U.K. immigration policy continues to make significant developments including new quarantine rules for international travelers, visa extension guidance, immigration health surcharge, U.K. Visa and Citizenship Application Centres (UKVCAS) and other developments.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
Since our last update a week ago, additional and significant immigration developments have taken place in the U.S. and around the world and continue to change. Reports on March 19, 2020, also indicate that the State Department will be announcing a Level 4 travel advisory applying to all international travel. It is expected that this announcement will tell Americans that they must remain in the U.S., and Americans also would be instructed not to travel abroad. With such fluidity of country and border closures, closures of embassies and consulates around the world, and now U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices, we are providing an overview of the issues and links to government websites where you can find the most updated information on these important immigration and global mobility issues affecting companies in the U.S. and around the world.
For the full alert, please visit the Faegre Drinker website.
The British government released a policy statement on 19 February 2020 about the future of the United Kingdom’s (U.K.) immigration system, and the proposed changes will make it very costly for U.K. companies to employ European Union (EU) citizens. Following the U.K.’s departure from the EU last month, freedom of movement for EU citizens to the U.K. and for U.K. citizens to and within the EU will cease at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. The government will also scrap the labour market test and the cap on the number of visa applicants.
Continue reading “U.K. Immigration Update: Government Unveils New Post-Brexit Points-Based System”
The new relationship between the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the European Union (EU), set in motion by the U.K.’s official departure from the EU, will very likely lead to significant changes to the U.K.’s immigration system, and we are beginning to see a few indications of where the U.K. might be headed.
Currently, we are in a transition period where all rules will stay the same until 31 December 2020. Although little will change until then, negotiations between the U.K. and the EU will begin imminently on the new relationship for 2021. Last week, the British government unveiled a new Global Talent visa route, and the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) released their report on the future immigration system.
On January 31, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, effective February 1, 2020, the majority of its international field offices will no longer accept I-130 immigrant petition filings by locally resident U.S. citizens on behalf of their immediate relatives, absent exceptional circumstances meeting a limited definition. Of note, the field offices in Accra, Ghana, and London will continue to accept such filings until April 1, 2020. The announcement is not entirely unexpected as USCIS has given notice previously of its intention to adjust its international footprint. However, the issuance of the news on a Friday before cessation of service the next day was sudden.
Following the end dates described above, unless they meet the limited definition of exceptional circumstances, all I-130 immediate relative petitions will need to be filed online or with the relevant USCIS lockbox in the United States.
Continue reading “USCIS Announces Change to Overseas Services”
Visa issuance fees and validity periods are set based on reciprocity. If a country charges U.S. citizens $50 to receive a visa, then the U.S. will charge citizens of that country a similar amount for a U.S. visa. In 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13780, which requires that the U.S. State Department undertake a worldwide review of reciprocity arrangements with a view to updating any discrepancies.
Without notice, and effective immediately on January 31, 2020, the U.S. State Department’s visa reciprocity chart was updated to reflect new visa issuance fees for Dutch citizens applying for Treaty Trader (E-1) and Treaty Investor (E-2) nonimmigrant visas. Additionally, E-1 and E-2 visa validity periods have been significantly shortened — from five to three years. The chart below highlights the most significant changes to routinely used visa categories:
Continue reading “U.S. Hikes Visa Fees, Changes Validity Periods for Dutch Citizens”