Meera Louis of Bloomberg Businessweek draws out the differences between U.S. and Canadian immigration policy in a short article on Canadian efforts to recruit skilled U.S. workers:

Canada is opening the door to Americans at the same time the U.S. Congress is battling over whether to let in more skilled workers. In Canada last year, 160,617 immigrants were granted permanent residency because of the economic value they brought, while 64,901 became residents via family ties, according to the government. In the U.S., with a population about nine times as big as Canada’s, 680,799 immigrants became residents through family sponsorships in fiscal 2012, and only 143,998 obtained residency based on their employment, federal data show.

It can take a decade for an employed immigrant to get a U.S. green card; in Canada a skilled worker can obtain permanent residency within 18 months, says Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer in Vancouver. Foreigners can also apply for residency on their own, without an employer’s help—another big difference from the U.S. Word of the perks has spread all over the world.

The Senate immigration reform bill aims to increase skilled immigration, yet it will also have the effect of increasing less-skilled immigration. Family sponsorships are to be curtailed (in theory), yet they will continue to play a more important role than they do in Canada at present.