Category: Immigration

A 61-year-old doctor from Virginia, born in the US, has shockingly been stripped of his citizenship due to his late father’s status as an Iranian diplomat at the time of his birth in a shocking upset.

Siavash Sobhani found himself stateless when he attempted to renew his passport in June this year, with officials claiming he should never have been granted American citizenship in 1960, reports the Washington Post.

The State Department explained that children born in the US to parents with diplomatic immunity, like his father had as an Iranian Embassy employee, shouldn’t automatically acquire citizenship. This is despite the usual rule that all babies born in the US are given citizenship.

Although Sobhani is a respected doctor with 3,000 active patients and degrees from prestigious universities, the State Department still took this action. Sobhani has lived in the US for his entire life, except for a brief period during his childhood when his family moved to Turkey.

His brother Rob Sobhani, 63, even ran for Senate in Maryland in 2012. Sobhani expressed that he can’t safely live in Iran due to his brother’s political ties to the US and because he has spoken out against the government.

The State Department sent a letter to Sobhani, which read: “As a member of your parent’s household at the time of your birth, you also enjoyed full diplomatic immunity from the jurisdiction of the United States. Therefore, you did not acquire US citizenship at birth.” Sobhani was left puzzled by this letter, which led him to delve into his family history.

He found out that his older brother, born in Kansas when their father was a military student, had an illness that required surgery as a baby. Their father secured a temporary job at the Iranian Embassy to extend their stay in the US through October and November 1961 – the month Sobhani was born at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

They later lived in Turkey for several years, before returning to DC where Sobhani attended Georgetown Preparatory School. Sobhani has written letters to Virginia Sen. Mark R Warner and Rep. Gerald E Connolly asking for their assistance.

In his letter, he expressed his deep respect for the laws governing the country and highlighted his commitment to helping people in Virginia and the DC region.

Sobhani, who has been “directly involved in the care of tens of thousands of lives, currently with an active patient panel of over 3,000 patients,” expressed his hope that his service to the community would influence the decision about his citizenship.

In response, Connolly expressed his sympathies and promised to prioritise Sobhani’s case. He wrote: “I trust that you can imagine how difficult it must be to believe that you were a citizen of the U.S. your entire life, just to find out you actually were not.”

Despite this, Sobhani remains uncertain about when or if he will regain his citizenship.

This is not the first time someone has lost their US citizenship due to their parent’s diplomatic status. A US-born Yemini woman was recently denied citizenship after she ran off to Syria to join ISIS in 2014.

After marrying an Australian jihadist and advocating for terror attacks against civilians in the US, she sought to return following the death of her husband and after remarrying and having a child with a Tunisian fighter.

In January 2016, the Obama administration revoked Muthana’s passport and citizenship, claiming her father was a Yemeni diplomat when she was born in 1994.

Due to a clerical error, Muthana, now 28, went unnoticed as her father’s diplomatic status wasn’t officially ended until February 1995.

Muthana’s dad, Ahmed Ali Muthana, filed a lawsuit demanding his daughter and grandson be granted US citizenship and returned to the US. However, a judge denied this in 2019, ruling Muthana wasn’t an American citizen.

Ali Muthana appealed, but it was rejected by the DC Circuit Court in 2021 and the US Supreme Court also declined to hear the case.

The family argued that her father’s diplomatic status had ended before her birth, making her automatically a citizen. But the authorities proved otherwise, and she will stay overseas. (Courtesy: The Mirror)

The unauthorized immigrant population in the United States reached 10.5 million in 2021, according to new Pew Research Center estimates. That was a modest increase over 2019 but nearly identical to 2017.

The number of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. in 2021 remained below its peak of 12.2 million in 2007. It was about the same size as in 2004 and lower than every year from 2005 to 2015.

The new estimates do not reflect changes that have occurred since apprehensions and expulsions of migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border started increasing in March 2021. Migrant encounters at the border have since reached historic highs.

How we did this

Who are unauthorized immigrants?

Here are key findings about how the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population changed from 2017 to 2021:

The most common country of birth for unauthorized immigrants is Mexico. However, the population of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico dropped by 900,000 from 2017 to 2021, to 4.1 million.

There were increases in unauthorized immigrants from nearly every other region of the world – Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Asia, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

Among U.S. states, only Florida and Washington saw increases to their unauthorized immigrant populations, while California and Nevada saw decreases. In all other states, unauthorized immigrant populations were unchanged.

4.6% of U.S. workers in 2021 were unauthorized immigrants, virtually identical to the share in 2017.

Trends in the U.S. immigrant population

The U.S. foreign-born population was 14.1% of the nation’s population in 2021. That was very slightly higher than in the last five years but below the record high of 14.8% in 1890.

As of 2021, the nation’s 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants represented about 3% of the total U.S. population and 22% of the foreign-born population. These shares were among the lowest since the 1990s.

Between 2007 and 2021, the unauthorized immigrant population decreased by 1.75 million, or 14%.

Meanwhile, the lawful immigrant population grew by more than 8 million, a 29% increase, and the number of naturalized U.S. citizens grew by 49%. In 2021, naturalized citizens accounted for about half (49%) of all immigrants in the country.

Where unauthorized immigrants come from

Unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. come from many parts of the world, with Mexico being the most common origin country.

The origin countries for unauthorized immigrants have changed since the population peaked in 2007, before the Great Recession slowed immigration. Here are some highlights of those changes:

Mexico

The number of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico living in the U.S. (4.1 million in 2021) was the lowest since the 1990s. Mexico accounted for 39% of the nation’s unauthorized immigrants in 2021, by far the smallest share on record.

The decrease in unauthorized immigrants from Mexico reflects several factors:

A broader decline in migration from Mexico to the U.S.

Mexican immigrants to the U.S. continuing to return to Mexico

Expanded opportunities for lawful immigration from Mexico and other countries, especially for temporary agricultural workers.

The rest of the world

The total number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. from countries other than Mexico has grown rapidly. In 2021, this population was 6.4 million, up by 900,000 from 2017.

Almost every region in the world had a notable increase in the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. from 2007 to 2021. The largest increases were from Central America (240,000) and South and East Asia (180,000).

After Mexico, the countries of origin with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations in the U.S. in 2021 were:

El Salvador (800,000)

India (725,000)

Guatemala (700,000)

Honduras (525,000)

India, Guatemala and Honduras all saw increases from 2017.

The Northern Triangle

Three Central American countries – El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala – together represented 2.0 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2021, or almost 20% of the total. The unauthorized immigrant population from the Northern Triangle grew by about 250,000 from 2017 and about 700,000 from 2007.

Other origin countries

Venezuela was the country of birth for 190,000 U.S. unauthorized immigrants in 2021. This population saw particularly fast growth, from 130,000 in 2017 and 55,000 in 2007.

Among countries with the largest numbers of U.S. unauthorized immigrants, India, Brazil, Canada and former Soviet Union countries all experienced growth from 2017 to 2021.

Some origin countries with significant unauthorized immigrant populations showed no change, notably China (375,000) and the Dominican Republic (230,000).

U.S. states of residence of unauthorized immigrants

The unauthorized immigrant population in most U.S. states stayed steady from 2017 to 2021. However, four states saw significant changes:

Florida (+80,000)

Washington (+60,000)

California (-150,000)

Nevada (-25,000)

States with the most unauthorized immigrants

The six states with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations in 2021 were:

California (1.9 million)

Texas (1.6 million)

Florida (900,000)

New York (600,000)

New Jersey (450,000)

Illinois (400,000)

These states have consistently had the most unauthorized immigrants since 1990 and earlier.

At the same time, the unauthorized immigrant population has become less geographically concentrated. In 2021, these six states were home to 56% of the nation’s unauthorized immigrants, down from 80% in 1990.

Unauthorized immigrants in the labor force

The share of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. workforce was slightly less than 5% in 2021, compared with 3% of the total U.S. population.

Demographics help explain the difference: The unauthorized immigrant population includes relatively few children or elderly adults, groups that tend not to be in the labor force.

Overall, about 7.8 million unauthorized immigrants were in the U.S. labor force in 2021. That was up slightly from 2019 but smaller than every year from 2007 through 2015.

Here are some additional findings about unauthorized immigrants as a share of the workforce nationwide and in certain states:

Since 2003, unauthorized immigrants have made up 4.4% to 5.4% of all U.S. workers, a relatively narrow range.

Fewer than 1% of workers in Maine, Montana, Vermont and West Virginia in 2021 were unauthorized immigrants.

Nevada (9%) and Texas (8%) had the highest shares of unauthorized immigrants in the workforce.

The United States initiated the registration process for the Diversity Visa Program earlier this month. Aspiring candidates can now submit their applications for the Diversity Visa (DV) 2025 from October 4 to November 7, 2023. Here’s a comprehensive guide to the visa program and how to apply.

Understanding the US Diversity Visa Program

The US Diversity Visa, commonly known as the Diversity Visa (DV) program, provides an opportunity for individuals from countries with low immigration rates to the United States to enter a random selection process for potential immigration.
Selection Process

The Diversity Visa program employs a strict selection process with eligibility criteria determined through a random computer drawing conducted by the Department of State. The program ensures that diversity is maintained by distributing DVs across six different regions, thereby preventing any single country from receiving more than seven percent of the available visas.

For the fiscal year 2025, a total of 55,000 DVs are up for grabs, and the best part is that the registration for this program is absolutely free. However, applicants who are selected and scheduled for an interview will be required to pay a visa application fee. During this interview, a consular officer assesses the applicant’s eligibility for the Diversity Visa.

It’s crucial to emphasize that being selected in the DV program does not guarantee approval for a visa, as numerous factors come into play during the application process.

Eligibility for Indian Nationals

Indian nationals often wonder whether they can participate in the US Diversity Visa Program. The answer is a bit disheartening for them. Since India, along with China, Canada, and a handful of other countries, has a high number of immigrants in the United States, Indian nationals are not eligible to apply for the Diversity Visa.
The program’s rules state that, for DV-2025, individuals from countries from which more than 50,000 natives have immigrated to the United States in the previous five years cannot apply. These countries include Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, The People’s Republic of China (including both mainland and Hong Kong-born individuals), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Venezuela, and Vietnam.

With the exception of the United Kingdom and its dependent territories, which are now eligible for DV-2025, there have been no changes in the eligibility criteria compared to the previous fiscal year.

In Conclusion

The US Diversity Visa Program, with its random selection process and stringent eligibility criteria, offers an opportunity for individuals from countries with lower immigration rates to potentially secure a visa for the United States. While the program is open to applicants from various countries, it is essential to be aware of the specific eligibility requirements and the list of countries that are excluded from participating in this initiative.

For Indian nationals and citizens of other countries with significant US immigration rates, this program may not be an option, but it remains a valuable opportunity for individuals from countries meeting the eligibility criteria to explore the possibility of living and working in the United States. The Diversity Visa Program for 2025 is now open for registration, so eligible candidates should take advantage of this chance to participate and pursue their American dreams.

Extracts from Cato Institute’s Associate Director of Immigration Studies David J. Bier’s testimony at Sept. 13, 2023, hearing of Committee on the Budget United States Senate, Washington, D.C.)

David J. Bier is Associate Director of Immigration Research at Cato Institute. Photo: cato.org

Our view is simple: people are the ultimate resource. New people are not threats to suppress but assets to celebrate. We need people to transform natural resources into human resources, and in a free country, people seek to do just that. Immigrants are no different. Immigrants are workers, inventors, investors, and entrepreneurs.

Immigrants increase the supply of labor, which increases the supply of goods and services that people need; their consumption, entrepreneurship, and investment also increases the demand for labor, creating better‐​paying jobs for Americans elsewhere in the economy. Fundamentally, immigrants aren’t competitors. They are collaborators. Unfortunately, America’s immigration system fails to recognize this fact, leading to catastrophic consequences.

Immigrants can save the United States from population decline.

The most critical challenge facing the United States today is its declining population growth rate. The U.S. population is growing slower than at any point in its history. Moreover, in 2022, international migration accounted for 80 percent of the meager 0.4 percent population growth.¹ Without immigration, the U.S. population will start to decline by the 2030s. Already in 2022, about half of all the counties in the United States saw declining populations.

People are necessary to maintain buildings, roads, schools, hospitals, and businesses because population decline erodes property values and forces business and school closures. This population death spiral has afflicted both urban and rural counties. Rural America saw a decrease in population for the first time in U.S. history in the last decade.³ Population aging or decline will reduce tax revenue per capita in nearly every state by 2030.

The country has already seen how population decline will manifest in the future. Major cities saw significant outmigration in the 1960s and 1970s before they stabilized and rebounded in the 1990s and 2000s, largely thanks to new immigrants. The outmigration led to housing vacancies and job losses, which contributed to increased crime, and the in‐​migration went hand in hand with lower crime and more business creation. Immigration has already created or preserved $3.7 trillion in housing wealth for U.S. households.⁶ Immigrants do this primarily by preventing declines in housing values in the lowest‐​cost areas in a city. Every 1,000 new immigrants to a county create economic opportunities for 270 additional U.S. residents, helping draw areas out of decline.

Immigrants can save America from labor force decline.

With slower population growth, labor force growth in the United States has also declined for decades, falling by 65 percent from the 1960s—when the immigrant share of the U.S.population bottomed out—to the most recent decade. It fell faster among those without a college degree. From 1995 to 2022, immigrants and their children accounted for 70 percent of labor force growth, and over the last two years, immigrants accounted for 100 percent of the increase in the working‐​age population. Without immigrants, the working‐​age population will fall by about 6 million in the next two decades. The total U.S. population would decline without any immigration by 2040.¹⁰

The costs of this decline are huge. The ratio of workers to retirees has plummeted since the 1960s, and the Social Security Trustees now estimate that Social Security will be short nearly 35 million workers to fund the system in the 2030s. It will have to cut benefits by at least 23 percent in 2034, if not earlier. The situation will not improve after that with benefit cuts reaching 30 percent and the shortfall in workers hitting 80 million by 2080.

The present value cost of this worker shortage to U.S. retirees is about $24 trillion. Of course, the underlying dynamics of Social Security need reforms regardless, but this shortfall highlights the magnitude of America’s workforce issues. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors expects that the decline in population growth will cause economic growth to decline throughout OECD member countries, including the United States, increasing the burden of the U.S. debt.

Immigrants improve the U.S. fiscal situation. According to a Cato Institute update of a National Academy of Sciences report, immigrants generate, in inflation‐​adjusted terms, nearly $1 trillion in state, local, and federal taxes, which is almost $300 billion more than they receive in government benefits, including cash assistance, entitlements, and public education.

In the long‐​term, the present value of all the taxes generated minus all the benefits received for an immigrant arriving at age 25 is positive for all education levels, including high school dropouts (Table below). This positive result occurs partly because immigrant workers cause companies to invest more in capital, which results in those companies paying far more in taxes than they would without those workers.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found in 2013 that comprehensive immigration reform would have “a net savings of about $175 billion over the 2014–2023 period” and “would decrease federal budget deficits by about $700 billion (or 0.2 percent of total output) over the 2024–2033 period.” The CBO stated that there would be about another $300 billion in savings from the indirect economic effects of more workers. Unfortunately, this scoring was a rare exception to CBO’s normal practice of not considering the increases in employment that occur when immigrants enter the labor force, leading to such anomalies as finding that immigrant PhDs will impose net costs on the federal government.

Tax revenues grow when more is produced, and lower production is the biggest cost of all from an overly restrictive immigration system. Workers allow businesses to increase production, supplying the needs of U.S. consumers. Children and the elderly tend to increase inflation, while workers tend to lower it. This is because children and retirees produce no consumer products but still buy them, while workers lower prices by increasing the production of consumer goods and services. As the U.S. labor force shrinks, this problem will become more acute, driving up costs for seniors and everyone else.

Immigrants can fill current labor shortages.

Throughout the current labor shortage, especially in 2021 and 2022, U.S. consumers were acutely aware of the interaction between workforce shortages and higher inflation every time they faced delays and higher prices at restaurants, retailers, and online. Currently, U.S. nonfarm employers have about 9 million open jobs, and over the last two and a half years, this number has averaged about 10 million. Every single month after January 2021 had more job openings than any month before it, back to the start of the job openings data series in the year 2000. Filling these jobs would have increased U.S. gross domestic product by about $2 trillion. This additional production of goods and services that consumers want is the reason that new workers reduce inflation, not because they lower wages. Of course, any individual worker benefits if they alone receive a monopoly over an area of business, but monopolies hurt everyone else, and when applied to the entire economy, this type of economic policy harms everyone, including those who receive “protection.”

Immigrants fill labor market niches across the skill spectrum.

The short‐ and long‐​term labor shortfall is not primarily about a skills gap. Labor demand has increased and will increase across the skills spectrum. Everything from construction laborers to web developers has seen unprecedented increases in open jobs. Every single industry averaged more job openings in 2023 than in 2019—which was already at near‐​record highs.

Construction has averaged 354,000 job openings per month in 2023 while manufacturing has averaged 650,000. A major project—funded partly by U.S. taxpayers—to build a new TSMC microchip manufacturing facility in Arizona is already being delayed because of a shortage of experienced workers in the construction trades. Leisure and hospitality averaged 1.4 million. Trade, transportation, and utilities had over 1.6 million. Education and health services were nearly 2 million.

In the long‐​term, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that most jobs created this decade will not require a college degree, and that nearly 70 percent of jobs in the economy will not require a college degree in 2030. Besides lifting the production of goods and services that U.S. consumers need, immigrant workers in these positions create new opportunities for U.S. workers in other less manually intensive jobs—typically ones that require English language abilities. Immigrants complement Americans. They don’t replace them. This is one reason why U.S. worker employment has almost always moved in the same direction as immigrant employment.

With 1 million new jobs, home health aides are projected to see the largest increase in employment of any single occupational category. These aides are critical to provide care for seniors, and they allow many older workers to keep working while caring for an ailing spouse. But without the workers to fill them, the growth in aides may not happen. America has even seen declines in employment in critical areas of elder care, despite record demand. Shockingly, for instance, the number of employees in skilled nursing care facilities has declined from 1.7 million to 1.4 million from 2011 to 2023.

Many nursing homes are closing because they cannot properly staff their operations—particularly in rural areas. In Minnesota alone, 45 facilities have closed. Another 60 have closed in Texas. There were 22 closures in Iowa in the last year alone. In Rhode Island, according to the American Health Care Association, nursing homes have lost 21 percent of their staff since 2019.²⁹ Five have already closed, and most are at risk of closing.

At open facilities, huge numbers of beds remain empty, with the vacancies nationwide reaching 32 percent. An analysis of nursing homes by researchers from Harvard, MIT, and Rochester showed that, “increased immigration significantly raises the staffing levels of nursing homes in the U.S., particularly in full‐​time positions,” which results in better patient outcomes. The National Council of the State Boards of Nursing has found that 800,000 nurses plan to leave the labor force by 2027.

One reason why Americans are having fewer children is the cost of childcare. The cost of childcare directly reduces the growth in the future labor force and indirectly reduces the growth in the labor force by driving mothers to drop out of the labor force. A majority of mothers with young children are not looking for jobs solely because of childcare or family responsibilities. A staffing crisis has caused massive wait lists for care in states across the country. In Pennsylvania, 7,000 open positions have led to 32,500 kids waiting for care. It’s worse in Michigan, where nearly 54,000 kids are waiting.

Researchers Delia Furtado and Heinrich Hock have found that low‐​skilled immigrants have “substantially reduced” the costs of having a child. Patricia Cortés and José Tessada similarly find, “low‐​skilled immigration increases average hours of market work and the probability of working long hours of women at the top quartile of the wage distribution.” Allowing higher‐​income women to work has important knock‐​on fiscal and economic benefits because they have above‐​average productivity.

New home construction—a critical component in family formation—has also suffered from too few workers. Construction employment has reached record highs, while construction unemployment is at near‐​record lows. Construction industry wages are now higher than the average wage for workers generally.

The United States is also facing critical shortages of skilled workers. For physicians per capita, America ranks far behind Germany, Sweden, Australia, and Switzerland, and it has half the number of physicians per capita as Austria—effectively a difference of nearly 1 million physicians.

In rural areas, the shortages are dire. A study in the journal Health Affairs has shown that rural patients are far more likely to die because they lack the number of specialists to treat them effectively. This situation would be even worse if not for immigrants, who account for a quarter of all U.S. physicians.⁴⁴ Skilled science, technology, engineering, and math workers are also in short supply. There are about half a million open computer and mathematics jobs in the United States right now, and the unemployment rate for these jobs is at 2 percent. McKinsey estimates that chip manufacturers will be short 390,000 engineers and skilled technicians by 2030, leading to more production being set up offshore. In 2020, the Defense Department issued a report saying that the shortfall of computer workers “directly threatens U.S. national self‐​determination in commerce and geopolitics.”

Since 2019, the Department of Labor has certified over 250,000 computer and mathematics jobs as unfillable by any U.S. worker, which is the first step of the employment‐​based green card process. But most of these workers have entered the green card backlog, and the U.S. immigration system is so poorly designed that engineers from Venezuela have been entering at the U.S. border.

Immigrants can supercharge entrepreneurship and innovation.

As the U.S. population has aged, the entrepreneurship rate has declined. There has been a 40 percent decline in the rate of new business starts since the 1970s, and the rate of self‐​employed entrepreneurs has likewise halved. Immigrants can counteract these drags on the economy. Immigrants are 80 percent more likely to start businesses than the U.S.-born population. Over 35 percent of new businesses have at least one immigrant founder, and they or their children founded 45 percent of Fortune 500 companies. Immigrants have founded the majority of businesses valued at more than $1 billion.

Immigrants also make up a disproportionate 28 percent of brick‐​and‐​mortar “main street” businesses nationwide. In many major metropolitan areas, immigrants account for about half of all main street businesses. Immigrants own astounding shares of small businesses in New York City: 90 percent of dry cleaning and laundry services, 84 of grocery stores, 75 percent of child daycares, and 69 percent of restaurants.⁵⁵

Immigrants are key to productivity growth and innovation. Immigrants have founded 65 percent of the leading U.S. artificial intelligence companies. Over 70 percent of $1 billion U.S. companies employ an immigrant in a key leadership position, such as CEO or chief technology officer. Immigrant‐​founded companies are also much more likely to have patents. From 1950 to 2000, immigrants with science and engineering degrees had patent rates double the average rate. The best estimate indicates that about 40 percent of total factor productivity growth—growth not from increases in labor or capital—came from immigrant workers in science, technology, engineering, and math degrees.

U.S. law thwarts legal immigration.

Immigrants are more likely to work than U.S.-born workers overall and at every education level—a difference that grows significantly among the least skilled—and nearly 97 percent of immigrants who looked for jobs in 2022 found them. Immigrant adults without high school degrees are about 20 percentage points more likely to work than comparable U.S.-born adults. The issue is not that immigrants lack the desire to help America. Rather, the issue is that America’s immigration system prevents too many potential immigrants from being able to do so. To briefly review the main permanent immigration options available for immigrants abroad:

1. The Refugee Program: The population of displaced people reached 100 million last year, and the United States accepted barely 25,000 through its refugee program—0.1 percent.⁶²
2. Family‐​sponsored: The capped family‐​sponsored system has a backlog of over 8.3 million, and 1.6 million immigrants currently waiting will be dead before they can receive a green card.
3. Employer-sponsored: Employer‐​sponsored green cards are capped at 140,000 annually and have a backlog of over 1.8 million. The country‐​based caps mean that wait times for Indian workers with a master’s degree will be longer than the average lifespan. Employer‐​sponsored green cards are close to impossible to obtain for those without very high wage offers and a work visa, and the main work visa—the H‑1B—is capped at 25 percent of demand. For those coming temporarily, the H‑2B seasonal worker program for nonagricultural jobs is the only path for most U.S. seasonal low‐​skilled jobs, and it has an annual cap of 66,000. Although Congress temporarily doubled this cap year, that level was only about half the level required to meet the number of positions requested.
4. Diversity Lottery: The diversity green card lottery is available to immigrants only if they are notfrom legal immigrants’ main origin countries and have a high school degree or experience in a skilled job, and it offers entrants just a 0.2 percent chance of receiving a green card.

Note that there is no option for entrepreneurs. This high‐​level review does not represent the complexity and restrictiveness of the system. The figure below details the legal requirements to immigrate to the United States in a flow chart. Many aspiring Americans are excluded with each section until nearly everyone loses their chance to immigrate. In 2023, about 34 million people entered a legal process to try to obtain a green card, and barely more than 1 million will receive legal permanent residence.

This massive disparity between green cards issued and green cards requested is a consequence of decades of unnecessarily low green card caps, leading millions to have no viable way to enter the U.S. legally. From 1848 to 1914, the annual number of people receiving green cards hit one percent of the U.S. population 22 times. It has never happened since the Immigration Act of 1924, and only once has it even hit half that rate, when Congress waived the caps on behalf of 3 million illegal immigrants in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. One percent of the U.S. population today would be nearly 3.4 million people. The number of green card recipients in 2022 was just 1 million.⁷⁰

Immigration policy is also restrictive compared to our peer nations. The United States went from accounting for the majority of the increase in the world immigrant population in the 1990s to accounting for just 7.5 percent of it from 2015 to 2020. This happened both because more immigrants went to other countries and because fewer immigrants went to the United States.

Less than 15 percent of the U.S. population was born outside the United States. This ranks 56th highest in the world. It ranks in the bottom third of wealthy countries in the world, and the gaps are massive. To catch up to Canada (21.4 percent), nearly 30 million immigrants would have to arrive this year. To reach the immigrant share in Australia (30.3 percent), the number grows to 76.4 million. To hit Hong Kong’s percentage (39.2 percent), it would have to exceed 140 million. These totals are unfathomable, but they illustrate how much flexibility the United States has when it comes to changing its immigration policy and remaining well within the norms for the wealthy world.

…Conclusion

The most important economic challenge facing the United States right now is the decline in population and labor force growth. Fewer workers mean less production, higher prices, and lower tax revenues. Immigrants stand ready to address this challenge. Congress should focus on increasing legal immigration and assuring that workers already in the country can fully and legally contribute to this country.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), today issued new guidance to assist stateless noncitizens in the United States who wish to obtain immigration benefits or have submitted other requests to USCIS. Stateless individuals are those who are not legally considered a citizen of any country, and therefore may be denied legal identity, and struggle to access education, healthcare, marriage, and job opportunities.

Individuals can be born stateless or become stateless because of discrimination, war and conflict, or changing borders and laws. The new guidance clarifies when and how USCIS may consider a noncitizen stateless for the purpose of adjudicating immigration benefits or other requests.

“All over the world, people who are stateless live with fear and uncertainty. DHS is fully committed to addressing the global issue of statelessness and to breaking down barriers that these individuals face in the United States,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “With this historic step, stateless individuals will be given the opportunity to apply for immigration protections and benefits for which they are eligible.”

Following today’s release of this guidance, and with the goal of helping stateless individuals to take advantage of the opportunity, USCIS will create and implement new procedures to assist USCIS officers when assessing an individual’s potential statelessness. This includes updating existing training documents on statelessness, developing more robust training procedures for officers, and setting up standard operating procedures for officers to request an internal assessment of potential statelessness where it may be relevant to an individual’s application or benefit request.

Specially trained USCIS personnel will provide the adjudicating officer with an advisory report clarifying how the officer might consider an individual’s statelessness in making decisions about an individual’s application or benefit request. This new guidance also provides examples of documentation or evidence that may help USCIS officers determine whether noncitizens may be considered stateless for USCIS purposes.

Implementing this update also will enable USCIS to gather more comprehensive and accurate data on this vulnerable group of people. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates there are approximately 218,000 stateless people residing in the United States.

In a move that could benefit Indians, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will hold a second random lottery selection from the previously submitted H-1B visas for fiscal 2024.

In March this year, the USCIS conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year 2024 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption.

Only those petitioners with selected registrations for FY 2024 are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

The initial filing period for those with selected registrations for FY 2024 was from April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023.

USCIS, the federal agency that oversees lawful immigration to the country, recently determined that it would need to select additional registrations to reach the FY 2024 numerical allocations.

“Soon, we will select additional registrations from previously submitted electronic registrations using a random selection process,” the USCIS said in a statement released on Thursday.

“We will announce once we have completed this second selection process and have notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations from this round of selection that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration.”

The immigration agency further said that those with selected registrations will have their myUSCIS accounts updated to include a selection notice, which includes details of when and where to file.

The H-1B visa allows companies and other employers in the US to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.

Every year the US gives 65,000 H-1B visas open to all and 20,000 to those with advanced US degrees. Indians are the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visas getting about 75 per cent of them, according to the US government. (IANS)

Canada’s Startup Visa (SUV) program is gaining popularity among Indian entrepreneurs, with upcoming flexibilities like a three-year open work permit further increasing interest. The program offers easy access to the US once entrepreneurs are based in Canada, making it an attractive option. Designated partners, such as business incubators and venture capital funds, are gearing up to support Indian startups in meeting the requirements of the SUV program and expanding their businesses globally. Canada’s favorable government policies and quality of life have positioned it as the most attractive country for startup founders, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

For Indian entrepreneurs the easy access to the US, once they are based in Canada is a huge attraction. The US does not have a separate startup visa program, but an International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) program which enables ‘qualified’ international entrepreneurs (based on prescribed criteria including funds raised) to obtain immigration ‘parole’.

They can stay in the US for two and a half years, extendable to a similar tenure, for nurturing their startup. Canada’s SUV program, on the other hand, comes with a work permit, leading to permanent residency.

Ashutosh Kumar, Toronto based founder of DoorMonk, operating in the enterprise healthcare software segment was incubated at the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC). This company empowers hospitals with the power of AI to make various processes ranging from housekeeping procurement efficient and faster. Kumar told TOI, “I’m happy with the decision to move my company to Canada, which itself is a sizable market, but also opens doors to the US – this is challenging to accomplish from India. Success of our product FlapX in the Canadian healthcare market is a huge validation for global investors. Lastly, the cultural environment in Canada is friendly and open in terms of adopting and experimenting with new technology.”

Now the wait time for Green card may be reduced, thanks to Ajay Bhutoria’s recommendation that unused green cards for family and employment categories since 1992 will be recaptured.

In an effort to address the issue of green card backlogs, the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) approved a recommendation that allows the recapture of unused green cards for family and employment categories from 1992 to 2025.

According to media reports, the recommendation moved by Indian American Ajay Bhutoria, a member of the commission, allows green cards that were left unissued due to bureaucratic delays and slow USCIS processing to be allocated back to applicants.

At the commission’s recent meeting, Bhutoria said, “Bureaucratic delays in the green card application process have resulted in the full number of available green cards not being issued, despite a significant number of people waiting in backlogs to receive them.”

The commission’s approval means that processing will be initiated for a  portion of the 230,000 unused green cards every year in addition to the annual limit of 1,40,000. This would majorly benefit thousands of applicants who have been facing delays in getting their green card due to backlogs.

In addition to recapturing unused green cards, Bhutoria emphasized the need for a new policy that confirms all green cards, per annual limit, remain available for an eligible immigrant even if the concerned agencies cannot process the relevant paperwork in that fiscal year.  He added, “This policy should be applied retroactively to recapture green cards that were unused before the new policy goes into effect.”

Bhutoria argued that recapturing unused green cards could attract billions in the US economy, and reduce waiting for green cards and address bureaucratic gaps in legal immigration.

The United States’ latest initiative to launch in-country renewable H-1B visas marks a significant milestone in permitting seamless movement of Indian IT professionals to client locations. This strategic approach not only improves their ability to understand client requirements, but it also develops deeper relationships and ensures the delivery of tuned solutions.

This development, which works by encouraging direct participation, has the potential to improve client satisfaction, create repeat business, and, eventually, raise IT exports. As the US is India’s primary market for IT exports, this decision is expected to have a significant beneficial influence on its IT services export business.

Expanded In-Country Renewable H-1B Visas

The US Department of State recently revealed its plan to launch a pilot program for domestic renewals of select petition-based temporary work visas, including those for Indian nationals. Set to commence later this year, this initiative aims to facilitate the streamlined renewal process for H1B and L visa holders, with plans for further expansion in 2024. Eventually, the program will encompass additional eligible categories, amplifying its scope and impact.

The decision to allow in-country renewable H-1B visas is expected to yield several far-reaching benefits. Firstly, it enables the timely completion of projects while ensuring high-quality outcomes, surpassing client expectations in the process.

The highly sought-after H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that empowers US companies to hire foreign workers in specialized occupations necessitating theoretical or technical expertise. Renowned technology companies heavily rely on this visa category to recruit tens of thousands of skilled professionals annually from countries like India and China. Typically, H-1B visas are issued for a duration of three years.

If you have an H-1B visa and it gets renewed, you’ll need to get your passport stamped with the new dates. This is important if you want to travel outside the US and come back in. Right now, you can’t get your visa stamped while you’re in the US. You can only do that at a US consulate.

By implementing in-country renewable H-1B visas, the United States has opened doors to greater collaboration and efficiency, benefiting both Indian IT professionals and the clients they serve. This progressive approach strengthens partnerships, fuels export growth, and propels India’s IT services industry towards unparalleled success on a global scale.

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Germany’s parliament has recently passed a groundbreaking law aimed at attracting migrant workers to the country, in stark contrast to the restrictive migration policies being adopted by other nations. This new law seeks to reduce bureaucratic obstacles and lower barriers for migrant workers from countries outside the European Union, signaling a significant departure from previous practices.

The legislation introduces a points-based system similar to that employed by Canada, which takes into account various factors such as age, skills, qualifications, and any connection to Germany. Moreover, the criteria for salary, educational level, and proficiency in the German language will be adjusted, making it easier for migrants to relocate to Germany even without a job offer. In a bid to incentivize immigration, the law also allows migrants to bring not only their spouses and children but also their parents.

Germany’s shift in policy represents a notable departure from its historical stance. For many decades, successive German governments staunchly rejected the idea that Germany was a country of immigration. Even as German society became increasingly diverse, conservative-led administrations, including that of Angela Merkel, grappled with the notion of opening up to migrant workers. However, with over a quarter of the population either foreign-born or having at least one foreign-born parent, the need for a more inclusive approach became evident.

The pressing concern of a labor shortage further motivated this change in policy. After years of experiencing low unemployment rates, German business leaders are now raising alarms about the lack of available workers. Compounding this issue is the impending retirement of baby boomers born in the 1960s. Ministers have warned of millions of job vacancies that urgently require filling, characterizing the labor shortage as the most significant risk to the German economy.

The center-left Social Democrat SPD party, led by Olaf Scholz, emerged victorious over Angela Merkel’s conservatives in the 2021 elections. Easing migration rules became a flagship policy for the new SPD-Green-liberal coalition. Despite disagreements between the Greens and the business-friendly liberals on climate change policies, both parties concurred on the need for a more accommodating migration policy. However, the parliamentary debate surrounding the law was intense. Conservative factions opposed the bill, expressing outrage over provisions that would permit rejected asylum seekers already present in Germany to seek employment. The far-right AfD also voted against the legislation, arguing that Germany should prioritize its status as a “homeland” rather than embracing immigration.

It is worth noting that the AfD’s nativist perspective does not align with mainstream society’s recognition of the necessity for migrant workers in Germany. Nonetheless, the party’s popularity is surging, as indicated by its unprecedented support in recent polls. The latest ARD Deutschland Trend survey recorded the AfD’s approval rating at a record-high 19%, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party saw a decline to 17%.

As Germany grapples with the complex issue of migration, the political climate remains polarized and charged. While the government and the economy seek to embrace migration, the question remains whether the broader electorate will accept these changes. The passage of this new law marks a significant milestone, but its full acceptance and integration into society may require ongoing efforts to address the concerns and hesitations of various factions within German society.

320,791 Indians were awarded H-1B visas in FY 2022, out of the total 441,502 applicants amounting for 72.6 per cent of the share.

An official report published by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated that three out of four job-seeker visas in the U.S. during the fiscal year 2022 were awarded to Indians.

According to the report, 320,791 Indians were awarded H-1B visas in FY 2022, out of the total 441,502 applicants amounting for 72.6 percent.

India was followed by China which accounted for 12.5 percent of approvals while Nepal received the least visas, with 2,057 applications being approved.

In 2021, the USCIS approved 407,000 H-1B applications out of which 301,000 were awarded to Indians, making up 74.1 per cent of the total share. In the previous year, the organization approved 426,000 H-1B applications out of which 74.9 percent went to Indians.

Not just skilled professionals, but India-born students seeking an education in the U.S. have also emerged in the top rungs. As per reports, one out of every five U.S. student visas were issued in India.

Earlier this year, it was reported that certain companies seemed to be attempting to manipulate the H1B lottery, with an estimated 100,000 applicants submitting multiple entries last year. In response, USCIS is taking steps to ensure a more secure H1B application process and maintain fairness in the H1B lottery for all participants.

As an initial measure, USCIS continues to mandate that every potential petitioner sign a declaration confirming the accuracy, completeness, and truthfulness of the information provided, and that the registration pertains to a valid job offer. Additionally, the declaration asserts that the registrant or submitting organization has not collaborated with another registrant, petitioner, agent, or entity to unfairly and unlawfully increase their chances of H1B selection.

If USCIS determines that any part of the signed declaration is false, they will deem the H1B registration improperly submitted, rendering the petitioner ineligible to file a petition based on that registration. Moreover, the petition may be denied, or approval of a petition may be revoked by USCIS. In some cases of H1B fraud, these measures can extend further.

If necessary, USCIS may refer the entity responsible for the false declaration to a federal law enforcement agency for investigation and potential prosecution. Naturally, this provides little comfort to those whose H1B applications were not chosen in the last lottery due to H1B fraud.

USCIS has not yet specified what actions, if any, will be taken for applicants who were impacted by the nearly 100,000 entities that submitted multiple H1B applications during the most recent lottery.

The agency does mention that they have conducted fraud investigations and denied and revoked numerous petitions, referring some applicants to law enforcement. USCIS also notes that they are working on implementing an H1B modernization rule designed to decrease H1B registration fraud and misuse. However, the specifics of this rule have not yet been disclosed.

Unlocking Success: Bill Gates Shares His Top 3 Life-Changing Insights on Problem Solving, Time Management, and Leadership

Bill Gates, the renowned Microsoft co-founder, esteemed philanthropist, and legendary license plate memorizer, isn’t known for frequently dispensing advice. However, when he does share his insights through Gates Notes, they are often valuable.

New statistics from the UK Home Office have revealed that Indian nationals topped the list for skilled worker and student visas issued in the past year. The figures show that Indians made up the largest group of students granted visas under the new Graduate post-study work route, accounting for 41% of grants, and were the top nationality for cross-sector skilled work, including specifically targeted healthcare visas aimed at filling staff shortages in the NHS. Indian nationals represented a third (33%) of grants for visas in the ‘Worker’ category, and were by far the top nationality for both the ‘Skilled Worker’ and ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visas. Skilled worker visas granted to Indians rose 63%, from 13,390 in 2021-22 to 21,837 in 2022-23, and in the healthcare visa category, Indians registered a 105% hike from 14,485 to 29,726.

The data also showed that there were 138,532 sponsored study visa grants to Indian nationals in the year ending March 2023, an increase of 53,429 (63%) compared to the previous year and the largest number of study visas granted to any nationality. Grants to study for Indian nationals have risen markedly since 2019 and are now around seven times higher than they were then. Nigeria had the highest number of dependents (66,796) of sponsored study visa holders in the year ending March 2023, increasing from 27,137 in the previous year. Indian nationals had the second-highest number of dependents, increasing from 22,598 to 42,381.

The latest data comes after UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced a clampdown on the right of student visa holders to bring dependent family members, limiting it only to PhD level students. “This package includes: removing the right for international students to bring dependents unless they are on postgraduate courses currently designated as research programmes”, Braverman said in a statement to the House of Commons announcing a new package of measures to curb migration. It was widely seen as pre-emptive action ahead of the latest ONS figures revealing that net migration to the UK hit a record 606,000 in 2022-23, up from 504,000 in the previous year and driven by a sharp rise in workers and students from outside the European Union (EU). More people from outside the EU arriving on student and work visas, as well as Ukraine and Hong Kong schemes, all contributed to the rise, the ONS said.

Speaking about the numbers, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “Numbers are too high, it’s as simple as that. And I want to bring them down.” He added, “Well, no, I think the numbers are just too high,” when asked if immigration was out of control. Sunak said that the measures to tighten visa rules for overseas students put in place this week were “significant” and would bring levels down over time. From next year, only those on post-graduate research programmes will be able to bring their families to the UK in a bid to drive down net migration.

The spike in the numbers will intensify calls for a tougher crackdown on immigration norms from within the governing Conservative Party, which has had an election target to bring down overall numbers, especially in the wake of Brexit. However, experts warn that including overseas students within overall net migration statistics is in itself a flawed approach. “We have a situation where migration figures are scaring people and I feel very strongly about this,” said Lord Karan Bilimoria, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on International Students, who has raised the issue in Parliament. “We must exclude international students from the net migration figures. America and Australia treat international students as temporary migrants. We are unnecessarily creating a fear of immigration by including them because international students, on the whole, go back to their countries where they come from,” he said.

A group of US lawmakers reintroduced a bipartisan legislation to protect children of long-term visa holders, known as documented dreamers, from ageing out when they turn 21, forcing them to self-deport. The legislation aims to freeze of the dreamers who have grown up in the United States until they find a way to change their visa status.

Congresswoman Deborah Ross and Senator Alex Padilla made the announcement during a press conference at Capitol Hill on May 17, 2023, alongside over 40 dreamers.

The reintroduction of the America’s CHILDREN Act, that aims to offer the youngsters a pathway to citizenship, drew strong support from Indian- American Representatives Ami Bera and Raja Krishnamoorthi. They were joined by  Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Young Kim and Senator Rand Paul.

Stressing the significance of the bill, Krishnamoorthi said, “Many children of long-term visa holders who have grown up in the United States and embraced the American Dream as their own are forced by the ongoing failures of our immigration system to leave before they can start their careers and write their own American success story.”

“As the proud son of immigrants, I’m honoured to join Representative Ross and Senator Padilla in introducing America’s Children Act to safeguard over 200,000 children at risk of having to self-deport. It’s time that we get this critical legislation across the finish line and signed into law,” Representative Bera said.

Lawmakers emphasized that the immigration system needs to protect those who come to the US legally and support them as they work to contribute to the development of the country.

The proposed bill will protect any child who has been in the United States for an aggregate of eight years before the age of 21 as a dependent of an employment-based non-immigrant by allowing them to remain dependent on their parent’s non-immigrant visa until they can find another status. The bill seeks to establish age-out protections that lock in a child’s age on the date their parents file for a green card and provide work authorization for individuals qualifying for age-out protection.

Welcoming the move, founder of Improve the Dream, Dip Patel said, “Fixing this loophole will ensure that America reaps the benefits of the contributions of the children it raised and educated. Ending ageing-out will empower people to tap into their talents and ambitions, helping us and our country reach our fullest potential.”

In 2021, Representatives Ross, Miller-Meeks, Krishnamoorthi, and Kim first introduced the America’s Children Act in the House. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senators Padilla and Paul, according to a release.

The United States hit a new record of about 8.3 million immigrants at various stages in its family-sponsored permanent residence process in 2022—an increase of nearly 1 million since 2019. The staggering number of pending cases is primarily the result of outdated caps on green cards, but processing delays are also affecting a substantial number of applicants.

The U.S. immigration system’s current caps came into effect in fiscal year 1992. Figure 1 breaks down the family‐​based backlog into its two main categories: immediate relatives (“uncapped”) and family preference immigrants (“capped”) from 1992 to 2022. Immediate relatives—spouses, minor children, and parents of adult U.S. citizens—have no direct cap (though their admissions reduce the cap for the family preference (or capped) immigrants from 480,000 to 226,000). The immediate relative backlog has increased from about 73,000 in 1992 to over 1 million in 2022.

Family preference immigrants are spouses and children of legal permanent residents, adult children of U.S. citizens, and siblings of adult U.S. citizens, as well as any spouses and minor children of those relatives. Immigrants who need a cap number available to apply for a green card made up about 86 percent of the family‐​based backlog in 2022. From 1992 to 2022, the number of capped family‐​sponsored immigrants stuck in the backlog increased from about 3.3 million to about 7.1 million. The cap is set at 226,000 annually.

These estimates differ significantly from the most commonly referenced source for information on the family‐​sponsored green card backlog: the State Department’s annual immigrant visa waiting list report. The numbers from that report are shown in orange (Petition Approved‐​Wait Listed (Abroad)), but that report does not include several groups of applicants. It excludes the “immediate relative” or uncapped categories, anyone waiting to apply inside the United States, and—most importantly—anyone whose petition is yet to be adjudicated. As Figure 2 shows, 3.6 million had a sponsor’s petition pending. This massive backlog in pending petitions is largely because of the government’s correct view that it shouldn’t waste resources adjudicating applications that will not result in a green card being issued thanks to the cap.

The overall cap is set at 226,000, but it is divided into 5 categories based on the immigrant’s marital status and relationship to the U.S. sponsor:

F‑1—Married adult children of U.S. citizens: 23,400

F‑2A—Spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents: ~87,900

F‑2B—Unmarried adult children of legal permanent residents: ~26,300

F‑3—Unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens: 23,400

F‑4—Siblings of U.S. citizens: 65,000

In addition, immigrants from each country have a separate limit. No single birthplace can receive more than 7 percent of the green cards, though 75 percent of the F‑2A category aren’t counted against the cap.

As a result of the country caps and category caps, applicants face wildly different potential wait times: anywhere from 6 years to 233 years (effectively infinite). The odds of a new family‐​sponsor surviving to be able to act as a sponsor when a green card is available under the cap is low in many category‐​country combinations. Virtually all new sponsors from Mexico in 2022—outside the F‑2A category—will die before their family member receives a green card.

In fact, nearly 40 percent of all new sponsors in 2022 and 58 percent of sponsors in non‐​F‐​2A categories will die before their relatives get to immigrate. Even if the sponsor survives for eternity, about 1.6 million immigrants currently in the backlog will die before receiving a green card.

Even the shortest wait for F‑2A category—for spouses and minor children of green card holders—is unconscionable. 6 to 10 years to wait to be with your nuclear family? This would be unimaginable in nearly all developed democracies. The United States stands apart in having some of the most restrictive immigration laws among wealthy countries.

The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2023 proposes a set of immigration reforms to address long standing issues of immigrants and bolster economic growth of the US.

In a welcome news for thousands of Indians in the United States aiming for citizenship, Democrat Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez has introduced the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2023 before the House of Representatives on immigration reforms in the US. The bill comes after the expiry of Title-42 order on immigrants’ restriction to enter into the US territory.

The new legislation seeks a series of measures including elimination of per-country green cards caps, work authorization of H-1B holders’ dependents and preventing children of H-1B holders from aging out of the system and being forcefully deported.

The legislation aims to equip the country to responsibly manage the border with smart and effective investments, address the root causes of migration that force people to leave Central America, and restore the United States’ commitment to human rights, according to a press note. It will be a step towards addressing the range of issues of immigrants face and prioritize family reunification and keeping families together and bolster the country’s long-term economic growth.

Commenting on the significance of the bill, Sánchez said ,“As the daughter of immigrant parents from Mexico, I am honored to introduce the U.S. Citizenship Act—a bold, transformative framework that will help fix our broken immigration system.The U.S. Citizenship Act will help us grow our economy, make our borders safer and more secure, and deliver a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants already living and working here.”

The U.S. Citizenship Act 2023 establishes an earned road-map to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants; reforms for the family-based immigration system to keep families together;progress towards country’s economic development; protection for workers from exploitation and improves the employment verification process and supports asylum seekers and other vulnerable populations.    .

In addition to Congresswoman Sánchez, the legislation is cosponsored by 100 members of the House of Representatives, including Indian Americans Pramila Jayapal and  Shri Thanedar.

In a bid to fix the US immigration system, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez and other Democrats introduced a Citizenship Act to deliver a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants living and working in the country.

The US Citizenship Act 2023 will make way for Dreamers, recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), agricultural workers, including their spouses and children, immediately eligible for green cards.

“As the daughter of immigrant parents from Mexico, I am honored to introduce the US Citizenship Act today… a bold, transformative framework that will finally fix our broken immigration system,” Sanchez said in a statement.

“The US Citizenship Act will help us grow our economy, make our borders safer and more secure, and deliver a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants already living and working here,” she added.

Nearly 4 million people in the US with approved family-sponsored petitions are waiting for an immigrant visa to become available, and an estimated 4.4 million American citizen children have at least one parent who is undocumented.

Approximately 1.6 million undocumented noncitizens in the country are married to US citizens and roughly 675,000 are married to lawful permanent residents.

The bill protects children from aging out of visa eligibility due to processing delays, and ensures that beneficiaries of family-based petitions retain their earliest priority date even if they later become eligible for a visa under a different category.

It also seeks to reform the family-based immigration system by clearing the immigrant visa backlogs.

It bill recaptures unused family-sponsored visas since FY 1992 and exempts from the numerical limitations — spouses, permanent partners, and children under the age of 21 of lawful permanent residents; derivative spouses and children of principal applicants; and individuals who have been waiting to be reunited with their families for more than 10 years.

The bill also alleviates lengthy wait times for individuals from higher-admission states by raising the per-country limits from 7 per cent to 20 per cent.

To retain talent and strengthen the economy, the bill also exempts individuals with a doctoral degree in a field involving science, technology, engineering, or mathematics from an accredited US institution of higher education from the numerical caps on visas.

Foreign-born workers make up 17 per cent of the workforce and undocumented workers comprise approximately 4.4 per cent.

An estimated five million undocumented workers are serving in essential roles as front-line workers.

Eliminating discrimination against LGBTQ+ families, the bill permits citizens and permanent residents in binational same-sex relationships to sponsor their permanent partners for immigration to the US.

The bill expands current protections to ensure that the death of a sponsor does not prevent the immigrant from establishing eligibility for the relevant benefit and prevents the children of fiances of US citizens from aging out of the visa application and green card processes.

Amid the massive ongoing layoffs in the tech sector, a group of lawmakers from Silicon Valley has written to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) enquiring about the federal agency’s efforts to ensure highly-skilled H-1B visa holders can remain in the country after losing their jobs.

With a bevy of employees laid off across tech giants including Microsoft, Google, Meta, in the past couple of months, the H-1B visa holders have been left in a limbo with a mere 60-day grace period to find another job, or leave the country.

“This group of immigrants possesses skills that are highly valuable in today’s knowledge-based economy and forcing them to leave the US is harmful to our nation’s long-term economic competitiveness,” the lawmakers wrote.

“This issue is of great importance to our constituents because layoffs in the tech sector have accelerated in recent months. The number of tech jobs lost since the beginning of 2023 has already surpassed the total number of layoffs in 2022,” they said.

The lawmakers urged the USCIS to extend the 60-day grace period for laid-off H-1B holders to secure a new job before losing their legal status.

They also requested that USCIS release data detailing the impact of the layoffs on affected immigrants, and inquires about whether the agency has issued guidance to adjudicators in response to the layoffs.

The USCIS had earlier stated that extending the grace period would require a lengthy rulemaking process that would take too long to benefit immigrants who are currently at risk of losing their legal status.

“While we understand that such a change may take time, we nonetheless urge USCIS to pursue an extension of the grace period, either as a standalone regulatory change or as part of a broader effort to reform the H-1B program,” the letter read.

The lawmakers said that extending the grace period will strengthen the country’s ability to retain immigrant talent in the future.

The USCIS recently said that the sacked H-1B workers have multiple options to stay in the country, and it is wrong to assume that they have no option but to leave within 60 days.

The number of tech jobs lost since the beginning of 2023 has already surpassed the total number of layoffs in 2022.

With the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank causing further disruptions in the tech sector, the lawmakers said they feared that the trend would continue.

Led by Representative Anna G. Eshoo, the letter was signed by Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, Zoe Lofgren, former Chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, and Representatives Jimmy Panetta and Kevin Mullin.

It sent a list of five questions to the immigration agency requesting it to respond by May 5.

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that permits US companies to hire foreign workers in speciality occupations, which require theoretical or technical expertise.

It is the most sought-after work visa among foreign professionals, including Indians. (IANS)

In a letter they underlined significance of immigrants in knowledge-based economy and that forcing them to leave is harmful to country’s long-term economic competitiveness.

A group of lawmakers from Silicon Valley have raised concerns over the ongoing wave of tech sector layoffs and urged the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend the 60-day grace period for laid-off H-1B holders to secure a new job before losing their visa status.

In a joint letter to the USCIS’ director, Ur M. Jaddou, Representatives Anna G. Eshoo, Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna, Jimmy Panetta, and Kevin Mullin enquired about the agency’s efforts in retaining high-skilled immigrants in the U.S. after losing their jobs, and their employment-based visas.

Highlighting the 60-day grace period after which the H-1B visa status of a laid off employee gets invalid, the lawmakers said in the letter, “forcing them to leave the U.S. is harmful to our nation’s long-term economic competitiveness.” They argued that extending the grace period will strengthen the country’s ability to retain immigrant talent in the future.

Moreover, the lawmakers sought a response from USCIS on certain issues including number of H-1B visa holders who have successfully maintained legal status after losing their jobs and how many have departed the country or accrued unlawful presence; approval and denial rates on requests made by newly unemployed H-1B visa holders to change their visa status into visitor visa; time consumed to process such requests and penalty for applying for B-1/B-2 visitor visas by newly unemployed H-1B visa holders. They demanded a response by May 5, 2023.

The US will begin accepting petitions for H-2B visa workers for the late second half of fiscal year 2023 under the supplemental cap temporary final rule, the federal agency for immigration services announced.

Under this rule, which was announced in December last year, there are 10,000 visas limited to returning workers regardless of country of nationality, for the late second half of fiscal year 2023, that is May 15 to September 30.

“The 10,000 visas made available under this allocation are limited to returning workers who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in fiscal years 2020, 2021, or 2022,” the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said.

These supplemental visas are available only to the US businesses that are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested in their petition, as attested by the employer on a new attestation form.

On December 15, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) jointly published a temporary final rule increasing the cap on H-2B non-immigrant visas by up to 64,716 additional visas for all of FY 2023.

Of the 64,716 additional visas, 44,716 are available only for returning workers (workers who received an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status in one of the last three fiscal years).

The remaining 20,000 visas are set aside for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (collectively called Northern Central American countries) and Haiti, who are exempt from the returning worker requirement.

As of April 10, 2023, USCIS has received petitions requesting 11,537 workers under the 20,000 visas set aside for nationals of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

USCIS is continuing to accept H-2B petitions under this allocation.

This is the first time the Departments have issued a single rule making available H-2B supplemental visas for several allocations throughout the entire fiscal year, including an allocation for the late second half.

The temporary final rule features several provisions to protect both, the US and H-2B workers, from exploitation and abuse.

The H-2B visas are issued for seasonal/temporary jobs which allow employers to hire skilled or unskilled workers to fulfil the shortage of workers in the US.

The employer must obtain a Department of Labor certification before the visa application can be initiated. (IANS)

The US is home to more immigrants than any other country – more than 45 million people, according to the latest Census estimates.

That’s 13.6% of the US population, about the same as it was a century ago. But over the years, we’ve seen significant shifts in where immigrants to the US come from, and where they end up once they get here.

Here’s a look at these key immigration trends and how they’ve changed over time.

For decades one country has topped the list

Mexicans represent the largest group of immigrants living in the United States. That’s been true since 1980, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. And the Mexico-US route is the largest migration corridor in the world.

But the total number of Mexican immigrants living in the US has been on the decline for more than a decade.

An estimated 10.7 million Mexican immigrants lived in the US in 2021, roughly 1 million fewer than the number a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, immigration from other countries, including India and China, has been on the rise, according to MPI.

As one expert told CNN last year, the range of reasons why people move to the US from different parts of the world is as varied as the list of countries these immigrants once called home. Some are seeking economic opportunities. Others are fleeing violence, persecution or climate disasters. And others are hoping to reunite with family members who are already here.

According to an analysis of Census data from MPI, the top 10 countries of origin for immigrants in the United States are all in Latin America and Asia.

These statistics include both immigrants who came to the United States legally and those who are living in the country without authorization.

Looking only at the population of undocumented immigrants living in the United States, the list of the top countries of origin shifts slightly. A Department of Homeland Security report in 2021 estimated that the top six countries of origin for undocumented immigrants were Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Honduras and China.

But most immigrants who live in the United States aren’t undocumented.

The Pew Research Center’s latest estimates indicate about 10.5 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States. That means the vast majority of foreign-born people living in the United States (77%) are here legally.

Rewinding to the 1960s reveals a different picture

Mexico hasn’t always topped the list. Back in 1960, for example, the portrait of US immigrants was dramatically different.

At that time, according to the Migration Policy Institute, the largest group of immigrants were Italians, followed by Germans and Canadians.

Why did things change so significantly? For decades a national original quota system passed by Congress in 1924 favored migrants from northern and western Europe and excluded Asians. In 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act created a new system that prioritized highly skilled immigrants and those who already had family living in the country. That paved the way for millions of non-European immigrants to come to the United States.

“It fundamentally changed the demographics of the country,” Pawan Dhingra, a professor of American Studies at Amherst College, told CNN in 2020.

For decades, the immigrant population in the United States had been decreasing. But the new law also sparked a dramatic increase in immigration in the decades that followed, fueled largely by family reunification.

In 1965, 9.6 million immigrants living in the US comprised just 5% of the population, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Now more than 45 million immigrants make up nearly 14% of the country.

While the total number of immigrants has reached a historic high, immigrants made up a greater share of the US population in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Most states have seen their immigrant populations grow

The makeup of who’s coming to the United States isn’t the only thing that’s changed. There have also been notable shifts in where those immigrants end up.

Arriving immigrants often settled in historic immigrant gateways in major metropolitan areas, such as New York City, Chicago and Boston. But for more than a decade, a much broader swath of locations in the United States have become gateways that are home to growing immigrant populations.

Today, California, Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey are home to the largest numbers of immigrants.

But looking at the total number of immigrants in each state only tells part of the story. Some states have larger numbers of immigrants relative to their total populations. In Hawaii, for example, immigrants make up nearly 19% of the state’s population.

A recent study by the Bush Institute found that many immigrants eventually move from traditional gateway cities to other areas of the country.

“Immigrants making secondary moves within the United States are disproportionately choosing the same places as native-born people – metros with relatively affordable housing and growth-friendly business and tax policies,” the study says. “Once there, they gravitate toward fast-growing suburban counties.”

For many years, the majority of immigrants lived in the Northeast and Midwest. But now, according to the Pew Research Center’s latest analysis, about two-thirds of immigrants live in the West and South.

And in recent years, some states have seen their immigrant populations grow at a faster rate.

As the Bush Institute study notes, job opportunities, affordable housing, family connections and immigrant-friendly policies are among the factors that immigrants consider when deciding where to move.

If current trends continue, experts say in the coming years we could see immigrants make up a historically high share of the US population.

But with geopolitical turmoil around the world and ongoing divisive debates over immigration in Washington, it’s hard to predict where future groups of immigrants may come from, or how quickly that milestone will be reached.

Laid-off H1-B visa holders breathed a sigh of relief when the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that business or tourist visa holders can apply for new jobs and even appear for interviews. However, the visa status must be changed to an employment based visa before starting the job and must get their visa status changed.

“Many people have asked if they can look for a new job while in B-1 or B-2 status. The answer is, yes. Searching for employment and interviewing for a position are permissible B-1 or B-2 activities,” the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a series of tweets.

USCIS issued the confirmation on Twitter comes after many laid-off H1-B visa holders, majority of whom are Indians, feared they they will have to leave the country within 60 days of their termination from their previous job. The new information gives the terminated employees more time to stay in the country and look for new jobs.

B-1 and B-2 visas are the most common types of visa issued for a wide range of uses in the United States. The B-1 visa is issued mainly for short-term business trips, while the B-2 visa is issued mainly travelling for tourism purposes.

The USCIS explained that nonimmigrant workers are not aware of the rules and often assume that if they lose their job in the US then they have to leave the country within 60 days.

A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to properly utilize the employment-based visas currently allocated each year under existing federal immigration law.

Democrat Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and Republican Larry Bucshon introduced the Eliminating Backlogs Act of 2023 to provide “greater flexibility to use existing allotted work visas”.

“Even as our country’s high-skilled immigration system helps us draw top talent from around the world, current law caps the number of employment-based visas available based on workers’ country of origin, leaving thousands of visas that would otherwise help our economy unused,” Krishnamoorthi said. The legislation is aimed at ending country-based discrimination in high-skilled immigration to ens

Every year Congress allows for a set number of foreign nationals with specific skills and training to come to the U.S. for work. This helps ensure that American businesses have access to the skilled labor force they need to succeed. Each nation is capped at receiving only seven percent of the allotted employment-based slots in any year. Due to this per-country limitation and bureaucratic delays, U.S. immigration officials failed to utilize approximately 9,100 employment-based visas in FY2020 and over 66,000 in FY2021.

In 2022, the U.S. saw record demand for technology workers, which resulted in a lower likelihood of being selected than in previous years, overall. USCIS received 483,927 registrations in 2022, which was a 57% increase over the 308,613 received in 2021 and a 76% increase over the 274,237 received in 2020. Individuals from India and China account for an estimated 80% of registrations, per USCIS.

While USCIS selected 42% of the registrations in 2021 over three different rounds of selection, in 2022 USCIS completed the cap in a single round of selection, selecting 127,600 registrations for the 85,000 spots available. This amounted to a 26% selection rate, a significant decrease over the year prior.

By removing the per-country cap, individuals from countries with higher numbers of H-1B applicants, like India and China, will be available to fill much-needed roles.

This is the latest effort to address employment-based visa backlogs. In 2022, the Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act proposed a similar approach, among other efforts. The Build Back Better Act also included proposed changes to immigration processes. Neither of those proposed efforts saw any forward movement around immigration law.

The Prime Minister of England, Rishi Sunak insisted he will give the country back control over its borders as he vowed to end the small boats crisis within two years. The Prime Minister said he will “break the cycle” of illegal migration by introducing tough new laws that will deter people from making the perilous journey across the channel.

“Make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay,” UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said in an interview published on Sunday. Sunak has been under pressure to find a solution to the flow of migrants arriving in Britain across the channel from Europe. More than 45,000 people made the perilous crossing last year.

A new law to tackle the issue is due to be set out on Tuesday, the newspaper reported.

Last year, former prime minister Boris Johnson agreed a deal to send tens of thousands of migrants to Rwanda, but it has faced a legal battle after the first planned deportation flight was blocked by a last-minute injunction granted by the European Court of Human Rights.

India connection?
Indians have become the third-largest group of migrants entering UK shores illegally across the English Channel, a UK media report quoting Home Office sources said last month.

‘The Times’ newspaper reported that about 250 Indian migrants have made the dangerous crossing this year alone, more than 233 who crossed the Channel in the last year – making them the third largest cohort after Afghans and Syrians.

According to official Home Office statistics published in early November last year for these illegal Channel crossings in the first six months of 2022, over half (51%) of small boat arrivals were from three nationalities – Albanian (18%), Afghan (18 %) and Iranian (15%). Indians have not been among the nationalities referenced in official statistics of this illegal route so far.

According to him, illegal immigration is not fair for British taxpayers and those who come here legally. He added that criminal gangs should not be allowed to continue their activities, which he called “immoral trade.” Sunak said, “Illegal migration is not fair on British taxpayers, it is not fair on those who come here legally and it is not right that criminal gangs should be allowed to continue their immoral trade. I am determined to deliver on my promise to stop the boats.”

The Sunak-led Conservative government is expected to push legislation cracking down on illegal immigration with a special emphasis on illegal immigrants arriving in boats across the English channel. The new legislation, if passed, would prevent migrants from claiming asylum in the first place.

The legislation would place a duty on the Home Secretary to remove anyone arriving on a small boat to Rwanda or a “safe” third country “as soon as reasonably practicable” and ban them from returning on a permanent basis.

The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted people’s mobility worldwide, but it didn’t stop them from wanting to move. In fact, Gallup surveys show that in the second year of the pandemic, people’s desire to migrate reached its highest point in a decade.

In 2021, 16% of adults worldwide — which projects to almost 900 million people — said they would like to leave their own country permanently, if they could.

Gallup’s latest update on adults’ desire to move to another country is its first global estimate available since 2018. The 2021 figures are based on interviews with nearly 127,000 adults in 122 countries.

The analysis period coincides with the slow reopening of the world in 2021 after international migration growth dropped by as much as 27% from mid-2019 to mid-2020, according to United Nations estimates. In the 38 wealthy countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), migration dropped by more than 30% in 2020 — the lowest level observed since 2003.

Desire Increases in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Parts of Asia

While there are signs that migrant flows are continuing to rebound from their 2020 levels, particularly across the OECD, in many parts of the world, people’s desire is higher than it has been in a decade.

Desire to migrate rose to decade-high levels in regions that are already well-known for sending migrants, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

However, this was not the case in all parts of the world. After almost a decade of stability, aspirations to migrate fell to decade lows in both the European Union and East Asia — largely thanks to significant declines in countries such as France and Germany in the EU and South Korea and China in East Asia.

In 13 countries, about half or more of the adult population would like to move to another country if they had the chance. These countries represent nearly every region of the world — except for Northern America and the EU. Many of these countries have consistently shown up on this list year after year.

Lebanon made this list for the first time in 2021 after people’s desire to migrate skyrocketed from 26% in 2018 to 63% amid the country’s economic and political crisis.

U.S. Still Top Desired Destination, but Less Attractive Today

The list of countries where potential migrants say they would like to move — if they could — has generally been the same since Gallup started tracking these data in 2007, with the U.S. topping the list of the most desired destinations every year.

This was true in 2021 as well. Just under one in five potential migrants (18%) — or about 160 million adults worldwide — named the U.S. as their desired future residence. However, this figure is down from where it was in all years leading up to 2017.

As potential migrants cooled toward the U.S., and actual migration levels to the country slumped, they warmed to its neighbor to the north. In 2021, Canada achieved its highest level of immigration in its history. And Gallup survey figures show that 8% of potential migrants — or about 74 million people worldwide — would like to relocate to Canada.

Implications

While the increase in the desire to migrate may set off alarms among those who are happy that the pandemic curtailed global migration, it’s important to note that Gallup typically finds that the percentage of those who have plans to move is much lower than the percentage who would like to move. Desire to migrate is not the same as intent to move. Not everyone who wants to move can move, or ever will.

Gallup’s data suggest the COVID-19 pandemic did not dampen people’s desire to move — which is likely an important factor in why migration has been able to rebound so quickly in many places, including in countries such as the U.S. From 2021 to 2022, net international migration exceeded 1 million residents, suggesting that migration patterns may be returning to their pre-pandemic norms.

Further, countries such as Canada are banking on people’s increased desire to come to their country. Canada’s government announced plans late last year to take in nearly 1.5 million more migrants by 2025 to offset its aging population and ease labor shortages. In the coming months, Gallup will be updating these metrics from our global surveys in 2022.

With 226,450 students, India has become the top source of new international students entering Canada in 2022, according to data released by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The North American nation set an immigration record by welcoming 551,405 international students from 184 countries in 2022.

India was closely followed by China and the Philippines with 52,165 and 23,380 students, respectively. In 2021, a total of 444,260 new study permits took effect, an increase from the 400,600 in 2019.

In 2019, there were 637,860 international students in Canada — a number which decreased in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and rebounded in 2021 to a total 617,315.

India was also among the top 10 source countries of international students already living and studying in Canada as of December 31, 2022, with 319,130 students.

According to IRCC, most new study permits are now being processed within the 60-day service standard in Canada.

The country, which processed an all-time high of 4.8 million visa applications in 2022, remains a top destination for Indian students due to the standard of education, lower costs, obtaining work, and immigration opportunities post-graduation.

Foreign students contribute more than $15.3 billion annually to the economy, according to the Canadian government.

Each year tens of thousands of graduates who chose to immigrate permanently to the country become a source of young, educated workers.

According to Statistics Canada, international students who get permanent residence tend to integrate quickly into the Canadian labour market due to their previous experience of living in the country on visas. (IANS)

The US said that it had issued 36 per cent more visas to Indians so far this year than in pre-Covid-19 pandemic times because of “number one priority” being accorded to cutting of wait-time that has included unprecedented steps such as remote processing of applications from India, sometimes all the way in Washington D.C.

The longest wait-time, typically for first-time visitors, is down from over 1,000 days to about 580, as a result of such measures that also include interview waiver for repeat visitors, additional staffing at consular operations in Indian missions and “Super Saturdays” when mission staff just process visas all day.

From summer stateside renewal of visas will be allowed in some categories on a pilot basis. “It is the number one priority that we’re facing right now,” said Julie Stufft, the senior official of the State Department’s consular operations, told reporters while referring to the extraordinary delays in the processing of US visas in India.

“We are absolutely committed to getting us out of the situation where people — anyone in India — seeking a visa appointment or a visa would have to wait a lengthy time at all. That’s certainly not our ideal.”

As a result of these efforts so far this year, Stufft said further” “We’ve issued 36 per cent more visas than we did before the pandemic in India. Just to say that again, 36 per cent more visas processed now than during the before the pandemic in normal times and that is a huge percentage increase and I think it will actually go up as the year goes on. It’s only February.”

Long waiting times for US visa processing post-pandemic, specially for first-time visitors, have become a key issue in the bilateral relationship and it was raised by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the last 2+2 meeting between the two countries’ Foreign and Defence Ministers in Washington D.C. last September.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken had assured him then that the US had a plan to address the issue. Frustration over these visa delays had led many in India to ask if they were symptoms or manifestation of deeper problems in the bilateral relationship. And there was a perception that the delay was intentional.

“We are keenly aware of the public perception this has generated and created in India and in part, what we’re doing today is to try and address that misperception that somehow the US is no longer welcoming of Indian students or Indian businessman or Indian visitors writ large and this really is a systemic problem,” said Nancy Jackson, a senior official of the state department’s South and Central Asia bureau, in response to question.

The delays were caused by the closure of consular operation for more than a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

All US operations were impacted around the world. But the situation in India was the worst of all because of the sheer volume of visa applications that the US receives from Indians for all categories — from B1/B2 tourist visas to H-1B and L work visas to others.

Delays in most of these categories have been addressed to a large extent the officials said because of interview waiver for repeat visitors.

Their applications are processed remotely at US missions around the world. “So right now today we have dozens and dozens of officers around the world and here in Washington right down the street doing Indian thesis on behalf of our mission in India,” Stufft said.

This frees up the consular staff in India to focus on first-time visitor interviews.

Indians are also being encouraged to apply for visas at US missions in other countries, the officials said, who acknowledged this was far from an ideal situation. More than 100 US missions around the world have processed Indian applications. (IANS)

The number of international migrants grew to 281 million in 2020, meaning that 3.6% of the world’s people lived outside their country of birth that year, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM). The increase came despite widespread restrictions on travel and international movement in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are eight key facts about international migrants, based on the latest available data from the UN and other sources.

How we did this

Europe and Asia have the most international migrants. An estimated 86.7 million international migrants lived in Europe in 2020, followed by 85.6 million in Asia. The number of international migrants living in these two regions has steadily increased since 2005, according to the IOM.

The Latin America and Caribbean region has the fastest-growing international migrant population. Since 2005, the region’s international migrant population has roughly doubled.

International migrants make up a larger share of Oceania’s population than any other region. In 2020, 21.4% of all residents in Oceania – which includes Australia, New Zealand and various Pacific island nations and territories – were international migrants. The Northern America region is second after Oceania, with migrants making up 15.7% of the population. In Europe, migrants account for 11.6% of the population. In all other world regions, they represent 2.3% or less of the population.

Using other regional groupings, however, Oceania might be surpassed. For example, in Gulf Cooperation Council countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – more than half (52.7%) of resident populations are international migrants, according to UN data.

The United States has more international migrants than any other country. With nearly 51 million migrants in 2020, the U.S. leads the world on this measure by a wide margin. Germany has the next-largest such population with about 15.8 million migrants, followed by Saudi Arabia with 13.5 million. (For the U.S., the UN counts some people living in the 50 states or the District of Columbia as international migrants even if they were born in Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories; those born in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories are U.S. citizens at birth.)

The countries that have the most international migrants are generally not the same countries where international migrants make up the greatest share of the population. For example, while the U.S. has more migrants than any other nation, migrants only account for about 15.1% of the U.S. population – a smaller share than in 24 countries or territories with a total population of at least 1 million.

The Middle East accounts for most of the top 10 countries when looking at the migrant share of the population. In 2020, 93.9% of all people living in the United Arab Emirates were international migrants, followed by 80.6% of people in Qatar and 71.3% of people in Kuwait. Other Middle Eastern countries among the top 10 include Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon.

India remains the top origin country for the world’s migrants. India has been a large source of international migrants for more than a century. In 2020, 17.9 million international migrants traced their origins back to India, followed by Mexico with about 11.2 million and Russia with about 10.8 million.

India’s migrants are dispersed around the world, but the countries with the largest Indian migrant populations are the United Arab Emirates (3.5 million), the U.S. (2.7 million) and Saudi Arabia (2.5 million).

Though India is the single largest source of international migrants, its 17.9 million migrants in 2020 accounted for only 1.3% of all people born in India by that year. By comparison, the United Kingdom’s 4.7 million international migrants accounted for 7.6% of those born in the UK by 2020. Mexico’s 11.2 million international migrants accounted for 8.2% of those born in Mexico.

Remittances – the money that migrants send to their home countries – decreased by about $11 billion from 2019 to 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic arrived. Global remittances had been steadily increasing since 2010, but they fell from $722 billion in 2019 to $711 billion in 2020. (These figures are nominal values, meaning they are not adjusted for inflation.) Notably, some countries in Latin America saw remittances fall sharply in the first half of 2020 – especially in April, when much of the U.S. was locked down due to the COVID-19 outbreak – before rebounding.

According to the World Bank, remittances reached $781 billion in 2021 and are estimated to reach $794 billion in 2022, both record highs.

India has been the world’s top receiver of remittances since 2010. Remittances to India grew from $53 billion in 2010 to $89 billion in 2021.

The U.S. has been the top sending country for remittances since 1990, the earliest year with available statistics. In 2021, international migrants living in the U.S. sent $73 billion in remittances globally.

The number of displaced people in the world rose to a new high of 89.4 million in 2020. Displaced people are those forced to leave their homes due to conflict, violence or disasters. They include refugees, asylum seekers, and people internally displaced within their country of birth. Overall, the number of displaced persons rose from 84.8 million in 2019 to 89.4 million in 2020, according to the UN’s World Migration Report 2022. Overall, about 1.1% of the world’s population are displaced people.

Among the world’s displaced people, about 34%, or 30.5 million, were living outside their country of birth as refugees (26.4 million) or asylum seekers (4.1 million) in 2020. An additional 3.9 million displaced Venezuelans who have not applied for refugee or asylum status lived outside of Venezuela in 2020. The majority of displaced people, 55 million, were internally displaced in their birth countries because of conflict, violence or disasters.

The share of international migrants who are men has ticked up in recent decades. In 2000, 50.6% of international migrants were men and 49.4% were women. By 2020, men made up 51.9% of global migrants while 48.1% were women, according to estimates by the United Nations.

A majority of the world’s international migrants lived within their region of origin in 2020. While some migrants may go to new regions of the world, a majority (54.9%) lived within their region of origin in 2020. However, international migration within regions still varies widely. For example, 69.9% of Europe’s international migrants resided in another European country in 2020, reflecting migration out of Eastern European countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Romania to Western European ones.

International migrants in Asia and Oceania are the next most likely to live in their region of origin at 59.6% and 56.2%, respectively. Migrants from Africa are about as likely to live within Africa as they are to live outside of the continent (51.6% vs. 48.4%).

Migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the Northern America region, are the least likely to live within their region of origin, at 26.3% and 25.2%, respectively.

India and the US discussed the excessive delay in the issuance of business visas to Indians, and the Americans showed good receptivity to the issue, according to visiting Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal.

Addressing a press conference after participating in the 13th India-US Trade Policy Forum in Washington, the minister said, “We found very good resonance to our request that issuance of business visas which is taking a long time back home in India is an area which needs to be expedited, so that business persons interested on both sides, need to have faster processing of business visas so that trade, investment does not suffer.”

“We found very good resonance to our request that issuance of business visas which is taking a long time back home in India is an area which needs to be expedited so that business persons interested in both sides — the US and India — need to have faster processing so that trade and investment and business does not suffer,” Goyal said at the conclusion of the India-US Trade Policy Forum meeting, which he co-chaired with Katherine Tai, USTR Ambassador.

“India has made the request to the US that they may speed up the issuance of regular business visas where people come in for short trips to pursue their trade and business interest,” he added as quoted by ANI.

Goyal further underlined that the movement of students, skilled workers, professionals, investors, and business travelers is expanding between the two countries.

He also said India is grateful that the US was able to process the student visas on an expedited basis so that in the post covid scenario, Indian students would come to the US to pursue their studies in the fall of 2022 semester.

Piyush Goyal is on an official visit to New York and Washington DC from 9-11 January to participate in India-US Trade Policy Forum. His visit included delegation-level talks and a one-to-one meeting with US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai.

This request to expiate business visas comes a week after State Department said that the US embassy and consulates in India have broken their record as nearly, 1,25,000 student visas were issued in the fiscal year 2022.

Henley & Partners released the latest results of the Henley Passport Index 2023 with Japan retaining the top spot for fifth consecutive year while India ranks 85th, an improvement of two ranks as compared to last year.

The Henley Passport Index, which is based on International Air Transport Association data, is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

A trio of Asian passports offer their holders greater global travel freedom than those of any other countries, according to a new quarterly report released by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.

Japanese citizens enjoy visa-free or visa-on-demand access to a record 193 destinations around the world, just ahead of Singapore and South Korea whose citizens can freely visit 192.

And now that Asia-Pacific is opening up post-Covid, its citizens are more likely to be making use of that travel freedom again.

The passport index has ranked India at the 85th position, meaning that Indian passport holders can access 59 countries without needing a visa. India has climbed up in the ranking by two positions from the past year, when it was at the 87th position. Those holding Japan’s passports can access 193 countries without requiring a visa.

The UK and US didn’t move in 2023 from 6th and 7th place. They scored 187 and 186 respectively out of the 227 countries included in the Index. It seems unlikely these countries will reclaim the top spots they held around a decade ago.

The Index finds that only 17 per cent of countries give their passport holders access to more than 80 per cent of the world without a visa.Global travel is now at around 75% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest release by Henley Passport Index, which is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Below the Asian top three, a glut of European countries sit near the top of the leaderboard. Germany and Spain are tied on 190 destinations, followed by Finland, Italy, Luxembourg on 189.

Then there’s Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden all tied in fifth place, while France, Ireland, Portugal and United Kingdom are at No. 6.

New Zealand and the United States make an appearance at No. 7, alongside Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Afghan nationals sit at the bottom of the index once again, and can access just 27 countries without requiring a visa in advance.

Other indexes

Henley & Partner’s list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.

The Henley Passport Index ranks 199 passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. It’s updated in real time throughout the year, as and when visa policy changes come into effect.

Arton Capital’s Passport Index takes into consideration the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories — ROC Taiwan, Macau (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican. Territories annexed to other countries are excluded.

It’s also updated in real time throughout the year, but its data is gathered by close monitoring of individual governments’ portals. It’s a tool “for people who travel, to provide accurate, simple-to-acess information for their travel needs,” Arton Capital’s founder Armand Arton told CNN in December.

Arton’s Global Passport Power Rank 2023 puts the United Arab Emirates in the top spot, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 181.

As for second place, that’s held by 11 countries, most of which are in Europe: Germany, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and South Korea.

The United States and the UK are at No.3, alongside Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, Norway, Poland, Ireland and New Zealand.

The best passports to hold in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index

1. Japan (193 destinations)
2. Singapore, South Korea (192 destinations)
3. Germany, Spain (190 destinations)
4. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg (189 destinations)
5. Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden (188 destinations)
6. France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom (187 destinations)
7. Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States, Czech Republic (186 destinations)
8. Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta (185 destinations)
9. Hungary, Poland (184 destinations)
10. Lithuania, Slovakia (183 destinations)

The worst passports to hold in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index

Several countries around the world have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 40 or fewer countries. These include:

102. North Korea (40 destinations)
103. Nepal, Palestinian territory (38 destinations)
104. Somalia (35 destinations)
105. Yemen (34 destinations)
106. Pakistan (32 destinations)
107. Syria (30 destinations)
108. Iraq (29 destinations)
109. Afghanistan (27 destinations)

The yearly Index from global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners uses exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to rank the world’s 199 passports. It is based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a visa.

If no visa is required, the country scores 1 point for its passport. This applies if citizens can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination.

The Henley Passport Index is the original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the largest, most accurate travel information database – and enhanced by Henley & Partners’ research team.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. The new fees would allow USCIS to more fully recover its operating costs, reestablish and maintain timely case processing, and prevent the accumulation of future case backlogs. USCIS receives approximately 96 percent of its funding from filing fees, not from congressional appropriations.

The proposed fee rule is the result of a comprehensive fee review at USCIS. That review determined that the agency’s current fees, which have remained unchanged since 2016, fall far short of recovering the full cost of agency operations. USCIS generally publishes a fee rule biennially, and proposes these changes to account for the expansion of humanitarian programs, federally mandated pay raises, additional staffing requirements, and other essential investments.

In 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a dramatic reduction in receipts of new applications, resulting in a temporary drop in revenue by 40 percent. The combination of depleted cash reserves, a temporary hiring freeze, and workforce attrition has reduced the agency’s capacity to timely adjudicate cases, particularly as incoming caseloads rebound to pre-pandemic levels. Increasing demand for low- or no-fee humanitarian programs has added to these fiscal challenges.

The proposed rule would increase some fees, including a modest increase in the fee for certain naturalization applications, while preserving existing fee waiver eligibility for low-income and vulnerable populations and adding new fee exemptions for certain humanitarian programs. If finalized, the proposed rule would decrease or minimally increase fees for more than one million low-income filers each year.

“In addition to improving customer service operations and managing the incoming workload, USCIS must continue to fulfill our growing humanitarian mission, upholding fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “This proposed rule allows USCIS to more fully recover operating costs for the first time in six years and will support the Administration’s effort to rebuild the legal immigration system.”

New measures include a proposal to incorporate biometrics costs into the main benefit fee and remove the separate biometric services fee; establish separate fees for each nonimmigrant classification covered by Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Workers; change the premium processing timeframe from 15 calendar days to 15 business days; and institute lower fees for certain forms filed online. The proposed rule would not change fee waiver eligibility requirements. The projected revenues resulting from the proposed rule would allow USCIS to increase the number of adjudicators processing applications, implement technology improvements, and increase support provided to individuals seeking information and assistance from USCIS.

The 60-day public comment period starts following publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register. Fees will not change until the final rule goes into effect, after the public has had the opportunity to comment and USCIS finalizes the fee schedule in response to such comments. USCIS will host a public engagement session on the proposed fee rule on January 11, 2023.

Canada has processed an all-time high of 4.8 million visa applications in 2022, nearly twice the 2.5 million processed during the same period last year, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

On a monthly basis, Canada is now processing more visitor visa applications reducing its pandemic backlog by nearly half-a-million applications in just four months.

In November alone, over 260,000 visitor visas were processed, in contrast to the 180,000 applications that were processed in 2019 at the same time.

“Our government has reduced its pandemic backlogs by nearly half a million, while also processing a record-breaking number of immigration applications this year. Our actions are ensuring that we can continue to welcome and support newcomers who come to Canada to work, study, visit, or settle here,” Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said in a statement.

The 4.8 million applications include 670,000 study permits, 700,000 work permits, and hundreds of thousands of visitor visas, according to IRCC data.

The largest number of applications were processed under the temporary residence category with over 670,000 study permits cleared by November 30, compared to more than 500,000 during the same time period last year.

Most new study permits are now being processed within the 60-day service standard, the IRCC informed.

Close to 700,000 work permits were processed by November 30, compared to about 223,000 during the same period in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canada welcomed a record-breaking 405,000 new permanent residents in 2021, and with this development, it remains on track to reach its target of more than 431,000 new permanent residents.

Also, permanent residents can now expect shorter wait times when renewing their permanent resident cards as IRCC has reduced its pandemic backlog of applications for card renewals by 99 per cent.

Canada welcomed approximately 251,000 new citizens from April to November, as a result of which more than 70 per cent of applications in the citizenship inventory are now within service standards.

To address acute labour shortage, Canada unveiled its ambitious immigration plan last month to welcome half-a-million immigrants each year by 2025.

As of December 2, Canada’s immigration backlog came down to just over 2.2 million.

IRCC says it wants to have a less than 50 per cent backlog across all lines of business by the end of March 2023.

To achieve this, the Canadian citizenship body began transition towards 100 per cent digital applications for most permanent resident programs on September 23.

It also hopes to make all citizenship applications digital by the end of this year, including those for minors under 18. (IANS)

Canada has initiated a significant move which will benefit Indian professionals and other foreigners as it expanded its work permits to family members of temporary international workers from next year.

While addressing the reporters December 2, 2022, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada Sean Fraser announced that his department is extending work permits to family members of temporary foreign workers. on Friday. Prior to this announcement, spouses were only eligible for a work permit if the principal applicant was working in a high-skill occupation.

This temporary measure aims to improve the emotional well-being, physical health and financial stability of workers by keeping families together. As a result, it is expected that the worker will better integrate into their overall work environment and community, according to the press statement released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Starting in January 2023, through a temporary 2-year measure, Canada will expand eligibility to work in Canada to spouses and working-age children through a phased approach for workers at all skill levels. This would include families of workers in health care, trades and hospitality, for example.

As a result of this new approach, it is estimated that family members of more than 200,000 foreign workers could begin working in Canada, offering a greater opportunity for both foreign workers seeking to work in Canada and for employers addressing their labour needs.

“Everywhere I go, employers across the country continue to identify a lack of workers as their biggest obstacle. Today’s announcement will help employers find the workers they need to fill their labour gaps by expanding work permits to family members at all skill levels, resulting in family members of over 200,000 foreign workers being able to work in Canada. Our government is going to continue helping employers overcome labour shortages, while also supporting the well-being of workers and uniting their families,” the statement quoted Canadian Minister as saying.

“Labour is the number 1 challenge facing Canada’s tourism sector as we position ourselves for post-pandemic growth. Today, our government is bringing in innovative, family-based solutions to resolve this issue and help our tourism partners grow to meet the global demand for Canadian experiences from coast to coast to coast,” he added.

After a sharp drop in naturalizations in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, immigrants in the United States are becoming citizens in numbers not seen for more than a decade.

More than 900,000 immigrants became U.S. citizens during the 2022 fiscal year, according to a Pew Research Center estimate based on government data released for the first three quarters of the year. That annual total would be the third-highest on record and the most in any fiscal year since 2008, when more than a million people were naturalized. Federal fiscal years run from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

The rebound in naturalizations aligns with upticks in other measures of legal immigration since the spring of 2020, when pandemic-related restrictions, border closures and office shutdowns were widespread. Government data shows a rise since then in the number of immigrants receiving green cards as new lawful permanent residents, as well as a partial rebound in arrivals by foreign students, tourists and other lawful temporary migrants.  

Here are five key facts about naturalization trends and U.S. naturalized citizens, based mainly on a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Department of Homeland Security and the Census Bureau. Immigrants generally are eligible to become U.S. citizens if they are at least 18 years old and a lawful permanent resident who has lived continuously in the U.S. for at least five years, or three years if married to a U.S. citizen. They must meet certain conditions that include a background check and, in most cases, must pass English language and civics tests. Citizenship confers privileges and obligations that include the right to vote, serve on a jury, sponsor other family members and apply for government benefits and jobs.

Quarterly naturalizations are back to where they were before the coronavirus outbreak began in early 2020. The quarterly number of naturalizations plummeted to 81,000 in the April-June 2020 period – during the first months of the U.S. outbreak – compared with an average of about 190,000 per quarter in the previous eight years. After two more below-average quarters, the number of naturalizations reached 200,000 in the January-March 2021 quarter – higher than the total for the same quarter in any of the nine previous years. Naturalization levels for 2021 and 2022 fiscal years have continued to outpace most pre-pandemic years.

The Center’s projection for the number of annual naturalizations for fiscal 2022 – about 940,000 – is higher than for any year since fiscal 2008, when an all-time high of 1,047,000 immigrants became citizens. Fiscal 2008 was one of three previous peaks in naturalizations during the past half-century. The others, in fiscal 1996 (1,041,000) and 2000 (886,000), far exceeded annual naturalizations in any year since 1907, the earliest year with available statistics.

There have been an average of about 200,000 applications for U.S. citizenship per quarter over the past decade. Since 2012, the quarterly number of applications for naturalization has generally ranged from about 160,000 to 250,000. Before the pandemic, there were two notable upticks in quarterly applications: one shortly before the 2016 presidential election (April-June 2016) and one shortly after it (January-March 2017).

The number of applications dropped to 154,000 in the April-June 2020 quarter, just after the pandemic began, but rebounded to 330,000 the following quarter (July-September). Going back to 1980, applications peaked in fiscal 1997, reflecting a surge in naturalizations by formerly unauthorized immigrants who gained legal status under legislation passed in 1986 and thus became eligible to naturalize after the usual five-year waiting period. There was another peak in applications in fiscal 2007, ahead of an announced increase in application fees.

More immigrants are seeking U.S. citizenship than are currently being naturalized. As of the end of June 2022, there was a backlog of about 673,000 pending applications for naturalization. The backlog is down from more than a million pending applications in December 2020, but still much higher than in the period between 2012 and 2016.

Several factors can affect the number of pending applications for naturalization. In the early stages of the pandemic, for example, immigration field offices closed, and the number of pending applications rose sharply in the ensuing months.

By August 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had administered the oath of allegiance to nearly every naturalization applicant whose ceremony was postponed when immigration offices were closed, according to an evaluation of government performance during the pandemic. The median time to process a naturalization application, 9.1 months in fiscal 2020, rose to 10.5 months in fiscal 2022.

Naturalizations for immigrants from most countries plunged during COVID-19 but have since rebounded and are 20% above their pre-pandemic average. One prominent exception is naturalizations of immigrants from China, one of the top 10 countries for naturalizations overall. Naturalizations of Chinese nationals are down about 20% from their pre-pandemic average.

Mexico, the country with the most annual naturalizations over the past quarter century, is up by only 8% compared with its pre-pandemic average. Most of the other major countries are up at least as much. On a regional basis, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and Middle East-North Africa are up by 15% to 26% compared with their pre-pandemic averages. (Due to data limitations, this analysis compares the 12-month period between April 2021 and March 2022 to the annual average from 2012 to 2019. Read “How we did this” for more information.)

The naturalized citizen population in the U.S. continues to increase rapidly. The total number of naturalized citizens in the U.S. almost tripled between 1995 and 2019, from 7.6 million to 22.1 million, according to the most recent Pew Research Center estimates. In contrast, the number of lawful permanent residents – that is, immigrants who may be eligible to be naturalized but have not done so – changed relatively little during that period, remaining between 11.2 million and 12.4 million.

The share of lawful immigrants who were naturalized grew steadily from 38% in 1995 to 65% in 2019. Lawful immigrants from Europe and Asia (both 73%) are the most likely to have been naturalized, followed by those from Middle East-North Africa (72%), sub-Saharan Africa (66%) and Latin America (56%).

The countries with the smallest proportion of lawful immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens (among those with at least 100,000 naturalized citizens overall) are El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan and Mexico. Fewer than half of lawful immigrants from these countries are naturalized citizens.

In contrast, the countries with the highest proportion of lawful immigrants who have been naturalized include Cambodia, Guyana, Iran, Laos, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Vietnam. At least 80% of immigrants from these countries have gained U.S. citizenship. (PEW RESEARCH)

To address acute labor shortages in its healthcare sector, Newfoundland and Labrador will set up a recruitment office in Bengaluru to bring internationally trained and registered nurses to the Canadian province.

“There’s still, you know, an incredible need for nurses here, and if you look at the demographics it’s only going to get worse,” Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said addressing a news conference last week.

“Our government and dedicated partners are taking bold action to address the staffing issues facing the healthcare system in our province, as we compete with other jurisdictions to attract and retain health care professionals at this critical time,” Furey said.

The recruiting team will meet graduate nurses who have the academic credentials to qualify for licenses in Canada.

According to local media reports, nurses are struggling with burnout due to overtime, and more than 600 jobs lie vacant.

The nurses’ union in the province says 40 per cent of its members are facing 24-hour shifts and high rates of workplace injury and violence. They say they’ll leave the profession if conditions don’t improve.

Furey said they chose Karnataka as it has more than 100 nursing schools with training similar to Newfoundland and Labrador’s.

Immigration Minister Gerry Byrne told reporters that the recruitment effort will be modelled after the province’s satellite office in Poland, which was set up to attract Ukrainians fleeing Russian attacks.

According to Statistics Canada, the province experienced the least growth via immigration in Atlantic Canada from 2016 to 2021, and welcomed only 0.3 per cent of all landed immigrants in Canada in that period.

More than 1.3 million new immigrants settled permanently in Canada between 2016 and 2021, but less than 4,000 of those immigrants settled in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Meanwhile in India, government data shows a sharp rise in the demand for Indian nurses post Covid from several countries like Ireland, Malta, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, the UK, and Belgium.

After the Philippines, India ranks second in the number of nurses working abroad for brighter job opportunities, better salaries, and other benefits. (IANS)

Nurse Recruitment

Newfoundland and Labrador will set up a recruitment office in Bangalore to bring registered nurses to the Canadian province.

This plan is in place to address acute labor shortages in the province’s healthcare sector. “There’s still, you know, an incredible need for nurses here, and if you look at the demographics it’s only going to get worse,” said Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey. The recruiting team in India will meet with graduate nurses who have the academic credentials and training to qualify for licenses in Canada.

According to local media reports, nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador are currently struggling with burnout due to overtime and high rates of workplace injury. Over 600 jobs need to be filled in hospitals. Furey stated that they chose Karnataka for recruitment because it has over 100 nursing schools with training similar to that of Newfoundland and Labrador.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 11, 2022 to hold the 9th India-US Economic and Financial Partnership in Delhi, where the two sides will sign a joint statement, explore cooperation on financial regulatory and technical issues as well as U.S. support for India’s upcoming G-20 presidency.

The bilateral meeting will be followed by a meeting with Indian and U.S. companies that will focus on “India-US Business and Investment opportunities”, officials said. However, while Ms. Yellen has indicated she will discuss sanctions on Russia, and the G-7 plan for an “oil price cap”, she will not press India to reduce its oil intake from Russia, which is now India’s biggest supplier, and accounts for more than 22% of Indian oil imports.

“We want Russian oil to continue to supply global markets; stay on the market. But we want to make sure that Russia doesn’t profit unduly from the war by enjoying prices that are essentially very high due to the war,” Ms. Yellen told news agency PTI before leaving for Delhi, where she will stop enroute to Indonesia for the G-20 summit.

Ahead of Ms. Yellen’s visit, which will begin with a visit to the Microsoft India Development Centre in NOIDA on Friday morning, US embassy officials said they have expedited visas for Indians working in the IT sector, amidst protests by the government of long delays for visas for Indians compared to other countries. This month, the officials announced, US Embassies and consulates in India have released 100,000 extra appointment slots for “H” (including H-1B) and “L” category visas that pertain to technology and management professionals moving to the U.S. for work, bringing down their waiting periods considerably.

However, the officials said that bringing visa disbursal capacities for all categories to pre-COVID levels, when the U.S. used to process more than a million Indian visa applications per year, will take several months, and will not return to “100%” capacity until July 2023.

At present, appointment waiting times for B1/B2 business and tourism visas are more than 900 days (about two and a half years), which has led to formal complaints by the government to the U.S. administration, including during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to the U.S. in September.

“India is the number one priority for the US administration on visa issues,” a US embassy official said in Delhi on Thursday, blaming a shortage of personnel due to the Covid pandemic as the primary reason for delays in visa processing. “In an ideal world, there would be no disruptions and staff shortages,” the official added.

During the talks, Ms. Yellen is also expected to discuss India’s participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum launched earlier this year, including several Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand and the US, where India has decided to stay out of trade discussions.

“Secretary Yellen will highlight the close ties between American and Indian people and businesses, and note ways we can further our bilateral economic relationship, including through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and stronger supply chains through friend-shoring” a statement by the US Treasury said last week, adding that Ms. Yellen would “reaffirm America’s and India’s shared democratic values”.

On Wednesday, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo also attended a virtual conference of the India-US CEO forum and discussed ways of increasing bilateral trade between the two countries.

Call for Action: Please sign the Change.org campaign https://chng.it/pkFdMwhhh4

We request the State Department, Secretary of State Mr. Anthony Bliken and  the US embassies in India to eliminate wait times for visa 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. 

As per travel.state.gov reports on 10/31/2022, 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) (Reference: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html). In contrast, the US consulates in China only have an average 3 days wait time.

The 900+ day 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. 

The 400+ day wait time affects students joining the US universities, that not only impacts students’  future but also negatively impacts the US universities.

Similarly, the 300+ day of 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. 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”. 

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..

During the US 2022 midterm election, Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (http://FIIDS-USA.org) appeals to Indo-American voters to voice their concerns about these delays to the candidates contesting for house and senate. #USVisaAppointmentWaitTime  #IndoAmericanVotesMatter

Please sign the Change.org campaign https://chng.it/pkFdMwhhh4

Canada aims to grant citizenship to 300,000 people in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, a move likely to benefit many Indians, rep[orts here stated. Canada will allow more foreign nationals to become its citizens announcing that it will create a total slot of 300,000 people in the fiscal year 2022-2023. This is likely to benefit many Indians. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) brought out a memo recently that recommends that it process a total of 2,85,000 decisions and 300,000 new citizens by March 31, 2023.

A ‘decision,’ in this context, refers to a review of an application which is then either approved, denied, or marked as incomplete. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) memo recommends that it process a total of 285,000 decisions and 300,000 new citizens by March 31, 2023.

IRCC also said that minors under the age of 18 will be eligible to apply for citizenship online by the end of the year. This is a significant increase over the 2021-2022 fiscal year and even exceeds the pre-pandemic targets of 2019-2020, when 253,000 citizenship applications were processed.

In March 2020, IRCC became unable to process most applications due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was because the department was only able to process paper applications that were mailed to a central location.

IRCC was unable to conduct interviews with candidates and there could not be any oath swearing at citizenship ceremonies. 

So far in the 2022-2023 fiscal, Canada has welcomed 116,000 new citizens and is on track to achieve its target. By comparison, over the same period in 2021, the country had only sworn in 35,000 people.

Though there is no country-wise break-up of the numbers, Indians are the top immigrant group to take up residence in Canada in 2022.

According to the country’s 2016 reports, Canada has some 1.4 million people of Indian descent.

In 2021, nearly 100,000 Indians moved to Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and some 130,000 got work permits under the International Mobility Program. During 2021-2022, over 210,000 permanent residents also acquired Canadian citizenship.

Canada Express Entry System: Canada’s express entry system manages three major federal economic programs.

Canada’s express entry is an online system used to process applications for skilled workers who wish to immigrate to Canada, thereby helping them to acquire permanent residence status. The express entry system manages three major federal economic programs namely: federal skilled worker (FSW), federal skilled trades (FST) and Canadian experience class (CEC). How to apply for the Canadian express entry system?

There are two steps involved in the application process. The first step is to submit your profile with the documents which include language test results, educational credential assessment report and a passport.

The second step takes place after submission of profile in which a person is required to provide reference letters, additional identity documents, police clearance certificates, and medical examination results. 

What is the eligibility for Canada express entry system?

Possessing university degrees, skilled work experience and moderate proficiency in English are important for Canada express entry candidates. Other than this, the candidates must meet individual requirements for one of the three federal programs that come under the express entry system. 

What are the minimum requirements for application to Canada express entry system?

An individual must have at least one year of work experience in a skilled occupation and be able to demonstrate English skills. Additionally, completion of post-secondary education as per Canadian standards with an assessment is necessary.

Visa appointments scheduled may be rescheduled if applicants find earlier appointments but will not be cancelled by the embassy.

Appointments in every visa classification will be issued, US embassy said. The delays or cancellations that occurred in 2021 will not affect visa at this moment, a representative of the US Embassy told Hindustan Times’ business website Livemint. Visa appointments scheduled may be rescheduled if applicants find earlier appointments but will not be cancelled by the embassy, the representative further said.

Explaining the process, the representative said that anyone who wishes to request an emergency non-immigrant visa appointment must schedule a walk-in appointment. After this, the candidate may submit an emergency appointment request. However, some criterion will apply in order to qualify for emergency appointments.

“We cannot expedite interview waiver appointments in any visa classification. Visa applicants with an existing interview waiver appointment and you wish to request an emergency appointment, you must first cancel your existing interview waiver appointment, then make a first timer (walk-in) appointment and then request the emergency appointment,” the representative said.

There has been a high volume of visa requests with the US embassy in India facing severe backlog. Citing reduced staffing and pandemic-related disruptions in operations since March 2020, the embassy said that the demand for visas across all categories is high. The wait times have thus been longer for most non-immigrant visa appointments at the embassy in New Delhi and the consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai.

Four persons, who were running the biggest international fake passport and visa rackets, have been arrested by the IGI airport police.

The DCP of IGI airport, Tanu Sharma, said that 325 fake passports, 175 fake visas and other related things were recovered from them.

“The mastermind of the gang is Zakir Yusuf Shaikh. IGI unit got tip-off about the gang following which it was busted,” said the police official.

Earlier, a case of PP Act was registered at Police Station of IGI Airport in which passenger Ravi Rameshbhai Chaudhary, a resident of Gandhinagar, Gujarat was deported from Kuwait on the allegations of fake and fabricated passport.

During course of investigation, it was found that the fake and fabricated passport was arranged by agents namely Zakir Yusuf Shaikh and Mushtaq alias Jamil Picturewala, both residents of Mumbai, who were introduced to Ravi Rameshbhai Chaudhary through a local agent namely Narayanbhai Chaudhary of Gujarat.

During the course of investigation, both the agents Sheikh and Picturewala were arrested from Mumbai along with their counterparts Imtiaz ali Sheikh alias Raju Bhai and Sanjay Dattaram Chavan from Mumbai.

“325 Indian passports, 175 visas (Canada, Singapore, US and other countries), more than 1200 stamps (immigration stamps of different countries and airport, embassies, banks etc), 11 international driving permits, issued from Republic of India), 75 passport jackets, 17 Aadhaar cards, 12 colour printers, dyes for making forged Indian passports, two lamination machines, one paper cutter machine, two UV machines, photo polymer stamp making machine and other incriminating evidence were recovered,” the police said. Efforts are being made to arrest absconding agent Narayan Bhai who is on the run. (IANS)

The Sikh Coalition and our allies at the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona (ACLU-AZ) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) were joined by more than 160 civil rights, immigration, religious, advocacy, and other organizations in submitting a letter to Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas regarding the continued mistreatment of Sikhs and other religious migrants at our southern border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.

The letter reads in part: “For years, advocates and the media have repeatedly raised concerns about the seizure of religious headwear and other articles of faith, as well as the denial of religious diets by CBP … Time after time, DHS officials have assured the public and stakeholders that they take these concerns seriously, yet the violations continue. Alarmingly, these abuses have gone on for so long that they appear to have become standard operating procedure at the border, supplanting CBP’s own rules.”

As a reminder, in June and July, news began to emerge that CBP officers were confiscating Sikh migrants’ turbans and other possessions and throwing them in the trash. Later reports revealed that some Sikh migrants also have been denied vegetarian meals and were ordered by border officials to eat meat or ‘starve.’ Unfortunately, this misconduct appears to be ongoing: According to our organizational partners on the ground, there have been at least 12 new cases of turban confiscation in August alone.

The Sikh Coalition joined the ACLU-AZ and ACLU to take action by sending a letter to DHS in early August, and we have since continued to press senior DHS leaders to respond in a transparent and comprehensive way. Additionally, we were proud to support a letter sent last week by Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), and Judy Chu (D-CA) demanding answers about CBP’s treatment of Sikhs and other religious migrants, and we continue to provide information to members of the media working to spotlight this issue. Per public reporting, an investigation of this issue is currently underway.

“Sikh migrants are among the most vulnerable individuals coming to the United States–in many cases, fleeing a well-founded fear of religious persecution in their home countries,” said Sim J. Singh Attariwala, Sikh Coalition Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager. “To have their religious and other rights immediately violated by CBP officers is a cruel irony, and this misconduct should not be tolerated.”

As many as 163,370 Indians gave up their Indian passports in 2021 — the highest since 2015, the Indian Government told Parliament last week. This number was 144,017 in 2019 and 85,256 in Covid-impacted 2020. 

While 41 Indian citizens based in Pakistan gave up their Indian citizenship in 2021, compared to only seven in 2020, 326 living in the UAE renounced their Indian passports.

Data provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Lok Sabha disclosed that the US was the top choice with almost half of Indians – 78,284 – preferring to become US citizens.

Overall, 932,276 Indians renounced their citizenships in favor of other countries between 2015 and 2021 — including 1,31,489 in 2015; 1,41,603 in 2016; 1,33,049 in 2017 and 1,34,561 in 2018.

Those giving up their Indian citizenship cited “personal” reasons for renouncing their home country. Indian laws don’t allow dual citizenship. 

India stands at the 84th position in the Henley’s and Partners’ passport index. A higher rank means easy visa and less bureaucratic delays in international travels.

Almost half — 78,284 — became US citizens in 2021 compared to 30,828 in 2020 and 61,683 in 2019. All of them were already based in the US. The other top destination countries were Australia (23,533), Canada (21,597), the UK (14,637), Italy (5,987), New Zealand (2,643) and Singapore (2,516).

Of the 10,645 foreign nationals who applied for Indian citizenship between 2016 and 2020 — 7,782 were from Pakistan and 795 were Afghanistan — 4,177 persons were granted Indian citizenship by the government.

As many as 163,370 Indians gave up their Indian passports in 2021 — the highest since 2015, the Indian Government told Parliament last week. This number was 144,017 in 2019 and 85,256 in Covid-impacted 2020.

While 41 Indian citizens based in Pakistan gave up their Indian citizenship in 2021, compared to only seven in 2020, 326 living in the UAE renounced their Indian passports.

Data provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Lok Sabha disclosed that the US was the top choice with almost half of Indians – 78,284 – preferring to become US citizens.

Overall, 932,276 Indians renounced their citizenships in favor of other countries between 2015 and 2021 — including 1,31,489 in 2015; 1,41,603 in 2016; 1,33,049 in 2017 and 1,34,561 in 2018.

Those giving up their Indian citizenship cited “personal” reasons for renouncing their home country. Indian laws don’t allow dual citizenship.

India stands at the 84th position in the Henley’s and Partners’ passport index. A higher rank means easy visa and less bureaucratic delays in international travels.

Almost half — 78,284 — became US citizens in 2021 compared to 30,828 in 2020 and 61,683 in 2019. All of them were already based in the US. The other top destination countries were Australia (23,533), Canada (21,597), the UK (14,637), Italy (5,987), New Zealand (2,643) and Singapore (2,516).

Of the 10,645 foreign nationals who applied for Indian citizenship between 2016 and 2020 — 7,782 were from Pakistan and 795 were Afghanistan — 4,177 persons were granted Indian citizenship by the government.

U.S. consulates deny a large majority (61 percent) of employer sponsored immigrant visas for prospective legal permanent residents because it claims to have found a problem with their job offers. The denials reverse labor certifications and petitions approved by the Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) and contrast with rare denials by DHS (4 percent) for workers applying for green cards while already inside the United States. Although this astounding denial rate has existed for decades, the State Department has never publicly explained it, and no one has previously reported on it.

It appears that the denials are so high partly because the department grants so little weight to earlier approvals by DOL and DHS. The much greater difficulty in obtaining a green card abroad has important consequences for U.S. immigration. It encourages many immigrants to apply for easier‐​to‐​obtain temporary visas, which unnecessarily uses limited cap spots under those programs, while others may give up on legal immigration and seek to enter illegally.

Legal immigrants to the United States have two ways to receive a green card (denoting legal permanent residence). The first way is to obtain an immigrant visa from the State Department authorizing travel to the United States at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad. The other approach is to adjust from temporary to permanent status in the United States. Employer‐​sponsored immigrants usually obtain a temporary work visa and only then proceed through the employer‐​sponsored green card adjustment of status process in the United States.

In 2021, 161,451 employer‐​sponsored immigrants adjusted status in the United States, while just 15,026 (9 percent) received immigrant visas abroad. The ease of obtaining temporary work visas over difficult immigrant visas certainly contributes to this huge disparity. Employer‐​sponsored green cards typically require a permanent labor certification from the DOL, a process that currently takes more than 500 days to complete at great expense and risk. Then employers submit a petition to DHS requesting approval for the worker to apply, either domestically or abroad.

Since the green card or immigrant visa application is the final step and follows vetting by two different departments, denials should be rare, and they are for workers in the United States. DHS denied just 4 percent of employer‐​sponsored immigrants seeking adjustment of status to permanent residence in 2021. But it’s a completely different story at consulates abroad. The State Department does not report the total denial rate for employer‐​sponsored immigrants under every ground of ineligibility. It only reports denials under the labor certification ground of ineligibility. The labor certification ground only applies to employer‐​sponsored immigrants in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories (which excludes the EB-1 category that has a lesser number of outstanding researchers, executives, and people with extraordinary ability). Immigrants are only denied under this ground if the State Department claims to have found a problem with their job offers.

As per reports, denials shot up in 1995 and stayed extraordinarily high through the present. Another significant spike occurred in the 2000s when denials eventually reached an all‐​time high of 79 percent in 2009. It has come down somewhat since then, but both in 2019 and 2020, 61 percent of applicants were denied. These denials occurred because the State Department claimed to have found a problem with their job offer. If all the different grounds for denial were included—such as misrepresentation, public charge, and criminal bars—the denial rate would be even higher.

According to reports, new official numbers show that the U.S. government failed to issue a quarter of the available employment‐​based green cards for legal immigrants in fiscal year 2021. Despite about 1.4 million immigrants waiting for an employment‐​based green card in 2021, the government only used 195,507 of the 262,288 available green card numbers, wasting 66,781 green cards.

The official, final number of wasted green cards is somewhat more than the 62,000 number government officials told the press at the end of FY 2021. Table 1 shows the cap for each of the five employment‐​based categories and the number of green cards wasted in each category. With 84 percent unused, the EB-5 investor category had the most green card waste in FY 2021 as a percentage of available green cards. In absolute terms, the greatest waste came from the EB-3 category for (mostly) bachelor’s degree holders, which wasted 19,774 green cards last fiscal year.

If any EB-4 and EB-5 numbers are going to go unused, those numbers are supposed to be used by EB-1, and if EB-1 doesn’t use all of them, they can be used by EB-2, and then any unused for EB-2 can be used by EB-3. This means that EB-2 could have used as many as 107,000 green cards, and EB-3 as many as 122,000 (assuming all the other categories failed to use the same amount).

This cap system that flows unused numbers from one category to the next is supposed to guarantee that all the numbers are used every year, but last fiscal year, the system broke down. For reasons that I explained in the Washington Post last year, the U.S. government simply failed to make the necessary changes fast enough to ensure that every green card was issued, so those green cards were wasted.

Green card waste affects Indian immigrants far more than any other group of immigrants because they make up 82 percent of the immigrants waiting as a result of the caps. This is because the law limits immigrants from any single birthplace to no more than 7 percent of the green cards available in a year, and for many years, Indians have made up about half of all the new applicants. New Indian applicants enter the backlog, while immigrants from other countries get to pass them in line and receive a green card as soon as their applications are adjudicated.

But there’s a very important exception to this “per‐​country cap”: if the rest of the world will not use all the green cards, Indians can receive more than 7 percent of the total. In 2021, the employment‐​based cap was increased by more than 120,000 because the law dictates that any unused family‐​based green card numbers should be reassigned to the employment‐​based categories in the following year.

The influx meant that Indians could finally bypass the country caps and get green cards far in excess of the 7 percent limit, and they did. For the EB-2 and EB-3 categories in which most Indian applicants are waiting, issuances went from 5,793 in FY 2020 to 43,200 in FY 2021. The additional employment‐​based green cards in FY 2021 effectively provided Indians with six and a half years’ worth of issuances in a single fiscal year.

But that’s exactly what makes the waste of nearly 67,000 green cards so frustrating for anyone in the backlog. The failure to process these green cards basically means that the administration has (illegally) added 11.5 additional years of waiting for Indian immigrants. I say “illegally” because the government is required to implement the laws that Congress enacts, and it has violated the law. Unfortunately, courts failed to hold them accountable, so Congress must step in and force the agencies to follow the law.

The employment‐​based cap is even higher in FY 2022 than it was in FY 2021: 281,430. Based on numbers from the first quarter of FY 2022 as well as statements from agency officials and attorneys, it seems clear that the agencies will duplicate their poor performance in FY 2021. As of January 2022, the agency was on pace to waste more than 100,000 employment‐​based green cards in FY 2022. The Biden administration must show its commitment to legal immigration by making sure that every available green card is used this year.

The United States has welcomed 661,500 new citizens in the first half of the year 2022, with India as the second largest country of birth for naturalized American citizens. Mexico came first in the list of countries from where people naturalized in the year 2020, accounting for 13 percent of all cases, followed by India at 7.7 percent, the Philippines (5.3 percent), Cuba (5.0 percent), and China (4.2 per cent).

Throughout our nation’s history, the promise of both life and liberty, and the freedom to pursue happiness, is what has drawn millions from across the globe to call America their home,” US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director M Jaddou said on Friday, last week. 

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) welcomed 855,000 new citizens during the fiscal year 2021. The USCIS said it would celebrate Independence Day this year by welcoming more than 6,600 new citizens in more than 140 naturalization ceremonies between July 1 and July 8. The US celebrated its Independence Day on July 4.

The US federal government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.

“At the USCIS, our belief in the promise of America is renewed daily as we work to welcome immigrants as our fellow citizens, said Jaddou, adding “our country will be stronger and more diverse because of the choice they have made.

Former US Religious Freedom Ambassador Brownback Presents Pluralist Award To Indian American Activist Ajit Sahi

Veteran journalist and civil rights activist, Ajit Sahi, has received the prestigious Pluralist Award from former United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.

Awarded by the Center of Pluralism for his “outstanding work [for] standing up for the religious freedom for people other than his own fellow religionists,” Sahi received a certificate of appreciation at the hands of Ambassador Brownback on the sidelines of the International Religious Freedom Summit that concluded here last week.

Commending Sahi, a Hindu, for working to secure the civil and political rights of India’s marginalized communities and social and religious minorities, Ambassador Brownback said it was important for people from dominant countries to stand up for minorities.

“In a democracy, in particular, you’ve got to stand up for the minorities and say that you can’t treat them that way,” Brownback said after presenting the award to Sahi. “Else, you can’t have a pluralistic society.”

Sahi is a 35-year veteran of journalism and human rights activism. Based in Washington, DC, he is the Advocacy Director with Indian American Muslim Council, the largest civil rights organization of the Indian Muslim diaspora anywhere in the world.

“It is an honor to receive this award from Ambassador Brownback,” Sahi said. “This award is more a recognition of the brave human rights defenders, Muslims, Christians, Dalits and adivasis of India who are being brutally repressed and persecuted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.”

Sahi slammed the Modi Administration for its relentless assault on Constitutional and democratic values, as reflected in the arrests of countless Muslims and Christians and the demolitions of Muslim homes, businesses and mosques; the lynchings of Muslims; the ban on the wearing of hijab by Muslims girls in Karnataka; among others. Sahi also criticized the police and the courts across India for failing to deliver justice to the victims and siding with the perpetrators that belong to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Mike Ghouse, President, Center for Pluralism, said Sahi was chosen for this year’s award for his courageous pursuit of justice for people of all faiths in India. “As a Hindu, Sahi has been at the forefront of the Indian American community that is fighting hard to preserve the pluralist and democratic values in India,” Ghouse said. 

The award was also given to Greg Mitchell, Chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, the world’s largest advocacy collective on this issue; Walter Ruby, President, Jews and Muslims Allies Acting Together; and Maqsood Choudhary, Founder, Maclean Islamic Center in appreciation of their contribution to enhancing pluralism by pursuing human rights of people belonging to faiths other than their own.

Sahi is a recipient of the Voice of Courage Award from the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Swami Agnivesh Award from Hindus for Human Rights.