Open Source: When Canada welcomed H-1B workers, hundreds in NC immediately applied

I’m Brian Gordon, tech reporter for The News & Observer, and this is Open Source, a weekly newsletter on business, labor and technology in North Carolina.

On July 16, Canada launched an unprecedented program: People living in the United States on high-skilled H-1B visas could apply for open work permits and move north.

“I’ve never heard of something like this before,” said Daniel Mandelbaum, an immigration attorney in Toronto. He explained his country has a tech worker shortage and wanted to attract talent disgruntled with the backlogs and rigidity that define the U.S. system.

The Canadian government announced its application portal would remain open for one year or until 10,000 slots were filled, whichever came first. There was no need to wait; applicants reached the limit the next day.

This included 428 high-skilled workers living in North Carolina, data I recently received from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows. Only six other states had greater demand. Counting family members, 586 people applied to leave North Carolina for Canada through the program last summer.

Why the high demand?

Open work permits allow H1-B holders to not have their visas tied to single employers. Thus, they wouldn’t risk being deported if they are laid off, a reality many in the United States faced last year.

“The new temporary public policy for H-1B visa holders was developed to provide an opportunity for laid-off tech workers in the United States to continue their career in North America,” an IRCC spokesperson said.

These individuals would also be free to start their own businesses, something they can’t do in the United States. And their spouses could more easily work under the program too.

Last, and perhaps most important, the path to permanent residence in Canada is more realistic.

Most H-1B holders are Indian nationals, and the U.S. awards green cards based on a country-of-origin quota system. According to the U.S. Department of State, the current wait time for Indian nationals to receive green cards is more than 11 years, with people who applied in 2012 only now having their applications considered.

Canada does not consider a person’s nationality when awarding permanent residence, Mandelbaum said. He noted “every single” person who contacted his law firm about this summer’s H-1B portal inquired about Canada’s permanent residency process.

Last year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved more than 6,500 H-1B visas in North Carolina. The company that sponsored the most H-1B workers in the state, by far, was IBM with 1,597 visas. Bank of America was second with 422.

Many of these high-skilled tech workers reside in Cary and Morrisville, which both support robust Indian-American communities.

What’s lost if more go to Canada?

“We lose the simple sake of having really smart people that live in your community, and all the good things that come out of that,” said Rishi Oza, an attorney at Brown Immigration Law in Durham.

Onto the rest of this week’s news:

Wolfspeed flash fire injures two

Two contract workers suffered minor injuries Monday morning from a flash fire at the Durham headquarters of the semiconductor producer Wolfspeed. On Thursday, the state Labor Department confirmed it is investigating the contract workers’ employer, Texas-based Fluor Corp.

“At this point, we are conducting an investigation by letter which will allow the employer the opportunity to provide more details about the accident and how the potential hazards will be corrected,” said NCDOL spokesperson Erin Wilson. “The (Occupational Safety and Health) Division will evaluate the employer’s response to determine if any additional action is necessary.”

Wolfspeed’s main campus has been the scene of two fatal accidents in the past two years. In October 2022, Wolfspeed electrician Vincent Farrell was killed after making contact with a live wire. The company was fined for two serious violations, and Wolfspeed said it reorganized after the accident to promote stronger safety accountability.

Then in July, a contractor named Ricardo Aguilar Aleman died after falling from the second story of a building. NCDOL recently fined his employer, Raleigh-based Southern Industrial Constructors, for a pair of serious safety violations.

VinFast keeps making news

A few years ago, Hyundai and VinFast were weighing where they would build massive U.S. assembly plants. Among the locations the two car companies were considering were North Carolina and Georgia. In 2022, Hyundai picked Savannah while VinFast chose Chatham County.

Had the selections been reversed, I think my job would be less exciting.

VinFast, a Vietnamese electric vehicle startup, made more headlines this week, just days after we published a feature on the company’s uneven U.S. launch.

First, the billionaire chairman of VinFast’s parent company has taken over as CEO, becoming the third person to hold the position since VinFast launched its global operations in 2021. The carmaker also announced it would spend at least $500 million on a plant in India. After initially focusing on Western markets, the company has since poured resources into expanding more in Asia.

But there have also been troubling reports associated with VinFast. On Jan. 5, the automotive outlet The Drive wrote that a VinFast critic in Vietnam had been detained by police for posts they made on Facebook.

Finally, VinFast unveiled a mid-size EV pickup at this week’s Consumers Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It’s called the VF Wild.

Wild indeed.

Short Stuff: Cary jobs deal dashed

• If the 2024 presidential election is close, North Carolina could see its run of clean energy job announcements slow said Chris Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

• The state canceled its incentive agreement with the national mortgage lender PennyMac, which had promised to add more than 300 jobs in Cary. PennyMac made this commitment when interest rates were at historic lows. Things changed.

• Scot Wingo of the Triangle Tweener Fund said the end of 2023 “was a rough quarter” with lower investments at the early-stage startup fund. Still, the fund made 59 local investments totaling $3 million last year. Looking ahead in 2024, Wingo said in an email that “we have a lot of ‘dry powder.’”

National Tech Happenings

• Amazon cut hundreds of jobs in its television and movie studio divisions as well as at the streaming platform Twitch.
• Federal investigators said improperly installed panels could be to blame for the recent mid-air Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 incident.
• What else is happening at this year’s CES? Wired and The Verge are detailing all the new gadgets at “tech’s biggest show.”

Thanks for reading!