Category: News

Immigrants who are legally in the country and have applied to become U.S. citizens are having to wait as much as 20 months for their applications to be processed.

Since President Donald Trump was elected, the backlog of pending applications has “skyrocketed,” according to NBC News.

There were nearly 730,000 pending naturalization applications as of the end of last year, a more than 87 percent increase since 2015 under President Barack Obama, according to the report from the National Partnership for New Americans, an alliance of immigrants’ rights groups.

Last year over 925,000 people applied for U.S. citizenship, according to the report. Under Obama, the backlog was 388,832 as of Dec. 31, 2015.

The report also found that certain states saw “enormous spikes” in denials of citizenship applications in the last quarter, noting changes in Alabama, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Utah.

The backlog leaves close to a million potential citizens without the right to vote and also leaves some vulnerable to deportation under Trump’s policies

Source: nbcnewyork.com

The Solomon Islands’ parliament has received proposed dual citizenship legislation from the government ahead of this month’s sitting.

It is one of four new bills received so far.

Among the others is an amendment to a new tax bill and legislation on government payments and the country’s electoral system.

Last month during a multi-country tour the prime minister Rick Hou told Solomon Islanders living overseas that he aimed to pass the dual citizenship legislation ahead of next year’s elections.

A government source said Mr Hou may also seek to pass anti-corruption legislation which would pave the way for the country’s first independent commission against corruption.

The legislation, which has passed its first reading, has proved politically divisive despite widespread public support.

The sitting is set to begin on 18 July.

 

Source: radionz.co.nz

Immigration attorneys say they know of more than 40 reservists who have been discharged or whose status has become questionable

 

Growing up in eastern China, Panshu Zhao fell in love with America. He read the Bible his parents gave him, watched Hollywood movies and studied the ideals of democracy. He jumped at the chance to attend graduate school at Texas A&M University.

In 2016, Zhao enlisted in the U.S. Army as part of a special recruitment program offering immigrants in the country legally a path to citizenship.

The future, he said, was bright.

Now, he is one of the dozens of immigrant recruits and reservists struggling with abrupt, often unexplained military discharges and canceled contracts. They traded being willing to risk their lives for the prospect of U.S. citizenship, a timeworn exchange that’s drawn linguists, medical specialists and thousands of other immigrants to the military since the Revolutionary War.

“It’s just like you’re dropped from heaven to hell,” Zhao told The Associated Press on Friday.

It is unclear how many men and women who enlisted through the special recruitment program have been ousted from the Army, but immigration attorneys told the AP that they know of more than 40 recruits who recently have been discharged or whose status has become questionable.

Some recruits say they were given no reason for their discharge. Others said the Army informed them they’d been labeled as security risks because they have relatives abroad or because the Defense Department had not completed background checks on them.

The Pentagon said Friday that there has been no policy change since last year, when Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said no one could enter basic training without completion of a background investigation.

And Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said that any enlistee entering the military undergoes security screenings.

“Each recruit undergoes an individualized suitability review and the length of time for the review is dependent upon each individual’s unique background,” Smith said.

Zhao, 31, said his “ship out” date to basic training was delayed for two years as he underwent background checks, counterintelligence interviews and rigorous reviews added as requirements for immigrant enlistees.

He continued to pursue his PhD in geography at Texas A&M but also hit the gym, prepping for boot camp. And he trained — in uniform — with his unit. He had military identification and health care, he said.

In April, Zhao visited Washington, D.C., for the first time, touring the White House and visiting the Republican National Committee.

That same month, he got word from his unit commander: He was being discharged. He was told simply that his discharge was “uncharacterized,” he said.

“I’m not a national threat,” Zhao said. “On the contrast, I’m a national merit because people like me with higher education and critical skills, we want to serve this great U.S. Army. I’m a good scientist no matter what.”

The Pentagon announced last October that in order to apply for citizenship, immigrant recruits were required to have gone through basic training and served honorably for either 180 days or a year, depending on their Army classification. But that requirement has been challenged in court.

Some discharged service members whose basic training was delayed cannot start the naturalization process. Others who started the process have had their applications put on hold.

Immigration attorneys told the AP that many immigrants let go in recent weeks received an “uncharacterized discharge,” which is neither dishonorable nor honorable.

A Brazilian reservist, Lucas Calixto, filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., last week contending that he was booted without the Defense Department giving him a chance to defend himself or appeal.

President George W. Bush ordered “expedited naturalization” for immigrant soldiers in 2002 in an effort to swell military ranks. Seven years later, the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, known as MAVNI, became an official recruiting program.

The program came under fire from conservatives when President Barack Obama added DACA recipients — young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally — to the list of eligible enlistees. In response, the military layered on additional security clearances for recruits to pass before heading to boot camp.

Donald Trump’s administration added even more hurdles, creating a backlog within the Defense Department. Last fall, hundreds of recruits still in the enlistment process had their contracts canceled. A few months later, the military suspended MAVNI.

Republican Congressman Andy Harris of Maryland, who has supported legislation to limit the program, told the AP that MAVNI was established by executive order and never properly authorized by Congress.

“Our military must prioritize enlisting American citizens, and restore the MAVNI program to its specialized, limited scope,” he said.

According to Air Force Maj. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman, the “overwhelming majority” of MAVNI candidates are from Asia and Africa because those are the critical language skills needed in the military.

As of April, 1,100 immigrant recruits were awaiting basic training while undergoing security reviews, the Pentagon said.

Eligible recruits are required to have legal status in the U.S., such as a student visa, before enlisting. More than 5,000 immigrants were recruited into the program in 2016, and an estimated 10,000 are currently serving. Most go the Army, but some also go to the other military branches.

Zhao is now rethinking his future, but said he wishes he had a chance to appeal.

“I need justice,” he said. “This is America. This is not China. This is not the Middle East. This is not a dictatorship. And that’s why I love America.”

Source: nbcnewyork.com

The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct provides practical support to enterprises on the implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by providing plain language explanations of its due diligence recommendations and associated provisions. Implementing these recommendations can help enterprises avoid and address adverse impacts related to workers, human rights, the environment, bribery, consumers and corporate governance that may be associated with their operations, supply chains and other business relationships. The Guidance includes additional explanations, tips and illustrative examples of due diligence.

This Guidance also seeks to promote a common understanding among governments and stakeholders on due diligence for responsible business conduct. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as well as the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy also contain due diligence recommendations, and this Guidance can help enterprises implement them.

Download the Due Diligence Guidance

Countries commit to step up efforts to drive more responsible business conduct through new OECD instrument

Recommendation of the Council

 OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

The development of this Guidance involved a multi-stakeholder process with OECD and non-OECD countries and representatives from business, trade unions and civil society. Download comments received during the online public consultation held from December 2016 to February 2017.

 

Source: oecd.org

As we head closer to Brexit, we continue to see appetite from global high net worth individuals (HNWI) for investment migration solutions within the UK. The UK’s Tier 1 categories have proved resilient against Brexit uncertainties and continue to fare well.

The number of Tier 1 Investor Visas granted was up 11% from last year with HNWI investing a minimum of £2 million in return for residency. This is significant as, unlike programmes in Malta or Cyprus, the UK does not provide a fast route to EU citizenship and the statistics show that the UK remains a choice destination in itself, rather than a stepping stone to broader movement. Lifestyle, stability, location and in particular education all contribute to the UK’s growing popularity amongst global investors.

As global investor migration solutions go, the UK has one of the most stringent programmes. The investment amount is comparatively high and there are limited choices available as to how the minimum £2 million is invested (they must invest this for five years in the UK by way of government bonds, share capital or loan capital in UK registered companies), and there is no option to qualify for the visa through a property investment. Those who invest in property in the UK do so over and above their visa requirements. An applicant cannot apply for this visa without first opening a UK bank account, with all the due diligence processing that entails. The UK also expects investors and their families to commit significant time to the UK. And in order to be granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), they must not spend more than 180 days per year outside the UK. There is also the Immigration Health Surcharge. Legal advisors need to be aware that this may double later this year and remain applicable even to those who hold private medical insurance. Significantly more onerous requirements apply to those seeking citizenship after 5 (or in most cases 6) years in the UK.

It is right to question legitimacy and to demand the highest regulatory standards within the investor migration industry, but some of the negative headlines we read can be misleading. Public debate in the UK around the Tier 1 Investor visa has intensified following the Salisbury incident. A review of the visa is in place but the scope is unknown, although parliamentarians have expressed particular concern about visas granted before changes saw applicants having to open a UK bank account prior to applying.

In the UK, the Home Office issued their immigration statistics last week and the total number of non-British nationals living in Great Britain is 6.2 million, up 4%. Proof that 21st-century residency and citizenship has become a complex phenomenon, with many permutations and expressions now possible. Set in that context, investor volumes are relatively low with approximately 300 applicants each year. However, Oxford University research shows that “These programmes have the potential to advance two important policy objectives … first, by attracting new financial and human capital to support government budgets and developmental agendas” and second, “cultivating economically engaged citizen entrepreneurs who can drive economic growth and innovation”.

As the UK looks to new trade partnerships and continues its drive to attract innovators and tech entrepreneurs into the UK, it is hoped that the review works in synchronisation with the governments mission to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UK, which has fallen by 92% since 2016. In this new landscape, investor migration should be seen as part and parcel of that FDI drive, and perhaps the review would do well to focus on how best to apply and divert the monies invested in the UK for public benefit, as well as ensuring the highest regulatory standards are in place.

 

Source: l2b.thelawyer.com

The US agency that oversees immigration applications has hired dozens of new attorneys and officials to go after immigrants suspected of obtaining their citizenship illegally.

L Francis Cissna, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said his department was staffing up to target people who had used fake identities to get green cards and become naturalised citizens after previously being ordered deported.

The agency will refer these cases to the Department of Justice, whose attorneys will attempt to strip these people of their citizenship through the courts, Mr Cissna said – a process known as “denaturalisation”. They may also press criminal charges.

“We finally have a process in place to get to the bottom of all these bad cases and start denaturalising people who should not have been naturalized in the first place,” he told the Associated Press.

At least 858 immigrants were granted citizenship after being previously deported under different names, according to a 2016 inspector general report. The Department of Justice has filed only 305 civil denaturalisation cases since 1990, according to statistics obtained by Kansas immigration attorney Matthew Hoppock.

David Leopold, an Ohio-based immigration attorney, said these statistics prove that the naturalisation of citizens under fake identities is not a widespread problem. The citizenship application process, he said, already has multiple checks in place for catching false documents and applications.

USCIS’s new policy, he added, “only serves the purpose of this administration to put a question mark next to every immigrant”.

“They’re trying to conflate crime and immigration, and this is just the next step,” he told The Independent.

Mr Leopold also noted that denaturalisation is a civil proceeding, not a criminal one, in which the accused is not guaranteed a lawyer to defend them. He feared some immigrants might offer to give up their citizenship rather than take on the US government in court alone.

“It puts the government in a position where they can coerce people into giving up their citizenship,” he said.

Michael Bars, a USCIS spokesman, said the new efforts will be based out of the agency’s office in southern California. Officials will only refer cases to the Justice Department in which people who had been ordered removed “intentionally use multiple identities in order to defraud the government and the American people to obtain citizenship”.

“Nobody who obtained US citizenship by deliberately assuming a false identity will be surprised to learn they are being referred to the Justice Department for removal proceedings,” Mr Bars said. “USCIS screens for deliberate acts of fraud relating to the use of false identities.”

Just this month, a US citizen born in Haiti was ordered denaturalised after applying for and receiving US citizenship under a fake identity. Prosecutors said Enite Alindor applied for asylum under a fake name in 1997, after an application under her legal name was denied. She was naturalised as a citizen in 2012.

Ms Alinor was sentenced to five months in federal prison for  making false statements in a matter relating to naturalisation and citizenship last week.

“Citizenship is the greatest immigration benefit our country can bestow,” James C Spero, the Tampa special agent in charge, said at the time. “HSI and our partners, like USCIS, will continue working together to protect the integrity of our legal immigration system and the opportunities it provides.”

The changes at USCIS come as the Trump administration steps up its war on illegal immigration, sending federal troops to the border and announcing a new policy that will result in more immigrant families being separated upon entry.

This week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that domestic violence and gang violence would no longer be considered grounds for asylum. Advocates estimated the decision could result in tens of thousands of immigrants being denied protection.

“This is an all-out war on immigrants,” Mr Leopold said. “Whether they’ve come here without documents, whether they obtain their documents while they are here, or now, whether they are US citizens.”

 

Source: independent.co.uk

The warning comes after it was confirmed by sources that Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, who primarily resides in Russia, had faced delays in renewing his Tier 1 Investor visa. Irwin Mitchell’s immigration team says it is a reminder that extreme wealth and promises of investment does not automatically guarantee entry into the UK under the current environment.

MrAbramovich has significant business interests in the UK, having contributed financially to Chelsea FC during his tenure as manager of the club. He is also reputed to own a £90m property in Kensington and substantial assets in the UK.

The Russian billionaire has since immigrated to Israel and has been granted Israeli citizenship. As an Israeli citizen, he will be allowed to enter the UK for six months at a time but will be unable to carry out any paid or unpaid work while in the UK.

The change in the government’s approach is symptomatic of a wider crackdown. On the 28 March 2018 the UK Home Office confirmed it was conducting a review of visas issued to foreign investors from 2008 to 2015, affecting thousands of high-net-worth individuals who currently reside or have business interests in the UK.

According to immigration experts at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth, most Tier 1 Investor visas are issued to Russian and Chinese investors, who are required to invest a minimum of £2m in funds in the UK economy.

Mandeep Khroud, immigration expert and senior associate at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth, said: “It should come as no surprise that we’re beginning to see delays in renewing Tier 1 investor visas.

“Brexit works both ways. The UK voted for more control over immigration, and that applies to high-net-worth foreign investors as well as the headline-grabbing migrant population the media focuses on.

“Lately we have been receiving enquiries from these investors who want advice on what to do now that their business interests are being looked at with much more scrutiny than before.”

The Abramovich case could result in unintended ramifications for the UK economy. The Tier 1 Investor visas provide a lucrative flow of investment funding for UK businesses – if difficulties were to arise in renewing or applying for visas, the UK could see a downturn in applications and as a result, less inward investment.

“It’s entirely possible that our economy will suffer as a result of this,” Mandeep added. “Less foreign investment into the UK would result in reduced inward investment and as a consequence impact the UK’s ability to compete as a major player in the world economy.

“Visa renewals can be extremely complicated if there are multiple assets and corporate structures involved, so it’s important to get the application correct from the start. With Brexit making life even more difficult for them, foreign investors may just decide not to bother in the future.”

 

Source: globalbankingandfinance.com

The number of Chinese high net worth individuals (HNWIs) and ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) applying for the Tier 1 investor visa to come and live in the UK, soared by 56% in 2017.

According to a London-based, private wealth partnership organisation, the attraction of living in Britain outweighed concerns about Brexit. In 2016, 78 Chinese nationals applied for the coveted Tier 1 investor visa, which enables HNWIs and UHNWIs to remain in the UK for three years and four months, with the option to extend their stay by a further two years. The gain indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

LJ Partnership, a London-based wealth manager, reported that 122 applications were made for Tier 1 investor visas by Chinese nationals by the end of December 2017. HNWIs and UHNWIs can settle in the UK permanently after two years, if they choose to invest a minimum of £10 million.

Nearly a third of Tier 1 investor visa applications made by Chinese

LJ Partnership’s analysis of government data found that Chinese applicants account for nearly a third (32%) of the total number of UK investor visa applications made. However, their report does not reveal how many were successful or how many Chinese HNWIs and UHNWIs had upgraded from a Tier 1 investor visa to UK citizenship.

In November 2017, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published figures showing that the Home Office had granted 114 Tier 1 investor visas in the third quarter of the year, alone. This represented an increase of 34% for the quarter and a rise of 247% compared to the third quarter of 2016, with China leading the way for the number of visas granted.

Despite growing fears among the UK population about the future of the country once it exits the European Union, Chinese nationals view Britain as an excellent investment opportunity.

Britain still an attractive place to invest

LJ Partnership’s report said: “similar to other investors interested in growth and emerging markets, wealthy Chinese investors continue to regard Britain as one of the securest nations in which to have assets.”

“For HNWIs and UHNWIs, a secure legal system with a proven record of protecting investors, and a perceived price arbitrage due to a weaker pound, have driven Chinese investment into the UK,” LJ added.

LJ said that Chinese investors trust the UK market, highlighting that Chinese investment amounted to $20.8 billion in 2017, more than double the $9.2 billion total in 2016.

Investment continues to pour in, despite the Chinese government’s attempts to reduce the number of capital investments beyond China’s borders, in a bid to encourage greater domestic investment by its citizens and businesses.

The Chinese government’s efforts to stem the flow of investment capital leaving the country, coincides with growing concerns raised by many organisations – including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – about the increasing number of ‘citizenship-by-investment’ schemes emerging across the world.

According to the OECD, so-called investor visas are providing a ‘backdoor entry to money-launderers and tax evaders.’ The OECD raised its concerns back in February following a consultation.

During talks, the OECD asked if citizenship-by-investment schemes were likely to result in tax evaders being able to prevent their assets from ‘falling in line with compliance regulations currently being implemented around the world’ by the OECD-backed Common Reporting Standard – an automatic information programme, which has so far signed up 98 countries.

Tier 1 investor visa and wealthy Russians

In recent weeks, The Tier 1 investor visa scheme has faced severe scrutiny after it emerged that some 2,000 super-rich Russians entered Britain without proper checks on where their money had originated from or criminal records.

Following the poisoning of Russia-born, Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK reports surfaced that lax regulations had allowed rich Russian nationals to enter Britain via the Tier 1 investor visa.

The nerve-agent attack sparked an investigation by the Home Office – commissioned by Home Secretary Amber Rudd – into wealthy Russians granted an investor visa between 2008 and 2015. The inquiry uncovered a series of failures, including a lack of checks to confirm the source of an investor’s income – highlighting the OECD’s concerns.

Investor visa programmes worldwide

In 2014, Canada scrapped its investor visa programme, which was popular with citizens of China and Hong Kong, amid growing unrest over the scheme’s undervaluing of Canadian permanent residence.

At the time, the Canadian government said: “There’s no evidence that immigrant investors are maintaining ties to Canada or making a positive economic contribution to the country.”

Meanwhile, in Donald Trump’s United States – the most popular destination for Chinese investors, according to the South China Morning Post – the EB-5 visa has come under heavy criticism. As a result, the Trump administration is looking to further restrict the EB-5 programme to deter investors, accused of abusing the system.

Tier 1 visa changes

Launched in 2008, the Home Office made changes to the Tier 1 programme in 2015 in an effort to make it ‘less generous’ to foreign investors. Amber Rudd is currently evaluating whether further restrictions need to be imposed.

 

Source: workpermit.com

The Solomon Islands prime minister Rick Hou says he aims to pass dual citizenship legislation before the end of his tenure.

Mr Hou made the committment while speaking to Solomon Islanders in Wellington during his trip to New Zealand last week.

He acknowledged that many Solomon Islanders of mixed ethnicity and those living abroad had been seeking such a law for years.

The Dual Citizenship Bill was tabled during a previous sitting of parliament but withdrawn because the house was one MP short of the two thirds majority required to pass constitutional amendments.

“I am hoping that next month we would have the numbers for us to move this dual citizenship forward,” Mr Hou said.

“That is what many of the communities I have met in Port Moresby, in the United Kingdom, our communities overseas… they have told us they want us to see to this.”

The issue has raised concern in Solomon Islands with some saying only indigenous Solomon Islanders should be eligible for dual citizenship.

 

Source: radionz.co.nz

Exiger the leader in technology-enabled global regulatory, financial crime, risk and compliance solutions, congratulates Lisa Osofsky, Exiger’s EMEA Regional Leader and Head of Investigations, on her recent appointment to Director Designate of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in London.

The appointment of Ms. Osofsky to the highest office within the UK criminal justice system dealing with serious or complex fraud, bribery and corruption and economic crime is a testament to her deep experience in the investigation, prosecution and management of large and complex cases in the U.K., US and other international jurisdictions.

As EMEA Regional Leader and Head of Investigations, Ms. Osofsky was Exiger’s first hire in London nearly five years ago and has worked alongside founders, Executive Chairman Mike Cherkasky and President and CEO Michael Beber, to help grow to more than 450 strong in seven offices, serving clients in over 40 countries around the world.

“I am so pleased for Lisa on her appointment to the SFO and know that she will prove to be a great asset to the UK criminal justice system, as she has been to me, Michael and Exiger over the past five years,” said Mr. Cherkasky.

“It has been an honour to build the EMEA arm of Exiger, and help companies, financial firms and governments address the complex and critical threats posed by financial crime and broader corruption. I truly believe that Exiger’s approach in combining purpose-built AI-powered technologies with a diverse group of subject matter experts from industry yields the most effective results. I am honoured to accept the role as Director Designate at the SFO. It is a privilege to serve in high office in the UK criminal justice system,” said Ms. Osofsky.

Exiger President and CEO Michael Beber said, “When Exiger was formed, we had a clear mission – to be the global leader in providing technology-enabled, sustainable compliance solutions to financial institutions and corporations. Lisa’s contributions have been critical to achieving our mission. While all of Exiger will miss her – she leaves an exceptional team that will continue the legacy of innovation and excellence she helped to establish over her five years.”

Source: exiger.com