Monday 29 April 2013

The UK Supreme Court’s judgement in Alvi, given on 18 July 2012, established the following general principle:


The UK Supreme Court’s judgement in Alvi, given on 18 July 2012, established the following
general principle:

The UK Supreme Court’s judgement in Alvi, given on 18 July 2012, established the following
general principle:

‘Any requirement which, if not satisfied by the migrant, will lead to an application for leave to
enter or remain being refused is a rule within the meaning of section 3(2) [of the 1971 Immigration Act]’.

This means any requirements must be agreed by Parliament. This agreement is gained by putting the requirements into the Immigration Rules. After the Alvi judgement, it is unlawful to refuse an application on the basis of requirements not included in the Immigration Rules

Global Migrate is a specialist visa consultancy . We are OISC registered. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to the UK or your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details At www.global-migrate.com Or Contact
Us At +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762.

Wednesday 24 April 2013

US Senators release draft comprehensive immigration reform bill

US Senators release draft comprehensive immigration reform bill


The so called 'Gang of Eight' has released details of the draft immigration reform bill it has been working on since January. The Gang of Eight are eight senators, four Democrat and four Republican, who have agreed to cooperate to draft a compromise bill which will reform the US immigration system which politicians on both sides agree is 'broken'.

A summary of the bill was released on Tuesday 16th April 2013. Last week, two of the Gang, Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican Lindsay Graham had indicated that a deal might be close.

The draft bill is 844 pages long and contains a great deal of detail but the main points are

The Department for Homeland Security (DHL) must submit a plan to secure the US's Mexican border within 180 days of the bill being passed. The DHL plan will have a budget of $4.5bn and will lay out how the DHL intends to secure the entire length of the border using drones, increased numbers of staff, fences, etc.
If the immigration reform bill comes into law, illegal immigrants who have been living continuously in the US since December 31st 2011 can register for provisional legal resident status. They will then be able to work for any US employer and travel in and out of the US freely. They will not be able to claim any social security benefits. They will have to pay a $500 fine for illegally entering the US. They will also have to pay all their back taxes and a fee for processing their applications. Anyone convicted of a major crime (a felony) or three minor crimes (misdemeanours) will be barred from registration.
Those who register will be able to apply for permanent resident status when the border has been secured to the satisfaction of Congress or after ten years, whichever is sooner.
After five years, it will become compulsory for US employers to check all potential employees using the eVerify system before employing them. eVerify allows US employers to check whether potential employees are authorised to work in the US.
A system must be established to allow the US immigration authorities to track people with temporary visas such as H-1B visas, L-1 visas and visitor visas so that it will be clear how many have overstayed their visas.
There will be a new 'W-visa' for low-skilled workers such as agricultural workers. There will be a cap on the number of these visas that can be issued.
There will be a new visa for entrepreneurs who wish to start companies in the US.
The number of H-1B 'specialty occupation' visas issued annually will rise immediately from 65,000 to 110,000 with a possibility that the number could rise as high as 180,000 annually. Firms which rely heavily on H-1B visas such as Indian outsourcing firms will be asked to pay an additional fee of $5,000 to $10,000 per visa, depending on the proportion of their workers which is made up of H-1B visa workers.
Some illegal immigrants brought to the US as children will be allowed to apply for permanent resident status (green card) in five years.
• So will some agricultural workers.
Global Migrate is a specialist visa consultancy. We are OISC registered. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to the UK or your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details At : +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762 Visit at : www.global-migrate.com

Friday 19 April 2013

UK Immigration Runs Pilot Of Visa Expiry 'reminder' Service


The UK's immigration authorities have announced a new scheme to remind foreign nationals in the UK when their visa is close to expiry. The pilot scheme has already started.
 
The Home Office has randomly selected a proportion of those whose visas are due to expire in June 2013. It has asked Capita to contact everyone in this sample by letter, email or text message to remind them that their visas will expire soon. The communication will advise the selected visa holders to either apply for a new visa, for a visa extension, or to prepare to leave the country.
Capita will send a further reminder one month before each visa holder's visa is due to expire and another seven days before the expiry date.

Home Office 'will update records' if they are wrong

The Home Office has issued a statement reading; 'we will continue to work closely with Capita to ensure information provided is accurate. If we receive evidence to show that an individual's leave is not due to expire in the next 2 months, they have already applied to extend their leave or they have left the UK, we will update our records."

If you are in the UK with a time-limited UK visa such as a Tier 1 high value migrant visa, a Tier 2 skilled worker visa or a Tier 4 student visa and you need help dealing with a renewal, you should give us a call. We have 25 years of experience dealing with the Home Office and we will be able to advise you about all your options.'

Senior Capita staff told the Westminster parliament's Home Affairs Committee that the emails had been sent to the wrong people because the UKBA had wrongly given Capita the names of people who had leave to remain. The UKBA has since been abolished by the Home Secretary Theresa May who said that the agency was 'not good enough'.

If you would like to apply for a UK visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help.GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At:www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762  
 




Wednesday 17 April 2013

Facebook Founder Announces Pro-Immigration Lobby Group


Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of facebook, has announced that he and other tech industry bosses have founded Fwd.us, a group which will lobby for reform of the US immigration and education systems. It has appointed advisors from both the Republican and the Democratic parties and will aim to be politically neutral. The group includes numerous well-known Silicon Valley figures including Marissa Meyer of Yahoo and Eric Schmidt of Google.


Mr Zuckerberg wrote an opinion piece which appeared in The Washington Post on Thursday April 11th 2013 in which he calls for
  • Comprehensive immigration reform 'allowing us to attract the most talented and hardest-working people no matter where they were born'
  • Better education for US students, particularly in technology, engineering and mathematics
  • Greater investment in scientific research for the public good.
Mr Zuckerberg says that the US is a land of immigrants. He is the great-grandchild of immigrants and a great example of the American story. He says 'My great-grandparents came through Ellis Island (the island where European immigrants arrived in New York). My grandfathers were a mailman and a police officer. My parents are doctors. I started a company.'

He continues 'None of this could have happened without a welcoming immigration policy'. He adds 'Today's students should have the same opportunities – but our current system blocks them. We have a strange immigration policy for a nation of migrants. And it's a policy unfit for today's world'.


US needs 'the most talented and hardest working people'

 

He says that it is especially important in today's world to retain the brightest immigrants in the US because 'today's economy is based primarily on knowledge and ideas – resources that are renewable and available to everyone….To lead the world in this new economy, we need the most talented and hardest-working people'.Mr Zuckerberg asks, when ideas are so important,
  • 'Why do we kick out the more than 40% of math and science graduate students who are not US citizens after educating them?
  • Why do we offer so few H-1B visas for talented specialists that the supply runs out within days of becoming available each year, even though we know each of these jobs will create two or three more American jobs in return?
  • Why don't we let entrepreneurs move here when they have what it takes to start companies that will create even more jobs?'
  •  

Tech industry wants to see everyone benefit from knowledge economy

 

Mr Zuckerberg says that the new organisation, FWD.us will work with both political parties and the presidential administration to try to see its goals implemented. He says that it will use 'online and offline advocacy tools to build support for policy changes' and will aim to see 'all members of society gain from the rewards of the modern knowledge economy.

The US tech industry has long been campaigning for reform of the US immigration system. Since 2007, the sector has backed various bills which would have seen
  • More H-1B visas – Temporary work visas which allow foreign graduates to work in the US in a 'specialty occupation'.
  • L-1 visas – L-1 visas are intra company transfer visas that allow international companies to transfer staff from overseas branches to the US.
    • L-1A visas are for managers and
    • L-1B visas are for skilled workers with 'specialized knowledge' of the 'petitioning organization's product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization's processes and procedures'.
  • Employment-based permanent resident visas for graduates and entrepreneurs

If you would like to apply for a US visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help.GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At:www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762   



Tuesday 16 April 2013

USCIS Holds Lottery To Pick Successful H-1B Applications

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has held a lottery to decide which H-1B applications for the 2014 fiscal year will be approved.

Each year, the US issues 65,000 visas to foreign skilled workers to work in the US in 'a specialty occupation'. The workers should have a degree though an applicant with a range of training and experience amounting to 'degree equivalence' may qualify

The US also issues 20,000 H-1Bs to foreign workers with master's degrees or other postgraduate degrees. Where sufficient applications to meet the cap are received in the first week that USCIS begins accepting them, the rules state that USCIS will then hold a lottery for each category to allocate the visas.

We warned of high demand

Global Migrate warned earlier this year that the number of applications for the 2014 fiscal year was likely to be high. We advised all those seeking H-1B visas to get their applications in as soon as possible after USCIS began accepting applications.

This year, USCIS received 124,000 applications by 5th April. It received enough applications to fill the quota for both specialty occupation visas and advanced degree visas and so it has held two lotteries, one to distribute the 20,000 H-1Bs for advanced degree graduates and one to distribute the remaining 65,000 H-1Bs. The lotteries were held on 7th April 2013. The advanced degree visa lottery was held first. The applications of any applicants who were unsuccessful were then entered into the main H-1B lottery, giving graduates with advanced degree a second bite of the cherry.

Each year, USCIS begins accepting applications for the fiscal year beginning on October 1st on April 1st in the same year (though in the preceding fiscal year). The visas will only be valid from the October of the fiscal year for which they are issued. Every year, the number of H-1B petitions far exceeds the 85,000 visas available. This year the quota was reached in the fastest time since 2008 when it took only two days. In 2007, the cap was reached in one day.

H-1B cap is set too low

Some economists are saying that the fact that the lottery was required for the first time in five years is a sign that the US economy is recovering. But many others say merely that it is a sign that the H-1B cap is set far too low.

The world-renowned Economist magazine carried an article on 6th April which said that 'the cap on visas is entirely arbitrary and unnecessary and almost certainly imposes high economic costs on the country'. The article says that 'skilled immigrant workers are more likely…to create patentable inventions or start new businesses' than are natural-born Americans.

The article warns the US that other countries are seeking to attract skilled international workers and reports that Canada has launched its new 'Start-up visa' which will award a permanent resident visa to any foreign entrepreneur who can attract CAN$75,000 in investment from Canadian investors for a business start-up.

If you would like to apply for a US visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help.GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At:www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762  


Monday 15 April 2013

UK Immigration Grants New Tier 4 Sponsorship Licence To LMU

The UK's Home Office has issued a new Tier 4 sponsorship licence to London Metropolitan University (LMU). The Home Office made the announcement on 9th April 2013 and said the licence would be effective immediately. LMU's previous Tier 4 sponsorship licence was revoked on 29th August 2012.

A Tier 4 sponsorship licence allows a UK educational institution to sponsor potential students from outside the European Economic Area to apply for a UK Tier 4 student visa. You cannot obtain a Tier 4 visa unless you are sponsored by a licenced UK educational establishment.
On 29th August 2012, the UK Border Agency, which was until 1st April 2013 in charge of UK immigration control, revoked LMU's sponsorship licence. The UKBA claimed that it had done so because LMU had not put systems in place to ensure that international students
  • Spoke university-standard English
  • Attended lectures while at LMU and
  • Had valid Tier 4 visas entitling them to study at LMU.

Over 2,000 students told to leave

The UKBA decision meant that LMU was no longer allowed to teach international students. Over 2,000 international students already studying at LMU were told that they would have to find new courses elsewhere, obtain sponsorship from the new university and apply for a new Tier 4 visa (costing £716) from the UKBA if they wanted to continue their study in the UK, otherwise they would have to leave the country.

The decision caused considerable controversy. The National Union of Students condemned the decision as did Universities UK, the umbrella body for UK universities. It was rumoured that the decision caused a cabinet rift between Home Secretary Theresa May who supported the UKBA on the one side and Chancellor George Osborne and Business Secretary Vince Cable who opposed it on the other.

The vice chancellor of LMU, Malcolm Gillies, said that the UKBA decision was 'outrageous'. He said that LMU had made every effort to comply with the UKBA rules but said that UKBA rules were self-contradictory and almost impossible to comply with.

Judge allowed students to continue their studies

LMU immediately issued a statement saying that it would challenge the UKBA's decision in court. At an initial hearing in September 2012, the judge, Mr Justice Irwin, made an order that those students who were already studying at LMU should be allowed to continue with their studies for the time being, until the case was heard.

He also ordered that 1,000 students who were about to start courses in October should be allowed to do so, providing they had the correct visa. He barred LMU from sponsoring any further international students until the case was heard. The case is expected to come to court soon.

The UKBA was abolished on 1st April 2013 at the order of the Home Secretary, Theresa May. Mrs May announced her decision on 26th March 2013 and said she had decided to abolish it because it was 'not good enough'. Many people agreed with Mrs May. A committee of MPs, The Home Affairs Committee, whose job it was to scrutinise the work of the Home Office and the UKBA, issued many damning reports about the agency.

The chairman of the committee, Keith Vaz, a Labour MP, welcomed Mrs May's decision saying that it would enable the UK to gain control of its immigration system which has been out-of-control for years.

UKBA dismantled after scathing criticism

Last month, the committee released a highly critical report about the running of the UKBA which said that between July and September 2012, the UKBA processed just 14% of postal applications for Tier 4 visas within its target time of four weeks and just 18% of Tier 1 visa applications. Mrs May announced that it would be abolished it the next day.

The Home Office issued a statement on 9th April saying that it was now satisfied that LMU had put right all the flaws in its systems and so could have a new licence.

The statement read 'Home Office inspection teams looked at areas of concern that led to the revocation of the university's licence last year and have worked with university staff to ensure they have appropriate processes for recruiting and monitoring their international students'.

If you would like to apply for a UK visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help.GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At:www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762  


Friday 12 April 2013

US Immigration Releases Waiting Times For Employment-Based Green Cards

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released its March bulletin setting out the 'cut-off priority dates' of the green cards being processed in April 2013. The bulletin shows that there are long waiting times in many immigration categories.

Informing the public of cut-off priority dates is USCIS's somewhat confusing way of letting people who have made their applications for US permanent resident status know how long they will have to wait before they can finally get their 'green card' or permanent resident visa.

There is great demand for US green cards, not least in Employment-based (EB) visa categories, such as the EB-3 category for 'skilled workers and professionals'. The US operates a quota system and only a fixed number of green cards in any immigration category can be granted in any one year. Those that cannot get a green card immediately have to wait in line until one becomes available.

Consequently, some people have to wait a very long time for their green cards, particularly in popular categories such as EB-3. In order to try and keep people informed of processing times, USCIS issues a monthly bulletin which tells applicants what the expected 'cut-off priority date' for that month will be.

Priority dates explained 


An applicant's 'priority date' for an employment based immigrant petition is either the date on which an immigrant petition is filed with USCIS or the date that the Labor Certification application was filed with the Department of Labor.In cases where no Labor Certification is required the priority date is the date when the immigrant petition is filed with USCIS, typically using the I-140 form. In most employment based immigration categories you will need to file a Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) Labor Certification application with the Department of Labor (DOL) which will then be the priority date. Where this is the case, the applicant will usually, assuming successful Labor Certification, file an I-140 petition; the priority date will be the date of the filing of the PERM application with the DOL which is an earlier date than the filing of the immigrant petition with the USCIS.
USCIS usually processes I-140s within six months and then sends the visa to the National Visa Center for 'visa allocation'. However, because demand is so much greater than supply, successful applicants will then often have to wait for many years before a green card becomes available. The USCIS rules state that applicants are not allowed to submit their form I-485 application for 'adjustment of status' to become US permanent residents until a visa is available for them. This, is where the cut-off priority date comes in.
If USCIS says that the cut-off priority date for, say, April 2013, is 1 July 2005, then this means that, if your form I-140 was filed with USCIS before 1st July 2005, then, at the end of April, you should have reached the front of the queue and you will be able to take the next step and send your I-485 form to USCIS. USCIS will then process your form I-485 and adjust your status to become a US permanent resident with a US green card. If you send your I-485 to USCIS before your priority date is current, the USCIS mail room will return your application.

Some progress in eliminating backlogs

 

In its March bulletin, USCIS says it has made some progress in eliminating backlogs but it is still processing some employment based category 3 (EB-3) green card applications that were made over ten years ago.Under the US system, there are caps for each type of employment-based green card. In addition, there is a limit on the proportion of the year's allocation of any type of visa that can go to applicants from any one nation; nationals of a country such as India can receive no more than 7% of the green cards in any of the employment based immigration categories in any year. Because Indians account for many more than 7% of the applications for EB-3 permanent resident visas (or green cards) granted in any one year, applicants from India face longer waiting times than applicants from other countries from where fewer applicants come.
To take the EB-3 category again, there is an annual cap of 41,455 green cards that can be granted to EB-3 applicants. EB-3 green cards go to skilled workers, professionals and 'other workers'. USCIS is currently processing applications from before 1 July 2007 for applicants from most countries – a waiting list of nearly six years. Demand from India is so great that USCIS is currently processing applications from Indians who applied before 8th December 2002, a waiting time of over ten years. Many EB-3 visas are taken by IT professionals and it is because of India's predominance in the field of IT that its citizens have to wait for so long. EB-3 applicants from the Philippines are currently waiting nearly seven years.

Other employment based green card waiting times 

 

There are currently no waiting lists for EB-1 visas for priority workers. Priority workers fall into three categories; people with extraordinary ability in the arts or sciences, skilled academics and managers and executives.Applicants for EB-2 green cards from most countries are processed without delay but USCIS is currently processing EB-2 applications from Chinese applicants who applied before April 2008; a five year wait and Indian applications from before September 2004; a wait of over eight years. There are three sub-categories in EB-2;
  • Members of the professions with 'exceptional ability' in the arts and sciences or business.
  • Those with 'advanced degrees' such as masters' degrees in a subject related to a 'profession' such as architecture, law, medicine, accountancy or engineering
  • Those whose presence in the US would be in the 'national interest' such as doctors who agree to work in areas where there is a shortage of doctors. It is not easy to qualify for the 'national interest waiver' as to grant an EB-2 national interest waiver visa, USCIS will want to be satisfied that it will 'greatly benefit' the USA to do so.
If you would like to apply for a US visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help.GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At:www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762 




Thursday 11 April 2013

Australian Government Criticised For Misleading Immigration Figures


The Australian immigration minister has released figures which show that there were 12% more Temporary Work (Skilled) (Subclass 457) visas granted in February 2013 than in the same month in 2012.

Mr O'Connor said that this sharp rise justified the plans of the Australian government to reform the 457 visa system to prevent abuse of the system or 'rorting' as it is known in Australia. Critics say that most 457 visa applications are not fraudulent and that the visas are issued to foreign workers who are filling genuine gaps in the Australian labour market. They also say that the February figures have been taken out of context and are misleading because the number of 457 visas granted has actually been falling since August 2012.


In March, Mr O'Connor said 'Rogue employers are deliberately employing people from overseas without giving a local a chance' and called for a reform of the 457 visa system. On 3rd April, Mr O'Connor said 'The 457 increase continues…which…underlines the need to bring about the reforms so that the 457 visa is used for the purposes it was constructed – which, of course, is to fill temporary shortages'.

Number of 457 visas was dropping 


But figures from DIAC, the Australian government's Department for Immigration and Citizenship show that the number of 457 visas has actually been dropping since last August. They show that the February figure was an anomaly in a generally downward trend.

Australian industry body the Australian Industry Group (AIG) said that the figure does not show that there has been abuse of the system but, instead, shows that the 457 visas system is working. Innes Wilcox of the AIG said 'These latest figures, to us, just demonstrate that this is a system that is working, that is flexible…It (the figure) does move around from month to month and just to pick out one month is slightly misleading. When you have unions themselves using 457 visas to fill skill gaps that makes you realise that we do have a low unemployment rate in Australia. We do have skills shortages in quite specific areas and in quite specific regions'.

Australian employers can only employ a worker with a 457 visa if they are going to perform an occupation which is on the Australian Consolidated Shortage Occupations List, a list of occupations for which, the Australian government says, there is a shortage of trained Australians.

Though Australian unions have been leading calls for a clampdown on rorting of the 457 system, one union has had to admit that it has brought in workers on 457 visas itself. The Transport Workers Union employed three 457 workers as officials. TWU secretary Tony Sheldon told the Australian press on April 3rd 2013 that the union had been unable to find anyone who was able to fill the roles in Australia.

Gillard is 'demonising foreigners' – Abbott

 

The Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott has complained that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her Labor government are attempting to drum up support for the forthcoming election in September 2013 by 'demonising foreigners'. Ms Gillard has said that her party will introduce legislation to reform the 457 visa system and 'put Aussie workers first'.

The Australian opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said that the extra visas issued in February were issued because they were required. He said '457 approvals are a function of demand. It's a demand driven program and the minister seems to completely not understand this'.

Meanwhile in South Australia the state government revealed that of the 1,360 workers in the state on 457 visas, 20% work in the public sector, 93% of them in health services. South Australia's Manufacturing and Innovation Minister Tom Kenyon said 'it's resident medical officers, registrars, nurses and medical practitioners in general. They're skills we may not have to hand immediately and we need'.

If you would like to apply for a Australian visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help. GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At: www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762





Wednesday 10 April 2013

London Mayor Says Hard-Working Immigrants Out-Compete Britons


London Mayor Boris Johnson has said that it is 'no wonder' that young Britons are being outcompeted for jobs by immigrants who come to the UK from eastern Europe. Mr Johnson says that eastern Europeans are better educated than Britons and more industrious.

Mr Johnson said that it was 'economically illiterate' to blame the immigrants for getting jobs or for 'getting up early and working hard and being polite and helpful'.

Writing in UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson tells his readers that he was cycling to work 'the other day' when he met a recruitment consultant called Katie. The woman recruited staff for restaurants in London. Mr Johnson says that he asked Katie what percentage of the posts that she filled was taken by British workers. Katie told Mr Johnson that only about 10% of jobs went to British-born workers.

She told him, he said 'It's the schools, I think. They teach the kids that they can earn all this money but they don't explain that they will have to work hard. The people I recruit have a different work ethic'.

Without immigrants there would be 'fewer restaurants' in London

 

Mr Johnson also argues against the notion that the jobs taken by foreign workers would be taken by UK workers if the foreign workers were excluded from the UK labour market. He says that, instead, it is likely that, if the jobs were not filled by foreign workers 'the chances are there would be fewer restaurants, since the costs would be higher and the service less good and the reputation of London as the world capital of posh tucker (haute cuisine) would be less exalted than it is today'.

Mr Johnson blames the former Labour government of the UK for allowing the UK's schools to deteriorate. He says that about 25% of UK school children leave primary school unable to read, write or do basic maths and this means that UK school leavers will lose out to 'industrious people from eastern Europe who can take down a telephone message correctly.'

Mr Johnson says that the Labour government did not reform the school system and instead used immigration to fill the skilled roles that ill-educated Britons could no longer perform. He says that the current government must reform the education system to enable British workers to do the jobs in future that they cannot do today.

Global-migrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy with nearly twenty-five years of experience dealing with visa applications. We are OISC registered. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to the UK or your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.


London mayor says hard-working immigrants out-compete Britons

09 April 2013

For concise and recent immigration information watch our news.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has said that it is 'no wonder' that young Britons are being outcompeted for jobs by immigrants who come to the UK from eastern Europe. Mr Johnson says that eastern Europeans are better educated than Britons and more industrious.
Mr Johnson said that it was 'economically illiterate' to blame the immigrants for getting jobs or for 'getting up early and working hard and being polite and helpful'.
Writing in UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson tells his readers that he was cycling to work 'the other day' when he met a recruitment consultant called Katie. The woman recruited staff for restaurants in London. Mr Johnson says that he asked Katie what percentage of the posts that she filled was taken by British workers. Katie told Mr Johnson that only about 10% of jobs went to British-born workers.
She told him, he said 'It's the schools, I think. They teach the kids that they can earn all this money but they don't explain that they will have to work hard. The people I recruit have a different work ethic'.

Without immigrants there would be 'fewer restaurants' in London

Mr Johnson also argues against the notion that the jobs taken by foreign workers would be taken by UK workers if the foreign workers were excluded from the UK labour market. He says that, instead, it is likely that, if the jobs were not filled by foreign workers 'the chances are there would be fewer restaurants, since the costs would be higher and the service less good and the reputation of London as the world capital of posh tucker (haute cuisine) would be less exalted than it is today'.Mr Johnson blames the former Labour government of the UK for allowing the UK's schools to deteriorate. He says that about 25% of UK school children leave primary school unable to read, write or do basic maths and this means that UK school leavers will lose out to 'industrious people from eastern Europe who can take down a telephone message correctly.'
Mr Johnson says that the Labour government did not reform the school system and instead used immigration to fill the skilled roles that ill-educated Britons could no longer perform. He says that the current government must reform the education system to enable British workers to do the jobs in future that they cannot do today.

global-migrate is a specialist visa consultancy. We are OISC registered. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to the UK or your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.

Tuesday 9 April 2013

US Senators Say Immigration Reform Bill Has 'Substantive Agreement'



Senator Chuck Schumer, one of the so-called 'Gang of Eight' Republican and Democrat senators who are working on a comprehensive US immigration reform bill has said there is 'substantive agreement' on the principles of the bill. Speaking on 1st April 2013, Senator Schumer added 'It's not a done deal. We have to draft the legislation. We have to have the group of eight sign off on the specific language but we have substantive agreement on all major issues between the eight of us now'.

Senator Schumer, from New York, is one of four Democrats who have been working with four Republican colleagues to create a comprehensive reform bill that will reform the US immigration system which almost everyone in Washington accepts is 'broken'.
One of his Republican counterparts Senator Lindsay Graham from South Carolina echoed Senator Schumer speaking on CNN on 1st April. He said 'I think we've got a deal. We've got to write the legislation but 2013, I hope, will be the year that we pass bipartisan immigration reform. He added the warning 'We haven't signed off. There are a few details yet but conceptually we have agreement'.

Obama pledged to make immigration a priority

 

After his re-election last November, President Obama pledged to make immigration reform a priority in his second term. The President later told a Spanish language TV station that he was happy to leave the drafting of the comprehensive reform to Congress. All sides in Washington believe that the reform bill must contain the following elements
  • The establishment of a 'path to citizenship' for the 11m illegal immigrants currently living in the US.
  • Strengthening security along the Mexican border
  • More resources to be put into tracking foreign nationals in the US on visas.
  • Overhauling the US visa system to reduce backlogs.
  • Awarding green cards to foreign technology graduates from US universities
  • Rolling out a national 'e-verify' system to prevent illegal aliens from working in the US
  • Establishment of a low-skilled migrant worker visa which would allow US employers to employ foreign workers in sectors such as agriculture where it is impossible to recruit US citizens.
One of the sticking points between the Senators recently was believed to be the establishment of the low-skilled migrant guest worker programme but on Friday 29th March 2013, a deal was reached. There will be a new 'W-visa' programme which will see between 20,000 and 200,000 work visas granted each year. Workers will work in agriculture and in construction among other lower-skilled occupations.

Agreement between unions and employers on 'w-visa'

 

Both unions and employers have agreed to the 'w-visa' scheme. Senator Schumer told ABC news 'The fact that business and labor have come to an agreement overcomes the last major substantive hurdle we've had in our negotiations.'However supporters of immigration reform should not put the champagne on ice just yet.
The US press is reporting that the Gang of Eight's law act will introduce a waiting time of up to 13 years for illegal immigrants to gain US citizenship. There are also reports that there will be substantial fines to punish them for entering the US illegally in the first place. This, critics fear, could mean that many will be discouraged from 'coming out of the shadows' and applying for a green card putting them on the "path to citizenship".
There is also a dissenting voice in the Gang of Eight. Right wing Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has poured cold water on talk of a deal. He said that there had been 'substantial progress' but said that talk of an agreement were 'premature'.

Rubio calls for public debate

 

Mr Rubio said that he wanted the American people to have their say. He said that the bill would need to be 'properly submitted for the American people's consideration through the other 92 senators from 43 states that weren't part of this initial drafting process'. He said the process could not be rushed and called for a public debate.Mr Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants to the US, is seen as a potential Republican presidential challenger in 2016. Commentators say that he is trying to position himself to please all sides. There is a substantial body of Republican voters who are opposed to any deal that would allow illegal immigrants to gain US citizenship and Mr Rubio may be trying to appeal to these voters in preparation for a presidential challenge. If he is, then it is still possible that the reform process will falter.
A White House spokesman said that the President is 'encouraged' by progress on the bill.

If you would like to apply for a UK visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help. GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At: www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762


Saturday 6 April 2013

Murdoch Enters Australian 457 Temporary Work Visa Debate


Rupert Murdoch, the international media mogul, has criticised the Australian government's public pronouncements on skilled work based immigration saying that they have been 'disgraceful and racist'.

Members of the Australian Labor Party government have claimed that there is widespread abuse of the 457 visa system. In March, Australian immigration minister Brendan O'Connor said that Australian firms were engaged in 'rorting' or abuse of the Temporary Work (Skilled) (Subclass 457) visa by Australian employers. Mr O'Connor said 'Rogue employers are deliberately employing people from overseas without giving a local a chance.'

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard supported the immigration minister. She said she would introduce legislation to stop this abuse and to 'put Aussie workers first'.

Gillard is 'demonising foreigners' - Abbott

The leader of the Australian opposition Coalition, Tony Abbott said that Ms Gillard was 'demonising foreigners'. Mr Abbott is a long-standing supporter of 457 visas. He made a speech in April 2012 in which he said that 457 visa holders are 'the best immigrants'. He said, 'provided they are paid the same wages and provided there aren't Australians who could readily fill these jobs, businesses should be able to bring in the workers they need to keep growing, and create more local jobs. Under a Coalition government, section 457 visas won't be just a component, but a mainstay of our immigration program'.

Commentators say that Ms Gillard is attempting to win support from the opposition by making Mr Abbott defend 457 visas publicly. Paul Kelly, editor-at-large of The Australian newspaper said that Ms Gillard's Labor government runs a successful 457 visa program. 189,784 people went to Australia, including family members, on 457 visas in the year to January 2013.

457 visas are 'a brilliant innovation'

Mr Kelly says that 457 visas 'are a brilliant innovation of immense benefit to Australia' but he says that the Gillard government is 'playing politics as part of a re-election tactic. … It's deliberately exaggerating the rorts, denigrating 457 visas as a John Howard idea and attacking Tony Abbott on the grounds that he will give the scheme free licence and sell out "Aussie jobs".

In order to be eligible to work in Australia with a 457 visa, a foreign worker must first be sponsored by an Australian employer. The employer must nominate the worker to work in an occupation that is on the Australian Consolidated Occupation List (CSOL). This is a list of occupations for which the Australian government accepts there is a shortage of Australian workers who can do the job. It is therefore happy to allow foreign workers into the country to do those jobs. Once nominated for a job on the CSOL, the foreign worker can apply for a 457 visa. The visa can last for up to four years and allows its holder to bring their family to Australia while they are there.

Mr O'Connor alleged in early March that there were Australian firms that were bringing in foreign workers on 457 visas to work as 'administrators', an occupation on the CSOL, but then employing them as security guards, an occupation not on the CSOL. Ms Gillard said she would put 'Aussie workers first' and 'stop foreign workers being put at the front of the queue with Australian workers at the back'.

Australian Union leaders too said that the system is being abused. Dave Oliver of the Australian Council of Trade Unions said that, in 2012, the number of 457 visas granted rose by 40% while the number of jobs available in the Australian construction sector had fallen by 70,000. This showed, he said, that Australian workers were losing out to foreign workers with 457 visas.

Immigration is 'the future' - Murdoch

Speaking on a visit to Australia, Mr Murdoch told his own Sky News Australia TV channel that Ms Gillard's comments were 'pretty disgusting and racist'. He said I'm a big one for encouraging immigration. I think that's the future'.Mr Murdoch was born an Australian but became an American citizen in 1985. In 2012, he joined New York mayor Michael Bloomberg in calling for foreign-born graduates of US universities to get a US permanent resident visa (green card) on graduation.

David Bradbury, the Australian Minister Assisting for Deregulation and a member of Ms Gillard's Australian Labor Party, responded to Mr Murdoch saying 'there is nothing racist about standing up for jobs and job opportunities for Australians.' The Australian opposition insists that abuse of the 457 system is limited.

457 visa system is 'quite efficient'

Peter McDonald of the National University's Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute told Australian business magazine BRW that the 457 system was 'quite an efficient system'. He said that 457 visas were useful in that they enabled employers to find the workers they needed fairly quickly and efficiently. He said that Australia needed a lot of skilled tradespeople as it did not have enough home-grown people with the right skills. He thought that fraudulent applications might account for about 2 to 3% of the total number of 457s granted.

In the year to June 2012, 48,080 temporary work (457) visas were issued.
If Ms Gillard was hoping to gain public support by promising to crack down on abuse of 457 visas it doesn't seem to have worked. There is an election in Australia in September in which, polls show, Ms Gillard's Australian Labor Party will be heavily defeated.

Mr Murdoch's company News Ltd, which owns seven out of 12 Australian newspapers and controls 70.5% of the market, is supporting the opposition.

If you would like to apply for a UK visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help.GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At:www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762 

Friday 5 April 2013

Australian immigration cuts number of visitor and business visa types



As of 23rd March, the Australian government has reduced the number of visitor visa subclasses from nine to five. Australian immigration minister Brendan O'Connor said it would simplify the system and eliminate red tape.
he changes have been introduced as part of Australia's Visitor Visa Simplification and Deregulation Project. In a statement on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website, Mr O'Connor says that this is a simplification only and that there will be 'no change to current visa eligibility for tourism, business visitor activities, sponsored family visits and medical treatment and care has been taken to ensure there is no impact on program integrity settings'.

There is one new visa announced; the Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) visa (subclass 400) which will allow people to stay in Australia for six weeks for 'short-term, highly specialised, non-ongoing work. It seems that the new visa might be of particular use for performers and other creative people travelling on tour to Australia.

Nine visas axed

The following visas have been abolished. DIAC will not be accepting any further applications after 23rd March.
Tourist visa (subclass 676)
Sponsored family visitor visa (679)
Business (short stay) visa (456)
Sponsored business visitor (short stay) visa (459)
Medical treatment (short stay) visa (675)
Medical treatment (long stay) visa (685)
Electronic Travel Authority (visitor) 976)
Electronic Travel Authority (business – short validity) (977)
Electronic Travel Authority (business – short validity) (956)
These visas have been replaced with the following

Temporary work (short stay activity) visa (subclass 400)

Cost AUS$145

This visa allows you to enter Australia to do

'short-term, highly specialised, non-ongoing work'
Participate in an event or events on a non-ongoing bases at the invitation of an Australian organisation'
You can only stay in Australia for 6 weeks
You must be outside Australia when you apply
Visitor visa (subclass 600)

Cost AUS$115

This visa is broken into four streams

The tourist stream
This stream is for 'genuine visitors' who may come for tourism, recreation or to visit family and friends. You can stay for no more than 12 months in an 18 month period and will need to have health insurance and must leave Australia and apply from outside the country when your visa expires.
Business visitor stream
This stream is for businesspeople with 'a good reason for travelling to Australia' such as business research, conferences, as long as you are not paid. You do not need a sponsor but must apply from outside Australia.
Sponsored family stream
This is for 'genuine visitors' who are intending to visit their family. You must be sponsored
Approved Destination Status stream
This is for Chinese citizens travelling in a tour group and can be booked through a reputable tour company.
Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601)

Cost AUS$20

This visa lets businesspeople and visitors enter Australia as many times as they want in 12 months. You

Can stay in Australia for three months on each visit.
Must apply from outside Australia.
The visa is linked electronically to passports so that it can be seen by immigration staff and airline staff at airports. You can carry out business activities such as research and attending seminars but must not be paid.

Medical Treatment visa (subclass 602)

Cost: in Australia $245 outside $0

This visa allows you to

Stay in Australia for medical treatment
Study for up to three months (unless you are under 18)
Visit Australia as many times as you need for your treatment while your visa is valid
eVisitor (subclass 651)

Cost Nil
You must

hold a passport from an eligible country and
be outside Australia to apply. eVisitor lets you visit Australia for up to 12 months.
You can stay for three months on each visit. The eVisitor electronic visa links automatically to your passport.

All EU countries are eligible countries as are
European Economic Area states including Norway, Lichtenstein, Switzerland and Iceland.
British Nationals Overseas, British Dependent Territories Citizens and British Subject passport holders are not eligible for an eVisitor.
You may be barred if you have active tuberculosis.
If you would like to apply for an Australian visa, Global Migrate.com can help.    Global Migrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.

www.global-migrate.com
Uk Visas And Immigration Services

Thursday 4 April 2013

UK Ministers Considered Barring Children Of Illegal Immigrants From Schools





The Guardian, a national UK newspaper, has received a leaked email trail from UK civil servants which seems to show that UK ministers considered the possibility of preventing the children of illegal immigrants from attending free UK state schools to prevent 'education tourism'. It seems that any such plans were quickly dropped but ministers are now considering asking schools to check on the immigration status of both pupils and their parents as part of the admissions process.


An Oxford University study suggests that there are approximately 120,000 schoolchildren in UK schools who are in the country illegally.
The emails between civil servants in the UK's Department for Education (DfE) seem to show that a group of ministers had considered barring the children of illegal immigrants from the education system as part of the Coalition government's efforts to eliminate the 'pull factors' which draw some migrants to the UK.

However, the emails also seem to show that, if the ministers did consider such a move, they rejected it pretty quickly, perhaps because civil servants advised that to do so would breach Article 26 of the UN Convention of Human Rights.

Cameron's 'common sense test'

 

In February, David Cameron, the UK's Prime Minister, announced that he was establishing a committee to look at ways of limiting the rights of migrants to use the UK's social system. Mr Cameron said 'There are many parts of our current arrangements which don't pass a common sense test in terms of access to housing, access to the health service and access to justice and other things which should be a right for British citizens but they're not the right of anyone who just comes here'.

Mr Cameron established an inter-ministerial group chaired by the immigration minister, Mark Harper which has been looking at ways to cut access to social housing, healthcare, the law and other UK services.

A Labour MP, John McDonnell, said that even considering such proposals was 'scraping the barrel of morality'. Mr McDonnell said 'The government were considering barring migrant children from school and were only deterred by the potential reaction of the UN…Teachers may now be drawn into checking the migrant status of their pupils. The government is scraping the barrel of morality in its attack on migrant children.'

Brian Lightman of the Association of School and College Lecturers told The Guardian that it was not the job of schools to check up on the nationality or immigration status of pupils. Lesley Gannon of the National Association of Headteachers said that it was wrong to 'hold children responsible for the behaviours of their parents; and warned that such a scheme might make some illegal immigrants withhold education from their children.

If you would like to apply for a UK visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help.GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At:www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762


Wednesday 3 April 2013

Australian Immigration Cuts Number Of Visitor And Business Visa Types


As of 23rd March, the Australian government has reduced the number of visitor visa subclasses from nine to five. Australian immigration minister Brendan O'Connor said it would simplify the system and eliminate red tape.

The changes have been introduced as part of Australia's Visitor Visa Simplification and Deregulation Project. In a statement on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website, Mr O'Connor says that this is a simplification only and that there will be 'no change to current visa eligibility for tourism, business visitor activities, sponsored family visits and medical treatment and care has been taken to ensure there is no impact on program integrity settings'.
There is one new visa announced; the Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) visa (subclass 400) which will allow people to stay in Australia for six weeks for 'short-term, highly specialised, non-ongoing work. It seems that the new visa might be of particular use for performers and other creative people travelling on tour to Australia.

Nine visas axed

The following visas have been abolished. DIAC will not be accepting any further applications after 23rd March.
  • Tourist visa (subclass 676)
  • Sponsored family visitor visa (679)
  • Business (short stay) visa (456)
  • Sponsored business visitor (short stay) visa (459)
  • Medical treatment (short stay) visa (675)
  • Medical treatment (long stay) visa (685)
  • Electronic Travel Authority (visitor) 976)
  • Electronic Travel Authority (business – short validity) (977)
  • Electronic Travel Authority (business – short validity) (956)
These visas have been replaced with the following

Temporary work (short stay activity) visa (subclass 400)

Cost AUS$145
This visa allows you to enter Australia to do
  • 'short-term, highly specialised, non-ongoing work'
  • Participate in an event or events on a non-ongoing bases at the invitation of an Australian organisation'
  • You can only stay in Australia for 6 weeks
  • You must be outside Australia when you apply

Visitor visa (subclass 600)

Cost AUS$115
This visa is broken into four streams
  • The tourist stream
This stream is for 'genuine visitors' who may come for tourism, recreation or to visit family and friends. You can stay for no more than 12 months in an 18 month period and will need to have health insurance and must leave Australia and apply from outside the country when your visa expires.
  • Business visitor stream
This stream is for businesspeople with 'a good reason for travelling to Australia' such as business research, conferences, as long as you are not paid. You do not need a sponsor but must apply from outside Australia.
  • Sponsored family stream
This is for 'genuine visitors' who are intending to visit their family. You must be sponsored
  • Approved Destination Status stream
This is for Chinese citizens travelling in a tour group and can be booked through a reputable tour company.

Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601)

Cost AUS$20
This visa lets businesspeople and visitors enter Australia as many times as they want in 12 months. You
  • Can stay in Australia for three months on each visit.
  • Must apply from outside Australia.
The visa is linked electronically to passports so that it can be seen by immigration staff and airline staff at airports. You can carry out business activities such as research and attending seminars but must not be paid.

Medical Treatment visa (subclass 602)

Cost: in Australia $245 outside $0
This visa allows you to
  • Stay in Australia for medical treatment
  • Study for up to three months (unless you are under 18)
  • Visit Australia as many times as you need for your treatment while your visa is valid

eVisitor (subclass 651)

Cost NilYou must
  • hold a passport from an eligible country and
  • be outside Australia to apply. eVisitor lets you visit Australia for up to 12 months.
You can stay for three months on each visit. The eVisitor electronic visa links automatically to your passport.
  • All EU countries are eligible countries as are
  • European Economic Area states including Norway, Lichtenstein, Switzerland and Iceland.
  • British Nationals Overseas, British Dependent Territories Citizens and British Subject passport holders are not eligible for an eVisitor.
  • You may be barred if you have active tuberculosis.
If you would like to apply for a Australian visa GlobalMigrate.com can help. GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.
www.global-migrate.com

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Tier 4 (Students)- Applications For Student Visa Extension In The UK


From the 5 April 2013, all Tier 4 (General) applications that are made in the UK must be submitted to the UK Border Agency through an online application form.  The only exceptions are:
  • Applicants who are using the Super Premium Service
  • Applicants who have already booked a Public Enquiry Office appointment
If you are currently preparing your application but intend to apply after 5 April 2013, you will need to use the online application form.

This is suitable for Tier 4 applicants who are:
  • applying before 6 April 2013 OR 
  • using Super Premium Service OR 
  • attending a pre-booked Public Enquiry Office appointment
For More Info Check This Link: http://goo.gl/MY1jM
Global-Migrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy. We are OISC registered. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to the UK or your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.Visit Us At : www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762

Monday 1 April 2013

UK Immigration Provides 'Unacceptable Service'


A committee of MPs has issued a report about the UK Border Agency (UKBA) which states that its already poor performance is getting worse. The report says that senior staff should not receive any performance-related bonuses until 'there is evidence that the backlog [of unresolved cases] is being substantially reduced and new backlogs are not emerging'.

The report, issued by the House of Commons' Home Affairs Committee, was split into two sections. In the first it dealt with the UKBA's disastrous handling of a historic backlog of 450,000 asylum cases. It says that the UKBA's handling of these cases has been appalling. It contains scathing criticism of the former chief executive of the UKBA, Lin Homer. 


The second part of the report, The Work of the UK Border Agency (July-September 2012) deals with the UKBA's day-to-day management of the UK's immigration system including issuing of visas, locating and removing foreign-born offenders from the UK and making decisions on fresh asylum claims.
The report finds that the UKBA is failing in almost all areas. It complains 'We report quarterly on UKBA's performance and with each quarter a new backlog is revealed'. It finds that in the processing of applications, in fighting court cases and in finding foreign criminals the UKBA has backlogs and is missing targets.

Small improvements in some areas but still missing targets

The Report found that there have been small improvements in some fields but, overall, it continues to perform poorly. Even where there were improvements, the UKBA continued to miss its performance targets. For example,
  • The UKBA processed a higher proportion of Tier 2 skilled worker visa applications and of Tier 5 temporary worker visa applications within its service standard target times (four weeks) in July to September 2012 than it had managed in the previous quarter. However, although it had improved, processing 79% of Tier 2 applications within 4 weeks, this still fell 11% short of its target of 90%.
The UKBA did not meet its target for processing any of the four active tiers of the UK's five tier immigration system. Its performance was particularly poor with the processing of postal applications for Tier 1 high value migrant visas and Tier 4 student visas. The UKBA service standard says that it aims to process 90% of Tier 1 applications within four weeks.
  • Between July and September 2012, it processed just 18% of postal applications for Tier 1 visas within four weeks.
  • Only 14% of Tier 4 applications made by post were processed within four weeks.

Three quarters of visas processed late

The measure of the UKBA's dismal performance in the processing of visas is perhaps best illustrated by these figures. In total, the UKBA succeeded in meeting its performance target in 10,842 cases between July and September 2012, 27.5% of the total. It failed to do so in 28,558 cases or 72.5% of cases, nearly three quarters. The report says that this must improve.
The UKBA also failed to deliver an adequate service for its premium customers. The UKBA offers a premium service to applicants who pay a hefty fee. It says that it 'aims' to process these applications within 24 hours. However, it failed to do so in many cases. it processed
  • only 73% of Tier 1 applications,
  • 72% of Tier 2 applications,
  • 73% of Tier 4 applications and
  • 75% of Tier 5 applications within the twenty-four hour period.
The report says 'This is an unacceptable performance considering that the Agency is charging main applicants between £661 and £1,800 for premium applications. In Tier 2, where a premium application costs £306 more than the postal route, the Agency processed more postal applications on time than premium applications. This is unacceptable'.

UKBA failed even to attend 10% of its own court cases

Turning to its performance in the courts, the report states that the UKBA had failed to improve its performance to any notable degree during the latest period for which figures are available. This period was April to June 2012. The report states that the UKBA did not even turn up to some court cases.
  • It had representation at only 90% of appeals in which it was involved.
  • It was only able to submit case bundles to court in accordance with the court's timetable in 66% of its cases.
There was little if any change in the number of cases the UKBA won.
  • It won 64% of its appeals between April and June 2012.
  • It won 60% of deportation cases,
  • 52% of family visit visa cases,
  • 38% of entry clearance cases and
  • 46% of managed migration cases.
  • There was no significant change in the number of appeals made against UKBA immigration decisions. 

UKBA ignores Home Affairs Committee recommendations on unannounced visits

The UKBA delivered a worse performance for Tier 2 sponsorship visits too. Only 8% of Tier 2 sponsor applicants received a visit pre-registration. There was a decrease in the number of unannounced follow-up visits to Tier 2 sponsors, Tier 4 sponsors and Tier 5 sponsors. The Home Affairs Committee expresses its concern at these falls. The report says 'We reiterate the recommendation made in our previous reports that the majority of post licence visits should be unannounced'. The MPs said that unannounced visits would increase the confidence of the public in the system.
The report says that the UKBA had not managed to provide the MPs with figures about how many non-compliance notifications it had followed up during the quarter. When Tier 2, Tier 4 and Tier 5 sponsors receive information about a change of circumstances or a breach of the terms of a visa by an individual they have sponsored, they are obliged to contact the UKBA and inform it of the breach. The UKBA received approximately 25,000 notifications but could not say how many it had followed up. This failure is 'unacceptable' according to the MPs.
The report also states that the Migration Refusals Pool grew during the quarter by 12% to 181,541 cases. The Migration Refusal Pool is an archive of immigration and asylum applications which have been refused by the UKBA. The UKBA has then done nothing about these cases because it doesn't know where the applicant is. The committee expressed its dismay that the Pool was growing after it had said that it had claimed to be trying to reduce it for seven years.
The committee also said that it was concerned that the UKBA has appointed Capita, a private sector company to try to find people whose cases are in the Pool. It is concerned that this may be in breach of data protection legislation. It also says that the Capita contract involves Capita phoning or emailing the targeted individuals and asking them to leave. The MPs say they do not see why the UKBA was not able to do this itself nor why it paid Capita as much as it did for this service.

UKBA even late in responding to requests for information from MPs

The UKBA also missed its target of replying to 95% of emails from MPs within 20 working days. It did so in only 83% of cases. It also failed to meet its target of responding to queries made by MPs via the MP's inquiry line within 10 days. It did so in only 78% of cases. The report says that the UKBA was six days late in responding to its own request for data to be used in the compilation of the report.
The UKBA may take a small crumb of comfort from the fact that the worst of its criticism is reserved for Lin Homer who left the agency in 2010 but this cannot disguise the fact that the MPs report has found fault with virtually every area of the UKBA's activities.
The MPs cautiously welcome the decision of the new chief executive, Rob Whiteman, to establish a Performance and Compliance Unit to try to improve the quality of data that the UKBA produces and provides to parliament and the public. They say, that 'if indeed it will actually ensure that the data provided are robust and reliable and really can be relied on' then it is to be welcomed. They state that they have considerably more confidence in the Performance and Compliance Unit because its activities will be overseen by the Chief Inspector of Immigration, John Vine. The MPs conclude 'we expect this to mark the beginning of a move towards greater transparency on behalf of the Agency; transparency that is evidenced by accurate and clear information provided to Parliament in a timely manner.'

If you would like to apply for a UK visa, GlobalMigrate.com can help. GlobalMigrate.com is a specialist visa consultancy . We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details. Visit Us At: www.global-migrate.com Or Contact Us At: +44 (0) 207 - 993 - 4762