Immigration newsletter 16 May 2012

We remind you yet again that from 1 July 2012 you will have to submit an expression of interest before submitting your Australian skilled immigration application. This is likely to mean fewer people qualifying for skilled immigration and a longer processing time. If you wish to come under the current skilled immigration programme you should apply for a skills assessment as soon as possible.  You need to be ready with your skills assessment and, have passed the English language test before you can submit your immigration application.

The Australian Government announced that they will increase the places available in the 2012–13 migration program in order to help fill skills shortages in parts of Australia. It will add 5,000 places to the program from 185,000 to 190,000. Up to 16,000 places have been reserved for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme to ensure that regional areas are able to fill skills gaps and grow local economies.

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, as of 4 May  2012, it has already received 32,500 H-1B cap-subject petitions out of the 65,000 available visas. Additionally, they have already received 13,700 H-1B visa petitions for foreigners with US advanced degrees out of the 20,000 available visas. This means that on 4 May 2012 there were only 32,500 visas left under the H-1B regular visa cap and 6,300 for the H-1B visa advanced degree level visa cap.

The Canada Border Services Agency and the US Customs and Border Protection announced 8 May changes to the NEXUS membership process in order to increase NEXUS membership.  Changes include the Canada Border Services Agency and US Customs and Border Protection expediting the NEXUS renewal process by waiving the interview for members who have not had changes to their information. Canada and the US also announced that they have launched a campaign to increase membership in NEXUS.

The Australian Government this week has announced that employees currently claiming the Living Away from Home Allowance (LAFHA) will be able to continue doing so until 1 July 2014. The government had previously announced that the LAFHA would be closed to most temporary visa holders from 1 July 2012. This change only applies to people who were claiming LAFHA prior to 8 May 2012. People will not be eligible for the extension of LAFHA unless they can show they are maintaining a second home in Australia. In this case, LAFHA can only be claimed for a maximum of 12 months.

The next two years should see the launch of the world's first floating business startup community off the coast of the US.The company responsible for the project, Blueseed, wants to provide office space and accommodation for entrepreneurs aboard the vessel which will be anchored less than 30 minutes off the coast of Silicon Valley. The idea is to provide a visa-free location where foreign entrepreneurs can create technology companies while also having quick and easy access to Silicon Valley without having to deal with the sometimes difficult process of obtaining a US work visa. 

Hundreds of New Zealand visa applicants were accidentally approved for visas following a computer error last week. The Silver Fern Visa scheme is limited to 300 visas annually, but a computer glitch at Immigration New Zealand incorrectly accepted a further 330 visa applications after the quota had been filled.

A recent study has found that US immigrants are more likely to start a business than native-born US citizens. The study was conducted by the Office of Advocacy of the US Small Business Administration an independent group that voices concerns from small businesses to the federal government. The study  found that 10 percent of immigrants in the US own their own business. Furthermore, nearly 20 percent of immigrant-owned businesses had USD$50,000 or more in startup capital, compared to only 15.9 percent for non-immigrant-owned businesses.