The study, titled Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners, and their Access to Financial Capital found that 10 percent of immigrants in the US own their own business. Furthermore, nearly 20 percent of immigrant-owned businesses had USD$50,000 or more in startup capital, compared to only 15.9 percent for non-immigrant-owned businesses.

“Immigrant entrepreneurs are essential to our nation’s growth and economic prosperity,” said Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Winslow Sargeant. “Immigrant entrepreneurs make our nation more competitive and serve as reminders of the American dream.”

The study found that roughly two-thirds of immigrant-owned businesses reported that their main source of startup capital was personal or family savings. Other commonly reported sources of startup capital by immigrant-owned businesses included credit cards, bank loans, and home equity loans. The study showed that these sources of startup capital were similar to non-immigrant-owned businesses.

The study added that immigrants have a “proclivity towards entrepreneurship” and that barriers between immigrant entrepreneurs and access to financial capital need to be removed in order to maximize the “untapped” potential of this group.

Global Visa Support offers a variety of programmes in United States. Please visit our USA page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/usa.html

“This is all part of the jobs strategy to support the jobs plan,” said John Yap, Chair of the British Columbia’s Immigration Task Force in an announcement at Fort St. John. “All kinds of jobs. Skilled, semi- skilled, to help support the economy here in the northeast.”

Currently the province’s employers are restricted to choose between twenty-two entry level and skilled occupations to qualify for the Provincial Nominee Program. Under the Northeast Pilot Project the number of occupations would be increased to over one hundred, and include positions such as mine service workers, heavy equipment operators and retail workers.

“First of all, the occupations have expanded dramatically, secondly there’s a key person that the businesses can go to for assistance, and thirdly the timeline that it takes to get approval for these immigrants to come to Canada and become permanent residence,” said Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman.
Study Migrate offers a variety of programmes in Canada. Please visit our Canadian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/canada.html

The report claims that there will be a considerable risk of a skills shortage due to the lack of experienced farmers to train young farmers. The KPMG report suggests that immigrants from Asia will help significantly in bridging the skills gap. However, the report noted that Australia would need to change their immigration and visa policies with Asian countries in order to bridge the skills shortage.

“There is a considerable risk that there will be a lack of experienced farmers to train younger farmers who will be critical to driving productivity improvements and adapting to challenges such as climate change, increased competition and an increase on focus on the environmental impacts of farming,” said the report.

The report also predicts the retirement of many farmers will lead to farms being sold to international and corporate investors for their natural resources. According to KPMG, this will lead to further employment opportunities that Australia will struggle to fill.

The Australian government is currently working on investing in domestic workers with initiatives like the National Workforce Development Fund which is expected to introduce AU$558 million (£364 million) into the economy over the next four years.

Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please check our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

“Our Government is building an immigration system that is focused on economic growth and ensuring that all Canadians, including immigrants, are able to contribute to their maximum capacity,” said Kenney. “By having their foreign education credentials assessed before their arrival to Canada, foreign skilled workers will have a better sense of how their credentials fit into the Canadian labour market and will be able to contribute their full skill set to the economy more quickly.”

The new process would let visa applicants know how their education credentials compared to Canadian credentials and it will give immigrants a sense of how Canadian employers are likely to value their education before they arrive in Canada. It is hoped that this new process will help eliminate applicants who do not meet the education requirements. The government also believes that this is an important step in helping to address the problem of immigrants arriving and not being able to work in their field.

Although, it is important to note that this credential assessment would not mean that Federal Skilled Workers would automatically find employment in Canada or within their desired occupation. It also won’t guarantee that immigrants will automatically be licensed to practice in a regulated occupation.

“Internationally trained workers make an important contribution to Canada’s job market and the economy,” said Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. “That’s why our Government is working in partnership to improve foreign credential recognition so that skilled newcomers can put their knowledge and skills to work sooner.”

Those interested in immigrating to Canada under the Federal Skilled Worker program must meet the following requirements:

• You must have a valid offer of arranged employment, OR
• You must have one year of continuous full-time paid work experience in at least one of the occupations listed on the Shortage Occupation List, OR
• You must be an international student enrolled in a PhD program in Canada (or have graduated from a Canadian PhD program within the past 12 months) and meet certain criteria.

Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Canada. Please visit our Canadian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/canada.html

This follows a written ministerial statement from 15 March 2012 that outlines a number of changes to the Immigration Rules, including the closure of the Tier 1 Post Study Work route on 6 April 2012. The following changes will be made to the maintenance requirement for Tier 2 visa applicants:

• Tier 2 Visa Applicants: Increased from £800 to £900
• Dependents of Tier 2 applicants who have been in the UK for less than 12 months: Increased from £1,600 to £1,800
• Dependents of Tier 2 applicants – all other applications: Increased from £533 to £600

If you plan to make a Tier 2 visa application on or after 14 June 2012, you must ensure that you have the correct funds held in your account as soon as possible. The funds will need to be held in your bank or savings account for a 90 day period prior to the date of your visa application. For this reason, the UKBA has delayed the implementation date until 14 June to allow immigrants sufficient time to hold these funds for 90 days, prior to submitting a visa application.

The UKBA has stated that these increases are in line with cost of living rises in the UK.

Other Tier 2 changes that will go into effect 6 April 2012 include:

• Introducing a new minimum salary requirement of £35,000 for Tier 2 general and sportsperson migrants who wish to settle here (indefinite leave to remain or permanent residence) 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 expiration of their previous visa before they may apply for a further Tier 2 visa. Although, it is important to note that many Tier 2 visa holders can still apply for indefinite leave to remain if they meet all of the requirements including showing that they meet the new minimum pay requirement of £35,000.
• Introducing new post-study arrangements for graduates switching into Tier 2.

Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in United Kingdom. Please check our UK page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/uk.html

It is hoped that the plans, called “Vision for 2015″, will enable the immigration department to focus more on attracting and keeping high value migrants, students and travellers. In order to achieve this the department said they need to create an organisation with better service, better systems and better outcomes so that they can:

• Attract the best people
• Make quality decisions quickly and efficiently
• Support migrants to settle into work
• Protect the integrity and security of the New Zealand immigration system

“Immigration New Zealand has put a lot of hard work into winning back the confidence and trust of the public and the Government. This plan is an important step towards building on these achievements,” says Guy.

Guy stated that the immigration department now makes around 500,000 visa decisions a year. “In future there will be fewer visa types and application processes will be simplified, resulting in a better service for customers,” he said.

Guy hopes that the Immigration Global Management System (IGMS), which was approved by Cabinet just before Christmas, will help the department work more efficiently and reduce the costs of visa applications. The NZD$75 million investment for IGMS will also allow more visas to be applied for online.

“Immigration makes a major contribution to New Zealand’s economy. New migrants add an estimated $1.9 billion to our GDP every year, international students contribute $2.3 billion, and inbound tourists around $9 billion,” said Guy. “We are competing with other developed countries for the same pool of potential migrants, students and visitors. This is why we need to improve how we operate.”

Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in New Zealand. Please check our New Zealand page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/nz.html

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this week that Self Check, a free online service which is part of the E-Verify system and allows workers to check their own employment eligibility status, is now available in all 50 states. Along with all 50 states, it is also available in Washington, D.C., and the US territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

The Self Check program was initially launched in March 2011 by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. Over the past year, it has expanded to become available in the entire US. The government completed their national expansion of the program one month earlier than planned; They originally estimated it would be available in all 50 states only by March 2012.

“We are pleased to complete, ahead of schedule, our expansion of this important tool for employees,” said Mayorkas. “Since our initial launch in March, approximately 67,000 people have used Self Check and we anticipate that participation will dramatically increase with service now available to individuals across the country.”

Self Check was created so immigrants could check their own employment eligibility status. Additionally, the program gives guidance on how to correct your DHS and Social Security records. The program, which is available in English and Spanish, requires the following information to verify your status:

• Your name, date of birth, and address.
• You will need to answer demographic and/or financial related questions. These questions could include information about past addresses, banks that you may have had dealings with, etc. This information is needed before you can continue with the Self Check process. The government will not keep records of which questions were asked or how these questions were answered.
• Information that will prove your eligibility to work in the United States. This will include your Social Security number and, based on your citizenship status and documentation, information such as your Alien Registration Number, document number, or I-94 Number.

Global Visa Support offers a variety of USA programs. Please visit our USA page for more information: http://globalvisasupport.com/usa.html

Kenney said Canadian immigration is planning to change the points system they currently use for selecting immigrants to make it easier for applicants in skilled trades to qualify for Canadian skilled immigration. This means the focus would be on admitting more tradespeople as opposed to just university-educated immigrants like engineers and doctors.

“People who are skilled tradespeople have an almost impossible job of coming to Canada under our current system because the skilled worker program basically selects people with advanced university degrees,” Kenney said.

He added that once the government opens up the border to more skilled workers, they can attract “hidden jewels” that can help fill labour shortages.
Global Visa Support offers a variety of Canadian programs. Please check our Canadian page for more information: http://globalvisasupport.com/canada.html

Justice Beatson, presiding judge over the appeals, stated, “The new language test was not a disproportionate interference with the couples’ right to family life.”

UK Immigration Minister Damian Green commented on the case saying, “We believe it is entirely reasonable that someone intending to live in the UK should understand English, so that they can integrate and participate fully in our society. We are very pleased that the courts agree with us.”

Theresa May added that “the policy was designed to improve integration.”

The law had primarily been introduced because the Home Office is attempting to reduce the cost of having to hire translators for public services such as the NHS. The cost of covering translator services to deal with a growing population who do not speak the English language has further added to the pressures of tackling UK Immigration issues.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants stated that the ruling “would affect many UK citizens.”

Global Visa Support  offers a variety of UK programs. Please check our UK page for more information: http://globalvisasupport.com/uk.html

The report also gave a critical assessment of the government’s approach to immigration numbers, stating that UK immigration’s strategy to lower immigrant numbers is likely to harm any prospect of economic recovery. UK immigration policies identified as having a negative effect on the economy include attempts to reduce foreign student numbers. It is now more difficult to obtain a Tier 4 student visa. Fewer Students are now allowed to work in the UK. In addition, in April 2012 the Tier 1 Post-study work visa ends, which allows students to work in the UK for 2 years after their course ends. All these factors make the UK less attractive to overseas students and results in a reduction in Tier 4 visa student applicants.

Global Visa Support offers various UK programs, please visit our UK page: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/uk.html for more information.