Microsoft plans to open a development center in Vancouver and fill it up with people from India and China

Microsoft for years has sought an end to limits on the number of visas granted to foreign high-tech workers. But the demise of the immigration reform bill appears to have the company taking a different tack: It now wants to park overseas talent in Canada.

The software maker last week disclosed plans to open a development center in Vancouver–about a two-hour drive north from its Redmond, Wash., headquarters. In a frank statement, Microsoft said it will stock the center with “highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S.”