Topical:
Australian immigration authorities have cancelled 15,066 student visas in the past year; This is due to students violating the terms of their visa - an increase of 37 percent from 2009.
The crackdown has targeted students whose visas were granted in order to study at a vocational training school, who either quit or were failing to attend classes.
New Zealand immigration officials announced recently that they will now be using biometric data scans for all visa applications submitted.
Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman announced the changes in a press release, stating, "Biometrics provides better tools which allow Immigration to confirm an individual's identity and protect New Zealand's border."
New Zealand immigration says that Visa applicants will benefit from the new biometric system as the application processing time should be significantly reduced.
US Immigration has issued a record number of H-1B work visas for Indian citizens this year. According to a press release from the US embassy in India, the 2011 fiscal year saw 24% more visas being issued than in 2010. A total of 67,195 visas were issued this fiscal year versus 54,111 in 2010. It is interesting to note that earlier this month there were complaints from India stating that the US State Department was making the H-1B visa process too difficult.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has recently proposed changes to the language requirements for Canadian citizenship.
The current process requires citizenship applicants to show they are able to communicate in one of Canada's two official languages, French or English, by taking a multiple choice test, and by demonstrating language ability to immigration officials by answering simple questions and understanding basic statements. Federal officials believe the current test does not adequately test listening and speaking skills.
A new bill proposed by the US Senate would offer residential visas to immigrants purchasing eligible property in the US.
The bill would require foreign nationals to purchase real estate for $500,000USD or more. At least $250,000 of that total must be used to purchase a primary residence; the remainder of the money could be spent on investment properties.
Authors of the bill, Senator Charles Schumer of New York and Senator Mike Lee of Utah, believe the bill will increase foreign investments in the US.
One bit of good news for graduate level skilled professionals wishing to work in the US is that there are still plenty of US H-1B visas available. This is an indication that the US economy is still not doing very well. Before 2008 in some years H-1Bs were used up almost as soon as they became available.