Immigration news

The London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) - one of the UK's largest private colleges – has had its Tier 4 sponsorship licence, which allows them to recruit non-EU students, revoked. The LSBF lost its sponsorship licence after the institution failed its annual compliance check, which all Tier 4 visa sponsors are subjected to. At the time of writing we have no news on the LSBF Tier 2 sponsorship licence to employ skilled workers from outside the EU that was also suspended from September 2015.

Employers across the US construction sector are trying hard to retain foreign-born workers with US citizenship schemes and other incentives. Thomas Williams, 58, who works for Dallas roofing Company, KPost, is working to reduce labour turnover and make his immigrant work colleagues US citizens.

KPost, like many other construction firms, is heavily reliant on US immigration, recruiting many Mexico born workers who tend to carry out the lower-wage physical jobs on building sites that many Americans don't want to do. Mr Williams says that KPost is struggling to recruit enough workers to meet demand.

US President, Barack Obama, has assured Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi that recent H-1B and L-1 visa fee increases will be looked into by his administration. On December 18, 2015, Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016. Under the Act fees for H-1B and L-1 visa applicants were increased for employers who employ more than fifty people where more than half the employees are on H-1B visas or L-1A and L-1B visas. This affected mainly Indian owned companies in the US.

Following on from a recent report published by workpermit.com – Trump loves Muslims! – A recent Twitter spat between the Republican frontrunner for the US Presidency, Donald Trump, and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, appears to confirm that in the past Trump needed financial help from Muslims to save his businesses from bankruptcy.

India's Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman, has described recent US H-1B and L-1 visa (both for L-1A visas and L-1B visas) fee increases which affect mainly Indian owned companies as a 'non-tariff barrier' on India. Non-tariff barriers refer to restrictions that result from conditions, prohibitions or specific market requirements that make importation or exportation of products difficult and costly.

A coalition of pro-immigrant groups have joined forces to launch the 'New American Democracy Campaign' with the aim of persuading two million US green card holders to become US citizens who can vote come Election Day, which is scheduled for November 8, 2016. However, the deadline for registering to vote is October 11.