Illinois to address immigrants' concerns NOV 18: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will create an office devoted to immigrants and convene a panel of experts to help the state better integrate its growing population of residents born outside the U.S. The governor also plans to create an inter-departmental task force to coordinate immigration policy and make it easier for immigrants to learn English, buy homes and become U.S. citizens. The state's foreign-born population increased 61 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to census data. About 12 percent of the state's population was born outside the United States. Illinois state has a sizeable population of South Asians. Immigrants Are Financers Of Development NOV 18: In an interview with the French daily newspaper Le Figaro, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank, François Bourguignon said that “remittances constitute a powerful tool for poverty reduction.” Immigrants coming from the South (a number reaching almost 200 million) send 20 percent of their incomes back to their country of origin. This is equivalent to $167 billion in 2005 ($126 billion for 2004). Remittances from overseas Pakistanis skyrocketed to $2.15 billions in first six months of the current fiscal year and were nearly double the same period of last year. India was the biggest recipient of remittances in ‘04, receiving $21.7bn compared to China’s $21.3bn. Remittances into India have jumped sharply by about $18bn from ‘01, according to a World Bank report on global economic prospects ‘06. Other countries witnessing strong remittance receipts are Mexico, France, and Philippines. Pakistan and Bangladesh received $3.9bn and $3.4bn, respectively. Remittances are calculated as the sum of workers remittances, compensation of employees, and migrant transfers. On a global scale, these private capital flows (remittances) now represent double of all government aid granted to developing countries by developed countries. The daily adds that the countries receiving the greatest remittances are - in order - India, China, Mexico, France and the Philippines. Wage levels in rich countries are typically five times those of poor countries in similar occupations - adjusting for local purchasing power - the World Bank officer said. With nearly 200 million people now living as expatriates globally, the World Bank said both developing and developed countries need to pay more attention to the links between migration, economic growth and poverty. UK concerned over Punjabi immigrants NOV 17: The British government has expressed serious concern over large scale illegal immigration of Punjabis to the UK. Punjab, along with Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, has been listed as one of the most problematic states for the British government. According to an official estimate, about 1000-1200 people from Punjab try to sneak into UK illegally every year. British minister for Immigration Tony Machnalty, during his visit to Chandigarh last week, also held discussions with Punjab state officials over the matter and deliberated at length on ways to check, what was termed as 'a painful menace' for the UK. The UK minister informed them that during the current year, till October-end, 757 cases of illegal immigrants from Punjab had been recorded in the UK.
US biz want more foreign students in USA
Student enrolment from Pakistan fell while India sent more
NOV 16: Leading figures in US business and education are calling for further improvements to student visa policy as data show international enrolment at US universities fell for the second consecutive year. Open Doors 2005, the annual report on international academic mobility says that the number of international students enrolled at US universities fell again during 2004-2005 by 1 per cent but was an improvement over the previous year, when enrolment fell 2.4 per cent. There were 565,039 foreign students studying in the US in 2004-2005, with students from India topping the list, but enrolment from Pakistan fell by 14 percent. There were a total of 80,466 students from India and only 6,296 from Pakistan. Pakistani students have had a great deal of difficulty in obtaining US visas and even students who had gone home during a break have had trouble returning. China followed India having sent 62,523 students, a 1% increase in enrolment, after experiencing a decline of 5% the previous year. The slight overall decline in international students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities has been attributed to several factors, including real and perceived difficulties in obtaining student visas (especially in scientific and technical fields), rising U.S. tuition costs, vigorous recruitment activities by other English-speaking nations, and perceptions abroad that it is more difficult for international students to go to the US. US universities have responded by recruiting more aggressively overseas, a move officials said helped slow the rate of decline. Visa processing times slowed to a crawl in many regions after tougher standards were imposed in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. But academics and industry groups in USA are lobbying for more changes to student visa policy. Some want a one-year automatic visa extension to international students who graduate with advanced scientific, technology or engineering degrees. Current policy dictates they return home after completing degrees. International students are important for the US—last year alone they brought $13.3 billion to the economy in money spent on tuition, living expenses and related costs according to the NAFSA: Association of International Educators. A broad study on innovation released last month by a panel of industry leaders and academics - including Craig Barrett, Intel's chairman, and Norman Augustine, former Lockheed chief - listed student visa liberalization as one of the top 10 actions that would improve US competitiveness. Intel, facing talent shortages, is pushing for the automatic extension. "Barrett's view is if you get a talented non-US citizen who graduates with an advanced degree, you should staple a green card to his diploma," said Tracy Koon of Intel. "You don't risk having them leave." The US wants to reverse impressions that it has become unwelcoming to students, which stemmed from the tightened standards after 9/11. Allan Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education, said the visa process had become more efficient and transparent, which had "begun to stem the tide of decreasing international student enrolment". "We need to continue these concerted efforts to get the word out that our doors are open to international students, in order to attract the best and the brightest students from all over the world," he said. The other highlights of the report are that California is the leading host state for international students, followed by New York, Texas, Massachusetts and Florida. The most popular fields of study for international students in the US are business and management, engineering, mathematics and computer sciences.
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