Immigration news

Charlie Flanagan, Ireland's Minster for Foreign Affairs, has warned Irish students applying for J-1 exchange visitor visas hoping to go to the US in the summer of 2016 that they need to secure a job prior to travelling. The Irish government had been lobbying to have Ireland made exempt from the new rule, but without success.

On 12 November 2015, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced that any Irish student on a J-1 visa would be required to have employment in place before travelling to the US on the visa as of next summer [2016].

The UK's financial services sector opposes even tougher Tier 2 visa restrictions that will prevent skilled non-EU professionals from coming to the UK. The country's financial services firms are growing increasingly concerned that proposed changes to Tier 2 visa rules for non-EU workers will leave the sector struggling to recruit top talent.

A report published by Independent Age and the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC-UK) says that a failure to attract British workers to the care sector and Tier 2 visa restrictions are contributing to the crippling of the adult social care sector. The report states that within 20 years, the sector faces a potential shortfall of one million workers.

UK Immigration has been criticised for 'outrageous interference in the running of London Metropolitan University,' according to a report published by Times Higher Education.

The UK economy will continue to suffer should the current policy on tier 2 visas continue. The situation where ever more restrictive immigration laws and procedures are being introduced can only serve to make things worse. The government it seems is strongly in favour of making it even more difficult for tier 2 non-EU skilled migrants to enter and stay in the UK.

Unfortunately, in the US for most people there are only a limited number of temporary work visa options. These are based on an employer petitioning for entry of highly skilled workers on an non-immigrant visa.