US Immigration News

Karl Rove, the controversial advisor to George W Bush has written an article in The Wall Street Journal in which he warns the Republican Party that it will have to 'do better with Hispanics' if it ever wants to regain the presidency. This means, among other things, that Republican Congressmen and women will have to support the comprehensive immigration reform bill which is before Congress at the moment.

Immigration moved centre stage in Washington last week as Congress debated the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act 2013 ('the bill'). This bill will, if it becomes law, comprehensively reform the US immigration system.

There was good news for supporters of reform when it emerged that the bill should pass the upper house of Congress, The Senate, by 70 votes to 30 after senators reached a deal on border security.

In June 2013, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued its International Migration Outlook report for 2013. The report contains summaries of changes in immigration in the 34 member countries of the OECD including the US. The US is not only the most populous country in the OECD, it is also the one that is home to the greatest immigrant population.

Representatives of many of the most famous tech firms in the US have lobbied Congress and urged it to pass the comprehensive immigration reform bill that they will vote on this summer.

There are fears that the immigration reform bill currently being considered by the US Congress could damage the US's J-1 visa which promotes cultural exchange working by allowing young people from around the world to work in the US in a variety of jobs. Many J-1 visas go to young people working in summer camps as sports coaches or counsellors.

Seven Indian MPs have travelled to Washington to lobby Congressmen about the comprehensive immigration reform act currently being debated by the US Congress. The MPs say that proposed changes to the H-1B visa system will cause considerable harm to the interests of Indian companies which operate in the US.