It was supposed to be a happy journey to London, one that the Imam family had been planning for the past two months. Everything was set - except the visa, which did not arrive in time for one of its members. "Visa was the villain...As a consequence, half of the family of four will be in London today and the other half at home in India and the US, respectively," Sanjar Imam, director of travel firm Panache World, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Aimed at providing better access to travel information, the US State Department has made its business visa centre services available on the Internet.\n
Anju, who now goes by the name of Fatima after converting to Islam, on July 25 married her 29-year-old friend Nasrullah, whose home is in the Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Speaking at a tourism ministry's Singapore roadshow for promoting the Delhi Commonwealth Games and visa on arrival on Monday night, the agents said travelers were no longer comfortable to make a return trip to India, having landed at one of its airports and then travelling to neighbouring countries.
Jaspal Singh, one of 104 Indians deported from the US on Wednesday, claims he and other deportees were handcuffed and had their legs chained during the flight. Singh, who hails from Punjab, says he was captured by US Border Patrol after crossing the border illegally in January. He blames a travel agent for deceiving him, claiming he was promised a legal route to the US. The deportation comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington for talks with President Donald Trump.
'Prime Minister Modi should sit with Trump and find a solution to this issue.'
Many countries are taking steps to ease processing. However, travellers should have a justifiable reason for the visit and their finances should be in order.
The US has announced that individuals travelling to the country on a business or tourist visa - B-1 and B-2 - can apply for new jobs and even appear in interviews, but the prospective employees must ensure that they have changed their visa status before starting a new role. B-1 and B-2 visas are generally referred to as "B visas", and they are the most common types of visa issued for a wide range of uses in the United States. The B-1 visa is issued mainly for short-term business trips, while the B-2 visa is issued mainly travelling for tourism purposes.
The US is 'putting every ounce of its energy' to eliminate the long visa wait time in India, including sending a cadre of consular officers to the country and opening up its other overseas embassies as far away as Germany and Thailand for Indian visa applicants, according to a senior US visa officer. India was one of the very few countries where applications for US visas saw a major upswing after coronavirus-related travel restrictions were lifted. There have been growing concerns in India over the long waiting period for first time visa applicants, especially for those applying under B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) categories.
The US is planning to resume the process of domestic visa revalidation in certain categories, like H-1B and L1 visas, on a pilot basis later this year, a move that will benefit tens of thousands of foreign tech workers, particularly from India. Until 2004, certain categories of non-immigrant visas, particularly the H-1B, could be renewed or stamped inside the US. After that, for the renewal of these visas, in particular, those on H-1B, the foreign tech workers have to go out of the country, mostly to their own country to get the H-1B extension stamped on their passport.
The home ministry said a large number of foreigners were stranded at different airports in India because of cancellation of flights on account of volcanic eruption in Iceland.
Multi-currency pre-paid cards are a good option while travelling abroad.
Amid growing concerns of surging COVID-19 cases, the US has announced that it will waive the in-person interview requirement for a range of visa applicants during the entire year in 2022, including for H-1B workers and students, many of whom are from India. 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.
Travel from India increased significantly after resumption of direct flights in March, Turkiye Tourism Board said, with destination weddings contributing to arrivals
Gearing up to deal with an impending slowdown in tourist arrivals, the tourism ministry is considering waiving off visa fee for foreign travellers.
Travel companies are expecting a heavy rush to the US following the withdrawal of curbs on fully vaccinated travellers from select countries, including India, on November 8. The move will benefit those holding long-term tourist, business, and work visas. Also, new and extra flights by Air India and American Airlines are expected to provide better travel options.
Visa delays have perturbed Indian visitors this summer. But a solution could be in sight soon, as embassies gear up to address the challenges caused by a spike in applications and staff shortages. While the British High Commission has said it is working urgently to reduce the current visa processing time, the German Embassy has introduced extra shifts to process more visas. However, appointments with the latter are fully booked till August-end due to high volumes.
The travel and tourism industry has witnessed 28 per cent growth in job postings during June-August, according to a report. According to chat-based direct hiring platform Hirect's 'Job Index Report', the travel and tourism sector witnessed layoffs and salary reductions during the COVID pandemic. Job Index Report by Hirect is based on job posting data across various industries and cities on its platform.
The government will provide free visas to 5 lakh tourists visiting India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. Announcing measures to revive the tourism sector battered by Covid-19, Sitharaman said financial support would be provided to more than 11,000 registered tourist guides, travel and tourism stakeholders. She said once the visa issuance for international travel is restarted, the first five lakh tourists will be issued visas free of charge.
Binil T B, an electrician from Thrissur, left for Russia seven months ago, hoping to secure a better job and higher wages while his wife was expecting their first child.
There are some countries whose citizens can travel without much restrictions, while others have to queue for visa.
Neeraj Chopra will have a special supporter at the Paris Olympics: a Kerala cyclist who has travelled all the way from Calicut, riding more than 22000 kilometers over two years.
Outbound travel from India to the south east Asian destination of Malaysia is expected to see a dip of 20 to 40 per cent with the Malaysian government cancelling the visa-on- arrival facility for Indian travellers, effective August 1.
'We have interesting leads on the agents. The roles of agents in this entire operation, who were doing what.'
This couple travels the world and makes money doing it. Meet Suchna and Yogesh Shah who run The Backpacker Co, a first of its kind travel company that caters only to backpackers.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday permitted the mother of a Kerala woman, who is on death row in Yemen for killing a Yemeni national, to travel to the West Asian country to negotiate about blood money with the victim's family and save her daughter from the gallows.
For Indians, Sri Lanka is one of the favourite venues for destination weddings. But last month, when a family from Delhi chartered a Vistara Airbus A320 to Colombo, it packed much more than the standard paraphernalia of clothes, gifts and jewellery. The family ferried meals from Delhi for all the guests and to cover their entire stay in Colombo due to the food and fuel shortages in the island nation.
For Indian parents, sending a child abroad for a three-year degree could deplete 48% of their retirement savings, while a four-year degree may consume up to 64%.
Indians visiting Britain on tourist visas will soon be able to visit neighbouring Ireland without a visa, under a visa waiver programme announced in Dublin.
The US state department, which issued the revised travel advisory, on Wednesday said that the exemptions have been given under the national interest category.
Bangladesh was the largest source of foreign tourists, accounting for 21.4 per cent of all arrivals.
More than 60 people from Gujarat on board the Nicaragua-bound plane, which was sent back from France over suspected human trafficking, had agreed to pay Rs 60 lakh to Rs 80 lakh to immigration agents, who promised to cross into the US illegally after reaching the Latin American country, officials said.
The e-Visa facility is available to visitors from about 44 countries.
'Filing a nil ITR serves as a formal declaration to the tax authorities that your earnings fell below the taxable threshold in the given financial year, and you had no tax liability during that period.'
An influential immigration advocacy group representing Indian-Americans on Thursday urged the Biden administration not to issue the most sought-after H-1B work visa to any individual born in India, till the time the discriminatory country-cap on green cards or permanent legal residency is removed. The current per-country cap on issuing of green cards in the US has resulted in Indian professionals, mostly from the IT sector, having to wait for decades for their legal permanent residency. Issuing new H-1B visas to more Indians would add to this agonising painful wait for green cards, Immigration Voice said in a statement.
With India emerging as one of the fastest growing tourist destinations worldwide, plastic money major Visa expects 60 per cent growth in spending on its cards by foreign and domestic travellers in 2005.
The programme permits visa free travel for 20 mn visitors per year.
The proclamation that comes into effect on June 24, is expected to impact a large number of Indian IT professionals and several American and Indian companies who were issued H-1B visas by the US government for the fiscal year 2021 beginning October 1.
India on Sunday announced temporary suspension of e-visa facility for Chinese travellers and foreigners residing in the neighbouring country and issued a fresh advisory saying anyone with travel history to China since January 15 can be quarantined.
In a big relief for thousands of stranded Indian professionals in America due to the coronavirus pandemic, the US government has decided to allow applications by H-1B visa holders for an extended stay in the country. The US department of homeland security in a new notification has said it recognises that there are immigration-related challenges as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances