No more work gaps for spouses with H-4, L-2 visas

No more work gaps for spouses with H-4, L-2 visas

Lubna.Kably@timesgroup.com

12.11.2021

Thousands of spouses of non-immigrant visa holders such as H-1B and L-1 (held by those on intra-company transfers) will no longer have to fear employment gaps and resultant financial hardship, owing to delays in processing of their employment authorisation documents (EADs).

Dependants such as the spouse of an L-1 visa holder are issued a L-2 visa. H-4 visas are held by dependents, including the spouses of H-1B visa holders.

In a settlement agreement that was issued on Wednesday, pursuant to a class-action suit filed by 15 plaintiffs (majority of them being Indian spouses) against the department of homeland security (DHS), L-2 visa holders will enjoy automatic work authorisation ‘incident to status’. In other words, this means that spouses of those who are deputed to US on intra-company transfers will no longer have to apply for work authorisation prior to working in America.

Under the settlement with DHS’ immigration agency US Citizenship and Immigrant Services (USCIS), nearly a lakh Indian spouses of H-1B visa holders with employment authorisation documents (EADs) will get an automatic work extension for up to a maximum of six months. A detailed guidance note from the USCIS is expected in the coming weeks. An acute backlog in processing of EAD applications, which took upward of ten months, meant that many spouses who were gainfully employed, or even those who were self-employed (ranging from dentists to freelance graphic designers) found they could no longer work. Many, including those holding jobs in the technology sector, lost their jobs as their employers could not wait for months till their EAD was adjudicated. The problem was compounded because an EAD can be filed by an H-4 visa holder only six months prior to the expiry date of the current work authorisation document.

The settlement reverses a USCIS policy that prohibited H-4 spouses from benefiting from automatic extension of their employment authorisation during the pendency of standalone EAD applications. Under the terms of the settlement, H-4 visa holders who timely file their EAD renewals will qualify for an extension of up to 180 days.

Jesse Bless, AILA director of federal litigation, said: “Today marks a historic change for L-2 spouses who will now enjoy work authorisation incident to status. AILA’s membership has long advocated for the correct statutory interpretation and we’re delighted to have reached this agreement, which includes relief for H-4 spouses, through our litigation efforts.”

Under a settlement with USCIS, nearly one lakh Indian spouses of H-1B visa holders with employment authorisation documents will get an automatic work extension for up to a maximum of six months

Common entrance test for 41 central univs from next year

Common entrance test for 41 central univs from next year

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:12.11.2021

Shelved in 2021 due to the pandemic, the Union education ministry is finalising the details of the Central University Common Entrance Test (CUCET) to be conducted from 2022 for 41 central universities.

According to ministry sources, the details will be announced by December-end so that aspirants and institutions can start the preparations. The exams, as envisaged in the NEP 2020 are likely to be conducted twice a year. The computer-based common entrance test for the central universities, which includes the likes of JNU, BHU and DU, would comprise of three hours of testing divided into two sections --Common Aptitude Test (50 questions) and Domain Specific Test (30 questions each) and will eliminate the individual exams that many of the universities conduct presently.

According to sources in the MoE, the ministry is finalising the proposal based on the report of the committee set up by the UGC and the admissions to the central universities for the 2022-23 will be based on the CUCET score.

“The ministry is ready to implement the CUCET from 2022 as planned under the NEP 2020. The details and the dates will be worked out soon. The ministry is planning to announce the details as early as possible so that the candidates and universities get time to prepare,” said the official.

The official said education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has asked the officials to work on the recommendations of the UGC to roll out its implementation without any further delay. “The exams were scheduled for implementation from 2021 and the ground work was completed in March 2021. However, due to the lockdown it couldn’t happen,” said the official.

Tatas will take over Air India by the 3rd week of January: Scindia

Tatas will take over Air India by the 3rd week of January: Scindia

New Delhi:  12.11.2021

Soaring aviation turbine fuel prices have led to a 400% increase in Indian airlines’ operating cost in recent months. And had the government not recently raised domestic fare bands by 12.5% some months back, there “won’t have been any airline left for us to board”, Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia said at the Times Now Summit 2021 on Thursday.

“We are seeing tremendous amount of green shoots. The last weekend saw a high of 3.8 lakh passengers daily, with the pre-Covid high being 4.2 lakh. So we are only 10% below the pre-Covid high. Almost 90% of (domestic) traffic has recovered. But it is important to be cautious,” he said.

He said Air India will be transferred to its new owner, the Tata Group, by the third week of January 2022. The country will next year also see a startup, Akasa, take to the skies along with a reborn Jet Airways. TOI had last week reported that January 23 is the “long stop date” by which Tatas have to take over the airline. TNN

Air fares to the US spiral after travel curbs eased

Air fares to the US spiral after travel curbs eased

Petlee.Peter@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:12.11.2021

Air fares from Bengaluru to various destinations in the United States have skyrocketed after the US opened its borders for fully vaccinated travellers across nations on Monday. The US had closed its borders as a measure to contain the pandemic.

Now, a one-way ticket from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport to JFK Airport, New York, starts at Rs 91,000, up from Rs 35,000-50,000 earlier, leaving several people who had intended to travel in a quandary.

Elderly Bengaluru couple Ajith and Shanta, who were eager to meet their first grandchild, were thrilled when travel curbs were eased. Their grandchild was born in the US in mid-2020. “We were all set to fly to New York after the ban was lifted, but ticket prices have more than doubled. The best return fare we can get is Rs 1.6 lakh per passenger,” said Shanta.

Return air fares to New York would usually cost Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh but now, while Rs 1.6 lakh is the cheapest, the cost of a ticket goes all the way up to Rs 2.5 lakh. Passengers are unable to find cheaper tickets and indications are that fares will only rise.

Puja, a communications executive from Hyderabad, said her sister had planned to fly from San Francisco to Bengaluru to visit her family in Hyderabad. She hadn’t seen them in two years. “We checked for tickets in December and were stunned to see return fares cost $3,400 which is over Rs 2.5 lakh on conversion,” Puja said. “The holiday season will only see airfares going up.”

Indiver Rastogi, president of Global Business Travel, Thomas Cook, India and SOTC said airfares have seen a surge of between 30% and 100% when compared to pre-pandemic levels. “This is because of significant pent-up demand across leisure, visiting friends and relatives (VFR) and business segments in the face of limited capacity.”

He said a San Francisco-Bengaluru pre-pandemic return fare of Rs 90,000 has seen a 100% jump to Rs 1,80,000 and for New York-Bengaluru the fare increase is approximately 67%. “However, resumption of commercial flights will ease capacity constraints and pricing will fall,” he said.

Prahlad Krishnamurthi, chief business officer, Cleartrip, said demand for the US is improving for travel dates around mid-December and January and bookings have shown an uptick in the recent past.

BMTC to issue student passes from Nov 14

BMTC to issue student passes from Nov 14

Bengaluru:12.11.2021

BMTC has decided to issue smart cardbased student passes from November 14 at Bangalore-One centres.

“Online applications for student pass issuance for 2021-22 are available on Seva Sindhu portal (sevasindhu.karnataka.gov.in) and BMTC portal (mybmtc.karnataka.gov.in),” said a press release. “Passes will be issued at 95 Bangalore-One centres from 8am to 6:30pm on all days,” it added. TNN

13 flights diverted to Bengaluru from Chennai due to bad weather

13 flights diverted to Bengaluru from Chennai due to bad weather

12.11.2021

Bengaluru:

Thirteen flights scheduled to land at Chennai airport were diverted to Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Thursday following heavy rain and windy conditions in Tamil Nadu resulting in suspension of flight landing till evening.

Two flights from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, were also diverted to Bengaluru due to bad weather.

Chennai and its suburbs have been battered by nonstop downpour since Wednesday evening, resulting in flooding in the most parts of the city. As the Tamil Nadu capital also experienced strong wind, Chennai airport authorities decided to suspend landing of flights there from Thursday afternoon till evening.

In an official statement, the authorities said that due to severe rain and heavy cross wind, arrivals would remain suspended from 1.15pm to 6pm. Departures would continue. The decision was taken considering the safety of passengers.

Accordingly, 10 flights scheduled to land in Chennai after taking off from different domestic destinations were diverted to Bengaluru after Thursday noon and three more diverted flights touched down at KIA by evening. Flight operations at Chennai airport resumed after 6pm. TNN

Ahmedabad-Delhi train travel to be much quicker

Ahmedabad-Delhi train travel to be much quicker

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

12.11.2021

With the railways intent on completing double tracks between Mehsana and Palanpur, come 2022, the Ahmedabad-Delhi rail route may get shorter and less time consuming.

Work on the Ahmedabad-Udaipur gauge conversion is also being run on war footing and expected to be complete soon. This will open up a new rail route to Delhi from Ahmedabad.

Railway officials said that with some parts of the route to Delhi converted to double track the travel time by Ashram Express from Ahmedabad to Delhi has already been cut down by 2 hours and 10 minutes, from earlier 17 hours 30 minutes to the current 15 hours and 20 minutes. With the rest of the ongoing work completed, this time would drop to 14 hours and 30 minutes said a railways official. Currently, the Rajdhani takes 13 hours 35 minutes to reach Delhi from Ahmedabad. That time too will be shortened.

Completion of electrification work will reduce the travel time further, said railway officials.

“The track is likely to undergo inspection by March next year after which it will be commissioned for passenger traffic,” said a senior railways officer. He said the electrification being tested in Ajmer division will also be commissioned by the middle of next year.

About the Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Delhi route, he said that travelling time to Udaipur, which is about 220-odd km will come down to four hours and then another 13 hours to go from Udaipur to Delhi via that route.

For instance, the travel time by Ashram Express will be cut by 3 hours