US immigration undergoing a 'second great wave'

The US is undergoing a 'second great wave of immigration,' according to a recent study by USA Today.In the report US immigration over the past 20 years has been compared to the huge arrival of immigrants in the early 20th Century.


The effect of this 'second wave' is its positive impact on ethnic diversity across the whole of the US, even in rural areas such as the Midwest where, up until recently, residents were predominantly white.


Racial and ethnic diversity is no longer confined to cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Miami; in fact some of the figures show that smaller towns and cities are now some of the most diverse in the US. Some metro areas such as Lumberton, North Carolina and Yakima, Washington are now just as diverse as some of the larger cities, according to the report.


In the USA Today survey 49% of Americans believe that this increase in diversity has had a positive impact on the Country. Only 25% of those asked, thought the US was worse off.


The first 'great wave' lasted from around the 1880s to the 1920s and saw many Europeans move across the Atlantic. It was this wave of immigration which transformed the social and political landscape, and helped create the USA we recognise today.


This 'second wave' began in the 1970s, but really gathered pace with the tech explosion in the 1990s. During this time there was a huge increase in migrant foreign workers coming to the US.


Many migrant workers come to the US on a temporary work visa to begin with, before applying for permanent residence. Some of the more popular non-immigrant work related visa types are the H-1B for professional level workers, L-1A/L-1B visas for intra-company transferees, E-1 Treaty Trader and E-2 Treaty Investor visas for skilled work or management level work, and H-2B visas for any non-agricultural work where there are no US citizens available to do the work.


According to the report the current rate of immigration is set to continue for the foreseeable future, and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in United States. Please visit our USA page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/usa.html

Last Chance for Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Visas

The Federal Skilled Worker Program in Canada will end at the end of this year, giving candidates interested in skilled immigration less than three months to apply.


The program is based on a points system, which it is hoped will mean that only candidates who are likely to establish themselves successfully in Canada will gain entry. To be eligible for the program you need to gain enough points and meet one of the basic eligibility requirements:

• Work experience in one of the '50 eligible occupations'
• In some circumstances employment in Canada.
• Enrolment in a PhD program in Canada.

As well as the points system there are also minimum requirements, which every candidate needs to meet in order to apply:

• At least one year (1560 hours) work experience in the same occupation within the past ten years.
• Ability to pass a language test.
• A Canadian diploma, or international equivalent.
• Sufficient funds to support yourself and your family after arriving in Canada.

There is no limit to the number of visas that can be issued to people with a job in Canada. There is a cap on the number of visas that can be issued in each occupation under the eligible occupations sub-category, many of which are already nearing their limit. Successful applicants will gain permanent residence.


The Federal Skilled Worker program will be replaced in January by the Express Entry system. Under this new system, candidates will be added to a pool of applicants who qualify for one of the following programs

• Federal Skilled Worker Program
• Federal Skilled Trades Program
• Canadian Experience Class
• Provincial Nominee Program

The best candidates in each pool will then be hand-selected for visas, which will reportedly be processed within six months, instead of the current processing time of around a year.


It is still unclear how this new system will work: one of the advantages will be the quicker turnaround for the top candidates who are selected. However there may still be many candidates left in the pool uncertain of whether their visa will be approved.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Canada. Please visit our Canadian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/canada.html

Finding jobs in Australia could become easier with proposed visa changes

Proposed changes to the Subclass 457 Visa in Australia could mean that finding a job there will become easier.


A government-commissioned report has criticised the Temporary Skilled Worker visa program for being too complicated for applicants and employers alike.


The Subclass 457 visa allows employers to recruit overseas workers when there are no suitable Australians or permanent residents to fill the position. Since 2013 with the introduction of labour market testing and other changes it has been more difficult the meet the 457 visa requirements.


Labour market testing regulations applicable in many 457 visa cases means that employers must advertise positions locally first, and only if no suitable applicants are found then they can hire overseas workers. Employers must also provide documentary evidence of all their advertisements and attempts to hire Australian and permanent resident workers first.


Some of the recommendations made in the report include scrapping labour market testing, more support for sponsors, and changes to English Language requirements.


If approved, these changes will make it easier for candidates to meet visa requirements, and make it easier for employers to hire foreign workers.


Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said that labour market testing was unlikely to be abolished, however he welcomed the other proposed changes.


He said 'The English language requirements are unnecessarily restrictive, serving more as an industrial lock-out rather than an honest attempt to ensure appropriate language skills which the government does believe is important.'


Since the visa requirements were updated in July 2013 and labour market testing introduced later in the same year there has been a steady reduction in the number of 457 visas being approved. Prior to this there were around 66,000 successful applications each year.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please check our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Entrepreneurs will look elsewhere unless US visa system is overhauled

A Spanish-born entrepreneur has warned that unless the current visa system is changed, then other entrepreneurs will begin to look elsewhere.


Iñaki Berenguer recently sold his first company for $26.5m, and is now working on his second startup. He points out that many tech entrepreneurs still consider the US the ideal location for starting up a business as it offers infrastructure, capital, resources and customers. 'If you want to make it big, you have to come to the US,' he says.

Application process

However, he has also highlighted how difficult it is for foreign tech entrepreneurs to get a visa to work in the US. The lengthy and confusing application process and waiting times are discouraging applicants from applying to the US, and now many are considering other countries as an alternative. Countries like Canada, Singapore and Chile are now offering startup visas to attract foreign entrepreneurs and rival the dominance of the US.


The US EB-5 immigrant investor visa has remained largely unchanged since 1990 when it was first introduced. Critics of the current visa scheme say that it needs to be changed to take into account the current needs of the US economy

 

 

Startup visa

Part of the solution may be the proposed new startup visa, which is currently being debated in Congress. However the House of Representatives and the Senate seem unable to agree on a final version of the proposed bill, meaning that it seems unlikely it will be approved anytime soon.
Startup type visas have already been implemented successfully in other countries. A US startup visa for would enable graduates of US universities, who want to remain in the country to start new businesses.


Another route might be the L-1 visa, which allows multinational companies to transfer employees (usually managers or specialists) from its foreign operations to come and work in the US. These L-1 visas are initially granted for three years, but can be extended for up to seven years for managers and executives and five years for specialised knowledge workers.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in United States. Please visit our USA page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/usa.html

Seven Reasons People Get Refused For A Canadian Permanent Resident Visa

Every year, thousands of applicants for permanent residence in Canada have their applications refused for a multitude of reasons, many of which are entirely avoidable. These unfortunate situations typically result in much disappointment and distress for applicants and their families. Canada provides numerous immigration options for foreign nationals, but navigating the processes in place can sometimes be challenging. Here is a list of seven common reasons why people get refused for permanent residence in Canada, which should help anybody thinking of, or in the process of, immigrating to Canada.


1.       Misrepresentation


Some cases of misrepresentation originate from the applicant either misreading a question on a form, omitting items of information from a form, or misunderstanding the instructions for completing a form. While the term ‘misrepresentation’ may seem to imply a deliberate attempt on the part of the applicant to conceal or distort certain information, this not always the case. Some instances of misrepresentation are accidental and preventable. The result of this transgression is not only that the application is refused, but also that the applicant may be banned from reapplying for two years (five years for Quebec applications).


2.       Health


All applicants for permanent residence in Canada and their dependents are required to take a medical examination with a doctor recognised by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Certain health issues may result in refusal. Applicants for permanent residence who require medication for Diabetes or Hepatitis A, for example, could be deemed to be a potential burden on Canada’s universal healthcare system, and CIC reserves the right to refuse an otherwise eligible application for permanent residence on health grounds. There are, however, ways to overcome inadmissibility on health grounds. For example,  a report from a specialist on the condition could help an applicant’s case and help to avoid further medical examinations, delays and/or refusal.


3.       Criminality


Criminal background checks from every country the applicant has resided in for six months or longer since he or she turned 18 years of age are mandatory. Canada understandably wants to ensure that immigrants to its communities do not have a criminal background that could potentially threaten the health and safety of other residents. If you don’t have any charges or convictions in your past, this stage is just about getting the paperwork done. If you do have a past criminal offence on your record, however, this could present issues during your application.


A foreign national may be criminally inadmissible to Canada on the grounds of serious criminality. For an applicant with a past conviction on his or her record, learning more about criminal inadmissibility, as well as the difference between deemed rehabilitation and individual rehabilitation, is key. Consulting an immigration lawyer with experience in issues pertaining to criminal inadmissibility is always a good idea for such applicants.


4.       Missing a deadline


Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) attempts to make the immigration process faster for applicants by imposing deadlines for the submission of certain forms and documents. Missing one of these deadlines, however, could result in an application being refused. Therefore, knowing how and when to obtain certain documents, and how and when to complete certain forms, is hugely important. Missing a deadline is usually avoidable, so being prepared and organised before and during the immigration process can make the difference between immigrating to Canada and having an application refused. While CIC will occasionally grant extensions, it is important to properly explain the grounds for extension and give reasons and/or supporting documents.


5.       Reconsiderations — CIC makes mistakes


In most cases, CIC follows its own procedures and rules in a straightforward and consistent manner. Visa offices, however, are capable of errors and/or inconsistencies in their work. It is possible that they can misinterpret the law and refuse an application on unjustified grounds. Hiring the services of an immigration attorney can mitigate these factors. The attorney may be able to build a case based on established precedents similar or identical to the situation faced by an applicant who has had his or her application refused, and then represent the applicant in a case for reconsideration or appeals to the appropriate court.


6.       Failure to attach documents


CIC provides a thorough but clear list of documents required of the applicant, as well as a tracking number, in order to bring an application to completion. It is up to the applicant to locate these documents and submit them to the correct CIC office with the tracking number. Failure to do so could result in the application being refused.


7.       Applying without knowing eligibility requirements


Canada offers more than 60 immigration programs, each of which is unique. Depending on a number of factors, such as a person’s age, education, net worth, occupation and work experience, he or she may be eligible for one, more than one, or none of these programs. A superficial glance at the criteria for a given program might lead to an applicant believing that he or she is eligible, but it may be the case that he or she is not, in fact, eligible for that program. A detailed review of the application criteria against the applicant’s credentials is needed to assess eligibility for an immigration program.
Some applicants see their applications refused because they are not eligible for the program for which they have applied, even though they may have been eligible for another Canadian immigration program. This situation is preventable if the applicant correctly determines his or her eligibility for Canadian immigration before making an application in the first place. Failure to do so is often a waste of time, energy and money for the applicant.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Canada. Please visit our Canadian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/canada.html

Deputy PM: UK has scrapped plans to reduce immigration to 'tens of thousands'

The UK's Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, says that the UK coalition government has scrapped plans to reduce annual immigration to below 100,000 annually.


Mr Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Party which is the junior partner in the UK Coalition government with David Cameron's Conservatives, said that the Conservatives had been 'fixated' on meeting the commitment to reduce immigration to below 100,000 annually and that this had made it harder for the government to tackle problems in the UK's immigration system.


However, he added 'Thankfully the Conservatives have now softened their attachment to the net migration target and backed away from 'tens of thousands' – omitted entirely, for example, from the Prime Minister's immigration article [in The Daily Telegraph] last week.'

 

 

Commitment

The 'tens of thousands' commitment was first made In January 2010 when Mr Cameron was leader of the opposition, when he appeared one Sunday Morning on the Andrew Marr Show on BBC television, a political chat show.


Mr Cameron promised that, if he was elected Prime Minister, he would reduce net immigration into the UK from the then level of over 250,000 per year to 'tens of thousands' a year by the time of the next election in 2015.


However, following the general election of 2010 in which the Conservatives entered into Coalition with the Liberal Democrats, many will be surprised to know, that the 'tens of thousands' pledge was never adopted as Coalition Government policy.


Nick Clegg described the promise as 'a fallacy' which did not provide a proper test of the government's success in limiting immigration.

 

 

Fallacy

On Tuesday 5th August, Mr Clegg made a speech in London in which he said 'I made sure the 'tens of thousands' pledge wasn't in the Coalition Agreement because it's unrealistic; because it's based on a fallacy: if a million Brits leave and a million migrants come you get net migration of zero – does that mean you've done the job?'


Net annual immigration is calculated by firstly taking the number of people who arrived in the country as migrants over a given year (immigrants) and then subtracting from this figure the number of people who leave the country as migrants over the same period (emigrants). The difference is the net immigration figure.


So, as Mr Clegg points out, the promise to reduce the net immigration figure does not necessarily mean very much. It does not necessarily mean that you have reduced the levels of immigration into the UK.

 

 

Policy

Mr Clegg said that the target had actually got in the way of implementing effective immigration reform. However now, with the target being scrapped, Mr Clegg hopes to focus on a more realistic immigration policy.


In fact, until recently, few people realised the distinction between Conservative Policy and government policy. The Home Secretary and the Immigration minister are in the Conservative Party and since 2010 have taken steps to reach the 'tens of thousands' target.


But, last year, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable said that the 'tens of thousands' policy was a Conservative, not a Coalition, policy. Now, with the next election approaching, Mr Clegg wants to make the distinction clear again in the hope of electoral advantage.


Mr Clegg also attacked the Labour Party's record on immigration. He said that the Coalition had from the previous Labour government inherited an immigration system which was 'in utter disarray.'

 

 

Hypocrisy

Since Mr Clegg spoke, the chairman of the Conservative Party, Grant Shapps MP, has attacked Mr Clegg's 'hypocrisy.' Mr Shapps says that the government does intend to reduce immigration to below 100,000 per year.


He told The Daily Mail paper, 'The surprising thing about it is that he has never raised any of these concerns that I am aware of privately over the last few years. What's more, he has actively blocked several of the common sense straightforward assessments... he's stood in the way of those things happening - for example blocked our calls to rein in EU migration.'


'It's very strange. You would have thought even in the background, in private you might have heard some of these things. I thought it was an extraordinary speech to make.'


If the 'tens of thousands' target remains Conservative (or perhaps government) policy, then things are not going very well. The government has introduced numerous measures over the last four years to cut immigration. By 2013, it had had some success and net immigration had fallen by about 100,000 annually to just over 150,000 annually.


But, since then, immigration has actually risen. The latest figures show that net immigration in the year to March 2014 was 212,000; only 40,000 less than at the last election. Some migration experts predict that the next figures might be even higher, virtually back to the levels under Labour.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in United Kingdom. Please visit our UK page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/uk.html

Infosys sued for favouring South Asian staff with H-1B visas over US employees

The Indian outsourcing firm Infosys is being sued for discrimination in a US court. The case revolves around Infosys' use of H-1B 'specialty occupation' non-immigrant (temporary residence) visas. Infosys denies any wrongdoing.


The case was brought by Layla Bolten, a US national and an experienced IT professional with a degree in computer science. Ms Bolten was hired by Infosys in 2010 after President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly known as 'Obamacare') was passed by Congress in 2010. She was employed to work as a tester on the new IT systems required for its implementation.

 

Discrimination

According to Computerworld magazine, Ms Bolten claims that, at her place of work, she was one of only three US citizens. All the other staff, she says were South Asians. She claims that she suffered discrimination; she was unable to understand conversations which were held in Hindi and she faced harassment because she was not an Indian.


Ms Bolten is one of four US citizens suing Infosys for 'discrimination by national origin.' They say that South Asians, specifically Indians were hired in preference to American workers. The court case is only in its infancy; however Infosys have made an application to have the case struck out on legal and technical grounds.

 

 

Ethnic background

Computerworld reports that data collated by the federal government shows that Infosys has 59 offices with 50 or more employees in the US. Workplaces with more than 50 employees are required to provide a breakdown of the ethnic background of all employees.


Of the 59 Infosys offices for which data is available, there were 21 workplaces (about 36%) where one hundred percent of employees were south Asian. At 53 of the 59 sites, it was found that at least 94.5% of employees were South Asian. The lowest proportion of Asians at any of the sites was 74%.


American unions claim that firms, particularly the large outsourcing firms, use H-1B visas to cut costs. They claim that H-1B workers are paid less than US workers who are priced out of jobs by South Asians who are prepared to work for less than the going rate.


The outsourcing companies deny this. They claim that it costs more to bring a worker from India than to employ an American. They say that the reason for employing foreign workers with H-1B visas is that there are not enough American workers with the right skills.

 

 

Reform

An immigration reform bill that has been passed by the Senate will, if it ever becomes law, will increase the number of H-1Bs available but will at the same time limit the number of H-1B staff that a particular firm can employ.


The Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act was drafted by eight Senators early in 2013. The bill will reform many areas of the US immigration system.


If the bill becomes law it would make several changes to the H-1B system. It would increase the number of H-1B visas available from 65,000 to more than 180,000. But it would also introduce measures to limit the use of H-1B visas by 'H-1B dependent firms.' The bill will try and restrict foreign staff at any workplace with H-1B visas or L1-Intra Company transfer visas by bringing in the following measures;

• A firm with over 50 employees would pay a $5,000 (compared to $190 now) fee for each extra H-1B visa if its staff comprised between 30 and 50% workers with H-1B visas and L-1 visas.
• Firms with over 50 employees would pay a $10,000 fee for each extra H-1B visa if its staff comprised over 50% H-1B and L-1 visa holders.
• Firms with over 50 employees whose staff comprised 75% or more H-1B and L-1 visa holders would be barred from applying for any more H-1B visas at all.

This has become a bone of contention between the US and Indian governments. In March this year, the new Indian ambassador to the US, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said that, were the US to introduce the changes, then 'tomorrow if an American company comes and says, 'You know, we've got this set of problems,' the temptation for me is to say, 'I'm out for lunch.'


Fortunately for US-Indian relations, the current gridlock in the US Congress, with Republicans and Democrats unable to agree on anything at all, means that the Act is very unlikely to be passed by the House of Representatives, the lower House of Congress. It will probably not, therefore, become law.


Last year, Infosys settled an action brought by the US government for alleged abuse of the B1 visa. The US government alleged that Infosys staff were working in the US on B1 visa; in some circumstances this is actually allowed.


Infosys denied any wrongdoing but settled the case for $34m.


Global Visa Support has a variety of programs in United States. Please visit our USA page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/usa.html