No change likely in US immigration policy

Indian IT companies will need to be content with the existing visa options for the United States as the US Congress, the country’s highest lawmaking body, is not likely to take up the issue of immigration reforms in the short-term.
Presently, Indian and multinational technology firms primarily rely on H1B and L1 visas for sending Indian passport-holding employees to work temporarily in the US. However, this practice has recently come under review as the American government attempts at protecting the employment opportunities for its domestic workforce, which is reeling under the impact of the slowdown.
Though the Barack Obama-led administration is interested in undertaking certain modifications to the existing visa regime, changes to the immigration policy will require an amendment to the existing legislation, US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Janice L Jacobs said.
“Reforming the immigration policy was under consideration by the earlier (George W. Bush) administration and is something that the US Congress will take up sometime in the future. We don't know when this will happen but President Obama is interested in the matter,” Jacobs said.
While the US Congress has been debating over health care reforms that Obama wants to push through, climate change could be the next issue of discussion that the legislative body takes up, she explained.
After facing criticism from certain sections of US lawmakers for allegedly misusing visas, Nasscom — the Indian IT industry’s apex body — had recommended the introduction of a service visa or work permit allowing foreign nationals to visit the country with relation to their jobs for a temporary period.

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NVARSappointment.com

US government lifts the 22-year old ban on travellers who are HIV+

The 22-year-old ban on people infected with HIV entering the US has been officially lifted on the 2nd of November, with the new rules taking effect in 60 days. AIDS activists around the world have hailed the move as a major coup in the fight against the stigma.
"This comes as very good news for us," said Michael Angaga, regional coordinator for the Network of African People Living with HIV/AIDS.
"For so long HIV-positive people have felt isolated by one of the greatest nations in the world, which should be spearheading human rights." Angaga said he looked forward to seeing the new rules rapidly implemented in US embassies around the world.
In 1987 HIV was added to the list of communicable diseases that could prevent infected immigrants, students and tourists from obtaining visas to enter the US without special permission. President Barack Obama's announcement on the 30th of October marked the end of a process started in 2008 by then US President George W. Bush, who signed a law repealing these restrictions.
"We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic, yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people from HIV from entering our own country. If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it," Obama was reported as saying.
Samuel Kibanga, national coordinator of the National Forum of People living with HIV/AIDS Networks in Uganda, commented: "This shows that America can now see the reality that people living with HIV are just like any other people, deserving of the right to free movement - the travel ban was discrimination of the highest calibre."
The UNAIDS International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights state that any restriction on liberty of movement or choice of residence based on suspected or real HIV status alone, including HIV screening of international travellers, is discriminatory.
Governments usually give two main reasons for imposing travel restrictions on HIV-positive people: to help control the spread of HIV, and save host countries the cost of HIV-related treatment, but Kibanga said these regulations merely drove the problem of HIV underground.
"People fear to reveal their status when travelling. It is better to be with someone who feels free to be open about their status than one who is hiding it," he said. "That way we can all fight AIDS as partners."
A June 2009 report by watchdog organization Human Rights Watch, found that immigration laws and stringent requirements for accessing free health care often created insurmountable barriers to the treatment and care for migrants living with HIV.
Kibanga said he hoped that the US's move would serve as an example to other nations that have similar travel restrictions. According to UNAIDS, 59 countries impose some form of travel restrictions on people living with HIV.

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NVARSappointment.com