Washington: A professional US body of engineers has asked the Senators to reject any move to increase the number of H-1B visas, popular among Indian professionals, arguing that it has a damaging effect on American economy. In a statement issued on Monday, IEEE-USA - the largest American body of professional engineers asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject amendments to the comprehensive immigration bill that would increase H-1B temporary visa numbers, weaken safeguards for US and foreign workers and facilitate the outsourcing of American jobs.
"Outsourcing is damaging to US workers and the American economy. We need laws that promote US job growth, not encourage it to leave our shores," IEEE-USA president Marc Apter said. "We encourage the Senate to maintain the high-tech provisions as written," said Apter.
"Efforts to destroy the balanced compromise that went into crafting the legislation will make it more difficult to enact into law," he added. The committee is expected to begin debating amendments to the "Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernisation Act" (S.744).
Senators Orrin Hatch and Ted Cruz have introduced amendments to increase the annual H-1B visa cap from 65,000 to between 300,000 and 325,000. "When exemptions are included, this would equal roughly 10 percent of the total US engineering workforce. This is troubling in light of recent reports that the top 10 companies using H-1B visas specialise in shipping American jobs offshore," IEEE-USA said....
more
02:54 PM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: India's pistol shooters competing in the ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning, USA, will be without the services of coach Sayed Wajid Ali as he has been denied visa to travel for the May 4-13 tournament. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) said the US embassy is yet to give a reason for denying the government core-group coach visa. "He has been denied visa, though we don't...
03:48 PM, May 06, 2013
Organisers of the US delegation to India that met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had canvassed for participants in the trip at prices ranging from $3,000 to $16,000, said a media report. ...
09:57 PM, Mar 29, 2013
Gujarat Congress on Friday described Chief Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with a US delegation which included three Republican legislators as a marketing gimmick'. "This is nothing but a marketing gimmick by some global Public Relation firms to promote Modi," said state Congress chief Arjun Modhwadia on Friday. ...
07:49 PM, Mar 29, 2013
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday got an invitation to visit the US as a delegation comprising of some American Congressmen met him in Ahmedabad. The invitation is a shot in the arm for the BJP leader who has in the past been denied a visa by the US administration over his alleged involvement in 2002 Gujarat riots. ...
04:49 PM, Mar 28, 2013
An innovative system developed by two Indian post-doctoral mechanical engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to transform the white-hot fracking industry is caught in a US visa limbo, according to a media report. ...
03:06 AM, Feb 20, 2013
The European Union and the United Kingdom may have had a rethink on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, but the USA is certainly not warming up to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. ...
04:25 PM, Feb 19, 2013
The US on Thursday said that there has been "no change" in its policy with regard to granting a visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. ...
01:26 AM, Dec 07, 2012
Visa woes continue for senior BJP leader Narendra Modi ahead of the Gujarat elections as 25 US lawmakers urged their government not to go the UK way and continue to deny a visa to the Gujarat Chief Minister. ...
11:09 AM, Dec 04, 2012
Ahead of the Gujarat polls, a group of 25 American lawmakers have urged the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to continue denying Narendra Modi visa. ...
10:29 AM, Dec 04, 2012
In a setback to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a group of 25 American lawmakers have urged the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to continue denying visa to the BJP leader, stating that his government has not adequately pursued justice of the 2002 riot victims. ...
08:29 AM, Dec 04, 2012
New Delhi: The US, which refused visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after the 2002 post-Godhra riots, on Tuesday said he was free to apply for it now and the system will take its course, a statement that comes days within the UK ended its boycott of the state. US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake also maintained that his country has "very good"...
09:35 PM, Oct 30, 2012
Washington: US would handle the visa application of the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as per the country's immigration laws, a top US diplomat said. At the same time, the official said, US supports the business interests of American companies in Gujarat. "Well, I mean, the question has often arisen about, Mr Modi's potential application for visas, for example, to come to the US. And you know, the truth is...
09:11 AM, Oct 27, 2012
In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna talks on a range of issues from Pakistan and its position on Kashmir at the UN to the recent proposal to increase the fee for US visa by the Obama administration. ...
03:57 PM, Oct 03, 2012
New York: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has conveyed India's concerns to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the US visa fee hike and discussed a host of regional and global issues, including ways of advancing bilateral cooperation over Afghanistan. Krishna held a 45-minute meeting with Clinton on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) session on Monday. Krishna and Clinton "held a positive discussion on a broad range...
06:14 PM, Oct 02, 2012
Chennai: The United States Consulate General in the city, which had suspended its visa services since Friday following an attack by protesting members of an Islamic organisation, said that it will resume its services on Monday even as Consul General Jennifer McIntyre met City Police Commissioner S George for over 30 minutes here on Thursday. Sources said the US Consulate here would interview over 1,000 applicants per day on any...
02:27 PM, Sep 21, 2012
New Delhi: Indians applying for US visa can now look forward to a hassle-free process with the US Embassy on Wednesday announcing a new visa processing system that simplifies fee payment and appointment schedules for the travel document. The new system that will come into effect from September 26 will allow applicants to pay the visa application fees through Electronic Fund Transfer or with their mobile phones and collect their...
05:59 PM, Sep 05, 2012
New Delhi: India proposes to take the US to WTO against the latter's visa fee hike, which discriminates Indian software companies from American firms. "Department of Commerce proposes to seek consultations with the USA under the Dispute Settlement Understanding of WTO," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scinida said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and...
11:02 PM, May 09, 2012
Washington: The US has said that there is no change in its policy towards issuing visas to Indian students. "I don't think we've changed our policy with regard to the way we interview applicants," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters at her daily news conference. "I think what we are doing is making sure that the sponsoring organisations truly are what they say they are in the United States;...
10:49 AM, Apr 25, 2012
Washington: US immigration authorities, in the past four years, have increased denial of work-related visas, with India-born professionals being refused at higher rates than nationals of other countries, an American think tank said in a report on Friday. Analysis of new data obtained from US Citizenship and Immigration Services showed the agency had increased denials of L-1 and H-1B petitions beginning 2008, thus harming the competitiveness of US employers and...
01:44 PM, Feb 10, 2012
