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All national children under the age of 15 must have an Emirates ID card by the end of this month, the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) said yesterday.

Although no penalties have been set for families that fail to meet the deadline, officials said they hoped people would be prompt. “There are only a few locals who did not do it yet,” an Eida official said. “That is why we set a deadline.”
Non-nationals are also required to apply for ID cards for children under the age of 15, but no deadline has been set. The cards will be required for anyone renewing their residency visa. That, the official said, would be considered their deadline.

Newcomers to the country will be required to obtain an ID card for their children on arrival. “It will help to see how many people are in the UAE,” the official said. “And it will help the Government in so many things.”
Children do not have to be present at the typing centre when their parents apply for the ID cards. Unlike adults, children do not have to give fingerprints. A parent or guardian must bring passport and visa copies and a passport-sized photo of the child on a light blue background. Any child who has a passport needs an ID card. The cost for children is Dh120.

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Ukraine and Russia will extend their consular presence in the two countries, according to the agreement reached at the fifth meeting of the subcommittee on international cooperation of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission in Odesa.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko said the expansion of the consular presence is important for the development of bilateral economic cooperation.the sides agreed on the opening of Ukraine’s consulate general in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) and Russia’s consulate general in Donetsk (eastern Ukraine). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, said that Russia wanted to open its consulates general in Sevastopol, Uzhgorod, and Dnipropetrovsk. Hryshchenko noted that this year “very significant work was done to improve the Russian-Ukrainian relations, and it is giving real results.”

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Kosovo will introduce visas for Russian and Chinese nationals, the local media reported.

Kosovo is considering introducing visas for countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, including those who recognized its independence.

Visas will be introduced for Russia and China not because they have not recognized Kosovo’s independence, but because the local authorities believe most refugees arrive from these two countries.

Kosovo’s borders will be open for citizens of the U.S., all regional countries and the EU.

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The increase in H-1B and L1 visa fee by US Congress to fund enhanced border security measures, which was basically intended to have financial implications on Indian companies, is impacting American firms too, a key Democratic Congressman has said, highlighting the need to fix this.

“Mr Speaker, I rise to bring to your attention an unintended consequence brought on when we enacted last year’s emergency supplemental appropriations bill to fund additional border resources HR6080, the Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act,” Congressman Steven R Rothman said on the floor of the House of Representatives.

This bill, the New Jersey Congressman said, was fully paid for by imposing additional fees for new H-1B and L-1 visas on a select group of companies. Specifically, the companies impacted are those with more than 50 employees; and with a US workforce in which more than 50 per cent are on a professional temporary visa — basically the H-1B and L-1 visas.

“While, I applaud the intent of this provision to incentivise job creation at home, I would like to express my concern about the implementation of the additional visa fees. These fees were meant to be targeted at companies who utilise H-1B and L-1 visas at very high levels for the purpose of building their employees’ proficiencies in IT, so that they can take this knowledge and the work back to their home countries,” he noted.

“It turns out, however, that some US companies are being impacted by these fee increases because many of their professionals are stuck in green card backlogs and in the meantime remain in temporary visa status,” Rothman said.

The Congressman noted that in his remarks at the time of Senate passage of HR 6080, Senator Charles Schumer commented that, when the H-1B visa programme is used as a stepping-stone for skilled immigrants to obtain permanent resident status, it is “a good programme for everyone involved. It is good for the company. It is good for the worker.

“And it is good for the American people who benefit from the products and jobs created by the innovation of the H-1B visa holder. I agree with Senator Schumer’s remarks, and encourage my colleagues to work with me on a technical fix that would ensure that the implementation of this bill is consistent with these policy goals,” he said.

“The clearest way to achieve these goals would be to exempt from the so-called ’50/50′ calculation any H-1B or L-1 worker who has sought to acquire permanent residence by taking steps to file or is the beneficiary of a pending or approved application for alien employment certification with the Department of Labour, or a pending or approved immigrant petition with US Citizenship and Immigration Services,” Rothman said.

Those H-1B and L-1 workers are best defined as ‘intending immigrants,’ as they relinquish their non-immigrant intent when their employers pursue a Green Card application on their behalf, he said.

“We should not punish companies that are doing the right thing by investing considerable resources to sponsor professionals for permanent resident visas,” Rothman said.

“They are building a highly skilled workforce in the US within technical specialties in which few American workers with applicable skills exist. This is something we need to do if we are going to grow out of our current economic difficulties,” he said.

Rothman had earlier urged Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, to consider making the technical fix as part of regulatory guidance on this new fee.

“The Department later informed me that such a fix required Congressional action,” he said.

“I raise this issue Mr Speaker, because it is my hope that we can work with our colleagues in the Senate to ensure that companies that are trying to do the right thing are not unintentionally hurt by this provision. Since this unintended consequence was caused by a provision in an appropriations bill, I hope that we can make the necessary technical fix on an appropriations bill at the appropriate time,” Rothman said.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China announced on its official website on Wednesday that China’s first electronic passport, introduced on January 30 of this year, will take effect beginning July 1.

According to the announcement, the ministry has informed other countries of the electronic passport by providing the new passport sample, description and electronic certificate and has asked for the necessary cooperation from foreign governments.

The e-passport features an electronic data storage chip that contains personal information about the passport holder, including photos and fingerprints, which greatly increase security and the credibility of the passport.

The e-passport for foreign affairs carries images of China in the background, including sights of the Great Wall, while the common e-passport features the images of Chinese world cultural sites in front of images of red Chinese-style knots, according the Department of Consular Affairs. A member of the department said that the ministry will also continue to issue traditional passports, as the switch to e-passports will take some time.

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Russia and the European Union have reached an agreement on long-term visas, for up to five years, a Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday.

“In addition to a visa-free regime with the EU, we are also negotiating visa facilitation,” said Vladimir Voronkov, director of the ministry’s European Cooperation Department.

The EU currently issues short-term visas – from several days to one year, although the Schengen Agreement allows five-year visas, he said.

Five-year visas will not be issued immediately but only after a person has received a short-term visa and shown himself to be a responsible, law-abiding citizen, Voronkov said. Russia has no plans to scrap visa requirements unilaterally, he added.

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has proposed a new process for filing H-1B visa petitions that it says could help businesses save millions of dollars, particularly due to reduced legal fees.

But some critics warn that the government proposal would also create a new way to game the H-1B visa system.

The USCIS proposal aims to prevent a recurrence of what happened in 2009, when the government received 163,000 H-1B petitions for 85,000 slots allowed under the cap.

The result of that year’s overload of H-1B applications: “Multiple truckloads of petitions were stacked on pallets on loading docks, in offices and in hallways,” said the USCIS in its proposal.Employers had to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees to file these petitions, without any guarantee that it would survive a lottery held to make the final selection.

The USCIS said its proposal aims to fix the problem. Under the proposed rule, employers would initially register electronically by completing a relatively simple form in a process that should take about 30 minutes. The electronic registrations would be used by officials to create a first cut of full registrants. A waiting list would be created if the number of H-1B registrations exceeds the cap limit.

The USCIS says that the “main benefit that will result from this rule is that employers that want to hire an H-1B worker will be able to forgo the time, effort and expense associated with the preparation of a full H-1B petition” and completing U.S. Department of Labor paperwork, “until USCIS notifies the H-1B employer that space exists under the cap.”
Some immigration attorneys believe the USCIS plan would create a new way to game the system of applying for H-1B visas. The American Immigration Lawyers Association is warning that the system will create a rush of registrations and “generate false H-1B demand” by “creating a flood of unnecessary or unqualified registrations, potentially numbering in the thousands, that will ultimately be abandoned or denied.”
It’s expected that the USCIS will set up this electronic registration period each March, just prior to the April 1 start date for new fiscal year applications. The lawyers’ association said the proposal presupposes that employers will have completed work on projecting staffing levels needed for the entire U.S. fiscal year.

The USCIS projects that the new rules would save employers some $24 million in preparation costs over the next ten years.

The USCIS ended the comment period on the proposal rule last month. This USCIS proposal was borne out of the crush of the H-1B petitions the agency received in the pre-recession years. The pace of demand has slowed since then.

As of last week, the government has received 13,100 H-1B petitions toward its 65,000 cap, and 9,000 petitions toward the cap of 20,000 that’s set aside for advanced degree holders. It’s expected that the USCIS will reach the fiscal 2012 cap for the year, though it’s still months away from doing so.

The relative fall-off in demand is blamed on a still weak economy, as well as a recent move by Congress to impose a new $2,000 fee for H-1B petitions on companies, mostly offshore firms, that rely heavily on holders of U.S. visas.

Offshore firms may be shifting to other visas, such as L-1, as well as improving the efficiency of their onshore operations, and/or boosting U.S. hiring, to reduce the need for visa holders.

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Ukrainian and Serbian officials have signed here an agreement on a visa-free regime for short-term travel between two countries.

“I am pleased to proclaim that we have just signed a bilateral agreement to ease visa requirements for our citizens,” said Kostyantyn Gryschenko, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, during a press conference with his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic.

The agreement provides for visa-free regime for citizens of Ukraine and Serbia for a period of 30 days within 60 days from the date of first entry.

Gryschenko noted that the introduction of the visa-free regime is very important for stirring up visits of Ukraine and Serbia citizens to friendly countries. It will also strengthen relations between the two states and promote intensification of contacts in the economic, culture-humanitarian and other spheres.

In early May, the Republic of Macedonia introduced a visa-free regime of short-term travel for citizens of Ukraine for the period from May 10 to Oct. 31, 2011. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry prepared a draft agreement on visa regime liberalization with six countries, such as Paraguay, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Croatia, Mexico and Argentina.

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Saudi Arabia aims to create more jobs for its nationals by not renewing the work permits of foreign workers who have spent six years in the country, the Saudi labor minister said. The current situation calls for strong cooperation between the government and private sector in solving the problem of unemployment with hundreds of thousands looking for work.

It remains unclear as to when the decision will be implemented or whether it will be applicable to all foreigners or to specific jobs. There are currently eight million foreign workers in the Kingdom, of which six million are employed in the private sector.

Companies across Saudi have targeted workers from Asia, who are allegedly willing to work long hours for low salaries, or have swerved towards well-paid foreign experts. Unemployment in the Kingdom currently stands at 10.5 percent, the minister said. An estimated 28 percent of the unemployed were women and 40 percent high school graduates, he added.

Saudi Arabia has an estimated population of 25 million, with almost 70 percent of Saudis under the age of 30. The Gulf Arab state, the largest economy of the GCC and largest oil exporter in the world, has an annual GDP of $622 billion, and a GDP per capita of $24,200.

Unemployment amongst Saudi nationals has risen despite the country’s wealth. Analysts say that a dated school system focused on religion and the Arabic language is a factor that has produced graduates who have difficulty finding jobs in the private sector. Also, a rapidly growing population – increasing by around 2.4 percent annually – adds to the difficulty for finding jobs.

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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) today reminded foreigners intending to study in the Philippines to secure a visa or study permit from the bureau before enrolling in any school in the country. Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. issued the statement as the start of new school year is on June 6 and when foreign students are expected to troop by the hundreds to the BI main office to get their student visas.

David also reminded schools that they cannot admit foreigners for enrollment unless the students have the required visas or study permits from the BI student desk. BI added that a school must be accredited or authorized by the BI before it could accept foreign students, or the school will be fined for violating the bureau’s regulations. Existing immigration laws require foreigners who want to enroll in the Philippine college or university to get a student visa.

The BI student desks processes and evaluates applications for student visas and SSPs and thereafter forward the same to the office of the commissioner for his approval. A student visa applicant should at least be 18 years old and must submit a notice of acceptance from his or her school which, also, must issue a written endorsement for conversion of the applicant’s status signed by the school registrar.

The applicant is also required to submit a medical certificate from a government medical institution stating that the applicant is not afflicted with any dangerous, contagious or loathsome disease and is mentally fit; and clearances from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Clearance and BI.