In short: Canada is easier both to get into and to stay in, if you pass its points-based selection. Canada grants permanent residence at once with no employer, and citizenship after three years. In the US the route runs through a sponsor and the H-1B lottery, a green card takes 5-8 years, and in 2025-2026 the government cancelled statuses already granted on a mass scale. In our ranking Canada is 6th of 97 and the United States 91st.
If you pass Express Entry selection on points: permanent residence comes at once, with no employer, fees for a family of three are CAD 3,450 paid once, and citizenship follows after three years. The price is competition: approval rates for applicants from abroad fell from about 92% in 2022 to 69% in 2025, and Bill C-12 lets the government change the rules even for applications already filed.
If an employer in the US is ready to sponsor you and you win the H-1B lottery: only 2.1% of filed petitions are denied, the employer pays the fees and your family gets visas with you. The price: a green card in 5-8 years, citizenship in 10-13, a spouse on an H-4 visa cannot work by default, and after a layoff the 60-day grace period is at the agency's discretion.
Canada is stronger in 6 of 7 areas, United States in 1.
People who pass selection get nearly full rights at once: permanent residence does not depend on a job, a spouse gets the same status and the right to work, children study free, and the status can be lost on only four grounds set in law. IRCC comes close to its 6-month standard and publishes its own processing times. The pressure falls on temporary residents: the 2026-2028 plan cuts work permits by 37% and study permits by 49%, and since 26 March 2026 Bill C-12 allows whole classes of documents to be cancelled.
Daily life is convenient for those through the selection: the family comes with no income threshold, school is free for any child and there are no language exams for living there. But pressure on legal residents is now the strongest in our sample: in 2025 more than 4,700 international student records were terminated without notice, about 900,000 people who entered through CBP One lost their status, and automatic extension of work permits was ended. Since 11 April 2025 every foreigner aged 14 or over must register and report a change of address within 10 days.
Canada, if you pass selection on points: Express Entry needs no job offer and grants permanent residence at once. In the US there is almost no route without a sponsoring employer, and the H-1B work visa is allocated by lottery with a cap of 85,000 a year.
Canadian permanent residence through Express Entry takes about 6-7 months, not counting the wait for an invitation. In the US there is first the annual lottery, then a petition of 9-10.5 months (or 15 working days for $2,965) and a consular interview.
In Canada a family of three pays CAD 3,450 in fees once and shows settlement funds of about C$15,263 per person. In the US the employer pays the H-1B fees, and at the green card stage a family of three pays about $6,100.
Canada: permanent residence at once, citizenship after 1,095 days of presence in five years. In the US an employer-sponsored green card takes 5-8 years and citizenship another 5, 10-13 years in all. Both countries allow dual citizenship.
Canada: permanent residence does not depend on a job. In the US the grace period of up to 60 days after a layoff is discretionary, not a right.
Canada is stronger in almost every area of the ranking, but getting in on points from abroad is getting harder. The US suits people with a sponsor and the patience for years of waiting for a green card, but status there is now far less secure.
Every fact on this page comes from the country pages, where the sources are listed. Checked 01/10/2026.