Immigration Lawyer Blog

Australia's new immigration policy aims to let in only the professionals it needs and to tell its citizens that their jobs will not be taken by immigrants in times of recession. It comes as a huge concern for Indian students in Australia as it has toughened its immigration laws and has brought down the list of professions which qualify for immigration from 400 to 181. Over the last one year, Indians have been at the receiving end of Australian racial attacks and mindless street violence. The tough new rules on the grant of student visas and permanent residence status will make it much harder for Indians to go to Australia.

Students who are already in Australia will be allowed to complete their courses but may have to return after a grace period. UK and Canada too have cracked down on immigrants from India.Australian High Commissioner, Peter Verghese said, “We want students to come to Australia to study. We want them to come to Australia to do a course which they judge is in their best interests. We want to separate out the study pathway from the migration pathway.”

It is clarified that beginning July 1, the number of visa-eligible jobs will drop from 400 to 181. The number of Indian students in Australia had exploded from just 8,000 in 2005 to a 100,000 in 2010. The growing visibility of Indians and shrinking jobs in Australia led to friction and a violent backlash. Graduates in cooking, hairstyling and gardening courses cannot hope for permanent residence. Instead, preference will be given to those on the new Skilled Occupations List which includes engineers, accountants, teachers, nurses, even welders and midwives.

The change in Canadian immigration rules for Chinese tour groups comes after China won Approved Destination Status in December last year. The change in policy will make it easier for Chinese people to obtain Canadian visas for tourism rather than having to go through the Canadian business visa system. It will also allow Canadian tourism firms to market tourism to China. Canada and China are close to signing a final agreement that will give Chinese tour groups the right to visit Canada on Canadian visas.

A memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed on Thursday at the G20 summit, in a move that will mark “an important moment in the bilateral history of tourism co-operation.” This is according to the head of the National Tourism Administration in China, Shao Qiwei.

The newly elected government finally come up with the numerical cap on its work permit for non-EU workers. The new permanent limit entering the United Kingdom will come into effect from April 2011. It will be announced after 12 week consultations within the government and with businesses and other interested groups.

Indians comprising the bulk of non-EU skilled immigrants to Britain- could be the worst affected after the British coalition government on Monday confirmed a stringent interim limit of 24,000 on work permits to be issued between July 19 and March 31 next year.
Home Secretary Theresa May said: “The government believes that Britain can benefit from migration but not uncontrolled migration. I recognize the importance of attracting the brightest and the best to ensure strong economic growth, but unlimited migration places unacceptable pressures on public services.”

It is widely understandable that this step will bring major fundamental changes in the way workers from outside the European Union will be chosen. It is also believed that high income group professionals may be excluded from the immigration curbs.

One of the most divisive issues for the new coalition Government in Britain has been immigration. The Labour Government had a points-based system, where decisions on who to let in was based on “points” they accumulated based on skills and experience. It's a system that has been fiercely opposed by the now-in-government Conservative Party, which had been consistently calling for new immigration to fall to “tens of thousands a year” rather than “hundreds of thousands” through the introduction of a cap on numbers.

A far cry from their coalition colleagues, the Liberal Democrats, who during the election campaign had mooted an amnesty for illegal immigrants.In the early days of the coalition, it seemed that the Conservatives had had their way – with the idea of the cap making its way into a joint policy document that had followed many hours of hard bargaining between the two sides. It is said that a consultation would shortly be taking place with “businesses and other interested parties” on a wide range of issues relating to the cap and its implementation.

The Conservative plans to cut immigration have been widely criticized not only by human rights campaigners, but also by business leaders, who have argued that the cap could hear the economic recovery, by depriving businesses of key skilled staff and universities of students, deter foreign investors from putting their money into Britain, and lead to tit-for-tat tighter restrictions on British companies operating abroad.

USCIS has recently announced the H-1B Cap updates for the H-1B Cap Count in FY 2011.

Current H1B Cap Count

Regular Cap Limit- 65,000
Regular Cap Cases Filed- 22,900 (Approx)
Date of Count- June 18, 2010
Advanced Degree Cap Limit- 20,000
Advanced Degree Cap Cases Filed- 9,700 (Approx)
Date of Count- June 18, 2010

It seems now its getting somewhat tough to go for Work visa for Australia as the applicants now may have to clear TOEFL-an English language test. TOEFL exams are provided by ETS, an American company. Australian immigration works on a points-based system that awards more points to English speakers.The Australian immigration authorities are finally considering adopting a new English language test provider. The current English language tests used for many years to assess the level of English held by foreigners wishing to apply for Australian visas is no longer be in use. Now, it seems the country is looking at appointing rival exam provider TOEFL as an alternative.

A newspaper has reported that the Australian immigration minister has even contacted ETS to tell them of his ‘in-principal support for the acceptance of more than one English language test under the migration regulations.

Canadian immigration authorities are considering some stern rules tightening the Canadian marriage visa rules to protect people from marriage fraud. This came into light when one Canadian from Victoria claimed herself as a victim of marriage fraud. She said to met her husband Sunny Kanda while on her holiday in India and married him a month later. She helped him obtain a Canadian visa and then he moved to Canada without informing his wife. She is calling for her husband’s Canadian spousal visa to be removed and for him to be deported as she believes he used her simply to enable him to move to Canada from India.

The Immigration authorities are considering to put newly landed sponsored spouses on a probationary period to see whether they're actually interested in pursuing the marriage or not for the long run.

The New Home Secretary Theresa says the following about immigration and other policies:

* An annual limit on the number of economic migrants from outside the European Union. As well as the introduction of an immigration cap on economic migrants from outside the EU the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat Government will be making the following policy changes:

* There will be an Emergency Budget within 50 days – The current UK budget deficit is about £160 billion (about US$230 Billion) which is considered to be far too high. The new Government intends to cut spending by £6 billion a year.

* There will be a substantial rise in income tax allowances for lowest paid from April 2011. This will mean that many of the poorest paid workers will pay less tax. However, this will not help those who are currently not working.

* There will be increased investment in education to reduce class sizes for children from poorer backgrounds.

* There will be a referendum on the Alternative Vote system for general elections. The Liberal Democrats consider this as very important as the current system means that even with 23% of the vote the Liberal Democrats only has 57 MPs in Parliament.

* There will be fixed-term Parliaments – The next election is in May 2015. This is of course assuming that the Government remains in power for that long.

* In a highly controversial move 55% of MPs will need to vote for the dissolution of Parliament and to trigger an election. Members of Parliament have complained that this makes it too difficult for them as elected representatives to force a Government out of power.

* National Health Service (NHS) spending is set to rise in every year of the new Parliament. Politically increasing funding of the State funded public health service is a popular move.

* ID cards will be abolished for everyone including for immigrants to the UK. This will reduce the administrative burden on immigrants and others.

* There will be a review the long term affordability of public sector pensions. Public sector pensions are very generous compared to pensions in the private sector. There are many who feel that with more and more people living into old age that it is simply not possible to fund such a generous pension scheme.

* The link between the state pension and earnings will be restored from April 2011

* The aviation passenger duty will be replaced by a plane tax. This is likely to cause further financial difficulties for airlines already hard hit by the disruption caused by the recent Volcanic Ash cloud and mean higher fares for passengers.

* There will be no new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted. This is likely to mean a loss economically to the UK. There will be lower economic growth and fewer jobs than would otherwise be the case. This decision was taken because of concerns over the environment.

There has so far been no decision on exactly how many economic migrants will be allowed into the UK in the future. The Home Secretary has said that there will be a consultation process after which a decision will be made. The new immigration cap will likely have a significant impact on those who wish to come to the UK under the Tier 1 visa and Tier 2 visa schemes which are the main economic migrant visa categories.

Gov. Jan Brewer ignored criticism from President Barack Obama on Friday and signed into law a bill supporters said would take handcuffs off police in dealing with illegal immigration in Arizona, the nation's busiest gateway for human and drug smuggling from Mexico.

With hundreds of protesters outside the state Capitol shouting that the bill would lead to civil rights abuses, Brewer said critics were "overreacting" and that she wouldn't tolerate racial profiling. "We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act," Brewer said after signing the law. "But decades of inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation."

The legislation, sent to the Republican governor by the GOP-led Legislature, makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. It also requires local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants; allows lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws; and makes it illegal to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them. The law sends "a clear message that Arizona is unfriendly to undocumented aliens," said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor and author of the book "Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization."

Obama has called the Arizona bill "misguided" and instructed the Justice Department to examine it to see if it's legal. He also said the federal government must enact immigration reform at the national level – or leave the door open to "irresponsibility by others." "That includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona, which threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe," Obama said.

The India of today is shining in real sense. The recent concluded G-20 summit in South Korea affirmed the views of India in terms of financial independence. The narrative space within which this triadic India is situated today defies any specific statistical analysis. It is inevitable that a India surges ahead on its own steam, and that is what India shining denotes—the rebirth of a nation in terms of self-awareness, self-consciousness, self confidence, and the desire to take on the world. This is India shining.

Canadian Govt. too add a feather in India shining campaign by planning to invite Indian entrepreneurs to buy small companies in Canada that do not have succession plans through their Investor Visa program. Minister for advanced education, Rob Norris, explained, “nearly 40 percent of the SMEs do not have succession plans. In order have continuity of business we invite Indian entrepreneurs to explore acquisition of such SMEs.”

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan is hoping to attract Indian investors to move to Canada and buy SMEs in the region. The province is also keen to attract Indian students studying in Canada to stay on living and working in the country in order to enhance the local economy and create jobs.

In order to try to make this happen, Norris is now leading a delegation of officials to India to try to cement relationships between the two countries. He explained that attracting Indian investment will safeguard thousands of jobs and the huge contribution SMEs make to the local economy. The program is intending to attract C$100 million in investment from India. Norris says Saskatchewan is the perfect destination for firms focusing on research and development and state capital Saskatoon is one of Canada’s top ten entrepreneurial cities. This makes it a great destination for Canadian work visa holders and others looking to move to Canada.

It is the time which demands sincere commitments from India to make it a good deal.

A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council, which runs the registration service, stated, “a report was made by us to the UK Border Agency about concerns regarding a potential sham marriage". He continued, "Oxfordshire County Council registration service takes such matters extremely seriously and we have a statutory duty to report any suspicious activity to the relevant authorities."

UK immigration officials have arrested a couple just minutes from getting married. The registrar at the Oxfordshire Register Office tipped off police that the wedding, between a 30-year-old Indian man and a 19 year-old Polish woman, was sham. Some 529 suspected sham marriages were reported by registrars last year, up by 54 per cent on the year before. This indicates that a growing number of people are looking to gain UK marriage visas through unscrupulous means.

UK immigration official, Terry Gibbs, from the UK Border Agency explained how registrars spot a sham wedding: People who plan on getting married have to have an interview beforehand to give notice of their wedding. Registrars do this day in and day out, so if they believe something is not quite right with the couple, they notify us.

South Africa’s Department of Foreign Affairs has announced that it now requires transit visas from people wishing to pass through the country to reach neighboring nations. The statement from the department stated, “The Department of Foreign Affairs informs the public that the South African Embassy will be requiring transit visas from non-visa exempt foreigners who will pass through South Africa to its neighboring countries.”

The requirement for the new South African visa was implemented as of 1 June 2010 and the processing of the visas takes around 10 days. Fellow Africans from neighboring countries such as Nigeria are likely to be the most affected by the changes to the South African visa rules and will now have to ensure that they have a transit visa in place if passing through South Africa on their way to other countries.

The requirement will not apply to people traveling through South Africa from the UK as Brits are not required to obtain a South African visa if visiting the country for fewer than 90 days. However, anyone looking to move to South Africa to start a new life in warmer climates, will have to apply for a visa to allow them to live and work in South Africa.

EB-5 visa for Immigrant Investors is a United States visa created by the Immigration Act of 1990. This visa provides a method of obtaining a green card for foreign nationals who invest money in the United States. To obtain the visa, individuals must invest $1,000,000 or $500,000 in new or troubled businesses creating at least 10 jobs. The Immigrant Investor Pilot Program was created by Section 610 of Public Law 102-395 on October 6, 1992. This was in accordance to a Congressional mandate aimed at stimulating economic activity and job growth, while allowing eligible aliens the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents. This "Pilot Program" required only $500,000 of investment in exchange for permanent resident status. The investment could only be received by an economic unit defined as a Regional Center. By investing and by creating 10 jobs for US workers, an alien investor may obtain green cards for himself and his immediate family. Immigrant visas allocated to the EB-5 category is 10,000 which are highly underutilized in the past. However, the category is growing in popularity with a recent surge of 4,218 visas obtained in 2009 compared to just 1,443 visas in 2008. Most of the EB-5 visas in the past year were issued through Regional Center Pilot Programs.

There are two ways for an alien investor to obtain lawful permanent resident status under the EB-5 category: through the Basic Program or the Regional Center Pilot Program. Whereas the Basic Program requires investment in a commercial enterprise located anywhere within the US, the Regional Center Program requires investment in a regional-center-affiliated new commercial enterprise or a troubled business within a designated regional center. Also, the Basic Program requires that the alien’s investment directly create 10 new full time jobs, whereas this requirement in Regional Center Program may be satisfied by indirectly created job opportunities to the local job market due to the investment.

In both the Basic and Regional Center Programs, the alien must make a minimum investment of $1,000,000 unless the investment is made in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA). TEAs are defined as either: (1) rural areas (areas with populations of less than 20,000), or (2) areas with unemployment rates 150% or more of the national rate. If the investment is made in a TEA, a reduced $500,000 investment is allowed. In the past, TEAs have been focused on the development of rural locations. In order to prove that the proposed regional center is located in an area of high unemployment, the proposal must either submit unemployment rate data or obtain a letter from an authorized State agent certifying that the area has been designated as having a high rate of unemployment.

The individual receiving the visa is not required to actively manage the business invested in. For investors who wish to invest in a new or existing business, have an active role in the management of the operation (although simply being a Limited partner in the organization that owns the business qualifies as "AN ACTIVE ROLE."), and have at least one million US dollars to invest ($500,000 if the business is located in certain areas deemed as Rural or with very high unemployment), then the traditional EB-5 visa is the best option. Start Up visa Act Bill was introduced in Senate on February 24, 2010 by Senators Lugar and Kerry. It is in fact a modified EB-5 Visa to create more jobs in America and it may be called as EB-6 Visa.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon is condemning the killing of an illegal immigrant by U.S. Border Patrol agents as a "truly unacceptable violation" that involved "torture." He's also tying it to Arizona's immigration law, even though the incident took place on the border with California.

"A death with that degree of violence is a truly unacceptable violation," Calderon said, according to the Associated Press. "We need to raise all our voices, not only for Mexico but for human rights, because the cause of migrants is a cause that affects us all." He added that the Arizona immigration law "opens a Pandora's box of the worst abuses in the history of humanity."

A San Diego police captain told the Associated Press that Anastacio Hernandez — who was in the country illegally and was being deported to Mexico — wrestled two Border Patrol agents to the ground when his handcuffs were removed at the border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana. An agent shocked him with a stun gun and he died hours later.

Calderon, who criticized U.S. immigration policy during his visit to the White House last month, says Mexico is engaging in an "energetic protest of the torture and death of Anastacio Hernandez, a Mexican who died at the hands of North American migration authorities."

This rhetoric can't help his relationship with the U.S., which he depends on for cash and resources to fight the country's costly drug war. But Calderon is a deeply unpopular president, and turning the focus to foreign policy might be a way for him to distract from domestic failures. His war on the drug cartels, which the U.S. supports financially through the Merida Initiative, has unleashed a wave of violence in the country.

A recent poll sponsored by the Mexican newspaper El Universal shows that Calderon's approval rating remains at 41 percent. That's unchanged since February, despite his newly aggressive stance toward the U.S. Those polled listed the country's main problems as national security and job

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) released statistics in May 2010 showing that it continues to maintain a high rate of immigration. Canada welcomed more than half a million permanent and temporary residents last year, a figure CIC says is helping to support the economic recovery in Canada.

Canadian immigration minister Jason Kenney said "Momentum toward a full economic recovery continued throughout 2009, and immigration will continue to support that momentum. The Government of Canada is maintaining immigration levels to meet Canada’s short, medium, and long-term economic needs, help offset our aging population and low birthrate, and sustain our workforce".

In 2009, Canada welcomed 252,124 new permanent residents, well within the target, the government had set. About 60 per cent of those new permanent residents were economic immigrants, according to the CIC.

Recent changes by the Government of India offer a visa-on-arrival facility to citizens of a select group of five countries, something that New Delhi had been extremely hesitant to do so far because of security concerns. The countries nominated are Singapore, Finland, New Zealand, Luxembourg and Japan. Tourists from these countries can also procure their visas from their home countries as usual. The tourist visa-on-arrival has a maximum validity of 30 days with a single entry facility and will initially be granted by the Immigration Officers only at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata airports. The 'two month gap' rule between two visits applies to tourists availing of the visa-on-arrival facility.

However, the restriction of the two-month gap rule does not apply to PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) or OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card-holders and foreigners holding business, employment, student and other categories of visas.

UK Border Agency officers found the drugs, which have a UK street value of around £1.3 million, concealed in containers of nut powder in freight bound for Sydney. The consignment had originated in central America.

The find sparked an international operation involving officers from the UK Border Agency's Criminal and Financial Investigation unit and agents from the Australian Federal Police.
Five people have been arrested in Australia following the discovery of around 33 kilos of cocaine at Heathrow Airport, London. On Friday 28 May, five people - four US citizens and one Australian national -were arrested by AFP officers in Sydney. They now face prosecution in Australia.

The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in South Africa due to safety and security issues related to the FIFA World Cup taking place in nine cities across the country from June 11 to July 11, 2010. This travel alert expires July 31, 2010. Complete information about the World Cup for American visitors is available on the U.S. Mission to South Africa's dedicated World Cup website. It is well known that large-scale public events like the World Cup may present a wide range of attractive targets for terrorists. There is a heightened risk that extremist groups will conduct terrorist acts within South Africa in the near future. The Department of State will provide information to its public once it receives information of any specific and credible threat through an updated Travel Alert or Travel Warning. All US citizens in or traveling to South Africa are urged to register with the U.S. Mission to South Africa in order to receive these alerts as quickly as possible. It further says to ensure visitors at all places by taking ample precautions like avoid carrying or displaying expensive items or wearing eye-catching jewelry, stay in a group, and avoid walking at night, be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times, looking out for your own personal security, keep doors locked and windows closed while driving, avoid having purses, phones, bags and luggage in plain view, be wary of street vendors at traffic lights, planted obstacles and staged “accidents” that may be traps for unsuspecting motorists. Do not stop for cars with flashing lights unless they are clearly marked as police or emergency service vehicles. Park your car in secure, gated parking lots or garages wherever possible, and do not leave bags or valuables in plain view. Keep a copy of your passports all time while ensuring to keep originals at safe location. Need to report matters pertaining to lost or stolen passports or to US Consulate.

Let's welcome the new Green Card! For the past several years, the color of the Green Card has remained a light shade of pink. On May 11, 2010, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it has completely redesigned the card, adding new and enhanced features. Among its many improvements, the Green Card is finally going to be the color green. USCIS has begin to issue all Green Cards in the new format from May 2010 onwards. Those non-green colored Green Cards issued before May 2010 will still continue to be valid before their expiration. Card holders will receive the redesigned green-colored Green Cards upon renewal or replacement. If your card does not have an expiration date, USCIS recommends that you replace your card to obtain the new green-colored Green Card. Currently, the filing fee for renewal or replacement is $370.