Immigration

WASHINGTON, DC - The US Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own while the justices consider whether the government’s third-country removal policy is lawful. The court stayed a February ruling by

NEW DELHI-Applicants in India waited an average of 346 days for a US visitor visa interview in fiscal 2025, more than eight times the 42-day average before the pandemic, according to a federal audit released on September 28. The Government Accountability

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC-The US State Department has launched an online portal for reporting suspected visa fraud or misuse involving individuals, companies, schools and other organizations. The system covers tourist and business visas, employment visas, student visas and immigrant or family-based

WASHINGTON, DC- The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting people who knowingly engage in or facilitate birth tourism, alongside a public portal for reporting suspected visa fraud, including fabricated job offers and sham marriages. US Secretary of State Marco

SHREWSBURY, MA- Members of the community raised concerns about immigration challenges affecting students, families and healthcare professionals during a meeting with US Congressman Jim McGovern. The meeting was held at the India Worcester Center here on September 19 and brought together

WASHINGTON, DC- President Donald Trump has renewed a $100,000 fee for certain H-1B visa applications and ordered closer scrutiny of employers that lay off American workers, according to a White House fact sheet and an executive order. Agencies must consider recent

Photo:DHS India-West News Desk NEW YORK, NY-New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is leading a coalition of local governments in a legal challenge to a Trump administration rule that could make it harder for some immigrants to obtain green cards, visas or

WASHINGTON, DC- The Trump administration has proposed ending the up-to-60-day grace period that allows H-1B workers and several other employment-based visa holders to remain in the United States after losing their jobs, potentially sharply reducing the time available to find

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC -  The Department of Homeland Security has pulled down a social media post targeting “Mr. Singh” after widespread criticism from Sikh and Indian American groups and Democratic lawmakers, backing away from a message the department initially

WASHINGTON, DC - The US Department of Labor has suspended permanent labor certification filings by technology services giant Cognizant as federal authorities investigate alleged fraud and possible harm to American workers. Cognizant is a US-based multinational company headquartered in Teaneck, New

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The United States has warned that employment-based first-preference green cards for Indians could become unavailable within weeks because of heavy demand, adding fresh pressure to an already severe green-card backlog affecting Indian applicants. The US State Department, in its September

NEW YORK -US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 2,197 immigrants across New York state from late July to late August as part of an operation. At a press conference in

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - A new Department of Homeland Security proposal could remove certain spouses of H-1B visa holders from the category that allows them to seek work authorization in the United States. The proposal would affect some H-4 dependent

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - Nearly one million professionals are currently trapped in the United States employment-based green card backlog, with Indians comprising nearly 80 percent of all applicants waiting for permanent residency across the nation's primary skilled immigration channels. According

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, revealed on social media that federal authorities are examining a controversial recruiting post as part of a broader review into alleged national origin discrimination by

India-West News Desk CARY, NC - A judge has granted $7,500 bond to Venkata Vasamsetty, a longtime Green Card holder who was detained by ICE during an immigration check-in earlier this month. Vasamsetty, who has lived in the United States for decades,

India-West News Desk SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Ankit Gupta, a partner at Y Combinator, Harvard-trained computer scientist, serial entrepreneur, and former chief technology officer and co-founder of Reveries Labs, has sparked a debate involving senior US officials over H-1B visas and

WASHINGTON, DC - The US State Department has proposed allowing qualified American citizens living abroad to renew their passports entirely online, eliminating the need for two visits to an Embassy or Consulate. The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register, would

India-West News Desk ANNAPOLIS, MD - Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller has criticized immigration arrests in Maryland and Virginia, saying authorities should be able to enforce the law and remove violent offenders without casting entire communities as threats. Miller, an immigrant herself,

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - A global freeze of US immigrant visa interview appointments has left applicants facing uncertainty over when regular scheduling will resume and what impact the changes could have on their immigration plans. The State Department has begun

WASHINGTON, DC-The Trump White House has begun review of a new proposal to overhaul the H-1B visa program, signaling another potentially significant change to the employment route used by thousands of Indian professionals. The Department of Homeland Security submitted the proposed

By Kulvinder Singh Seeing the new Spider-Man movie in theatres, I remember again that I am Peter Parker. When I was a toddler, my parents immigrated and brought my brother and me to Jamaica, Queens. We lived in an apartment. I knew no English.

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Suhas Subramanyam and five other US lawmakers have demanded an FBI investigation and a Justice Department civil rights review into an encounter in which an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent allegedly pointed a loaded gun

India-West News Desk AUSTIN, TX - Texas school districts rely on H-1B visa teachers more than those in any other state, making Governor Greg Abbott’s latest push to eliminate the visas from public schools particularly significant. Abbott has been at the

WASHINGTON, DC-Thousands of Indians seeking US green cards could face wider scrutiny of their finances and use of public benefits under new immigration guidance taking effect on September 18. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said officers may consider housing

India-West News Desk RALEIGH, NC - Venkata Vasamsetty, who has lived in the United States for about 30 years and held a Green Card since 2013, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement even after an immigration court terminated

Photo: gregabbott.com India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - Despite Republican control in Washington and the Texas state government, several Texas congressional districts have recorded some of the nation’s sharpest increases in H-1B-related employer filings, according to an analysis of federal labor data

India-West News Desk WICHITA, KS -The US has filed a civil case seeking to revoke the citizenship of an India born man who allegedly became a US citizen using a false identity and concealed his earlier immigration history. The action, filed on

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC -The U.S. economy could lose up to $3.4 billion in direct economic contributions and nearly 40,000 jobs if international student enrollment declines as projected for Fall 2026, according to an analysis by NAFSA: Association of International

NEW YORK, NY - A New York woman pleaded guilty August 11 to helping smuggle migrants into the United States across the Canadian border, the US Justice Department said. Stacey Taylor, 43, admitted to her role in an international smuggling conspiracy

Photo: Instagram India-West News Desk LOS ANGELES, CA – Reports not immediately verifiable say Indian-born jazz guitarist and composer Pritesh Walia was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on August 2 after returning to Los Angeles. A statement posted on his Instagram

WASHINGTON, DC- The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expanded the applicability of a $4,000 fee on H-1B petitions and a $4,500 levy on L-1 petitions to include visa extensions filed by certain employers, even when workers remain with

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC-The Trump administration has cancelled more than 28,000 commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) that it says were improperly issued to undocumented immigrants, tightening enforcement of commercial trucking regulations while introducing stricter eligibility rules for foreign drivers. The issue came

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC- The number of F-1 student visas issued by the United States to nationals of India and China dropped sharply in 2025, according to a new report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), whose author says the

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has ruled that the Trump administration's policy freezing certain green card applications over public benefit concerns is unlawful, finding that the State Department exceeded the authority granted by Congress. In a

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - Narinder Singh, 65, of India is among 25 naturalized U.S. citizens facing denaturalization proceedings in what the U.S. Department of Justice has described as the largest coordinated effort of its kind in the department's history. The Justice

WASHINGTON, DC-President Donald Trump launched a new federal initiative aimed at recruiting US military veterans into the trucking industry, saying the program would create thousands of well-paying jobs while helping address the country's shortage of qualified truck drivers. Speaking at the

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - The Trump administration is considering a proposal to impose a $100,000 fee linked to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, a move that could substantially raise the cost of working in the United States for

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking a civil penalty of $470,584 against an immigration attorney accused of filing fraudulent documents in connection with asylum applications. According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations

NEW DELHI-The Ministry of External Affairs on July 31 said 2,273 Indian nationals have been deported from the United States to India so far in 2026. "The total number of Indians deported from the United States to India in 2026 from

India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. immigration authorities have begun arresting visa overstayers at airports across the country, expanding the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts, according to a report published July 29 by 'The New York Times.' The report said officers

WASHINGTON, DC - A senior Democratic senator has renewed an effort to provide millions of long-term US residents, including H-1B visa holders, a pathway to permanent residency as President Donald Trump intensifies immigration enforcement. Senator Alex Padilla of California said his

WASHINGTON, DC - The Trump administration has changed the US asylum system to allow immigration officials to send certain applications directly to immigration judges without first interviewing applicants, a move the government says will reduce a large backlog but immigrant

India-West News Report WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of State has started a pilot program that allows some visitor visa applicants to pay an additional fee to get an earlier interview appointment instead of waiting for the next available slot. The program,

India-West News Desk TOWANDA TOWNSHIP, PA -A Fresno truck driver is being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after Pennsylvania authorities accused him of stealing nearly $2.9 million worth of industrial material during a commercial shipment last month. Deepak Kumar,

WASHINGTON, DC-The Trump administration has described America’s reliance on foreign students in science and technology programs as a national security challenge, warning that overseas competitors are using the US education system as an entry point into the country’s innovation base. The

WASHINGTON, DC - President Donald Trump has announced plans to crack down on undocumented immigrant truck drivers, saying his administration will remove those working illegally on American roads and replace them with military veterans under a new commercial driver's licensing

WASHINGTON, DC-Democratic Congressmen Suhas Subramanyam and Shri Thanedar have defended the contribution of skilled immigrants to the US economy, arguing that H-1B visa holders and other highly skilled professionals create jobs, drive innovation and help address workforce shortages, while calling

Photo: Voice of America India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC - The Trump administration has announced a final rule ending the long-standing "duration of status" policy for foreign students, exchange visitors, and foreign media representatives, replacing it with fixed periods of admission and

WASHINGTON, DC - Vice President J.D. Vance on July 8 announced a fresh crackdown on alleged fraud involving the H-1B visa program, saying the U.S. Department of Labor has launched "dozens of subpoenas and investigations" targeting foreign entities accused of