White House to Iran: No visa for UN envoy pick

WASHINGTON: The United States, in a rare diplomatic rebuke, will not grant a visa to Tehran's pick for envoy to the United Nations, the Obama administration said Friday.

The move could complicate efforts to thaw the decades-long diplomatic freeze between the US and Iran, as the two countries negotiate a deal to curb Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

President Barack Obama's administration had previously said only that it opposed the nomination of Hamid Aboutalebi, who was a member of the group responsible for the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran as a revolution erupted in Iran. US officials had hoped the issue could be resolved by Tehran simply withdrawing the nomination.

That did not happen, so the US made the unusual, if not unprecedented, move to not grant a visa to a U.N. ambassadorial nominee.

"We've communicated with the Iranians at a number of levels and made clear our position on this - and that includes our position that the selection was not viable," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "Our position is that we will not be issuing him a visa."

Aboutalebi is alleged to have participated in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during the takeover. His nomination has outraged members of Congress, who passed a bill barring entry to the US to an individual found to be engaged in espionage, terrorism or a threat to national security.

Carney would not say whether Obama would sign the bill but said the president shares its sentiments.

United Nations officials had no immediate comment on the US decision.

US receives 172,000 H1B visa petitions, lottery decides fate

The U.S., which received more than 172,000 applications for the H-1B visas, has conducted a computerised draw of lots to determine who all would be given the most sought after work visas that are highly popular among IT professionals from countries like India.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted the computerised draw of lots to select the Congressionally mandated 65,000 applicants, who would receive the H-1B visas.

The USCIS, in a statement, said it also conducted draw of lots for Congressional mandated 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption.

“USCIS received about 172,500 H-1B petitions during the filing period which began April 1, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption,” the federal agency said.

“On April 10, USCIS completed a computer-generated random selection process, or lottery, to select enough petitions to meet the 65,000 general-category cap and 20,000 cap under the advanced degree exemption,” it said.

For cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, USCIS will reject and return the petition with filing fees, unless it is found to be a duplicate filing.

The USCIS conducted the selection process for the advanced degree exemption first.

All advanced degree petitions not selected then became part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit, the federal agency said.

However, the USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap.

Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap will not be counted towards the congressionally mandated fiscal 2015 H-1B cap.

US plans to allow spouse of H-1B visa holder to work

Spouses of H-1B visa holders with technical skills may be allowed to work in the United States under a new initiative by the Obama administration to attract the best and brightest from across the world.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon publish several proposed rules that will make the U.S. more attractive for talented foreign entrepreneurs and other high-skill immigrants who will contribute substantially to the U.S. economy, create jobs, and enhance American innovative competitiveness, the White House said in a statement.

“These proposed regulations include rules authorising employment for spouses of certain high-skill workers on H-1B visas, as well as enhancing opportunities for outstanding professors and researchers,” it said on Monday.

“These measures build on continuing DHS efforts to streamline, eliminate inefficiency, and increase the transparency of the existing immigration system, such as by the launch of Entrepreneur Pathways, an online resource centre that gives immigrant entrepreneurs an intuitive way to navigate opportunities to start and grow a business,” it said.

From the statement, it appears that spouses of H-1B visas are unlikely to get a blanket approval to work in the U.S. Only certain categories of spouses of such visa holders, mainly from the science and tech category, are likely to get the nod.

Medical Visa not required in cases of Surrogacy for OCIs & PIOs

Union Home Ministry issued an order on 6 March 2014 saying that an Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) can visit India without a medical visa for commissioning surrogacy. This facility will be applicable for those couples who are married for at least two years and will only require permission only from the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) or the Foreigners’ Registration Office (FRO).

The notification also says that the Indian couples will have to fulfill
• The foreign man and woman are duly married and the marriage should have sustained at least for two years.
• A letter from the Embassy of the foreign country in India or the Foreign Ministry of the country should be enclosed with the visa application stating clearly that
a) The country recognizes surrogacy and
b) The child/children to be born to the commissioning couple through the Indian surrogate mother will be permitted entry into their country as biological child/children of the couple commissioning surrogacy.
• The couple will furnish an undertaking that they would take care of the child/children born through surrogacy.
• The treatment should be done only at one of the registered ART (reproductive technology) clinics recognized by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
• The couple should produce a duly notarised agreement between the applicant couple and the prospective Indian surrogate mother.

It also says that the couple will also have to provide an undertaking that mentions that the couple will take care of the child.

Other provisions mentioned in the order for carrying out surrogacy are
• The permission and certificates for commissioning surrogacy and liabilities of the surrogate mother have been settled will be required before granting exit to the child. The confirmation will be required from FRRO/FRO and the office will retain a copy of the birth certificate  

The notification has also mentioned that this facility will not be applied for foreigners and they will have to obtain a medical visa. It also mentions that a wife of a foreign national or OCI/PIO cardholder not involved in the treatment may not require a specific medical visa

Person of Indian Origin (PIO)
The new PIO Card Scheme, 2002, is in operation since 15 September 2002 and it defines the guidelines for being issued a PIO Card and they include
• He/She had any time held an Indian passport
• He/She or either of his/her parents or grandparents or great grandparents was born in India or permanent resident in India provided neither was at any time a citizen of any other specific country
• He/She is a spouse of a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin covered less than 1 & 2 above
• Iranian nationals of Indian Origin can be granted PIO card after MHA approval.

Foreigners holding PIO cards
• The foreigners holding PIO cards can gain entry into India if valid PIO card is presented along with the valid new foreign passport issued in lieu of the passport endorsed on the PIO card.
• However the foreigners are advised to have necessary endorsement of the new passport from the competent authority on their PIO cards to avoid any inconvenience.

A person of Indian origin, who is not a citizen of any of these countries, namely
a) Pakistan
b) Bangladesh
c) Sri Lanka
d) Bhutan
e) Afghanistan
f) China
g) Nepal

Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)
Foreigners of Indian origin (except Pakistan and Bangladesh) are eligible to apply under OCI scheme, if he/she possesses evidence of self or parents or grandparents:
• Being eligible to become a citizen of India at the time of commencement of Indian Constitution i.e. 26 January 1950
• Belonging to a territory that became a part of India after 15 January 1947
• Being a citizen of India on or after 26 January 1950