain LMIAs to place foreign workers with third-party businesses where the required employer-employee relationship does not exist. Employers are also prohibited from classifying LMIA-based temporary foreign workers as independent contractors.

Before pursuing an LMIA, employers using staffing agencies, third-party employment, or independent contractor arrangements should review their hiring structures. Generally, the business that employs, directs, and pays the foreign worker must qualify as the employer for LMIA purposes.

Brazil:

Brazil Digitalizes Temporary and Work Visa Issuance

Effective September 1, 2026, Brazil began electronically issuing temporary visas to nationals exempt from visitor visa requirements. The change covers all temporary visa categories, including work, family reunion, and digital nomad visas.

Eligible applicants may now submit applications and supporting documents through the Integrated Consular System and receive approved visas by email. This generally eliminates in-person submission of passports or original documents and return visits to collect visas. The change applies only to consular issuance; existing document requirements, any pre-application residence authorization required for work visas, and post-arrival Federal Police registration remain unchanged.

The digital process should streamline visa issuance for eligible applicants and employers by reducing consular visits and passport handling. As implementation continues, applicants should confirm procedures with the appropriate Brazilian consular post. Nationals of Australia, Canada, and the United States are not eligible because Brazil has reinstated visitor visa requirements for those countries.

Mexico:

Extended Immigration Processing Times

Foreign nationals and employers in Mexico are experiencing continued delays with several immigration processes due to limited appointment availability and longer processing times. The delays are affecting post-arrival registrations, residence renewals, permanent residence applications, change of status filings, and residence card issuance.

Delays are most pronounced in Mexico City, where post-arrival registration and residence card issuance now may take four to six weeks, up from one to two weeks.

Employers and foreign nationals should allow additional processing time when planning assignments and start dates. Delayed residence cards may also affect payroll enrollment, and pending immigration processes may restrict travel in some cases.

Venezuela:

New PRO-V-90 Visa for Independent Professionals

Venezuela has introduced the new PRO-V-90 visa, an electronic, multiple-entry visa for independent professionals providing temporary specialized services in Venezuela. The visa is intended for individuals providing services to a Venezuelan client without establishing an employment relationship with, or receiving employment-related compensation from, the Venezuelan entity.

The visa permits stays up to 90 days and may be used for qualifying activities such as technical assistance, operational support, speaking engagements, journalistic activities, and investment oversight. Applications are submitted electronically through Venezuela’s Cancillería Digital platform.

The PRO-V-90 provides a streamlined option for companies that need to send employees or independent professionals to Venezuela for short-term specialized assignments, particularly where the company has a Venezuelan client but does not maintain a local employing entity.

Contact Clark Hill

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 September’s updates for the EMEA and APAC regions, click the respective region.

This publication is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed herein represent those of the individual author only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC. Although we attempt to ensure that postings on our website are complete, accurate, and up to date, we assume no responsibility for their completeness, accuracy, or timeliness.