WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  announced it will continue to accept H-1B nonimmigrant petitions that are subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2013 cap. The agency began accepting these petitions on April 2, 2012.

USCIS has received approximately 17,400 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap, and approximately 8,200 petitions toward the 20,000 cap exemption for individuals with advanced degrees.

USCIS will provide regular updates on the processing of FY 2013 H-1B petitions. These updates and helpful filing information can be found at USCIS’s website highlighting the H-1B program. Should USCIS receive the number of petitions needed to meet the cap, it will issue an update advising the public that the FY 2013 H-1B cap has been met as of a certain date, known as the “final receipt date.” The date USCIS informs the public that the cap has been reached may differ from the actual final receipt date.

If necessary, USCIS may randomly select the number of petitions received on the final receipt date that will be considered for final inclusion within the cap. The agency will reject petitions subject to the cap that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date. Whether a petition is received by the final receipt date will be based on the date USCIS physically receives the properly filed petition, not the date that the petition is postmarked.

Cases for premium processing (faster processing of certain employment-based petitions and applications) of H-1B petitions filed during an initial five-day filing window are undergoing a 15-day processing period that began April 9. For all other H-1B petitions filed for premium processing, the processing period begins on the date that the properly filed petition is physically received at the correct USCIS Service Center.

Meanwhile, petitions filed by employers who are exempt from the cap, as well as petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap within the past six years, will not count toward the cap.

U.S.businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Such workers include scientists, engineers, and computer programmers, among others.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, visit www.uscis.gov.

Last updated:04/09/2012

From 1 January 2012 we will begin processing visitor visas for those coming from outside the UK to watch the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Games will be the biggest event that the UK has hosted and many extra visitors will arrive during the busy summer period in 2012.

We will process your application and, if you meet the requirements, will issue your visa with a start date that will cover you for the whole Olympic and Paralympic Games period. This means that you can start your preparations for travelling to the UK for the Games from the beginning of 2012.

This rule also applies to all applicants wishing to apply for a UK visitor visa.

You can use our Do I need a visa? questionnaire to find out if you need to apply for a visa. If you are coming to watch the Games as a visitor, you will be allowed to stay in the UK for up to 6 months in most cases.

See the Olympic and Paralympic Games section for more information.

• Tier 1 (Graduate entrepreneur);
• Tier 1 (General);
• Tier 1 (Investor;
• Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) ;
• Tier 1 (Post study work) – form removed because this category has closed to new applicants;
• Tier 2;
• Tier 4 (General);
• Tier 4 (Child);
• Tier 5 (Temporary worker);
• PBS Dependant;
• FLR(O) (to extend your stay);
• FLR(BUS) (to extend your stay in specific categories); and
• TOC (to transfer a visa to a new passport).

Consultation

• class and subclass of your visa
• grant and expiry dates
• grant number
• entries allowed
• all conditions that apply to your visa.

• Australian authorities do not require you to have a visa label in your passport.
• Confirm requirements for visa labels with relevant authorities if you are transiting through or exiting a country.
• Once in Australia you can check your visa information online using VEVO.
• Employers, schools, banks and other organisations can check your entitlements online with your consent using VEVO.

05 April 2012

As previously announced, a number of changes to the Immigration Rules are coming into effect on 6 April.

These include changes for migrants coming to the UK under the following routes of the points-based system:

• Tier 1 – high-value migrants.
• Tier 2 – skilled workers, including: new arrangements for students switching into Tier 2 and confirmation that the limit for non-EU skilled workers allowed into the UK will remain at 20,700 for the next 2 years.
• Tier 4 – students.
• Tier 5 – temporary workers.

In addition to these changes the government is also increasing from 6 April, the funds that applicants will need to provide evidence of, in order to meet the maintenance requirements for Tier 4 and Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme). Changes to the level of funds needed for applicants in Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 5 (Temporary worker) will come into effect on 14 June.

Changes are also being made to:

• Curtailment (cutting short the leave you have if you fail to start, or have ceased your work or study).
• The visitor rules, with the creation of a new visitor route for permitted paid engagements to allow a small group of professionals, artists, entertainers and sports persons who are to come to the UK to undertake short-term remunerated activities, for up to 1 month without formal sponsorship.
• The overseas domestic worker routes.
• The extension of leave to remain, so that Tier 2 migrants can now extend for a further 3 years, to take their stay up to a maximum of 6 years in total.

A more detailed summary of the changes can be found in the UK Border Agency news story published on 15 March and the news story published on 4 April, when the changes to the rules were laid in Parliament.

15 March 2012

Today, Thursday 15 March 2012, a written ministerial statement has been laid in Parliament outlining a number of changes to the Immigration Rules.

Most of the changes will come into effect on 6 April 2012. Some of the changes to Tier 2 will affect those who were granted leave after 6 April 2011.

The changes include:

Migrants under the points-based system

Tier 1 – high-value migrants

• Closing the Tier 1 (Post-study work) route.
• Introducing the new Tier 1 (Graduate entrepreneur) route.
• Introducing new provisions for switching from Tier 1 (Graduate entrepreneur) or Tier 1 (Post-study work) into Tier 1 (Entrepreneur).
• Renewing the 1000 place limit for Tier 1 (Exceptional talent) for each of the next 2 years.

Tier 2 – skilled workers

• Limiting the total amount of temporary leave that may be granted to a Tier 2 migrant to 6 years (which applies to those who entered after 6 April 2011).
• Introducing a new minimum pay requirement of £35,000 or the appropriate rate for the job, for Tier 2 general and sportsperson migrants who wish to settle here from April 2016 (with exemptions for those in PhD level and shortage occupation categories).
• Introducing a ‘cooling-off period’ across all the Tier 2 routes. Tier 2 migrants will need to wait for 12 months from the expiry of their previous visa before they may apply for a further Tier 2 visa.
• Introducing new post-study arrangements for graduates switching into Tier 2.

Tier 4 – students

Implementing the final set of changes to the student visa system that were announced in March 2011, including:

• Extending the interim limit for sponsors that have applied for educational oversight and Highly Trusted Sponsor status and have not yet been assessed.
• Introducing limits on the time that can be spent studying at degree level.
• Tightening work placement restrictions.

Tier 5 – temporary workers

• Limiting the length of time temporary workers can stay in the UK, under certain Government Authorized Exchange schemes, to a maximum of 12 months. The schemes affected are intern, work experience and youth exchange type programmes.
• Allowing sports persons who enter under the Tier 5 creative and sporting sub-category to undertake some guest sports broadcasting work where they are not filling a permanent position.

Changes in all tiers of the points-based system

• Making curtailment mandatory where a migrant under Tiers 2, 4, or 5 of the points-based system has failed to start, or has ceased, their work or study with their sponsor. This includes cases where a sponsor notifies us, via the sponsor management system (SMS), that a migrant is no longer pursuing the purpose of their visa. The Rules will also set out the limited exceptions to mandatory curtailment.
• Reducing the curtailment threshold (the level of leave you have left which means that we will not normally pursue curtailment) from 6 months to 60 days.
• Increasing the funds applicants will need to provide evidence of, in order to meet the maintenance requirements for all routes in the points-based system. For Tier 4 and Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme the changes will come into effect on 6 April 2012. For Tier 1, Tier 2 and temporary workers under Tier 5 the changes will come into effect on 14 June 2012.

Visitors

• The new visitor route will allow a small group of professionals, artists, entertainers and sports persons who are invited to come to the UK to undertake short-term permitted fee paid engagements for up to 1 month.

Overseas domestic workers

• Restricting all overseas domestic workers (ODW) to only work for the employer with whom they entered the UK, or whom they came to join.
• Removing the right for all migrants under the ODW category to apply for settlement.
• Strengthening the requirement for the employer of an ODW to provide evidence of an existing employer relationship, and introducing a requirement for agreed, written terms and conditions of employment to be produced, as part of the application for entry clearance.
• Permitting all ODWs who have applied for leave to enter or remain on or before 5 April 2012, to continue to be treated under Immigration Rules in place on that date.
• Restricting ODWs in private households to work for an employer who is a visitor to the UK. Permission to stay in the UK will be limited to a maximum of 6 months or the period of the employer’s stay whichever is shorter. Removing the current provision for ODWs to be accompanied by dependants.
• Permitting ODWs in diplomatic households to apply to extend their stay for 12 months at a time up to a maximum of 5 years, or the length of the diplomat’s posting, whichever is shorter.

Sponsors

• Introducing a Premium Customer Service for those A-rated sponsors in Tiers 2 and 5 who wish to apply and pay for a range of benefits. We will publish the full range of service benefits in due course. The service will launch in the 2012-13 financial year.

In addition to these changes, the government is also making amendments to the extension of leave to remain.

The Home Office has today published 2 financial impact assessments: one on settlement and another on Tier 5 and overseas domestic workers, as well as a policy equality statement.

For full details of the changes please see the Statement of Changes to the Immigration rules (HC 1888) and the Explanatory Memorandum on the right side of this page. The written ministerial statement, impact assessments and the policy equality statement can be found on the Home Office website.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/immigration/changes-tier-two/statment-of-intent-tier2?view=Binary

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/immigration/changes-tier-two/impact-assessment-tier2?view=Binary

Benje L. Rontal, Abegail Louie B. Mucho, Evelyn V. Espeja, Elena C. Tanilon and Marlon S. Tanilon, owner and the managing director, respectively.

From start to finish, Big Start guarantees dependable travel and visa assistance. They can assure this because unlike competition because Big Start only takes applications that have the best chances of getting approved.

There’s always something new on the facades of this city/country. And I like it. Even just a tiny thing like the changing of the colour of a restaurant wall would intrigue me. Though many people would express their curiosity and wondering why I would stay that long (4 days, without shopping) in this tiny place, I don’t care and I keep coming back for more at least once a year.

Singapore is a very safe country… There is a joke, that if you leave your briefcase on a corner you can come back a week later and it will still be there…and I believe it! The traffic ran smoothly, the taxis have high tech computerized meter systems, everything was SO clean, and it was BEAUTIFUL! This place is not that expensive, really, if you could suppress yourself a bit from buying things you thought you couldn’t find elsewhere…

If you want to explore the beauty of Singapore, BIGSTART can offer you a 4D3N Tour Package below.

4D3N Singapore Tour Package

USD 203/ person, minimum of 2 persons

Hotel Accommodation: Fragrance Selegie

Inclusions:

• Breakfast
• Airport Transfer
• City Tour

Optional Tours:

• Universal Studio Tour – USD80/ person
• Singapore Flyer – USD50/ person
• Sentosa PM – USD66/ person

Note: Rates are subject to change without prior notice.

Rescel Gianelli R. Galang

Saint Paul University Dumaguete

Intern

More Filipinos seek to migrate

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/345845/more-filipino

“Too many live-in caregivers have completed their work obligations but must continue living in the home of their employer, waiting for their application for permanent residence to be reviewed,” Kenny said. Changes include: Allowing live-in caregivers to apply for permanent residence after 3,900 work hours, instead of two years of work; The elimination of the need for a second medical examination when the caregiver applies for permanent residence; Increasing amount of time a caregiver has to complete their work obligations, from three years to four; The adoption of a standardized employment contract that ensures both parties agree to the salary, hours of work (PNA).

Source: Sunstar Cebu,Wednesday, December 21, 2011