Immigration news

British security officials claim that a UK visa scheme designed for nationals of Hong Kong is being exploited by Chinese spies. The British National (Overseas) visa scheme was launched on 31 January 2021 exclusively for Hong Kong nationals affected by new Chinese security laws imposed on the Special Administrative Region in 2020.

 

100,000 US employment-based visas, commonly known as green cards, could go to waste in 2021 sparking fury among many foreign nationals, particularly Indian IT professionals. With many facing a decades-long wait to secure US permanent residency, news that 100,000 green cards could go unused is likely to cause resentment among many migrants.

 

A coalition of UK news organisations has sent a letter to UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, calling for special UK visas to be issued to Afghan staff under threat from the Taliban, according to a report published by ANI News. It’s understood that the letter was jointly sent by 20 prominent news outlets.

 

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has formally nominated Croatia to join the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Croatia will become the newest country to be added to the program and the first since Poland back in 2019. Blinken announced Croatia’s nomination for acceptance into the VWP on his official Twitter account.

 

The number of UK certificates of sponsorship (CoS) issued to migrant health and social care workers hit a record high in the first quarter of 2021, according to new figures. The data, released by the Home Office, shows that 11,171 CoS were issued in the first quarter of the year, representing a sharp rise compared to figures in 2018 when just 3,370 were issued.

 

US President Joe Biden’s nomination to lead United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been confirmed by the Senate. Ur Jaddou becomes the first ever female to occupy the role and ends the years-long cycle of USCIS acting leaders. 

 

Amid a series of US immigration measures rolled out by the Biden administration in recent months, the nominated leaders for agencies tasked with overseeing parts of the immigration system were still awaiting confirmation of their appointments.