As the largest federal employee strike in Canada approaching its third week thousands of people are on immigration hold-up as hearings have been canceled and their applications delayed, which could make the country less competitive in its search for global talent as it faces gaps in the labor market.

About 155,000 federal public employees have been on strike since April 19. While their main demand is for wages, their union wants the issue of telecommuting to be included in the collective agreement as well.

The strike has affected everyone–from refugee applicants whose case hearings have been canceled to advocates for relatives of people on the waiting list for permanent resident status and from migrant workers to foreign students, as lawyers told Reuters.

Canada has increased its immigration target to record levels and expects to receive 500,000 new permanent residents per year by 2025 to fill workforce shortages in fields ranging from manufacturing to healthcare.

The country’s low birth rate makes immigration a key driver of economic growth.

Some would-be immigrants have been left on hold abroad, others wondering if their residence permit will expire. Some employers have been left without the necessary staff. Some who need to travel cannot do so because their passports have not been issued.

Immigration attorney Xenia Chern says she gets calls to her office from worried clients.

“We haven’t heard anything. What should we do? We tell them they’ll have to be patient,” he says.

The delays caused by the strike come as Canada’s immigration system struggles to recover from delays caused by the pandemic.

An immigration system deemed dysfunctional can complicate efforts to attract talented immigrants, explains immigration attorney Guidi Mammon.

Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser said last week that because of the strike tens of thousands of files have not received the processing they would normally have received.

“The longer the strike goes on, the more serious the effects will be,” he told reporters.