Oh, oh: More migrants may be on the way

.

From the New York Times:

The online outbursts have become customary during presidential election cycles: “I’m moving to Canada!” And this week saw plenty of them, as Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump collected victories on Super Tuesday.

That night, Google recorded a sharp rise in searches that included the phrase “move to Canada,” and many Twitter users vowed to flee north. Reports of the Canadian immigration website buckling under heavy traffic were, however, exaggerated. That was an unrelated technical problem, the agency said.

.

By Wednesday, news organizations were offering helpful guides on how to flee the United States.

This is mostly talk, of course. Recent American political history is strewn with the empty promises of self-exile from the losing side. (See Eddie Vedder, Robert Altman and Rush Limbaugh, among others.) …

“Our phones, as of today, have literally gone crazy with Americans calling,” an immigration lawyer in Vancouver, David Aujla, said on Wednesday. “I used to say that George Bush was my best marketing ally. And I’m going to elevate Donald Trump to that position as soon as he becomes president.” …

Unless you fall neatly into certain categories, including students in higher education or someone trained in a list of professions found in the North American Free Trade Agreement, you could be out of luck. (If you’re looking to retire in Canada, forget about it, lawyers say.)

“Sometimes I’ve had Americans who feel that they can just drive across the border,” said Mr. Aujla, the lawyer. “It comes as a surprise to them, ‘Oh what do you mean, I have to qualify?’ Yes, you do have to qualify.”