Articles Posted in Top Immigration Stories

To reach out to the vast Indian community, which has one of the highest penetrations of Internet users among all ethnic communities in the States, Indian embassy in U.S. launched its Facebook page recently.

It’s a part of the efforts of its Ambassador Meera Shankar to reach out to the ever-increasing and vibrant Indian-American community. “We are happy to announce the launch of the Facebook account of the Embassy. The address is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Embassy-of-India-Washington-DC/164730746912290,” Embassy spokesman Virander Paul said in a statement. “Please join the group and also invite other ‘friends of India’ to join,” he said.

The ‘Maximum India’ festival being launched by the Kennedy Center from March 1 is one of the few first messages on the page.

“Join and enjoy the splendour of ‘Maximum India’ – a mega festival hosted by the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in cooperation with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Embassy of India, Washington DC from March 1-20, 2011,” the Embassy said.

Visa-free travel with the occupied regions of Georgia will be established by Russia soon. In March Moscow will ratify relevant agreements with puppet regimes in Sukhumi and Tskhinvali. The Duma committee for foreign affairs was instructed to prepare papers for consideration.

In particular, a special regime for stay of Russian militaries in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region was also determined. Soldiers-contractors and members of their families will be able to travel to the occupied territory with just their service passports. And recruits will need passports of Russian citizens and their military cards.

As to civilians, residents of Russia and the occupied territories will be able to pass through a checkpoint on the Psou and Roki with their internal documents. Thus, in fact, Moscow brings regulatory framework in line with the existing order of things.

The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. will conduct a consular outreach service in Atlanta, Georgia on 27 March 2011, Sunday, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Embassy’s consular team will accept and process applications for electronic passport (ePassport), notarization of documents, and registration of births and marriages. Passport applicants are no longer required to bring photographs since they will have their pictures taken using ePassport data capturing machines at the outreach site. However, they still need to bring other necessary requirements, such as their current passport, the passport application form which may be downloaded from www.philippineembassy-usa.org, an application fee of $60.00 (cash or money order payable to the Philippine Embassy) and a self-addressed stamped (Express Mail with tracking number) envelope, or a prepaid courier envelope, with their application.

The outreach program will also include an oath-taking ceremony for individuals who will reacquire their Filipino citizenship under the Dual Citizenship Law. The oath taking will be only for applicants who will send their applications to the Embassy not later than 18 March 2011. The consular services will be held at RV Industries, 1665 Heraeus Blvd., Buford, GA 30518.

In early 2010, the visa process to enter Iraq was both liberal and easily accessible taking only around 24 to 72 hours to go through the relevant procedures and paperwork. Officials were so flexible in fact that expats who went home for the holidays without first obtaining a re entry visa for their return were simply waived through, rather than being redirected all the way to Amman to obtain permission.

Mr Karoly Niklasz Move One’s Operations Coordinator in Iraq said that this easygoing attitude has since changed considerably. Now everything is different due to changes the Iraqi government has installed.

Instead of the original five forms, now eight separate documents need to be filled out, two of which are in Arabic. Moreover, the administration process has been prolonged to at least 14 days. As of February 2011, Iraqi authorities have extended the process even further to a total of 21 days which led to complaints by the US Embassy and has caused disagreements between the two countries.

Mr Karoly said that what makes the situation even more complicated is the fact that the Iraqi Government is demanding a billion dollars from the US for damages caused to Baghdad, claiming that everything is still surrounded by T walls and that army convoys use public parks as through routes, etc.

With seven offices located throughout Iraq, Move One employees have all the necessary documentation, work permits and visas needed to reside and operate legally within the country. Our extensive local knowledge of the region dates back to 2003 and has helped us build a successful track record in handling everything from small shipments to heavy, over sized cargo for a variety of customers in the oil and gas industry as well as civil reconstruction.

China has reached an agreement with Russia on mutual exemption of visa requirements for Heixiazi Island, vice governor of Heilongjiang Province Jiahao Du said on Tuesday. The Island, a 327 sq km sandbar in the middle of the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Wusuli Rivers, has long been a source of conflict between China and Russia and a major border irritant since it was seized by the Red Army in 1929.

China has restored sovereign control over half of Heixiazi Island from Russia since October 14, 2008 after the two countries jointly unveil a stone monument on the Island. Heilongjiang has unfurled plans to develop the Chinese side of Heixiazi as a tourist resort, including hotels and a free trade shopping area.

Anyone applying to visit the United States on a non-immigrant visa from March 1, 2011, will have to pay their visa fees at Guaranty Trust Bank, and no longer the United Bank for Africa (UBA). The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria announced that applicants who have already scheduled appointments for March or April with the embassy in Abuja or the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos must pay the $140 visa application fee at a UBA branch no later than February 28.

Visa fee collection services will no longer be available at UBA after February 28. According to the embassy, the shift to GTB is a result of an ongoing realignment of contracts between the U.S. Department of State and companies which provide visa appointment services.

The US Embassy in Accra on Wednesday announced new non-immigrant visa appointment service with effect from March 1, 2011. Under the new system, non-immigrant visa applicants in English Speaking West African countries would pay their application fees at Ecobank branches instead of Standard Chartered Bank and complete their application form (CEAC/DS-160) online.

Mr Michael Evans, Consular Chief at the US Embassy, said the new service system would require non-immigrant visa applicants to schedule appointments through the US Visa Information Service at www.ustraveldocs.com or by calling 233-263011685 which is a call center for further inquiries.

Briefing newsmen, he said the process and fee for US non-immigrant visa application remained the same except that the new system had included a life operator service which would allow applicants to call the US Service Center for more information. Mr Evans assured the public that the new service was now more user-friendly and had sophisticated inputs to prevent fraud or any form of manipulations to protect the integrity of the system. He said the new system had special visa categories which made it easier for the Consulate to know how many visas were given to a particular category daily.

Mr Evans explained that the change of bankers was due to the fact that the new operating contractors of the US Visa application system had an existing contract with Ecobank Ghana and therefore it was important that they honored their agreement with the bank. However, he explained that applicants who had Standard Chartered bank receipts and had already scheduled visa appointments through the current online system should proceed via the current process as they would not be affected by this change.

Mr Evans said applicants who had paid their MRV fee prior to March 1, but had not scheduled an appointment would be given up to April 30 to schedule an appointment or would forfeit it and would have to pay the MRV fee again if they had not scheduled an appointment before the set date. He said the new online visa application system had now become the standard product world-wide for all applicants and urged Ghanaians to educate themselves about the new application process to avoid being duped by middlemen.

Mr Evans said the US Embassy did not have any special contract or ties with anybody or persons, but dealt directly with clients as individuals.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Saturday that Turkey and Georgia have already started works to allow citizens of both countries to travel with only state identity cards. Davutoğlu told a joint news conference with his Georgian counterpart, Grigol Vashadze, during his visit to Tbilisi that they plan to apply “single window customs” at the Sarp border gate, the largest and busiest gate in the Caucasus, facilitating trade transactions and enabling cross-traders to present their documents at a single location. Davutoğlu said it is a very serious initiative regarding the integration of the two countries’ economies.

Davutoğlu earlier met with Vashadze to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, regional developments and ongoing restoration in the cultural heritage of Georgia in Turkey and Turkish heritage in Georgia. Ministers then headed delegations during a follow-up meeting, where they discussed ways to ease travel between the two countries. Turkey and Georgia don’t require visas for tourists to stay in the country for up to 90 days.

Speaking about the protection of mutual cultural heritage, Davutoğlu said it will be a important area of cooperation and that the historical churches in Turkey are also part of Turkey’s cultural heritage. The foreign minister promised that Turkey will continue necessary restoration work on Georgian churches, adding that historical and cultural heritage in Ajaria and its capital, Batumi, where a substantial number of Georgian Muslims live, is also shared cultural heritage for both countries.

Speaking during the press conference, Vashadze said they discussed “important subjects” concerning Turkey and Georgia, along with border facilitation works.Noting that he will meet again with Davutoğlu in the near future, Vashadze said they will discuss regional security issues and the Georgia-Russian conflict. Davutoğlu also held talks with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

There is a new development in the cordial relations between the Bahamas and Australia was realised with the official launching of the Australian Honorary Consulate and the introduction of Caroline Moncur as Honourary Consul.

The event took place Thursday at the Lyford Cay Club, where Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest underscored the importance of such relations. The Bahamas and Australia have been enjoying friendly and supportive relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations on January 7, 1974.

“We work together in the bilateral and multilateral levels. One of our latest important bilateral endeavours was the signing of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement in March 2010. On the multilateral level we are working together on important climate change and maritime issues,” Mr Turnquest said.

Australia also maintains relations with other members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); having extended a hand in friendship and co-operation in a number of areas.

Significant changes to Australian Skilled Sponsored Visas on 1 July 2011 will result in the removal of the permanent family sponsored visa route; Family members can still sponsor relatives under a provisional sponsored migration visa.

This visa can still lead to permanent residence. Holders of a provisional sponsored skilled migration visa may be eligible for a Skilled Regional (Residence) visa (subclass 887) after meeting certain eligibility criteria. As Australia’s economy heats up, demand for skilled overseas workers will increase. Australia is well known for its skilled migration program, which has influenced immigration programs in other countries such as those in the UK.