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VFS Global Provides a Step-by-Step Guide to Mitigate Visa Appointment Fraud

VFS Global Provides a Step-by-Step Guide to Mitigate Visa Appointment Fraud

The meteoric surge in travel worldwide has opened a gateway for not just globe-trotting travellers but also for a shadowy underbelly of scam artists. As tourists give in to their wanderlust in what’s termed as ‘revenge travel’, many find themselves at the mercy of fraudsters preying on the increased demand for visa appointments. So, it […]

Family of Four Found Frozen to Death near US-Canada Board

Family of Four Found Frozen to Death near US-Canada Board

WINNIPEG: A family of four Indians from Gujarat — including a baby and a teenager — froze to death in -40F blizzard after walking for 11 hours through waist-high snow to illegally cross border into the US from Canada. Canadian police found the bodies Wednesday 33 feet from the border near Emerson, Manitoba, after the […]

Huge Relief for H1-B Spouses from Biden Administration

Huge Relief for H1-B Spouses from Biden Administration

Washington DC: US President Joe Biden has permitted dependents of H-1B visa holders to continue working in the country. The measure had been brought in during the Barack Obama presidency in 2015. The previous Donald Trump administration had proposed to revoke it as part of his anti-immigration policy. The latest move is expected to provide […]

Biden Administration Lobbied on H-1B Suspension

Biden Administration Lobbied on H-1B Suspension

Washington DC: A top India-centric American business advocacy group has urged the incoming Biden administration to ease the restrictions on H-1B visas and provide green cards to higher education students with science and mathematics degrees to meet the increasing demand for IT professionals in the country. On December 31, outgoing US President Donald Trump extended […]

Indian Consulate Provides Details of Outsourcing Vendor

Indian Consulate Provides Details of Outsourcing Vendor

Houston: Consulate General of India, Houston will accept online applications for OCI, Renunciation, Passport and GEP services through the new service provider, VFS Global. A service fee of US$15.90 (inclusive of all taxes) per application will be charged in addition to applicable Government of India fees for these services. The details of the VFS Global […]

India Allowing Entry of OCI/PIO Holders

India Allowing Entry of OCI/PIO Holders

New Delhi: The Home Ministry on Thursday further liberalised the visa restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic by allowing entry to all foreigners except tourists. Besides, the government has also allowed all Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card holders and all other foreign nationals to visit India. Following the […]

VFS Global: New Indian Visa Service Provider in US

VFS Global: New Indian Visa Service Provider in US

Houston: The Indian Consulate in Houston issued the following news release: 1. The existing service center of Cox & Kings Global Services (CKGS) located at  1001 Texas Avenue, Houston TX 77002 for providing outsourcing services for Visa, OCI, Renunciation, Passport and Global Entry Program (GEP) (Website: in.ckgs.us) will shut down its operations at close of […]

Federal Judge Hears Arguments against Trump’s H-1B Visa Ban

Federal Judge Hears Arguments against Trump’s H-1B Visa Ban

San Francisco: The future of U.S. immigration policy and the fate of thousands of H-1B, L-1 and other visa holders rests in the hands of a federal judge. Arguments were heard on a preliminary injunction filed by businesses against the Trump administration’s June 2020 proclamation to suspend the entry of foreign nationals on H-1B, L-1, […]

A 6-year-old Girl from India Dies after Crossing the US-Mexico Border

A 6-year-old Girl from India Dies after Crossing the US-Mexico Border

HOUSTON: On the day she died, the little girl was thousands of miles away from the country where she was born. US Border Patrol agents found her remains this week in an area officials describe as “rugged desert wilderness,” 17 miles west of Lukeville, Arizona. In a statement Thursday, US Customs and Border Protection said […]

Ending country cap in Green Cards may allow India to dominate path to US citizenship: Report

Ending country cap in Green Cards may allow India to dominate path to US citizenship: Report

WASHINGTON: Eliminating the country quota from the most sought-after Green Cards  will end the current discrimination in the US labour market, but would allow countries like India and China to dominate the path to American citizenship, according to the latest Congressional report. Having a Green Card allows a person to live and work permanently in the […]

50% rise in Canadian citizenship for Indians this year

50% rise in Canadian citizenship for Indians this year

MUMBAI: Indians residing in Canada  are taking their immigration journey a step forward, with several thousands opting for Canadian citizenship, after having lived in the country for the specified duration as permanent residents. Responding to a request from TOI, Canadian authorities shared some statistics. During the 10-month period ending October 2018, nearly 15,000-odd Indians obtained citizenship. […]

New H-1B visa lottery process may hit immigrants

New H-1B visa lottery process may hit immigrants

MUMBAI: From April, the filing season for the H-1B applications, companies hiring foreigners to work in the US through this popular work visa route will have to pre-register electronically for the annual H-1B  lottery, and then file ‘full-fledged applications’ (referred to as petitions) for the winners. Currently, petitions have to be filed upfront, together with all supporting […]

Legislation in US Congress to protect work authorisation of H1B spouses

By Lalit K Jha  WASHINGTON: A legislation seeking to prohibit the Trump administration from revoking the work authorisation of spouses of H1-B visa holders, which include Indians, has been introduced in the US Congress by two lawmakers who said that eliminating this benefit would force many foreign workers to use their talents to compete against American businesses. H-4 […]

H-1B: Trump’s latest visa proposal and its impact on India

H-1B: Trump’s latest visa proposal and its impact on India

After facing a huge backlash from the top US lawmakers and leaders of the corporate sector, Trump administration has assured that the Americans would get an opportunity to respond to its proposal of revoking work authorization to H-4 spouse visas. The Donald Trump administration has been tightening the H-1B visas rules, which allow foreign workers to […]

Band, baaja, baarat smoothens entry in US for Indian spouses

Band, baaja, baarat smoothens entry in US for Indian spouses

MUMBAI: A big fat Indian wedding invariably convinces US consulate officials in India that the marriage was genuine and the bride was not angling for a US green card. Kavita Dixit (name changed), whose wedding was conducted on a much smaller scale as a matter of choice, found herself facing strange questions. Marriage to a […]

People legally waiting for US migration to be admitted soon: Donald Trump

People legally waiting for US migration to be admitted soon: Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump  has said “millions of people” who are waiting for legal immigration to America will be admitted soon. Addressing an election rally in North Carolina  on Friday, Trump said he wants “a strong border”.     Click here to read more… Credit: economictimes.indiatimes.com

UK set to double health surcharge from Dec for non-EU citizens, Indians

UK set to double health surcharge from Dec for non-EU citizens, Indians

LONDON: The UK government is all set to double the immigration health surcharge (IHS) from December, which will increase the overall visa fees for the citizens, students, professionals and family members from the non-European Union countries, including India.  The IHS, introduced in April 2015, will rise from 200 pounds to 400 pounds per year, with […]

Sponsoring green card for parents to get tougher

Sponsoring green card for parents to get tougher

MUMBAI: A draft proposal of the Trump administration dealing with “public charge” is heavily skewed in favour of the wealthy when it comes to issuing green cards to those already in the United States. Contrary to popular perception, several Indians, especially the parents of US citizens, would be adversely impacted.  The proposal makes it mandatory […]

Immigration Policies Weigh on Indian Workers Seeking Green Cards

Immigration Policies Weigh on Indian Workers Seeking Green Cards

By Laura D. Francis Hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mainly from India, may never get their green cards. Now some are losing their temporary work visas while waiting. That’s not just bad news for the workers. It also affects employers, mostly in high-tech industries, who say they have demonstrated they need high-skilled foreign workers. The situation […]

Indian women to be most hit if US revokes H-4 work permit

Indian women to be most hit if US revokes H-4 work permit

WASHINGTON: Two powerful Democratic women senators have urged the Trump administration not to go ahead with its decision to revoke authorisation to immigrants on H-4 work permit,  a majority of who are Indian-Americans, as doing so would impact about 100,000 women. H-4 EAD are issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family […]

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