Immigration newsletter 04 Feb 2014

Do you have a professional level contract in the UK paying at least £180 per day? If so, we can help you find a sponsor and obtain a UK Tier 2 (General) skilled worker visa. It is easier to switch if you already have a Tier 1 PSW visa or a Tier 4 student visa. Why not contact the London office on 0344 991 9222 for further details.

US government report calls for reform of L-1 visa to prevent fraud

A US government report has called for reform of the L-1 intra-company transfer visa system to try and prevent international outsourcing companies from using the L-1 visa to provide employees for certain types of contracting services to other US employers.

L-1 visas allow international companies to transfer theiroverseas staff to the US. There are two types of L-1 visa; L-1A for managers and L-1B for workers with 'specialized knowledge'.

The 2004 Visa Reform Act introduced 'anti-job shop' provisions designed to make it more difficult forinternational companies to provide their L-1 workers to other employers in the US on a temporary basis to carry out work on-site. However, in some circumstances it is actually permitted to provide staff on-site for a client company.

Increased chance of US immigration reform in 2014

Senior Republicans in Washington intend to lay out a series of 'principles for US immigration legislation' early in 2014. The statement of principles will explain the Republican approach to immigration reform.

Washington insiders expect Republicans in the House of Representatives to introduce several immigration bills in 2014. They expect a bill which will increase the number of permanent resident visas for technology graduates, another which will increase the number of H-1B temporary work visas and another which will allow some illegal immigrants who came to the US as children to apply to become US citizens.

UK employers believe migrants have better skills and motivation

A UK poll has found that most UK employers believe that immigrants have better qualifications, skills and motivation than British workers. They also believe that they have better ‘people skills’ and better communication skills.

In December 2013, Professor David Metcalf, the chairman of the UK government's Migration Advisory Committee said that he thought that the UK’s schools and benefits system might be responsible for making UK workers less attractive to employers.

Cameron isolated in Europe on immigration policy

The UK's Prime Minister, David Cameron, is becoming increasingly isolated because of his calls for the European Union to limit the free movement of labour. Mr Cameron told a leaders' summit in Brussels in December 2013 that EU countries must 'slow down access to each other's labour markets'.

Mr Cameron has claimed that other EU countries, including Germany, have similar concerns but on 21st January, the German foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said that Germany had ‘benefited tremendously’ from free movement and warned that any attempt to reduce it was ‘out of the question’.

UK to prevent EU migrants from claiming housing benefit

The UK's Coalition government has announced that immigrants from the EU will no longer be eligible for UK housing benefit after April 1st. The Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said that the change would prevent EU citizens from coming to the UK to claim benefits.

He also announced that immigrants will be allowed to claim Jobseekers Allowance for a maximum of six months unless they 'have genuine prospects of finding work'.

Indian immigration accuses US embassy teachers of visa fraud

And finally, Indian immigration authorities have accused staff at the US embassy school in Delhi of tax and visa offences.

There is a tax concession that allows some of the teachers in the school to work tax free. India claims that the school advises married female staff working as teachers in the school to claim that they are 'housewives' who do not work for the school. This enables more teachers to benefit from the tax concession. This, Indian officials say, means that the women are in breach of Indian immigration and tax laws.

The incident is seen as retaliation for an incident in New York involving an Indian diplomat. On December 11th, Devyani Khobragade, the Deputy Consul Generalin New York, was arrested and charged with paying her daughter’s nanny less than US law requires.