Swedish Model for CIR?

Sweden Allows New Work Permit Exemptions for Certain Short Stays

See below. As a comment (especially since I am originally from Sweden), perhaps this could be a model for the U.S. as part of CIR discussions for temporary workers (like "try before you buy")?

 

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Effective January 1, 2010, employers in Sweden are no longer required to obtain work permits for foreign nationals coming to Sweden to engage in certain short-term training and business activities, under two new provisions of the Swedish Aliens Ordinance.

 

The new work permit exemptions apply to the following categories of foreign national for stays of no more than three cumulative months within a twelve-month period:

 

• foreign nationals who are employed by an international group of companies and are entering Sweden to engage in practical training, internal training, or other educational or competence development activities at an affiliated entity in Sweden; and
  

 

• foreign nationals who will participate in educational programs, conduct tests, prepare or finish deliveries, or engage in similar activities in Sweden, within the scope of a business transaction.
  

 

For longer stays, a work-and-residence permit will continue to be required. Note that the work permit exemptions do not affect visa requirements.

 

The work permit exemptions were put in place to facilitate international business exchanges, at the recommendation of the Swedish Migration Board. The exemptions will give employers greater flexibility to send staff to local affiliates in Sweden for training and related programs. They will also give business visitors greater freedom to conduct activities that are related to forming deals in Sweden.

 

 

 

USCIS Launches Blog

In what may be interesting reading, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a new blog called
The Beacon.
According to the site, readers are encouraged to post comments with ideas, concerns, and constructive criticism about the agency, although comments with status inquiries or questions about a specific case will be deleted. The blog is available at http://www.uscis.gov/blog.

Visa Numbers for March 2010

See below visa numbers for March 2010. There has been some movement (a few months) in some family-based categories from the February 2010 bulletin, as well as in the employment-based 2^nd and 3^rd preference categories, but nothing significant to make a real difference to clear up the backlogs. How long until Congress gets real with Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) discussions?

 

VISA BULLETIN FOR MARCH 2010

FAMILY

Family	All Charge- ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	22JUN04	22JUN04	22JUN04	01OCT92	01MAR94
2A	01APR06	01APR06	01APR06	01JUL04	01APR06
2B	01FEB02	01FEB02	01FEB02	15JUN92	22AUG98
3rd	22MAY01	22MAY01	22MAY01	08OCT92	01MAR92
4th	15JAN00	15JAN00	15JAN00	08DEC95	01SEP87

EMPLOYMENT

	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIP-PINES
Employment -Based
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08JUL05	01FEB05	C	C
3rd	15DEC02	15DEC02	01JUL01	01JUL02	15DEC02
Other Workers	01JUN01	01JUN01	01JUN01	01JUN01	01JUN01
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th	C	C	C	C	C
Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

Musings on Immigration Reform

 

See e.g. http://ow.ly/12HUe for an interesting commentary on the prospects of immigration reform. It is clear to most reasonable people that comprehensive reform is necessary, and the question is when the Congress will get over the "emotional aspects" of the issue and get to work. The future of the U.S. may depend on it……………