Immigration news

Afghans who have helped the US military and were evacuated from Afghanistan to escape the Taliban, will not have to pay application fees for US green cards and work permits. The Biden administration has announced that fees will be waived for Afghans arriving in the US after July 30 under a humanitarian US immigration process known as ‘parole’.

 

MPs have warned that Priti Patel’s controversial UK immigration bill could fail stateless children by creating more barriers for UK-born youngsters to obtain British citizenship. According to a report released by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, the much maligned Nationality and Borders Bill ‘fails to protect the rights of stateless children adequately’.

 

By Sanwar Ali: There have been huge COVID-19 related delays in US visa processing around the world.  If you look at the State Department visa appointment wait times page you will see “Emergency Appointments Only”, for example, for the US Embassy in London.  While this may not be entirely accurate, there may be long wait times for many people for US visa appointments.

The spouses of US L1 visa holders will be made exempt from having to apply for work authorization. Following a recent lawsuit, which contests a policy that forces L2 visa holders to apply separately for a work permit, it seems that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is set to scrap the requirement for an employment authorization document (EAD).

 

Calls for a dedicated UK visa for au pairs following Brexit have been dismissed in Parliament by Home Office minister, Baroness Williams of Trafford. In a statement to MPs, she said: ‘such action to deal with a servant problem would lead to ridicule’. However, some Brexit critics have said that it has taken a shortage of au pairs to realise that leaving the EU was a disaster.

 

US President Joe Biden has strongly backed compensation for immigrant families separated at the border under Donald Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance US immigration policy’. According to Biden, the previous administration’s ‘outrageous behavior’ warrants cash payments for those affected.

 

However, Biden has stopped short of disclosing the amount of money that those affected will receive. The proposed move has drawn heavy criticism from several quarters, most notably the Republican Party.