Of recent times, there have been numerous websites which are not authorized by the Government of India and have been soliciting e-visa seekers to apply for a visa through their online portal against a service fee thus leading to compromising an applicant’s personal information.  In this regard, the Ministry of Tourism, India issued a travel […]

The Bureau of Immigration, India has announced the launch of ‘E-Services’ for all foreign nationals residing within the jurisdictions of the following Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs): Mumbai FRRO; Delhi FRRO; Bengaluru FRRO; and Chennai FRRO This means that various visa services including in-country registration and visa extensions must now be completed via an online procedure, eliminating […]

The Polish government recently with effect from January 1, 2018, implemented the following changes to laws pertaining to work permit applications. These changes have been explained below:  Employers are required to provide new additional documentation; Modifications in Type B work permit requirements; Additional requirements entrusted to nationals of six neighbouring countries; Provision of new seasonal […]

Changes in the Immigration Regime in India as on March 2018 The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recently made several amendments to the immigration regime in India.  Some of the important changes are provided below. Modified Visa Cancellation Policy  If a foreign national wishes to avail of a short duration visa (conference visa, transit […]

International Women’s Day is a worldwide event that celebrates womens’ achievements while calling for gender equality at the same time.   LawQuest is a law firm unlike most others, where a majority of our team members are women.   To commemorate this day, LawQuest hosted an intimate get together for women – form the legal fraternity and […]

On March 20, 2018, the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) announced that premium processing will be suspended for H-1B cap petitions for all FY 2019 cap-subject petitions, including individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. However, H-1B petitions not subject to the cap, such as H-1B extensions and amendments, can continue using […]

On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed the bill giving EB-5 Investor Visa Program an extension till September 30, 2018. Investors can file the petition to obtain a green-card before September 30, 2018 by investing $ 500,000 in Targeted Investment Area. After the expiration of the said period, the minimum amount to be invested is […]

The USCIS (The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), which is the federal agency that runs the H-1B program has opened its window to accept H-1B visa petitions for the fiscal year 2019 from April 2, 2018.  The H-1B visa has an annual numerical limit of 65,000 visas under the regular cap and 20,000 visas […]

The Trump administration is seeking to change the visa application rules for both non-immigrants and immigrants by requesting them to submit details of their previous phone numbers, email addresses, social media histories and international travel historyfor the past five years.  If the proposed new rule is approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), […]

The USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) has announced on April 6, 2018, that the H-1B cap limit for the fiscal year 2019 has been reached. This applies to both the 65,000 regular H-1B cap limit as well as the 20,000-advanced degree (masters) cap exemptions.  The window was open for a period of five days […]