Immigration newsletter 12 Nov 2008

Entries to the United States 2010 Diversity Visa Lottery must be received by noon on 01 December, 2008.

The “Green Card” Lottery offers anyone, from a defined list of countries, which this year includes Russia, a chance of obtaining a permanent residence visa, known as a “Green Card”. 55,000 “Green Card” Lottery visas are awarded every year to successful applicants and their immediate families.

Whilst the application process is relatively simple, any applications with incorrect information are automatically denied.

For a small fee, workpermit.com can help with the process and give you the peace of mind that your application is in order and free of mistakes.

According to US authorities, in the last year the government arrested and deported record numbers of illegal immigrants whilst in the same period it naturalized a record number of new Americans. With figures of 350,000 and more than 1 million respectively, Bush administration officials consider these to be great accomplishments within a system that President-elect Obama calls "broken and overwhelmed" on his transition Web site.

After Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, the administration became more determined in its enforcement of existing immigration laws. The government hired more people to process applications for legal immigrants and is currently implementing an electronic immigration processing system.

Naturalization applications are now processed in 9-10 months. There is currently a backlog of 1.1 million applications compared to an unacceptable high of 3.6 million in 2004. 
But, despite the achievements, and according to Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, the next administration will need to go back to Congress for comprehensive reform if the immigration problem is to be solved completely.

Pressure to revisit immigration reform should build quickly, particularly from Latino supporters, though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned that Democrats may have to give up some of their priorities, such as giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, if overall agreement to change is to be reached.

The paternal aunt of President-elect, Barack Obama, is to fight a US Government move to deport her to her native Kenya.

Ms Zeituni Onyango was first ordered to leave the US in 2004, after her request for political asylum was rejected. Since then she has been living in a public housing estate in Boston from where she fled to Cleveland, Ohio just days before the November 4 election, when her immigration status and relationship to Mr Obama were first revealed by the press.

Her original asylum application is thought to have been based on a claim that she may fall victim to ethnic violence should she return to Kenya. The international attention now focussed on her could add weight to that argument.

Mr Obama has said, through his transition team, that he is unaware of the details of his aunt’s case and that he expects US law to take its due course

Under tougher immigration rules designed to tackle bogus colleges, overseas students coming to the UK will need biometric identity cards. Finger-printing of overseas students will begin this month starting with those students applying for visa extensions under Tier 4.

Overseas students, classified as those from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland, have become an important source of income for UK universities as they pay higher tuition fees, collectively contributing some £2.5bn per year and, according to the Home Office, contributing as much as £8.5bn to the wider economy. 

The changing rules for overseas students are part of a "clamp down on bogus students", announced by the Home Office, which will see colleges having to hold a licence from the UK Border Agency. There have been widespread concerns that bogus colleges have been providing a means of falsely entering the country by allowing people to claim student visas, despite having no real intention of pursuing a course of academic study.

The UK Border Agency has announced that the age at which someone can apply for a marriage visa will rise from 18 to 21 on 27 November 2008.

Starting on the same day that the UK changes the marriage visa age requirements, Tier 2 and Tier 5 of the United Kingdom's new five-tier points based immigration scheme will go live.

In spring of 2009, Tier 4 will come into effect, which covers foreign students wishing to study in the United Kingdom.

Also on the 27th of November, the immigration route for retired persons of independent means will close to new applicants.

The immigration scheme, described as "little used" by UK immigration minister Phil Woolas, allowed people over 60 years of age and having income of at least £25,000 a year to obtain residence in the UK and eventual British citizenship. According to the UK Border Agency, less than 20 applications were received each year.

Anyone wishing to take advantage of the retired persons’ scheme, prior to the application cut-off date of 27 November, should fill out a free assessment form on this web site. An expert consultant would contact you promptly.

We would like to remind our readers of the need for highly skilled migrants to the United Kingdom to demonstrate a solid ability to support themselves and their families during their initial period of stay in Britain.

Before a visa can be granted, a highly skilled migrant must show funds equivalent to £2,800 for themselves and £1,600 for each family member, this being the amount deemed necessary for three months subsistence living.

The new rules also relate to overseas students hoping to come to Britain to study for 12 months or more. In this case, bank accounts must show an amount equivalent to £9,600 pounds for the student and £535 for each dependent. This is in addition to the funds needed to pay tuition fees in full.

Under plans being discussed within the Irish Government, foreign workers wishing to renew their work permits may have to prove that they can speak an adequate level of English. 

Minister for Integration, Conor Lenihan said he wanted to “link” English language standards into the work permits system and would be seeking to discuss the issue with Deputy Prime Minister, Mary Coughlan in her capacity as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Mr Lenihan said other European countries had taken a similar stance on linking language proficiency to work permits, and in such a scenario the requirement would be for the person to pay for his or her own English language tuition.