Immigration news

It seems that the Trump administration may bring in further restriction for the H1B specialty worker visa and L1 visa programs (includes the L1A intra-company transfer visa for executives and managers and L1B intra-company transfer visa for specialized knowledge workers).  There are also concerns that the EB5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program may become much more difficult in future or may even be cancelled.  Wealthy Indians are turning to the EB5 immigrant investor visa to secure a coveted US Green Card ahead of po

Confusion over US work visas for Canadian specialized nurses sparked problems at American borders recently. Concerns had been raised that some Canadian nurses had encountered problems either renewing their non-immigrant NAFTA Professional (TN) visa or getting the classification at the US border.

Tech leaders among Australia’s business startup community have condemned plans to further restrict 457 visas, saying that it would have ‘severe ramifications for the country’s ability to keep up with the world.’ In the coming weeks, the fate of the 457 visa is to be decided.

According to Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of Atlassian – an enterprise software company based in Sydney – ‘highly-skilled talent from overseas plays a crucial part in supporting and strengthening Australia’s local labour force.’

A freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed that the New South Wales (NSW) government outsourced labour market testing to a contractor, which recruited foreign IT workers on 457 visas. The revelations have drawn criticism, with the NSW government accused of allowing jobs that could have been filled by Australians going to overseas workers.

Construction consultancy firm, Arcadis, says that the UK construction industry must recruit more than 400,000 workers every year for the next five years, the equivalent of hiring one new construction worker every 77 seconds until 2021. According to Arcadis, the UK construction sector won’t have enough workers to cope with the demand for housing.

Arcadis calculated that, should the UK increase the number of homes it builds every year to 270,000, which exceeds the current Government target of 200,000, more than 370,000 workers would be needed to meet demand.

Australians living and working in the US on E3 visas, a special visa for Australians doing professional level work usually with at least a bachelors degree, are urging the Turnbull government to demand ‘tolerance and evidence-based policy-making from Donald Trump’s White House.’ Employers fear that a raft of sweeping reforms targeting US work visas will have a damaging effect on their ability to employ foreign workers.