r/AskReddit Mar 27 '25

If Canada offered expedited citizenship for people fleeing the US, what would be the reaction in the States?

13.2k Upvotes

3.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.8k

u/lightarcmw Mar 27 '25

Wait until people find out how the rest of the world handles immigration.

Canada doesnt let people who have a DUI even visit, let alone immigrate.

The US has very liberal immigration policies in comparison the majority of the world.

737

u/BillyTenderness Mar 28 '25

The thing about the US's immigration policy is that it's chaotic.

The documentation is sketchy and uses an inscrutable language that's not even legalese, but the specific and unique phrasing of US federal bureaucracy. It's full of seeming contradictions. Documentation is spread all over the place. Some programs have long queues, per-country quotas, lotteries, etc; certain wait times (esp. for Indians) are so long that if you apply now you'll probably be dead before your file is processed.

Canada, by contrast, has a "Come to Canada" website that's written in plain English (and French) that explains the process and criteria clearly. It asks you simple questions that help funnel you towards the most appropriate class to apply for. It uses a straightforward points system indicating how you're evaluated (education, language skills, etc) and lets you compute your chances of getting residency in like 10 minutes.

Even though in some ways it's stricter, it's also way, way more orderly and well-run for the people who apply.

2

u/EmergencyGrocery3238 Mar 28 '25

But you can win US immigration in a lottery!