Article content

Blaine, Washington boasts the motto “Where America Begins!” For Canadian executives transferring with their companies to the U.S., the tiny border town may not be the beginning they were hoping for.

For the next several months at Blaine, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is temporarily ending a perk that Canadians have enjoyed for decades under NAFTA. Canadians with “specialized knowledge,” managers and executives seeking intracompany transfers to the U.S., will no longer be able to have their L-1 visas processed on-the-spot. Employees must now send their documentation to be scrutinized ahead of time at a U.S. service centre.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Canadian executives transferring to U.S. risk losing visa perk in Trump crackdown on immigration Back to video

USCIS said the pilot, which shifts responsibility for adjudications to the agency from Customs and Border Protection, is aimed at “increasing consistency” across the L-1 visa program, according to a memo from the agency. Lawyers who specialize in the field said it’s another way of making immigration more restrictive under President Donald Trump’s Buy American and Hire American Executive Order when the two countries are already bristling over trade.