Immigration news

Joe Biden’s much anticipated US immigration bill was presented to Congress recently, with the White House pushing for a string of reforms. Among some of the proposals are plans to eliminate US visa backlogs and increase the per country quota for green cards. The bill was introduced by Senator Bob Menendez and representative Linda Sanchez.

 

The bill has been welcomed, particularly among the Indian community in the US, with thousands of Indian nationals currently living in America forced to wait decades for a green card.  

The UK Court of Appeal has ruled that a £1,000 child citizenship fee charged by the UK immigration department at the Home Office is unlawful. The Home Office charges £1,012 for a child to be registered as a UK citizen. However, processing an application costs approximately a third of that at £372.

 

The Biden administration has instructed US immigration officials to use more inclusive language to refer to non-US citizens after scrapping the use of the word ‘aliens’. The move comes as part of wider White House efforts to take a more welcoming approach toward immigrants and eradicate Donald Trump’s controversial immigration stance.

In a memo issued by the acting head of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Tracy Renaud, she instructed officials to overhaul the language used in official documentation, outreach efforts and other communications directed at immigrants.

The US Embassy in Croatia has reportedly confirmed that the Balkan nation has officially been accepted into the US visa waiver scheme. After meeting the US visa refusal rate criteria, Total Croatia News reported that Croatian nationals will be free to travel to the US without a visa later this year.

Meeting the refusal rate criteria was the last stipulation set by the US before welcoming Croatia into the visa waiver scheme.

The UK government has hinted that its controversial new immigration rules could be reviewed for construction workers once the coronavirus crisis begins to ease. Susan Williams, a Lords minister, said that the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), which makes it easier for some foreign workers to secure a UK visa, could include more construction roles.

 

Ms Williams said: “We will see how the UK labour market develops in the post-COVID era.” 

Plans to increase fees in US immigration proceedings that sought to deport immigrants – many of whom have lived in the US for years – have been blocked by a federal court. The fee increase rule was originally set to be implemented on January 19 under the Trump administration and would have seen costs rise by as much as 800%.