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The US is planning to change its citizenship test to make it less subjective. Currently, permanent residents wanting to be Americans are tested on their ability to read, write and speak English, as well as their knowledge of U.S. history and government. They are asked questions from an approved list, but each testing officer can decide which questions to ask. As a result, the test varies depending on who is asking the questions and where the test is given.

In the past few weeks, two major immigration destinations - the US and Australia - have publicly begun to comment that their young people are no longer interested in joining the trades. The desirable move these days for most young people is to enter university after school ?€“ not to enter an apprenticeship.

This week, the US Senate-passed measure to provide additional foreign worker visas for the high-tech and specialty fields was dropped from a budget bill that passed the House early on Dec. 19, disappointing technology and manufacturing companies in search of skilled workers.

This week, the European Union continued its debate over ways to attract more skilled, legal immigrants. One idea that has been proposed is an EU-wide work permit that would be granted by one member state, but allow the immigrant to work in any of the 25 EU member countries.