In light of the recent natural catastrophes in Chile, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has reminded Chileans of U.S. immigration benefits available to eligible Chilean nationals upon request. USCIS understands that a natural catastrophe can affect an individual’s ability to establish or maintain lawful immigration status. Temporary relief measures available to nationals of Chile may include:

1. The grant of an application for change or extension of nonimmigrant status on behalf of a Chilean national who is currently in the United States, even in cases where the request is submitted after the individual’s authorized period of admission has expired;
2. Re-parole of individuals granted parole by USCIS;
3. Extension of certain grants of advance parole, expedited processing of advance parole requests;
4. Expedited adjudication and approval, where possible, of requests for off-campus employment authorization due to severe economic hardship for F-1 students;
5. Expedited processing of immigrant petitions for immediate relative(s) of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (“LPRs”);
6. Expedited issuance of employment authorization where appropriate; and
7. Assistance to LPRs stranded overseas without documents in coordination with the Department of State.

For more information on USCIS humanitarian programs, applicants are encouraged to visit the USCIS website or to call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283 [only callers within the United States may use this 800 number].

On March 10, 2010, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) is streamlining the process for assessing the language skills of applicants under the Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience classes. “The language requirements themselves have not changed,” said Minister Kenney. “But beginning April 10, 2010, prospective immigrants will be required to prove their English and French language abilities at the time they apply. This requirement supports our commitment to fast, fair and efficient application processing.”

Previously, to prove language ability in French or English, applicants could either submit an independent, third-party test (the IELTS for English or the TEF for French) or a written submission to a visa officer. The written submission was intended for people whose first language is either English or French. However, many applicants whose first language was not English or French were taking advantage of the written submission. The submission wouldn’t adequately prove their ability and they would have to provide further evidence, leading to processing delays that could take months.

“We expect that applicants will have the language skills they claim on their application. Now, applicants in these categories will have only one opportunity to prove their language ability,” said Minister Kenney. “They can still make a written submission to a visa officer if they wish, but only once.”

“We strongly encourage applicants whose first language isn’t English or French to take a language test,” said Minister Kenney. “We don’t want immigrants to be surprised if their written submission doesn’t match their reported ability, and they don’t get the desired assessment.”

According to CIC, an immigrant’s English or French language ability is one of the strongest predictors of their success in the job market. Canadian Experience Class applicants must meet minimum language requirements based on the job they do. On a selection grid worth 100 points in total, Federal Skilled Workers can be awarded up to 24 points for their official language ability.

The end result of this change is that applicants seeking permanent residence under the Federal Skilled Worker or Canadian Experience classes should take the IELTS and/or TEF test prior to applying, unless their first language is English or French or they can provide compelling evidence to support their claim that they have sufficient language ability.