Weekly Immigration Update: August 17 - 23, 2018

In United States immigration news this week, USCIS clarified that employers may place F-1 students working on STEM OPT at third party worksites as long as all regulatory training obligations are met, including a bona-fide employer-employee relationship.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported to a federal court that the proposed rule to rescind H-4 work authorization is still under review with agency leadership.

Starting September 14, Singapore will only issue work passes to applicants whose residential address meets its housing requirements.

In the European Union, employers of EU Intracompany Transferee (ICT) permit holders working across multiple EU countries will not need to submit a Posted Worker notification. Ireland's online re-entry visa appointment service will be suspended indefinitely for standard re-entry visa applications starting September 3.

These items and other news from Brazil, Canada, Norway, Peru, and Venezuela follow in this edition of the Fragomen Immigration Update.

 

Important Updates in Immigration This Week

United States, August 20, 2018
Rule to Rescind H-4 Work Authorization Program Remains in Development, DHS Tells Federal Court

• The Department of Homeland Security reported to a federal court that the proposed rule to rescind H-4 work authorization is still under review with agency leadership. DHS has not indicated when it expects to publish the proposal.
• Eligible H-4 spouses can still apply for employment authorization under current rules until further notice.

To view entire article, click here.

 

United States, August 17, 2018
USCIS Clarifies That STEM OPT Offsite Placements Are Permitted in Some Instances

• Reversing a position it took earlier this year, USCIS today clarified that employers may place F-1s working on STEM OPT at third party worksites as long as all training obligations are met, including a bona-fide employer-employee relationship.
• USCIS also took the opportunity to remind employers and F-1s to adhere to all STEM OPT reporting requirements.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Brazil, August 23, 2018
Online Visa and Residence Permit Application System Outage

The Brazilian Ministry of Labor's online system, Migranteweb, is currently inoperable. As a result, foreign nationals are unable to submit any applications for visas, residence permits and other immigration processes, until the system is repaired. 

To view entire article, click here.

 

European Union, August 23, 2018
EU ICT Workers Across Multiple EU Countries Do Not Require Posted Worker Notification

Employers of EU Intracompany Transferee (ICT) permit holders working in an EU country other than the one that issued their main EU ICT permit do not need to submit a Posted Worker notification in the second EU country in addition to the requisite ICT notification/EU ICT mobile permit application. This will reduce the administrative burden on companies sending foreign EU ICT workers to multiple EU countries.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Singapore, August 21, 2018
Work Pass Applications Must Comply with Housing Requirements

Starting September 14, 2018, the Ministry of Manpower will only issue work passes to applicants whose residential address in Singapore meets its housing requirements. Failure to comply with this requirement can result in a fine of up to SGD 10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 12 months for each offence.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Ireland, August 21, 2018
Online Re-Entry Visa Appointments Indefinitely Suspended

Effective September 3, 2018, the online re-entry visa appointments service will be suspended indefinitely for standard re-entry visa applications. Key details include:

• Standard re-entry visa applications will only be accepted in hard copy by registered mail.
• It will still be possible to book emergency re-entry visa applications using the online appointments service.
• The authorities are advising applicants to submit their standard re-entry visa postal applications five to six weeks prior to travel.

Visa nationals’ ability to travel will be significantly impacted for the foreseeable future, particularly during the eight weeks after they first enter Ireland.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Weekly News Briefs

Canada: Increased Number of Sponsorship Applications and Modified Application System to be Available for Parents and Grandparents – The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that the Canadian government will accept up to 20,000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents (Parents and Grandparents program) in 2019, an increase of four times the number of applications from when the program reopened in 2014. Additionally in 2019, as in previous years, the Interest to Sponsor form will be available online at the beginning of the year so that eligible potential sponsors can let IRCC know of their sponsorship requests. However, instead of the government randomly selecting sponsors to apply, the government will invite sponsors to submit an application in the order in which the Interest to Sponsor forms are received, until the cap of 20,000 is reached.

Norway: Longer Waiting Times for Filing Appointments – Waiting times for booking filing appointments in Norway have increased to two to three weeks, up from three to five business days. No workarounds are available. Fragomen will contact affected applicants to alleviate delays. Fragomen expects that the delays will be resolved within a few weeks. 

Peru: Temporary Residence Permit for Venezuelans to Close October 31, 2018 – The Peruvian Ministry of Interior has moved the entry deadline to qualify for the Temporary Residence Permit for Venezuelans (known as PTP) from December 31, 2018 to October 31, 2018, due to the high volume of Venezuelans in this status. The PTP is a special residence permit granted to qualifying Venezuelan nationals under irregular or regular status that allows them to live and work in Peru for one year. Venezuelan nationals interested in establishing temporary legal residence in Peru should enter the country no later than October 31, 2018.

Venezuela: Minimum Wage Increase – Effective September 1, 2018, the minimum wage will increase from the equivalent of approximately USD 1 monthly to the equivalent of approximately USD 30 monthly. The impact on Fragomen’s clients is limited as the salaries earned by foreign workers are significantly higher than the minimum wage.

 

Global Immigration News Links

• U.S. President Donald Trump is prepared to shut down the federal government over funding for a border wall, Reuters reports.
• A Trump administration “public charge” rule expected to be unveiled soon could create the potential to significantly reshape family-based legal immigration to the United States, according to analysis by the Migration Policy Institute.
• At least 65 of the current 529 voting members of U.S. Congress, or 12 percent, are immigrants or the children of immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center.
• Increased visa restrictions on migrants create a greater need for enforcement, a recent study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found.
• Net migration from the European Union to the United Kingdom declined to its lowest level since 2012, Bloomberg reports.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.