Yes, that's very true. As an immigrant unfortunately the odds are much more against you and the main reason is because these roles require strong English skills. If you look at any front office roles in the US/Canada, immigrants are a huge minority and the few that do get in are pretty much native English speakers. I've come across quite a few back office CFAs and one common theme was poor English skills, specifically inability to communicate effectively. Many people will classify them as 'fobs'. And as we all know, learning a new language is one of the most difficult skills to master so this is probably going to be the biggest hurdle for a lot of people. There are a lot of qualified candidates on paper but I can guarantee you 98% of these people will not be able to give a 2 minute speech with well-constructed opinion on the US-China trade war or how a rate cut will impact the market if asked on an interview.