Immigration News: US updates policy guidance for international students; New Zealand pauses rate increase for AEWV; Canada ends temporary public policy to facilitate TRV

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance regarding the F and M student non-immigrant classifications. (Photo: Santeri Liukkonen via Unsplash)

US updates policy guidance for international students: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance regarding the F and M student non-immigrant classifications, including the agency’s role in adjudicating applications for employment authorisation, change of status, extension of stay, and reinstatement of status for these students and their dependents in the United States, according to a USCIS press release.

This guidance consolidates existing policy. USCIS expects that this will provide welcome clarity to international students and US educational institutions on a wealth of topics, including eligibility requirements, school transfers, practical training, and on- and off-campus employment.

For example, the guidance clarifies that F and M students must have a foreign residence that they do not intend to abandon, but that such students may be the beneficiary of a permanent labour certification application or immigrant visa petition and may still be able to demonstrate their intention to depart after a temporary period of stay.

In addition, the guidance specifies how F students seeking an extension of optional practical training (OPT) based on their degree in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field may be employed by startup companies, as long as the employer adheres to the training plan requirements, remains in good standing with E-Verify, and provides compensation commensurate to that provided to similarly situated U.S. workers, among other requirements.

The non-immigrant academic student (F-1) classification allows a non-citizen to enter the United States as a full-time student at a college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution, or in a language training program. The nonimmigrant vocational student (M-1) classification includes students in established vocational or other recognised non-academic programmes, other than language training programmes.

New Zealand pauses median wage rate increase for the Accredited Employer Work Visa: The New Zealand government has announced that it is pausing the increase of the median wage rate for the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) that was due to go up in February 2024. The median wage rate is the minimum amount that must be paid by employers to hire migrant workers on an AEWV.

The pause means the rate for workers on an AEWV will remain at the current rate of NZD$29.66 an hour. The pause also extends to median wage requirements for partners of workers. All other sector agreements and exemptions to the median wage will also remain in place based on the current rate.

The new median wage of NZD$31.61 an hour will still apply to other visa categories that use it from February 2024, such as the Skilled Migrant Category and Parent Category.

The pause allows time for decisions to be taken on alternatives to the median wage threshold in the AEWV, which the Government has committed to removing.

Canada ends temporary public policy to facilitate TRV: The temporary public policy to facilitate the processing of temporary resident visa (TRV) applications in inventory is no longer in effect.

On February 28, 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) implemented this policy to streamline and speed up the processing of TRVs to address the inventory that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy has been successful in clearing most of the older TRV cases in their inventory and has helped IRCC deliver on its commitment to speed up the processing of TRV applications.

The termination of this policy does not impact those who were already issued a visa, and they can continue to travel to Canada until their visa expires.

Japan to ease residency rules for foreigners starting a business: Japan plans to let foreign entrepreneurs live in the country for two years without a place of business or investment. The move is to attract investment and international talent as well as let entrepreneurs get their business off the ground by easing residency requirements. The two-year grace period would let owners focus on growing their businesses.

Current investment requirement is daunting for fledgling companies - it requires foreigners to secure a place of business and at least two full-time employees or an investment of 5 million yen ($33,000) to qualify for business management residency.

Germany’s dual citizenship laws might be passed in January 2024: Germany’s dual citizenship law might be passed in January 2024 after the coalition has reached agreements on the eligibility of dual citizenship beneficiaries.

If the law is passed in January, it will most likely enter into force in April 2024. As soon as the dual citizenship law enters into force, foreign nationals legally residing in Germany will be able to hold their original citizenship as well as obtain German citizenship without letting go of the other.