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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China announced on its official website on Wednesday that China’s first electronic passport, introduced on January 30 of this year, will take effect beginning July 1.

According to the announcement, the ministry has informed other countries of the electronic passport by providing the new passport sample, description and electronic certificate and has asked for the necessary cooperation from foreign governments.

The e-passport features an electronic data storage chip that contains personal information about the passport holder, including photos and fingerprints, which greatly increase security and the credibility of the passport.

The e-passport for foreign affairs carries images of China in the background, including sights of the Great Wall, while the common e-passport features the images of Chinese world cultural sites in front of images of red Chinese-style knots, according the Department of Consular Affairs. A member of the department said that the ministry will also continue to issue traditional passports, as the switch to e-passports will take some time.

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Russia and the European Union have reached an agreement on long-term visas, for up to five years, a Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday.

“In addition to a visa-free regime with the EU, we are also negotiating visa facilitation,” said Vladimir Voronkov, director of the ministry’s European Cooperation Department.

The EU currently issues short-term visas – from several days to one year, although the Schengen Agreement allows five-year visas, he said.

Five-year visas will not be issued immediately but only after a person has received a short-term visa and shown himself to be a responsible, law-abiding citizen, Voronkov said. Russia has no plans to scrap visa requirements unilaterally, he added.

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has proposed a new process for filing H-1B visa petitions that it says could help businesses save millions of dollars, particularly due to reduced legal fees.

But some critics warn that the government proposal would also create a new way to game the H-1B visa system.

The USCIS proposal aims to prevent a recurrence of what happened in 2009, when the government received 163,000 H-1B petitions for 85,000 slots allowed under the cap.

The result of that year’s overload of H-1B applications: “Multiple truckloads of petitions were stacked on pallets on loading docks, in offices and in hallways,” said the USCIS in its proposal.Employers had to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees to file these petitions, without any guarantee that it would survive a lottery held to make the final selection.

The USCIS said its proposal aims to fix the problem. Under the proposed rule, employers would initially register electronically by completing a relatively simple form in a process that should take about 30 minutes. The electronic registrations would be used by officials to create a first cut of full registrants. A waiting list would be created if the number of H-1B registrations exceeds the cap limit.

The USCIS says that the “main benefit that will result from this rule is that employers that want to hire an H-1B worker will be able to forgo the time, effort and expense associated with the preparation of a full H-1B petition” and completing U.S. Department of Labor paperwork, “until USCIS notifies the H-1B employer that space exists under the cap.”
Some immigration attorneys believe the USCIS plan would create a new way to game the system of applying for H-1B visas. The American Immigration Lawyers Association is warning that the system will create a rush of registrations and “generate false H-1B demand” by “creating a flood of unnecessary or unqualified registrations, potentially numbering in the thousands, that will ultimately be abandoned or denied.”
It’s expected that the USCIS will set up this electronic registration period each March, just prior to the April 1 start date for new fiscal year applications. The lawyers’ association said the proposal presupposes that employers will have completed work on projecting staffing levels needed for the entire U.S. fiscal year.

The USCIS projects that the new rules would save employers some $24 million in preparation costs over the next ten years.

The USCIS ended the comment period on the proposal rule last month. This USCIS proposal was borne out of the crush of the H-1B petitions the agency received in the pre-recession years. The pace of demand has slowed since then.

As of last week, the government has received 13,100 H-1B petitions toward its 65,000 cap, and 9,000 petitions toward the cap of 20,000 that’s set aside for advanced degree holders. It’s expected that the USCIS will reach the fiscal 2012 cap for the year, though it’s still months away from doing so.

The relative fall-off in demand is blamed on a still weak economy, as well as a recent move by Congress to impose a new $2,000 fee for H-1B petitions on companies, mostly offshore firms, that rely heavily on holders of U.S. visas.

Offshore firms may be shifting to other visas, such as L-1, as well as improving the efficiency of their onshore operations, and/or boosting U.S. hiring, to reduce the need for visa holders.

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Ukrainian and Serbian officials have signed here an agreement on a visa-free regime for short-term travel between two countries.

“I am pleased to proclaim that we have just signed a bilateral agreement to ease visa requirements for our citizens,” said Kostyantyn Gryschenko, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, during a press conference with his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic.

The agreement provides for visa-free regime for citizens of Ukraine and Serbia for a period of 30 days within 60 days from the date of first entry.

Gryschenko noted that the introduction of the visa-free regime is very important for stirring up visits of Ukraine and Serbia citizens to friendly countries. It will also strengthen relations between the two states and promote intensification of contacts in the economic, culture-humanitarian and other spheres.

In early May, the Republic of Macedonia introduced a visa-free regime of short-term travel for citizens of Ukraine for the period from May 10 to Oct. 31, 2011. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry prepared a draft agreement on visa regime liberalization with six countries, such as Paraguay, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Croatia, Mexico and Argentina.

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Saudi Arabia aims to create more jobs for its nationals by not renewing the work permits of foreign workers who have spent six years in the country, the Saudi labor minister said. The current situation calls for strong cooperation between the government and private sector in solving the problem of unemployment with hundreds of thousands looking for work.

It remains unclear as to when the decision will be implemented or whether it will be applicable to all foreigners or to specific jobs. There are currently eight million foreign workers in the Kingdom, of which six million are employed in the private sector.

Companies across Saudi have targeted workers from Asia, who are allegedly willing to work long hours for low salaries, or have swerved towards well-paid foreign experts. Unemployment in the Kingdom currently stands at 10.5 percent, the minister said. An estimated 28 percent of the unemployed were women and 40 percent high school graduates, he added.

Saudi Arabia has an estimated population of 25 million, with almost 70 percent of Saudis under the age of 30. The Gulf Arab state, the largest economy of the GCC and largest oil exporter in the world, has an annual GDP of $622 billion, and a GDP per capita of $24,200.

Unemployment amongst Saudi nationals has risen despite the country’s wealth. Analysts say that a dated school system focused on religion and the Arabic language is a factor that has produced graduates who have difficulty finding jobs in the private sector. Also, a rapidly growing population – increasing by around 2.4 percent annually – adds to the difficulty for finding jobs.

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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) today reminded foreigners intending to study in the Philippines to secure a visa or study permit from the bureau before enrolling in any school in the country. Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. issued the statement as the start of new school year is on June 6 and when foreign students are expected to troop by the hundreds to the BI main office to get their student visas.

David also reminded schools that they cannot admit foreigners for enrollment unless the students have the required visas or study permits from the BI student desk. BI added that a school must be accredited or authorized by the BI before it could accept foreign students, or the school will be fined for violating the bureau’s regulations. Existing immigration laws require foreigners who want to enroll in the Philippine college or university to get a student visa.

The BI student desks processes and evaluates applications for student visas and SSPs and thereafter forward the same to the office of the commissioner for his approval. A student visa applicant should at least be 18 years old and must submit a notice of acceptance from his or her school which, also, must issue a written endorsement for conversion of the applicant’s status signed by the school registrar.

The applicant is also required to submit a medical certificate from a government medical institution stating that the applicant is not afflicted with any dangerous, contagious or loathsome disease and is mentally fit; and clearances from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Clearance and BI.

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British Parliament may assist Azerbaijan in simplifying visa regime between the two countries to develop tourism. This proposal was received from the UK-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Group members, who met with the Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfas Garayev during their visit to Baku.

At the meeting the sides exchanged views on bilateral cooperation between the UK and Azerbaijan, on the current state of political and economic relations.

Garayev considers it important to widely use of potential of the established relations.

Garayev expressed confidence in further expanding of cooperation in tourism and culture between the two countries.

The delegation head Mark Field congratulated the minister with Azerbaijan’s brilliant victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. The guest expressed confidence that Azerbaijan will successfully hold this contest in 2012.

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U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Beyrle confirmed that Russia and the United States will soon agree on three-year multiple entry visas. At their meeting on Thursday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans to liberalize visa restrictions for businessmen and tourists traveling between the two countries. Under the new agreement, eligible business travelers and tourists would be issued visas valid for 36 months at a unified and reciprocal fee.

“I think that in two months maximum we will sign an agreement to issue new multiple entry visas for three years,” Beyrle said in Russian during an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio station. “The presidents instructed to complete negotiations on the issue, that’s why I expect the agreement to be ready by summer, maximum by fall.”
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed scrapping visa restrictions between the two countries altogether during a meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Moscow in March.

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The US may scrap a category of business visas that allows Indian companies to send employees to the North American nation to work on short-term projects in a move that indicates a tightening of immigration laws, according to a letter released on Wednesday by US senator Charles E. Grassley’s office.

Grassley had raised concerns that foreign-based firms may be using B-1 business visitor visas to circumvent restrictions on H-1B visas, in a April letter to secretary of state Hillary Clinton and department of homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano.

In response, the state department said it is working with the department of homeland security to consider “removing or substantially amending the FAM (foreign affairs manual) note” regarding the “B1 in lieu of H-1B” visa category.

The move comes just days after Infosys Technologies Ltd received a grand jury subpoena from an east Texas court requesting it provide “certain documents and records related to the company’s sponsorship for, and uses of B1 business visas”, reinforcing concerns among US lawmakers around the already-sensitive topic of immigration and misuse of visas.

Few Indian software firms use this category of visa, so any amendments to this particular visa category is unlikely to have any material impact on their operations. The visa category, B-1 in lieu of H-1B, allows companies to send workers to the US to engage in work generally limited to H-1B holders for short-term business projects, and is not subject to the prevailing wage requirements or caps that restricts H-1B visa use.

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On June 1 the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) will launch a new J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program website. The J-1 Exchange Visitor Program is a work and study exchange program created to further mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries. More than 350,000 J-1 visa visitors come to the United States each year, including high school and university students, researchers, physicians, and summer work travelers.

The new site (http://j1visa.state.gov) will greatly improve the online application experience. Everything potential applicants need to know, from how to participate in a program to what the program is like can be found on the new site.

The look and navigation of the new site reflects state-of-the-art web design and plain-language instructions on how to participate in the Exchange Visitor Program. The site features descriptions of each Exchange Visitor program category, so that individuals can find which category is right for them, and testimonials from exchange participants. The site also provides clear instructions on how to apply. Videos and interactive content have been developed to extend the site’s reach into social media. It will give users a faster, easier, and more efficient web experience.

The site is designed to perform well in either low or high bandwidth environments. The site also features an interactive map of the United States for individuals interested in finding out, state by state, how many participants and sponsors are involved in the Exchange Visitor Program.

The new site reflects the Department of State’s commitment to a revitalized Web presence that connects international audiences with the information they need to take part in valuable cultural exchanges, and is the first step in a comprehensive re-design of ECA’s web presence aimed at organizing websites according to how users access ECA information. ECA’s existing J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program website receives the highest volume of user traffic and represents the most popular search item on the ECA website.