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According to the Salt Lake Tribune, since the July 1, 2010, effective date of a Utah law requiring businesses with 15 or more employees to verify new hires’ work status through E-Verify, less than one-third have done so. The figure did not surprise Utah Governor Gary Herbert, who stated that even the law’s sponsor did not expect universal compliance. Some suggest that employers either do not know about the new requirement to use the federal electronic employment verification system, or are not hiring due to poor economic conditions, which could explain the low enrollment numbers.

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Government officials and local businesses are uncertain whether Singapore, which is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, can maintain strong economic growth levels over the next decade. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the export-heavy Asian country is trailing other regional competitors in productivity and has been negatively impacted by the global financial crisis as its primary consumers, the United States and Europe, struggle to fully recover.

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The Times of India reports that, beginning February 1, 2010, an online application process for U.S. visas will be launched at consulates in India. Applicants will complete applications and answer additional questions online, print out a confirmation page, and then bring the document to a consular office.

Although the global economic crisis caused a decrease in the number of U.S. visa applications overall, student visa applications from India — the United States’ top source of foreign students —was up 9%, from 94,563 to 103,260, in 2009 as compared to 2008.

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A master’s degree will no longer be required for highly skilled workers seeking employment in the UK under Tier 1 of its points-based immigration system, according to the Financial Times. The move came in response to strong lobbying by business interests, who argued that the restrictions blocked access to the best talent as the UK tries to emerge from the global recession.

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The global economic crisis and rising unemployment have caused Croatia to drastically reduce the number of work permits it will grant, according to croatiantimes.com. Only 902 new work permits will be approved for 2010, compared to 4,267 in 2009. However, it is expected that the 6,000 foreign workers already in Croatia will get their work permits renewed.

Image credit: Zscout370

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Responding to proposals by the Migration Advisory Committee, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has announced that before employers may hire migrant workers for a job under Tier 2 of the points-based system, they must advertise the position for four weeks. Previously, the test required two weeks of advertising, or one week’s advertising for jobs with salaries of £40,000 or more. The change is intended to better support British nationals looking for skilled jobs as the country comes out of the economic downturn.

The change will take effect December 14, 2009. To provide flexibility to employers, the four weeks of advertising will not need to run continuously. Employers that have already advertised positions need not re-advertise to meet the requirement.

Updated guidance for Tier 2 sponsors will be provided on UKBA’s website on December 14.

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The economic recession has resulted in a growing number of U.S. jobseekers, particularly those at the executive level, seeking (and securing) employment abroad, according to USA Today. Although the number of candidates remains relatively small, the trend reverses a longtime pattern of greater numbers of foreign workers seeking jobs in the U.S. than the reverse.

Recruiters cite India, China, Brazil, Dubai and Singapore as the “hottest” markets. Candidates in the fields of engineering, investment banking, computer technology, manufacturing and consulting are in high demand.

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The Wall Street Journal reports that thousands of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2010 remain available. Unlike previous years, when the 65,000 visas available for the year were scooped up by employers within days, factors such as the sagging economy and government investigations into visa fraud have resulted in companies underutilizing the program. Not since 2003—when 323 days elapsed before all fiscal year 2004 H-1B visas were awarded—have visas remained available at such a late stage.

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The New York Times reports that, in order to cut costs, companies have been sending fewer employees on long-term overseas assignments. However, short-term assignments, which last from several months to a year, have increased in popularity over the past eight years.

Although shorter assignments are more cost effective, companies face an increased risk of violating immigration and tax laws in the host country, and the consequent deportation of its employees or closure of its business. The article cites a KPMG report which found it difficult for companies to meet their compliance obligations because employees on extended business travel frequently move between multiple locations and have unpredictable schedules.

Notwithstanding the résumé value derived from overseas assignments, employees often find it difficult to accept short-term overseas assignments because prior commitments (school, mortgages, etc.) prevent the entire family from moving abroad. Other negatives include the increased expense incurred for communications, and the additional burdens placed on the non-traveling partner for managing household and childcare responsibilities. 

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The Migration Policy Institute released a report suggesting that migration flows, particularly illegal immigration, have decreased during the global economic downturn. The recession has impacted economic migration to major immigrant-receiving regions like the U.S. and U.K. Would-be migrants stayed put, and migrants remained in their adopted countries rather than return home, despite high unemployment rates.

Other findings by the report include:

• Remittances were generally down, although certain countries, like Bangladesh, saw an increase. Although this marginally impacted countries in which remittances account for only a minimal percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), countries that rely heavily on remittances were more seriously affected (e.g., remittances account for 0.2% of Turkey’s GDP but account for one third of Moldova’s GDP).
• The recession has greatly affected migrants’ financial well-being.
• Almost half of Eastern European immigrants who came to the U.K. in the middle of 2004 had returned home by the end of 2008.
• The inflow of Mexican nationals into the United States decreased by more than two-thirds between March 2004 and March 2009.
• Rates of unemployment for foreign-born workers in Spain rose to 28.4% during the first quarter of 2009, compared to 17.4% for native workers.

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According to BusinessWeek, even though the overall number of applications has increased, the number of foreign students admitted to graduate programs in the United States has decreased for the first time in five years. A struggling U.S. job market and the difficulties applicants face obtaining funding during enrollment and then visas after graduation are cited as major contributors to the decline. Most impacted are business programs, which normally enroll a considerable number of foreign students.

International students are instead opting to apply to programs in their home countries, where work visas are not an issue and the cost of education is considerably lower than in the United States. Many have turned to emerging programs in Asia and Europe. Applications to graduate programs in China rose 14% this year.

Fifty-five percent of U.S. graduate programs received more foreign applications in 2009 than in 2008, although less than half reported an increase in admission offers. U.S. graduate programs rely heavily on foreign students to meet diversity initiatives and to provide tuition income. Although a reported increase in domestic applications may fill the tuition void, the diversity gap may not be so easy to mend.

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The global economic crisis has triggered calls in some U.S. policy circles to tighten immigration rules in order to safeguard scarce jobs for American citizens. Yet despite difficult economic conditions, lawmakers should be considering immigration policy revisions based on the country's eventual economic revival, says former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff. In this interview, Chertoff discusses the future of immigration policy, and offers his advice that the U.S. increase communication efforts with the Mexican government to coordinate the legal flow of migrant workers to the United States.

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