It has been the preferred visa for Indian IT companies and has helped them keep costs down and gain a margin advantage over multinational players by sending engineers to the US.
Asian Games medallist sprinter Jyothi Yarraji's proposal to train in Tenrife, Spain ahead of the upcoming season and Paris Olympics was on Thursday cleared by the government.
An Indian woman sentenced to death in Abu Dhabi for the alleged murder of a four-month-old child has been executed on February 15, the Delhi High Court was informed on Monday. The woman, Shahzadi Khan, was handed over to the Abu Dhabi police on February 10, 2023 and sentenced to death on July 31, 2023. Her father, Shabbir Khan, had filed a petition seeking information about her well-being. The court was informed that the woman's last rites will be held on March 5.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship of Australia has introduced new changes to support and service Indian students.
You may have many questions on how the new system works. We invited Richard Sherman, deputy consul general, New Delhi to chat with readers.
The four defendants allegedly used three California corporations to orchestrate the improper submission of more than one hundred H-1B visa applications.
Vice Consuls from the US Consulate General, Mumbai hosted a chat on July 10, 2009. For those of you who missed the chat, here's the unedited transcript.
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.
Florida Atlantic University in the United States has received widespread criticism after an error in filing visa applications for 16 Indian school teachers, in the country on a cultural exchange programme, which could have led to their deportation. The university has also come under fire from the State Department for paying the experienced teachers, what they call, 'poverty' wages.
Our visa operations in Bangladesh constitute the largest visa operations India conducts worldwide. This has taken a hit after Sheikh Hasina's government was overthrown and India reduced its diplomatic presence in Bangladesh, notes Aakar Patel.
In a huge relief for H-1B visa holders, a White House-backed bipartisan deal has been unveiled under which automatic work authorisation would be granted to about 100,000 H-4 visa holders, who are spouses and children of a certain category of H-1B visa holders. The National Security Agreement that was announced on Sunday after long negotiations between the Republican and the Democratic leadership in the US Senate also provides a solution to about 250,000 aged-out children of H-1B visa holders. The move comes as good news for hundreds and thousands of Indian technology professionals who are waiting in a painstakingly long wait for a Green Card, in the absence of which their spouses cannot work and their aged-out children face the threat of deportation.
US Consular Officers hosted a chat with readers to address their queries and doubts. The transcript.
The United States has revised the non-immigrant Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee from $100 to $131 from January 1, 2008.
Some foreign guest workers in the US will be able to re-submit their applications for the H1-B visa, the most sought-after non-immigrant visa among Indian IT professionals, if their petition was solely rejected because it was based on the initial registration period, according to a federal agency. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), such re-submission of applications is for those whose applications have been rejected or administratively closed solely because the requested start date was after October 1, 2020. The H-1B visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit has called up Anupam Kher and offered him a visa to travel to that country if he has applied for the same but the Bollywood actor declined the offer, saying he has already taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates.
The Indian High Commission in Islamabad on Monday granted visas for visiting India to two relatives of Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay, critically injured in a scuffle with another inmate in a Jammu jail.
The 30-day visa-free entry is also currently enjoyed by eight ASEAN countries for the purpose of social visits, tourism and business.
Under the new visa application procdure, a 96-hour visa will cost Rs 1,980.
The British High Commission in India has introduced new improved visa application facilities and procedures for applicants of Western India from February 24 with new centres at Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune.\n\n\n\n
Dr Arun Vakil, US visa specialist, discusses VFS web site and how to secure your dream US visa.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar clarified the process of deportation of Indian nationals from the US, stating that it is not a new phenomenon and has been ongoing for several years. He assured the Rajya Sabha that the government is engaging with the US to ensure that the deported Indians are not mistreated during their transit. Jaishankar also emphasized the need for strong action against the illegal migration industry while ensuring ease of visas for legitimate travellers. The minister provided details about the number of Indians deported from the US since 2009, highlighting the peak in 2019 with 2,042 deportations.
Separately, China is also processing requests of thousands of Indian students studying in Chinese universities who have conveyed their interest to re-join their colleges and universities.
Visa would be dispatched within five working days, including the day of receipt and dispatch.
Visa norms for travel between India and Pakistan are expected to be made simpler within three months, a senior Pakistani official has said.The new visa policy, under discussion between the two countries, entails easier documentation process and extended validity period for both individual and group visa applicants.
David Tyler, visa chief at the consulate, said the number of applications for tourist, business and education visas had reached the pre-September 2008 level and they were likely to issue 200,000 visas this year.
The new rules will apply to those within categories of B1, B2, C and D.
United States visa officials were expecting to process 600,000 applications in India this year, a top embassy official said.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been taken into 18-day custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India. Rana was extradited from the United States after years of legal battles and will be questioned to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the attacks.
The Indian High Commission issued visas to the nine Pakistani players bound for the inaugural Hockey India League, starting next week, officials said.
A Canadian high commission spokesperson on Friday said the slashing of the size of the Indian staff was necessary given the reduction of Canadian staff in the country.
The Indian IT companies, which account for a large number of H-1B applications, are likely to face the additional financial burden because of this proposed increase in H-1B filing fees.
US visa expert Dr Arun Vakil explains how to apply for a US work visa.
The move may result in a short-term cost impact for IT Indian companies, according to experts, despite the firms ramping up their local hiring and offshoring projects elsewhere to overcome visa-related issues.
Complete authoritative information on the subject of visa application was available at the website www.newdelhi.usembassy.gov.
He said the number of visa appointment slots was being increased in a bid to streamline the US visa application process and to reduce the long-waiting time for applicants.
The 70-year-old artiste, who was to perform at the Royal Festival Hall next month, had said that he was "shocked and appalled" at the rejection of his visa application.
The 30-member team includes 15 doctors and eye specialists.
As a result, about 1,80,000 would be eligible to work in the US.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances