Immigration Laws in India

Immigration Law Topics

Regulations Applicable To Foreigners In India
The extent Acts dealing with entry, stay and exit of foreign nationals in the country are:
i. Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920
ii) Foreigners Act, 1946
iii) Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939

Green Cards: A green card is an alien registration card carried by permanent resident aliens.

Work Visas: There are several kinds of visas that allow you to work in the United States. Some of these visas

H-1B Visas: An H-1B visa, known as the professional worker's visa, is reserved for people within specialty occupations,

U.S. Citizenship Applications: The process of becoming a United States citizen is known as naturalization, and is controlled.

Here's list of 62 countries offering visa on arrival for Indians in 2017.
Asia: Bhutan, Macau, Nepal, Jeju island, Maldives, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Indonesia, Jordan, Cambodia, Laos, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Palestine, Kish Island.

North America: Haiti, Jamaica, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts & Nevis, El Salvador.

South America: Ecuador, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Bolivia, Suriname.

Central America: Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands.

Europe: Svalbard, South Ossetia, Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park, Transnistria, Reunion, French department, Schengen.

Africa: Seychelles, Mauritius, Cape Verde, Senegal, Djibouti, Guinea- Bissau, Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Saint Helena

Oceania: Fiji, Micronesia, Tuvalu, Palau, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Pitcairn Islands.

Citizenship by Registration

There are several ways one can apply for Indian citizenship by registration, they are as following:
1. A Person who has been a resident of India for 7 years and one of his parent was Indian Born
2. Persons of Indian origin who are ordinarily residents of any country or place outside India
3. Married to a citizen of India and who have been residents of India for seven years
4. Minor children whose parents are Indian citizens
5. Citizens of Singapore five years.
6. Citizens of Canada who have been residents of India for eight years.

What if I remain in the U.S. illegally?

If you remain illegally for more than six months, you will be barred from the U.S. for three years. If you stay illegally for more than a year, you will be barred for 10 years.

What's the easiest way to get a work visa?

If you have a college degree or higher and have been offered a job with a U.S. company that will sponsor you, you can obtain an H-1B visa. It usually takes around 30 days to get an H-1B visa, which is valid for one 1-3 years and renewable. Because it's valid only for work with your sponsor, you'll have to obtain a new H-1B visa to change jobs.

Applications for Indian citizenship

First Submit your application to the District Magistrate in your Jurisdiction. Document requirements will differ depending on your nationality.

The application is examined by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as par Citizen Act´s eligibility requirements.

Kindly note: one should maintain one's foreign citizenship until the citizenship application is accepted.

When your Indian citizenship is accepted you will then have to renounce your existing citizenship and show proof to the MHA.

What are the different categories for temporary work visas?

H-1B Specialty Occupations H-1B visas are the most common route to work in the United States for most professional foreign workers. To obtain an H-1B visa you need a job offer from a U.S. employer, where the position requires a minimum four-year baccalaureate degree, and the applicant has the relevant education and/or work experience to fulfill the requirement. Additionally, the employer must pay the prevailing wage in that specific area for that specific position. Specialty occupations in this category are: information technology professionals, physicians who graduated from U.S. medical schools and passed parts 1 and 2 of the USMLE, physicians who graduated from foreign medical schools and passed all three parts of the USMLE, registered nurses with state RN licenses, journalists, accountants, researchers and scientists.

Exchange visitors (J-1): The Department of State (formerly USIA) grants numerous educational institutions and organizations the right to sponsor persons as exchange visitors on the J-1 visa program. J-1 visa holders are restricted to working, studying or participating in the specific exchange programs for which the visa has been approved. Persons with skills listed on the USIA's exchange visitors skills list, or graduate medical training requires that the J-1 visa holder comply with a two year foreign residency requirement (INA sec. 212(e)) after the expiration of his/her stay.

Treaty Traders (E-1) and Treaty Investors (E-2): Owners and key employees of businesses that conduct a substantial volume of trade between the United States and the home country are treaty traders (E-1) and a treaty investor (E-2) has invested in the United States and jobs created for U.S. workers. To qualify for an E-2, the home country must have a treaty with the United States.

Intracompany Transferees (L-1): One qualifies for an L-1 visa if you have been employed outside the United States as a manager, executive (L-1A) or person with specialized knowledge (L-1B) for at least one of the last three years, and you are transferred to the United States to be employed in a similar position. The U.S. company to which you are transferring must be a branch, subsidiary, affiliate or joint venture partner of the non-U.S. company. The non-U.S. company must remain in operation while you have the L-1 visa. Said company may be either a foreign division of an American-based company or it may have originated outside the United States. Any form of business is adequate, including but not limited to corporations, LLCs, LLPs, partnerships, joint ventures and sole proprietorships. There are no quota limits on L-1 visas.

Religious Workers (R-1): To qualify for an R-1 visa, you must be a member of a religious denomination for at least 2 years and have a job offer in the United States to work for an affiliate of that same religious denomination. R-1 visas are for either clergy or lay religious workers. Successful applicants need not have worked for the religious organization but must have been members of it for at least two years. Other temporary work visa categories include: temporary trainees (H-3), persons of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, education, business or sports (O-1/2) and athletes and entertainers (P).

How can an alien become a U.S. citizen?

There are four ways to become a U.S. citizen:
1. Naturalization petition.
To qualify for this process you must:
(i) be a lawful permanent resident.
(ii) be 18 years or older.
(iii) be a permanent resident for five years. (If a person obtained permanent residence through marriage to a U.S. citizen, they may be eligible for naturalization in three years if the couple has been married for 3 years, if the spouse was a citizen during that entire period, and if the couple are still living in marital unity.)
(iv) have resided for at least three months in the state where the petition was filed.
(v) be physically present in the United States for at least one half of the five years (or one half of three if spouse is a citizen), with no absences longer than 1 year.
(vi) have resided continuously within the United States from the date the petition was filed to the time of admission to citizenship.
(vii) be a person of good moral character for the five years.
(viii) have an elementary level of reading and writing English. Exceptions to this rule exist for persons over fifty, in the US for 20 years or more as a permanent resident; and persons over 55 , in the US for 15 years as a permanent resident.

(ix) have a basic knowledge of the fundamentals of U.S. government and history. This requirement can be waived for people over 65 and have been permanent resident for 20 years.
2. By birth in the United States. Under the 14th Amendment, all persons born in the United States are citizens regardless of the status of their parents, who may be citizens, green card holders, or illegal aliens.
3. By acquisition at birth. A child born outside the United States where one or both parents are U.S. citizens may acquire U.S. citizenship at birth.
4. By derivation through naturalization of parents. A child born outside the United States may become a citizen by virtue of the parents' naturalization.

What is the green card lottery?

The diversity visa lottery (DV) is more commonly known as the green card lottery. The Immigration Act of 1990 created a new green card category to benefit people from countries that have low immigration to the United States. The goal of the program is to diversify the pool of immigrants entering the United States. The DV program grants 55,000 immigrant visas each year by random drawing. The visas are divided among geographic regions. A greater number of visas will go to those regions that have lower immigration rates and no visas may be issued to countries that have sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States during the previous five years. DV applicants must have a high school education or its equivalent, or within five years have two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience. The DV registration period is usually between early October and early November of each year and successful registrants are usually notified between April and July of each year. Registrations submitted one year are not held over until the next year.

What is political asylum?

The INS grants aliens political asylum in the United States based upon fear of persecution in the home country due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Economical suffering is not considered a reason for asylum. A person must request political asylum within one year of arriving in the United States, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If political asylum is granted, the applicant is allowed to remain in the United States and eventually obtain permanent residence.

Do I need a visa to visit Sri Lanka from India?
visa on arrival is always available despite the changes according to the Sri Lanka embassy. you just have to pay addition fee. Visas: All arrivals into Sri Lanka from 01 January 2012 onwards, will now require an Electronic Travel Authorization.

How much does a visa cost for Sri Lanka?
The ETA currently costs US$30 and you should apply online via the official Sri Lanka government site http://eta.gov.lk/. Haven't done it yet myself but have applied for ETAs for USA and Australia in the past and have had no problems. 8. Re: Sri Lankan visas for British passport holders.