Immigration news

Democrats in the lower house of the US Congress are to use a very infrequently used procedure to try to force a vote on immigration reform.

The Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives will use a 'discharge petition' to try to force a vote on a bill that has already been passed by the Senate.

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act was passed by the Senate in June 2013. It is a comprehensive immigration reform bill which would radically reform the US's immigration system in many areas.

On Tuesday 18th March 2014, Canada's immigration minister Chris Alexander met in Ottawa with the immigration ministers of Canada's provinces and territories to discuss Canada's future immigration policies.

According to a joint statement they have 'reiterated their commitment to actively recruit economic immigrants that have the skills the Canadian economy needs most'.

The UK's Immigration Minister James Brokenshire has announced 'a package of changes to Points-Based System work routes' which he says 'improve flexibility for applicants and help to boost economic growth'.

Mr Brokenshire submitted a written ministerial statement to the House of Commons on 13th March 2014.

The changes are

In December 2013, the UK's prime minister, David Cameron, announced a new visa route for IT workers in the UK. He announced that, as of April 2014, the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa stream would be amended to allow some IT workers of exceptional talent to apply for UK visas.

It has now emerged that there will be a cap of 200 on the number of IT workers who will be able to get these visas each year. However, it is likely that the real number will be far lower than that because it is extremely hard to qualify for the visa. In 2011, seven people qualified for Exceptional Talent visas.

A report by an influential US think-tank says that refusal rates for L-1B visas have risen each year over the last decade and seem still to be rising. According to the National Foundation for American Policy, 9% of L-1B visa applications were refused in 2003. This had risen to 34% by 2013.

The report points out that, over this period there have been no changes to the regulations governing L-1B applications.

The cap on the number of H-1B visas is costing the US economy one new job every 43 seconds, according to a tech industry pressure group. According to Dr Matthew Slaughter of Compete America, 500,000 more jobs would have been created in the US in the last year if the H-1B cap had not existed.