“A technical fault occurred shortly after the Silver Fern opened which enabled people to submit applications after all the places had been filled,” said Rob Stevens, Immigration New Zealand’s service support general manager.

According to Stevens, roughly 4000 people were logged on to the website to apply for the visa; All the visas were used up less than half an hour after Immigration New Zealand started accepting applications. Then an email was sent to 630 applicants informing them that they had “successfully submitted” their applications and that their payment had been accepted. Hours later a second email was sent out to correct the original email that said: “We regret to advise you of a technical fault … and that your application was accepted in error.” Applicants were told to apply again “when the quota reopens about this time next year”.

Stevens confirmed that the first 300 applications received would be processed, while the visa applications that were accidentally approved after the quota was filled would be cancelled and the money refunded.

“We have obtained the exact time that each payment was confirmed from the payment system, and used this to determine the first 300 applicants,” Stevens said. “We are resolving the problem with our IT vendors to identify why it occurred and to prevent it from happening again.”

Since the Silver Fern Visa scheme was launched in 2010, the visa quota has been filled within 30 minutes of becoming available each year. Visa holders will be granted a nine month work visa allowing them to work for any employer in New Zealand. If they obtain skilled work, they can progress to the two-year Silver Fern Practical Experience work visa.

In order to be eligible for the visa you must:

• be between the ages of 20 and 35 years old
• apply from outside New Zealand
• hold a recognised bachelors degree, higher qualification, or a recognised trade qualification with a minimum of two years of work experience in that trade
• meet the English language requirements
• have a minimum of NZ$4,200 available funds to meet your living costs while you are in New Zealand.
• not have been previously granted a Silver Fern Job Search visa.

Once a Silver Fern Job Search Visa holder finds skilled employment, they can apply for a two year Silver Fern Practical Work Experience Visa. There will be no annual limit to the number of people who can apply under the Silver Fern Practical Experience visa but only visa holders of the Silver Fern Job Search Visa can apply; This in effect limits the number of people who can apply for the Silver Fern Practical Work Experience Visa.

Eligible applicants must:

• have a full-time job offer for at least 12 months
• have a position that meets our skill requirements in an occupation at skill level one, two or three on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).
• hold occupational registration if that is a requirement for the job.

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

The new video, created by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship contains necessary information for those that are unsure of how to resolve their situation.

“People who have overstayed their visas can be unaware of what to do or even where they can go to find out,” a departmental spokesman said. “They often rely on information from family, friends or the general community, which can be misleading or not relevant to them.”

According to the departmental spokesman, visa overstayers can be granted a short-term Bridging Visa so the individual has time to make the proper arrangements to leave Australia, or, if they are eligible, to apply for another Australian visa.

“Resolving someone’s visa status proactively not only saves the person a lot of angst, but benefits our compliance teams who can concentrate on illegal workers and employers or contractors willfully flouting the Migration Act,” the spokesman added.

Visa over stayers should probably research their situation on their own before seeking advice from an immigration officer as there is the possibility of being detained or immediately deported from the country if you don’t have a valid visa. Also, if you have overstayed your visa and are deported you may not be allowed to return to the country or access an Australian for several years depending on your situation.

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

The L-1 visa is used for intra-company transfers of employees from foreign offices to US offices.

The labor union AFL-CIO and the IEEE-USA professional organisation sent letters to Washington DC this week warning the government against undermining US worker protections in the L-1 visa by accepting changes recommended by more than 60 firms and organizations. The AFL-CIO and IEEE-USA claim that if these changes are passed then the US runs the risks of expanding the visa’s use in offshore outsourcing.

Last month several IT tech firms in India sent a letter to President Obama asking him to relax the L-1 visa rules now used to define “specialized knowledge.” They also claimed that there are “unprecedented delays and uncertainty” when applying for L-1 visas.

Under current immigration rules, “specialized knowledge” is defined as “beyond the ordinary and not commonplace within the industry.” In other words, the employee must be more than simply skilled or familiar with the employer’s interests.

The definition was set up to keep companies from using the L-1 visa as a substitute to the H-1B visa. Critics claim that offshore companies are using the L-1 for the same reason they use the H-1B visa in order to move work overseas. While larger overseas IT firms are claiming that the US is rejecting higher amounts of visa applicants because immigration officials are interpreting “specialized knowledge” in ways that are outside the law.

USCIS has said that they are currently reviewing the guidance it gives applicants regarding “specialized knowledge” and whether any changes are needed.

The IEEE-USA maintains that Congress was “quite clear that the strict enforcement of a strong ‘specialized knowledge’ requirement would exclude from the L-1 visa program outsourcing companies whose business models are based on workers acquiring skills, knowledge and contacts in the United States for the purpose of moving American jobs overseas.”

In the letter IEEE-USA sent to Alejandro Mayorkas USCIS, the organisation points out that some of the companies seeking changes in the L-1 visa “specialized knowledge” definition are outsourcing firms.
Also, while the H-1B visa has a cap of 85,000 visas per fiscal year, the L-1 visa isn’t subject to a cap or the prevailing wage requirement applied to the H-1B.

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

The data also shows that there were 83,290 foreign workers in Australia under the 457 visa scheme which is designed to allow entry of foreign workers to temporarily fill skills gaps.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry general manager Nick Behrens said the immigration increase could also reflect the huge number of resource projects and the demand for high level skills.

“The demand for 457 workers is often because of the disinclination of Australians to travel to the regions,” said Behrens. “If an employer needs to source workers overseas, it’s because they can’t get workers here.”

According to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the number of 457 visas granted from July to the end November 2011 was 51.6 percent higher than the same period in 2010.
In Queensland alone, the number of 457 visa workers jumped from 2,890 in 2010, to 4,570 in 2011.

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

All current Tier 4 sponsors must be inspected by the appropriate reviewing body in order to retain their sponsorship status. These inspections and reviews will take place throughout 2012, and the results of each inspection or review will be published on the website of the appropriate educational oversight body. If the Tier 4 visa sponsor fails to achieve a satisfactory inspection outcome they may no longer be able to sponsor international students under Tier 4 of UK immigration‘s points-based system.

In particular these changes are likely to affect those looking to sponsor international students under Tier 4 of the Points Based System. More importantly though, beginning 1 April 2012, the following major changes will be made to the Tier 4 Student Visa and to the Tier 1 Visa:

• Work placements will be restricted to one-third of the course, unless the course is at degree level and the sponsor is a higher education institution or the student is on a study abroad programme.
• Tier 4 visa holders will be limited to the time they can spend at degree level to 5 years, with certain exemptions for longer courses and doctorates at higher education institutions.
• Tier 1 Post-study work will be CLOSED from 1 April 2012. UK immigration will still offer visas through Tier 2 of the points-based system for graduates. In most cases only graduates who have an offer of a skilled job from a sponsoring employer under Tier 2 of the points-based system will be able to stay and work in the UK

Global Visa Support has a variety of programmes in UK. Please visit our UK page for more details: http://globalvisasupport.com/uk.html

Source: NAFSA memo to SEVIS Users

Canadian officials on Friday announced a new two-year, multi-entry “super visa” for parents and grandparents of immigrants settled in Canada.

The move came after wait times for sponsorship of “family class” applications had grown to an unwieldy seven years or longer.

“Without taking action, those times will continue to grow, and that is unacceptable,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney in announcing the move.

“Action must be taken to cut the backlog, reduce the wait times, and ensure that the parents and grandparents program is sustainable over the long run,” Kenney said.

The multiple-entry “Parent and Grandparent Super Visa” will be valid for up to 10 years, officials said, and allow applicants to remain in Canada for 24 months before needing seek visa renewal.

The new visas will begin on December 1 and the will be issued, “on average, within eight weeks of the application,” officials said.

The Australian economy took a dip like most Countries after the global financial crisis; However, Australia was not as badly affected as many other Countries and it’s economy is recovering more rapidly than in other Countries due to heavy demand in the mining industry and related industries.

As a result, Australian businesses are scrambling to fill vacancies and are using the temporary 457 work visa to bring in skilled workers.

According to Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) figures, 42,840 applications were granted for the temporary 457 visa in the 11 months to the end of May, 38.3 percent higher than the same period in May 2010.

Twenty percent of these were for visas granted to workers in the mining and construction industries; There are large resource sector projects underway in both Queensland and Western Australia.

There were also many scientific and technical jobs available.