Amid mass layoffs in the tech sector, the federal agency for immigration services has said it is wrong to assume that sacked workers holding the much-sought-after H-1B visas have to leave the country within 60 days, asserting they have multiple options to stay in the US. 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.
President Donald Trump's executive order restricting entry of skilled foreign workers into the US, mainly on H-1B and L1 visas, has resulted in an estimated loss of $100 billion to companies in the US, a top American think-tank claimed. The executive order signed by Trump on June 22, that had temporarily banned issuing fresh H-1B and L-1 visas till December 31, caused a negative impact to the valuation of Fortune 500 firms equivalent to over $100 billion in losses, Brookings Institute said in a report released this week.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued two enforcement memos, which among other things, tightens deportation of illegal immigrants.
The emergency in Washington DC will be effective from Monday till January 24.
In yet another immigration-friendly move that would benefit thousands of Indian-American women, the Biden administration has agreed to provide automatic work authorisation permits to the spouses of H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.
The US government warned on Friday that hackers are attempting to exploit the 'Heartbleed' bug in targeted attacks by scanning networks to see if they are vulnerable.
The statue of Gandhi, which was donated by the Indian government to the city of Davis, was installed by the city council four years ago amidst protests from anti-Gandhi and anti-India organisations.
The measures passed 236-191 votes immediately drew sharp reaction from the White House.
The five Ahmedabad-based call centres that made calls to people living in the US are Hglobal, Call Mantra, Worldwide Solution, Zoriion Communications and Sharma BPO Services.
This is 4,000 more than 2016's figure of 46,188 Indian naturalisation and 8,000 more than 42,213 Indian citizenship in 2015.
"The US Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organisations," said a joint statement issued by the Department of Homeland Security and Director of National Intelligence.
The H-1B work visas for highly skilled professionals have been most beneficial from IT sector professionals from India.
Daniel Wager, who helped investigate HSBC for the federal agency, joined the HSBC's anti-money laundering team last November as a senior vice-president.
Several individuals and organisations, including the US Chambers of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's recent rules related to the H-1B visa, terming them "arbitrary" and "haphazard" regulations that will undermine high skilled immigration into America. Early this month, the Trump administration announced new restrictions on H-1B non-immigrant visa programme which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which is likely to affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.
The US officials informed that out of more than 1000 students, who were being considered for transfer to other universities, 435 transfers were approved, 145 were denied and about an equal number were issued Notices of Intention to Deny (NOIDs), the Indian embassy said in a statement.
All versions of Java 7 through update 10 are affected.
An estimated 240,000 Indian immigrants are among 11.5 million foreigners living illegally in the United States without proper immigration documents, according to latest official figures.
Benchmark share indices ended nearly 2% down on Monday, amid weak cues from Asia and Europe, with index heavyweight Infosys leading the decline
Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao has written to United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to view the cases of over 1,000 Indian students affected by the "sham" Tri-Valley University with "understanding" and in a "fair" manner.
The Bill requires the Congress to buy goods and services made in America for the first time in nearly seven decades.
The new measures will include additional interviews of applicants' family members, and close scrutiny of potential ties to organised crime, said senior US officials.
The United States has said it is currently focusing on the reinstatement of those students not implicated in the ongoing investigations into the visa scam by the California-based Tri Valley University.
"Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses From the Class of Aliens Eligible for Employment Authorisation," said the US department of homeland security's unified agenda in the federal register notification of its semi-annual regulatory agenda.
Diplomats in Washington, DC, San Francisco, and other places have expressed their disquiet at the way Indian students have been treated like potential fugitives--even criminals--only because of irregularities in the way their university was run. It is not clear how much success they have had in helping Indian students, who are still paying thousands of dollars in bail.
Ritu Jha speaks to some Indian students who have been at the receiving end of the Tri-Valley University scam in the United States.
The Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Thursday said that the bodies of four people -- two adults, a teen and an infant -- were found on the Canadian side of the US-Canada border near Emerson.
US immigration authorities have released a Pakistani journalist who reports for the Voice of America and whose home was destroyed by Taliban militants last month.
'No other military in the world could accomplish what we and our allies and partners did in such a short span of time. That is a testament not only to our forces' capabilities and courage but also to our relationships and the capabilities of our allies and partners,' Austin said in a statement at the conclusion of the American mission in Afghanistan.
People from India account for the maximum number of the resident non-immigrant population in the United States, latest governmental figures have revealed. Of the total number of 1.83 million resident non-immigrants in the US in the year 2008, as many as 400,000 were from India, followed by 150,000 from Canada and 140,000 from South Korea, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
Travelers from 6 countries will require a close family connections or business ties in order to enter the US.
Prakash Khatri, who created history when he was appointed the first-ever Ombudsman of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security tendered his resignation, effective February 29.
Thanks to the world-wide media attention as well as the involvement of Democratic Congressman from Ohio, Dennis Kucinich, 6-year old Alyssa Thomas's name was removed from the no fly-list by the United States homeland security.
The state government will seek technological help from the United States to plug the breaches in embankments and roads caused by floods.
A special Indian team is camping in Manitoba to assist ongoing investigations by Canadian agencies and to render any consular services for the victims.
Even as the H1-B cap for the year was reached for regular and 'advanced degree' students, the Department of Homeland Security announced an extension of the Optional Practical Training period up to 29 months.
'The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!' Trump said in a tweet.
The number of Indians adopting US citizenship has decreased though they are the second biggest ethnic group to acquire the green cards. According to the Annual Flow Report issued by Department of Homeland Security, the total number of people becoming naturalised US citizens was 6,60,477 in 2007.
Under the agreement reached between the department and the Sikh-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, posters will be distributed to federal facilities across the country, showing photos of different kirpans.
Foreigners entering the United States through J F Kennedy airport in New York will now be required to give the prints of all fingers instead of two index fingers sought previously. The new system, which is in its initial stages, is aimed at enhancing the security and efficiency in verifying the identities of the visitors' arriving at the airport, said US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The final evaluation of the new system will be made in December.
The report states that information is reminiscent of the warnings and intelligence they were getting in the summer of 2001.
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