US Visa Norm

Influencers and OnlyFans models are using their follower counts and brand deals to meet US 'extraordinary ability' visa criteria as digital metrics come to play a central role in artist visa approvals

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

The Trump administration signals a broader list of restricted countries, raising concerns for global mobility and future itineraries, AP reported.

The officers have also been asked to keep a track of the health conditions of the visa applicant's dependents

The new H-1B visa petitions are likely to be hampered the most since the Department of Labor (DOL) - which certifies labor condition applications (LCAs) required for H-1Bs - has shut down its systems

Experts say that such prohibitive costs may force IT services companies to keep their prospective visa employees in India

For Arun Kumar (name changed), a techie from south Tamil Nadu, the past 30 hours have been a whirlwind of stress and frantic search for a flight ticket to the US

Every year, tens of thousands of young people are sent on visas to toil as farmworkers, housekeepers and office interns, all in the name of cultural exchange

It said that a one-day deadline to implement the order was concerning as it creates considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals, and students across the world

Over 300 Koreans, including 250 LG staff and contractors, were detained at LG's car battery venture with Hyundai Motor, in the US Department of Homeland Security's biggest immigration raid ever

Indian IT companies are reportedly cutting down on H-1B visas, hiring more locally in the US, as tougher immigration rules, rising costs, and AI-led changes reshape global outsourcing models

According to the proposed regulations, the visa periods for international students and cultural exchange visitors will not exceed more than four years

The measure adds to steps taken by the US government to limit the arrival of people that it deems undesirable

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

The US Embassy in India has warned that visa screening continues after approval. Visa holders must follow all US laws or risk visa cancellation and deportation, according to an official advisory

Applications to German universities have surged 30% in recent months, with Ambassador Philipp Ackermann citing Germany's appeal amid uncertainty over US student visa rules

The move comes amid President Donald Trump's broad crackdown on migration to the United States and efforts to deport undocumented immigrants in the country

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 .

An Indian was among four students at Michigan public universities who have filed a lawsuit against their possible deportation after their student immigration status was terminated "unlawfully". Chinmay Deore from Inida, Xiangyun Bu and Qiuyi Yang from China, and Yogesh Joshi from Nepal on Friday filed the lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and immigration officials, saying their student immigration status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) was illegally terminated "without sufficient notice and explanation". SEVIS is a database that tracks information about nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors in the US. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan, which is representing the students, on Thursday, said they "filed a federal lawsuit along with a request for an emergency injunction on behalf of the students who had their F-1 student immigration status unlawfully and abruptly terminated by the Trump administration for n

US President Donald Trump's administration will immediately start considering antisemitic activity on social media and physical harassment of Jewish people as grounds for denying immigration benefits, according to a federal agency announcement on Wednesday. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin screening the social media activity of immigrants that request benefits, including those who apply for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and people affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity. The guidance takes effect immediately, according to the release. The announcement followed a notice last month about a Department of Homeland Security proposal to collect social media handles from people applying for benefits such as green cards or citizenship, to comply with an executive order from Trump. The public and federal agencies had until May 5 to provide feedback. The proposal notice raised alarms from immigration and free speech ..