In a move that is expected to hit Indian IT companies, the US government has decided to hike H-1B visa fee from next fiscal.
If you are applying for United States citizenship or planning to apply for any other immigration benefits, be ready to pay more from October 26.\n\n
The mandated Congressional cap is of 65,000.
This is against the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas for this year.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the Delhi government to present their stand on a plea seeking recall of all currency notes above Rs 100, restricting cash transactions above Rs 10,000 and linking assets worth more than Rs 50,000 with Aadhaar to check corruption.
The US government has removed a regulation proposed by former president Donald Trump's administration that sought to narrow the definition of "specialty occupation" under the H-1B visa regime. The change comes as a relief for Indian information technology firms, which are among the largest users of such visas. "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally vacated a regulation that would have redefined the H-1B specialty occupation, restricted off site placement of H-1B employees, and otherwise increased employer compliance obligations. "The vacatur follows a federal court ruling that set aside the regulation because the agency did not have good cause to bypass notice and comment rulemaking, in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act," explained immigration law firm Fragomen.
The Biden administration has indicated that it is still undecided on ending the Trump-era ban on issuing new H-1B visas, with the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asserting that the US government's top priority is the acute needs of individuals fleeing persecution. The H-1B visa, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals, 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.
The US has announced that the cap on employment-based immigrant visas for 2007 has been reached and no new applications will be entertained till October.
"We've vetting very, very strongly. Very, very strongly. But we need help, and we need help by getting that executive order passed," he said.
Pro-Khalistan elements based in Canada have been luring gullible Sikh youth to the North American country by sponsoring their visa with the sole objective of using them to carry out their agenda on Canadian soil, sources said on Wednesday.
Canada's envoy to the United Nations, Robert Rae, during his address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday raised the issue of 'foreign interference' adding that the rules of state-to-state relations, cannot be bent for 'political expediency'.
She was among 50 persons who were presented with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services', 'The Americans By Choice Awards'.
In a welcome development for Indians seeking to work in the US, the Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced the extension of filing time for 'O' and the 'P' non-immigrant visas
H1-B holders in the US can rest assured that changes are soon coming which will bring both simplicity and certainty to your stay, including a potential path to citizenship: Trump.
The Premium Processing Service provides faster processing of certain employment-based petitions and guarantees a 15-calendar day processing time. Early this month, the USCIS said it needs additional time to assess whether it is possible to provide this level of service for nonimmigrant religious worker petitions. Due to the complexities with adjudicating R-1 visa petitions, USCIS cannot reasonably ensure a level of processing service within 15 calendar days, it said.
The United States immigration authorities have announced that 2,000 slots in the H1B visa category are still available for those holding American master's degree or advanced degrees.
Officials said the Citizenship and Immigration Services would not issue daily update on number of applications received, but will make an announcement when the cap is reached.
US companies, particularly in technology, say they need the visas to fill vacant positions.
ITServe's lawsuit against the USCIS alleges that the agency has no authority to misinterpret the existing regulations and shorten the approval durations.
Canada will be pausing all in-person services at the consulates in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bengaluru and is now directing all Canadians in India to the High Commission in New Delhi.
The presence of David Headley in Mumbai has thrown up many questions before investigators busy trying to find out whether disappeared cadres of the banned Student Islamic Movement of India and the Indian Mujahideen had used his immigration service.
Due to the huge pile-up of visa applications, the US consular officers in the neighbouring country are now adjudicating Indian visa applications where interview requirements have been waived.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services on Tuesday said that the lottery was done on April 7.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, officially, has not come out on the number of H-1B applications received by it since April 1 when it started accepting petitions for it for the fiscal 2014 beginning October 1, 2013.
Cries of help were forwarded through the night, as Chennaiites, who waded through a similar nightmare in 2015, reconnected online again and formed citizen rescue groups to deal with emergencies.
Two influential US Senators have renewed the campaign against the biggest users of H-1B visa workers in the US, including Indian heavyweights Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and Tata Consultancy Services. They fired off a missive to these companies asking how they employed professional and skilled workers, majority of whom hail from India.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday unveiled a new scheme for the world's 100 most talented young professionals in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of his vision to make the UK a "beacon" to attract the "brightest and best" from around the world. Addressing the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in Birmingham, Sunak told an audience of business chiefs and professionals that control over the country's post-Brexit immigration policy remains crucial. However, he pledged to create "one of the world's most attractive visa regimes for entrepreneurs and highly skilled people" and make use of the "Brexit freedoms" to strike trade deals with "the world's fastest-growing economies".
"Bapu, I am here today not as a Prime Minister, but as a Hindu," said Sunak, opening his address at the gathering.
There's an entire gurdwara dedicated to immigration. People present tiny airliner models here in the hope that Waheguru will soon give them a ticket, passport and visa to leave, reveals Shekhar Gupta.
He said that Canada recognises the impact that some of these measures may have and at the same time it's another reason why he placed such emphasis on the investigation that's taking place that they are able to move beyond credible intelligence to evidence, strong evidence of exactly what happened.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that it has reached the cap on Congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B work visas, the most sought after by Indian professionals.
'Students of Tier-II and Tier III engineering colleges in the south may find 2023 to be one of the toughest years for getting jobs.'
Milind Makwana, according to his close friends and family, spoke at the City Council meeting on July 18 against SB403, the anti-caste discrimination bill in California State Assembly.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced to review its policy in H-1B cap exemptions for non-profit entities that are related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education.
Amarjeet Singh, managing director of Jalandhar-based Broadway Immigration Services, discusses France as a study destination.
Following the arrest of six ministry of home affairs officials in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) bribery case, the foreigners division of MHA has been overhauled to break the chain of deep-rooted network.
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