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A US-based diaspora body on Tuesday launched an online petition campaign urging the Secretary of State Anthony <keyword id="10620101" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="blinken" source="Orion">Blinken</keyword> to reduce the long waitlist for various types of American visas being issued from <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>. "We request the State Department, Secretary of State Mr Anthony Blinken and the US embassies in India to eliminate wait times for <keyword id="6359421" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="visa" source="Orion">visa</keyword> 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, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata), it said. In contrast, the US consulates in China only have an average three days' wait time, FIIDS said. "The 900+ days' delay deprives Indian Americans and Indian immigrants in the USA of having their beloved relatives to visit, whether in the time of difficulties, needs, or for celebrations, impacting their quality of life," it said. "The 400+ days' wait time affects students joining the US universities, that not only impacts students' future but also negatively impacts the US universities," FIIDS said, adding, the 300+ days' wait time is impacting productivity and success of various industries and businesses due to lack of skilled workers. "We urge the US State Department and Sec Blinken to resolve this issue. We believe it is not only important for US interests but the right thing to do on moral and compassionate grounds," FIIDS said in its petition on Change.Org. "As per Reuters news on 27th Sept, the Secretary of State blamed the lack of resources and funding due to lost revenues from fees on this 'self-financed program,'" the petition said. "We request the concerned authorities to take all necessary steps and to seek emergency funds to resolve this backlog. We are eager to assist in any way possible and will forge a coalition of individuals who will rise to the occasion to assist in mitigating this issue," it added. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/elon-musk-fired-twitter-execs-including-ceo-parag-agrawal-for-cause-in-a-bid-to-avoid-paying-out-tens-of-millions-in-severance-report-says/articleshow/95182325.cms">Elon Musk fired Twitter execs including CEO Parag Agrawal 'for cause' in a bid to avoid paying out tens of millions in severance, report says</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/twitter-staff-have-been-told-to-work-84-hour-weeks-and-managers-slept-at-the-office-over-the-weekend-as-they-scramble-to-meet-elon-musks-tight-deadlines-reports-say/articleshow/95232215.cms">Twitter staff have been told to work 84-hour weeks and managers slept at the office over the weekend as they scramble to meet Elon Musk's tight deadlines, reports say</a>

Diaspora group launches online petition urging Blinken to reduce visa wait time

The US State Department has quietly implemented recommendations of a presidential commission which has suggested steps like opening up American diplomatic missions outside India for visa appointments to reduce the visa backlog in the country. India was one of the very few countries where applications for US visas saw a major upswing after coronavirus-related travel restrictions were lifted. Moved by a commission member, Ajay Jain Bhutoria from Silicon Valley, the presidential commission observed that inordinate visa appointment delays were causing huge problems for the students and visitors who have plans to come to study in the US and visit the country. The State Department should allow virtual interviews where applicable and allow staff from embassies around the world and the US consular staff to help conduct the virtual interviews at embassies with high backlogs and help clear them, the commission recommended. The recommendations included opening up American diplomatic missions outside India for visa appointments, having more counters and deploying additional resources to process visa applications. The <keyword id="50596" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-embassy" source="Orion">US Embassy</keyword> in India processed over 1 lakh applications just in January 2023, their highest total in a single month and the highest in any month since July 2019. In its December meeting, the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders recommended several steps to reduce the growing delay in visa appointment times in India and other countries like Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. It recommended the State Department hire new Full-Time officers/consular or Temporary Staff or contractors or bring back retired consular officers to clear the backlog at Embassies in Asia which have wait times of 400 or more days and shrink the wait time to 2-4 weeks be clearing the visa application backlog. The State Department could also use staff from other embassies around the world to help clear the backlog in countries in Asia which have huge backlogs and delays in visa appointments, it had recommended. The advisory committee noted that in 2012 President Barack Obama issued a memo to reduce the wait time from several months to a few days and this memo streamlined the visa process. The Trump administration had rescinded the President Obama memo, and this is also contributing as one of the factors in causing delays for Visa appointments, it said. As such, it recommended that President Joe Biden should consider issuing a memo to the State Department to shrink the visa appointment wait times to 2-4 weeks maximum for countries with significant backlogs including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other countries in a similar situation. There have been growing concerns in India over the long waiting period for first-time visa applicants, especially for those applying under B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) categories. The waiting period for first-time B1/B2 visa applicants in India was close to three years in October last year. In January, the State Department not only implemented remote processing of interview waiver cases for applicants with previous US visas but also launched several initiatives, including scheduling special interviews for first-time applicants and increasing the strength of consular staff. It also conducted "special Saturday interview days" on January 21. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-unleashes-ai-powered-updates-to-revamp-user-experience-on-maps-search-and-translate/articleshow/97761551.cms">Google unleashes AI-powered updates to revamp user experience on Maps, Search and Translate</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/now-find-ev-charging-stations-in-google-maps-near-you/articleshow/97759525.cms">Now find EV charging stations in Google Maps near you</a>

US State Department implements several recommendations of presidential commission to reduce visa backlog in India

<ul><li>Senator Mike Lee said on Wednesday: "By the time we stretch this (backlogs) out to 2030, the 195-year backlog I mentioned a moment ago would be extended out to a 400- to 450-year backlog."</li><li>Lee gave these wait times while opposing a Democratic bill that would protect the children of those on H1-B and other employment visas who are waiting for their green cards from being deported when they turn 21.</li><li>He said that with such long wait times, the children would not be able to qualify for green cards in their lifetimes and, instead, a comprehensive reform is needed.</li></ul> The wait time for green cards for Indians professionals stuck in the "awful, hellish green card backlog" could go up from the current 195 years to 450 years in ten years without a comprehensive reform of the immigration system, a Republican Senator has warned. Senator Mike Lee said on Wednesday: "By the time we stretch this (backlogs) out to 2030, the 195-year backlog I mentioned a moment ago would be extended out to a 400- to 450-year backlog." He said that for those filing for green cards "in 2020, the wait for an EB2 green card is not, in fact, 20 to 30 years for an Indian national. What is it, then? Is it 30? Is it 40, 50, 60? No, it is much longer than that. It is 195 years. This means that someone from India entering the backlog today would have to wait 195 years to receive an EB3 green card." EB2 green cards - the permanent immigration visa leading to citizenship - are for those with advanced degrees and EB3 for skilled and professional workers. The annual green card quota for India and most countries is about 26,000. Lee gave these wait times while opposing a Democratic bill that would protect the children of those on H1-B and other employment visas who are waiting for their green cards from being deported when they turn 21. He said that with such long wait times, the children would not be able to qualify for green cards in their lifetimes and, instead, a comprehensive reform is needed. When children turn 21, they are no longer considered dependents and will lose their visa status based on their parents' visas as well as their claim to a green card and the Protect Children of Immigrant Workers Act proposed by Democrat Senator Dick Durbin seeks to remedy this. While the cause of children who came to the US illegally has a lot of political support, the children who came in legally but reached adulthood has been under the radar and Durbin's bill proposes a parallel remedy. Durbin said that without increasing the total number of green cards, it would not be possible to deal with the huge backlogs and the decades-long wait times. He said, "Just do the math; 140,000 EB (employment) visas and 226,000 family visas per year and 5 million people waiting. If you think you can solve this without changing the number of green cards, you can't." He said that Lee told him that many Republicans opposed increasing the number of green cards that can be issued in a year. Durbin's bill would also allow H1-B visa-holders to file early for green cards, freeing them to switch jobs without being held down by the employers who sponsored them for theAvisa. One of the compromises offered in Durbin's bill is to restrict H1-B visas for outsourcing companies. It would prohibit a company from hiring additional H-1B workers in the future if the company's workforce is more than 50 employees and more than 50 per cent of those are temporary workers. He said that eight of the top ten companies getting H1-B visas were outsourcing companies. Defending his opposition to Durbin's bill. Lee said that the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act he and Democratic Senator Kamala Harris have proposed would protect children, protects widows and widowers of H1-B visa-holders, while expediting green cards for all high-skilled immigrants. A version of the bill that would lift national quotas to allow Indian applicants for green cards to get access to more immigration visas has been passed by the House of Representatives, but has been blocked by Durbin and two Republicans. Durbin has said that lifting the national quota restrictions would only increase the wait times for other countries unless the number of green cards is increased. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/after-google-pwc-india-declares-a-company-wide-holiday-for-its-employees-this-friday-offers-time-off-for-a-well-deserved-break/articleshow/77125627.cms">After Google, PwC India declares a company-wide holiday for its employees this Friday – offers time off for a 'well-deserved' break</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/mukesh-ambani-is-now-the-fifth-richest-person-in-the-world-according-to-forbes/articleshow/77105843.cms">Mukesh Ambani is now the fifth richest person in the world, according to Forbes</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-infosys-hcl-tech-dont-want-h1b-ban-but-are-pocketing-savings-while-it-lasts/articleshow/77120776.cms">The H1-B visa ban is not what Indian IT firms want⁠— but they are pocketing some savings while it lasts</a>

Green card wait time for Indians can go to 450 years by 2030, warns a Republican Senator

<ul><li>It would get easier for Indians to get US citizenship if the country cap in green cards is removed, said an annual Congressional report. </li><li>Nearly 78% of the 395,025 foreign nationals waiting for Green Cards in employment-based LPR applications are Indians. </li><li>Indians have to wait for an average period of nine years to get a green card that allows any person to live or work permanently in the US. </li></ul>Thousands of Indian struggling to get American citizenship would benefit if the US government considers revising or eliminating the per-country ceiling on employment-based Legal Permanent Residency (LPR), <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/visa-and-immigration/ending-country-cap-in-green-cards-may-allow-india-china-to-dominate-path-to-us-citizenship-report/articleshow/67346383.cms">according</a> to a Congressional report. A US ‘Green Card’ that grant a permanent residency status to foreigners gives any person the right to live and work permanently in the US. Nearly 78% of the 395,025 foreign nationals waiting for Green Cards in employment-based LPR applications are Indians with the majority of them to go through the current wait period of almost a decade. Further, the waiting period is relative in nature and may increase or decrease depending on the number of applications received annually, said the report. Eliminating the <keyword id="4823453" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="country-quota">country quota</keyword> will not only make LPR process easy but also benefit the IT service industry that finds it difficult to employ Indian techies. “Currently, nationals from <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> in particular, and to a lesser extent <keyword id="1334" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> and the Philippines, face lengthy queues and inordinately long waits to receive LPR status. Many of those waiting for employment-based LPR status are already employed in the United States on temporary visas,’’ said the<a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/download/R/R45447/R45447.pdf/"> report. </a> If the lawmakers consider eliminating the country cap then nationals from India, China and the Philippines will not have to wait much long time. Many proposals were made to remove the per-country ceiling cap in past years but none have been incorporated. The US government awards 140,000 visas every year for all five employment-based LPR categories. Further, it also imposes per-country ceiling of maximum seven percent on each country that is sending immigrants. While the many may think it is tough to get the citizenship, In 2017, over 50,000 Indians took oath of American citizenship, said Economic Times <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/visa-and-immigration/50000-indians-took-us-citizenship-in-2017-official-report/articleshow/66279970.cms">citing</a> an official report. See more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/more-indians-flew-overseas-than-on-domestic-routes-in-november-report/articleshow/67347965.cms">More Indians flew overseas than on domestic routes in November: Report</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/policy/myanmar-introduces-visa-on-arrival-for-indian-travellers/articleshow/67056366.cms">Myanmar introduces ‘visa-on-arrival’ for Indian travellers</a>

Eliminating country quotas will make path to the permanent residency easier for Indians: US Congressional report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Members of the <keyword id="244289" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="US-Armed-Forces">US Armed Forces</keyword> took to social media to protest the treatment of their Afghan allies.</li><li>They made impassioned posts on Twitter about how their interpreters and friends are still stuck in <keyword id="6354541" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="afghanistan">Afghanistan</keyword>.</li><li>Two <keyword id="6359526" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="military">military</keyword> members are also fundraising to help the interpreters they worked with.</li></ul>Members of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lawmakers-who-are-vets-frustrated-after-taliban-reclaimed-afghanistan-2021-8">US Armed Forces</a> are taking to social media to protest that the US is not doing more to help their Afghan interpreters and allies get out of Afghanistan. The members of the military posted on Twitter screenshots of conversations they had with interpreters who served with them on the frontlines of the war in Afghanistan - men who now find themselves stuck in the country and who are potentially in danger because of their association with the US military.The US has a program for Afghan refugees called the <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/special-immg-visa-afghans-employed-us-gov.html">Special Immigrant Visa (SIV).</a> These visas are given to those who have worked for the US military and does include interpreters and translators whose lives <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-interpreters-left-for-dead-in-afghanistan-2021-6">could be in immediate danger</a> following the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taliban-victory-in-afghanistan-interim-government-planned-reports-2021-8">Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.</a>But the system is not without its issues. US-based non-profit organization <a href="https://nooneleft.org/default.aspx?">No One Left Behind</a> said on its website that there was a "3.5 year wait time" for an SIV, which requires a 14-step process for approval.According to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58019650">BBC</a>, about 200 Afghan interpreters and their families arrived in the US on July 30. But there are many more waiting their turn. There were around 20,000 applications sent in for the special visa program as of the end of July, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/21/us/politics/afghanistan-interpreters-visas.html">The New York Times.</a>Now others, fresh out of options, are <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanMDennis/status/1427280464184741893?s=20">simply asking for prayers</a> to be said for the Afghan interpreters they worked with because there are indications that the <keyword id="16945" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Taliban">Taliban</keyword> already know who they and their families are. Richard Ojeda, a US Army veteran and retired West Virginia state senator, <a href="https://twitter.com/Ojeda4America/status/1426710314398240771?s=20">posted a statement on Twitter</a> calling out the US for not doing enough for the interpreters and their families. "There is nothing that hurts worse than watching your area of responsibility fall to the Taliban and you still have interpreters and their families there," Ojeda wrote in a tweet posted on August 15. "How the F--- does our country deny the wife and baby of a man who stood by my side in combat a Visa to come to America." Military veteran Aaron Marquez, <a href="https://www.aaronmarquez.com/">who was a 2014 candidate for the Arizona state senate</a>, also tweeted about the family of the <keyword id="170889" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Interpreter">interpreter</keyword> who served with him in Afghanistan.<h2>A GoFundMe for allies stuck behind enemy lines </h2><div type="image" title="afghan interpreter" height="437" width="582" msid="85396493" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-movies/henry-hughes-interview/">Henry Hughes</a>, an award-winning filmmaker, and lawyer David Roller, both served in the 173 Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan.They've started <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-interpreters">a fundraiser on GoFundMe</a> in an attempt to help the interpreters who served for two years with them "patrolling the Hindu Kush" and "fighting with the Taliban." "These two men have families. Each has a wife. Both have five children. That's fourteen people. Because they worked with the US Army they meet the criteria to receive a visa, but without the requisite paper trail required by an out of touch and harder to reach bureaucracy their application remains in limbo," they wrote. The pair have raised more than $113,000 so far. The money will go toward "plane tickets to evacuate fourteen people" along with "food and shelter until we can get their visas approved.""They can't simply wait for refugee status," they wrote. "Not with targets painted on their backs."

Members of the US military are outraged that the US is not doing more to help their Afghan interpreters and allies flee the country

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Several Afghan refugees in Pakistan who were promised relocation to the US are now facing deportation, CNN reports. </li><li>For Afghans who served the US military, returning to a Taliban regime could be a death sentence.</li></ul>After the Taliban overthrew the Afghanistan government on August 15, 2021, hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled the country, fearing for their lives under the new regime. Thousands of them entered Pakistan, acting under American guidance to wait outside Afghanistan as their US visas were processed.Now, nearly two years later, several Afghans who were promised relocation to the US are still in Pakistan — and time is running out as they face imminent threats of deportation, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/28/asia/afghanistan-pakistan-taliban-us-visas-intl-cmd/index.html">CNN reports.</a>Pakistan officials have deported at least 530 Afghans this year, according to CNN, and have made no exception for those awaiting Afghan Priority 2 or Special Immigrant Visas from the US State Department. Special Immigrant Visas in particular are for those who served the US military in Afghanistan, for whom returning to Taliban rule could be a death sentence.One former US military contractor told CNN the Taliban "will punish me, they will put me in jail. Maybe they will kill me? I'm sure they will."This crisis is in part because the US has not established a Resettlement Support Center in Pakistan to further support visa application processing, Haseeb Aafaq — a spokesman for volunteer group the Afghanistan Immigrants Refugees Council — told CNN. Meanwhile, the State Department told the outlet in a statement that staff in Pakistan are actively working to expand their processing capacity. Since August 2021, 90,000 Afghans have <a href="https://www.state.gov/afghan-arrivals-under-the-u-s-refugee-admissions-program/">resettled</a> in the US.This is not the first time Afghans who aided the US military have faced barriers to relocation. In the year following the Taliban takeover, the State Department <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/28/politics/afghan-interpreter-marines-special-immigration-visa/index.html">denied</a> visas for several interpreters who served the US military despite their lengthy employment and positive performance reviews.

The US told several Afghans to await relocation in Pakistan after escaping Taliban rule. Two years later, many are facing deportation.

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">Erik de Castro | ReutersA U.S. Marine talks with an Afghan tribal elder through an interpreter in 2010.</div></div></div>As visas for Afghan interpreters were <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/former-interpreters-threatened-2014-7#unless-a-change-is-made-there-will-be-no-more-visas-available-after-the-end-of-this-month-39">set to run out by the end of July</a>, the House of Representatives passed a bill that will provide an additional 1,000 emergency visas for Afghan translators who served alongside American soldiers.
Earlier this month, there were just 280 visas left for Afghan interpreters, with more than 6,000 attempting to go through the approval process, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/former-interpreters-threatened-2014-7#the-state-department-declined-to-be-interviewed-for-the-series-there-are-just-280-visas-left-for-afghan-interpreters-with-more-than-6000-applicants-trying-to-obtain-one-38">according to Vice News</a>. A joint statement released by Congressman Adam Kinzinger, R-Il, and Congressman Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, outlined a bill that would fix this problem.
The 1,000 added Visas should be enough to last through September, when the two lawmakers hope to be able to secure a more permanent extension. The bill must still be approved by the Senate.
"A failure to provide these additional visas ensures the many brave translators the U.S. promised to protect in exchange for their service would be left in Afghanistan, hiding, their lives still threatened daily by the Taliban," the joint statement said.
The State Department had been processing an average of 400 visas a month since the beginning of the year, the statement continued, adding, "We have already taken too much time, and the brave translators that are in mortal danger cannot wait any longer."

A New Effort In Congress Offers A Glimmer Of Hope For Afghan Interpreters Fearing For Their Lives

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider spoke to three families returning to <keyword id="11897975" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uk" source="Orion">Uk</keyword>raine because of the UK visa backlog.</li><li>They said they could not afford housing in Europe while waiting for their visas to be approved.</li></ul>Natalia Kulish, 34, had an agonizing choice to make.She could stay in Poland with her two children, facing homelessness if the family's visas to the UK took much longer to be issued. Or she could return to war-torn <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>, reuniting her children with their father but putting them at risk of being bombed.Kulish chose the latter, and she's one of several families of <keyword id="6391453" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="refugees" source="Orion">refugees</keyword> who have reluctantly decided to turn back to Ukraine instead of waiting indefinitely for the Home Office to process their paperwork.<div type="image" title="Natalia, Luka, and Mariia pose for a Christmas photo" height="902" width="1200" msid="90744149" hostid="261"></div>Kulish fled Dnipro, in western Ukraine, with her children — Mariia, 11, and Luke, 4 — on March 16.They traveled to Warsaw, where a Polish man agreed to temporarily house them in his apartment while they waited for their visas to be issued.They applied for the Homes for Ukraine program — in which people and organizations in the UK can be matched with individuals fleeing Ukraine and offer them a place to live — on March 18, the day it launched. Kulish was told she could expect to receive a visa within four days, she told Insider.The Kulish family then planned to fly to the UK to start a new life with a sponsor family in Hampshire, England, or so they hoped.Two weeks passed, and the visa had still not been issued. By this point, Kulish and her family were no longer able to stay in the one-bedroom Warsaw apartment. "In Warsaw, there were a lot of people who came from Ukraine, and there was no opportunity to rent housing at an affordable price," she told Insider.Facing the possibility of homelessness, Kulish decided to return to her home in Ukraine on April 2.Back in Dnipro, Kulish said, "the nights pass anxiously" as she and her children listen to sirens blare and wait impatiently for their visas to be approved.<h2><div type="image" title="Liliia, Nina, and Platon" height="465" width="621" msid="90744152" hostid="261"></div></h2>On Thursday night, another family returned to their home in a war zone.Nina, 43, Liliia, 21, and newborn baby, Platon, escaped to Poland from Ukraine by foot last month.Once in Poland, they applied for Homes for Ukraine visas. Leila Majewska, who is Polish but lives in Derby, England, matched with Nina, Liliia, and Platon on a Facebook group.Majewska immediately started preparing her home for the family. She bought a cot and a pram and eagerly awaited their arrival.<div type="image" title="A bedroom in the UK, with a cot and toys, was prepared by Leila Majewska" height="1153" width="1536" msid="90744155" hostid="261"></div>As the visa application process dragged on, Majewska flew to Warsaw and visited a visa center with them. Majewska said the family was told the visas would take five days to process.Meanwhile, the family stayed for free at a Polish woman's house.But 17 days passed, their sponsor said, and Nina and Liliia realized that staying in Warsaw indefinitely was no longer viable."I think it's emotional not having any of your own money and being in someone's place when you are told that it's gonna be just for a maximum of a week and then it's 17 days and still waiting," Majewska told Insider.Majewska said she's frustrated by the UK's visa backlog. "If they got the visa on time, they wouldn't be there, and they'd be safe and comfortable." she said.Living in a state of "purgatory" has had a negative effect on the family's mental health, Majewska noted. "It's the suspension, waiting for something, but you don't know if it's going to actually happen," she said.<h2>Just 2.8% of Homes for Ukraine applicants have arrived in the UK</h2>According to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-family-scheme-application-data/ukraine-family-scheme-and-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-homes-for-ukraine-visa-data--2">figures released on Friday</a> by the Home Office, only 1,200 Ukrainians who have applied for the Homes for Ukraine program have arrived in the UK. That represents just 2.8% of the 43,600 people who have applied.The government's refugees minister, <a href="https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/refugees-minister-admits-ukraine-scheme-rollout-embarrassing">Lord Richard Harrington, has described</a> the plan's rollout as "embarrassing" and "a slow and bureaucratic process."In a statement to Insider, a government spokesperson said: "In response to Putin's barbaric invasion we have launched one of the fastest and biggest visa schemes in UK history. In just four weeks, over 40,000 visas have been issued so people can rebuild their lives in the UK."<div type="image" title="Refugee women with children walk to boarding transport at the central train station in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, April 7, 2022." height="3740" width="4987" msid="90744158" hostid="261"></div>Home Office figures show that of the 79,800 applications filed, 41,000 visas have been granted to Ukrainians fleeing the war. Of that number, 12,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK.Meanwhile, the neighboring Republic of Ireland, which has one-tenth of the population of the UK, has welcomed more than 20,000 people from Ukraine, <a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0407/1290906-ukraine-refugees-ireland/">according to Ireland's taoiseach, Micheál Martin.</a>Refugee charities have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/28/uk-visa-rule-is-leaving-refugees-stranded-in-war-torn-ukraine-say-charities">called on the UK government to waive visa requirements</a> for Ukrainian refugees to bring the country in line with other EU nations like Ireland.Many of the UK's incoming refugees are arriving via the Ukraine Family Scheme, which allows applicants to apply for a visa to join a UK-based family member.According to Home Office figures, 10,800 of the 36,300 applicants have so far arrived in the UK.Peter Lee's mother-in-law and sister-in-law are among those who benefited from the program, but he told Insider that the application process caused "anxiety, frustration" and prompted his relatives to temporarily return to Ukraine.<h2>'We felt the only option was for them to go back to Ukraine'</h2>Lee's family were trying to join him in the UK after they fled Uzhhorod, in western Ukraine, by foot.They got to Hungary, and Lee put them up in a hotel in Budapest. As the visa process dragged on, the family decided it was no longer financially viable to pay for expensive accommodation."We felt the only option for us was for them to go back to Ukraine and ultimately wait again," Lee said. Eventually, the family had their visas approved, and they're now living in the UK.Sandip Basu, a volunteer legal adviser with the Ukraine Advice Project who helped the Lee family, told Insider that it feels "shameful" that the family had to suffer the bureaucratic nightmare. It shows that the UK's visa-application process is not fit for its purpose, he said."It's a problem of lack of communication between the Home Office, the government, and the visa application center, and just a matter of unpreparedness," Basu said.On Friday, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, apologized "with frustration" for the program's failures. "I'll be very candid. It has taken time," she said, per <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61028712">BBC News.</a> "Any new scheme takes time. Any new visa system takes time."But Basu told Insider that the system's greatest flaw is that it fails to consider the agonizing decisions refugees fleeing Ukraine are being forced to make."It's a choice between hunger and homelessness, or going back to their home where at least they have shelter, even though there is the danger of bombs being dropped on them," he said. "It's an incredible decision to make, and I don't know what I'd do if I had to make that choice."

Refugees are choosing to return to war-torn Ukraine exhausted by the 'hunger and homelessness' inflicted by the long wait for UK visas

As part of its revised selection process, the US has hiked by USD 10 the application fee of the H-1B work visa, the most sought-after among Indian IT professionals. The H-1B programme allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the application of a body of highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor's degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent. This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency, said the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Thursday. "This effort will help implement a more efficient and effective H-1B cap selection process," said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli." The electronic registration system is part of an agency-wide initiative to modernise our immigration system while deterring fraud, improving vetting procedures and strengthening program integrity," he said. Upon implementation of the electronic registration system, petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, will first have to electronically register with the USCIS during a designated registration period, unless the requirement is suspended, the USCIS said. The federal agency is slated to implement the registration process for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap selection process, pending completed testing of the system. It will announce the implementation time frame and initial registration period in the federal register once a formal decision has been made, and the USCIS will offer ample notice to the public in advance of implementing the registration requirement. The USCIS published a notice of proposed rulemaking highlighting a registration fee on September 4, 2019, which included a 30-day public comment period.The USCIS received only 22 comments during that time, and has considered all submissions and offered public responses ahead of announcing the final rule, which is effective on December 9.

US hikes H1-B visa application fee by another $10

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission via Associated PressAkayed Ullah, the suspect in the explosion near New York's Times Square on Monday, Dec. 11, 2017.</div></div></div><ul><li>Akayed Ullah, the suspected Manhattan bomber, benefited from "chain migration," the Trump administration said.</li><li>Ullah entered through a family-based immigration category that many conservatives and immigration critics want eliminated.</li><li>Advocates say the program is a proud part of American history, and takes far too long to be considered a threat.</li></ul> The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/explosion-new-york-citys-port-authority-bus-terminal-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempted suicide bombing</a> in New York City on Monday prompted a fresh wave of condemnation for family-sponsored immigration, which allowed the suspected terrorist to legally enter the United States from Bangladesh in 2011.Authorities say Akayed Ullah, the 27-year-old suspect, strapped a makeshift pipe bomb to his chest and partially detonated it in a passageway in the heart of midtown Manhattan, mildly injuring three and causing thousands of commuters to flee before the NYPD neutralized him. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/akayed-ullah-wrote-about-trump-on-facebook-before-nyc-bombing-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal prosecutors charged Ullah</a> with supporting a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction.President Donald Trump, along with scores of conservatives and immigration critics, blamed the attack on what he described as "lax" immigration policies. Some have argued that the attack could have been prevented under the provisions of a proposed bill known as the RAISE Act, which seeks to curb legal immigration to the US by half."Today's terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security," Trump said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/12/11/statement-president-donald-j-trump-regarding-todays-attack-new-york-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement released by the White House</a>. "America must fix its lax immigration system, which allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people to access our country … Congress must end chain migration."<h2>What is chain migration?</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesDonald Trump.</div></div></div>Chain migration is a term almost exclusively used by immigration hardliners when referring to the family reunification part of the US immigration system.It lets US citizens or lawful permanent residents (people with Green Cards) to sponsor close family members to join them in the US.Prominent groups that advocate for stricter immigration policies - like the <a href="https://www.fairus.org/issue/legal-immigration/chain-migration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federation for American Immigration Reform</a> and <a href="https://www.numbersusa.com/solutions/end-chain-migration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NumbersUSA</a> - have frequently denounced chain migration, describing it as a process that admits "indefinite" numbers of unskilled immigrants based on family connections alone. They say it prompts foreigners to view US immigration as a "right or entitlement."But those criticisms ignore the country's history of immigration, which has always allowed Americans to bring in their relatives, according to Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American Policy, a non-partisan think tank."The term 'chain migration' is a contrived term," Anderson told Business Insider. "It's just part of every single immigration category in every country in the world, that when the principal person is sponsored, they're allowed to bring their spouse and minor child with them. They're not gladiators or something, they're human beings. They're going to have family members."Immigration proponents typically describe family-based immigration as essential in helping new immigrants assimilate into US society. The <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/advantages-family-based-immigration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Immigration Council</a>, for instance, argues that newcomers who can bring family members with them when they immigrate to the US have stronger social and economic support."It would almost seem opportunistic to use the case of one person out of the millions of people throughout US history who've come in by being sponsored by a family member to try to eliminate a particular category," Anderson said. "Particularly when this individual, from everything we know, did not present any problems at the time they came into the country but became radicalized in the last few years."<h2>How chain migration applies to the NYC bomber</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-NYC-Subway-Platform-Explosion/d6b20737152d439cbc9ca7dfe842ce57/1/1">AP Photo/Andres Kudacki</a>The scene near New York's Times Square following the explosion on Monday.</div></div></div>Ullah entered the US in 2011 and received permanent residency under an immigration program known as the fourth family-based preference, <a href="https://twitter.com/SpoxDHS/status/940361415910744064" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Homeland Security spokesman Tyler Houlton said on Monday</a>.This year, most foreigners immigrating to the US under the fourth preference category waited in line for 13 years to come. But wait times can last as long as 23 years, depending on which country the immigrants are originally from.It's unclear when exactly Ullah's family first petitioned for their immigrant visas, but it's likely they, too, waited in line for years before their 2011 entry. <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2018/visa-bulletin-for-december-2017.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State Department data</a> show that people who are currently being issued immigrant visas for that same fourth preference category have been waiting in line since at least 2004.The "preference" in this case refers to the four family-based immigration categories, the last of which allows foreigners to apply for immigrant visas if their sibling is a US citizen.Because those immigrants are allowed to bring their spouses and minor children, which is how Ullah gained entry, the process is often viewed by critics as allowing a "chain" of extended family members to immigrate to the US.<h2>Millions of applicants and years-long backlogs</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Andrew KellyA member of the New York Police Department's Bomb Squad walks through the 42nd Street subway station beneath the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal following an attempted detonation during the morning rush hour, in New York City, New York, U.S., December 11, 2017.</div></div></div>Immigration hardliners' theory that scores of newly naturalized US citizens are sponsoring endless strings of family members has been roundly <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2011/10/16/the-myth-of-chain-migration-2/#a1e58b64562d">criticized by immigration experts</a>.The US's visa and green-card backlogs alone ensure that many prospective immigrants face painstakingly long waiting periods before being admitted to the country or given permanent residency - a significant barrier in trying to get more family members to join them.Family-based immigration is not an immediate process, and it can take years or even decades for immigrant visas to be made available and processed.This is because the federal government applies strict numeric quotas to most family-based preference categories, resulting in years-long line-ups that eligible immigrants must wait in before their applications are approved.For instance, the fourth preference category that Ullah's family waited in currently only allows 65,000 people to enter per year. Yet there's a backlog of nearly 2.5 million applicants, according to an upcoming NFAP report viewed by Business Insider.Beyond the issuance of immigrant visas, once an immigrant arrives in the US on a visa, it takes <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/green-card-processes-procedures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">additional time to receive a green card</a> that denotes permanent residency. After that, permanent residents typically have to wait <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/path-us-citizenship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five years</a> before they may apply to become US citizens.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Associated Press/Manuel Balce CenetaSen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., left, with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a <keyword id="6355005" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="News">news</keyword> conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017</div></div></div>The ongoing debate over family-based immigration could signal a bump in the road for any immigration deal between Republicans and Democrats.The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/daca-lindsey-graham-dick-durbin-urge-action-on-dream-act-trump-immigration-news-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bipartisan Dream Act</a>, reintroduced in Congress in September by Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, includes a pathway to citizenship for young unauthorized immigrants, whose protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will be phased out over the next six months.Immigration critics have argued that any pathway to citizenship offered to those immigrants would inevitably allow them to sponsor relatives - in some cases that could include their parents who first brought them to the US as children. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-fox-news-democrat-ignition-mayor-most-corrupt-candidate-2017-12">Fox News' Tucker Carlson - a registered Democrat - explains why he always votes for the most corrupt mayoral candidate</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "us visa wait time" and got 10 results

Diaspora group launches online petition urging Blinken to reduce visa wait time

IANS

US State Department implements several recommendations of presidential commission to reduce visa backlog in India

PTI

Green card wait time for Indians can go to 450 years by 2030, warns a Republican Senator

IANS

Eliminating country quotas will make path to the permanent residency easier for Indians: US Congressional report

BI India Bureau

Members of the US military are outraged that the US is not doing more to help their Afghan interpreters and allies flee the country

Cheryl Teh

The US told several Afghans to await relocation in Pakistan after escaping Taliban rule. Two years later, many are facing deportation.

Katie Hawkinson

A New Effort In Congress Offers A Glimmer Of Hope For Afghan Interpreters Fearing For Their Lives

Allan Smith

Refugees are choosing to return to war-torn Ukraine exhausted by the 'hunger and homelessness' inflicted by the long wait for UK visas

Joshua Zitser

US hikes H1-B visa application fee by another $10

PTI

Conservatives are up in arms about 'chain migration', how they say the NYC bombing suspect entered the US - here's how it works

Michelle Mark

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