US Visa Norm

India and China bore the maximum brunt of tougher immigration policy unveiled by the Trump administration which issued 2.5 lakh fewer visas in the first eight months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to a media report. From January to August 2025, the State Department approved 11 per cent fewer permanent resident and temporary visas compared with the same period a year before, according to State Department data released in early March. These visas are generally issued for students, workers, and family members of citizens and legal residents. The 11 per cent drop doesn't include tourist visas, which also fell during the same period, the Washington Post reported on Sunday. According to the report, visas for Chinese and Indian nationals fell by about 84,000 compared with the same period in 2024, largely reflecting a drop-off in international students and workers from those countries. Business and tourism visas declined by about 3.4 per cent in the first eight

New policy allows foreign religious workers holding the visa to re-apply for entry immediately after their five-year term expires

The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people

Influencers and OnlyFans models are using their follower counts and brand deals to meet US 'extraordinary ability' visa criteria as digital metrics come to play a central role in artist visa approvals

The Trump administration has added seven countries, including five in Africa, to the list of nations whose passport holders are required to post bonds of up to USD 15,000 to apply to enter the United States. Thirteen countries, all but two of them in Africa, are now on the list, which makes the process of obtaining a US visa unaffordable for many. The State Department last week quietly added Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan to the list. Those designations took effect on January 1, according to a notice posted on the travel.state.gov website. It's the latest effort by the Trump administration to tighten requirements for entry to the US, including requiring citizens from all countries that require visas to sit for in-person interviews and disclose years of social media histories as well as detailed accounts of their and their families' previous travel and living arrangements. US officials have defended the bonds, which ca

The Trump administration signals a broader list of restricted countries, raising concerns for global mobility and future itineraries, AP reported.

The officers have also been asked to keep a track of the health conditions of the visa applicant's dependents

The new H-1B visa petitions are likely to be hampered the most since the Department of Labor (DOL) - which certifies labor condition applications (LCAs) required for H-1Bs - has shut down its systems

Experts say that such prohibitive costs may force IT services companies to keep their prospective visa employees in India

For Arun Kumar (name changed), a techie from south Tamil Nadu, the past 30 hours have been a whirlwind of stress and frantic search for a flight ticket to the US

Every year, tens of thousands of young people are sent on visas to toil as farmworkers, housekeepers and office interns, all in the name of cultural exchange

It said that a one-day deadline to implement the order was concerning as it creates considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals, and students across the world

Over 300 Koreans, including 250 LG staff and contractors, were detained at LG's car battery venture with Hyundai Motor, in the US Department of Homeland Security's biggest immigration raid ever

Indian IT companies are reportedly cutting down on H-1B visas, hiring more locally in the US, as tougher immigration rules, rising costs, and AI-led changes reshape global outsourcing models

According to the proposed regulations, the visa periods for international students and cultural exchange visitors will not exceed more than four years

The measure adds to steps taken by the US government to limit the arrival of people that it deems undesirable

Committing assault, theft or burglary in the United States won't just cause legal issues but could also lead to a visa being revoked and make that person "ineligible" for future US visas, the country's embassy in India has said. The stern warning comes in the backdrop of a viral video purportedly showing an Indian woman being held by police authorities after she allegedly tried to shoplift several items at a high-end store in the US. However, the veracity of the video, widely shared on various social media platforms, could not be independently verified. In a brief statement on Wednesday, the embassy also said America values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all US laws. The statement was shared on the X handle of the embassy. "Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States won't just cause you legal issues - it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future U.S. visas. The United States values law and order and expects fore

The US Embassy in India has warned that visa screening continues after approval. Visa holders must follow all US laws or risk visa cancellation and deportation, according to an official advisory

Applications to German universities have surged 30% in recent months, with Ambassador Philipp Ackermann citing Germany's appeal amid uncertainty over US student visa rules

The move comes amid President Donald Trump's broad crackdown on migration to the United States and efforts to deport undocumented immigrants in the country