Immigration newsletter 7 January 2010

On 22 December 2009 US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that all 65,000 H-1B cap subject visas have been fully used up for the fiscal year of 2010. Any H-1B visa applications properly filed by 21 December 2009 will be subject to a computer generated random selection process.Unfortunately, this means that some properly completed H-1B visa petitions will be returned. The fact that all H-1B visas have now been used may be a sign of economic recovery in the US.

The Canadian Government has announced recently that temporary residents applying for work permits or wishing to extend their visit in Canada can now apply online.  

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney had the following to say:

“Extending our online services to more temporary residents will significantly facilitate the application process by providing faster, more accessible and efficient services.” 

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) commented that applications submitted online have to be complete.  Postal applications on the other hand are not always complete and so have to be returned so adding to the processing times.  All temporary residents can apply apart from co-op program work permit applicants.

Overseas students under the age of 18 coming to the UK on exchanges and educational visits will not in many cases need a visa.   From the beginning of 2010 overseas students in this situation will able to visit the UK for up to six months to most types of schools in both the state and private sector.  Unless you are from a visa national Country you will not need to apply for entry clearance.

There was previously a concession valid until 31 December 2009 that allowed entry under similar circumstances.  This concession has now been replaced by the new rules.

A United States congressman has proposed a new 'start-up' visa which would make it easier for foreign entrepreneurs to start companies in America.

Congressman Jared Polis proposed the new visa, with the aim to make it easier for entrepreneur immigrants. Without immigration, companies such as Yahoo and Google would not exist. The idea will be part of a proposed overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. He had the following to say:

"Every day the American economy is losing ground, not to mention high-tech jobs and technologies, to India and China because foreign-born entrepreneurs cannot secure a visa to stay in the US."

If implemented, the new start-up visa proposal would mean that many more Immigrants will qualify for America's EB-5 visa scheme. Introduced in 1990 to help attract foreign capital, the EB-5 visa allows 10,000 foreign entrepreneurs to come to the U.S. However, applicants must invest at least $1 million and create at least 10 full-time jobs.

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