'Grateful' PM Modi Grants Visa Power to Canada

PM Narendra Modi with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

 Toronto:  Addressing a large audience in Toronto on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Canadians visiting India would get a 10-year visa.

"You probably face problems but won't speak about it. We have decided...you will now get Indian visas for 10 years," PM Modi said to a 8,000-strong gathering of the Indian diaspora at the Ricoh Coliseum.

"Agar Jan-Man badal raha hai, toh bharosa bhi hona chahiye (If the ethos is changing, then there should also be trust)," he said to loud cheers.

 

In a one-hour speech punctuated with applause and chants of "Modi, Modi" from the audience, the prime minister also recalled that at a time he was denied a visa by the US and the UK - over the 2002 riots on his watch in Gujarat, the state he ruled for 14 years - it was Canada that granted him a visa in 2006.

"That is why I am very, very grateful to Canada," he said.

He said India's visa policy would support greater engagement and people-to-people contacts between India and Canada.

PM Modi is the first prime minister on a bilateral visit to Canada in 42 years.

Source: http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/grateful-pm-modi-grants-visa-power-to-canada-755341

The United States has depleted its annual supply of EB-5 immigrant investor visas for the second year in a row after a huge wave of applications from rich Chinese.

The State Department has announced that starting in May, no more spots will be available to Chinese for the rest of the U.S. government's fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Known as EB-5, the immigration program hands out green cards to foreigners who invest at least $500,000 and create 10 jobs in the U.S. The program, which caps the number of visas issued annually at 10,000, hit its annual limit for the first time last August.

This year, the program has reached the quota even earlier, reflecting the massive jump in demand among wealthy Chinese to move to the U.S., especially after Canada ended a similar program in 2014.

The waiting line now for an EB-5 visa is estimated to stretch two to three years, according to law firm Greenberg Traurig.

There are 13,000 pending applications, and the long queue is of particular concern for investors hoping to secure green cards for their children, said immigration lawyer Bernard Wolfsdorf of Wolfsdorf Rosenthal. Kids can only get dependent visas through an investor parent if they're 21 years or younger at the time of application approval.

"Many apply so they can give their college kids a chance to attend top U.S. colleges," said Wolfsdorf. "Some parents who filed too close to the child's 21st birthday will age out."

Related: Rich Chinese overwhelm U.S. visa program

In 2014, Chinese nationals accounted for 90% of EB-5 visas issued, compared to just 13% in 2004, according to government data compiled by CNNMoney. That translated to 8,308 EB-5 visas for Chinese nationals last year, a huge surge from a decade ago, when only 16 visas were granted to Chinese.

For rich Chinese, a green card is a ticket out of China -- a way to escape heavy pollution or gain access to improved education options. The broad anti-corruption campaign that President Xi Jinping has waged has also rattled wealthy Chinese.

Advocates say immigrant investors have provided an important alternative source of financing in the U.S., especially after the financial crisis, pouring billions of dollars into new jobs and major projects such as Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards real estate development. 

On top of that, wealthy immigrants contribute to their neighborhood economy by purchasing homes, buying cars and paying for their children's education.

But still, there are plenty of critics. Some say the program is a relatively cheap way for the global elite to buy citizenship. Others say the scheme has too much red tape, and believe the program is mismanaged to the point of fraud.

The Department of Justice has accused at least one Chinese couple of fraudulently obtaining visas through the EB-5 program.

In March, the U.S. government arrested Shilan Zhao, the ex-wife of a former Chinese official, on charges of immigration fraud and money laundering. The Department of Justice also claimed that the couple bought property in the U.S. with money laundered through a massive grain storage facility in China, where Qiao served as director for 13 years.

As of March 27, Qiao remained at large, according to the Justice Department.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/15/news/economy/china-us-visa-eb5-immigrant-investor/

USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 7, 2015 that it has received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2016. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption, also known as the masters cap.  
USCIS received nearly 233,000 H-1B petitions during the filing period, which began April 1, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. On April 13, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process, or lottery, to select enough petitions to meet the 65,000 general-category cap and the 20,000 cap under the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will reject and return all unselected petitions with their filing fees, unless the petition is found to be a duplicate filing.
The agency conducted the selection process for the advanced degree exemption first. All unselected advanced degree petitions then became part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit.
As announced on March 12, 2015, USCIS will begin premium processing for H-1B cap cases no later than May 11, 2015.
USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap will also not be counted towards the congressionally mandated FY 2016 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

• Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
• Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized knowledge in fields such as science, engineering, and computer programming.
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis) and the USCIS blog The Beacon.

Source: http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-completes-h-1b-cap-random-selection-process-fy-2016

US to conduct lottery system for H1-B visas after hitting cap in 5 days

USCIS will now use the computer-generated process, also known as the lottery, to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 visas for the general category and 20,000 for the advanced degree exemption.

The agency will first randomly select petitions for 20,000 visas allocated to foreign nationals with advanced degrees from US universities.

All unselected advanced degree petitions will then become part of the random selection process for the 65,000 general li ..

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UK Tier 4 and Tier 2 Visa Sponsorship Licence suspended for Bucks

Buckinghamshire New University's Tier 4 sponsorship licence has been suspended, preventing them from accepting new admissions of overseas students from outside the EU; Students sponsored by the University exceeded the visa refusal rate permitted by UK Immigration. In addition the Tier 2 sponsorship licence to enable the University to employ professional level workers from outside the EU was also suspended.

Bucks failed to meet Home Office Tier 4 student visa refusal rate target

Bucks University had to meet the previous UK Immigration target for student visa refusals of 20 percent or less. Bucks New University missed hitting the target by just 1.16 percentage points, the equivalent of three students. It is even more difficult now. In November 2014, tougher requirements were implemented with the acceptable Home Office refusal rate threshold being reduced from 20 percent to 10 percent.

Suspension of both Tier 4 and Tier 2 Sponsorship Licences

The suspension of Bucks New Univiversity's Tier 4 and Tier 2 sponsorship prevents the University from sponsoring new students and employees from outside the EU. Buckinghamshire New University have 20 days to appeal the suspension by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). However, should the university fail in persuading the Home Office that they should keep their licence, their Tier 4 sponsorship licence will be revoked.

Staff and student wellbeing

Bucks New University's vice-chancellor, Rebecca Bunting, said: "Our main concern is the welfare and wellbeing of staff and students. We're working continuously, along with all other UK universities, to improve our systems and processes in order to comply with a challenging set of sponsorship rules and our senior management team will be cooperating fully with UKVI."
She added: "We have been given time to check our information against UKVI's data and that work has commenced."

Criticism of Tier 4 Sponsorship Licence Requirements

The new lower threshold for visa refusals at ten percent has attracted criticism because, while universities issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies to non-EU students accepted by the University, which are subsequently used for the visa application, universities have no real control over visa refusal rates.
Errors on student documentation and Home Office judgements in credibility interviews are two of the decisive factors, among many, which can result in rejection.
A spokeswoman for the Home Office stated: "Universities must ensure they have robust compliance systems in place or risk losing their privilege to sponsor foreign students.
All institutions holding a Tier 4 sponsor licence must pass an annual assessment in order to retain the ability to recruit international students. Bucks New University failed to pass this assessment so we have suspended its licence."

Glyndwr University

Buckinghamshire New University is not the only University that has failed to meet UKVI requirements, Glyndwr University currently faces continuing restrictions on its licence to recruit foreign students from outside the EU amid allegations that hundreds of its students held 'invalid' or 'suspect' English language qualifications.
Two other universities that had their sponsorship licences suspended are the University of Bedfordshire and the University of West London, which had their licences suspended for a time in June 2014. The good news is that these Universities have now been informed that they can now continue to sponsor overseas students.

Problems with decision making at Home Office and organisation sponsored by Home Office

Comments by Sanwar Ali, Editor, workpermit.com News

With the General Election fast approaching it is surely important for us to look at the track record of the Home Office and an organisation sponsored by the Home Office when it comes to decision making. We are extremely concerned about the secretive nature of decision making at the above organisations.
Why was both the Tier 4 and Tier 2 sponsorship licences suspended for Bucks New University? Did suspension of the Tier 4 licence affect the Tier 2 sponsorship licence? If so why?
Our investigations have revealed that far too often what happens is that a Government organisation or quasi non-Governmental organisation makes a decision in one area (say in the case of the Home Office suspending a sponsorship licence) but then decides to take further action where there is no real reason to do so, and in a number of cases where there is no jurisdiction to do so. This is a serious abuse of State power and leads to shocking injustices occurring. Whatever happens after the General Election on 9 May 2015 it is hoped that the new Government will not allow this to happen in future.
Written by Daniel Waldron and Sanwar Ali
Edited by Sanwar Ali

Source: http://www.workpermit.com/news/2015-04-01/uk-tier-4-and-tier-2-visa-sponsorship-licence-suspended-for-bucks

H1-B visa cap reached within 5 days

The U.S. on Tuesday said it has reached the cap for the H-1B work visas for 2016 within the first five days for the third consecutive year and will now conduct a lottery system to allocate the visas highly popular among IT professionals from countries like India.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it has reached the congressionally-mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year 2016, besides receiving more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U.S. advanced degree exemption.

USCIS will now use the computer-generated process to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 visas for the general category and 20,000 for the advanced degree exemption.

The agency will first randomly select petitions for 20,000 visas allocated to foreign nationals with advanced degrees from U.S. universities.

All unselected advanced degree petitions will then become part of the random selection process for the 65,000 general limit.

“Before running the lottery, USCIS will complete initial intake for all filings received during the filing period, which ended April 7. Due to the high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the date it will conduct the random selection process,” it said.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/h1b-visa-cap-reached-within-5-days/article7080647.ece