US Immigration News

In a speech to a Hispanic audience last week President Obama promised he will keep fighting for immigration reform.

Speaking to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, he has renewed his pledge to keep fighting for immigration reform. As Congress is unlikely to agree on immigration reform any time soon he intends to use his powers as President to take executive action before the end of the year.

Obama intends to use executive action to bypass Congress, and push through more limited immigration reform.

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.

An immigration researcher has condemned US officials for allowing a man who, unknowingly, was carrying the ebola virus to enter the United States. Jessica Vaughn is a researcher from the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, an organisation who want to see a reduction in migration to the US.

US Vice President Joe Biden has reassured Hispanics that they intend to introduce 'an awful lot' of immigration reforms after the midterm elections in November.

Vice President Biden spoke out at a Hispanic Heritage Month reception in Washington DC; he promised the crowd that President Obama was 'absolutely committed' to pushing through immigration reforms.

US immigration from Southeast Asia and the Middle East has 'skyrocketed' in the past few years, according to a recent report.

The number of Saudis emigrating to the US has doubled between 2010 and 2013, with almost 90,000 migrants arriving in the US during this period.

There has also been a large increase in immigration from Iraq and Pakistan.

The number of applicants for New Zealand investor visas is set to rise, at least partly due to the US running out of EB-5 investor visas.

The US has run out of investor visas which are available to applicants who are able to invest $500,000 or $1million into the US economy. (US$500,000 is sufficient in certain areas designated as areas of high unemployment or rural areas.)

Visas have run out due to an unprecedented number of applications, predominantly from Chinese nationals, which have exceeded the maximum quota for the fiscal year.