China | New Immigration Policies Encourage Highly-Skilled Foreign Nationals
On August 1, 2019, The Ministry of Public Security implemented new immigration policies aimed to attract highly-skilled foreign talent and outstanding youth to study and
Read More »Ireland | Changes Minimum Salary Thresholds for CSEP and Updates for Skills Shortage List
On July 9, 2019, the Irish Ministry for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation issued the Employment Permits (Amendment)(No. 2) Regulations 2019 which modified work permit
Read More »Ireland | High Court Ruling on Naturalization Requirement of One Year “Unbroken” Residence
On July 17, 2019, the Irish High Court ruled that a person applying to become a naturalized Irish citizen must have one year of “unbroken” residence in Ireland
Read More »Russia | Changes to Expand the E-Visa Program Announced
Under a draft plan reportedly approved by President Vladimir Putin, Russia plans to expand its e-visa program starting on January 1, 2021. The list of countries whose
Read More »UK | New Immigration and Borders System
The Home Office published details on the new immigration and border system it will likely implement at the beginning of 2021. Some of the proposals include eliminating the
Read More »Philippines | Tax Identification Number (TIN) is Now Required for All Foreign Nationals Applying for a Work Permit
On May 31, 2019, the Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) released Memorandum Order No. 28-2019, which prescribes the policies and guidelines relevant to the
Read More »Kenneth Cuccinelli Named as Acting Director of USCIS
On Monday, June 10, Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan announced that President Trump named Kenneth Cuccinelli II as Acting Director of the U.S.
Read More »Government Accountability Office to Investigate USCIS Processing Delays
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) processing delays have been steadily increasing for many years, but the backlog has reached new highs
Read More »Immigration Nerds Talk About the New Social Media Account Sharing Requirement for U.S. Visa Applicants
In this week’s Immigration Nerds podcast, we talk about the recently announced requirement for applicants seeking a U.S. visa: sharing your social media account
Read More »Cuba | Trump Administration Restricts Travel
U.S. citizens hoping to travel to Cuba now face new restrictions for their plans. On Tuesday, the Trump Administration introduced a ban on what are referred to as
Read More »Mark Koumans Named as Acting Director of USCIS
On Monday, June 3, it was announced that USCIS Deputy Director Mark Koumans had been appointed as the acting director as L. Francis Cissna departs the agency. Mr. Koumans was
Read More »Taiwan | Same-Sex Dependents Status Approved
Taiwan has legalized same-sex marriage. This came after Taiwan’s constitutional court held that same-sex marriage should be legalized back in 2017. The court’s decision
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