Immigration news

Countries that refuse to take back failed asylum seekers and criminals could be hit by a UK visa ban under Home Secretary, Priti Patel’s, new immigration plans. A potential block on nations who don’t take in failed asylum seekers were announced as part of a ‘range of levers’ that the government is considering in order to tackle illegal immigration.

 

The Home Office has updated its sponsor licence guidance for workers and temporary workers. The updates include clarification on the record keeping duties of sponsors, which employers are required to follow in keeping with UK immigration rules. 

 

Appendix D of the guidance, perhaps the most important piece of guidance for sponsor licence holders, has been updated to reflect the changes. The changes provide clarification on what documents sponsors should keep for recruiting foreign nationals.

Former US President, Donald Trump, has admitted that he withheld federal funding to punish Central America over immigration to the United States. Trump claims that three Central American nations ‘abused the US immigration system’, prompting him to withdraw vital funding.

 

The American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA) has filed a class action lawsuit against the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) because of lengthy delays in processing the Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) of spouses of H1B and L1 visa holders. The majority of those affected are spouses of tech professionals from India.

 

President of the AILA, Jennifer Minear, said: “The delays that H4 and L2 non-immigrants are facing needlessly place families in financial limbo.”

The recent UK Census may have missed migrant communities who fear UK immigration enforcement action, campaigners have warned. Millions of people completed their Census forms across England, Wales and Northern Ireland ahead of the 21 March deadline, with data gathered used to get a snapshot of the UK population.  

The data is assessed to determine and inform the government on how public funding should be spent. However, immigrant advocacy groups have warned that some communities risk not being represented in the Census, which is carried out every 10 years.

Sanwar Ali: additional reporting and comments Pandemic-based US visa and entry restrictions and bans, originally imposed by former American President Donald Trump, have actually become tougher in some respects under Biden.  In the Schengen Area, UK and Ireland it has become more difficult to receive National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) and thereby avoid the long COVID-19 backlog of visa applications. NIEs for travelers from these countries had previously found it easier to obtain visas under the Trump administration at US embassies and consulates.&nb