On August 3, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule updating filing fees for immigration and naturalization applications. The new fees will be required starting October 2, 2020. Especially notable for employment-based applications is that there will be different filing fees for H, L and O petitions, even though they are all filed using Form I-129.
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Since April 2020, several executive actions have been issued, and subsequently amended, that have had a significant impact on business immigration.
This alert serves to inform clients of the updates to the ongoing U.S. visa system and travel restrictions in response to the global coronavirus pandemic. Since implementation of the restrictions, the Trump administration has issued additional guidance on certain exceptions for eligible persons to obtain a visa or enter the United States.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
Recent U.K. government statements have confirmed what many have suspected for some time: the post-January 2021 immigration system will be predicated on a reworked version of the Tier 2 sponsorship route. In the first episode of our new Faegre Drinker Immigration Law Podcast, we take a close look at the Tier 2 sponsorship application process and explain why U.K. employers planning to hire foreign nationals in 2021 should apply for a Sponsor Licence before the immigration system changes take effect.
On Monday 13 July, the U.K. government published further details outlining their plan for a new immigration system which will amend the existing points-based immigration system. This system is to take effect from 1 January 2021. The 130-page document doesn’t contain a lot more detail than the proposals released earlier in the year, which we summarized in April. The new system will end free movement with the EU and represents a significant change to immigration in the U.K. The system will apply to both EU/European Economic Area (EEA) and third-country applicants.
The 27 European Union member nations gave majority approval on Tuesday, 30 June 2020 to allow non-essential travel from its initial “safe list” of countries. People travelling from the countries on the “safe list” can travel to the EU for business or leisure.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
On Wednesday, 1 July 2020, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirmed, in a statement to Parliament about Hong Kong, a new bespoke U.K. immigration route for British National (Overseas) (BNO) citizens and their dependants. BNO status is a previously obscure form of British nationality held by an estimated 2.9 million people in Hong Kong that, until now, did not allow for long-term residence in the United Kingdom.