Question: I wish the best for the troops of the U.S. in Iraq. My concern is that I have an application going forward with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and am wondering if that will be affected. Also, I am having a friend coming into the U.S. for a visit. Will the war affect him?

Answer: It is hard to say what effect the war will have on the immigration processes. The reality is that if you or your friend are from a Muslim related country, you will most likely have to go through more security checks and will have more difficulty in obtaining the visa. Of course this is not always true, but a person whom wants a Visitor Visa from Syria will have a harder time obtaining that visa than one whom obtains a Visitor Visa through the Philippines.

As for an application you currently have, it should not be affected. For example, if you have a work permit petition through an employer, as long as you qualify for the petition and are not inadmissible under any grounds, there should not be a problem.

Question: This sounds like ‘profiling’ by the U.S. government. Is that legal?

Answer: In some respects you are correct. The U.S. government has targeted persons of Muslim countries to special register. They have deported many people who have specially registered, but are out of status. They have expelled diplomats from Iraq and have sought to detain persons from Muslim related countries who are seeking asylum.

The U.S. government does not seem to be targeting persons whom are not from Muslim related countries. However, as we are seeing, in wartime, many of the due process rights and constitutionally protected rights of certain persons are abrogated and diminished. That is why we have to constantly fight to keep the rights of those persons who are least able to fight for themselves. Yes, the U.S. government should do what it needs to do to protect its national security. However, in many cases, in the name of national security, measures are taken which end up violating certain civil liberties and constitutional protections. These violations unfortunately do nothing to protect the national security. Thus, we must fight for the rights of all immigrants in the U.S. Otherwise, what appears to be limited and small infractions of constitutionally protected rights on a few select people could eventually be directed to the more general population of the U.S.

Temporary residents seeking work permits or an extension of their visit in Canada can now apply online, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

“Extending our online services to more temporary residents will significantly facilitate the application process by providing faster, more accessible and efficient services,” said Minister Kenney.

Forms submitted by mail often need to be returned because they are incomplete, adding additional time to the process. Applications online can only be submitted if they are complete, thereby contributing to faster processing. The service is open to all temporary residents except for co-op program work permit applicants.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) intends to make all types of applications available online in the future.

CIC first began offering online applications in June 2008, international students studying in Canada being the first to have access. Since then, international students have submitted close to 33,000 online applications. International students at over 200 participating educational institutions have been able to apply online for an off-campus work permit, confirm their eligibility online and renew their study permit while in Canada. They can also use our online services to apply for or extend the status of their dependent family members currently living in Canada.

Applicants can access our FREE Eligibility Assessment today!

Furthermore, applicants who gain skilled work experience in Canada may be eligible to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class.

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This database shows all employers who received approval from  Canadian Immigration  for work permit/ visas in federal fiscal year 2009.

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Note: The Law Office of Larry Liem Doan provides the following blog article and other information on this site, especially responses to readers’ comments, for the purpose of legal information only, which should not be construed as legal advice nor to create an attorney-client relationship. We do not offer free advice nor is it appropriate for us to analyze your specific immigration situation in detail on this blog for free, except to clarify or explain certain points discussed in the blog article. Any action or non-action you take or rely upon after reading the information on this blog is your own responsibility and the Law Office of Larry Liem Doan has no responsibility nor connection to such action or non-action.

In order to receive an appropriate and complete answer to your immigration problem, it needs to set forth a specific legal question to be answered and a complete and accurate explanation of the relevant facts. The facts in comments you choose to leave on this blog are by necessity limited and there is no substitute for a “live” meeting with an attorney. This can only be done during a consultation with the Law Office of Larry Liem Doan and you. This can be arranged with us in person if you are in Southern California, or by telephone at: +1 310.289.2155, or email: consult@GuruImmigration.com.

The work permit, or employment authorization document, is a document issued by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), usually with a validity of one year, and renewable.  It allows the holder to legally work at any job, and it is also the document needed to get a social security number and a driver’s license.  So, how and when can an immigrant get one?

At the outset, it must be stated that:  a work permit is not something that is applied for as an end in itself, but only as an incidental, or side, benefit accompanying a main immigration application that results in the benefit of permanent residence, and only when the immigrant initially appears to qualify to apply for that main application.

Most immigrants receive a work permit shortly after their main application for “adjustment of status” to permanent residence is filed with USCIS.  This is the application that will allow an immigrant already in the U.S. to receive the benefit of permanent residence (green card).  However, not every intending immigrant in the U.S. qualifies to file for adjustment of status.  There are requirements of who can and when, as described in our article, “Who Can Adjust Their Status to Green Card Here?”  At the time of filing the adjustment application, the immigrant will either be in-status on some kind of temporary nonimmigrant visa, or out-of-status on that visa or illegal but qualifies under immigration rules to file for adjustment.  Since the adjustment application will take four months to a year or more for USCIS to schedule an interview and to decide the case, the person is given the side benefit of a work permit so that they can work and take care of themselves in this country while the adjustment application is pending.  The law recognizes in this kind of situation that the immigrant must be given a means to legally work and not just sit there doing nothing.  Therefore, a separate application for the work permit, the I-765, is filed with USCIS at the same time the main adjustment of status application is filed.

The work permit card is then usually mailed to the immigrant about a month and half to three months after the applications are filed.  This card can be taken to the Social Security Administration office to apply for a new social security number and to the local DMV to apply for a driver’s license. If the adjustment application is ultimately denied — there are numerous grounds on which the immigrant may be denied, or is “inadmissible” to the U.S. — the work permit will also be terminated.  If the adjustment application is ultimately approved, then the person’s status becomes a permanent resident or green-card holder, and there will be no need for employment authorization since a green-card holder is entitled to live and work permanently in the U.S.

We stated above regarding the main immigration-benefit application that the immigrant must “initially appear to qualify to apply for that main application.”  What this means is that, for example, with an adjustment application, the immigrant must upon initial review appear to qualify to file for adjustment of status.  Examples?  Well, someone who has an approved I-130 or I-140 petition, but who is still waiting for a visa number because their priority date is not current yet, is not qualified to file for adjustment yet.  Or, someone who does not even have an approved I-130 or I-140 petition is not qualified to file for adjustment yet.  Or, someone who is not classified as an immediate relative, does have an approved I-130 or I-140 with a current priority date, but whose visa is out of status, will not qualify to file for adjustment (unless the I-130, I-140, or labor certification for them was filed by April 30, 2001).  There are other examples.  A person like this who applies for adjustment of status will have the application quickly rejected after USCIS personnel has done an initial review of the application package, and so no work permit is given.

So, to obtain a work permit, you must be at the point where you are now qualified to file for some type of application resulting in permanent residence.  U.S. immigration law provides many methods for immigrants to receive a green card since there are so many types of immigrants and circumstances (although as a practical matter only a handful of methods are used for the vast majority of immigrants). Some intending immigrants simply do not qualify under any method for a green card due to their being either out of status on their visa, being illegal in this country, or simply do not have enough time or have the right relationship to qualify. We routinely counsel people who, unfortunately leave the consultation with no solution under current law. Such a person cannot get a work permit.

A person who is here on a nonimmigrant visa, such as a tourist, student, or H-1B visa, etc., who is applying to change their status to another type of nonimmigrant visa, is not applying for an immigration benefit resulting in permanent residence.  That person is not going to receive a work permit by changing to another type of visa.  However, that person, if they have an approved I-130 or I-140 petition which has a priority date that is current, and they are in-status on their visa, does qualify to file for adjustment and to receive a work permit.

Many immigrants whom we have helped are familiar with receiving their work permits not through the adjustment of status application but through a political asylum application. Political asylum is another type of immigration application eventually leading to permanent residence which gives a work permit as a side benefit. A grant of the asylum application will allow the person to remain (and work) permanently in the U.S. and then apply for permanent residence a year afterward. Under the law, a work permit must be given to the asylum applicant within 90 days. Thus, it was and still is a fast way to obtain a work permit in this country: to just apply for political asylum even if the person came to the U.S. illegally. However, asylum requires that the person must have experienced and does fear genuine persecution in their homeland due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or being a member of a distinctive social group, and the persecution is a genuine verifiable reality in that country. People from countries that are stable or peaceful do not normally qualify for asylum. Yet, many people, such as from Mexico (a country in which the government is not persecuting its citizens for the most part), have been deceived in the past by unscrupulous immigration services, “notarios,” and sometimes lawyers, who promised they could obtain work permits quickly for them, but who did not tell these people that they were applying for political asylum on their behalf. Since the asylum application can take years to be decided by USCIS – sometimes 10 years – the applicant gets a renewed work permit every year and thinks that their immigration status in this country must be legal. Eventually, at the asylum interview, however, these people inevitably cannot prove their asylum case as described in their own asylum applications (many did not even read before signing what was in their applications), and so their asylum case is denied. USCIS then puts these people into removal (deportation) proceedings without exception.

There are other less well-known types of immigration applications for certain groups of immigrants, such as NACARA, TPS, cancellation of removal, application for deferred action, etc., that also allow the applicant to receive a work permit as a side benefit. Some of these, such as TPS (temporary protected status) and deferred action, in fact, do not necessarily lead to permanent residence for the applicant but do involve giving him or her a longer term of stay in the U.S. that does not end on a definite date in the immediate future. These applications are more specialized and are beyond the scope of this article.

It must also be pointed out that there are certain people who are here on nonimmigrant visas yet who do work in the U.S. for U.S. companies.  For example, H-1, or L-1 visa holders.  However, the difference between these people and someone with a work permit is that the person with the work permit can work for any employer and can change to a new job anytime, whereas the person with the H-1 or L-1 visa can only work for that particular employer who petitioned for them on their nonimmigrant visa.  If the visa-holder wishes to work for another employer, they have to go through the process of finding a new employer to file a new petition for them in that visa category.

Copyright © 2009 Law Office of Larry Liem Doan Tel: +1 310 289 2155 Email: consult@GuruImmigration.com

22 October 2008

So. The big day finally arrives, where my life is changed…forever. It came second only to the magnitude of my wedding day, which is, undeniably, every bride’s big moment.  No, my interview at the Embassy of the United States of America, was clearly written in as the greatest turning point in the story of my life so far. I’ve had a lot of questions about how everything went, so here’s my experience in full.

I’d barely slept that night; despite waking up at least twelve times with a stomach full of anticipation, I woke up with a jolt at 5am. We commuted to Bond Street via Tube, surrounded by early bird workers on the Central Line.  My husband and I arrived there 7.30am sharp, where we joined a relatively short queue: we were going to be one of the first inside. I looked up, at the giant, imposing, golden American eagle on the roof of the building, patriotically towering over Grosvenor Square. It’s huge wings were spread wide; it’s fierce eyes, glaring ahead. Intimidating, I thought. Trust the Americans; they’re really making sure we know who’s standing here. We were first checked by two security guards, with heavy New York City accents, for electrical devices. My husband had done the research, so, clever foresight had gotten us through this part quickly, as we’d left our phones at home. I did, however, kick myself for forgetting a brand new pair of Apple headphones in my bag, which, at this stage, sadly wound up in the bin. Next, was an airport-style, enclosed, x-ray security checkpoint. We also passed this swiftly, as we’d remembered to omit liquids and food. Now two walls closer to entering the fortress, we walked around the moat gauge (yes, moat gauge–as in, what castles have around their perimeter) and up a set of marble stairs leading us into the building. Once inside, the receptionist greeted us with a wide smile. Fully prepared to hear an American accent, I was disappointed to hear that the first point of contact was with a fellow Briton! I could be forgiven; it hadn’t really occurred to me that there’d be Britons working at the American embassy. She printed out two identical stickers for me, then directed me to the main waiting hall.

Heaving through two ridiculously heavy doors (marked with warnings for their Herculean mass), we walked into the hall and sat down. Facing us were four plasma screens, displaying the progress of various visa lines: Non-Immigrant and Immigrant Visas. To the right were old-fashioned teller windows reminiscent of banks built in the ’50’s, as seen in New York’s Grand Central station, with thick security windows and iron grills at the top. A tannoy called out numbers in a straight, British voice and I began to wonder where on earth the actual Americans were hiding. At some point, I’d been informed that anyone who missed their number, would miss their appointment and have to start the entire application process all over again, from the beginning. Horrified at such a prospect, I spent the next 30 minutes jumping out of my skin everytime a number was called. Eventually, my number was called; excited butterflies shot me out of my chair and towards Window 13. It was here that the official interview finally began; I took a deep breath and reminded myself to be extremely formal, to wait til I was spoken to and not to give unnecessary information. To my amazement, I was met with yet another British person! Oh for goodness sakes, I thought. This is getting rather silly! Where are the Americans in this building?! Without another word, the man called each document out, army-style: “Passport….Birth Certificate….Marriage Certificate….Police Certificate..”  In silence, he meticulously and effortlessly checked each one over and retained my photocopies. As he proceeded, I looked up and could not believe what I saw hanging over the teller window. There, of all places for me to be standing, was a framed photo of the iconic St. Louis Arch: the landmark of the very city I was headed to. Hairs stood up on the back of my neck: It was all going very well so far! Unassisted by my spouse, I was then to answer a few simple, factual questions about my marriage, for verification purposes. Payment was then taken at the window next to me, whereupon I returned the receipt slips to the previous window. A pink form was handed to me, to arrange for my passport to be couriered back to me. There, it hit me: I was halfway there!

At this stage, I was told to return to the hall and wait, to be called again. By now, the hall was full and all manner of people were waiting. (Strangely enough, these were mostly men re-dressing themselves, having had to remove their belts to pass security.) Another wait and we were called again to Window 17. Here my documents were returned to me by blonde, smiley lady, who asked me how I was, in a curly way–finally! An American! Reminding my husband not to assist in these questions, she then asked me a bit more about our relationship. Naturally, the first thing I told her was that we’d met in St. Louis. To my complete shock, she replied, ” Really??–I’m from St. Louis!! What possessed you to go there?! Nobody goes there on vacation…?!” At which point I was so stunned, I didn’t quite know what to say; I mean, what were the chances? First the photo of the Arch, now this! Thankfully, the rest of the interview was, albeit formal, really quite short and sweet. The St. Louisan clerk officially verified me and returned my x-rays from the medical examination. We were given aftermath instructions about my passport and were directed to the Courier desk to make our final payments.

That was it. Exiting the building the way we came, I surged at my husband with jubilation and threw my arms around his neck. We were done! It was official: I was now ready to move country! Over his shoulder, I glanced back at the enormous eagle on the roof. Somehow, he looked different to me. His eyes; they were not so hostile now. Overwhelmed, I burst into tears. It was the first time in my life that another country had completely opened its arms to me. Months, years of planning, had proved worth it. I had stepped over the periphery; into a new, unknown chapter of my life. It seemed so strange, yet, it was incredibly exciting. The eagle’s wings, now seemed to say a different thing to me. Instead of being in front of them, I was now under them.

Question: I entered the United States a couple of months ago as a visitor and would now like to work in the United States. I have a degree in Business with an emphasis in accounting and have a couple of firms interested in hiring me. Do I qualify for a work permit, and if so, what must I do?

Answer: First, based upon your degree, you qualify for what is known as a Specialty Occupation Work Visa. This is also known as the H-1B. It is meant for positions which require specialized knowledge and where a college degree is the norm for the industry. Therefore, your position would qualify. You would need to be hired as an accountant.

Question: How do you know that an accountant is a specialty occupation?

Answer: There are many sources that can be viewed from the Department of Labor. These sources are either on the internet, or in printed publication. It basically states what the normal duties for the particular position are and what are the normal educational requirements needed to successfully perform the job.

Question: What type of company must sponsor me?

Answer: As an accountant, any company can sponsor you. Every company can use an accountant. If you had said that you had a degree in biology, your sponsoring companies would have to be much narrower. They would specifically have to deal with biology. The H-1B can be full-time or part-time.

Question: Do I have to leave the U.S. to get the visa?

Answer: Yes, you would have to leave the U.S. to get the visa. However, should you want to stay in the U.S., you can get a change of status from B2 (Visitor), to H-1B (Specialty Occupation Work Visa) Then, you would not have to leave the United States in order to start working for the company. However, if you did leave the United States, you would have to get the Visa in order to return to the United States. It is always possible to get the Visa approved at INS, but to get it denied at the Consulate. You would want to take this into consideration if you decided to leave after successfully getting your status changed to H-1B.

Question: How long does it take to get the answer from INS on whether they will approve the H-1B Petition?

Answer: Now it is taking from 6 to 9 months depending where you live. Should you want it much faster than that, you can put it through INS via Premium Processing. This is exactly what it implies. It goes to the top of the stack and is processed by INS within 15 days of receipt. All you need to do is pay INS $1,000.00 for them to process it as a Premium Process case. If they do not get the answer back to you within 15 days, then you get your $1,000.00 back.

Thus, the H-1B is a very good visa for someone with a college education to have. If you can get a sponsor related to your college degree, then you can see if the H-1B can be done. Usually, it is issued initially for 3 years and can be extended for another 3 years. In cases whereby the person has applied for Labor Certification and has waited for a considerable period of time, they can now apply for an even further extension of the H-1B. It is one of the nicest and most popular work visas available.

How and where to obtain Canadian experience for foreign trained professionals and skilled immigrants on the journey to employment in their chosen …

The type of visa that one needs in order to work in Canada typically requires analyzing the position that the worker will fill and the qualifications of the worker. Below are the most common work visa categories and the general criteria for such visas.

• Visa for Specialty Workers
• Health Professionals and Registered Nurses
• Visas for Temporary or Seasonal Workers
• Visa for Trainees
• Visas for Investors, Business Owner and Entrepreneurs
• Visas for Executives, Managers, Intracompany Transferees
• Foreign Nationals with Extraordinary Ability
• Cultural Exchange Program Participants
• TN for US  and Mexican citizens*

The TN classification applies to a US or Mexican citizen seeking admission as a “professional” temporarily under the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”). TN employment must be in a profession listed in Appendix 1603.0.1 to NAFTA and the TN employee must possess the credentials required.

How to get the visa?

First , it’s important to understand that for  anyone to obtain a work visa, the process is that you Must 1ST find a ‘visa job or offer with a company that will sponsor (apply) your visa.

ONLY AFTER you have succesfully found and secured your visa job (sponsorship)- Your new visa employer can then file your visa application forms with Canada Immigration. To find visa jobs- click here
Therefore, the fist and most challenging stage in the process is finding and securing a visa job with an visa sponsoring company.
*individuals can Not apply for their own work visa- Only your new employer company can.

*applying to jobs and companies that do not sponsor work visa is a waste of your time!

Where to find jobs?

 
From About.com You learn that some of below hot jobs have significant educational and/or experience requirements, others don’t in Canada. If you are qualified, now’s the time to get going on your job search! If you are not qualified yet, keep in mind that these occupations will continue to grow for at least the next ten years. So, you have plenty of time to prepare for a career change. Take a look at the available opportunities to see which If you are qualified, then consider your options for the future. Start your online job search here:   OneStop Job Center

•Home health aides
•Network systems and data communications analysts
•Medical assistants
•Physician assistants
•Computer software engineers
•Physical therapist assistants
•Dental hygienists
•Computer software engineers
•Dental assistants
•Personal and home care aides
•Retail salespersons
•Registered nurses
•Postsecondary teachers
•Customer service representatives
•Janitors and cleaners
•Waiters and waitresses
•Combined food preparation and serving workers
•Home health aides
•Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants
•General and operations managers

As the post title, my intention will be to provide you information related to  how to go around the ‘no Canadian experience and without a work permit” Part I,  in your search of “How to Live and work in Canada. I’ve been living here since 2001 and a lot of things have changed. However, I think that I can help you go through your dream of living in Canada and working as an immigrant.

My dream started back in 2000 when I finished my undergraduate degree and when I was looking for universities to a Master’s degree abroad. That’s how everything starts.

If you have the same dream, or if you’re also want to live and work in Canada here read on.

In order for Foreign Trained Professionals to get jobs in Canada, the first step is that they need to have qualifications and licenciature  aproved or  their Foreign Qualifications   Evaluated and Recognized in Canada  by one of the 34 Canadian regulatory professional career  bodies.

Second step is  to register in their field association. Third step is  to register in  Co-op universities programs,  where a Foreign National, worker or professional  is able to  upgrade  language or  career skills.

As Foreign National, worker or professional take advantage of work-study ,  field  or  internships placements, because they will give  you the so called  “Canadian experience”  and through it you could get a legal Canadian  work permit.  Hineni Media  listings shows all the employers that participate in Co-Op work-study programs. Hineni Media  listing provides all the essential information such as application deadlines, compensation, perks, selectivity and more.. 

A Canadian work permit is a temporary resident visa issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to grant permission to foreign workers seeking to engage in employment in Canada. It most commonly has maximum validity of up to one year, although work permits can be issued for up to three years in some cases. We’ll talk about that in  the  part II of “‘No Canadian experience and without a work permit “.

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The Canadian economy is set to rebound next year, leading growth among G7 nations, the country’s largest bank predicted Monday.

The domestic economy is expected to grow 2.6 per cent in 2010 and 3.9 per cent the year after that, after shrinking by an estimated 2.5 per cent this year, Royal Bank of Canada said in a report.

Stimulus spending, improving credit conditions and consumer spending will be the main drivers of growth, the bank said, with Saskatchewan leading the country’s economic expansion next year.

“While challenges remain, a peak in stimulus and infrastructure spending across the federal, provincial and municipal governments, along with low interest rates, should result in a sustained recovery,” said Craig Wright, the bank’s chief economist, in the report.

The peak of stimulus spending will happen next year, while better credit conditions should lift growth through to 2011, he added.

Recovery comes with a steep price tag, though the budget deficits will still be lower, relative to GDP, than the peaks reached in the early 1990s, the report said.

Altogether, the provinces are projecting shortfalls of $38.2-billion in the 2009-2010 fiscal year and at least $30.2-billion the year after that – both records in terms of value, RBC said.

Canadian consumer spending should rise 2.3 per cent next year and accelerate to 2.7 per cent in 2011.

The jobless rate, meantime, will stay high next year, averaging 8.7 per cent and peaking at 8.9 per cent before easing to 7.8 per cent in 2011. Canada’s unemployment rate is currently 8.5 per cent.

“The past year has been, by far, the toughest since the early 1990s recession and, in some cases, the early 1980s recession,” the bank said.

Activity in the housing market will stay strong, though the pace will taper off in the second half of next year due to rising mortgage rates and higher home prices.

The Canadian dollar will trade around parity, supported by rising commodity prices and as the Bank of Canada boosts interest rates before the U.S. Federal Reserve. On Monday morning, the currency was trading around 93.88 cents (U.S.).

The U.S. economy will grow 2.5 per cent next year and 3.4 per cent in 2011, RBC said.

Among provinces, Saskatchewan is likely to tally the biggest growth spurt, with 3.9-per-cent growth next year and a 4.6-per-cent increase in 2011, thanks to a pickup in potash and natural gas markets.

“This will return the province to the top of the growth ranking among provinces after likely losing this honour to Manitoba in 2009,” it said.

The slowest growth will likely be in Quebec and Prince Edward Island, at 2.2 per cent each next year.

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Not to drag this sorry saga out any more than is necessary or to labour the point, but Reds assistant boss Mike Phelan has had his say on the subject of Adem Ljajić’s collapsed move to United and has arguably only further complicated an already confusing situation.

Speaking in place of Sir Alex Ferguson at this morning’s pre-West Ham press conference, Phelan was asked why the young Serbian was no longer joining the club in January and had the following to say:

“We made a tentative approach to getting a work permit and the word we got back from the Home Office was we couldn’t get that through in time to get Adem signed in January. I don’t think money is an issue.”
“The point is do you lay out money for Adem knowing there is a possibility that you might not be able to get him? As it stands Adem Ljajic won’t be coming to Old Trafford in January.”
“We have a platform that allows young players to develop and get into the first-team. We looked at Adem and he has the potential to do that.”
“But sometimes you cannot fight these things. Sometimes you can get work permits, other times you can’t. Adem fell into the latter category, which is why we made the decision.”

Now I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering why, if work permit problems were the reason for the deal being cancelled, there was no mention made of this in yesterday’s statement confirming that decision? It seems bizarre that United would call into question Ljajić’s ability and development when they could simply have attributed the decision to the UK’s frustrating employment laws, especially as Phelan seems to confirm that – contrary to the released statement yesterday – the coaching staff did indeed rate the player and consider him to have first-team potential after all!

The work permit explanation also seems surprising in itself. You have to wonder why only a ‘tentative’ approach was made, and seemingly at such a late stage, when the club have had since January to sort something out – the ‘we couldn’t get that through in time’ claim seems a bit of a cop-out frankly.

Ljajić not being immediately and smoothly granted a work permit is no surprise -the Home Office stipulate that a non-EU player must have participated in 75% of his senior national side’s matches in the previous two years, and obviously Ljajić – as an 18 year-old yet to make win a full Serbia cap – didn’t meet that criteria. That said, numerous clubs have succeeded in securing work permits for young players who don’t fulfil this criteria via the ‘exceptional talent’ route.

The excellent United Rant quote a club spokesperson as telling them that “the advice we got was that those (‘exceptional talent’) provisions have been abused a little in recent cases and, with the tougher work permit rules in other areas, there is likely to be greater focus on proper examination of what constitutes ‘exceptional’”. While this seems perfectly feasible, it’s hard to imagine a more legitimate case for special dispensation under the ‘exceptional talent’ route than a youngster coveted by numerous top European clubs, who was first-choice for his club side (the reigning champions in Serbia) and his international Under-21 side at the age of just 17, and who had Manchester United willing to pay a fee in the region of €10m for his services.

We really don’t seem any nearer to knowing the truth behind the collapse of this deal, and the complete contradiction of yesterday’s official club statement by Phelan today only adds to the sense of unease at the way United have handled this whole situation. Just to further cloud the picture, Phelan also refused to draw a line under the deal when asked if there was any chance it could be resurrected in the future. Even so, it seems certain that Adem Ljajić’s footballing future lies elsewhere now, while United will hopefully learn some serious lessons from the embarrassing way this saga has played itself out.

So, you want to be an ESL teacher. Since I logged countless hours on the internet looking for information on ESL teaching -from how to get started, to benefits, to “what it’s like”- I feel compelled to provide some information here for those of you in that same spot. I am by no means an expert on the subject, but between my research and my first hand experience, I think this post will be pretty valuable.
Who can do it?:

Besides some birthright, there is little stopping anyone from teaching ESL. All you need is a college degree and to be a native speaker (Canadian, American, English, Irish, a Kiwi, an Aussie, etc.). It helps to be as white as possible in Asia and it’s a good idea to look as clean cut as possible. Tattoos, long hair, disheveled appearance? No good here.

Getting Started:

Should I get certified? What certification should I get- TEFL, TESL, DELTA, CELTA? What school/company should I get it from?
This is perhaps the hardest past of getting started as an ESL teacher. There are so many ways to obtain a certification, so many different certifications, and so many internet sights contradicting each other on the importance of certification that it leaves your head spinning. Most of the emails I get from blog readers or friends from back home is “What certification did you do? What do you recommend?” The answer is complicated and depends on what you want with ESL. Here are popular scenarios and my advice.

A) I just graduated from school and I want to travel for a while before starting real life:
If this is you, I wouldn’t waste my money on expensive programs. Consider how long it would take to remake the money. A 1 month salary in Asian countries is probably around 1,000$ USD. Thus, to spend 1,000$ (plus expenses) to work for a month without getting paid (in person programs are generally 1 month long) for a 1,000$ a month job, means you could have just taken a badass 2 month vacation for what you’ve shelled out to be stuck in boring lectures. An online program would be fine and they are often priced at 200$. Worried about not “learning” how to teach ESL? Don’t be, unless you are doing CELTA, you wont learn anything in your 1 month course as it is. When I took one, we learned valuable skills like folding a piece of paper 28 ways, how to do traditional Thai dances, how to make a walking turtle out of cardboard, and the ever brilliant refresher lesson on “boulderdash.” The little we did learn (like a basic lesson plan) is good for about the first week. There are plenty of jobs in Asia, so in most cases, they are just looking for a certificate to pass you off to the ministry of education. In Thailand for example, there are jobs everywhere. You could probably come over, buy a “certificate” for 200$ USD on Koh San road, and find a job within two weeks. If you are thinking about doing one of these programs because they guarantee a job after word, I would be hesitant. You get no say in what job you take or the stipulations. So you will probably be stuck in some shithole part of Thailand (or China, or wherever) with nothing to do on the weekends, 25 classes a week, greeting obligations, English club obligations, Christmas obligations, etc. The language gap may be a little tricky when applying for jobs. But think about it, if it’s your first ESL job, do you really want to be working for someone you can’t communicate at all with anyway?

B) More rare, is the graduate who tutored, or did some ESL training in college and wants to keep going with it. I would recommend getting the CELTA. I have a friend from college who fit this bill and she decided to go with a lesser certification (Oxford Seminars) because she wasn’t sure how serious she wanted to be with ESL, just that she wanted to do it. Here’s the thing, a program that offers spaced out, long days of training can’t be very comprehensive and efficient (weekend courses like Oxford). Also, if you’re heart is in it just a little bit, you want to be good at it, and… it’s hard! So go get some good training. Besides, do the math. Even if a CELTA is 1,500-2,000$, you would already be paying 1,000$ to waste your time with this other program. Just pay the extra money and buy something of value. Worst case scenario, you decide it isn’t for you and you’re out 1K. But, if you do like it, you just saved yourself a lot of time and money by doing a program that was legit and necessary in the first place.

C) You want to do it for a summer: WHY!? Go on vacation. Even though it’s not national defense or surgery, it is a job and that means there are obligations, effort, and stress. If you are thinking of going for a summer, you are probably looking at “voluntourism” programs. Why would you pay someone to do work? And, if you are going to, pick a cooler resume builder- refugee camps, wildlife reserves in Africa, an internship with an NGO in D.C or Geneva. All much cooler possibilities. If you do find one of the few “programs” that will set you up for the summer, really look into them. I almost did one in college but thanks to a protective parent, found out they were notorious for setting you up in crazy places, offering no pay, and cutting ties, leaving you stranded, once you were there. You do not want this unless you like 20 hr plane rides of depression.

If you think I’m being ridiculous and you definitely want a 1 month, in person program, than go for it. I will save you some trouble though and tell you that which you choose doesn’t matter. Don’t keep yourself up at night trying to figure out which is the best looking certificate to an employer. There is no difference, this isn’t college. If there was a ranking, Princeton Review would publish it. Pick the one that looks best for you, be that the cheapest, the program in the best location (they are often offered in very cool places), or pick one with some in class training. My program offered 1 week of instructor evaluated teaching, it was the only valuable opportunity offered, but even it wasn’t that valuable. The students were all well behaved and I taught the same basic class (different topic) each time- this is not the reality of ESL. 1st, the students have a lot of energy and don’t want to learn. 2nd, if you are teaching conversation (a class that meets once a week), you may be able to get away with 1 basic structure. But if you teach IEP (an intensive English class) and you see these kids 5 days a week, you HAVE to start getting creative to keep them interested (and do actual, boring, pound it out, textbook learning).

D) You want to teach ESL in Eastern Europe: OK, so Asian ESL is basically babysitting. In most cases you will have young learners still struggling to learn Thai or pubescent middle/high schoolers who just don’t care and wont pay attention to you. Serious English programs, like business English, find serious teachers- this is not you. So, there are very lax standards here (thus my recommendation on a cheap, easy certificate). From what I hear, Eastern Europe demands a bit more ability. I would look into that issue before deciding to cheap out. I just don’t know enough to tell you here.

Note: TEFL, TESL, TESOL, etc. are all acronyms for the same thing- teaching English to non-native speakers. They differ because there is no global standard or name for “TEFL” certifications. “CELTA” and “DELTA” are certifications with some bearing. They are certifications of a much more serious course offered by either Cambridge University or Trinity University.

Certification handled, how do I get a job?:

Use the internet, there are plenty of websites like ESLcafe.com that have job boards. Often you can conduct interviews, fax necessary papers and contracts, and arrange the job through the computer. But, I would recommend not doing this for the same reason I would be weary of placement agencies. A plane ticket to Asia is only 500$, come over here and spend a month on your tourist visa going to schools and applying for jobs. You can take the names and addresses off the net to find them and you can even send emails or make a call to schedule the in person meeting. This way you will be able to see your working conditions, meet the staff, and most importantly, have a realistic idea of your living arrangement and transportation needs (amongst other things). Moreover, the plethora of job boards should be used as a way to check schools/companies. Run a google search, are a lot of people complaining about working for them? Heed the advice and beware! Also, generally, if the job seems too good to be true, it is. They need teachers here, bad, but they are also not about to treat your joke-ass, inexperienced self like a hot commodity. No one is going to give you super benefits and high pay for your first job.
Getting here:Mobissimo.com. Enough said.
Things to consider:

Remember that you do not get paid day 1. So, make sure you have some money saved up for living expenses, housing down payments, etc. when you get here. There are start up costs. Also, you don’t make much money, so don’t expect to save anything. You will make enough to eat and drink well, and just enough for a reward like a trip or two (depending on how you travel) during a break or after the semester.
Documentation:

What do you need to work in Asia. I am going to cover this issue from Thailand, but generally the process is the same. With paperwork proving validity of your school and a letter from them on your behalf saying that they want to hire you, you can convert your tourist visa to a non-Immigrant work visa. In Thailand thats a NIB, in China, it’s a Z. If someone is going to send you these papers to get said visa in the states, make sure you get the right one! Cengiz spent 150$ and countless hours of worry and rushing to get an NIB visa from the Chicago Consulate only to be issued a NI-ED visa- the consulate saw him as a student of our program, not a teacher (yet). This really backfired when he had to spend additional money and hassle making a visa run to Laos to get a tourist visa that could then be converted into the NIB visa (which also requires a fee). You will also need a work permit, but your school will help you file and attain this (note: another reason to be able to communicate, even just a little, with your employer). How long is the visa good for? That depends. Generally a work visa will be good for 90 days and can be extended twice if you make a “visa run” (traveling to a bordering country to then re-enter, and thus secure another stamp, allowing you to stay). In Thailand, you can avoid this hassle however, because your NIB visa will be good for as long as your contract with the school (this is a product of the work permit). You can check embassy websites to see what you need to apply for different visas; in general there is a form, a fee, proof of job, 2×2 pictures of you, proof of certification (including your degree), and potentially an official transcript. You will need your transcript and degree plenty, so have them on you, make plenty of copies of both, along with your passport, and carry plenty of pictures, they are needed for any official form you fill out. Letters of recommendation are also necessary for the ESL job search, so have several copies of 2 or 3.
Benefits:

For your first job, expect moderate pay and accommodation. Many schools will offer cafeteria food free of charge, which is nice. As you gain experience, you can look for flight reimbursement and higher pay. You get to travel to and live in exotic places (though note, it’s not vacation or Army Special Ops, just because you are coming to Thailand don’t expect to be living like Swiss Family Robinson in the jungle or some cool beach bungalow). Most likely, you will be living in a neighborhood that doesn’t see many foreigners and is not very glamorous. But you will be centrally located for easy, cheap trips to very cool and far out places. Cultural interaction: you want to learn a language or get to know what life is like in a different culture, this is the way to go. Working with kids- if you want to be a 1st grade teacher, that’s basically what you will be.
Cons:

Working with kids. If you need to achieve goals and ‘always be closing’ to find reward in your job, ESL is not for you. It kind of turns your mind to mush because tiny gains require lots of work, but not all that much thinking. Similarly, you have to be ok with small goals and hazy rewards. You will not be turning kids into fluent speakers, so you have to be happy with a couple new vocab words here and there and sometimes it is easy to forget/not notice that progress is being made. Low pay. A different standard of living (I have no plumbing or kitchen, there are no sidewalks, and throwing trash out is the same thing as littering). Loneliness: the job can get lonely as it will take effort to find/meet up with someone that speaks your language, drinks your beer, or likes your food. Communicating is tough and will often have to be done at a very basic level and you will be deprived of many of the securities you had back home (no TV, mac and cheese, Guinness, movie theatre, etc.).
ESL can be the easiest or hardest job in the world; it all depends on who you are. You have to be able to let things slide and roll off your back, here in Thailand we call it “mai bpen rai.” And, even if you do like it, I would suggest not expecting every day to smell like roses and taste like sugar. But, there certainly are rewards, like experiencing first hand and being shown off at a King’s Birthday celebration. Standing front and center to local people doing traditional dances, songs, and alms giving is that sublime moment you hoped for when signing up. That first poop, without toilet paper, in a hole, is the story that will never die. Your first taste of scorpion, cockroach, or previously uneaten organ will stay with you. And, you can be damn sure that you will gain access to things no tourist ever has: neighborhood petanq games, cock fights, bull shitting sessions, faction fights, etc. Good luck on the ESL job search, I hope this helped.

The federal government and the provinces are unveiling a major agreement on Monday to help foreign-trained professionals get their credentials recognized in Canada.

By next December, the federal and provincial governments will have a system in place to start recognizing international credentials in eight occupations, including architects, registered nurses, engineers, financial auditors and accountants, medical laboratory technologists, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists.

Within three years, another six occupations will be added to that list, including physicians, teachers of kindergarten to Grade 12, dentists, engineering technicians, licensed practical nurses and medical radiation technologists.

Ottawa is billing the pact as an important new step for improving the employment prospects of professionals educated abroad, who are forced to work in low-skill jobs because their training isn’t recognized here.

“We’ve long recognized the importance of this and we’re pleased that the provinces have stepped up to get this agreement,” said a Conservative government official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Human Resources Minister Diane Finley is to make the announcement in Toronto on Monday, along with several representatives from the provinces.

It has been called the doctors-driving-cabs problem and one that has dogged this Conservative government and its Liberal predecessors. Immigrants, an increasingly important constituency, have been vocal in their frustration at the labyrinth of bureaucracy and rules they need to navigate to have their professional training recognized in Canada.

Adding to the problem is the fact that all provinces have their own systems for professional recognition.

Statistics Canada has estimated that six in 10 newcomers end up working in different fields than the ones in which they worked abroad.

The agreement is the result of a first ministers’ meeting last January, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the premiers announced they would come forward by this fall with a plan for “concerted action to provide timely assessment and recognition of foreign qualifications.”

About $50 million was set aside over two years by Ottawa in its 2009 budget to move that plan forward. Provinces will kick in to the plan as well.

Monday’s announcement is called the “pan-Canadian framework for the assessment and recognition of foreign credentials” and comes a couple of months after the deadline of September, 2009, set by the first ministers to reach an agreement.

In a background document obtained by the Star in advance of Monday’s announcement, the government explains that the goal of framework agreement “is to articulate a new joint national vision, guiding principles and desired outcomes for improving the assessment and recognition of newcomers’ qualifications.”

Studies have estimated the failure to recognize international credentials of potential workers costs the Canadian economy $2.4 billion to $15 billion a year.

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With effect from the 14^th December 2009, the resident labour market test for Tier 2 General of the Points Based System will be extended to four weeks. 

This will replace the current requirement to advertise jobs for two weeks, or one week for jobs where the salary is over £40,000.

This change will be applied in the following ways:

1. All campaigns that start on or after 14 December will need to be adapted to meet the new requirements.  Please note that businesses that have already run advertisements or have already begun campaigns will not need to do so again to meet the new requirement.
2. All jobs need to be advertised for four weeks before a migrant worker can be appointed. 

However; there will not be a requirement for the four weeks to be continuous.  For example, businesses will be able to advertise skilled jobs for two weeks initially.  If a suitable resident worker applies, the business can appoint them straight away. 

However, if no suitable resident workers apply, the resident labour market must be tested for a further two weeks before they can appoint a migrant worker.

Please note that updated sponsor guidance will be published on the UKBA website on 14^th December 2009.

The other changes to Tier 2 as recommended by the Migration Advisory Committee will be implemented in spring 2010.

By Lincoln Tan : Source NZ Herald

Work-permit-holders in the lower income bracket will find it a lot tougher to put their children in New Zealand schools from next month.

Immigration policy changes taking effect on November 30 will mean children of work-permit- holders under the essential-skills policy who earn $33,675 or less will no longer be considered as domestic students. Parents will therefore have to pay international-student fees if they want their children to study in local schools.

Domestic students enjoy free education, but international students have to pay fees of between $10,000 and $15,000 per child annually to study at primary, intermediate and high schools.

“The minimum income threshold must be met and maintained wholly by the salary or wages of a parent or parents holding the work permit,” Immigration New Zealand said in a circular distributed to immigration advisers.

“This is to ensure that the children have an appropriate level of financial support, given that these families are not eligible for state-funded income support.”

However, an Immigration spokesman told the Herald that children of parents whose initial work permit was issued before the end of this month could carry on with their studies as domestic students.

Migrant Action Trust, a migrant advocacy group, says the changes will just be another “trap” for migrant workers.

“Migrant workers will accept significantly lower pay – way below industry standards in their skilled area – just to cling on to the dream of residency, so many skilled migrant workers fall into the lower salary bracket,” said trust spokeswoman Agnes Granada.

“Because many come here for the sake of their children, they will become victims of this policy change.”

The trust presented a petition last Saturday asking Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman to grant amnesty for migrant workers who have lost their jobs in the recession.

A spokeswoman for Dr Coleman said the minister couldn’t comment as he had not yet seen the petition, but said the policy changes were aimed at ensuring adequate support for children of temporary migrant workers coming to New Zealand.

“The minimum income threshold helps ensure that essential-skills temporary work-permit-holders have a salary enough to look after a family in New Zealand,” the spokeswoman said. “The threshold is set at the lowest possible level to ensure children are adequately supported.”

In other policy changes taking effect on the same day, a special Philippines work policy will allow a limited number of skilled workers, including 100 nurses, 20 farm managers and 20 engineers, to work in New Zealand at any one time for a period of up to three years.

Immigration NZ said that under the policy, nurses from the Philippines would be able to work for a district health board while obtaining occupational registration.

A separate Vietnam special-work policy will also allow 100 chefs and 100 engineering professionals to work here under the same terms.

Meanwhile, Immigration NZ head Andrew Annakin announced last week that the Pacific division, set up Mary Anne Thompson in 2005 when she headed the service, would be reintegrated back into the core service.

An Auditor-General’s report in June found that problems were worse in the division than elsewhere in the agency, which is part of the Department of Labour.

Ms Thompson resigned last year after accusations of conflict of interest in helping her family members to gain residency.

Labour Department CEO Christopher Blake said the new structure “will ensure clear lines of accountability and that the workings of the Pacific division are aligned with the rest of Immigration New Zealand”.

“Recent review findings have informed the way Immigration New Zealand has organised and identified the requirements to deliver immigration services in the most effective and efficient ways. The change is designed to minimise risks to current work and any uncertainty and instability to the department.”

CHANGES TO IMMIGRATION POLICY

From November 30:

*Children of essential-skills work-permit-holders who earn below $33,675 will no longer be regarded as domestic students.

*Special work policies will allow 100 nurses, 20 farm managers and 20 engineers from the Philippines and 100 chefs and 100 engineers from Vietnam to work here.

*Nurses from the Philippines can now work for a district health board while obtaining New Zealand occupational registration

When Panita Chumchantha decided to tie the knot this past September, she wanted her Thai roots represented at her Canadian wedding.

The 31-year-old, who was adopted by a Canadian family years ago, longed to have her biological sister fly over from Thailand for her special day. But the wish went unfulfilled: her sister was denied a visitor visa by Canadian officials in Bangkok.

“They just said she was not a member of my family anymore,” Chumchantha said. “I just wanted her to come for my ceremony, and then they refused it.”

Shocked and frustrated, Chumchantha and her fiance pressed on with the wedding despite the bride’s Thai side being noticeably absent. “I’m really upset about it,” she said. “It’s just one day in my life.”

Such emotional anecdotes are why NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow is pushing Ottawa to put in place an appeals process for those who feel wronged by Canada’s visitor visa system.

“There’s a lot of unfair stories,” said Chow, the MP for the Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina, who has heard countless tales of family members unable to attend weddings, funerals or births in Canada because a temporary resident visa, or visitor visa, was denied, with no opportunity for recourse.

“For families that cannot come together for those special moments, I think that’s exceedingly cruel.”

Figures from Citizenship and Immigration Canada show about 200,000 applications for temporary resident visas are turned down every year, but there’s no mechanism in place to allow applicants to appeal those decisions – something Chow said she considers an injustice.

She has asked the House of Commons committee on citizenship and immigration to study the issue, and has a private member’s bill in the works which, if passed, would establish an appeals process. She also plans to “continue to apply the pressure on (Citizenship and Immigration Minister) Jason Kenney.”

That push, however, comes at a time when the federal government is aggressively tightening up its refugee system and restricting the number of people seeking asylum in Canada after using temporary visas to enter the country.

“It’s more than just the visitors visa, I think,” said Jeffrey Reitz, a professor at the University of Toronto who specializes in immigration studies.

A proposal like Chow’s, it could be argued, has the potential to open the door to more refugee claims, which may be made once a temporary visa holder lands on Canadian soil, he said.

“It makes sense to me that this should be put forward,” Reitz said. “I don’t know what chance it has of succeeding.”

Would-be refugees whose visa applications are turned down have little recourse beyond resubmitting their application or seeking leave from the Federal Court of Canada for a judicial review – a costly and time-consuming process that few have the means to pursue.

In July, Ottawa imposed visa requirements on Mexico in response to a surge in the number of Mexican immigrants claiming refugee status on Canadian soil, which had nearly tripled since 2005. Similar restrictions were also imposed on travellers from the Czech Republic.

At the time, Kenney said more than half the Czech claims were being prematurely abandoned or withdrawn – an indication that many may be making false claims – while only 11 per cent of Mexican claims processed in 2008 were accepted.

The surge in the latter is attributed in part to a bloody drug war that has been raging for years in Mexico.

Canadians wishing to express their support for Chow’s campaign have been doing so by way of Facebook, logging on to the social networking site and urging Ottawa to take action in a group called “Calling for Visitor Visa Fairness.”

Each application is judged on its own merits, said Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokesman Nicolas Fortier. “The onus is really on the applicant to satisfy the visa officer that they’re coming to Canada for temporary purposes.”

Kenney refused to discuss Chow’s proposal for the purposes of this story, but when asked about it during committee hearings last month, he indicated that he’s confident in the ability of those who evaluate visa applications to make accurate assessments.

“People sometimes have a hard time understanding the decisions of visa officers,” he said, “but they often don’t know the particulars of the case in hand.”

Anyone who pays the $75 fee to apply for a visitor visa is entitled to know why they are being turned down, and to appeal the decision, Chow said.

Geography seemed to make a difference, she added. European countries, for instance, have a visitor visa approval rate of about 84 per cent, compared with just 43 per cent for the north Indian city of Chandigarh.

“The refusal rate is very, very uneven.”

Kenney, on the other hand, has insisted repeatedly that no geographic bias exists at Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Instead, he said, high levels of fraud and unscrupulous consultants recommending ways to sneak into the country drive down visa approval rates in certain areas.

Chow’s proposed appeals system would be modelled after systems that exist in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the U.K., applicants can appeal to an independent judicial body at no charge and have their case processed in 28 days.

Chow is also calling for a more transparent process that would require the ministry to provide detailed reasons when visitor visas are rejected.

It all sounds good, but would likely pose some practical challenges to a system that’s already heavily burdened with applications, experts say.

“It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do this, but it would require a significant increase in resources,” said Christopher Worswick, a professor who studies immigration issues at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Worswick recommended an appeal fee that could be refunded if an applicant won their case.

An appeals process would also send the message to officials in embassies overseas that there is an oversight mechanism in place, thus addressing concerns applicants have brought up about biased visa officers operating in certain countries, he added.

“There should be a way to construct a system that’s fair.”

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Single mom Hong Zhang’s dream came true last week as she was made a permanent resident of Canada after an emotional six-year battle fighting China’s one-child policy.

An ecstatic Zhang, 41, and daughter Sherry, 4, were given a letter saying they were accepted as immigrants in a landmark case in which she claimed to face huge fines and stigmatization if deported to China, where it illegal to have children out of wedlock.

“I am so excited by the good news,” Zhang said after a hearing at a Watline Ave. immigration office, in Mississauga. “It has been a long and difficult time for Sherry and me.”

The decision will open the door for other women in the same situation, who can’t return to China or other countries, her counsel and immigration officials said.

Zhang, a labourer, plans to take out citizenship in two years and obtain documents to take Sherry to China to visit her grandparents.
“I want to give my daughter a good future in Canada,” she said. “I plan on going to school to take courses to updgrade myself.”

Zhang came to Canada in 1997 and filed an unsuccessful refugee claim. During that time she gave birth to Sherry. Her consultant Roy Kellogg said other women will seek refuge in Canada after hearing of Zhang’s plight.

“Its totally illegal and wrong to send a Canadian child to China,” Kellogg said yesterday. “We have 11 similar cases being processed at this time.”

He said deported single mothers face a fine of about $140,000 a child when they return to China with children. They do not receive health coverage or allowed to attend school or obtain Chinese citizenship.

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Now that Toronto has won its bid to host the Pan Am Games in 2015, it’s time for the city’s arts leaders to seize a rare opportunity. Athletics may be at its core, but this event can be about much more. It can be the occasion for a cultural explosion.

No one is more aware of this than David Peterson, the former Ontario premier who was chair of Toronto’s bid committee.

“The value of Pan Am is what you make it,” Peterson pronounced Tuesday in an interview about how a sporting event can be turned into a bonanza for culture. “Just having a few guys running around in a circle is not much use. We can get a lot more out of this in addition to the physical legacies of new pools and housing.”

The way Peterson perceives it, this is a way to celebrate the culture of the western hemisphere.

“I have a strong vision, and we have already engaged in discussions with some of our existing cultural institutions about the role they can play.”

At Peterson’s request, Luminato CEO Janice Price convened a round table of prominent arts insiders to brainstorm about creative ways to highlight Toronto’s cultural strengths in its bid presentation.

A particularly effective part of the presentation was a film called Share the Dream.

That film, by the ubiquitous arts marketing guru Barry Avrich, depicted athletes in three countries preparing for and dreaming of the 2015 games in Toronto.

Among the topics up for discussion at the round table were suggestions for what might be included in the opening and closing ceremonies.

“I am particularly pleased that culture was such an important part of the Toronto bid,” Price said Tuesday. “The opportunity to showcase our artists and cultural facilities can only strengthen the legacy the Pan Am Games will provide to Toronto.” However, we need to remember that during the two weeks in July that the Games are on, culture will play a secondary role to sporting events, except perhaps in the opening and closing ceremonies.

“During those two weeks it would be crazy for artists to compete with athletes for attention,” Peterson said. “Where the great opportunity for the arts comes in is in the year leading up to the Games. During that year we should be doing everything we can to celebrate the 42 countries in this hemisphere.”

That’s a perfect goal for Toronto, which leads the world in creating a lively multicultural urban centre.

Peterson made clear it would be a mistake to create a new bureaucracy for showcasing the arts in the year leading up to the Games.

“We already have a number of big, capable cultural institutions. They need to come up with imaginative events that tie in with the Games, focusing on the culture and history of the Americas and taking advantage of the chance to co-brand those events with the Pan Am Games.”

The Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, various theatre companies, the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada are all potential partners, as long as they come up with projects that tie in with the Games and the culture of the western hemisphere.

Matthew Teitelbaum, chief executive officer of the AGO, is enthusiastic about such a partnership. “The Pan American Games is an extraordinary opportunity for the AGO and all cultural institutions to engage with diverse communities, bring people together, to inspire and be inspired by civic pride,” he said Tuesday.

And Caribana chair Joe Haltead is eager to link that event with the games in 2015.

“We will engage everyone with what they’re good at,” Peterson said. “We might call (Piers Handling, co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival) and say, `Piers, how can we work together?’”

But how would it all be coordinated?

“Luminato might be able to manage a lot of it,” Peterson said. “The festival could be extended.”

The CEO of the annual June arts festival is cautiously receptive. “We have experience in coordinating projects with various cultural organizations,” Price said, “and of course we want to help our arts partners make the most of this opportunity.”

Practically speaking, however, Games organizers must realize that the feasibility of these grand visions will depend on how much money can be allocated to develop extra cultural projects.

And if Games-related arts events are to roll out for an entire year leading up to July 2015, then Toronto’s Pan Am Games leadership will have to recruit a cultural commissioner with the powers of a wizard.

Let the search begin.

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Finally, Toronto is a winner, awarded the 2015 Pan Am Games on a first-ballot vote Friday.

The victory seems all the more sweet since the city and region have lost two Olympic bids, two Commonwealth Games bids in Hamilton and couldn’t even get a bid for the world expo off the ground.

“Our commitment, our pledge, our undertaking, our promise is to provide you with the best Pan Am Games ever,” Premier Dalton McGuinty told delegates assembled for the announcement.

“It’s an exciting time for so many of us here.”

Although Toronto’s bid backers arrived in Mexico this week both hopeful and optimistic, arguing the city had the best technical bid, organizers were reluctant to talk about a win – fearing it might jinx our chances.

Organizers took nothing for granted from offering Canadian treats like ice cream to voting delegates of the Pan American Sports Organization to running rehearsal after rehearsal for the final presentation.

And Toronto put on an upbeat, glitzy show that opened with athletes – gymnasts, volleyball players and a tennis player – bouncing into the hotel ballroom, followed by the 60-person strong delegation led by McGuinty.

Interspersed throughout the hour-long presentation were videos from athletes across the Western hemisphere emphasizing the benefits of Toronto including the world’s fastest man, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who was in town last summer.

The final video was a moving tale of what might be – youngsters from across the Americas and Caribbean – training and growing up to compete in Toronto in 2015.

Toronto’s presentation drew much applause – unlike Bogota’s and Lima’s which were more formal and featured wrap-up speeches from both their presidents – Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe and Peru’s Alan Garcia.

Politicians who spoke for Toronto’s bid – which is actually a southern Ontario bid stretching from St. Catharines to Oshawa to Barrie – included McGuinty, Mayor David Miller and federal sports minister Gary Lunn.

The $2.4 billion bid – which includes $1 billion for the athletes village in the West Donlands that will include a component of affordable housing after the games – include funding commitments from Ottawa, Queen’s Park and participating municipalities. Ontario is promising to cover any deficits.

The two-week games, held every four years, and open to athletes from across the Americas and the Caribbean, will bring badly needed sports infrastructure to the region.

Toronto will get a new aquatics centre with two 50-metre pools and a separate diving tank plus a high-performance sports training facility at the U of T’s Scarborough campus.

Hamilton is a big winner with a new track and field stadium that will be used by the Tiger-Cats and a new indoor velodrome.

But bid chair David Peterson always insisted the games were about much more than just sport.

Winning the games helps Toronto shed its “loser mentality,” but the games give governments a firm deadline to complete promised projects including transit improvements like the rail link to the Pearson airport.

Lima played the sentimental card – arguing that Peru had never hosted before, and Canada has already had the games twice before in Winnipeg in 1967 and 1999, so it was their turn. Some delegates reportedly said Lima’s organizers were pulling hard on the heart strings.

But in the end, it may have been problems with the 2011 games in Guadalajara that helped put Toronto over the edge. Construction has not even begun on some of the venues, especially the all-important athletes’ village, and organizers were ordered this week to put up a multi-million dollar performance bond to ensure work gets under way.

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Ontario students will start learning money smarts as early as Grade 4, when Queen’s Park rolls out a new financial literacy curriculum in September 2011.

Prompted by growing debt levels among Canadian youths and reckless personal spending habits that helped trigger the global credit crunch, the province will design lessons that can be worked into subjects up to Grade 12, said Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, who will announce the plan Monday in Toronto.

“The whole issue of how to manage money and risk is a really important concept – money and debt can become difficult issues in later life – but we can’t assume families will discuss these things at home,” said Wynne in an interview.

“But we’re not looking to create a new course; we want to build financial literacy into the existing curriculum.”

The government will create a working group to pinpoint the core concepts to be covered and will work with the non-profit Investor Education Fund to develop training for teachers.

Wynne said several provincial politicians supported the idea after Toronto school trustee Josh Matlow called last spring for a provincial curriculum in financial basics in the wake of the world economic crisis.

“When people feel out of control of their finances it can lead to deep depression, breakups of marriages,” Matlow says. As of January, student loan debt owed to the federal government surpassed $13 billion for the first time (the figure does not include provincial student loan debt). And according to a recent study by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, six in 10 Canadians between 18 and 29 are carrying some debt; more than a third of those owe $10,000 or more.

Once the curriculum is finalized, Matlow hopes it will teach students as early as Grade 4 about basics such as budgeting. Eventually he would like them to learn to read the fine print of cellphone and credit card contracts, the effects of a bad credit rating, mortgage financing and how marketers and advertisers target them.

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If you sit down at the terrace of a “café branché” in Paris, you will hear people talk a lot about their “carte bleue”, their “blue card”.  This magic word is simply the name French people gave to their Visa Card according to the colour it bears there…

Carte bleue

But Europe is trying to give a little bit more of magic to the expression Blue Card.  The European Blue Card was adopted by the European Council on the 25th  May 2009.  It aims to attract and retain high skilled workers from outside the European Union.

But there is still a long road to go before the first immigrants get this card since the Member States have two years to implement this legislation into their national law, till 19th of June 2011.

Let’s have a look on this Blue Card and the changes it will bring to the European labour markets.

So, the purpose of this new system is to fight against the shortage of highly qualified workers. The official definition of a “highly qualified worker” is a person who owns an university degree and three years of experience.  So, doctors, engineers and ITC specialists will be heavily recruited among foreign students.

How will it work ?

So far, only 24 Member States have signed the agreement.  Restrictions are still applied to workers from former communist countries in Germany, for instance, and some fear a massive immigration of highly educated competitors.

The purpose of this new procedure is to make stay in Europe much faster and easier.  Theoretically, the applicant would enjoy equal treatment with nationals when it comes to “working conditions”, which, according to the conclusions of the European Council includes :

• “working conditions, including pay and dismissal;
• freedom of association;
• education, training and recognition of qualifications;
• a number of provisions of national law regarding social security and pensions;
• access to goods and services, including procedures for obtaining housing, information and counselling services;
• free access to the entire territory of the member state concerned within the limits provided for by national law.

After eighteen months of legal residence in the first member state as an EU Blue Card holder, the person concerned and his family members may move, under certain conditions, to a member state other than the first member state for the purpose of highly qualified employment.”

european flag

Criteria and conditions

The applicant must be offered a job in one of the participant Member States for at least one year.

The Blue Card is valid for one to four years.  The worker can apply in any Member State, except Great Britain, Denmark and Ireland.

The candidate must lodge his application to the Blue Card in the Member States which he wants to work in. The authorities have to answer within 90 days of the application being lodged.

The gross monthly wage must not be inferior to a national level defined by the EU member states which shall be at least 1.5 times the gross monthly or annual average wages in the member state in question.

The worker and his family will be allowed to travel in the Schengen Space for up to three month.

Some critics already raise their voices, comparing the European Blue Card with the American Green Card.  The latter allows permanent residence, while the European does not.   The Green Card is valid 10 years renewable, the Blue one allows only a maximum of for years, renewable.

But it is true that the Blue Card will also provide some social rights and lets any Member State the freedom to elaborate a more generous national labour market regulation.

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i made it! in one piece and without any tears. well, ok, that is a selective lie – there were many tears leading up to the move, but zero on actual moving day. i had lingering stresses about final details – in retrospect, i realize i could have stressed about the ‘big picture’ more than the little details. i think it’s just that i had to find SOMETHING to stress about. and i wasn’t nervous about the move, or what would happen when i got to the island. and it felt weird not to be worried about anything at all – so i chose to worry about how i was going to get my huge suitcases down 4 flights of stairs and that my suitcases were each 8 lbs overweight. saagar, always the voice of reason, told me i was being silly and that my roommates would help with my bags (which they did – at 5am!! thanks guys) and a $100 overage fee is nominal if the items inside are important to me (they are). and wouldn’t you know it – when i got to the airport, the check-in lady was ‘too busy’ to charge me for my heavy bags. she told me to get them both down to 53 and then wheel them over to security. um, hi, if i could get them down to 53, don’t you think i would have by now?? so i went over to the corner and pretended to move things around for 5 minutes and then hurried off to catch my flight.

this will likely disappoint jen allen, but the flight was full of normal people. i got into a fight with a guy about his briefcase (i wanted him to put it by his feet, he called me high maintenance. EXCUSE me, this carry-on represents 1/3 of the belongings i own in the world). i breezed through immigration and customs without a problem. they stamped my work visa, which means i can stay here until 11/15/10. i was relieved to be at the airport, but at this point in my journey was exhausted and sweaty from lugging around three massive, overweight suitcases. i wheeled everything out the doors and expected saagar to be right there in front of the door. i was scanning, scanning, scanning the crowd and would have maybe started crying, but then i heard him laugh directly behind my shoulder on the left. he had been ‘capturing’ my first steps on the island with his Nikon – let me tell you, the photos aren’t flattering. i look scared, and then mad, haha. i will share them, i just have to get them from his camera.

so this was all on sunday…today is thursday. i don’t start work until the 15th, so i’ve been getting my bearings, getting my banking in order, a driver’s license, etc. we had dinner with his parents on sunday night and have just been enjoying being in the same place for the first time in almost 4 years!! it’s truly something to celebrate and we are so so happy. right now i’m staying in our friend liz’s townhouse, which is lovely. tonight we are flying over to cayman brac, which is the middle-sized island for a long weekend of rock climbing, diving and outside playing. saagar’s friends rob, alistair and gianna are coming as well – should be a great time!! more photos to come soon.

oh, and here’s a photo to show i haven’t completely dropped my nerdy side. SCJ distributes in grand cayman!