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.
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.
Check if you are eligible. Keep documents ready. Plan in advance to avoid last-minute delays.
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%.
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.
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 State Department has proposed not to issue temporary business visas for H-1B speciality occupations which allowed several companies to send their technology professionals for a short stay to complete jobs on site in the US, a move which could affect hundreds of Indians. The proposal, if finalised, will eliminate any misconception that the "B-1 in lieu of H policy" provides an alternative avenue for foreign professionals to enter the US to perform skilled labour that allows, and potentially even encourages them and their employers to circumvent the restrictions and requirements relating to the H non-immigrant classification established by Congress to protect the US workers, the State Department said.
Flight occupancy and fresh bookings have dropped over ten per cent in last few days as individuals and corporates defer trips. International travel is already hit due to a series of visa restrictions.
The problems stem from a hardware failure in a State Department.
The annual meet also saw some shareholders of the country's second largest IT services company raising concerns over falling operating margins. But many congratulated the management for delivering good FY20 performance despite the tough economic conditions.
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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.
'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.'
Most stressful thing for most Indians planning to travel abroad is not the price of the ticket, but securing a visa.
The United States may include Gujarati language in its visa procedure for the convenience of people from the state planning to travel there.
Under the EB-5 Investment Visa programme, an applicant receives a conditional green card on making a minimum investment of $5,00,000 in the United States.
Medical tourism in India alone is estimated at $3 billion and projected to grow to $7-8 billion by 2020
Under a new British-Irish visa scheme announced by Ireland's minister for justice Frances Fitzgerald, tourists and business visitors from India and China will be allowed to travel freely in the 'common travel area' of Britain and Ireland with either an Irish or a British visa.
The US has already eased the procedure for issuing visa to attract a million Indian tourists by 2015
UK citizens are at par with those from Finland and Sweden for visa-free access.
Emphasising that India has the potential to become a global hub for education and tourism, Union home secretary Rajiv Gauba called for a change in the mindset at the field level to make foreigners feel welcome.
To win back customers, operators are offering discounts and cash-back, and are absorbing service tax
The first list will include a couple of countries each from various regions of the world.
The move is aimed at attracting more transit visitors to shop in Chinese markets.
New visa process will be available to Indians who travel to Canada frequently.
There are some nations whose citizens can travel to almost anywhere without any restriction.
While Yatra is building a digital services platform to offer skill development training and sourcing solutions to corporate, Thomas Cook has partnered ICMR-accredited labs to offer Covid-19 certification, and MakeMyTrip is offering chartered flight services.
Qatar has postponed plans to introduce more stringent visa rules for entry into the country, officials said.
Britain's Immigration Regional Director for Central and South Asia Thomas Greig said the new initiative has been taken as part of efforts to streamline the visa application process and to make it consistent with the wider global trend.
The state department said foreign tourists departing India with visitor (T) visas will now receive a stamp in their passports at the port of departure that indicates that the bearer will not be allowed to re-enter India for two months, regardless of their length of stay or validity of the visa.
You must choose a travel insurance package carefully because that is what will determine how soft the blow of an emergency will be when you're abroad. Here are five things to remember when choosing a travel insurance plan.
There was much demand for the visa centre in Wales to ensure speedier processing of applications. Earlier, applicants seeking visas here would need to travel to the Indian consulate in Birmingham or the High Commission in London. The centre has been set up following representations made to Mukherjee during his visit to Cardiff last year.
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Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, UAE, Jordan, Kenya, Fiji, Finland, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Oman and Philippines are among the countries which have got the e-visa facility in the first phase.
Egypt has approved a visa on arrival scheme for Indians wishing to travel across the country.
The British High Commission has announced this service for Indians travelling to the United Kingdom.
The proposed annual quota for Indian companies could be between 10 and 15 per cent. Currently, there are no country-specific limits on H-1B allotment.
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