US President Donald Trump has defended a controversial diesel deal with Russia, stating it aims to stabilise the global market despite bipartisan criticism from US lawmakers. The deal, which eases sanctions on Russian diesel shipments until April 2027, has been criticised as a "gift to our adversary" that finances Russia's war efforts and offers little relief to Americans.
Top US lawmakers, leaders, and civil society members have strongly condemned an alleged plot to attack a Hindu temple in Illinois. Alexandros Paporakis, 19, was arrested for attempting a mass shooting at the Aurora temple, which failed when his rifle jammed. Indian-American Congressmen and other officials have called for efforts to combat rising anti-Indian and anti-Hindu prejudice in America, highlighting the need to protect minority houses of worship.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant and eight other major corporations have been questioned by US Senators for filing thousands of H-1B skilled labour visa petitions after conducting "mass layoffs" of American employees.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel is set to face congressional scrutiny over his handling of the investigation into the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, after early missteps including a false social media post claiming that 'the subject' in the killing was in custody, Al Jazeera reported.
'We sent just 500 people from India to the US on H-1B visas. There is no dependence on H-1B visas.'
The Guantanamo Bay facility, which has so far been used to hold terrorists, will now also house illegal immigrants with criminal records.
A group of influential lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan legislation in the US Senate to comprehensively overhaul the H-1B and L-1 visa programmes and usher in more transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
A US federal judge in Houston has declared illegal a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of Indians, brought to the US as children, but noted that the government can continue to process renewals of its current recipients.
A copy of the letter dated February 29 was released to the media.
The new Grassley-Durbin bill would weaken the economy. Here's how to let the H-1B visa program strengthen the US instead.
The proposed comprehensive immigration bill if passed by the Congress and signed into law by the US President would bar companies from hiring people on H-1B visa if 50 per cent of their employees are not Americans.
Senators Grassley and Durbin release more data showing that Tata, Infosys, and others are using U.S. work visas to their advantage
President Donald Trump talked to the Saudi King, during which the latter flatly denied having any knowledge of the missing journalist.
H-1B visa reform bill introduced in US Senate
'All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state'
The President said he made the decision in consultation with European allies but added they may not be in a position to join the US in banning Russian energy imports.
Wray, 50, received an overwhelmingly bipartisan support -- 92-5 votes -- on the Senate floor.
Come mid-October, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is likely to acquiesce to more than two years of pushing by the Sikh-American community and United States lawmakers and finally create a special category for Sikh Americans in the agency's hate crime monitoring form.
The Durbin-Grassley Bill might have fallen through but large Indian information technology service providers are taking no more chance of being seen as job snatchers in the US.
With the US facing a double digit unemployment rate, Senator Russ Feingold in a letter to Senators Richard Durbin and Byron Dorgan, who are drafting such a legislation urged them to include strong and effective Buy American and domestic sourcing requirement in this legislation.
A strident bill concerning US work visas for non-US citizens has been re-introduced before the US Senate. A look at the bill.
Even as India reacted strongly against the proposed changes in the US visa regime, trade experts said the country could do little in multilateral forums like the World Trade Organization to appeal against implementation of such measures.
Nasscom, the apex body that represents the Indian IT outsourcing industry, will demand 'service visas' instead of mentioning H1-B/L1 visas.
The move was immediately welcomed by top American lawmakers.
Two US lawmakers have asked nine foreign-based firms, including some leading Indian companies that used 20,000 of such visas, to disclose details about their workforce and their use of the special programme.
Two senators are probing how Indian outsourcing firms use U.S. work visas, with an eye on new restrictions.
Leading Indian and global information technology firms such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant Technology Solutions, IBM, Satyam Computer Services and Wipro top the list of L visa users for the financial year 2006-07.
The House of Representatives needs to pass similar bill to avoid a government shutdown this weekend. House, in which the Republicans currently has a majority, is expected to pass the bill, but unlikely to include funding for the border wall.
A Nasscom letter to US senators calls for attention to the fact that there is a considerable body of evidence pointing to the contributions made by H-1B visa holders to innovation and entrepreneurship in the US.
According to Republican Senator Charles Grassley and Democratic Senator Richard Durbin, more companies are now using H-1B visas to displace qualified American workers.
The bill will attempt to toughen the H-1B visa program.
Despite an over 50 per cent drop in the number of H1-B visas issued to some Indian IT firms in 2007 against 2006, US Democrat senators Richard J Durbin and Charles E Grassley have written to nine Indian companies that figure among the top 25 recipients of approved H-1B visa petitions in 2007 seeking detailed information on how they use the visa programme.
All companies that have 50% or more employees from outside the US to pay a higher visa fee of $10,000 for each such staffer, against $4,500 at present.
However, the Republicans are unlikely to opt for this, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
More than a year after he was nominated by President Barack Obama, the US Senate, defying the powerful pro-gun lobby National Rifle Association, voted to confirm Dr Vivek Hellegere Murthy as the first Indian American US Surgeon General and the youngest ever at age 37, in a cliff-hanger of a 51-43 vote.
Walt Disney staff were reportedly replaced with Indians holding H-1B.
The US lawmakers, describing themselves as "longtime friends of India", wrote in the letter that "more than six months after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government unilaterally revoked the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, the government continues to block most internet in the region".
In a policy paper submitted to US Senators, the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) said the excessive delays in the processing of permanent residency applications due to country-wise quota contributed to America's loss of revenue, market leadership and competitive edge.
Thirty-seven-year-old Indian-American physician Vivek Hallegere Murthy has been confirmed as the 19th surgeon general of America by the United States senate. He is youngest person and first person of Indian-origin to hold the post.
In less than a week of Donald Trump being sworn in as the 45th US President, the "H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act" was introduced to prioritise American workers and restore fairness in visa programmes for skilled workers.
