Archive for the ‘Expats’ Category

Sandra Bullock's (right) 'Proposal' to Ryan Reynolds (left) to secure US visa

Want to know how NOT to get a US work visa? Then watch The Proposal, a new rom-com starring Sandra Bullock, just out in cinemas worldwide.

Bullock plays Margaret Tate, a publishing exec working in New York. Like many foreign workers in the US, she is facing deportation back to Canada once her US work visa expires.

To extend her visa and keep her job, she orders her young, cute secretary Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her. A long-term victim of Margaret’s bullying, he agrees on the condition of being promoted to editor.

Tate submits her deceptive visa application with the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) but cracks soon appear in her plan.

Desperate to make a convincing case, Margaret organises a weekend in Alaska with Andrew’s family. Unexpectedly – and in true rom-com cliché fashion -  the family encourage them to wed immediately.

But the wholesome Alaskan atmosphere and her genuine burgeoning love for Andrew inspire remorse in the hard-nosed executive. Margaret breaks into an emotional confession during the wedding ceremony, which is attended by their US immigration case worker.

Her application is naturally refused and she is given 24 hours to leave the country.

Margaret made three key mistakes during the US visa application process:

1. She panicked. Even when facing an expiring visa, it’s critical to stay calm. Familiarity with all options for staying in or returning to the US legally can help diffuse a stressful situation.

2. She was unrealistic. Specific requirements must be met for each type of US visa. Strategically planning how to tick all the boxes is part of the process for many applicants. A fake marriage shouldn’t ever be considered a legitimate strategy.

3. She allowed emotion to rule her outcome. Revealing too many personal details can work against the applicant. A smarter approach is to keep the process impersonal by providing only requested information. 

Hundreds of thousands of foreigners apply for US visas every year to live, work, play professional sports, start businesses, and marry US citizens. While obtaining a visa can be a stressful ordeal, as the characters in The Proposal show, enlisting the help of a US visa consultant can smooth the process.

A work visa can boost your brainpower

Don’t just take Global Visas’ word for it that living and working abroad is better for your mental health. A research project has proved there is actually a proven link between improved creativity and living abroad.

The study was conducted by two psychologists, William Maddux of INSEAD, a business school in Fontainebleau, France, and Adam Galinsky, of the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago. Their findings were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and a brief overview of their work is summarised below, in an article featured on the Economist.com website:

Maddux and Galinksky conducted two experiments to test their theory. The first, asked 155 American business students and 55 foreign ones studying in America with a test used by psychologists as a measure of creativity.

To check that they had not merely discovered that creative people are more likely to choose to live abroad, Dr Maddux and Dr Galinsky identified and measured personality traits, such as openness to new experiences, that are known to predict creativity. They then used statistical controls to filter out such factors. Even after that had been done, the statistical relationship between living abroad and creativity remained, indicating that it is something from the experience of living in foreign parts that helps foster creativity.

Given a candle, some matches and a box of drawing pins, the students were asked to attach the candle to a cardboard wall so that no wax would drip on the floor when the candle was lit. (The solution is to use the box as a candleholder and fix it to the wall with the pins.) They found 60% of students who were either living abroad or had spent some time doing so, solved the problem, whereas only 42% of those who had not lived abroad did so.

A follow-up study with 72 Americans and 36 foreigners explored their creative negotiating skills. Pairs of students were asked to play the role of a seller of a petrol station who then needed to get a job and a buyer who would need to hire staff to run the business. The two were likely to reach an impasse because the buyer had been told he could not afford what the seller was told was his minimum price. Nevertheless, where both negotiators had lived abroad 70% struck a deal in which the seller was offered a management job at the petrol station in return for a lower asking price. When neither of the negotiators had lived abroad, none was able to reach a deal.

Given the importance of creativity to working practices and individual self-development and the relevance of multicultural experience in our increasingly globalised world, such research is of insignificance for anyone who makes the effort to obtain a work visa and live abroad, or for employers who recruit from an international pool of workers.

We at Global Visas offer you some handy hints as to how to most efficiently secure your all important work visa:

1.  Patience is paramount in the visa process.
We all know someone who thinks the rules don’t apply to them.  But Immigration laws apply to everyone equally and the process takes time. In only very exceptional cases, fast tracking visas is possible,  but in most cases, the visa process must run its set course. Make sure you plan well head, allowing plenty of time for the visa(s) to be granted.

2.  Don’t book a flight until the visa has been issued.
This may sound like obvious advice, but even the most straightforward cases can be delayed.  Recently we had a client who booked a flight thinking the case visa would be issued in ample time. Unfortunately the employee’s passport was expiring within six months and this prevented a visa being granted.  The visa would have taken 24 hours to secure. His passport took six weeks to renew.

3.  Visa restrictions last longer than you think
Every visa comes with rules and conditions that must be adhered to. And that means even after your employee has arrived in ther host country. Your company must continue to track and manage their visa status any changes to their role, leave your employment, or extend their stay beyond their visa expiry date, then such changes must be reported to the relevant authorities and the visa amended. A visa only ceases to be an issue after your employee has returned back to their home country.

4.  Be prepared for others’ mistakes
It is not uncommon for a government employee to misread a form and then reject a perfectly acceptable case, or for a busy line manager to forget to sign a box.  Don’t panic! Immigration decisions made in error are common and there are procedures to correct them.  Managers in host countries often do not recognise the importance of just one form but with a close eye these things can be picked up early enough not to affect the case.

5.  Keep it simple
Your business maybe rocket science or even dealing with complex brain surgery. But that should not make securing your work permit any more difficult.  Immigration laws are the same regardless of what your company does.  The law is blind to certain details even if they are critical to your business.  When dealing with visas, keep it simple and only focus on the laws and what they are asking for to administer that law.  Ensure  your explanations on visa applications meet the requirement of the Immigration law only.  Offering explanations of how complex your business is will only confuse the officer charged with dealing with the case.  Stay focused on the rules.

6.  Protect your brand
Governments the world over need to show they are no pushover when it comes to enforcing Immigration law. Do not allow your brand to become that ’six o clock news’ example.  Always aim to ensure your staff remain compliant with the Immigration law at all times in all countries.  Immigration audits which show up any negative issues can have an adverse impact on a business’s reputation and should be avoided.  Even if you make a mistake but tried your best that will go a long way in your favour.

7.  Use a reputable Immigration consultancy
Make sure any immigration consultancy you use is up to the job. Do they have registered offices? Do their staff have the experience and, most importantly, are they qualified to address Immigration issues for the host country that you require?  In many regions across the world local “immigration advisors” operate with no supervision or control.  Their limited resources and knowledge can lead to difficulties and should be avoided.  Aim to secure the services of a company that is able to assist pre-departure and has offices in the host country.

8. Understand dependents
Dependents of employees often want to study or work in the host country.  Usually it’s a straightforward process to make the necessary arrangements or to explain why they are unable to do so if restrictions apply. Whatever the outcome, dependents are as important to the main applicant as his or her own visa.  The visa process may change depending on when the dependents apply for their visa.  Polygamous marriages are banned in many countries but acceptable in others, as are gay marriages and the maximum age a child can be a dependent.  Make sure you take into account all the issues before confirming a secondment the expat declines later due to family reasons.

9.  Localised staff can bring you benefits
Many on expat benefits find it hard to give them up, but a company can make big savings if they localise their expats quickly.  If a person elects to stay in a host country, you should be ready to arrange residency and even citizenship in that country.  It will mark the end of expatriate status and localise the employee in a supportive way.

10.  If in any doubt, ask
Immigration law tends to be one of the most complex areas of any country’s legislation.  Our team are always happy to answer our clients’ questions and we would prefer they confirmed facts rather than assumed them.  Our reputation is attached to the success of our clients international mobility programs and we want to get it right 100% of the time.  Whatever your question, we want to hear about them because you are important and so is your business

For all your work visa needs, let Global Visas be your one stop immigration advice and solution finder.

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With the property industry in Spain facing a downturn, one British expat has come up with a novel way to off-load his property just outside Benidorm and move to the USA.

Wayne Connell, owner of an eight-bedroom villa, a wild west theme park and a Harley Davidson, that he values at £5 million, is selling raffle tickets at £25 a pop – the winning ticket takes the lot.

“All the winner will need is a price of a ticket and airfare to get here,” Connell said.

A maximum of 200,000 tickets will be sold he says. If he sells less than 175,000 tickets the winner will receive the cash, he says.

Developers have offered to buy the land, but he wouldn’t get “full value” and he doesn’t want to see the business he built over 10 years “reduced to rubble,” he says.

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You got our vote!

Unfair voter registration laws are punishing expat workers in locations like London, New York and Hong Kong.

Simply put, if you’re Canadian and are working abroad more than five years you can’t vote. Those away less than five years can – but you must declare your intention to return to the homeland, and that could cost you dearly in taxes.

Long-term assignments overseas can mean lower taxes than in Canada but the cost of living in places like Hong Kong or London is considerably higher than in Canadian cities.

If you want to vote you run the risk of high taxes and high living costs.

David Armitage, a governor of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said, “I would like Revenue Canada to come out and say Canadians living abroad can register to vote without having it impact their tax status”.

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