Immigration news

A Home Office helpline setup to help Ukrainian nationals with UK immigration queries ‘wasn’t ready’, according to a report published by Civil Service World. The hotline has since launched, but was hit by delays despite Home Secretary Priti Patel urging people who met UK visa criteria to call the helpline.

 

US President Joe Biden has been given the green light to continue expelling migrant families caught crossing the US-Mexico border, by a federal appeals court. However, the court ruled that those set for expulsion from the US cannot be sent to countries where they could be subject to persecution or torture. 

 

This report is correct at the time of writing. However, some reports claim that the number of visas issued to Ukrainians is now more than 700. This is an evolving news story, which we will keep you updated on.

 

The Biden administration has said it will extend US immigration relief to Ukrainians currently in the US. The news comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine intensifies with key buildings and cities targeted and civilian evacuation plans failing. The US Department of Homeland Security announced that Ukrainians can remain in America under Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

 

UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has come under fire after it was revealed that as few as 50 UK visas have been granted to Ukraine refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their homeland. Patel was challenged over the low figure as she became embroiled in a row with France over refugees trapped in Calais without visas to cross the Channel.

 

More than 1 million Ukrainians have fled their homeland following a full-scale Russian invasion that began on 24 February, 2022. The crisis has been labelled the ‘worst in Europe since the Second World War’.

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced new legislation in the US Senate targeting an overhaul of the H1B and L1 visa programs. The group of senators argue that reforming the hugely popular visa categories will ‘protect American workers’ and ‘crackdown on foreign outsourcing companies exploiting the visa programs and depriving highly skilled Americans’.