WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US President Donald Trump's administration unveiled a new rule on Monday (Aug 12) that could deny permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of people for being too poor. The long-anticipated rule, pushed by Trump's leading anti-immigration aide Stephen Miller, takes effect in mid-October and would reject applicants for temporary or permanent visas for failing to meet income standards or for receiving public assistance such as welfare, food stamps, public housing or Medicaid. Such a change would ensure that immigrants "are self-sufficient", in that they "do not depend on public resources to meet their needs, but rather rely on their own capabilities, as well as the resources of family members, sponsors, and private organisations," a notice published in the Federal Register said. This could be the most drastic of all the Trump administration's anti-immigration policies, experts have said. Advocates for immigrants have criticised the plan as an effort to cut … [Read more...] about New US rule could disqualify half of visa applicants
Ph china visa application
US to continue processing immigrant visa applications – envoy
US to continue processing immigrant visa applications – envoy Janvic Mateo (The Philippine Star) - June 17, 2019 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — United States Ambassador Sung Kim has assured Filipinos that the US government would continue to process immigrant visa applications despite the closure of the local office of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) in Manila. “The only reason why it is closing is that many of the forms that are filed with US CIS are online. There’s really no need to have overseas presence,” Kim said in an interview on “The Chiefs” aired on Cignal TV’s One News on Friday night. “US CIS office closing is purely for administrative reasons,” he added. Kim said the closure of the office did not in any way affect the processing of immigrant visa applications for Filipino citizens. “There’s been no change in how we process … [Read more...] about US to continue processing immigrant visa applications – envoy
New US visa application requires your social media information
In an eye-rolling extension of “all your base is belong to us” totalitarianism, applying for a US visa now involves giving up your social media information. While most people probably don’t need a social media cleaning service to sanitise their shitposts, the new system also asks “most” applicants for five years’ worth of previous email addresses and phone numbers. Travelling to the US these days is stressful enough as a non-citizen, but this is just getting more and more cringeworthy. With regard to Asia, if you’re not from Singapore, Brunei, Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan, chances are you’ll need a visa to enter the land of the free. Platforms on the drop-down menu include a plethora of Chinese social media companies, including Tencent’s Sina and Weibo, Youku, Douban, Russia’s Vkontakte (ВКонтактe), and even Reddit and LinkedIn. MySpace, which has been dead for some time, is … [Read more...] about New US visa application requires your social media information
South Korea to ease visa application requirements for Filipinos
South Korea to ease visa application requirements for Filipinos (Philstar.com) - June 2, 2019 - 6:12pm MANILA, Philippines— As the Philippines and South Korea celebrated the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on Sunday, the South Korean envoy to the Philippines said Seoul will relax the requirements for Filipinos who want to visit. Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-Man said the embassy would cut down the number of documents needed for visa applications, especially for qualified professionals, media, and government workers. "For qualified people such the business people, media people, of course, and government officers, we give them a multiple visa at least five years or 10 years with one single document saying that I'm working in this company," Han was quoted as saying on Sunday. "Any Filipino for visit to Korea [will be] entitled to get multiple-entry visa. Among the [Association of … [Read more...] about South Korea to ease visa application requirements for Filipinos
US demands social media details from visa applicants
Nearly all applicants for US visas will have to submit their social media details under new rules by the State Department. The State Department regulations say people will have to submit social media names and five years' worth of email addresses and phone numbers. When proposed last year, authorities estimated the proposal would affect 14.7 million people annually. Certain diplomatic and official visa applicants will be exempt from the stringent new measures. However, people travelling to the US to work or to study will have to hand over their information, the BBC reported. "We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our screening processes to protect US citizens, while supporting legitimate travel to the United States," the department reportedly said. Previously, only applicants who needed additional vetting - such as people who had been to parts of the world controlled by terrorist groups - would need to hand over this data. But now applicants will have to give up their … [Read more...] about US demands social media details from visa applicants