Immigration news

The US Department of State (DoS) has expanded interview waivers for the L1 visa, and other US visa categories, until the end of 2022. In an effort to tackle visa processing delays and backlogs, the DoS has authorized US consular officers worldwide to waive the in-person interview requirement for several US visa categories.

 

British government ministers are keen to ease UK immigration restrictions to make it easier for thousands of Indian nationals to live and work in Britain, amid trade talks between the UK and India. The potential offer to ease UK visa restrictions will form part of discussions when UK international trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, visits Delhi in January.

 

The controversial Trump-era, ‘Remain in Mexico’ US immigration policy has been expanded amid an appeal from the Biden administration to scrap the rule. Late last year, President Biden was forced to reinstate the policy after multiple courts ruled that it should be resurrected. The Remain in Mexico rule was reinstated in Texas but has now been expanded to San Diego.

 

Beijing has blasted Britain’s BNO visa scheme for what it describes as creating ‘second-class’ citizens. According to official figures, nearly 90,000 Hong Kong nationals have applied to resettle in the UK after China imposed a new national security law on the former British territory. The scheme was launched in January 2021.

 

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that 20,000 more H2B work visas will be made available to Haitian and other Central American citizens for 2022. More visas will be allocated for seasonal, non-agricultural guest workers as the number of migrants arriving at the US southern border with Mexico continues to surge.

 

Soaring UK sponsorship licence fees are pricing SMEs out of access to immigrant labour. A new study found that small and medium firms are reluctant to hire EU staff in the post-Brexit era because of the costs associated with taking them on.