Fragomen Immigration Update: July 25 - August 1, 2014

In immigration news, U.S. consulates are once again issuing nonimmigrant visas in the wake of last week’s State Department database outage, but are giving priority to green card cases. According to latest official estimates, some visa applicants could see delays of up to 10 to 14 days, though urgent cases could be processed more quickly. 

In Belgium, foreign IT specialists are now eligible for the B Work Permit for Specialized Technicians. The permit is exempt from the standard immigration salary threshold of €39,422 per year.

In Vietnam, a new immigration law will take effect on January 1, 2015, which will restructure Vietnam’s visa classification system, introduce new entry and exit restrictions and eliminate in-country change of status options. 

These items and other news from the Philippines and the United States follow in this edition of the Fragomen Immigration Update.

Remember that the Immigration Update is available through both e-mail and Web version by clicking on "View as Web Page" above.

 

Important Updates in Immigration This Week

United States, July 31, 2014

Consulates Resume Issuing Nonimmigrant Visas, But Delays Persist

Some visa applicants could see delays of up to 10 to 14 days, though urgent cases could be processed more quickly.

To view entire article, click here.

 

United States, July 28, 2014

State Department Consular System Back Online, But Visa Issuance Delays Persist

The State Department’s consular database has resumed limited operations after technical problems reported late last week. Foreign nationals awaiting nonimmigrant visa issuance are experiencing delays as the agency works through backlogs.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Vietnam, July 31, 2014

New Immigration Law to be Implemented January 1, 2015

The new law will restructure Vietnam’s visa classification system, introduce new entry and exit restrictions and eliminate in-country change of status options.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Belgium, July 25, 2014

IT Specialists Now Exempt from Immigration Salary Thresholds for Short-Term Permits

Foreign IT specialists are now eligible for the B Work Permit for Specialized Technicians – a six-month permit used to install or repair machinery, equipment or software produced, supplied or designed by the worker’s employer abroad. The permit is exempt from the standard immigration salary threshold of €39,422 per year.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Other Immigration News This Week

United States: USCIS Updates H-2B Cap Count – USCIS continues to accept H-2B petitions for employment start dates in the second half of FY 2014. The agency reports that as of July 25, 2014, it had received filings on behalf of 26,000 H-2B beneficiaries for the second half of FY 2014. Of these, 25,093 had been approved and 907 remained pending. For employment in the first half of FY 2015, the agency had received filings on behalf of 1,305 beneficiaries. The cap for each half-year is 33,000, but USCIS accepts filings in excess of the cap because some cases will be denied or withdrawn and because employers may ultimately employ fewer H-2B beneficiaries than reflected in their petitions.

Philippines: Philippine Police Clearance Required for Former 47(a)(2) Visa Holders Ordered to Leave the Country – Foreign nationals whose Philippine Export Zone Authority 47(a)(2) visas have been downgraded to 9(a) visitor visas and who consequently are required to leave the Philippines must now submit a police clearance issued by the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI clearance) before the immigration authorities can grant an Order to Leave. The Bureau of Immigration is requiring an NBI clearance in order to ascertain that the foreign national being ordered to leave has no criminal liability and his or her presence is not legally required in any pending criminal action in the Philippines. The requirement does not apply to foreign nationals under 15 years old. Applicants are required to appear in person before the NBI to obtain the clearance.

 

Global Immigration News Links 

• Austin Fragomen and Careen Shannon suggest that creating an effective guest worker program for lower-skilled workers could play an important role in curbing further unauthorized migration to the United States, including the migration of unaccompanied minors.
• House Republicans withdrew an emergency spending measure to address the influx of undocumented young people, because of intense opposition from within the party. The measure proposed $659 million to address the Southern border surge. In the Senate, a Democratic proposal to allocate $2.7 billion to the crisis cleared an early procedural hurdle on Wednesday, but faces additional obstacles. Senate Democrats appear motivated to attach the "Gang of Eight" immigration reform to legislation addressing the border crisis with a $2.7 billion spending bill.
• Lawyers are debating the legality of a series of immigration-related executive actions that the President is reportedly considering, but there is broad agreement that suing the president isn’t likely to work. President Obama is now weighing broad action to scale back deportations that could include work permits for millions of people, according to lawmakers who have consulted with the White House.
• USCIS’s Transformation, the agency’s long-planned, much-delayed initiative to digitize the immigration case processing, is now estimated to be completed by Fiscal 2018 or 2019, said Leon Rodriguez, the agency’s new director, in his first appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.
• UK Prime Minister David Cameron issued a direct threat to undocumented immigrants that they would be deported, amid criticism from Labor and the UK Independence Party (Ukip) that his government’s stance on limiting benefits for migrants from the EU was not tough enough. According to Eurostat, the EU’s official statistics unit, a greater proportion of European Union migrants have jobs in Britain than native citizens.
• In contrast to many countries, Germany is becoming significantly more welcoming to immigrants, simplifying immigration procedures, funding free language classes and opening welcome centers for newcomers.
• The European Union has told Switzerland that it will not renegotiate the twelve year old agreement guaranteeing the free movement of EU workers, a decision that will complicate Switzerland’s plans to reintroduce immigration quotas for EU citizens.

 

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