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Under new plans agreed by the Home Office, every region in the UK will be able to publish a list of skills in short supply and it is up to the governing body in each region to decide on the contents of that list.
For example, the Scottish government will be able to submit a list of skills in short supply in Scotland, and immigrants with those skills will be allowed into the UK and directed to Scotland to work.
The UK's new Immigration and Asylum Bill will create a new points-based system for migrants who want to work in the UK. The Government says the scheme will increase public confidence in the immigration system by "allowing controlled immigration where it is in the UK's interest and preventing it where it is not". workpermit.com will keep readers up-to-date about what these changes may mean, particularly in relation to the UK's current Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, which is also a points-based system.
A Swedish flag flying outside Ellison Bay's Wagon Trail Resort in the US state of Wisconsin gives guests a taste of Europe, one that is usually enhanced by dozens of European workers.
"Poland is a country that we use a lot. Germany, Slovakia, Hungary," owner Jewel Ouradnik said.
But Ouradnik and other resort owners say this year they have fewer foreign workers on their staffs. They say visa rules are stricter than before, and there aren't enough visas to go around.
As of 16 May Canada's post-graduation work program allows certain students to work for up to two years after their graduation. Previously, students were only allowed to work for one year.
Foreign students are eligible for a post-graduation work permit only for employment in their field of study. They must still have a valid study permit and apply for the work permit within 90 days of receiving written confirmation (transcript, letter, etc.) from their institution indicating that they have met the requirements of their program.
The US government announced 16 May that valid V-2 and V-3 status holders will no longer "age out" of V-2 or V-3 status. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will now approve extension of status applications for children of lawful permanent residents who are 21 years old or older with V-2 or V-3 status, as long as they meet all the other requirements for extension of status.
Previously, the child of an immigrant was only eligible to hold V-2 or V-3 status in the US until s/he turned 21.
Russia failed to gain an easing of European Union visa restrictions for its citizens on 18 May, after the country would not agree to take back its illegal migrants from the EU.
Putin said Russia could not yet agree to the EU's demands on readmitting illegal migrants as an exchange for easing visa rules, saying it would be costly to implement and claiming such a policy could violate migrants rights.
The EU would not give in. EU officials said that Moscow must agree to take back all migrants who enter the European Union from Russian territory illegally if the EU is to ease visa barriers for Russians.