Deal on US immigration enforcement should see reform act pass Senate

Immigration moved centre stage in Washington last week as Congress debated the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act 2013 ('the bill'). This bill will, if it becomes law, comprehensively reform the US immigration system.


There was good news for supporters of reform when it emerged that the bill should pass the upper house of Congress, The Senate, by 70 votes to 30 after senators reached a deal on border security.


The bill must be passed by both houses of Congress with 60% support to become law but its supporters want it to gain at least 70 votes in the Senate to put pressure on the lower house, the House of Representatives, to pass the bill too.

$50bn extra to be spent on US border security

News of the deal emerged on Thursday 20th June 2013. A Republican amendment which would see a further $50bn spent on border security along the US's south-western border with Mexico was accepted. The extra money would be spent on doubling the number of border guards and on manned and unmanned reconnaissance planes, radar and electronic surveillance equipment.


The US already spends US$18bn on border security annually; more than all other law enforcement combined. The original draft of the bill proposed spending a further $4.5bn but this was not enough for some Republicans.


For years politicians from both parties have agreed that the US immigration system is 'broken' but, as ever in Washington, they cannot agree on what to do about it. Congress is bitterly divided along party lines and it has become almost impossible in recent years for any legislation to be passed, particularly because the balance of power is so fine. The Democrats hold the 100 seat Senate by 54:46 whereas the Republicans hold the 435 seat House by 234 seats to 201 (54% to 46%).

Bipartisan cooperation is rare in Washington

This means that bills require bipartisan support to become law but the bitter rivalry between the parties means cooperation is rare.
President Obama promised to make immigration reform a major priority in his second term. He left the drafting of the bill to a group of eight Senators, four Republicans and four Democrats, known as the Gang of Eight, in the hope that this might encourage bipartisan support. The bill would

• Increase border security
• Provide a 'pathway to citizenship' for the 11.5m illegal immigrants living in the US. This 'pathway' would be long and hard. It will take well over ten years for those who apply to become citizens.
• Award permanent resident visas (or 'green cards') for foreign students who receive doctorates and PhDs from US universities
• Increase the number of H-1B 'specialty occupation' temporary work visas granted each year from the current level of 85,000 annually to a maximum of about 200,000 annually
• Create a 'w-visa' for low-skilled workers in agriculture and construction
• Require US employers to check the employment status of all workers against the E-Verify system before employing them

It is the second provision which causes many Republican Congressmen to oppose the bill. Republicans believe that the establishment of a 'pathway to citizenship' for illegal immigrants is wrong because it rewards criminal behaviour; entering the country or remaining in the country illegally. They also argue that, if the pathway is established before the border is secured, within a few years, there will be another 11m illegal immigrants pressing for citizenship.

Republicans fear illegal immigrants would vote Democrat if given citizenship

They are also concerned because 80% of illegal immigrants in the US are of Hispanic descent and Hispanic voters overwhelmingly vote Democrat.


Republican strategists tell Congressmen that, unless they back reform, to appeal to Hispanic voters, there will never be another Republican President because Hispanic voters are growing rapidly as a proportion of the electorate.


One Republican senator, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, a member of the Gang of Eight, has warned colleagues that, if they vote 'no', they will be locked in a 'demographic death spiral' and face electoral oblivion.

Without reform there will be no more Republican presidents –Senator Menendez

Another senator, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, warned that, without reform, 'there will never be a road to the White House for the Republican Party'.


Nonetheless, many Republican Congressmen and women seem to be opposed to the bill. The reason for that may be self-interest. The US system of primary elections means that, before a politician can stand for election he has to be elected to stand by his local party members.


These activists are usually more extreme than the general population. Many have said they will deselect any Congressman who backs the bill. In short, Republican Congressmen have to choose between their careers and their party's chance of regaining the presidency.


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Strike causing delays for Canadian visa applicants

Continuing industrial action by the Canadian Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) is causing increasingly long waits for Canadian visa applicants who apply abroad. Particularly affected are applicants under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) as well as students and tourists.


Industry bodies for the Canadian tourism and education industries say that, if the strike is not resolved, visitors and students are likely to consider going elsewhere. Canada has been attracting increasing numbers of Chinese and Mexican visitors in recent years.


PAFSO is the union for Canadian government staff who work in other countries. Its members include immigration staff as well as diplomats, lawyers and economists. PAFSO members have been engaged in industrial action since June 6th.

Union will escalate industrial action if its demands are not met

There has been a series of co-ordinated walk-outs by PAFSO members. The union warns that its action will escalate if its demands are not met. The union says that its members are paid between CAN$3,000 and $14,000 per year less than government workers in other departments who do similar work.


Members have been working shorter hours, PAFSO has 1,350 members. 320 of these are visa and immigration officers working in visa processing offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Mexico City and Manila in the Philippines.


The Canadian government does not seem ready to back down to prevent further action. It says that PAFSO staff have other benefits such as a contribution to their dry cleaning bills, free vehicles, and an 'incentive allowance' for working abroad. These, the government says, compensate for their slightly lower salary.


Since June 6th, the waiting time for visas in Mexico and China has increased from between five and ten days to over six weeks. David Goldstein of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada said 'coming at this time of year, it's going to be devastating. If it's going to take 90 days to get a visa, people are going to be looking for other locations'. He warned that the disruption would be likely to cause long-term reputational damage.

Students are concerned they may miss the beginning of the academic year

Canadian schools and colleges have also begun to complain that their non-Canadian students are now contacting them with concerns they will not get visas in time for the academic year's start in September.


Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Canadian department with responsibility for issuing visas, says that it has contingency plans in place but the union says that, even so, the number of visas being issued at overseas offices is down by 75%.


A CIC spokeswoman advised anyone wanting to apply for a Canadian visa to apply as far in advance as possible to avoid getting caught by the backlog. She said that humanitarian applications would be given priority.


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Angry reaction to UK immigration's visa 'security bonds'

India and Nigeria have reacted angrily to the announcement by the UK's Home Secretary Theresa May that the UK intends to introduce 'security bonds' for some visitors in an attempt to ensure visa holders leave the UK when their visas expire. Nigeria has said that the move is likely to prevent a bilateral trade deal between the UK and the African country. India has warned that there may be implications for trade.


The British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, was summoned to a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister Olugbenga A Ashiru in the capital Abuja on Tuesday 25th June 2013. Mr Ashiru made clear the 'strong displeasure of the government and people of Nigeria'. Mr Ashiru said that the policy was discriminatory and said that it would 'definitely negate' the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries that is currently planned for 2014.

Security bond is 'targeted at the non-white Commonwealth'

Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, a Nigerian MP who chairs a parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said that the scheme was discriminatory and clearly 'targeted at the non-white Commonwealth'.


The Indian government was also greatly concerned about the proposals. The Indian trade minister Anand Sharma was on a visit to the UK between 23rd and 25th June 2013 and submitted a formal request for information about the security bonds to the UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable, about the proposal.


The Indian Trade Ministry has issued a statement saying that Dr Cable had 'informed the Indian Minister that he had discussed the visa matter with the British home Secretary who assured that the proposal was mooted for a pilot but hasn't been considered by the British Government'.

Bond will have consequences for UK trade with Nigeria and India

But Mr Sharma has asked for further clarification from the UK government. Like Mr Ashiru in Nigeria, Mr Sharma made it clear that the proposal might have consequences for trade between his country and the UK.


The British press announced on Sunday 23rd June that Mrs May was planning to introduce the security bonds for visitors from six countries which are considered to be 'high risk' by the British government. The six are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Ghana.

Under the proposal, some visitors from those countries would be required to pay a £3,000 security bond when they receive their visas. The money would be refunded when the visa holder left the country and would be forfeit if he or she overstayed.


The bonds would not be paid by all visitors from those countries but only from those considered to be likely to overstay their visas. Mrs May said that she intends to start a pilot scheme in November. If it were to be successful, she would extend the scheme to cover student visas and work visas.

Bond is '180 degrees opposite' to Cameron's claim of special relationship with India

Vindi Banga, the Chairman of the UK Advisory Group of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that the introduction of the security bond would be '180 degrees opposite to Prime Minister David Cameron's emphasis on a special relationship with India'. He said it would 'adversely impact students, tourists, and business alike'.


Meanwhile, it has emerged that the UK's deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has asked for a rethink on the policy. Mr Clegg is the leader of the smaller party in the UK's Coalition government, the Liberal Democrats. It was actually Mr Clegg who first raised the idea of a security bond in a speech in March. It is understood that Mr Clegg would like the bond to be £1,000 rather than £3,000.

Level of bond not yet decided

A Home Office spokesman told UK newspaper The Guardian that the level of the bond has yet to be confirmed. He added that the bond would not apply to all visitors but only to those considered to be high risk.


The chairman of the House of Commons' Home Affairs Committee Keith Vaz MP, who came to the UK as a child himself, said that 'the plans could potentially alienate already settled communities in the UK'.


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UK visas and immigration chief answers MPs questions

The acting head of the UK's visa and immigration services has appeared before a committee of MPs in Westminster to answer questions about her progress in improving the UK's visa and immigration systems. Sarah Rapson was made acting head of the newly formed UK Visas and Immigration Directorate (UKVID) in April 2013.


During an hour-long appearance before the Home Affairs Committee on 11th June 2013, Ms Rapson was questioned at length about backlogs in UKVID's systems, in particular in asylum cases and in the processing of visas.


Ms Rapson said she would make every effort to eliminate backlogs where they were found and said that she believed that some headway had already been made though no figures were yet available. She also attempted, with limited success, to persuade the committee that, in some cases at least, service standards and timeframes for dealing with cases might have to be revised. She said she would try to increase the accountability and transparency of her directorate.

Long history of backlogs in UK immigration

The MPs' concern about backlogs is understandable. In 2006, a backlog of 450,000 asylum cases was discovered in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, which was then the Government immigration department that dealt with immigration casework. The cases had been shelved and no one knew how many of the applicants concerned were still in the country.


Since then, from time to time, further backlogs of cases have come to light. In March, the Committee said that UK immigration had a backlog of 320,000 cases and that, at the current rate, these would take 24 years to clear.


The committee repeatedly pressed her about backlogs but Ms Rapson was keen to stress that it was necessary first to establish a common definition of what a backlog case was. She has a degree in mathematics from Lancaster University and an MBA from London Business School but said that even she found immigration service standards confusing.


Mr Vaz was keen not to engage in any process of defining backlogs. He said that many senior UKBA figures had attempted to do so but said that, as far as he was concerned, 'if it looks like a backlog…then it's a backlog'. He said that most immigration applications could easily be dealt with in 45 minutes and it was unacceptable for cases to drag on for years.

UK visa authorities must develop 'service standards that Joe Public can understand'

But Ms Rapson said that a case should only be considered to be part of a backlog if it was not dealt with within the agreed service standard timeframe. She added that it would be necessary to develop a 'set of service standards that Joe Public can understand'.


She said that it might be necessary to alter current immigration service targets because she did not understand what they meant. For example, she said that one current UK immigration service target says that 65% of family or temporary migration applications should be dealt with within four weeks.


This, she said, was confusing. 'I don't know what 65% means' she said. 'If I am applying, I don't know whether that means I am going to get a decision or I am not.' The point Ms Rapson is making is that you may or may not be in the 65% of cases that should have been decided within the four weeks.


Ms Rapson became head of the UK's Identity and Passport Service (IPS) in 2010. There were significant performance improvements during her time there. Keith Vaz, the committee chairman noted that the IPS now deals with 98.9% off its cases in its target timeframe. He also noted that the situation at the UKVID is rather different.

Some progress being made with UK visa regime

The MPs asked her if she believed she was making improvements. She said that she believed that progress had been made in ensuring that more visa applications were dealt with within four weeks but had no figures available as yet. In 2012, the UKBA dealt with only 51% of work visa applications (such as Tier 1 visas for high value migrants and Tier 2 visas for skilled workers) and only 21% of Tier 4 student visa applications within four weeks.


Ms Rapson became head of UKVID in April after the UKBA was abolished in March by Home Secretary Theresa May. Ms May said that the UKBA had been simply 'not good enough'. The UKBA's functions were taken back into the Home Office and were split between two new directorates UKVID and the UK Immigration Enforcement Directorate (UKIED). This, Ms May said would allow UKVID to specialise in providing better customer service for those seeking visas and indefinite leave to remain while the UKIED focused on policing the UK's borders.


Before she left, the MPs wished Ms Rapson luck in reforming the UK immigration system. She will need it. At one point, Mr Vaz seemed surprised at Ms Rapson's candour. She said 'Are we ever going to be able to say about this quite complex organisation that it is perfect? I don't think so'.


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New Zealand immigration stats from the OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently released its International Migration Outlook Report for 2013. The report contains subsidiary reports on all the 34 countries that make up the OECD including New Zealand.


New Zealand is one of the most isolated nations on earth. It is situated in the south-western Pacific Ocean. It is one of the smaller OECD countries with a population of 4.405m. It has sought to encourage immigration in recent years in large part because many native born New Zealanders leave the country as young people and do not return.


In 2011/12 62,000 foreigners became resident in New Zealand. Over the same period, 25,000 foreign people left New Zealand. In addition, 39,000 New Zealand citizens left, mostly to live in Australia. This meant that total emigration was slightly higher than total immigration into the Country and the population actually fell by 3,200 in 2011/12 because of migration out of the Country. In comparison in 2010/11, there was a net population gain of 3,900 due to immigration into New Zealand.


The three major countries of origin for new New Zealand permanent residents were

1. The United Kingdom 15%
2. China 13%
3. India 13%

Permanent migration figures

	2010	2011
Work	12,100	10,200
Family	29,400	27,900
Humanitarian	2,800	2,700
Total	48,500	44,500

Temporary migration figures

	2010	2011
Students	74,100	69,000
Working holiday	44,800	45,100
Seasonal workers	7,700	7,800
Intra company transfer	-	-
Other temporary	30,900	26,800
Total	157,500	148,700

Top ten countries of origin

1. United Kingdom
2. China
3. India
4. Philippines
5. Fiji
6. South Africa
7. Samoa
8. Korea
9. United States
10. Tonga

Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in New Zealand. Please visit our NZ page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/nz.html

Latest Canadian immigration figures from the OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently released its International Migration Outlook Report for 2013. The report contains subsidiary reports on all the 34 countries that make up the OECD including Canada.


The report finds that Canada has continued to accept more migrants than most other OECD countries; it is sixth in the OECD. According to Statistics Canada, the country receives on average 7.5 immigrants per thousand people annually; one of the highest in the industrialised world and twice the rate of the US. Much of Canada's population growth in recent years has been down to immigration.


The latest figures presented in the report are for 2011. Overall immigration fell by 11% on the previous year. Canada admitted 249,000 new permanent residents in 2011. 62.8% of these were admitted under the economic migrant stream. This stream includes those who are admitted to Canada for work purposes and their families. Only 22.7% of new permanent residents were admitted under the family stream.


The OECD breaks down the figures differently in its report, including family members of workers as family migrants. Consequently, the OECD figure shows that, in 2011, 25.9% of new Canadian permanent residents are in the 'work' category. This compares very favourably to the US figure of 6.1%.

Many new Canadians from Asia

The three major countries of origin for new economic permanent residents were Asian. They were

1. The Philippines 14%
2. China 12%
3. India 10%

Canada also admitted around 191,000 temporary workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in 2011, 6.4% more than in 2010 and also issued nearly 100,000 student visas, 3.3% more than the previous year. There were also around 36,000 humanitarian migrants in 2011.


The OECD notes that Canada reformed its economic immigration categories in 2012. Regular readers of workpermit.com will know that Canada reformed its main skilled worker immigration program, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and also expanded the Canadian Experience Class and announced the creation of both the Start-up visa for entrepreneurs and the Federal Skilled Trade Program for tradespeople.


Canada intends to move towards an 'expression of interest' model for work-based immigration in coming years. Immigration minister Jason Kenney has already introduced major changes in 2012 and he has said he wants to introduce further changes to allow new residents in Canada to 'hit the ground running.

Permanent migration figures

	2010	2011
Citizenship	76,600	64,400
Family	170,600	148,200
Humanitarian	33,400	36,100
Total	280,700	248,700

Temporary migration figures

	2010	2011
Students	76,700	77,200
Working holiday	50,000	55,000
Seasonal workers	23,900	24,100
Intra company transfer	13,600	13,500
Other temporary	85,500	87,500
Total	249,700	257,300

Top ten countries of origin

1. Philippines
2. China
3. India
4. United States
5. Iran
6. United Kingdom
7. Haiti
8. Pakistan
9. France
10. United Arab Emirates

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

Latest US immigration and visa figures from the OECD

In June 2013, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued its International Migration Outlook report for 2013. The report contains summaries of changes in immigration in the 34 member countries of the OECD including the US. The US is not only the most populous country in the OECD, it is also the one that is home to the greatest immigrant population.


Over 40m (40.4m) current American residents in 2011 were foreign-born. This amounts to 13% of the total population. The OECD reports that the number of family and employment based visas granted in 2011 fell, as did the number of asylum claims but the number of refugees and the number of diversity-visa immigrants rose.


The diversity immigrant visa program is also known as The Green Card Lottery. Each year, 55,000 US permanent resident visas (colloquially known as green cards) are distributed in the green card lottery to applicants from countries with historically low levels of migration to the US.

1,062,000 new permanent residents

In 2011, the number of people gaining permanent residence in the US rose by 1.9% on the previous year to 1,062,000. Of these 43% were of Asian descent, an increase from 33% a decade before. The proportion of the total number of immigrants coming from North America (Mexico predominantly but also from Canada) fell from 38% in 2001 to 31% in 2011. 694,000 people became naturalised US citizens in 2011, Mexico being the most common birth country.


It is notable that only about 6% of the total number of immigrants to the US in both 2010 and 2011 came in employment based visa categories.


There were also 808,500 people who came to the US as temporary migrants in 2011. Of these, about 450,000 were students and around 300,000 came on temporary work visas including about 71,000 on L-1 intra company transfer visas and 85,000 with H-1B 'specialty occupation' visas which allow graduate-level workers to work in the US for up to three years. These visas can be renewed once and those in the US with an H-1B visa are allowed to apply for permanent residence once they have been in the country for five years.

Permanent Migration inflows 2010/11

	2010	2011
Work	67,000	65,300
Family	772,400	762,200
Humanitarian	136,300	168,500
Others	56,300	68,700
Total	1,041,900	1,061,400

Temporary Migration inflows

	2010	2011
Students	385,200	447,400
Seasonal workers	55,900	55,400
Intra company transfers	65,500	70,700
Others	217,600	35,000

The OECD reports that there are an estimated 11.5m illegal residents currently living in the US who entered the country, whether legally or illegally, between 1980 and 2010. The OECD says that only 14% of these arrived after 2005 which suggests that the rate of illegal immigration has slowed though whether this is a temporary slowdown caused by the recession of 2007-12 is not clear.


The US immigration system is complex and huge backlogs have built up over the years. Applicants for permanent resident visas in some family categories and from some countries can wait for over 20 years to become permanent residents. Applicants for EB-3 employment based green cards from China and India can wait for eight years or more.

No consensus on fixing 'broken' immigration system

President Obama said, in 2012, that the US immigration system is 'broken' and figures from both the main political parties agree with him. However, they can never agree about what ought to be done to reform it.


The US Congress is currently considering the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act 2013. If this becomes law, it will

• Increase the level of border security along the Mexican border
• Create a 'pathway to citizenship' for many illegal immigrants
• Increase the number of employment-based green cards
• Increase the number of H-1B visas from 85,000 to over 200,000 at times of great demand.
• Create a new 'w-visa' for unskilled workers
• Require US employers to check the immigration status of potential employees using the E-Verify system

The bill was drafted by a group of four Republican and four Democrat senators known as the Gang of Eight. Supporters of reform hope that the bipartisan nature of the gang might help the bill pass through Congress which is bitterly divided along party lines. Congressmen and women have found it increasingly difficult to find any common ground in recent years so, despite the fact that most people agree that the system does not work, it may prove impossible to reform it. Congress will vote on the law this summer.


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