Immigration news

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced plans to extend expiring US work permits by 18 months. Tens of thousands of US immigrants are set to benefit from the extension as USCIS struggles to clear lengthy backlogs and processes US work visa renewals.

 

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request reported on by The Guardian has revealed that at least 25 UK immigration officers are currently deployed across local authorities in Britain. Child social services are among several local authority departments where on-site immigration agents have been deployed by the Home Office.

 

According to White House sources, the Biden administration is aiming to lure some of Russian President, Vladimir Putin’s, top innovators by waiving some US visa requirements for highly educated Russians looking to come to America. A spokesperson for the National Security Council confirmed that the plan is to ‘weaken Putin’s high-tech resources in the near term’.

 

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), which advises the UK government on immigration matters, has urged Westminster to scrap UK immigration fees for foreign care workers. A MAC report assessing the impact of Brexit on the adult care sector, states that people on UK health and care work visas have to pay ‘significant costs’ to remain in Britain.

 

Amid efforts to scrap the controversial, Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ program, President Joe Biden’s powers to set US immigration policy will be scrutinized by the Supreme Court. Launched in 2019, the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy allowed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to send certain immigrants who entered the US back to Mexico.

 

Priti Patel’s former UK border boss, Glyn Williams, has called for the Home Office to be stripped of its UK visa powers amid its farcical handling of a refugee scheme. Williams has urged the UK government to set up a new Department of Immigration that is separate from the Home Office.

 

Williams, who previously served as the director-general of borders and immigration until recently, said: “UK immigration, including visa processing, should be removed from the Home Office’s power.”