Northern, remote and Indigenous communities in Canada face unique housing and infrastructure needs. The Government of Canada is working with partners to build and renovate housing that meets community needs, based on local priorities.
A key part of Canada’s economic recovery is supporting businesses as they adapt, grow and move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic. Small and medium-sized businesses and the organizations that support them represent the backbone of regional economies. They generate quality local jobs and are a source of pride for their communities. To do so, businesses and entrepreneurs need a strong foundation, built on technological innovation, inclusivity, and clean growth to create the workforce of the future.
The Government of Canada is steadfast in its commitment to help Ukrainians and their family members. Since the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) was launched, Canada has approved more than 71,000 applications. We recognize that many Ukrainians may have questions after they submit their applications and their biometric information, and Canada is expanding services on the ground in Europe to better support those who wish to seek temporary safe haven in Canada.
The Department of State is aware of the four court orders regarding the reservation of numbers for and/or adjudication of DV-2020 and DV-2021 diversity visas, as summarized below. The Department is appealing these court orders because the Department believes the courts misinterpreted the law in finding that the Department’s policies were unlawful, and that the courts exceeded their authority in ordering the Department to process and issue diversity visas beyond the statutory deadline. While the appeal is pending, the courts granted stays with respect to adjudicating visas from prior years, meaning that the Department is not required to adjudicate visas from prior years until the appeals court issues its decision. The courts, however, required the Department to complete the systems modifications necessary to process DV cases from prior years, which the Department will do in compliance with the court orders. The Department will publish additional public guidance regarding these cases should it be necessary to do so.
On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed a law that made changes to the EB-5 program, authorized a new EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program, and directed that certain “grandfathered” immigration benefits be processed. The Department has resumed processing visas associated with the Regional Center Program based on approved USCIS Forms I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur), including those filed on or before the expiration of the previous regional center program on June 30, 2021. Further, pursuant to the new legislation, processing of visas associated with the new Regional Center Program may begin 60 days after enactment of the law.
If you are a U.S. citizen who is physically present overseas with your Afghan, Ethiopian, or Ukrainian immediate family members and have not yet filed an immigrant visa petition with USCIS, you may request to locally file a Form I-130 petition at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate that processes immigrant visas. This applies only to U.S. citizens affected by the large-scale disruptive events in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Ukraine. Such citizens must be physically present in the country where they wish to file petitions. They can request to locally file on behalf of their spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, and parents who fled Afghanistan after August 2, 2021; Ethiopia after November 1, 2020; or Ukraine after February 1, 2022.