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The Trump administration has added seven countries, including five in Africa, to the list of nations whose passport holders are required to post bonds of up to USD 15,000 to apply to enter the United States. Thirteen countries, all but two of them in Africa, are now on the list, which makes the process of obtaining a US visa unaffordable for many. The State Department last week quietly added Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan to the list. Those designations took effect on January 1, according to a notice posted on the travel.state.gov website. It's the latest effort by the Trump administration to tighten requirements for entry to the US, including requiring citizens from all countries that require visas to sit for in-person interviews and disclose years of social media histories as well as detailed accounts of their and their families' previous travel and living arrangements. US officials have defended the bonds, which ca
Committing assault, theft or burglary in the United States won't just cause legal issues but could also lead to a visa being revoked and make that person "ineligible" for future US visas, the country's embassy in India has said. The stern warning comes in the backdrop of a viral video purportedly showing an Indian woman being held by police authorities after she allegedly tried to shoplift several items at a high-end store in the US. However, the veracity of the video, widely shared on various social media platforms, could not be independently verified. In a brief statement on Wednesday, the embassy also said America values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all US laws. The statement was shared on the X handle of the embassy. "Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States won't just cause you legal issues - it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future U.S. visas. The United States values law and order and expects fore
Indian missions in the United States are in touch with Indian students facing issues relating to revocation of visas and extending possible support to them, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday. The comments by MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal came amid instances of Indian students in the US receiving communications from local authorities on possible revocation of their visas. "We are aware that several Indian students have received communication from the US government regarding their F-1 visa status, which happens to be the student visa," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing here. "We are looking into the matter. Our embassy and consulates, they are in touch with the students to provide support," he said. Jaiswal was responding to a question on several Indian students receiving communications from US authorities under the Donald Trump administration on possible revocation of their visas. According to reports, an Indian was among four students at Michigan .