Topical:
US employers are spending over three times more on foreign workers on US visas such as the L1 and H1B visa than they are on American labor, and it’s taking recruiters up to six times longer to add overseas labor to the workforce compared with hiring a native worker, according to the results of the 2016 Employer Immigration Metrics Survey. Employment based “Green Cards” typically take even longer to obtain.
In the wake of tighter US immigration controls, for political and bureaucratic reasons, the Canadian federal government is looking to capitalize by launching a new scheme as part of its temporary foreign worker program, with a view to attracting more highly skilled workers to Canada. The new ‘Global Talent’ pilot scheme was made public on Thursday, March 9.
Two top health unions are urging UK home secretary, Amber Rudd, to excuse the NHS National Health Service from the new, UK Visa Tier 2 immigration skills levy applicable to non-EU overseas doctors and nurses. The British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) say the Immigration Skills Charge, which came into force on 6 April, will hit NHS budgets hard.
Americans may lose visa-free travel to Europe as the European Parliament responded to Washington’s refusal to allow EU citizens from some of the newer EU Countries visa-free travel access to the United States. In a ‘show of hands’ vote the European Parliament has decided to end visa free travel for US citizens in its continuing ‘visa battle’ between Brussels and the US. However, this is a non-binding vote and in practice the visa restrictions may never be imposed.
Despite spending $80 billion a year on information technology, US Visa immigration data collected by the US government is a mess according to an Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report. The EPI identified severe lapses in the recording of H1B, L1 and other non-immigrant visa related data, and slammed the government’s data collection agencies for shoddy work.
Following the Tier 2 visa allocation meeting, the number of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) available for March 2017 stands at 2,169, according to UK Visas and Immigration data. The department published its February report citing that its figures were correct as of 23 February, 2017. If you gain enough points this should mean that you will receive a Tier 2 visa CoS and then be able to apply for a Tier 2 visa.