Headlines: 1. President Announces Thaw in Relations With Cuba – The measures President Obama announced included, among other things, initiating discussions to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, and facilitating an expansion of travel. 2. U.S. District Court Dismisses Sheriff’s Challenge to Obama’s Executive Action – The judge shot down the three main arguments the plaintiff made to support his […]
Author Archives: ABIL
Landlords in the West Midlands must now undertake “right to rent” checks on all prospective tenants. The checks, which took force in the Midlands on December 1, 2014, come as part of a rolling implementation of the government’s latest immigration bill. To adequately perform these checks, private landlords, letting agents, and homeowners who let rooms […]
The Italian government has released new quotas for apprenticeship and internship programs. Also, failure to report presence in Italy will now result in fines. 15,000 new quotas have been issued to allow non-EU nationals to come to Italy for apprenticeship and internship programs. This amount includes: 7,500 quotas for those foreigners coming for apprenticeship programs […]
In December 2014, CIC announced the anticipated launch in late January 2015 of a new federal investor program, the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Pilot Program. Pursuant to the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Pilot Program, applicants will be required to make a non-guaranteed investment of $2 million for a period of 15 years to the Immigrant […]
This article provides an overview of various countries’ short-term visa options for temporary assignments. Belgium Under Belgian law, there are several work permit exemptions for short-term assignments. One is the Vander Elst exemption: if some conditions are met, no work permit is required for non-EEA (European Economic Area = European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) […]
The Belgian federal government has introduced a mandatory “contribution to the administrative costs” (mostly referred to in the press as a “foreigners’ tax”) with regard to some requests for residence authorization by foreigners. The government said this measure is in response to the continuing increase in the number of such applications and the resulting workload. […]
Headlines: 1. States, Governors File Suit Against President’s Executive Actions on Immigration – The lawsuit singles out a directive on expanding deferred action for childhood arrivals for certain individuals who came to the United States as children and creating a new deferred action program for certain parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents. 2. USCIS Reminds EB-5 Regional […]
Headlines: 1. Obama Takes Executive Action on Immigration – Shortly after the mid-term elections, President Barack Obama initiated several executive actions on immigration. 2. Labor Dept. To Modernize PERM Recruitment and Application Requirements – DOL will review the PERM program and relevant regulations with a goal of updating them. 3. Labor Dept. Establishes Interagency Working Group on Worker Protections – The […]
On November 12, 2014, the United States began issuing visas in accordance with a new reciprocal arrangement with China, the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs announced. Chinese applicants who qualify for a B nonimmigrant visa (NIV) may now be issued multiple-entry visas for up to 10 years for business and tourist travel. Qualified […]
Headlines: 1. Following Midterm Elections, Obama Plans Executive Orders on Immigration – President Obama reportedly plans to order several immigration-related changes by the end of this year. 2. U.S., China Extend Short-Term, Business Visa Validity in Reciprocal Arrangement – On November 12, 2014, the United States began issuing visas in accordance with a new reciprocal arrangement with China. 3. Justice […]