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Work Visas
Significantly higher salary thresholds for overseas workers, including Indians, applying for the UK's Skilled Worker visas kicked in on Thursday, as part of tough new measures announced earlier to cut Britain's overall migration figures. For those applying under the Skilled Worker visa route, the salary threshold for an application will rise from GBP 26,200 to GBP 38,700 an increase of 48 per cent. The UK Home Office said it forms part of a robust and fair package of measures, which will mean 300,000 people who arrived in the UK last year would now not be able to and also prevent undercutting of domestic workers by cheap overseas labour. It's time to turn off the taps and end the flow of cheap workers from abroad. Mass migration is unsustainable, and it's simply not fair. It undercuts the wages of hard-working people who are just trying to make ends meet, said UK Home Secretary James Cleverly. We are refocusing our immigration system to prioritise the brightest and best who have t
The United States is set to begin a pilot programme for domestic renewal of certain categories of H-1B visas in December, a step that will benefit a significantly large number of Indian technology professionals, a US official has said. This comes months after the White House announced the plan during the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June. In an interview to PTI, Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services, said, "In India, the demand (for US visas) is still very high. The wait time of six, eight and 12 months is not what we need and (it is) not indicative of how we view India." "We want to make sure that Indian travellers can get appointments as quickly as possible. One way we are doing that is through the domestic visa renewal programme, which is focused very much on India. We are piloting that," she said. Over a period of three months, beginning December, the State Department will be issuing 20,000 visas to foreign nationals who are alrea
The United States on Friday said the owner of a single-person company is not eligible for an L1 foreign worker's visa. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the latest policy guidance clarified that a sole proprietorship may not file a petition on behalf of its owner. This is because the sole proprietorship does not exist as a distinct legal entity separate and apart from the owner, it said. The updated policy released Friday distinguishes a sole proprietor from a self-incorporated petitioner (such as a corporation or a limited liability company with a single owner), where the corporation or the single member limited liability company is a separate and distinct legal entity from its owner, which may petition for that owner. The USCIS also clarified guidance regarding blanket petitions. International organisations file blanket L-1 petitions on behalf of all individual entities named in the petition. The USCIS is updating its policy guidance to clarify that the failure t
The US Mission to India, the four consulates and the embassy, is on track to process more than a million visas this year, Jennifer Larson, US Consul General Hyderabad, said on Wednesday. The consulate in Hyderabad represents the US government in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. "We know visa wait times have grown long since the global pandemic began and we recognise the challenges this presents to students, professionals, and tourists who wish to travel to the United States. I'm also happy to report we are making significant progress on that front," Larson told reporters. The US Consulate in Hyderabad recently moved from Paigah Palace to its new campus at Financial District, Nanakramguda, in the IT hub of the city. The new campus is the biggest consulate in South Asia (exclusive of embassies) in terms of staffing and windows and others. "We are not at full capacity yet. We are going to be growing for the next couple of years to get there," she said. Once fully staffed, the ..