Alberta is a wonderful province, which takes in parts of the Rocky Mountains and the tranquil prairies of Western Canada. For ski and winter sports lovers it affords much - some of the world’s top winter sports resorts, namely Banff, Jasper and Calgary, are located in the province. Alberta is one of the fastest growing provinces in Canada and with its enormous oil reserves it affords much in the way of work particularly in its largest cities, Edmonton the capital and Calgary the largest city.

With a shortage of labour and an abundance of jobs, Alberta is trying to attract skilled immigrant workers who are currently working in the USA under the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Programme or AINP. The province has added two additional employment categories to the country’s General List of Occupations, which a skilled worker to Canada must belong to if they are to gain a work permit and permanent residence to Canada. The additional sectors focus on engineers and trades people, but the national list of 38 key occupations covers a diverse range of work including Sales, Marketing and Advertising Managers, Financial Auditors, Assessors and Valuers, Physicists, Biologists, Civil Engineers and Registered Nurses.

Anyone who fancies a permanent move to Alberta can apply for an H1B Work Visa providing they are currently working as a skilled worker in the States and have been doing so for the last year and so long as their occupation qualifies under the AINP Occupations Under Pressure List for the Strategic Recruitment Stream – U.S. Visa Holder Category.

You don’t have to have a job offer to come to Alberta but if you do it will expedite your application. Processing time takes around 8 months to a year but with Alberta’s fantastic scenery, affluent lifestyle and friendly people the wait is well worth it. Find out more about the H1B Visa to Canada at the Canada Immigration Law website