Immigration
United States: Immigration Priority Dates
Priority date cut-offs in the third employment-based immigrant category will advance substantially for most countries, but will move forward more modestly for China and will be unchanged for India. »
United States: Senate Passes Border Security Bill
This morning, the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent the Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010, which contains provisions that will raise fees for certain employers with a U.S. workforce of more than fifty percent H-1B or L-1 nonimmigrants. »
Arizona: Immigration Law, update
On July 22, Federal District Judge Susan R. Bolton held hearings in United States v. Arizona and Friendly House v. Whiting, the two principal challenges to S.B. 1070, Arizona’s controversial new immigration law. The plaintiffs in both suits are seeking a preliminary injunction that would bar Arizona from implementing the law while the court... »
Australia: Visa Application Charges
Australian Visa Application Charges (VACs) are set to increase on July 1, 2010. The new VACs will apply to all applications received by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship on or after that date, including those for many employer-sponsored applications. The new fees for many of the employment-related visa categories are provided in the... »
India: Simplified Visa Renewal
Employment visa holders in India may now obtain a first-time visa renewal of up to one year directly from their local Foreigners Regional Registration Office, rather than the three-month preliminary extension that was previously granted. Applicants may be required to provide a police clearance proving that they have not been convicted of any crime... »
Argentina: Confusion Over New Migration Decree
Argentina’s business visitor and transitory work authorization categories will continue to be available to foreign nationals, despite a new regulatory decree from Argentina’s National Migration Office that appeared to have eliminated them, causing confusion and concern for foreign nationals and their employers. The Migration Office has stated it will not alter the decree before... »
Russia: New Streamlined Work Permit Procedure
Russia is introducing a new streamlined work permit program for highly qualified foreign specialists on July 1, 2010. Under the new program, eligible organizations seeking to hire these specialists will be exempt from Russia’s work permit quota and employment permit regimes, though they will be subject to a variety of safeguards and reporting requirements.... »
Canada: Labor Market Opinion Exemption to End
Effective October 1, work permit applications for all foreign information technology (IT) workers will require a labor market opinion, whether filed with Citizenship and Immigration Canada or with the Canadian Border Services Agency at a port of entry. On September 30, Canada’s facilitated processing program, which exempts employers from the labor market opinion requirement... »
United States Reminder: Nonimmigrant Visa Processing Fees start June 4
As of June 4, 2010, U.S. consulates will begin charging increased fees for processing nonimmigrant visas and border crossing cards (BCCs), as the Department of State introduces a new tiered fee structure with higher charges for visa categories that are more costly to process. »
United States: USCIS Unveils Tool to Verify Immigration Petitioners
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will soon launch a pilot program that will use Dun & Bradstreet databases to verify the business information of employers who submit immigration petitions, the agency announced to stakeholders on Thursday. A new electronic tool – the Verification Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) – is intended to help... »