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 Few months ago, X-Expats interviewed two US immigration attorneys in New York who shared their perspectives on current US immigration trends. Many readers asked how the current climate affected other nations. Andrea Elliott, Senior Counsel (Foreign) at Pro-Link Global Inc., in the United States answered our questions about global trends. She was born in South Africa to Northern European parents, lived on most continents, and immigrated to the United States in 1997. Admitted to the South African Bar in 1986, Andrea specializes in global immigration for corporate clients.
X-Expats: Numerous businesses in the US have voiced their concerns about a “brain drain” of foreign students and professionals. In your practice, have you noticed a “brain gain” of US educated and/or trained workers in specific industries overseas?
Andrea Elliott: What a great term. “Brain Gain” is a wonderful term to describe the tremendous knowledge transfer that we have seen over the past 10 years, with US educated workers in the Engineering, Semi Conductor and Technology fields, moving to China, India, Brazil and Mexico.
X-E: How has the economic crisis affected your practice?
AE: Our practice has been fortunate, in that if our corporate clients are repatriating their transferees, we are still required to offer visa and immigration services, albeit for the cancelation of their work and residence permits. We have also been mindful of offering our existing clients, loyalty discounts, and so have been able to maintain our client base.
X-E: In your opinion, what are the global “hot destinations” attracting foreign professionals nowadays?
AE: Our top destination is Switzerland, as the favored nation for the great tax benefits to large corporations. China is still in the Top 3 as a destination, as is the United Kingdom. We are also seeing a lot more movement into Canada, which had dropped off over the past year. The Middle East has started to emerge as a new “hot destination”, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
X-E: Do these destinations also attract global and foreign companies?
AE: Yes, particularly Switzerland, has attracted many foreign companies to set up head quarters, based on their very favorable tax incentives.
X-E: Are there new entrants in global business?
AE: We are seeing Software companies, designers, and IT specialists, emerging as travelers outside the USA, much like the dot-com era of the late 90’s into the USA
X-E: Are countries more welcoming than others?
AE: There will always be countries that have more favorable immigration practices than others. Surprisingly, Switzerland, while enticing corporations to their idyllic country, failed to take into account the impact that their limited quotas would have on the ability of these multinationals to bring skilled foreign talent into Switzerland. So a dichotomy exists, in that Switzerland needs to increase the quotas at Cantonal levels to ensure that the very companies they wooed with their generous tax breaks are able to send US educated “Brain Gain” talent to advance the company bottom line. Australia, historically was very welcoming - - until they recently reversed their own permanent residence application process, and refunded over 20,000 applicants their filing fees with a note to “ try again under the new regime”.
X-E: Do you notice new immigration regulations being considered or implemented to protect local workforce?
AE: Absolutely; when the economy reversed itself, the first place that the impact was seen was on immigration regulations curbing the quota volumes of foreigners permitted into the countries. India, for example, overhauled its immigration laws extensively for the first time in 40 years, conceding that they had previously been lax in permitting a lot of entry into India as “business visitors” when they should have been issuing “employment visas”. Their complete about face on the laws, has resulted in confusion, lengthier processing times at the local Consulates as they grapple with the changes sent out by India. Those changes numbered as many as nine, in as many weeks. The UK also changed its previous Work permit regime, into a Points Based System, requiring all employers in the UK to Pre-Register and obtain a Sponsorship License before bringing foreigners into the UK. They also added a Points Based Visa process that requires the applicant to qualify based on a series of points, linked to English language ability, and the financial ability to “maintain” oneself.
X-E: What global migration trends do you foresee in the future?
AE: Far more emphasis on scrutiny at a local Consular Level; a shifting of the burden of responsibility from the “home” country, to a Consular process, where the Consulates who have local country knowledge will have more decision making power.
X-E: Thank you Andrea for your insights and showing how immigration issues get intertwined with global business.
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