Table of Contents
- Romanians Won't Need US Visa from March 2025!
- US Tech Layoffs Hit Indian Workers Hard
- US Visa Application Center Opens in the Philippines
- How Does Immigration Affect the United States?
- Decline in EB-5 Visas Issued to Indian Citizens
- Congress Introduces Bill to Add Ireland to E3 Visa
- USCIS Instituted a 250% Visa Fee Increase for Global Musicians
- Immigration is Powering US Growth
- US Consulate in Mumbai Screens 1,500 Applicants
- US Declares Visa Ban on those who Misuse Commercial Spyware
- New Immigration Rules Increase Visa Approvals for STEM workers!
- Paperless US Visas Planned - No Visa Stamps!
- US Visa Backlog Clears for Indian Applicants
- EB-5 Visa - Migration Agents must Register with USCIS
- Revived Semiconductor Manufacturing in the US
- Indians are Fourth biggest Source market for Overseas Visitor to the US
- EB-1 Indian Visa Applicants Now Face 10 Year Processing Time
- Decrease in Student Numbers due to Visa Refusals
- Proposed Changes to the E-3 Visa for Australians
17 October 2024
Romanians Won't Need US Visa from March 2025!
Andrei Muraru, Romania’s ambassador to the United States, has stated that Romania will enter the US Visa Waiver program in March or April of 2025. The Ambassador made these remarks during a live interview and pointed out that the current government will likely make the announcement in January. The US presidential elections will be held on November 5, and the handover is possibly to happen by next year, By joining the US Visa Waiver program, Romanians will be permitted to visit the US visa-free for a period of up to three months. This could boost employment opportunities for Romanians and also allow them to explore all 50 states. The country made progress in several fields, including data exchange with the US and combating crime. However, one requirement that Romania struggled to meet was visa rejection rates. According to the rules, a country needs to have below three per cent visa rejection rates to be eligible for joining the US visa waiver program. This percentage rate would indicate that the candidate country does not pose threats to irregular migration to the US.
23 September 2024
US Tech Layoffs Hit Indian Workers Hard
New visa rules increase fees and scrutiny for applicants while extending work permit validity to five years. A recent wave of layoffs in the US Tech industry has shocked the sector to the core with its disproportionate impact on workers of Indian origin, especially those on H-1B visas. This situation along with the new visa rules introduced has created a challenging new landscape for the immigrant international students and skilled workers in America. In a sector once considered to be recession-proof, approximately 438 tech companies have laid off 137,500 employees, as reported by Layoffs.fyi. This has created a scarcity of job options in the tech market. Moreover, the H-1B visa provides a limited timeframe for Indian workers to look and secure for a new job or face having to leave the country. Reports by the U.S. Congressional Research Service suggest that Indian workers have to wait for long periods for green cards, sometimes over 190 years even after meeting every labour requirement. This accumulation of requests has made the unstable situation even worse.
10 September 2024
US Visa Application Center Opens in the Philippines
From September 28, the US Embassy in the Philippines will open a new Visa Application Center (VAC) in Parañaque City, making it easier for people to access visa services. The embassy will also launch an upgraded online visa appointment system to improve user experience and streamline the application process. Immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants seeking interview appointments starting September 28 will be required to schedule a separate appointment at the VAC for photo capture and fingerprint scanning before their interview at the US Embassy on Roxas Boulevard. Scheduling will be done through the new and redesigned online appointment system. According to the Embassy, the new visa application process will feature a more secure and user-friendly interface for applicants. In addition, as of June 17, 2023, the US Embassy in the Philippines has revised the fees for various nonimmigrant visa applications. Applicants for visitor visas, including those for business or tourism (B1/B2) and other non-petition-based nonimmigrant visas such as student and exchange visas, are now charged $185 (P10,397). This represents an increase of $25 (P1,405) from the previous rates.
20 August 2024
How Does Immigration Affect the United States?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2022, immigrants made up 13.9% of the total population. Among them are highly skilled workers who fill critical gaps in high tech industries as well those who construct the buildings in which we live and who plant and harvest the foods we eat. Some arrive seeking greater opportunity while others bring hope simply for a life free from persecution and poverty. In every country and context, immigration is as much a force for shaping society as it is a flashpoint for anger and prejudice. At the same time, research shows that immigrants make important contributions to their new countries. “Immigrants are part of the fabric of a country’s economy and society,” said Giovanni Peri, director of the Global Migration Center and a professor of economics at UC Davis. “We want to bring more information, clarity, facts and discussion to shine the light that immigrants are human beings who bring assets with them to their new countries.” In the U.S., the negativity associated with immigration is partly driven by the idea that immigrants are a threat to jobs. For nearly 30 years, Peri has published papers on how immigrants affect jobs and wages for everyone in the U.S. For a 2006 report for the American Immigration Council, Peri analyzed over a decade of economic data to understand the dynamics of how immigrant workers shape local job markets. Instead of revealing a zero-sum game in which immigrants and native-born workers compete for a limited number of jobs, the analysis found a net positive effect on native-born workers. The study found that immigrants did not drive down wages, as is often contended. From 1990-2004, immigration increased wages by as much as 3.4% for the 90% of native-born workers with at least a high-school diploma. For those without a high-school diploma, immigration caused a loss of 1.1% percent of their yearly wages.