Topical:
The UK's independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, John Vine, has released his plan for inspections for 2013-14. He says he will carry out 20 inspections of various parts of the UK immigration system including six unannounced visits.
Mr Vine says he hopes the plan will accelerate the pace of improvement in the immigration system.
Chris Grayling, the UK's Lord Chancellor, (as the justice minister is called in the UK) has announced changes to the justice system which will limit the right of people to use the courts to challenge decisions made by the UK immigration authorities. The changes are due to come into force this summer and will bar some people from bringing 'judicial review' (JR) against immigration decisions and increase the costs of doing so.
Mr Grayling says that immigration solicitors have been using JR as 'a cheap delaying tactic' and he is therefore determined to limit its use. 77% of JRs are brought in immigration cases.
There are opportunities in New Zealand for intrepid workers, particularly in the construction industry but also in many other trades and professions in the rebuilding of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury Region on New Zealand's South Island.
On 4th September 2010, the Canterbury region was hit by a powerful earthquake which measured 7.1 on the Richter scale. There followed a series of aftershocks which ran into 2012. The most powerful and devastating of these occurred close to the city of Christchurch on 22 February 2011.
A British court has heard allegations that a UK immigration officer demanded illegal payments from visa applicants and warned them that, if they refused to pay, their applications would be refused.
This week, a jury at Croydon Crown Court was told that Waseem Majid, 35, of Woolwich, south-east London and two others; Sanam Mia, 43, also of Woolwich, and Muhammed Qadiri, 53, of Ilford, east London, had conspired to breach UK immigration laws. The three deny all charges.
The US tech industry has given a cautious welcome to the draft immigration bill released by a group of US senators on 16th April 2013.
The bill was revealed by a group of eight senators, four Republicans and four Democrats, who have been working on a draft bill since January. The group were nicknamed The Gang of Eight by the US media.
The bill is 844 pages long and will introduce many changes. Among these are the following. It will:
The so-called 'Gang of Eight' has released its draft immigration reform bill and it seems that one of the main losers may be Indian outsourcing companies which have, in recent years, become major players in the global outsourcing of services revolution. Six of the ten leading services outsourcing companies globally are Indian.