Immigration news

Some 500,000 Indians aspire to visit the United States every year, but the American government issues only about 55,000 visas, the Times of India reported on 15 April. This is due to lack of adequate manpower and infrastructure, US Transport Secretary Norman Y Mineta said in Bangalore on Friday.

"We are overwhelmed at the number of people requesting for visas to the US. About 55,000 visas are issued, while there are nearly 400,000-500,000 requests," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting organized by the American Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

The United States Senate opened an immigration debate on April 14 on agricultural guest worker visas that many lawmakers had hoped to postpone. A House and Senate negotiating session later this year will decide on final legislation regarding the agricultural guest worker visas.

Australia has moved to double the length of time backpackers can work in Australia. The move follows an attempt by New Zealand in February to snatch the lucrative market out from under Aussie noses by giving working holiday makers the chance to work for up to two years.

The new Australian law, which will come into effect on November 1, puts Australia and New Zealand on equal footing and in line with deals already in place in the United Kingdom.

Last year saw the suspension of EC Association Agreement applications for citizens of Bulgaria and Romania wishing to work in the UK. This was reintroduced on 1 September 2004.

We have heard from reliable sources that the refusal rate for these sorts of applications at British Embassies and Consulates in Romania and Bulgaria is about ninety percent.

Residents of the US state of New Hampshire residents can now go online to schedule an appointment with an immigration officer. The InfoPass system is already used at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices in large cities, and soon will be available at all offices around the country.

The Georgian government announced on 13 April 2005 that Georgia will unilaterally cancel visa requirements for citizens of the United States, Japan, Israel, Canada and EU member countries as an expression of Georgia's good will and willingness to to ease entry for these citizens in Georgia.

Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Kakha Sikharulidze told reporters at a news conference on April 13 that the government will submit relevant amendments to the law to Parliament in the near future.