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The State Department has resumed full immigrant visa processing at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut for Lebanese family members of U.S. citizens. Key Points: The resumption of immigrant visa processing at U.S. Embassy Beirut is intended to help facilitate family reunification of Lebanese nationals with their
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators urged the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor to release the maximum allowable number of additional H-2B visas for fiscal year 2025. Key Points: The effort is led by Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.),
President Biden released an extensive memorandum on the United States and artificial intelligence, providing further guidance on the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence issued on Oct. 30, 2023. Key Points: The memorandum
The Canadian government announced the 2025-27 Immigration Levels Plan, forecasting reduced targets across multiple immigration streams over the next two years. Key Points: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is implementing new measures to reduce permanent resident targets, including: Reducing permanent residents from 500,000 to
The Colombian government announced certain visitor visa holders are no longer required to register with local authorities or apply for a local identity card. Key Points: The government’s resolution applies to certain visitor visa holders under the business, crew, diplomatic, events, international agreement and tourism subcategories.
Irish officials have advised employers on an interim measure for Galway-based renewals of residence permissions. Key Points: Individuals will be permitted to remain on the existing conditions of their current IRP card, including labor market access, if the IRP card has expired and they are unable
The Emirati government announced the launch of a new National Economic Registry “Growth” platform. Key Points: The Ministry of Economy is launching the “Growth” platform to support proactive government services. The platform provides a unified economic registry for businesses across the seven Emirates and aims to
The Canadian government announced an extension of a temporary public policy that exempts certain low-risk, in-Canada foreign nationals from needing an additional immigration medical examination (IME) as part of their application. Key Points: The temporary public policy is extended until Oct. 5,
The Canadian government announced an increase to the starting hourly wage for the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program high-wage stream. Key Points: Effective Nov. 8, the starting hourly wage for workers in the high-wage stream will increase 20% to the median wage in the applicable province
The New Zealand government announced the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) will soon be replaced with separate systems for both countries. Key Points: ANZSCO is used by Immigration New Zealand for visa applications and grades occupations with skill levels ranging from 1
The Emirati government announced an eVisa for residents of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and their companions. Key Points: GCC residents (citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) can apply for a 30-day eVisa to enter the UAE, which can be extended for an
The Labor Department has posted updated processing times for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests. PERM Processing Times: As of Oct. 15, the department was adjudicating PERM applications filed in August 2023 and earlier, conducting audit reviews on applications filed in
The government announced the visa allocation for the Seasonal Worker visa route for 2025. Key Points: Officials published a package of measures designed to provide certainty and stability to farmers and growers in the horticulture, poultry and sheep sectors. A total of 43,000
The government announced changes to the submission process of the commercial partner visa application. Key Points: Visa application centers are operated by commercial partners (suppliers) on behalf of U.K. Visas and Immigration. For applications outside the U.K., the commercial partner has switched from TLScontact to VFS
In this week’s episode, BAL’s Tiffany Derentz and Brendan Kinne discuss an updated travel program from the U.S. State Department and travel tips for foreign nationals planning to go abroad during the winter holiday season. Plus, the latest immigration
Jeff Robins, a top immigration litigator, will chair BAL’s litigation group and join the Government Strategies team. DALLAS, October 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BAL, the world's leading corporate immigration law firm, announced today that Jeff Robins, one of the most experienced immigration litigators in the country, has joined the firm. Jeff will