Immigration news

There will be new immigration rules from 2005 which will bring in new requirements if you wish to join your spouse or partner in the UK:

Roger Godsiff, the Labour MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook and Smallheath called for an end to immigration, claiming Britain does not need any more foreign workers.

Mr Godsiff, who represents a constituency where 64.8 per cent of the population are from ethnic minorities said "I do not believe that economic migration is any longer necessary and I also don't think it is going to be good for the future of race relations in this country."

In the wake of several high profile immigration scandals, the leader of Canada' s opposition Conservative Party says it will start examining alternative policies, CTV reports.

Earlier this month, Canada's Immigration Minister Judy Sgro resigned amid accusations that she had accepted gifts of food and help in her election campaign from a constituent, Harjit Singh, in return for a promise to help him stay in Canada despite a deportation order. But Conservative leader Stephen Harper believes there are deeper problems.

Despite US Government promises to speed things up, thousands of people are still waiting for US immigration visas, often for years, reports the newspaper USA Today.

By some estimates there are over 600,000 foreigners with family members in the US waiting for their green cards, which would let them live and work permanently in America. Last spring the US Citizenship and Immigration Services started a campaign to clear all backlogged immigration applications including green cards, which had risen to 6 million in 2003.

US immigration authorities are to begin testing radio frequency (RF)technology on the country's borders in a bid to improve efficiency andsecurity, the US Department of Homeland Security announced on January25.

The technology will involve issuing unique identifiers topedestrians and vehicle passengers crossing the border to automaticallyrecord their arrival and departure. It is part of the US VISIT program,which has upgraded entry procedures and introduced biometric identitychecks at 50 land entry points, 115 airports and 15 seaports.

In spite of growing opposition from his own party, President George Bush yesterday reaffirmed that changes to US immigration rules will be one of the top priorities of his second term, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Speaking at a White House press conference on January 26, Mr. Bush said he continues to favor granting "guest worker" visas to illegal immigrants already in America, arguing that this would show compassion for immigrants and let them do jobs for which US employers cannot find workers.