6-8 Indians Imprisoned For Indulging In Immigration Fraud November 11, 2019 17:05
In January 2015, the ICE in Michigan set up Farmington University to partly monitor and bring out immigration frauds. They found out that there are International students who are illegally staying in the US by getting admission at Farmington University.As per the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 6-8 Indians from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been a part of this, 6 are in jail and 2 others will be put in jail as well.Khalid Walls, the Northeast regional communications director/spokesman of the ICE interacted with Times of India and quoted “ All eight of the defendants have pleaded guilty”. Additionally, he mentioned, “ They will be deported to India following their prison terms”.From Fermont, Santosh Sama has been sent to jail for 24 months. Barath Kakireddy and Suresh Kandala are going to be in prison for 18 months. Avinash Thakkallapally for 15 months, Aswanth Nune and Naveen Prathipati for 12 months.Besides, Prem Rapeesa will be put in jail on November 19th and Phanideep Karnati will be sentenced in January 2020. The defendants were aware that the school didn’t have classes and they kept their students a secret from the US immigration authorities, out of which they earned a little more of this scheme.This fraudulent practice had been going on from February 2017 to January 2019. They deceived the Immigration authorities and none of the participants came from their home country and took admission in the school. They were aware of the rules being non-immigrant students.By Neha Makhija
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Hindi Is The Most Spoken Indian Language In The United States October 31, 2019 13:00
With recent reports, Hindi is regarded as the most abundantly spoken Indian language followed by Gujarati and Telugu. If the exact numbers are to be suggested, it was said that there were around 8.74 lakh Hindi speakers in the US as of July 01st, 2018. The same is believed to have been increased by 1.3% from 2017.Over the decade, the numbers of speakers have increased by 2.65 lakhs which includes a rise of 43.5%. But, the report also suggested that in terms of the percentage increase, the same was quite outstripped by the Telugu speakers which rose from 79.5% between the years of 2010 and 2018. According to the American Community Survey data for 2018, it showed from the reports of the US Census Bureau that around 67.3 million residents in the United States, over the age of 5 speak a different language at home other than just English. Furthermore, it suggested that a portion of the population, around 21.9% of the population do speak a foreign language apart from English at home. The number of people speaking Bengali rose to 68% including around 3.75 lakh people which is a lot that increased over the eight year period. The same was followed by Tamil which included 67.5% and included around 3.01 lakh people in the United States. But, the notable fact in this was the fact that people aside from India also do speak some of these languages. Like, people from Bangladesh speak Bengali and even the people from Sri Lanka do speak Tamil.The immigration experts do suggest that the sudden spike in the Bengali speaking residents in the US could also be because of the increased flow of people into the country from Bangladesh. On the contrary, the people speaking Telugu and Gujarati have actually dipped a bit between the year of 2017 and 2018. The Gujarati speakers in the country amounted to around 4.19 lakh which has reduced by 3.5% over the year. In addition to that, the number of Telugu speakers was also around 4 lakh which further experienced quite a drop in comparison to the year before.But, when the figures from 2010 and 2018 are compared, there was a steep rise in the number of Telugu speakers in US from 2.23 lakh to 4 lakh mainly because of the fact that majority of the IT and tech employees come from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.The downside with the US Censor Board is that they don’t provide country specific statics. So, when it came round to the Urdu and Punjabi speaking provinces, the same was attributed to hail more from Pakistan instead of India. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, they suggest that the number of people speaking a different language other than English at home in US has doubled since 1990 and has tripled since 1980. It also suggests that around 48% of the people in America’s top 5 cities speak a different language at home other than English. When CIS further conducted a better insightful study around on the kind of languages that people speak at home aside from English, Hindi secured the fifth position with 2.65 lakh speakers. CIS has time and time suggested that immigrants learn English so as to ensure better assimilation with the culture and the crowd of the US.English isn’t a very problematic language for majority of the Indians around which further makes it a lot easier to tackle through the shortcomings better in a different nation. It suggests that 80% of the Indians who can speak their native language can speak English quite fluently as well.-Somapika Dutta
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Indian-Origin Environmentalists Launch Campaign In UAE October 11, 2019 14:43
The growing threat to the environment and climate is on the rise. With Greta Thunberg leading the way to mitigate the global climate crisis, men and women alike from across the world are joining hands to provide a better future for the coming generation. Addressing this, the Indian Ladies Association (ILA) which is an UAE based community welfare body has recently launched a year long campaign to contribute their part to protecting and preserving the environment. They are working on a series of initiatives. Some of them include the collection of the discarded papers, e-waste, cleaning of the beaches as well as afforestation. The same is going to be held in Abu Dhabi.In one of the conducted interviews by the Gulf News, the President of ILA, Sunita Wagle said that they have collected over 500 kg of paper from the community. The same included the basic magazine papers to office papers, books, notebooks, paper bags and even the newspaper copies. The main objective of ILA is to fire through sustainable environment associated programs and campaigns and creates social awareness in the designated community every month. The same would go on to happen throughout the year while educating people about the importance of saving the environment and seeking their participation in making this an even greener place. Wagle further shared saying that they have the motto to launch their plantation program by the end of October which will focus on encouraging people to plant more of the ghaf as well as neem trees. Following the planting of the trees, the organization will also take care of the irrigation as well. ILA does provide a platform for the community to take the much needed step forward to bring forth changes and better impacts on the environment and reverse the negative impacts of climate change as well. Not just the elite class, the ILA is also focused around educating the labourers as well. They are going to visit many of the labour camps to give saplings as part of their campaign as well.By Somapika Dutta
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Over 4,700 Women Abandoned by NRI Husbands in Last 10 Years September 27, 2019 17:11
Despite sparing no effort to raise awareness, the Indian ministry is still receiving a slew of cases from women against their NRI husbands, who abandoned them quite soon after walking down the aisle. In the last 10 years, the National Commission for Women (NCW) received more than 4,700 complaints with the highest number of grievances from Indian states Punjab and Delhi, NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said on Thursday. With regard to country-wise statistics, Sharma said the highest number of complaints have been received on Non-Resident Indian (NRI) husbands living in the United States, followed by Australia and Canada. As many as 1,105 complaints have been received on NRI husbands from the U.S., 378 on Australian and 326 on Canadian, she said. In the past 10 years, the highest number of complaints were received early this year at 750, followed by 582 this year. Altogether, a total of 4,779 complaints have been received in the last 10 years. Read: Marry and Abandon: Victims of NRI Tricksters Still Fighting for Justice Approximately 13.92 percent of complaints were received from New Delhi at 665, followed by 10 percent of complaints received from Punjab at 479. On that account, the National Commission for Women chairperson brought to the fore the need to increase awareness among families to carry out a thorough background research of the man they are looking for their daughter to get married. She said it is better to prevent such a marriage and for that, there must be awareness among people that they do a proper background search. Moreover, it is also important for a family to change a long-established perception in regard to marrying their daughter to an NRI. Sharma said women are increasingly coming forward to make a complaint against their perfidious NRI husbands with NRI cell of the commission. By Sowmya Sangam
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U.S. Firms Move Jobs to India Owing to Visa Curbs September 26, 2019 12:11
The stringent H-1B visa rules are affecting Indian immigrants in the United States extensively. A research paper by an academic revealed that the move to impose limits on H-1B visas by the successive American government…
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NRIs to Get Aadhaar on Arrival Without 182-Day Wait September 24, 2019 12:09
The Indian government issued a notification saying Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) with valid Indian passport can apply for Aadhaar on arrival, without the 182-day waiting period. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has released the circular stating that NRI after their arrival India, shall be entitled to obtain Aadhaar number. Stating that the modalities for application remain more or less unchanged, a UIDAI source said that non-resident Indians with Indian passport can now apply for biometric ID on arrival or by fixing a time for a prior appointment, thus getting rid of the requirement for a mandatory 182-day waiting period.As per circular released by UIDAI on Monday, a valid Indian passport will be accepted as proof of identity, proof of address (PoA) and date of the birth document. In case NRI's passport does not contain Indian address, they shall be allowed to submit any of the other UIDAI-approved PoA documents as proof of address. Financial Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech on July 5 said she is considering issuing Aadhaar card for non-resident Indians with Indian passports after their arrival in India without the specified waiting period.By Sowmya Sangam
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Indian Origin Scientists, Technocrats to Work for Country’s Growth September 23, 2019 14:22
Indian origin scientists and technocrats residing in foreign countries will come together on Global Indian Scientists and Technocrats (GIST) Forum, created by Vijnana Bharati, a common platform to share their ideas for inclusive development of India.GIST forum has recently constituted GIST-USA chapter to link the scientists and technocrats of Indian origin working in the United States. The forum will provide a chance to the scientists and technocrats to come together and hold discussions on multiple issues such as the impact of global warming on whole world and India and what will be a possible solution to the problems on way to inclusive development of India.Speaking on the sidelines of the event, ‘A dialogue between Vedic and the modern sciences’ at IIT-BHU, national organizing secretary, Vijnana Bharati, Jayat Sahasrabuddhe said that GIST forum’s USA chapter has been set up recently to connect Indian origin United States-based scientists and technocrats to make them share their ideas on various topics, including swadeshi sciences - Astronomy, Astrology And Ayurveda - at the GIST forum. They would also suggest possible and feasible solutions to the problems like growing air pollution and water pollution among others, he said.Saying that GIST forum will be set up in different countries across the globe, he said it will also help nurture Swadeshi sciences like Ayurveda, Astrology and Khagol Shashtra among many.Sahasrabuddhe said many Indian origin scientists were working in the area of Swadeshi sciences but they work at different locations on an individual basis and different places. During discussions at the forum, they get to know about works of one another. He added that this GIST forum is an effort under which they are trying to utilize the experience of the scientists and technocrats for the growth and development of the country with a focus on nurturing the Swadeshi sciences. He said that dialogue between Vedic and modern science is a must in order that both may benefit and enrich one another.He said that Vijnana Bharati has plans to organize such sessions in other universities and institutions also and it already organized several such workshops where a number of noted scientists and technocrats participated together.By Sowmya Sangam
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Ease Immigration Policies for Foreign Grads: Think Tank Urges U.S. September 21, 2019 15:57
Besides removing restrictions on H-1B visas, the United States-based think tank has urged the Trump administration to offer green cards to students with advanced U.S. degrees to boost the country’s effort to compete against China …
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Indian Americans Support Dual Citizenship: Survey September 19, 2019 12:18
A survey revealed that Indian Americans overwhelmingly are in the favor of dual citizenship from the Indian government whereas Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) prefer proxy voting instead of direct postal ballots. The survey, compiled by Foundation…
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Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders May Soon Be Forced out of Work September 18, 2019 14:15
The proposal by the Trump administration to terminate the rights of H-4 visa holders, spouses of H-1B visa holders, may not be implemented until next year. The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday…
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Indian American Couple’s $200mn Plan to Transform Healthcare in India September 17, 2019 10:39
An Indian American doctor couple, Kiran Patel and Pallavi Patel, has teamed up with the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) to advance healthcare in Florida and internationally to underserved communities in India and Africa with an initial investment of $200 million. Zambia-born India-educated cardiologist Kiran Patel and his India-born pediatrician wife Pallavi Patel have already acquired 50 hectares of land near Bharuch, Gujarat, the western region of India, to set up the medical college effectively. The Patels are planning to visit India in October to discuss their project with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that is said to transform healthcare in India with technological advancements and efficiently trained doctors. (Image source from: New Indian Express)In the meantime, the NSU on Saturday opened a brand new campus in Clearwater, near Tampa. Eventually, the couple is working towards setting up three medical colleges in rural areas, wherein students will be trained and two of these medical colleges are said to offer Indian degrees with one offering a United States degree. Read: Why Indians with Foreign MBBS Fail to Get Licensed in Home Country Kiran Patel said that approvals were being sought for the use of acquired agricultural land for non-agricultural grounds followed by a necessary approval from the Medical Council of India to set up a college. Asked if recent changes in the law to improve access to quality and affordable medical education in India would be helpful to his plans, he said that "only time will tell". My hope is the new organization will be expeditious in their decisions and would not put unnecessary roadblocks in the path. Lectures will be directed from Tampa to classes at the planned college in India with live interaction with professors, he added. (Image source from: The Universal News Network)Later, American professors would be positioned in India and Indian professors brought will be brought to the U.S. to sort of train the trainers to academically produce students of the same caliber as those graduating in the U.S.Subsequently, the college will be accredited with American bodies to start residency in India. Indian students coming to the U.S. will be aware of how a world-class institution works and Indian doctors will get an insight into modern healthcare.Noting that students, residents, and post-graduates will start providing services when the college opens, Kiran Patel said the move would solve the crisis of paucity of healthcare in India. Once the India project gets going, Kiran Patel plans to extend his operations in Africa and achieve his desire to start with Zambia, the land of his birth, he said.Currently, there are two Nova institutions in the U.S. named after the Patels producing 625 graduates whereas India providing another 300. According to Kiran Patel, the ultimate goal of the Indian American doctor duo is to produce doctors all around the world to come forward and help people in a potentially 'borderless' world.By Sowmya Sangam
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Good News for Indians in Oman! Design Logo and Win Free Trip to India September 11, 2019 18:47
In an impressive move, the Indian Embassy in Oman said it is offering a 25-day, all expenses paid a trip to India to the winner of its logo designing contest for its ‘Know India’ program.…
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