The US government has received a recommendation from a presidential advisory sub-committee to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs recently. If it is implemented, it would allow laid off workers on H1-B visas to find new jobs without the fear of having to return to their home countries too soon. Indians account for the majority of H1-B visa holders.

The extension proposed to be given from the existing 60 days to 180 days in order to provide the workers with enough opportunities to find a new job or other alternatives.&nbsp;

The development comes amid mass layoffs of&nbsp;employees, especially Indians, at big companies like Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, Twitter, etc. The firing emerged as a massive concern for many regarding job security.&nbsp;

As quoted by the news agency PTI, Ajay Jain Bhutoria, who is a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said on Tuesday: "The immigration subcommittee recommends the Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from 60 days to 180 days."&nbsp;

He said in his presentation that the significant challenges faced by H1-B workers laid off from their jobs. The current 60-day grace period presents numerous hurdles, including finding a new job within a tight timeframe, complex paperwork for transferring H1-B status, and delays in processing at USCIS.&nbsp;

Bhutoria also told members of the advisory committee that as a result, many H1-B workers are forced to leave the country which could result in a loss of skilled labour for the United States.&nbsp;

He said that the extension would also provide affected employees with more time to navigate the complex and time-consuming process of finding new employment opportunities and transferring their H1-B status.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

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The US government has received a recommendation from a presidential advisory sub-committee to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs recently.

The US government has received a recommendation from a presidential advisory sub-committee to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs recently. If it is implemented, it would allow laid off workers on H1-B visas to find new jobs without the fear of having to return to their home countries too soon. Indians account for the majority of H1-B visa holders. The extension proposed to be given from the existing 60 days to 180 days in order to provide the workers with enough opportunities to find a new job or other alternatives. The development comes amid mass layoffs of employees, especially Indians, at big companies like Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, Twitter, etc. The firing emerged as a massive concern for many regarding job security. As quoted by the news agency PTI, Ajay Jain Bhutoria, who is a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said on Tuesday: "The immigration subcommittee recommends the Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from 60 days to 180 days." He said in his presentation that the significant challenges faced by H1-B workers laid off from their jobs. The current 60-day grace period presents numerous hurdles, including finding a new job within a tight timeframe, complex paperwork for transferring H1-B status, and delays in processing at USCIS. Bhutoria also told members of the advisory committee that as a result, many H1-B workers are forced to leave the country which could result in a loss of skilled labour for the United States. He said that the extension would also provide affected employees with more time to navigate the complex and time-consuming process of finding new employment opportunities and transferring their H1-B status. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

US advisory panel recommends extension of grace period for H1B visa holders amid mass layoffs

Those seeking an appointment for US B1 and B2 visa (travel and business) urgently and wanting to avoid long waiting periods in India can now travel to other countries to the US embassy or consulate.&nbsp;The US mission in New Delhi on Friday announced that this new facility has been opened in Thailand and will soon be made accessible in other countries.

"Do you have upcoming international travel? If so, you may be able to get a visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your destination. For example, @USEmbassyBKK has opened B1/B2 appointment capacity for Indians who will be in Thailand in the coming months," US embassy, India, tweeted.

On average, the waiting period in India’s northeastern Kolkata state is 589 days, and 638 days in Mumbai, as opposed to just 14 days in Bangkok.

The US has been accelerating work to reduce the longer waiting hours to process visas for Indians.

From arranging special interviews for first-time applicants and expanding the strength of consular workers, to holding "special Saturday interview days" on January 21, the US embassy has been implementing a multi-pronged approach to reduce the delays.

For applicants with prior US visas, the US State Department has also instituted remote processing of interview waiver instances.

More than 250,000 additional B1/B2 appointments were made public two weeks ago by the US mission in India.

A senior US visa officer told PTI news agency recently that the US is "putting every ounce of its energy" into reducing the lengthy visa wait time in India.

This includes sending a team of consular officers to the nation and making its other overseas embassies, including those in Germany and Thailand, open to Indian citizens seeking visas.

India has been one of the few countries where applications for US visas saw a major upswing after Covid-related travel restrictions were lifted.

India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar had raised this issue in September with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Those seeking an appointment for US B1 and B2 visa (travel and business) urgently and wanting to avoid long waiting periods in India can now travel to other countries to the US embassy or consulate.

Those seeking an appointment for US B1 and B2 visa (travel and business) urgently and wanting to avoid long waiting periods in India can now travel to other countries to the US embassy or consulate. The US mission in New Delhi on Friday announced that this new facility has been opened in Thailand and will soon be made accessible in other countries. "Do you have upcoming international travel? If so, you may be able to get a visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your destination. For example, @USEmbassyBKK has opened B1/B2 appointment capacity for Indians who will be in Thailand in the coming months," US embassy, India, tweeted. On average, the waiting period in India’s northeastern Kolkata state is 589 days, and 638 days in Mumbai, as opposed to just 14 days in Bangkok. The US has been accelerating work to reduce the longer waiting hours to process visas for Indians. From arranging special interviews for first-time applicants and expanding the strength of consular workers, to holding "special Saturday interview days" on January 21, the US embassy has been implementing a multi-pronged approach to reduce the delays. For applicants with prior US visas, the US State Department has also instituted remote processing of interview waiver instances. More than 250,000 additional B1/B2 appointments were made public two weeks ago by the US mission in India. A senior US visa officer told PTI news agency recently that the US is "putting every ounce of its energy" into reducing the lengthy visa wait time in India. This includes sending a team of consular officers to the nation and making its other overseas embassies, including those in Germany and Thailand, open to Indian citizens seeking visas. India has been one of the few countries where applications for US visas saw a major upswing after Covid-related travel restrictions were lifted. India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar had raised this issue in September with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Indians seeking American visa appointments can now go to US embassies abroad

The U.S. Immigration Services have proposed a steep hike for Visa fees. The proposal is for multiple Visa types, including the H1-B visa. Molly Gambhir tells you more.

WION Fineprint | Massive hike in U.S. Visa fees expected

Are you applying for a U.S. Visa? You may have to wait until 2024 to get one. The waiting period for a U.S. Visa in New Delhi is 800 days. What explains this backlog? Priyanka Sharma explains.

Gravitas: Why are American visas taking so long?

Covid restrictions have been lifted in several parts of the world and people are ready to travel again but if you want to visit the US, it looks like you might have to wait till 2024. As the waiting time for US visa appointment in New Delhi is 833 days, that is almost a two-year-long wait.

Indians fume as US visa has 800-days waiting period

As on date, the US Mission in India has issued the highest-ever number of student VISAs. The US Embassy in New Delhi and four Consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai prioritised the processing of 82,000 student visa applications from May to August this year. Notably, Indian students received more VISAs to the US, than students from any other nation.

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Charge d’Affaires (CDA) Patricia Lacina said, "We issued over 82,000 student visas this summer alone, more than in any previous year. This shows that the United States remains for most Indian families the most sought-after country for higher education. &nbsp;It also highlights the important contributions Indian students make to both our countries as they build life-long connections with American peers to maintain and grow international partnerships, working collectively to address current and future global challenges.”

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Indian students comprise nearly 20 percent of all international students studying in the United States, with the Open Doors report in 2021 showing there were 167,582 students from India in the 2020-2021 academic year. &nbsp;According to Don Heflin, Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs, International student mobility is central to U.S. diplomacy, and nowhere is the contribution of students bigger than in India. &nbsp;

As on date, the US Mission in India has issued the highest-ever number of student VISAs. The US Embassy in New Delhi and four Consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai prioritised the processing of 82,000 student visa applications from May to August this year.

As on date, the US Mission in India has issued the highest-ever number of student VISAs. The US Embassy in New Delhi and four Consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai prioritised the processing of 82,000 student visa applications from May to August this year. Notably, Indian students received more VISAs to the US, than students from any other nation. Also read | Queen Elizabeth II: How unexpected circumstances led to her coronation in 1952 Charge d’Affaires (CDA) Patricia Lacina said, "We issued over 82,000 student visas this summer alone, more than in any previous year. This shows that the United States remains for most Indian families the most sought-after country for higher education. It also highlights the important contributions Indian students make to both our countries as they build life-long connections with American peers to maintain and grow international partnerships, working collectively to address current and future global challenges.” WATCH WION LIVE HERE - Indian students comprise nearly 20 percent of all international students studying in the United States, with the Open Doors report in 2021 showing there were 167,582 students from India in the 2020-2021 academic year. According to Don Heflin, Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs, International student mobility is central to U.S. diplomacy, and nowhere is the contribution of students bigger than in India.

US issues over 82,000 student VISAs; Indians comprise 20% of all international students in US

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny will remain in detention ahead of hearing scheduled to take place next month. US President Joe Biden has withdrawn plans to shelve H4 work permits that allow spouses of H1-B visa holders to work in US. Meanwhile China has warned Taiwan that independence 'means war'. Read this and more in our Top 10 world news.

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The origin of the virus has become the bone of contention between China and the US with Chinese state media citing the presence of the virus in imported frozen food.

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Thursday's ruling came after Navalny's team called for fresh demonstrations on Sunday against Putin's 20-year rule.

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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/president-biden-withdraws-plans-to-shelve-h4-work-permit-allowing-spouses-of-h1-b-holders-to-work-in-us-359861"><img alt="Work visa" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="cb972f20-16d6-420a-a4ce-d041b94a4c26" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Passport.JPG" /></a> 
 
The US government issues H-4 visa to family members of those who possess the H1-B visa which include spouse and children under 21 years of age.

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Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, reported multiple Chinese fighter jets and bombers entering its southwestern air defence identification zone last weekend, prompting Washington to urge Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan

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Pfizer/BioNTech, which had previously said it was unlikely that the strain originally found in Britain could escape vaccine protection, said Thursday that early tests suggest their immunisation would be similarly protective against the variant in South Africa

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Social media and online platforms have come under fire globally over the spread of fake news, leading to calls for regulators to force them to do more or face cumbersome rules.

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President Joe Biden has called the initial phase of the vaccination campaign a "dismal failure" and with vaccinations in the United States at around 1 million per day, the new administration wants to expand and improve the program.

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The warning came as the Biden administration works to shore up its Asian alliances against Beijing.

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Pope Francis will visit Ira from March 5 to 8. He has plans of visiting Baghdad, the northern city of Mosul and Ur

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Brazilian social media was flooded with memes linking Bolsonaro with condensed milk on Tuesday -- including one that portrayed soldiers painting a curb with paint cans filled with the viscous liquid

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny will remain in detention ahead of hearing scheduled to take place next month. US President Joe Biden has withdrawn plans to shelve H4 work permits that allow spouses of H1-B visa holders to work in US.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny will remain in detention ahead of hearing scheduled to take place next month. US President Joe Biden has withdrawn plans to shelve H4 work permits that allow spouses of H1-B visa holders to work in US. Meanwhile China has warned Taiwan that independence 'means war'. Read this and more in our Top 10 world news. WHO must be allowed to work free from political interference: China on virus probe The origin of the virus has become the bone of contention between China and the US with Chinese state media citing the presence of the virus in imported frozen food. Kremlin critic Navalny to remain in detention ahead of hearing next month Thursday's ruling came after Navalny's team called for fresh demonstrations on Sunday against Putin's 20-year rule. President Biden withdraws plans to shelve H4 work permit allowing spouses of H1-B holders to work in US The US government issues H-4 visa to family members of those who possess the H1-B visa which include spouse and children under 21 years of age. China warns Taiwan that independence 'means war' Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, reported multiple Chinese fighter jets and bombers entering its southwestern air defence identification zone last weekend, prompting Washington to urge Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan Pfizer says Covid vaccine effective against UK, South Africa mutations Pfizer/BioNTech, which had previously said it was unlikely that the strain originally found in Britain could escape vaccine protection, said Thursday that early tests suggest their immunisation would be similarly protective against the variant in South Africa EU tells Google, Facebook and Twitter to extend fake news watch, COVID-19 in focus Social media and online platforms have come under fire globally over the spread of fake news, leading to calls for regulators to force them to do more or face cumbersome rules. Pharma distributors in talks with US for cut of Covid vaccine shipping deal President Joe Biden has called the initial phase of the vaccination campaign a "dismal failure" and with vaccinations in the United States at around 1 million per day, the new administration wants to expand and improve the program. Beijing warns Biden, says containing China is 'mission impossible' The warning came as the Biden administration works to shore up its Asian alliances against Beijing. Pope Francis to meet top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani during Iraq visit Pope Francis will visit Ira from March 5 to 8. He has plans of visiting Baghdad, the northern city of Mosul and Ur Brazil President Bolsonaro blasts media over reports on condensed milk Brazilian social media was flooded with memes linking Bolsonaro with condensed milk on Tuesday -- including one that portrayed soldiers painting a curb with paint cans filled with the viscous liquid

Top 10 world news: Navalny to remain detained, H4 work permits may continue, and more

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said that the country will impose visa restrictions on Chinese nationals who are engaged in overseas influence operations or have tried to silent dissent via threatening or any other coercive tactics.&nbsp;

"The United Front frequently intimidates members of academia, businesses, civil society groups, and Chinese diaspora communities, including members of ethnic and religious minority communities who speak out against horrific human rights abuses taking place in Xinjiang, Tibet, and elsewhere in China," said Pompeo, as quoted by news agency Reuters.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;

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The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) United Front Work Department has been involved in putting pressure on people who slam China for human rights abuses in Uighur region, Tibet, and elsewhere, the secretary of state said.&nbsp;

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He also said the 'coercive tactics' include releasing the personal information of dissenters or their family members online as a means of intimidation, a practice known as "doxing."

The visa restriction would apply to those "who have engaged in the use or threat of physical violence, theft and release of private information, espionage, sabotage, or malicious interference in domestic political affairs, academic freedom, personal privacy, or business activity," said Pompeo.

He said that those people whose actions "contravene the rules-based international order are not welcome" in the US.

The measure is the latest taken by the US against China after it took strict actions against the nation over human rights abuses, coronavirus pandemic and trade among others.&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said that the country will impose visa restrictions on Chinese nationals who are engaged in overseas influence operations or have tried to silent dissent via threatening or any other coercive tactics.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said that the country will impose visa restrictions on Chinese nationals who are engaged in overseas influence operations or have tried to silent dissent via threatening or any other coercive tactics. "The United Front frequently intimidates members of academia, businesses, civil society groups, and Chinese diaspora communities, including members of ethnic and religious minority communities who speak out against horrific human rights abuses taking place in Xinjiang, Tibet, and elsewhere in China," said Pompeo, as quoted by news agency Reuters. Watch | The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) United Front Work Department has been involved in putting pressure on people who slam China for human rights abuses in Uighur region, Tibet, and elsewhere, the secretary of state said. Also read | US intel chief says China has created biologically enhanced super soldiers He also said the 'coercive tactics' include releasing the personal information of dissenters or their family members online as a means of intimidation, a practice known as "doxing." The visa restriction would apply to those "who have engaged in the use or threat of physical violence, theft and release of private information, espionage, sabotage, or malicious interference in domestic political affairs, academic freedom, personal privacy, or business activity," said Pompeo. He said that those people whose actions "contravene the rules-based international order are not welcome" in the US. The measure is the latest taken by the US against China after it took strict actions against the nation over human rights abuses, coronavirus pandemic and trade among others.

US slaps visa restrictions on Chinese nationals involved in crushing dissent

The Trump administration is rolling out sweeping changes to the test immigrants must take to become U.S. citizens, injecting hints of conservative philosophy and making the test harder for many learners of the English language.

The new citizenship test that went into effect Tuesday is longer than before, with applicants now required to answer 12 out of 20 questions correctly instead of six out of 10. It is also more complex, eliminating simple geography and adding dozens of possible questions, some nuanced and involving complex phrasing, that could trip up applicants who do not consider them carefully.

Of the 18 questions removed from the previous test, 11 were questions that had simple, sometimes one-word answers.

The new test adds one more hurdle for immigrants who hope to become voting citizens, coming in the waning days of an administration that has imposed substantial new barriers to immigration and limits on the ability of those already in the country to aspire to legal residence and, eventually, naturalization.

One test question that has drawn particular scrutiny provides a new answer to the question, “Who does a U.S. Senator represent?” Previously, the answer was “all people of the state”; on the new test, it is “citizens” in the state.

Singled out for a new question is the 10th Amendment, which reserves to the states all powers not specifically granted to the federal government, a part of the Bill of Rights that is a favorite among conservatives questioning federal authority.

Another new question, “Why did the United States enter the Vietnam War?” has one answer that is considered correct: “to stop the spread of Communism.” The test does not take on the issue of the vehement protests or the huge death toll stemming from the war.

Immigration organizations, including some that have helped thousands of people complete their naturalization applications over the past decade, warn that the new test could make it harder for poor immigrants from non-English-speaking countries to become citizens and ultimately suppress the number of immigrants who vote.

Critics also said the new test could create even more backlogs in a system already plagued with delays.

“It’s a last-ditch effort on their way out the door for the administration to keep people from realizing their dreams of becoming citizens,” said Eric Cohen, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco, a nonprofit group that helps permanent residents apply for citizenship.

“There is no legal reason, no regulatory reason to do this,” said Cohen, noting that the citizenship test had remained unchanged since 2008. “They decided on their own that they have to change it for political reasons.”

Dan Hetlage, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that oversees the naturalization process, said in a statement that the test was revised “to ensure that it remains an instrument that comprehensively assesses applicants’ knowledge of American history, government and values and supports assimilation.”

President-elect Joe Biden has the option of reversing the changes, though that likely could not occur, if at all, until several months into the new year.

The new test will be required of all applicants who apply for citizenship after Dec. 1, though there is often a lag of several months between when candidates apply and when they are scheduled for an interview with a USCIS officer, meaning that some candidates may still be taking the old test.

The current pass rate for the citizenship test, according to USCIS, is 91%. An analysis of the new test by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network suggested that 40 questions out of the original 100 remained unchanged from the previous version; the rest were reworded or newly introduced.

Already, some immigrants were expressing nervousness about changes to the test.

Nefi Reyes, an electrician from El Salvador who took the earlier test this year, passed with a perfect score. It had been 30 years since he had crossed the border into the United States to escape the civil war in El Salvador, and he voted in the United States for the first time in November.

“I feel lucky that I got it done,” Reyes said of the changes to the test. He had had difficulty memorizing the names of the colonies, he said, and the new test requires applicants to name not three of the original 13 states, as he had managed to do, but five.

Luz Gallegos, executive director of Todec, a nonprofit group that assists immigrants in Southern California, said her organization had seen a rush in immigrants applying to take the citizenship test, not only so they could vote in the November election but also because many hoped to avoid the new test. “As it is, it’s difficult for them to memorize all the answers to the civics test,” she said.

Immigrants are not alone in finding the citizenship test, even in its previous form, challenging. About 1 in 3 Americans could pass a multiple-choice test consisting of items taken from that version, according to a 2018 national survey by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Most of the respondents did not know how many justices serve on the Supreme Court or which countries the United States fought in World War II.

Citizenship tests have gone through various incarnations since being introduced around a century ago, replacing an earlier system, broadly criticized at the time, in which naturalization judges evaluated immigrants’ knowledge of civics and the English language as they saw fit.

“There was absolutely inconsistency and unfairness in the way that prospective citizens were examined by naturalization judges,” said Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, noting that such hearings resulted in the rejection of large numbers of applicants.

The test has changed considerably over time. Decades ago, the test asked how tall the Bunker Hill Monument is, missing, critics said, the more important issue of what it stands for. Another question, “How many stars are there on a quarter?” was deleted after it was noted that the right answer depended on the quarter.

The new citizenship test is one of a number of moves made under the Trump administration to not only halt illegal immigration but restrict legal immigration as well. The administration has made it harder for people to obtain asylum, increased the costs of applying for citizenship and, under the cloak of the coronavirus pandemic, suspended the issuance of green cards to immigrants seeking temporary work in the country.

Taken together, these moves amount to a break from what historically had been bipartisan support for naturalization for immigrants who lived and worked in the United States and embraced the opportunity to become citizens.

Applicants must already fill out a 20-page application, pass background checks, submit a bevy of documents, and pass civics and English tests during an interview. The government moved this year to raise fees for naturalization from $725 to $1,170, or $1,160 if the application was filed online, but a federal judge in California blocked the increase in September.

Organizations that offer citizenship classes to help immigrants study for the test are scrambling to revamp their lesson plans to respond to the new questions.

Lynne Weintraub, who trains citizenship instructors and was involved in the design of the 2008 test, said the revisions were adopted without outside professional input that might have helped ensure that the test was a fair and valid measure of applicants’ knowledge of civics.

“You can’t even imagine the turmoil that this has created,” Weintraub said. The new test, she said, presents additional problems for many English language learners by clustering abstract concepts into one phrase in some questions, “making them impossible for immigrants with low English proficiency and less education to follow.”

The Trump administration is rolling out sweeping changes to the test immigrants must take to become U.S. citizens, injecting hints of conservative philosophy and making the test harder for many learners of the English language.

The Trump administration is rolling out sweeping changes to the test immigrants must take to become U.S. citizens, injecting hints of conservative philosophy and making the test harder for many learners of the English language. The new citizenship test that went into effect Tuesday is longer than before, with applicants now required to answer 12 out of 20 questions correctly instead of six out of 10. It is also more complex, eliminating simple geography and adding dozens of possible questions, some nuanced and involving complex phrasing, that could trip up applicants who do not consider them carefully. Of the 18 questions removed from the previous test, 11 were questions that had simple, sometimes one-word answers. The new test adds one more hurdle for immigrants who hope to become voting citizens, coming in the waning days of an administration that has imposed substantial new barriers to immigration and limits on the ability of those already in the country to aspire to legal residence and, eventually, naturalization. One test question that has drawn particular scrutiny provides a new answer to the question, “Who does a U.S. Senator represent?” Previously, the answer was “all people of the state”; on the new test, it is “citizens” in the state. Singled out for a new question is the 10th Amendment, which reserves to the states all powers not specifically granted to the federal government, a part of the Bill of Rights that is a favorite among conservatives questioning federal authority. Another new question, “Why did the United States enter the Vietnam War?” has one answer that is considered correct: “to stop the spread of Communism.” The test does not take on the issue of the vehement protests or the huge death toll stemming from the war. Immigration organizations, including some that have helped thousands of people complete their naturalization applications over the past decade, warn that the new test could make it harder for poor immigrants from non-English-speaking countries to become citizens and ultimately suppress the number of immigrants who vote. Critics also said the new test could create even more backlogs in a system already plagued with delays. “It’s a last-ditch effort on their way out the door for the administration to keep people from realizing their dreams of becoming citizens,” said Eric Cohen, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco, a nonprofit group that helps permanent residents apply for citizenship. “There is no legal reason, no regulatory reason to do this,” said Cohen, noting that the citizenship test had remained unchanged since 2008. “They decided on their own that they have to change it for political reasons.” Dan Hetlage, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that oversees the naturalization process, said in a statement that the test was revised “to ensure that it remains an instrument that comprehensively assesses applicants’ knowledge of American history, government and values and supports assimilation.” President-elect Joe Biden has the option of reversing the changes, though that likely could not occur, if at all, until several months into the new year. The new test will be required of all applicants who apply for citizenship after Dec. 1, though there is often a lag of several months between when candidates apply and when they are scheduled for an interview with a USCIS officer, meaning that some candidates may still be taking the old test. The current pass rate for the citizenship test, according to USCIS, is 91%. An analysis of the new test by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network suggested that 40 questions out of the original 100 remained unchanged from the previous version; the rest were reworded or newly introduced. Already, some immigrants were expressing nervousness about changes to the test. Nefi Reyes, an electrician from El Salvador who took the earlier test this year, passed with a perfect score. It had been 30 years since he had crossed the border into the United States to escape the civil war in El Salvador, and he voted in the United States for the first time in November. “I feel lucky that I got it done,” Reyes said of the changes to the test. He had had difficulty memorizing the names of the colonies, he said, and the new test requires applicants to name not three of the original 13 states, as he had managed to do, but five. Luz Gallegos, executive director of Todec, a nonprofit group that assists immigrants in Southern California, said her organization had seen a rush in immigrants applying to take the citizenship test, not only so they could vote in the November election but also because many hoped to avoid the new test. “As it is, it’s difficult for them to memorize all the answers to the civics test,” she said. Immigrants are not alone in finding the citizenship test, even in its previous form, challenging. About 1 in 3 Americans could pass a multiple-choice test consisting of items taken from that version, according to a 2018 national survey by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Most of the respondents did not know how many justices serve on the Supreme Court or which countries the United States fought in World War II. Citizenship tests have gone through various incarnations since being introduced around a century ago, replacing an earlier system, broadly criticized at the time, in which naturalization judges evaluated immigrants’ knowledge of civics and the English language as they saw fit. “There was absolutely inconsistency and unfairness in the way that prospective citizens were examined by naturalization judges,” said Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, noting that such hearings resulted in the rejection of large numbers of applicants. The test has changed considerably over time. Decades ago, the test asked how tall the Bunker Hill Monument is, missing, critics said, the more important issue of what it stands for. Another question, “How many stars are there on a quarter?” was deleted after it was noted that the right answer depended on the quarter. The new citizenship test is one of a number of moves made under the Trump administration to not only halt illegal immigration but restrict legal immigration as well. The administration has made it harder for people to obtain asylum, increased the costs of applying for citizenship and, under the cloak of the coronavirus pandemic, suspended the issuance of green cards to immigrants seeking temporary work in the country. Taken together, these moves amount to a break from what historically had been bipartisan support for naturalization for immigrants who lived and worked in the United States and embraced the opportunity to become citizens. Applicants must already fill out a 20-page application, pass background checks, submit a bevy of documents, and pass civics and English tests during an interview. The government moved this year to raise fees for naturalization from $725 to $1,170, or $1,160 if the application was filed online, but a federal judge in California blocked the increase in September. Organizations that offer citizenship classes to help immigrants study for the test are scrambling to revamp their lesson plans to respond to the new questions. Lynne Weintraub, who trains citizenship instructors and was involved in the design of the 2008 test, said the revisions were adopted without outside professional input that might have helped ensure that the test was a fair and valid measure of applicants’ knowledge of civics. “You can’t even imagine the turmoil that this has created,” Weintraub said. The new test, she said, presents additional problems for many English language learners by clustering abstract concepts into one phrase in some questions, “making them impossible for immigrants with low English proficiency and less education to follow.”

New US citizenship test is longer and more difficult

The Trump administration Wednesday issued new rules to curtail travel to the United States by members of the Chinese Communist Party and their immediate families, a move certain to further exacerbate tensions between the countries.

The new policy, which took immediate effect, limits the maximum validity of travel visas for party members and their families to one month and a single entry, according to two people familiar with the matter. A State Department spokesman said in an emailed statement it was reducing the validity of visas for party members from 10 years to one month.

Previously, party members, like other Chinese citizens, could obtain visitor visas for the United States of up to 10 years in duration. The new measures do not affect party members’ eligibility for other kinds of visas, such as immigration, one of the people added.

In principle, the policy change could affect the travel of roughly 270 million people — China has about 92 million Communist Party members — although in practice, it might be difficult to determine who, apart from high-level officials, belongs to the party. The new visa rules add to the now yearslong conflict between the countries on trade, technology and much else.

According to the people familiar with the rules, the new guidelines allow U.S. officials to make a determination about someone’s party status based on their visa application and interview, as well as officials’ local understanding of Communist Party membership. That could mean that the policy disproportionately hits China’s top government and business leaders rather than the millions of lower-level members who join the party to get a leg up in areas as varied as business and the arts.

A spokesman for the State Department said the move was a part of “ongoing policy, regulatory, and law-enforcement action across the U.S. government to protect our nation from the CCP’s malign influence.”

“For decades we allowed the CCP free and unfettered access to U.S. institutions and businesses while these same privileges were never extended freely to U.S. citizens in China,” he added in an emailed statement.

The new rules are likely to raise hackles in Beijing for targeting the heart of China’s ruling elite. Even so, the restrictions are more moderate than an outright ban on travel by party members, which Trump administration officials had discussed this summer.

Such restrictions are likely to prompt retaliation from China’s government, though travel between China and the United States has already been hugely limited by the pandemic. In 2018, almost 3 million Chinese citizens traveled to the United States.

Coming in the twilight of the Trump administration, the new rules and the likely Chinese retaliation will be yet another challenge to the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, who is inheriting a U.S.-China relationship that is in its worst state since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1979.

While some have expected a reset of relations from Biden, his views on China have hardened since he was vice president under President Barack Obama. Biden appears to be committed to leaving in place many of the tough measures taken by the Trump administration, including tariffs and restrictions on Chinese technology. He has said he will forcefully address China’s human rights violations, including mass detentions in the western region of Xinjiang. Chinese officials have worried that Biden will be more effective at leading a broader global pushback against China.

Under Trump, the State Department has also announced other visa restrictions on various categories of Chinese citizens. These include officials responsible for the mass internment and surveillance of Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region, journalists working in the United States and officials deemed to be responsible for the political crackdown in Hong Kong.

In May, U.S. officials said the government was canceling the visas of graduate- or higher-level students in the United States who had ties to certain Chinese military institutions. Chinese students make up the largest group of international students in the country.

The Trump administration Wednesday issued new rules to curtail travel to the United States by members of the Chinese Communist Party and their immediate families, a move certain to further exacerbate tensions between the countries.

The Trump administration Wednesday issued new rules to curtail travel to the United States by members of the Chinese Communist Party and their immediate families, a move certain to further exacerbate tensions between the countries. The new policy, which took immediate effect, limits the maximum validity of travel visas for party members and their families to one month and a single entry, according to two people familiar with the matter. A State Department spokesman said in an emailed statement it was reducing the validity of visas for party members from 10 years to one month. Previously, party members, like other Chinese citizens, could obtain visitor visas for the United States of up to 10 years in duration. The new measures do not affect party members’ eligibility for other kinds of visas, such as immigration, one of the people added. In principle, the policy change could affect the travel of roughly 270 million people — China has about 92 million Communist Party members — although in practice, it might be difficult to determine who, apart from high-level officials, belongs to the party. The new visa rules add to the now yearslong conflict between the countries on trade, technology and much else. According to the people familiar with the rules, the new guidelines allow U.S. officials to make a determination about someone’s party status based on their visa application and interview, as well as officials’ local understanding of Communist Party membership. That could mean that the policy disproportionately hits China’s top government and business leaders rather than the millions of lower-level members who join the party to get a leg up in areas as varied as business and the arts. A spokesman for the State Department said the move was a part of “ongoing policy, regulatory, and law-enforcement action across the U.S. government to protect our nation from the CCP’s malign influence.” “For decades we allowed the CCP free and unfettered access to U.S. institutions and businesses while these same privileges were never extended freely to U.S. citizens in China,” he added in an emailed statement. The new rules are likely to raise hackles in Beijing for targeting the heart of China’s ruling elite. Even so, the restrictions are more moderate than an outright ban on travel by party members, which Trump administration officials had discussed this summer. Such restrictions are likely to prompt retaliation from China’s government, though travel between China and the United States has already been hugely limited by the pandemic. In 2018, almost 3 million Chinese citizens traveled to the United States. Coming in the twilight of the Trump administration, the new rules and the likely Chinese retaliation will be yet another challenge to the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, who is inheriting a U.S.-China relationship that is in its worst state since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1979. While some have expected a reset of relations from Biden, his views on China have hardened since he was vice president under President Barack Obama. Biden appears to be committed to leaving in place many of the tough measures taken by the Trump administration, including tariffs and restrictions on Chinese technology. He has said he will forcefully address China’s human rights violations, including mass detentions in the western region of Xinjiang. Chinese officials have worried that Biden will be more effective at leading a broader global pushback against China. Under Trump, the State Department has also announced other visa restrictions on various categories of Chinese citizens. These include officials responsible for the mass internment and surveillance of Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region, journalists working in the United States and officials deemed to be responsible for the political crackdown in Hong Kong. In May, U.S. officials said the government was canceling the visas of graduate- or higher-level students in the United States who had ties to certain Chinese military institutions. Chinese students make up the largest group of international students in the country.

US tightens visa rules for Chinese Communist Party members

The Trump administration has proposed to scrap the computerised lottery system to grant H-1B work visas to foreign technology professionals and replace it with a wage-level-based selection process, a move that is expected to counter the downward pressure on the wages of US workers.

A notification on the new system is being published in the Federal Register on Thursday. Stakeholders have 30 days to respond to the notification, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday, less than a week before the US presidential election.

Replacing the computerised draw of lots to decide on the successful H-1B applicants, the DHS said it is expected to help counter the downward pressure on the wages of American workers that is created by an annual influx of relatively lower-paid, new cap-subject H-1B workers.

The H-1B visa, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

If finalised as proposed, US Citizenship and Immigration Services would first select registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) generally based on the highest Occupational Employment Statistics prevailing wage level that the offered wage equals or exceeds for the relevant Standard Occupational Classification code and areas of intended employment.

"Prioritisation and selection based on wage levels better balances the interests of petitioners, H-1B workers, and U.S. Workers,"&nbsp;the DHS said.

"With this proposed rule, the Trump administration is continuing to deliver on its promise to protect the American worker while strengthening the economy. The H-1B programme is often exploited and abused by U.S. Employers, and their U.S. Clients, primarily seeking to hire foreign workers and pay lower wages,"&nbsp;said Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli.

US President Donald Trump, keen to regulate the country's immigration policies, on June 22, signed the executive order temporarily banning issuing fresh H-1B and L-1 visas till December 31. Reforming America's immigration regime is a major election promise of the Republican leader under his America First policy.

"The current use of random selection to allocate H-1B visas makes it harder for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the H-1B programme to truly compete for the world's best and brightest, and hurts American workers by bringing in relatively lower-paid foreign labour at the expense of the American workforce," Cuccinelli said.

According to the DHS, modifying the H-1B cap selection process by replacing the random selection process with a wage-level-based selection process is a better way to allocate H-1Bs when demand exceeds supply.

This new selection process would incentivise employers to offer higher wages or petition for positions requiring higher skills and higher-skilled workers instead of using the programme to fill relatively lower-paid vacancies.

The proposed changes would maintain the effective and efficient administration of the H-1B cap selection process while providing some prospective petitioners the ability to potentially improve their chance of selection by agreeing to pay H-1B beneficiaries higher wages that equal or exceed higher prevailing wage levels, it said.

This is necessary to further the administration's goal of prioritising H-1B cap-subject registrations for petitioners seeking to employ higher-skilled and higher paid workers, which is more aligned with the general congressional intent for the H-1B programme, the DHS said.

According to the federal notification, prioritising wage levels in the registration selection process incentivises employers to offer higher wages, or to petition for positions requiring higher skills that commensurate with higher wage levels, to increase the likelihood of selection for an eventual petition.

Similarly, it disincentivises abuse of the H-1B programme to fill lower-paid, lower-skilled positions, which is a significant problem under the present selection system. With limited exceptions, H-1B petitioners are not required to demonstrate a labour shortage as a prerequisite for obtaining H-1B workers, it said.

The number of H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those filed for the advanced degree exemption, has frequently exceeded the annual H-1B numerical allocations. 
For at least the last decade, USCIS has received more H-1B petitions than the annual H-1B numerical allocation in those respective years.

Since the fiscal 2014 cap season (April 2013), USCIS has received more H-1B petitions (or registrations) in the first five days of filing (or the initial registration period) than the annual H-1B numerical allocations.

The Trump administration has proposed to scrap the computerised lottery system to grant H-1B work visas to foreign technology professionals and replace it with a wage-level-based selection process, a move that is expected to counter the downward pressure on the wages of US workers.

The Trump administration has proposed to scrap the computerised lottery system to grant H-1B work visas to foreign technology professionals and replace it with a wage-level-based selection process, a move that is expected to counter the downward pressure on the wages of US workers. A notification on the new system is being published in the Federal Register on Thursday. Stakeholders have 30 days to respond to the notification, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday, less than a week before the US presidential election. Replacing the computerised draw of lots to decide on the successful H-1B applicants, the DHS said it is expected to help counter the downward pressure on the wages of American workers that is created by an annual influx of relatively lower-paid, new cap-subject H-1B workers. The H-1B visa, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. If finalised as proposed, US Citizenship and Immigration Services would first select registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) generally based on the highest Occupational Employment Statistics prevailing wage level that the offered wage equals or exceeds for the relevant Standard Occupational Classification code and areas of intended employment. "Prioritisation and selection based on wage levels better balances the interests of petitioners, H-1B workers, and U.S. Workers," the DHS said. "With this proposed rule, the Trump administration is continuing to deliver on its promise to protect the American worker while strengthening the economy. The H-1B programme is often exploited and abused by U.S. Employers, and their U.S. Clients, primarily seeking to hire foreign workers and pay lower wages," said Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli. US President Donald Trump, keen to regulate the country's immigration policies, on June 22, signed the executive order temporarily banning issuing fresh H-1B and L-1 visas till December 31. Reforming America's immigration regime is a major election promise of the Republican leader under his America First policy. "The current use of random selection to allocate H-1B visas makes it harder for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the H-1B programme to truly compete for the world's best and brightest, and hurts American workers by bringing in relatively lower-paid foreign labour at the expense of the American workforce," Cuccinelli said. According to the DHS, modifying the H-1B cap selection process by replacing the random selection process with a wage-level-based selection process is a better way to allocate H-1Bs when demand exceeds supply. This new selection process would incentivise employers to offer higher wages or petition for positions requiring higher skills and higher-skilled workers instead of using the programme to fill relatively lower-paid vacancies. The proposed changes would maintain the effective and efficient administration of the H-1B cap selection process while providing some prospective petitioners the ability to potentially improve their chance of selection by agreeing to pay H-1B beneficiaries higher wages that equal or exceed higher prevailing wage levels, it said. This is necessary to further the administration's goal of prioritising H-1B cap-subject registrations for petitioners seeking to employ higher-skilled and higher paid workers, which is more aligned with the general congressional intent for the H-1B programme, the DHS said. According to the federal notification, prioritising wage levels in the registration selection process incentivises employers to offer higher wages, or to petition for positions requiring higher skills that commensurate with higher wage levels, to increase the likelihood of selection for an eventual petition. Similarly, it disincentivises abuse of the H-1B programme to fill lower-paid, lower-skilled positions, which is a significant problem under the present selection system. With limited exceptions, H-1B petitioners are not required to demonstrate a labour shortage as a prerequisite for obtaining H-1B workers, it said. The number of H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those filed for the advanced degree exemption, has frequently exceeded the annual H-1B numerical allocations. For at least the last decade, USCIS has received more H-1B petitions than the annual H-1B numerical allocation in those respective years. Since the fiscal 2014 cap season (April 2013), USCIS has received more H-1B petitions (or registrations) in the first five days of filing (or the initial registration period) than the annual H-1B numerical allocations.

Trump admin proposes to scrap computerised lottery system to select H-1B visas

The US has&nbsp;suspended visa services at its missions in Turkey after it received "credible reports of potential terrorist attacks."

The embassy in Ankara said&nbsp;in a statement on its website that consular services would be suspended at the embassy in Ankara and consulates in Istanbul, the southern city of Adana and the Aegean coastal city of Izmir.

It added it "has received credible reports of potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings against US citizens and foreign nationals in Istanbul, including against the US consulate general, as well as potentially other locations in Turkey".

It advised US citizens "to exercise heightened caution in locations where Americans or foreigners may gather, including large office buildings or shopping malls".

In 2013, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the embassy in Ankara, killing himself and a Turkish security guard. A far-left radical group claimed the attack.

In 2016, the US government ordered all civilian relatives of its Istanbul consulate staff to leave Turkey because of increasing threats from terrorist groups.

Turkey was hit by a string of attacks in 2015 and 2016 by several groups including the Islamic State group.&nbsp;

(with inputs)

The US has suspended visa services at its missions in Turkey after it received "credible reports of potential terrorist attacks." The embassy in Ankara said in a statement on its website that consular services would be suspended at the embassy in Ankara and consulates in Istanbul, the southern city of Adana and the Aegean coastal city of Izmir.

The US has suspended visa services at its missions in Turkey after it received "credible reports of potential terrorist attacks." The embassy in Ankara said in a statement on its website that consular services would be suspended at the embassy in Ankara and consulates in Istanbul, the southern city of Adana and the Aegean coastal city of Izmir. It added it "has received credible reports of potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings against US citizens and foreign nationals in Istanbul, including against the US consulate general, as well as potentially other locations in Turkey". It advised US citizens "to exercise heightened caution in locations where Americans or foreigners may gather, including large office buildings or shopping malls". In 2013, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the embassy in Ankara, killing himself and a Turkish security guard. A far-left radical group claimed the attack. In 2016, the US government ordered all civilian relatives of its Istanbul consulate staff to leave Turkey because of increasing threats from terrorist groups. Turkey was hit by a string of attacks in 2015 and 2016 by several groups including the Islamic State group. (with inputs)

US suspends visa services in Turkey over reports of possible attacks

The US State Department has proposed a new rule that will likely curb US companies to use the skill of foreign workers. The H-1B specialty occupations will allow companies to send their technology professionals for a short stay to complete jobs on-site in the US.

US firms face skilled labour shortage: H-1B visa allows to employ workers in specialty occupations

Just ahead of the US elections on November 3, the Trump administration announced new restrictions on H-1B non-immigrant visa programme aimed at protecting American workers.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-cuts-off-stimulus-relief-talks-until-after-election-upending-prospects-for-aid-333055">Also Read:&nbsp;Trump cuts off stimulus relief talks until after election, upending prospects for aid</a>

The White House said that Trump is committed to making sure&nbsp;American workers are not disadvantaged by foreign labour.

"President Trump knows that H-1B visas should only be reserved for specialised talent that helps support a strong economy. For too long, this programme has been misused as an inexpensive labour programme, replacing American jobs in the process," it said.

President Trump had earlier signed an executive order to prevent federal money from being used to displace US citizens with foreign workers.

"These critical reforms will improve the quality of the H-1B programme without changing the annual statutory cap for H-1B visas. The Trump administration is closing loopholes that have allowed employers in the United States to replace American workers with low-cost foreign labour," the White House asserted.

The H-1B visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers with specialised technical expertise with several thousand empoloyed by US companies from India.

The White House said it is also "taking action to rein in "shadow" third-party employers who use the H-1B programme to displace American workers and to reduce the validity period for H-1Bs used by these "shadow" employers, which will ensure more frequent vetting for compliance with H-1B programme requirements."

"The Department of Homeland Security is codifying the existing authorities to conduct workforce inspections and clarifying that failure to fully cooperate with inspections may result in the denial or revocation of employer H-1B petitions," it added.

"To aid our nation's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the President placed a temporary pause on multiple categories of aliens from coming into the country for work. The Trump administration issued regulations that will, once in effect, remove the incentive to apply for asylum for the purpose of obtaining authorisation to work in the United States," the White House stated.

Just ahead of the US elections on November 3, the Trump administration announced new restrictions on H-1B non-immigrant visa programme aimed at protecting American workers.

Just ahead of the US elections on November 3, the Trump administration announced new restrictions on H-1B non-immigrant visa programme aimed at protecting American workers. Also Read: Trump cuts off stimulus relief talks until after election, upending prospects for aid The White House said that Trump is committed to making sure American workers are not disadvantaged by foreign labour. "President Trump knows that H-1B visas should only be reserved for specialised talent that helps support a strong economy. For too long, this programme has been misused as an inexpensive labour programme, replacing American jobs in the process," it said. President Trump had earlier signed an executive order to prevent federal money from being used to displace US citizens with foreign workers. "These critical reforms will improve the quality of the H-1B programme without changing the annual statutory cap for H-1B visas. The Trump administration is closing loopholes that have allowed employers in the United States to replace American workers with low-cost foreign labour," the White House asserted. The H-1B visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers with specialised technical expertise with several thousand empoloyed by US companies from India. The White House said it is also "taking action to rein in "shadow" third-party employers who use the H-1B programme to displace American workers and to reduce the validity period for H-1Bs used by these "shadow" employers, which will ensure more frequent vetting for compliance with H-1B programme requirements." "The Department of Homeland Security is codifying the existing authorities to conduct workforce inspections and clarifying that failure to fully cooperate with inspections may result in the denial or revocation of employer H-1B petitions," it added. "To aid our nation's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the President placed a temporary pause on multiple categories of aliens from coming into the country for work. The Trump administration issued regulations that will, once in effect, remove the incentive to apply for asylum for the purpose of obtaining authorisation to work in the United States," the White House stated.

Ahead of elections, US imposes new restrictions on H-1B visas

The United States on Monday imposed additional visa restrictions on Nigerians over election-related activities in the African nation, the State Department said, accusing them of being responsible for undermining the democratic process.

The restrictions were imposed on the individuals, who were not named, "for their actions surrounding the November 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa State elections and in the run up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo State elections," the State Department said in a statement.

"These individuals have so far operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and have undermined democratic principles," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in the statement.

In 2019, the United States imposed visa restrictions on Nigerians it said had undermined elections in February and March of that year.

The State Department said it warned in a statement last year that it would consider consequences, including visa restrictions, on those responsible for organizing election-related violence or undermining the Nigerian democratic process.

The United States on Monday imposed additional visa restrictions on Nigerians over election-related activities in the African nation, the State Department said, accusing them of being responsible for undermining the democratic process.

The United States on Monday imposed additional visa restrictions on Nigerians over election-related activities in the African nation, the State Department said, accusing them of being responsible for undermining the democratic process. The restrictions were imposed on the individuals, who were not named, "for their actions surrounding the November 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa State elections and in the run up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo State elections," the State Department said in a statement. "These individuals have so far operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and have undermined democratic principles," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in the statement. In 2019, the United States imposed visa restrictions on Nigerians it said had undermined elections in February and March of that year. The State Department said it warned in a statement last year that it would consider consequences, including visa restrictions, on those responsible for organizing election-related violence or undermining the Nigerian democratic process.

US slaps more election-related visa restrictions on Nigerians

A group of 174 Indian nationals, including seven minors, has filed a lawsuit against the recent presidential proclamation on H-1B that would prevent them from entering the United States or a visa would not be issued to them. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-says-he-will-revoke-h-1b-visa-suspension-if-elected-us-president-310285">Also read: Joe Biden says he will revoke H-1B visa suspension, if elected US president</a> 
 
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at the US District Court in the District of Columbia issued summonses on Wednesday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F Wolf, along with Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/how-will-h1-b-visa-suspension-impact-indian-companies-307963">Also read: How will H1-B visa suspension impact Indian companies?</a> 
 
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court on Tuesday.

"The proclamation 10052's H-1B/H-4 visa ban hurts the United States' economy, separates families and defies the Congress. While the two former points render it unseemly, the latter point renders it unlawful," said the lawsuit filed by lawyer Wasden Banias on behalf of the 174 Indian nationals.

The lawsuit seeks an order declaring the presidential proclamation on issuing new H-1B or H4 visas or admitting new H-1B or H-4 visa holders as unlawful. It also urges the court to compel the Department of State to issue decisions on pending requests for H-1B and H-4 visas.

In his presidential proclamation on June 22, Trump temporarily suspended issuing of H-1B work visas till the end of the year.

&nbsp;"In the administration of our nation's immigration system, we must remain mindful of the impact of foreign workers on the United States labor market, particularly in the current extraordinary environment of high domestic unemployment and depressed demand for labour," said the proclamation issued by Trump.

In his proclamation, Trump said the overall unemployment rate in the United States nearly quadrupled between February and May of 2020 -- producing some of the most extreme unemployment ever recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While the May rate of 13.3 per cent reflects a marked decline from April, millions of Americans remain out of work.

The proclamation also extends till year-end his previous executive order that had banned issuance of new green cards of lawful permanent residency. Green Card holders, once admitted pursuant to immigrant visas, are granted "open-market" employment authorisation documents, allowing them immediate eligibility to compete for almost any job in any sector of the economy, Trump said.

A group of 174 Indian nationals, including seven minors, has filed a lawsuit against the recent presidential proclamation on H-1B that would prevent them from entering the United States or a visa would not be issued to them.

A group of 174 Indian nationals, including seven minors, has filed a lawsuit against the recent presidential proclamation on H-1B that would prevent them from entering the United States or a visa would not be issued to them. Also read: Joe Biden says he will revoke H-1B visa suspension, if elected US president Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at the US District Court in the District of Columbia issued summonses on Wednesday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F Wolf, along with Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia. Also read: How will H1-B visa suspension impact Indian companies? The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court on Tuesday. "The proclamation 10052's H-1B/H-4 visa ban hurts the United States' economy, separates families and defies the Congress. While the two former points render it unseemly, the latter point renders it unlawful," said the lawsuit filed by lawyer Wasden Banias on behalf of the 174 Indian nationals. The lawsuit seeks an order declaring the presidential proclamation on issuing new H-1B or H4 visas or admitting new H-1B or H-4 visa holders as unlawful. It also urges the court to compel the Department of State to issue decisions on pending requests for H-1B and H-4 visas. In his presidential proclamation on June 22, Trump temporarily suspended issuing of H-1B work visas till the end of the year. "In the administration of our nation's immigration system, we must remain mindful of the impact of foreign workers on the United States labor market, particularly in the current extraordinary environment of high domestic unemployment and depressed demand for labour," said the proclamation issued by Trump. In his proclamation, Trump said the overall unemployment rate in the United States nearly quadrupled between February and May of 2020 -- producing some of the most extreme unemployment ever recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the May rate of 13.3 per cent reflects a marked decline from April, millions of Americans remain out of work. The proclamation also extends till year-end his previous executive order that had banned issuance of new green cards of lawful permanent residency. Green Card holders, once admitted pursuant to immigrant visas, are granted "open-market" employment authorisation documents, allowing them immediate eligibility to compete for almost any job in any sector of the economy, Trump said.

174 Indians in US file lawsuit against Trump's proclamation on H-1B visa

The new visa regulations requiring international students in the US with an F-1 visa to take at least one in-person course or face the prospect of deportation is likely to "cause uncertainties and difficulties" for some students, the Indian Embassy here has said.

"These new modifications at a time when many of the US universities and colleges are yet to announce their plans for the new academic year are likely to cause uncertainties and difficulties for some Indian students wishing to pursue their studies in the US," said a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy.

The spokesperson said the Indian government has taken up the matter with concerned US officials.

At the India-US Foreign Office Consultations held on July 7, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla conveyed India's concerns on the matter to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.

According to a recent report of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there were 1,94,556 Indian students enrolled in various academic institutions of the US in January this year. Of these 1,26,132 were males and 68,405 were females.

Noting that partnership in higher education is a key component of the strong people-to-people ties between India and the US, the spokesperson said in the last two decades Indian students in American universities and colleges have been the harbingers of a strong partnership between technology and innovation sectors between the two countries.

The spokesperson hoped that the US authorities would provide adequate flexibility in their visa rule, keeping in mind the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the Indian students community.

Announced by the SEVP on July 6, the new rules provide temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students on F-1 and M-1 visas taking online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the fall semester of the 2020 academic year.

"While these modifications do provide some flexibility for US universities and colleges to adopt a hybrid model -- that is a mixture of online and in person classes -- they also restrict international students on F-1 and M-1 visas from taking courses entirely online," the spokesperson said.

The new visa regulations requiring international students in the US with an F-1 visa to take at least one in-person course or face the prospect of deportation is likely to "cause uncertainties and difficulties" for some students, the Indian Embassy here has said.

The new visa regulations requiring international students in the US with an F-1 visa to take at least one in-person course or face the prospect of deportation is likely to "cause uncertainties and difficulties" for some students, the Indian Embassy here has said. "These new modifications at a time when many of the US universities and colleges are yet to announce their plans for the new academic year are likely to cause uncertainties and difficulties for some Indian students wishing to pursue their studies in the US," said a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy. The spokesperson said the Indian government has taken up the matter with concerned US officials. At the India-US Foreign Office Consultations held on July 7, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla conveyed India's concerns on the matter to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale. According to a recent report of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there were 1,94,556 Indian students enrolled in various academic institutions of the US in January this year. Of these 1,26,132 were males and 68,405 were females. Noting that partnership in higher education is a key component of the strong people-to-people ties between India and the US, the spokesperson said in the last two decades Indian students in American universities and colleges have been the harbingers of a strong partnership between technology and innovation sectors between the two countries. The spokesperson hoped that the US authorities would provide adequate flexibility in their visa rule, keeping in mind the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the Indian students community. Announced by the SEVP on July 6, the new rules provide temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students on F-1 and M-1 visas taking online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the fall semester of the 2020 academic year. "While these modifications do provide some flexibility for US universities and colleges to adopt a hybrid model -- that is a mixture of online and in person classes -- they also restrict international students on F-1 and M-1 visas from taking courses entirely online," the spokesperson said.

New visa regulations to cause difficulties for Indian students: Official

According to a recent report of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there were 1,94,556 Indian students enrolled in various academic institutions of the US in January this year.

The new visa regulations requiring international students in the US with an F-1 visa to take at least one in-person course or face the prospect of deportation is likely to "cause uncertainties and difficulties" for some students, the Indian Embassy here has said. 
 
"These new modifications at a time when many of the US universities and colleges are yet to announce their plans for the new academic year are likely to cause uncertainties and difficulties for some Indian students wishing to pursue their studies in the US," said a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy.

Responding to media queries, the spokesperson said the Indian government has taken up the matter with concerned US officials.

At the India-US Foreign Office Consultations held on July 7, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla conveyed India's concerns on the matter to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.

According to a recent report of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there were 1,94,556 Indian students enrolled in various academic institutions of the US in January this year. Of these 1,26,132 were males and 68,405 were females.

Noting that partnership in higher education is a key component of the strong people-to-people ties between India and the US, the spokesperson said in the last two decades Indian students in American universities and colleges have been the harbingers of a strong partnership between technology and innovation sectors between the two countries.

The spokesperson hoped that the US authorities would provide adequate flexibility in their visa rule, keeping in mind the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the Indian students' community.

"We continue to engage all the stakeholders in the matters, including the US administration officials, Congressional leaders, universities and colleges as well as the Indian students' community in the US as we move forward towards the 2020-21 academic year to further strengthen our bilateral partnership in higher education," the spokesperson said.

Announced by the SEVP on July 6, the new rules provide temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students on F-1 and M-1 visas taking online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the fall semester of the 2020 academic year.

"While these modifications do provide some flexibility for US universities and colleges to adopt a hybrid model -- that is a mixture of online and in-person classes -- they also restrict international students on F-1 and M-1 visas from taking courses entirely online," the spokesperson said.

According to a recent report of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there were 1,94,556 Indian students enrolled in various academic institutions of the US in January this year.

According to a recent report of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there were 1,94,556 Indian students enrolled in various academic institutions of the US in January this year. The new visa regulations requiring international students in the US with an F-1 visa to take at least one in-person course or face the prospect of deportation is likely to "cause uncertainties and difficulties" for some students, the Indian Embassy here has said. "These new modifications at a time when many of the US universities and colleges are yet to announce their plans for the new academic year are likely to cause uncertainties and difficulties for some Indian students wishing to pursue their studies in the US," said a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy. Responding to media queries, the spokesperson said the Indian government has taken up the matter with concerned US officials. At the India-US Foreign Office Consultations held on July 7, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla conveyed India's concerns on the matter to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale. According to a recent report of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there were 1,94,556 Indian students enrolled in various academic institutions of the US in January this year. Of these 1,26,132 were males and 68,405 were females. Noting that partnership in higher education is a key component of the strong people-to-people ties between India and the US, the spokesperson said in the last two decades Indian students in American universities and colleges have been the harbingers of a strong partnership between technology and innovation sectors between the two countries. The spokesperson hoped that the US authorities would provide adequate flexibility in their visa rule, keeping in mind the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the Indian students' community. "We continue to engage all the stakeholders in the matters, including the US administration officials, Congressional leaders, universities and colleges as well as the Indian students' community in the US as we move forward towards the 2020-21 academic year to further strengthen our bilateral partnership in higher education," the spokesperson said. Announced by the SEVP on July 6, the new rules provide temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students on F-1 and M-1 visas taking online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the fall semester of the 2020 academic year. "While these modifications do provide some flexibility for US universities and colleges to adopt a hybrid model -- that is a mixture of online and in-person classes -- they also restrict international students on F-1 and M-1 visas from taking courses entirely online," the spokesperson said.

New visa regulations likely to cause difficulties for Indian students: Official

US President Donald Trump has extended a pause on some green cards and suspended visas for other foreign workers until the end of 2020. Watch report.

Trump targets foreign workers: New curbs on H-1B, H-2B & L-1 visas

US President Donald Trump is considering suspending a number of employment visas including the H-1B, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, in view of the massive unemployment in America due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a media report.

The proposed suspension could extend into the government's new fiscal year beginning October 1, when many new visas are issued, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, quoting unnamed administration officials.

"That could bar any new H-1B holder outside the country from coming to work until the suspension is lifted, though visa holders already in the country are unlikely to be affected,"&nbsp;the daily reported.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

Such a decision by the Trump administration is likely to have an adverse impact on thousands of Indian IT professionals. Already a large number of Indians on the H-1B visas have lost their jobs and are headed back home during the coronavirus pandemic.

The White House, however, said that no final decision has been made and the administration is considering various proposals.

"The administration is currently evaluating a wide range of options, formulated by career experts, to protect American workers and job seekers especially disadvantaged and underserved citizens but no decisions of any kind have been made,"&nbsp;White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

In addition to the H-1B visas, the suspension could apply to the H-2B visa for short-term seasonal workers, the J-1 visa for short-term workers including camp counselors and au pairs and the L-1 visa for internal company transfers, the financial daily reported.

Meanwhile, the US Chambers of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue on Thursday wrote a letter to Trump, expressing concern over his reported move on temporary work visas.

"As the economy rebounds, American businesses will need assurances that they can meet all their workforce needs. To that end, it is crucial that they have access to talent both domestically and from around the world," Donohue wrote in a letter to Trump.

According to The Hill newspaper, Donohue said that American businesses need L-1 visa holders, who have a work visa valid for a relatively short amount of time, for necessary expertise.

He noted the importance of H-1B visa holders, who have a work visa valid for multiple years, for various industries, including technology, accounting and manufacturers, the newspaper said.

"Policies that would, for example, impose wide-ranging bans on the entry of nonimmigrant workers or impose burdensome new regulatory requirements on businesses that employ foreign nationals would undermine that access to talent and in the process, undercut our economy's ability to grow and create jobs,"&nbsp;Donohue added.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

US President Donald Trump is considering suspending a number of employment visas including the H-1B, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, in view of the massive unemployment in America due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a media report.

US President Donald Trump is considering suspending a number of employment visas including the H-1B, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, in view of the massive unemployment in America due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a media report. The proposed suspension could extend into the government's new fiscal year beginning October 1, when many new visas are issued, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, quoting unnamed administration officials. "That could bar any new H-1B holder outside the country from coming to work until the suspension is lifted, though visa holders already in the country are unlikely to be affected," the daily reported. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. Such a decision by the Trump administration is likely to have an adverse impact on thousands of Indian IT professionals. Already a large number of Indians on the H-1B visas have lost their jobs and are headed back home during the coronavirus pandemic. The White House, however, said that no final decision has been made and the administration is considering various proposals. "The administration is currently evaluating a wide range of options, formulated by career experts, to protect American workers and job seekers especially disadvantaged and underserved citizens but no decisions of any kind have been made," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. In addition to the H-1B visas, the suspension could apply to the H-2B visa for short-term seasonal workers, the J-1 visa for short-term workers including camp counselors and au pairs and the L-1 visa for internal company transfers, the financial daily reported. Meanwhile, the US Chambers of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue on Thursday wrote a letter to Trump, expressing concern over his reported move on temporary work visas. "As the economy rebounds, American businesses will need assurances that they can meet all their workforce needs. To that end, it is crucial that they have access to talent both domestically and from around the world," Donohue wrote in a letter to Trump. According to The Hill newspaper, Donohue said that American businesses need L-1 visa holders, who have a work visa valid for a relatively short amount of time, for necessary expertise. He noted the importance of H-1B visa holders, who have a work visa valid for multiple years, for various industries, including technology, accounting and manufacturers, the newspaper said. "Policies that would, for example, impose wide-ranging bans on the entry of nonimmigrant workers or impose burdensome new regulatory requirements on businesses that employ foreign nationals would undermine that access to talent and in the process, undercut our economy's ability to grow and create jobs," Donohue added.

Fresh worry for Indian professionals as US considering suspending H-1B, other visas to tackle US unemployment

The United States administration has adopted a controversial and strict visa policy. This new visa restriction aims at restricting what is described as "birth tourism". Watch report:

US acts against Birth Tourism

A merit-based immigration proposal being put together by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner could lead to an increase in US visas for highly skilled workers, sources familiar with the effort said on Wednesday.

Kushner is expected to present the comprehensive plan next week to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/mueller-report-inconclusive-on-trumps-obstruction-of-justice-charge-211626&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjmj9SPq-vhAhUv6XMBHXd2A2wQFjABegQIDhAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw1S0qF8jZvYevvRyNi0-ttv">President Donald Trump</a>, who will decide whether to adopt it as his official position or send it back for changes, the sources said.

The plan does not propose ways to address young people who came to the United States illegally as children who were protected by President Barack Obama in the 2014 programme known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), or those people who have Temporary Protected Status, the sources said.

Democrats, whose support the White House would need to advance any kind of immigration legislation through Congress, have insisted that the DACA recipients be protected.

Kushner has held about 50 listening sessions with conservative groups on immigration, a senior administration official said.

He has been working with White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and policy adviser Stephen Miller on the plan and the sources said there has been some intense behind-the-scenes jockeying about the plan.

At a Time magazine forum in New York on Tuesday, Kushner said he was working well with Miller, an immigration hawk, on the topic.

The two men are both long-time Trump advisers.

"Stephen and I haven`t had any fights," he said with a smile.

That drew scepticism from immigration advocate Marshall Fitz of the Emerson Collective, who gave Kushner credit for advancing criminal justice reform but said immigration was a dramatically different issue that Miller was dominating at the White House.

"It`s impossible to see how Kushner could navigate an issue this freighted with history and central to the president`s re-election strategy in a way that would actually move the ball forward," Fitz said.

As a White House candidate in 2016 and throughout his presidency, Trump has advocated a hard-line policy on immigration, pushing for a wall to be built on the US-Mexico border and using bruising rhetoric to describe people who have fled Central American countries to enter the United States.

Republicans have largely supported his immigration proposals, but the latest White House plan aims to bring them together on a broader basis.

Some in the US&nbsp;business community has asked that the number of highly skilled visas be raised to attract more employees from abroad for specialised jobs amid a booming US&nbsp;economy.

Trump himself has talked of the need to bring in more skilled workers.

The immigration plan would either leave the number of highly skilled visas each year at the same level or raise it slightly, the sources said.

The overall goal is to reshape the visa programme into a more merit-based system, a key Trump goal. Officials working on the plan have been reviewing the systems used by Canada and Australia as possible models for the Trump effort.

The group has been working on a guest-worker programme as part of the proposal to address the US&nbsp;agriculture community`s need for seasonal labour while not hurting American workers, but nothing has been finalised, the sources said.

Trump has sought to court farmers in key battleground states to boost his chances of re-election in 2020.

The proposal will include recommendations for modernizing ports of entry along the US&nbsp;border to ensure safe trade while preventing illegal activity.

It will also address asylum laws to take account of Trump`s desire to reduce the number of people who overstay their visas, the sources said.

Kushner, who is Trump`s son-in-law, is also the main architect of a Middle East peace proposal that the president is expected to unveil this summer.

His objective on the immigration plan at the very least is to have a document that represents the president`s immigration policy and provide something that Republicans can rally around. 
&nbsp;

A merit-based immigration proposal being put together by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner could lead to an increase in US visas for highly skilled workers, sources familiar with the effort said on Wednesday.

A merit-based immigration proposal being put together by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner could lead to an increase in US visas for highly skilled workers, sources familiar with the effort said on Wednesday. Kushner is expected to present the comprehensive plan next week to President Donald Trump, who will decide whether to adopt it as his official position or send it back for changes, the sources said. The plan does not propose ways to address young people who came to the United States illegally as children who were protected by President Barack Obama in the 2014 programme known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), or those people who have Temporary Protected Status, the sources said. Democrats, whose support the White House would need to advance any kind of immigration legislation through Congress, have insisted that the DACA recipients be protected. Kushner has held about 50 listening sessions with conservative groups on immigration, a senior administration official said. He has been working with White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and policy adviser Stephen Miller on the plan and the sources said there has been some intense behind-the-scenes jockeying about the plan. At a Time magazine forum in New York on Tuesday, Kushner said he was working well with Miller, an immigration hawk, on the topic. The two men are both long-time Trump advisers. "Stephen and I haven`t had any fights," he said with a smile. That drew scepticism from immigration advocate Marshall Fitz of the Emerson Collective, who gave Kushner credit for advancing criminal justice reform but said immigration was a dramatically different issue that Miller was dominating at the White House. "It`s impossible to see how Kushner could navigate an issue this freighted with history and central to the president`s re-election strategy in a way that would actually move the ball forward," Fitz said. As a White House candidate in 2016 and throughout his presidency, Trump has advocated a hard-line policy on immigration, pushing for a wall to be built on the US-Mexico border and using bruising rhetoric to describe people who have fled Central American countries to enter the United States. Republicans have largely supported his immigration proposals, but the latest White House plan aims to bring them together on a broader basis. Some in the US business community has asked that the number of highly skilled visas be raised to attract more employees from abroad for specialised jobs amid a booming US economy. Trump himself has talked of the need to bring in more skilled workers. The immigration plan would either leave the number of highly skilled visas each year at the same level or raise it slightly, the sources said. The overall goal is to reshape the visa programme into a more merit-based system, a key Trump goal. Officials working on the plan have been reviewing the systems used by Canada and Australia as possible models for the Trump effort. The group has been working on a guest-worker programme as part of the proposal to address the US agriculture community`s need for seasonal labour while not hurting American workers, but nothing has been finalised, the sources said. Trump has sought to court farmers in key battleground states to boost his chances of re-election in 2020. The proposal will include recommendations for modernizing ports of entry along the US border to ensure safe trade while preventing illegal activity. It will also address asylum laws to take account of Trump`s desire to reduce the number of people who overstay their visas, the sources said. Kushner, who is Trump`s son-in-law, is also the main architect of a Middle East peace proposal that the president is expected to unveil this summer. His objective on the immigration plan at the very least is to have a document that represents the president`s immigration policy and provide something that Republicans can rally around.

New Trump immigration plan may increase visas for highly-skilled workers

The US has revised its visa policy for the Pakistani citizens by slashing the visa validity from five years to 1 year, according to a media report.

In an official notification issued by the American embassy here on Tuesday, the US said that an additional fee will also be charged for H (Temporary Work Visa), I (Journalist and Media Visa), L (Intercompany Transfer Visa), and R (Religious Worker Visa) visas, the Express Tribune reported.

"The US has reduced visa validity for Pakistani citizens from five years to 1 year whereas journalists and media persons will not be allowed to stay in the country for over three months without renewing the travel permit," the paper said quoting the notification.

According to the notification, an additional fee of $32 for I Visas and $38 for all other visa categories must be paid at the Embassy, Islamabad or Consulate General Karachi prior to visa issuance with effect from January 21.

The new US policies have been brought at par with the Pakistani embassy in Washington's rules. Pakistan also issues visas for three months to American journalists.

"The decision was taken by the State Department because Pakistan was unable to liberalise its visa regime for certain visa categories, hence the US was required by

American law on January 21 to reduce the visa validity and increase the visa fees to match Pakistan's practices for similar visa categories," the report said.

The US has revised its visa policy for the Pakistani citizens by slashing the visa validity from five years to 1 year, according to a media report. In an official notification issued by the American embassy here on Tuesday, the US said that an additional fee will also be charged for H (Temporary Work Visa), I (Journalist and Media Visa), L (Intercompany Transfer Visa), and R (Religious Worker Visa) visas, the Express Tribune reported.

The US has revised its visa policy for the Pakistani citizens by slashing the visa validity from five years to 1 year, according to a media report. In an official notification issued by the American embassy here on Tuesday, the US said that an additional fee will also be charged for H (Temporary Work Visa), I (Journalist and Media Visa), L (Intercompany Transfer Visa), and R (Religious Worker Visa) visas, the Express Tribune reported. "The US has reduced visa validity for Pakistani citizens from five years to 1 year whereas journalists and media persons will not be allowed to stay in the country for over three months without renewing the travel permit," the paper said quoting the notification. According to the notification, an additional fee of $32 for I Visas and $38 for all other visa categories must be paid at the Embassy, Islamabad or Consulate General Karachi prior to visa issuance with effect from January 21. The new US policies have been brought at par with the Pakistani embassy in Washington's rules. Pakistan also issues visas for three months to American journalists. "The decision was taken by the State Department because Pakistan was unable to liberalise its visa regime for certain visa categories, hence the US was required by American law on January 21 to reduce the visa validity and increase the visa fees to match Pakistan's practices for similar visa categories," the report said.

US visa cut for Pakistan citizens reduced from five years to one year: Report

The much vaunted “flat world” of Tom Friedman is under threat in many parts of the globe and nowhere more than in the original capital of the free world, the United States of America. With non-tariff trade and immigration barriers being erected all over the world and President Trump making aggressive moves to fulfil his “Make in America” and “Bring jobs back to America” promises, the scenario seems to be fairly bleak for India’s many hopeful US residents.

The most recent salvo fired by the Trump Administration in the US is the amendment to the Labor Condition Application (LCA) that has come into force from November 19, 2018. This requires prospective employers of people entering the US on H-1B visas to disclose all intended places of employment including any proposed short-term assignments and a large amount of information on the company status including identification of secondary entities and locations and the number of H-1B visa workers currently employed in the firm and at third-party works sites of the firm. While one could argue that this is only a demand for more disclosures, the increased paperwork required will become a further deterrent for companies already concerned at the substantial delays and high rejection rates in visa applications to work in the US.

Another deterrent for middle and senior-level professionals seeking to work and build careers in the US is the introduction of legislation by two US lawmakers that seeks to revoke the work authorisation given by the Obama Administration to spouses of H-1B visa holders. The permission given to H-4 dependent visa holders to work while their spouses were employed in the US had made it feasible for career-minded spouses to seek gainful employment. This group of over a hundred thousand people, largely women, &nbsp;would be seriously challenged if this revocation actually happens.

A positive development in this regard has been the letter sent by 130 senior lawmakers to the Secretary of US Homeland Security asking that the decision of the previous administration should not be rescinded. The subsequent assurance provided by a US Citizenship and Immigration spokesman that the rule-making process is still incomplete and a new economic analysis would be a determinant in the final decision should give a boost to the tens of thousands of bright and highly employable people who would be potentially adversely affected by this reversal.&nbsp;

Even if the Administration were to ignore the adverse impact on families, on purely economic grounds, the arguments in favour of letting these talented people work in the US are many. Most of the spouses in the US are extremely well qualified and more than capable of getting and outperforming in highly skilled vocations. Nipping their promising careers in the bud could well deny American employers the opportunity to add substantial productivity to their work force. And it is almost inevitable that in a world where two jobs in a family are useful in building a better lifestyle and opportunities for children, this could sow the seeds of marital discord and even result in some spouses deserting the H-1B holder and returning to their country of origin to seek gainful employment and an identity for themselves.

For the Indian tech sector, the increased tightening of opportunities to send manpower to the US to staff critical positions has led to three tactical steps – local hiring, subcontracting and a mitigation in the efforts to sell an American dream. Local hiring started on a significant scale a few years ago and rightly so since it is only appropriate that jobs in a country where the business originates are offered to citizens and residents of that country where possible, rather than getting temporary staff from India or elsewhere. Today, local hiring has moved from anecdotal levels to tens of thousands with centres of Indian companies springing up in many parts of the US. Sub-contracting to local and Latin American firms have also commenced and professionals are also being recruited from Mexico and Canada through the TN visa category, which has the potential for indefinite renewal and are easy to procure and process.&nbsp;

Hundreds of thousands of young Indians, who for decades had seen the American dream, have realised them through the vista of opportunities that the H-1B visa and subsequently the H-4 visa gave to them and their families. In families around the country, fortunes have been re-written by children in the US and they have also added greatly to the success of companies in the US, initially in the tech sector and today in all sections of the economy. Will any administration not see the immense value offered by the Indian diaspora in the US and thwart its continuing contribution and success? President Trump, we are glad you choose to celebrate Diwali in the White House but now the time has come to make the great land of America truly inclusive and “keep America great” by being the beacon of opportunity for the whole world that it has always been!

(This article was originally published on DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-us-visas-a-call-to-action-2689284">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The much vaunted “flat world” of Tom Friedman is under threat in many parts of the globe and nowhere more than in the original capital of the free world, the United States of America.

The much vaunted “flat world” of Tom Friedman is under threat in many parts of the globe and nowhere more than in the original capital of the free world, the United States of America. With non-tariff trade and immigration barriers being erected all over the world and President Trump making aggressive moves to fulfil his “Make in America” and “Bring jobs back to America” promises, the scenario seems to be fairly bleak for India’s many hopeful US residents. The most recent salvo fired by the Trump Administration in the US is the amendment to the Labor Condition Application (LCA) that has come into force from November 19, 2018. This requires prospective employers of people entering the US on H-1B visas to disclose all intended places of employment including any proposed short-term assignments and a large amount of information on the company status including identification of secondary entities and locations and the number of H-1B visa workers currently employed in the firm and at third-party works sites of the firm. While one could argue that this is only a demand for more disclosures, the increased paperwork required will become a further deterrent for companies already concerned at the substantial delays and high rejection rates in visa applications to work in the US. Another deterrent for middle and senior-level professionals seeking to work and build careers in the US is the introduction of legislation by two US lawmakers that seeks to revoke the work authorisation given by the Obama Administration to spouses of H-1B visa holders. The permission given to H-4 dependent visa holders to work while their spouses were employed in the US had made it feasible for career-minded spouses to seek gainful employment. This group of over a hundred thousand people, largely women, would be seriously challenged if this revocation actually happens. A positive development in this regard has been the letter sent by 130 senior lawmakers to the Secretary of US Homeland Security asking that the decision of the previous administration should not be rescinded. The subsequent assurance provided by a US Citizenship and Immigration spokesman that the rule-making process is still incomplete and a new economic analysis would be a determinant in the final decision should give a boost to the tens of thousands of bright and highly employable people who would be potentially adversely affected by this reversal. Even if the Administration were to ignore the adverse impact on families, on purely economic grounds, the arguments in favour of letting these talented people work in the US are many. Most of the spouses in the US are extremely well qualified and more than capable of getting and outperforming in highly skilled vocations. Nipping their promising careers in the bud could well deny American employers the opportunity to add substantial productivity to their work force. And it is almost inevitable that in a world where two jobs in a family are useful in building a better lifestyle and opportunities for children, this could sow the seeds of marital discord and even result in some spouses deserting the H-1B holder and returning to their country of origin to seek gainful employment and an identity for themselves. For the Indian tech sector, the increased tightening of opportunities to send manpower to the US to staff critical positions has led to three tactical steps – local hiring, subcontracting and a mitigation in the efforts to sell an American dream. Local hiring started on a significant scale a few years ago and rightly so since it is only appropriate that jobs in a country where the business originates are offered to citizens and residents of that country where possible, rather than getting temporary staff from India or elsewhere. Today, local hiring has moved from anecdotal levels to tens of thousands with centres of Indian companies springing up in many parts of the US. Sub-contracting to local and Latin American firms have also commenced and professionals are also being recruited from Mexico and Canada through the TN visa category, which has the potential for indefinite renewal and are easy to procure and process. Hundreds of thousands of young Indians, who for decades had seen the American dream, have realised them through the vista of opportunities that the H-1B visa and subsequently the H-4 visa gave to them and their families. In families around the country, fortunes have been re-written by children in the US and they have also added greatly to the success of companies in the US, initially in the tech sector and today in all sections of the economy. Will any administration not see the immense value offered by the Indian diaspora in the US and thwart its continuing contribution and success? President Trump, we are glad you choose to celebrate Diwali in the White House but now the time has come to make the great land of America truly inclusive and “keep America great” by being the beacon of opportunity for the whole world that it has always been! (This article was originally published on DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

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