Auto unions' strike affects work in Gurgaon factoriesOctober 20th, 2009 GURGAON - About 80,000 workers from 60-odd companies in this industrial hub stayed away from work Tuesday to protest the death of a worker in an automobile firm here. Work was affected in many companies in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt as workers did not turn up Tuesday morning.
Australian degrees: Would you like a visa with that?October 17th, 2009 SYDNEY - Coupling paper qualifications with green cards has helped turn Australia's higher education sector into an industry bigger than tourism. Linking diplomas with permanent residency visas has helped draw in almost 500,000 foreign students and annual revenues of 15 billion Australian dollars ($12 billion).
From a trickle to a flood, 2.5 million Indians make US their homeOctober 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Stating with no more than 700 persons moving from India to the US between 1820 and 1900, the ethnic Indian community in America has grown to 2.5 million in 2007, according to a new report. The report, Emigration, Immigration, and Diaspora Relations in India, released Friday by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, DC also shows that at 2.5 million, the community's size in the US is nearly double of that in the UK and more than 2.5 times as large as the one in Canada.
All work and little pay, facilities for Games workersOctober 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - It's going to be one of the biggest sporting events to be held in India and preparations for the Commonwealth Games next year are going full swing. But for the thousands of construction workers at the Games sites, it is a story of woes - inadequate wages and no basic amenities like toilets and water.
US lawmakers launch fresh effort for immigration reformOctober 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A group of left-leaning US lawmakers hoped to reignite efforts to overhaul the country's immigration system with a rally Tuesday of activists and religious leaders from around the country. The question of how to deal with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US has plagued Congress for years.
Foreign national pleads guilty to role in massive Kansas City human trafficking ringOctober 7th, 2009 Moldovan pleads guilty in human trafficking caseKANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Moldovan, one of 12 people charged in a massive racketeering scheme, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to one count of forced labor trafficking, and agreed to cooperate with the government.
Unionization efforts lead to tensions among farmers in eastern Washington stateOctober 7th, 2009 Washington farm workers push for unionizationPASCO, Wash. — The nation's largest farm worker union has filed a lawsuit on behalf of 10 eastern Washington dairy farmers who contend they've been fired for trying to unionize.
Nepal arrests Tibetan leaders under Beijing pressureOctober 1st, 2009 KATHMANDU - Nepal police Thursday arrested Tibetans from different parts of the capital as authorities began a crackdown on refugee leaders under pressure from Beijing to prevent protests coinciding with China's 60th anniversary celebrations. Police arrested nearly 50 Tibetans and sent them to detention centres.Though seven people were released, 38 were sent to police lockups to prevent demonstrations before the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu and other public places.
Indian concerns on visas to Kashmiris conveyed to ChinaOctober 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Thursday conveyed its well-justified concern to the Chinese government over the issue of separate visas to Indian passport holders from Jammu and Kashmir. "It is our considered view and position that there should be no discrimination against visa applicants of Indian nationality on grounds of domicile or ethnicity, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said here.
Farm workers, organizations hope suit will bring NM ag laborers under workers' comp coverageSeptember 25th, 2009 NM ag laborers sue for workers' comp coverageALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico dairy worker Joe Griego says the worst part of being attacked by a bull at work has been finding out his injuries aren't covered by state workers' compensation benefits.
Abolish visas, demand Sikh pilgrims to PakistanSeptember 22nd, 2009 LAHORE - Over 350 Sikh devotees from India, who arrived in this Pakistani city to attend the death anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, have urged Islamabad and New Delhi to abolish visas for pilgrims. The Sikh devotees, who are travelling under the aegis of India's Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee, arrived here Monday and would be visiting Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib situated in Narowal district of Pakistan.
Bellingham, Wash., business owners avoid prison time in closely watched immigration caseSeptember 21st, 2009 No prison for business owners in immigration caseSEATTLE — Two owners of a Bellingham, Wash., company won't have to go to prison for hiring undocumented workers, but the business must pay a $100,000 fine. A guilty plea was entered Monday in U.S.
American dream burns bright, new visa section opensSeptember 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With over half a million Indians going to the US, Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer Monday opened a new consular section at the US embassy here that will smoothen the process of getting American visas and and cement people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Register before Dec 2, New Zealand tells immigration advisersSeptember 14th, 2009 HAMILTON - New Zealand immigration advisers based in other countries should submit their application before Dec 2 for getting a licence, an official said Monday. Barry Smedts, registrar of immigration advisers, Monday said: "We are keen to get as many applications in as early as possible, because our experience with the onshore licensing process showed that many advisers leave it to the last minute to apply."
"People who are currently working as immigration advisers should be aware by now that Immigration New Zealand will refuse to accept applications lodged by applicants using an unlicensed immigration adviser, and this will include advisers whose licence application is in the pipeline," he added.
New Zealand makes licence mandatory for immigration advisersSeptember 7th, 2009 HAMILTON - New Zealand has made it mandatory for immigration consultants to get a licence. A stiff penalty, including up to seven years' imprisonment, will be imposed on violators.
