Page 12 - Visa

US expands premium processing of various visa and green card categories

The Biden Administration has announced plans to expand the premium processing of some of the important categories of green card applicants and some categories of visas, particularly those related to training of foreign students. The expansion of these categories would be carried out in phases beginning with the premium processing of EB-1 and EB-2 applications of Green cards. This will be in addition to all previously filed Form I-140 petitions under an E13 multinational executive and manager classification, or E21 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a National Interest Waiver (NIW), US Citizenship and Immigration Services said. USCIS said this is part of its efforts to increase efficiency and reduce burdens on the overall legal immigration system. In March, we will expand premium processing to certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking STEM OPT extensions who have a pending Form

Making every effort to reduce visa interview appointment time in India: US

The United States is making every effort to reduce the waiting time for visa interview appointment in India as soon as possible, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. "Visa processing is recovering faster than projected and over the coming year, we expect to reach pre-pandemic processing levels," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference. The US issued more student visas in fiscal year 2022 than in any year since 2016, he said, adding that its embassy and consulates in India in particular broke their all-time record for the number of student visas issued in a single fiscal year. "We issued nearly 1,25,000 student visas. We recognize that some applicants may still face extended visa wait times, and we're making every effort to further reduce visa interview appointment wait times as quickly as possible in India and around the world, including for first time tourist visa applicants," he said. Responding to a question, Price said he .

Indonesia starts implementation of Second-Home Visa to attract investors

Indonesia's Second-Home Visa allowing foreigners to stay in the Southeast Asian country for either five or 10 years began to take effect

Canada issues record-breaking 4.8 million visas in 2022, says IRCC

Canada has processed an all-time high of 4.8 million visa applications in 2022, nearly twice the 2.5 million processed during the same period last year

UK providing visit visas within 15 days to travellers from India: Envoy

The UK is now providing visit visas to travellers from India within 15 days of receiving applications, British High Commissioner Alex Ellis said on Friday. At the same time, he said a small number of trickier cases take longer time. "Two months ago, I said that our aim was by the end of the year to be turning around visit visas from India to the UK within our standard time of 15 working days. The great news is that the team has now achieved it through fantastic work here in Delhi and across the whole visa network," Ellis said in a short video clip that he posted on Twitter. "There are still a few cases which take longer, the very complex ones and that's right that they do," he added. The high commissioner described quicker visa processing as "good news". "You can of course use the priority visa channel if you still want. We are turning that around within five days. And finally we have a big intake of student visas for the student session starting in January of next year," he said.

Visa consultancy firm BLS International crosses $1 bn in market cap

Delhi-based company says its business gained after countries eased travel restrictions for Covid-19

Pak court dismisses plea of visa to Indian who wants to do Hajj on foot

A Pakistan court on Wednesday dismissed a petition that urged the federal government to issue a visa to a 29-year-old Indian national, who wanted to enter the country so that he could complete a marathon journey on foot to Mecca in Saudi Arabia for Hajj pilgrimage. Shihab Bhai, who hails from Kerala, embarked on a 3,000-km journey on foot from his home state till the Wagah border last month, where he was stopped by Pakistan's immigration authorities as he did not have a visa. On Wednesday, a Lahore High Court division bench comprising Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal and Justice Muzamil Akhtar Shabbir dismissed an intra-court appeal filed by a local citizen Sarwar Taj on behalf of Shihab. The single bench observed that the "petitioner was not related to the Indian citizen, nor did he hold his power of attorney to approach the court." It also sought "a complete particulars of the Indian citizen," which the petitioner could not furnish. The High Court's division bench on Wednesday up

You're not welcome! UAE bars entry for those with single name: Air India

Single named passengers will not be allowed entry into the UAE with immediate effect under the new guidelines

Are countries using visas as weapons to fight diplomatic battles?

While India does seem to be facing the rough end of visa diplomacy, barriers are going up globally

Indians travelling to Saudi Arabia no longer need police clearance for visa

The Saudi embassy in India tweeted they have removed the visa requirement for police clearance certificate for Indians

Managing the queue: Visa wait time to reduce by June 2023, says US embassy

The State Department has brought in new rules for several visa categories that allow more people to opt out of interviews

BLS International Q2 net jumps 86% cr on growth in visa, consular services

BLS International on Tuesday said it has reported an 86 per cent jump in its net profit to Rs 51 crore in the second quarter ended September 30 on the back of robust growth in visa and consular services. The company engaged in visa, passport, e-governance and biometric services had reported a net profit of Rs 27.46 crore in the year-ago quarter. The company's operational revenue rose 87.36 per cent to Rs 356.84 crore in the September 2022 quarter against Rs 190.46 crore a year ago, BLS International said in a release. For the first half of 2022-23, its net profit surged 71.22 per cent to Rs 81.69 crore. Revenues grew 70.64 per cent to Rs 629.66 crore. "Our second quarter performance has been in line with expectations. We are seeing good growth coming in from our visa and consular services as well as e-Governance and banking correspondence businesses. "We are well above pre-COVID levels, and once business recovers from key markets such as China and Russia, the ongoing growth from t

With no word on visas, Canadian broadcaster CBC closes China bureau

Canada's public broadcaster CBC says it is closing its China bureau after the Chinese government ignored requests to base a reporter in Beijing. CBC said its applications had been met by months-long silence from Chinese officials. The broadcaster's last correspondent left Beijing as China closed down amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The bureau, located in one of Beijing's high-security diplomatic compounds, had remained open in anticipation of re-staffing. China has taken an increasingly hard line in foreign relations, and ties with Canada nose-dived after China, the US and Canada completed what was effectively a high-stakes prisoner swap last year involving a top executive from Chinese tech giant Huawei who had been charged with fraud by the US. China jailed two Canadians shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies' chief financial officer and the daughter of the company's founder, on a US extradition request. They were sent back to Canada in September, the

Diaspora group launches petition urging Blinken to reduce visa wait time

A US-based diaspora body on Tuesday launched an online petition campaign urging the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to reduce the long waitlist for various types of American visas being issued from India. "We request the State Department, Secretary of State Mr Anthony Blinken and the US embassies in India to eliminate wait times for visa appointments in India. "Even after a two-year-long Covid-era pause in visa appointments at the US embassies in India, the visa appointment situation is far from normal, requiring 300 to 900 days of wait time based on the visa types, Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies or FIIDS said launching its online petition campaign. As per travel.state.gov reports on October 31, there is an average 900+ days' wait time for appointments for visitors' visa (B1/B2), an average 400 days' wait time for students (F, M,J) and an average 300 days' wait time for petition-based temp workers like H, L, O, P and Q across the USA consulates in India (Mumbai,

21 Indian wrestlers to miss World Championship after Spain rejects visas

In a bizarre decision, the embassy of Spain has denied visas to 21 Indian wrestlers, who were to compete at the U-23 World Championship in Pontevedra, on suspicion that they will not leave the territory before the expiry of visas, the national federation said on Monday. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had picked a 30-member squad for the Championship, that began on Monday, but only nine were granted visas. India's first ever Under-20 woman world Champion Antim Panghal was among the wrestlers who missed out on participation. "This is something we have never faced before. Despite presenting the Indian government's clearance and an invitation from the world governing body UWW, our wrestlers have been denied visas on the most frivolous ground," WFI Assistant Secretary Vinod Tomar told PTI. "We have got the rejection letters this evening (Monday) after we made a request to release the passports as soon as possible. This is really bizarre. I really don't know how the officer came

Action initiated on all cases: India on UK's visa overstayer claim

India has countered UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman's claim that the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) had not "worked very well" to say that India had initiated action on all cases raised with it under the agreement. In response to a PTI query about Braverman's interview in The Spectator' that branded Indians as the largest group of people who overstay their visas in the UK, the Indian High Commission here said that India awaits demonstrable progress on certain commitments undertaken by the UK government under the MMP that was signed last year. As part of our wider discussions under Migration and Mobility, the government of India is committed to working with the government of the UK to facilitate the return of Indian citizens who have overstayed their visa period here in the UK, the High Commission of India statement said on Thursday. As per the data shared with the Home Office, as of date, action has been initiated on all of the cases referred to the High Commission. ...

EAM Jaishankar discusses Ukraine conflict, visa issue with NZ counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held "warm and productive" talks with his New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta during which the two leaders exchanged views on issues of international concerns such as the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine conflict. It is Jaishankar's first visit to New Zealand as External Affairs Minister. "Warm and productive talks with New Zealand Foreign Minister @NanaiaMahuta this afternoon. Two societies, respectful of tradition and culture, are seeking to forge a more contemporary relationship," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting. "Appreciated the exchange of views on (issues of) international concerns such as the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine conflict. Value our working together in multilateral forums including the UN and Commonwealth," he said. India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the resource-ric

New rule for UAE visa system comes into effect: Here's what changes

In a major revamp in the UAE's immigration laws, the Middle-eastern nation's new visa system came into effect on October 3

Industry prepared for potential disruptions as tokenisation nears

industry insiders say, the success rate of token-based transactions is higher, but inadequate testing of certain use-cases may result in some transactions not going through

Jaishankar flags US visa concerns; Blinken commits to build back on backlog

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured that the US is "building back" on the backlog of visa applications from Indian nationals and said the Biden administration has a plan that will play out