President Obama announces Executive Action on Immigration

President Obama moves forward with Executive Action on immigration that will affect more than 4 million people.  While it is months away from implementation, this executive action will have several components:

-  New options and incentives for highly skilled workers and foreign investors

-  Increased border security and manpower

-  Focus on criminals in deportation proceedings

-  Deferred action for people who have been in the U.S. for 5 years, pass a background check and pay their back taxes

More details to follow as they become available.

See the short announcement or to watch the President's address:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/more-4-million-undocumented-immigrants-will-now-be-able-play-rules

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H-1B petition applications expected to increase yet again in 2015!

With a staggering number of 172,500 H-1B petitions filed with USCIS in 2014, the H-1B annual cap of 85,000 was well exceeded this year with an increase of nearly 50,000 petition applications since 2013.

U.S. Attorneys are saying that H-1B petition applications are just going to keep increasing exponentially in the coming years, however supply will remain low. "About 87,000 applicants didn't hear their number called in last year's lottery; many of them will likely try again in 2015, whether with the same prospective employer or a new one."

In the past, the window for filing H-1B petitions from April 1 has be open for weeks and sometimes even months, however next year this window of opportunity is set to be limited to merely days due to the large volume of applications being submitted.

Please see the following link for the full article: http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/team-building-and-staffing/h-1b-visas-what-to-expect-in-2015/a/d-id/1317529

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An Executive Order On U.S. Immigration Would Not Be Unprecedented

There is much speculation that President Obama will issue a sweeping executive order regarding immigration in the next week.  Critics are ready to rally against such an action, however, it would not be unprecedented.  Past Republican administrations used executive orders to speed along action by Congress:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/15/reagan-bush-immigration-deportation_n_6164068.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013

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National Visa Center No Longer Collecting Original Civil Documents

Applicants are no longer required to submit original documents to the National Visa Center, which should reduce the incident of mishandling important personal documents with sensitive information:

http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/policy_updates/National%20_Visa_Center_No_Longer_Collecting_Original_Civil_Documents_November_2014.pdf 

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New U.S. - China Visa Reciprocal Agreement

New U.S. - China reciprocal agreement for U.S. Visas mean longer validity for visitors and students:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/10/fact-sheet-supporting-american-job-growth-and-strengthening-ties-extendi

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Tighter screening processes imposed on people travelling to the United States on the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA).

The United States plans to impose tightened screening measures on travellers from European countries, Australia and various other countries due to the “growing concern over the rising number of Islamist militants who have fought in Syria and hold Western passports”.

Nationals of specific countries travelling to the United States on the ESTA will be required to disclose additional information prior to boarding their flight, such as passports held from multiple countries, or the use of alternate names or aliases. The Department of Homeland Security claims that this data will help enable more accurate screening against US terrorism watch lists.

Please see the following link for the full article: http://gulfnews.com/news/world/usa/us-to-step-up-screening-of-european-and-other-visitors-who-don-t-need-visas-1.1408000#.VFwJuxBf3Ks.email

For further information about U.S. visas contact us at: Nevett Ford Lawyers at http://www.usavisasexperts.com.au

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