Rowell Pailan spends his days applying for jobs in factories, in restaurants, in shops. He's ready to take any kind of work.

Last September, Pailan quit his job with the company he came to Canada to work for over what he says are disputes about his treatment, including hours and wages. Now, he can't find an employer willing to do the paperwork to change his closed work permit — a standard part of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program that ties workers to specific companies.

He knows the end date on that work permit means time is ticking on his Canadian dream.

"I'm still asking myself, what I am doing here, what I'm doing here in Canada," he said in a recent interview in his Wolfville, N.S., apartment.