- Canada is accelerating permanent residence for up to 33,000 workers already within the country.
- The U.S. has increased background screening and proposed doubling the waiting period for asylum work permits.
- Geopolitical conflict and rising energy costs are forcing North American governments to prioritize domestic labor stability.
(CANADA) — Canada accelerated permanent residence for up to 33,000 workers already in the country this week, as the US-Iran conflict, consular disruptions and warnings of $200/barrel oil pushed North American governments to adjust immigration systems under strain.
The move, announced on May 4, 2026 by Lena Metlege Diab, Canada’s minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, aims to transition 20,000 workers in 2026 and the remainder in 2027. Canadian authorities said 3,600 workers were already granted permanent residence between January 1 and February 28, 2026.
Diab said the program, called the In-Canada Workers Initiative, would direct immigration toward labor needs already inside the country. “Canada continues to bring its immigration system to sustainable levels while focusing immigration on the areas where it has the greatest impact. This includes supporting rural and remote communities that are experiencing labour shortages in key economic sectors.”
Ottawa paired that step with tighter consultant oversight. New regulations took effect on May 6, 2026 to strengthen rules for immigration and citizenship consultants and protect applicants from fraud during a period of elevated migration pressure.
South of the border, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reopened on May 1, 2026 after a 76-day shutdown ended with a funding bill. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services then rolled out enhanced background checks and paused certain approvals beginning May 2, 2026.
USCIS said officers may delay approvals for green cards and naturalization as they integrate “more detailed criminal history information” from the FBI, effective April 27, 2026. DHS also proposed on May 1, 2026 to extend the waiting period for asylum-based work permits from 180 days to 365 days, citing a backlog of 1.45 million cases.
Those moves came after hostilities began on February 28, 2026. The U.S. Department of State issued a “Worldwide Caution” the same day, citing “rapidly changing security conditions,” while suspending consular services in Iraq, Israel and Kuwait.
Airspace closures across the region disrupted travel routes that many migrants, workers and visa applicants depend on. Routine visa services in the Middle East were described as almost entirely suspended in the conflict zone, leaving fewer functioning channels for new arrivals and family-based travel.
Energy markets added another layer of pressure. Oil rose near $120/barrel after the fighting began, and Iranian officials, including Ebrahim Zolfaqari, warned of $200/barrel oil if the Strait of Hormuz remains paralyzed.
Canada’s response centered on workers already in the country, especially in smaller communities and sectors that rely on steady labor supply. The government framed the faster permanent residence track as a way to preserve domestic stability in agriculture, construction and other areas without depending on new international arrivals delayed by the conflict.
That approach gives temporary residents in Canada a rare advantage: thousands can move into permanent status without filing new applications. The policy channels existing workers into long-term status rather than drawing fresh labor from routes now hit by diplomatic and transport disruption.
Diab’s announcement also fits a broader effort to slow abuse in a stressed system. The consultant oversight regulations that took effect this week seek to police a market where vulnerable applicants often turn to paid representatives while rules change quickly.
In the United States, the immediate effect fell on pending applications and on people seeking work authorization through the asylum system. The proposed jump from 180 days to 365 days would leave applicants waiting twice as long before they could seek an employment authorization document.
Recent affirmative asylum applicants also face a system whose delays already stretch far beyond ordinary administrative timelines. The figures cited this month point to potential 63-year adjudication timelines for some newly filed affirmative cases, a reflection of the gap between incoming claims and current processing capacity.
Visa processing rules tightened as well. The May 2026 Visa Bulletin showed USCIS using only “Final Action Dates” for employment-based filings, a procedural shift that narrowed filing flexibility for people trying to move cases forward.
The combined effect has split the North American response into two tracks. Canada moved to convert workers already on the ground into permanent residents, while the United States added screening steps, slowed some approvals and proposed a longer path to work permits for asylum seekers.
Both governments acted after the same geopolitical shock spread through migration systems. Consular suspensions limited access to interviews and travel documents, while higher oil prices and the threat of a prolonged Strait of Hormuz disruption raised the cost of maintaining labor flows tied to overseas recruitment.
The phrase “massive immigration reform,” used by some observers, describes that cluster of emergency changes rather than a single law. In Canada, the centerpiece is the In-Canada Workers Initiative and the promise to move 33,000 workers into permanent residence on an accelerated schedule. In the United States, the changes sit in agency operations, screening practices and an asylum work-permit proposal released after the shutdown ended.
Lena Metlege Diab’s announcement gives Canada a measurable target at a moment when other migration hubs have become harder to use. By the end of February 2026, Ottawa had already transitioned 3,600 workers, early progress toward a plan designed to keep rural and remote employers staffed while the conflict and energy shock continue to unsettle routes far beyond the Middle East.
