US Immigration News

If the Republicans win the US elections held on 6th November 2012, then this could be the last ever Green Card Lottery. The Republicans plan legislation that would abolish it.

A United States Permanent Resident Card is better known as a 'green card'. Possessors of a green card can live and work in the US for the rest of their lives. After five years of permanent residence in the US, a green card holder can apply for US citizenship.

In the second of the US presidential debates, held yesterday, 16th October 2012 at Hofstra University, New York State, President Obama and the Republican challenger for the presidency, Mitt Romney, clashed on immigration in a bad tempered debate.

The first mention of immigration came when, in answer to a question about President Obama's record over the last four years, Mr Romney, the governor of New Hampshire, criticised the president for his failure to introduce comprehensive immigration reform, as he had promised to do during the last presidential campaign in 2008.

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for the presidency at the November 6th US presidential election, will contest the second presidential debate tonight (16th October 2012) in New York at Hofstra University. They will be questioned by the audience which will comprise undecided voters. It seems likely that there will be questions about immigration policy.

A new report from the right-wing think tank The Cato Institute has found that anti-immigrant legislation introduced in Arizona in 2007 and 2010 has damaged the state economy. The report, The Economic Case against Arizona's Immigration Laws, was written by Cato Institute immigration policy analyst Alex Nowrasteh.

Indian firms are reporting that it is increasingly difficult to obtain L category US visas for their staff. Ameet Nivsarkar, a vice president at Nasscom, the Indian software industry body, has said 'visa refusals for employees have hit Indian companies very hard and pushed back project schedules. Visa rejections are also a drain on resources because money spent filing applications is not refunded.'

The registration period for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2014 (DV-2014), better known as the US Green Card Lottery, began on October 2nd, 2012 and will run until 12:00PM EDT (GMT -4) on November 3rd, 2012. Entries will only be accepted online. Entries will NOT be accepted through the U.S. Postal Service.