Visas

antiterroristas.cu 2008-07-16 Mensaje de la Sra. Gayle McLaughlin, Alcaldesa de Richmond-California, en relación a la solicitud de Visas para Adriana Pérez y Olga Salanueva: “Yo he insistido y seguire insistiendo al Departamento de Estado para que les otorgue visas humanitarias a Adriana Perez y Olga Salanueva para visitar a sus esposos Gerardo Hernandez y Rene Gonzalez respectivamente [.

Special ASEZ VisasThe Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA for short) has introduced a special Economic Zone visa for Jordan, to be known as an "ASEZ visa". This is a new rule, and the details have already been changed several times since its introduction in April 2002. Right now the conditions are these: Anybody arriving in Aqaba, whether at the port, at the airport or from the Arava cro

WASHINGTON .- La Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos emitió el lunes un dictamen que le facilitará a los extranjeros cuyas visas han expirado buscar formas de quedarse en el país legalmente. La corte dictaminó por votación de 5-4 que alguien que alguien que resida en el país sin documentos de residencia legal puede retirar su [...]

"From Fashion Week to our vibrant publishing industry to the many designers that call New York City home, fashion is a vital part of our economy that drives thousands of jobs." - Rep. Anthony Weiner to the Daily News on introducing a bill to make it easier for models to get visas to work in the United States. [NYDN]

AP - Travelers who don’t need visas to enter the United States will be required to register online with the U.S. government at least three days before they visit, a security regulation set to begin next year. Original post by AP

COMPUTING professionals led the list of top 15 occupations for primary 457 visa grants in 2006-07, the Immigration Department said.As the new temporary foreign workers change the face of Australia's workplaces, business groups last week called for an immediate boost to skills training positions and unions expressed concern that increasing reliance on developing-country workers risked lowering gene

Introduction 4.1 The L Visa facilitates the temporary transfer of key employees of multinational companies to the U.S. Individuals, previously employed for a minimum of one year outside the U.S. as executives, managers, or in positions requiring specialized knowledge and who will continue to work in the U.S. in those capacities for the same employer or a qualifying U.S. subsidiary, branch,

A new proposed legislation in the US. House of Representatives seeks to give up to 20,000 visas per year to nurses and physical therapists up to September 2011.The proposal, HR 5924 or the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act, would waive the quota for these two occupations, also known as Schedule A jobs, up to 2011 but a maximum of 20,000 visas can only be approved every year. Immediate family mem

El presidente de la Comisión Sudáfrica 2010, Juvenal Silva, señaló que es preocupante que el Consulado de España no esté dando todas las facilidades del caso a la selección peruana para la obtención de las visas, con el fin de que esta pueda enfrentar a su similar ibérica en Huelva, el próximo 30 de mayo. "La Selección tiene previsto viajar a España el día martes 27, porque hay

Any foreign national who enters territory of Indonesia is required to possess a valid Travel Document and the Entry Permit or Visa. Some foreign nationals do not need to apply for a visa, they are those who are permitted to use Visa Free for Short Visit Facility. All other foreign nationals are required to [...]

Any foreign national who enters territory of Indonesia is required to possess a valid Travel Document and the Entry Permit or Visa. Some foreign nationals do not need to apply for a visa, they are those who are permitted to use Visa Free for Short Visit Facility. All other foreign nationals are required to [...]

In yet another chapter of the visa saga, it appears that we are now seeing where immigration officers at the border are turning multiple entry visas. According to the email I received: But yesterday and today it seems that when they arrived into the Guangzhou station from the HK Train, they were told that their visa [...]

Inspired by the true story of Holocaust rescuer, Visas and Virtue is a dramatic recreation that explores the moral and professional dilemmas that Japanese Consul General Chiune Sempo Sugihara faced in making a life or death decision: defy his own government's direct orders and risk his career by issuing lifesaving transit visas or obey orders and turn his back on humanity.Although he is not known as well as Schindler, his heroic efforts resulted in one of the largest rescues of Jews during the Holocaust.Chris Tashima show us that he's possible narate a true story without making a documentary.

A visa is an application to enter the United States not a permit. It has been read by a consular officer at the American embassy or consulate and has been reviewed for the determination of eligibility to enter the United States for a specific purpose. There are different types of visas and one in particular is the 'B-1 Visitor for Business' which permits a foreign national to enter the U.S. to conduct business associated with international trade or commerce. This particular visa would also allow you to travel to the United States as far as the port of entry (airport or land border crossing) and ask the immigration officer to allow you to enter the country. The immigration officer would then allow you entrance and also decide for what length of time you would be permitted to stay for that p

US immigration visas are documents required for travel to the United States of America. A person who desires to travel to the U.S. from any nation as a non-immigrant or immigrant should apply for entry permission at a Consulate functioning outside the United States. A visa (or stamp) affixed in the passport allows the person to enter the America.Depending upon the purpose, there are many types of U.S. visas, including business visas, tourist visas, immigrant visas, non-immigrant visas, employment-based immigrant visas, etc. These types allow the persons to work in the country, attend schools and colleges, get specialized training and vacation, attain medical treatments or stay indefinitely.Certain immigration visas also permit to change or ‘adjust status’, which is the process of adjus

Highlighting the need to increase people-to-people contacts, former Premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Friday favoured abolition of visas for travel between India and Pakistan.During a meeting here with Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, Sharif, whose party is a key member of Pakistan's ruling coalition, said there is a need to increase trade and people-to-people contacts between the two countries."Sharif told me that there is no need for visas between India and Pakistan," Deora told PTI after the meeting.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: As of 29 February 2008, only the Tier 1 Visa of the UK Points Based System has been introduced. This currently only applies to in-country Tier 1 Visa applications made by those on specific visas within the UK and applications by those based in India. Those currently outside the UK and not in India who are considering HSMP, should be aware that this new proposal does not affect them in any way at this time. As many individuals discovered to their cost when HSMP rules changed in November 2006, changes can mean that you no longer have the option that you were planning on using. The potential involvement of Embassies in deciding applications has caused widespread concern. Many of our Consultants recall the delays encountered when applications were submitted at Emb

Yippee, mission accomplished #2 - I already got my Malaysian visa! I was whining in my last post about the long queues and hassles of getting my visa but surprise, surprise, the deparment seemed to have change a LOT! We applied for my visa yesterday. We woke up late so, we only got there at about 8:00 am. Normally, we go there by 7am since it's usually packed with people. But to our surprise, there were no queues! My Hubby got the priority number and we got #6025 while they were serving #6019. We just waited for a few minutes and by 9 am we were already out of the building. That was indeed a breakthrough! And when we checked our receipt, my visa will be done the following day! wow! No more long queues nor waiting for many days...and not ot mention, the officer served us with a smile. Wow

Yippee, mission accomplished #2 - I already got my Malaysian visa! I was whining in my last post about the long queues and hassles of getting my visa but surprise, surprise, the deparment seemed to have change a LOT! We applied for my visa yesterday. We woke up late so, we only got there at about 8:00 am. Normally, we go there by 7am since it's usually packed with people. But to our surprise, there were no queues! My Hubby got the priority number and we got #6025 while they were serving #6019. We just waited for a few minutes and by 9 am we were already out of the building. That was indeed a breakthrough! And when we checked our receipt, my visa will be done the following day! wow! No more long queues nor waiting for many days...and not ot mention, the officer served us with a smile. Wow

If you are a Commonwealth Citizen between ages of 17 and 30, you can do any type of work in UK! Requirements / Conditions You can come to the UK for an extended holiday for up to two years and can take up any form of work. You will be expected to be on holiday for at least part of your time in the UK over two years. You should have planned your employment so that it is an integral part of your working holiday. For example, you may have decided that you wish to spend some time in London and so also wish to find work in London. You should be single, or are married to someone who also qualifies as a working holidaymaker and wish to both be working holidaymakers. You do not have any dependent children who are aged five years or over, or who will be five before the end of the two years a

WASHINGTON—On the heels of Tuesday's announcement by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that it received enough petitions, in just 24 hours, to meet the congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas available for next year, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced today that he and several Senate colleagues are re-introducing legislation to address this urgent problem by

Good Lord… Arab News — US Ambassador Ford Fraker said in Sakaka that his country aims to double the number of student visas issued to Saudis. “Currently there are 15,000 Saudi students in the US,” he said during an event on Sunday with local business leaders to an audience at the Al-Jouf Chamber of Commerce and Industry. [...]

Here’s a simple math exercise for the nimrods in charge of the U.S. State Department. ITEM: From the Times: Yet wealthy Saudis remain the chief financiers of worldwide terror networks. “If I could somehow snap my fingers and cut off the funding from one country, it would be Saudi Arabia,” said Stuart Levey, the US Treasury official in [...]

Here's a simple math exercise for the nimrods in charge of the U.S. War on Terror.ITEM:From the Times:Yet wealthy Saudis remain the chief financiers of worldwide terror networks. “If I could somehow snap my fingers and cut off the funding from one country, it would be Saudi Arabia,” said Stuart Levey, the US Treasury official in charge of tracking terror financing.ITEM:Insurgents reportedly tied to al Qaeda in Iraq considered using student visas to slip terrorists into the United States to orchestrate a new attack on American soil. ABC News, however, has learned new details of what remains a classified incident that has been dealt with at the highest levels of government.Sources tell ABC News that the plot may have involved moving between 10 and 20 suspects believed to be affiliated wi

By Kirubel Tadesse (Capital, Addis ababa) - The Embassy of the United States of America in Addis Ababa has announced that it is to increase the number of visas issued for qualified students accepted by universities in the US for the coming academic year to a record high.According to Paul Cantrell, Consular Chief at the Embassy, getting a student visa in Ethiopia is hardly difficult as anticipated once the student demonstrates academic and financial capacities and completes the necessary applications and procedures.He explained that last year alone, over 650, 000 foreign students were admitted to U.S universities from several countries including Ethiopia.Even if Ethiopia is among the top three African countries which receive highest number of Diversity Visa (DV) lottery visas, official reco

AP - Chinese authorities have stopped issuing multiple-entry visas and slowed visa processing in Hong Kong, a major gateway for travel to the mainland, until after the Beijing Olympics, local travel agents said Tuesday. Original post by nathaniel

Here is a small statistics on H1-B Visas.1998: Quota increased to 115,0002001: Number raised to 195,0002004: Slides to 90,000 due to slowdown2007: Capped at 65,000From 2007 on, it is stagnated to 65k. With the current slowdown in the US, I am afraid they may further drop this number. The US senators have questioned the Indian top companies and MNCs on how effectively they are using their visas. Their worry is that the native are left jobless in the whole process. This time they are looking into it very seriously. hmmm

General rules for entry visas (non-resident) 1. No need for a consular visa, maximum stay up to 90 days. Due to the existence of bilateral agreements, citizens of the following countries can enter the country without a consular visa for a stay of up to 90 days: Germany, Finland, Poland, Uruguay, Argentina, France, Paraguay, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Hungary, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Israel,

I was just about to drive into "SAP Street" in Hyderabad when a banner caught my attention. The banner said "IT Professionals Processing of H1B for job opportunities in US Limited Period Left". I have seen a lot of banners proclaiming that they can train you in anything under the sun but this is the first time that I saw a banner that can get you a job in the US and also get your H1B visa. Well as they say pretty much anything can be done on "SAP Street" from completed project reports that can be submitted as assignments, fake experience letters, Microsoft and other certification exams that can be written in proxy and many more activities that make the birth place of the IT industry in Hyderabad infamous. Copyright Me and My Views by Sudeep DSouza. All Rights Reserved

Foreign visitors will no longer be able to visit Tibet after the withdrawal of visas by China. Hundreds of tourists have already left Tibet and those remaining have been asked to pack and leave within days. The announcement follows the overflow of the Tibetan protest against Chinese rule into the neighbouring province of Sichuan, where Tibetan protestors have taken to the streets for the

Excellent write up on Bill Gate's testimony for the education committee in Washington D.C. I have to say I totally agree with this article. This is visa program has directly effected my life and what it boils down to is these corporation do not want to pay American salaries and benefits when they can outsource the work and get excellent tax breaks from the Bush administration. But gee us dumb Americans just can't seem to do math or science - go figure.

Para reunirse con representantes de Naciones Unidas llegaron a Ginebra las esposas de dos de los cinco antiterroristas cubanos, presos políticos en los Estados Unidos desde hace casi 10 años. Adriana Pérez y Olga Salanueva, espos...

I've been having trouble of late. Nothing serious, maybe just a case of the winter blues, maybe a case of homesickness, and maybe it's some kind of mid (quarter) life crisis, though I thought I was done with those... I think it really comes down to me sorting out what I'm doing.I have dreamed of living in England for as long as I can remember. I don't know why, I can't explain it, even to myself, so I won't try to explain it to you. But here I am, realizing a dream that has been simmering inside of me for half my life, and it just isn't satisfying that itch.I came here, at this point in time, because the opportunity arose. I had some money, nothing going on back home and no idea what to do with myself... so I figured why the hell not? But now I'm starting to ask why?I thought that I would

I pried myself out of bed early to drop off my Visa application at the Indian consulate on Hong Kong Island. The errand afforded me my first trip on the Mass Transit Rail (MTR). I bought an Octopus card which is a renewable debit card for Hong Kong’s public transit system, as well [...]

Biometrics is the technology which captures biological data. It records individual characteristics like fingerprints, voice patterns and measurements of the eyes retinas and irises. In a world where identity theft and other mishaps are common place, authenticity of users is increasingly important, which is where this new biometric technology comes in. Once data is scanned it [...]

For a business trip last March, I needed a visa to get into China. For Americans the fee was 6,000 yen (about $60). For a British colleague, it was 4,000 yen. Different fees paid, we were on our way to Beijing.Well, business and China beckon once again. At the consulate in Osaka the other day, other than a broken copy machine--we all had to run across the street to a Chinese travel agency to have our passport and Japanese identity cards copied--things went smoothly.The woman at the Visa window was even the same young woman as the previous year. After several minutes spent stapling, clipping, and writing up a pink receipt, she told me in heavily accented Japanese, "You can pick up your visa between the dates written here. The fee is 15,000 yen."After a nano-second, I said "Huh?! 11 months a

Earlier I wrote a piece exposing Edwards history for promoting more labor arbitraging guest worker Visas, yet in a recent NPR debate he sounds like he might be realizing Americans are being displaced, or at least is feeling the heat.  This is a good thing, certainly most of Edwards positions are more in line with [...]

Change in English Language Requirements for 457 Visas The former Immigration Minister announced on 1 May 2006 that further improvements would be made regarding English language to ensure temporary skilled workers under 457 visas have at least functional levels of English, subject to consultation with industry. The former Minister noted that this would help to protect both foreign and Australian

A US House and Senate conference committee has approved the Labor-HHS-Education budget bill that combines the proposed budgets for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. The bill will be presented and voted on by Nov. 5.We're still trying to confirm if the proposed recapture of 61,000 Schedule A visas made it through.Update:There's news that the proposed recapture of visas for Schedule A occupations did not survive the conference committee.

Senator Bernie Sanders(I-VT) and Senator Chuck Grassley(R-IA) managed to get a increase in H-1B guest worker Visa fees attached to  H.R. 3043:  Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008.  The Senate adopted by voice vote a Grassley-Sanders amendment, S.AMDT.3325 to the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.  [...]

On Tuesday, the US Senate approved by unanimous voice vote to include Amendment 3449 to the budget appropriations bill of the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education. Amendment 3449, introduced by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, seeks to give 61,000 visas for nurses, physical therapists and their immediate families. Nurses and PTs are part of the Schedule A classification, which states that these occupations are shortage jobs in the US.The approval of the amendment in the Senate is a major victory. The Senate was recently the battleground for the controversial immigration reform bill which was voted down. The appropriations bill will now face a Senate-House conference for the final phase of the legislative process in Congress. If the bill gets through, it will be submitted to President Bush for final review and approval. At both levels, the bill faces very tough challenges. If the bill makes it past the joint conference, the President could still veto the bill and h

Over the past week, two amendments were offered in the US Senate that would recapture unused visas for Schedule A applicants, particularly foreign nurses, and their families. Hammond Law Group, in its Web site, said these amendments could be tackled as early as this week.The first amendment seeks to recapture 61,000 unused visa. This amendment is being attached to the Labor Health and Human Services appropriations bill co-sponsored by Sen. Schumer and Sen. Hutchison.The second amendment seeks to recapture visas not just for Schedule A workers and their family members but also for other Employment-based visa applicants.We hope these amendments get approval and their parent bills later being signed into law.

It wasn’t until I was organizing our travel wallet and looking at our passports when I realized that our visa for Thailand had already expired! Expired by four days! “Oh sh@t!” I explained to Rich what I had discovered, Rich quickly went online and googled the length a tourist visa was in Thailand. Sure enough it was 60 days, that was exactly what we thought. But, as we anxiously read on, we read that we were only stamped with a transit visa, which gave us only 30 days here in Thailand. We will be fined 200 baht each every day until we leave. Ouch!! That turns out to be almost $300 US!! “Now what?” I said. “Well, we could go down to Malaysia for a visa run” Rich replied. Frustrated with myself I said, “How much do you think that will cost?” We scoured the net looking for flights, trains and busses and the approximate prices of each mode of transportation to head to Malaysia to renew our visas. “Wait a minute” Rich said “Do we really want to go so

Next week, the Defense Appropriations bill is going to be attacked with multiple amendments to try to increase H-1B guest worker Visas. These amendments are basically the SKIL act and or the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. Corporate lobbyist written, we are constantly bombarded with this special interest labor arbitrage agenda in every bill that is [...]

I don’t know how it is with you but when I travel I need to organize my visas. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it’s not. Most of the time it’s not really difficult. You simply go to an embassy, fill in a form, leave passport and a few passport photos and you come back in a few days. I have done this over and over again. However, sometimes it’s harder. I remember in Istanbul I had to do wait for my Iranian visa without knowing how long it would take (it turned out to be 5 days), my Pakistan visa was a piece of cake. I even got a 45 days visa instead of the normal 30 days. However, when I was in Islamabad I needed a visa for China. Been there, done that, so I went to the Chinese Embassy and then… well… it was one of those experiences you love to talk about later. Here’s the complete story

Here are a few great articles that deserve a wide audience or at least every United States working Professional should see them. The first is an article in the American Prospect, by Dr. Ron Hira, How “Guestworkers” Promote Outsourcing. In the article, Dr. Hira shows how guest worker Visas, particularly [...]

Over the weekend, I found myself getting into the nitty-gritty travel details tied to entrance requirements for the first few countries on my itinerary. Since the only information I had researched previously on this topic came from the first edition of Rough Guide’s First-Time Around the World (published in 2003), I quickly found entrance requirements and fees had changed in most places. New Zealand New Zealand doesn’t require a Visa for Americans, however from their government website, they appear strict about having proof of onward travel (such as a paid airline ticket, not just proof of funds like a bank statement). As a result, my first plane ticket will be from Washington, DC to Australia, via New Zealand. Australia When I hit up Australia’s Visa and Immigration site, I quickly found that you can apply for an Electronic Travel Authority online, which is like an electronic Visa. There is no charge for the ETA/Visa, however it does require a $20 processing fee

In order to legally live and work in Thailand, we needed to obtain non-immigrant visas before we arrive in Bangkok at the end of July. As you may remember, this entailed obtaining “security clearance” from the US government to confirm that we are not, in fact, wanted criminals. Having received our official Letters of Good Conduct (US$25 each) back in May we were able to apply for our visas last week. Thankfully, the Thai consulate allows you to apply by mail because the idea of standing in line at any sort of government office while I’m supposed to be on vacation was, shall we say, less than attractive to me. So the FedEx envelope went out last Monday (has anyone seen those new re-usable envelopes? Someone over at FedEx sure is smart!) and returned with our passports and visas safely inside yesterday. Success! No little red ropes dictating where I can and can not stand, no angry gesticulating or arguing over the proper forms, no resigning myself to the fact that I hav

If you are heading off on your holidays, remember that you cannot get your exit visa stamped at the Airport any more. Instead you need to go Al Gharaffa immigration, opposite the traffic police where you get your licence.You need to go into the compound to the side of the building, in through Gate 3 and up the stairs to the first floor. Leave the stairs and walk straight ahead to get to the Exit Visas section.If you are a man join a queue and hand over your form. (Women can breeze past the queue and get it done behind the counter.) A minute or so later you will be given a new form, which you must hand over when you leave the country. As before, the exit visa is valid for seven days.This may not be necessary if your employer has a Smart Card. According to this article on e-government your employer should be able to obtain an exit visa for you in seconds. An multiple exit visa is also available, though at a cost of QR500 (the standard exit visa is free).You can print the on-line applicat

Today’s Microsoft announcement of moving some R&D from Redmond to a new center in Vancouver, British Columbia heralds the first wave of corporate reaction to the failure of immigration ‘reform.’ The quote from Redmond’s representative is about as subtle as a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster: The company said the new location will “allow the company to continue to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by the immigration issues in the U. S.” Reinforcement came from Big Blue via the Grey Lady, in which IBM explained to the New York Times they would still need some employees stateside, but moving programming work offshore seems to work just dandy. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. Articles have appeared explaining that India information workers are becoming too expensive, with both the Wall Street Journal and Infoworld sending messages just as unsubtle as the Microsoft missive above. Nobody’s jobs are safe if quarterly earnings could be adjusted by a penny, it

India: “It’s really good once you get it”: The BBC looks at the coveted U.S. H1-B work visa from an Indian Perspective. On Friday, Senators Grassley and Durbin introduced an amendment to the immigration legislation currently in debate to recruit Americans before hiring guest workers. Afghanistan: “We will use all types of weapons and attacks”: The Taliban launches a new operation in Afghanistan against Afghan and International forces. Russia: “We are moving towards totalitarianism”: A peaceful demonstration for gay rights erupted in violence as activists faced attacks from right-wing forces in Moscow. Several West European politicians and activists were arrested. Iraq: “Pornographic sites are easily accessible”: Islamic extremists threaten the Iraqi education ministry’s plans to offer Internet access to students on the grounds that the Internet spreads “vice”. France: “A poignant victory”: 4

It is worth checking whether visa regulations have changed before your trip. Visitors overstaying must pay a fine for every day after the expiry of the visa.Tourist visasA two week visa on arrival is available for the residents of 33 countries including Britain, America, Canada and Australia (see below for full list) at a cost of 55 Riyals. Payment can be made at the immigration desk with Visa, Visa-Electron, Mastercard, Maestro or E-Cash. It can be extended for a further two weeks. A hotel booking or the presence of relatives in the country are required. Two week visas can also be arranged by hotel and tourist operators. A three-week joint tourist visa for Qatar and Oman is available; Qatar must be the first port of entry. This can be extended for a further week.Passports must be valid for six months after the date of return. Exit visas are not required.Full list of countriesVisa on arrival is available for the residents of these countries:Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei,

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) Egypt has decided to issue three-year visas to Indian business visitors in a bid to push bilateral trade and investment ties, Egyptian Ambassador to India Mohamed Higazy announced Wednesday. The announcement was made during an event to sign two pacts to promote bilateral investments and cooperation in tourism between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and the Egyptian government. “Investment ties between the two countries will be promoted via joint ventures, people-to-people contact, creating job opportunities and institutional capacity building at the national and international levels,” a Ficci statement said. Cooperation in tourism will include promotion of heritage sites, joint ventures, investments, knowledge transfer, building of social capital, people-to-people contact and enhancing employability of the youth, the statement added. Indo-Asian News Service

Here is some news regarding the new law thats been introduced, which affects green cards, H1B visas etc.[source MurthyDotCom]Representatives Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and other leading House Democrats and Republicans unveiled the STRIVE Act, a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill, on March 22, 2007. The bill has been enthusiastically received by various governmental, public, and professional organizations, as it purports to provide a comprehensive solution to current shortcomings in the U.S. immigration policy. The full name of this proposed legislation is the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy (STRIVE) Act of 2007.Overview of the STRIVE ActThe STRIVE Act is a piece of comprehensive immigration legislation, much-awaited by almost all segments of U.S. society; ranging from undocumented workers to immigration enforcement agencies. It contains most of the provisions that were introduced in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last year

It looks like the travesty of amnesty to the millions of illegal immigrants that have been flooding our country is going to come throug. Now that President Bush has the Democrats in Congress, the amnesty of the millions of crimonals...

This section very briefly covers the variety of circumstances that may apply and how you might go about moving to France if they apply to you. There are just too many combinations and special circumstances to adequately cover all of the possibilities so hopefully this will give you a feel for how you might ease your transition to France. If you are a visa national (ie a citizen of a country requiring a visa to enter France), then your first hurdle is the French embassy in your country of residence. There are many visa categories but the simplest lie in the areas of family reunification or if you already have a job offer in France. I imagine that for most people the “job offer” option is most likely to apply. Obviously if you already have a job lined up there’s no problem but if you’d like to organise one, see our section on employment coming soon. Finally, don’t forget that if you have parents or grandparents who are Irish or were born in Ireland pre-1922

We covered the very simplest case last week ie that of Europeans from established European countries intending to work. This case is almost as simple but does involve some paperwork. If your spouse is from a country that’s been in Europe for less than four years then transitional arrangements may apply and will almost certainly be applied if there are any as France really loves documentation. As before if you have “sufficient resources” (generally 1000€ a month or more) you are treated as though you were intending to work. If you are from a country which requires a visa to enter France, then you still need to get it from the country in which you are living. However, they aren’t allowed to charge you for it and they can’t refuse it either. Once you reach France, you should go along to the mayor’s office (mairie) in your commun and apply for a Carte de Séjour Européenne. You’ll need to bring along your passport, that of your European spouse

We introduced the various terms involved in the area of visas, residence permits and immigration in our last entry. Now it’s time to take you through the simplest of these.The simplest case of immigration to France is where you are a citizen of one of the established European countries and are coming to France to work as either an employee or for yourself. Established European countries are those that have been in the European Union for more than four years; if it’s been in the union for less than four years then transitional arrangements may apply. This section also applies to you if you are French and if you have dual/multiple nationalities so long as one of those nationalities is European. If this applies to you and all your family, then you just need to come to France and there are no documentation requirements at all beyond those which a French citizen would need to meet. In practical terms, the French must treat you as though you were French and had always been French

Human Rights Council: Sudan Assessment Mission Denied VisasThe United States is deeply disappointed that the Government of Sudan has publicly announced it will not grant visas for the UN Human Rights Council's Assessment Mission to carry out an impartial review of the situation on the ground in Darfur. The United States calls on the Government of Sudan to grant the entire team entry into Sudan to carry out the mandate approved by the Human Rights Council.We support UN Secretary-General Ban's call for the Government of Sudan to grant the assessment mission visas and urge it to live-up to its commitments to resolve the crisis in Darfur.This mission was created by the Human Rights Council at its December 2006 Special Session on Darfur - called for by 63 countries from around the world because of strong concerns about ongoing human rights atrocities in Darfur.The members of the mission represent all regions of the world, chosen by the President of the Human Rights Council on the basis of