Latest news with #visarestrictions
The National
19-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Indian travel agencies targeted by US visa bans
Some firms 'knowingly' enable illegal immigration, State Department says The US State Department on Monday announced it would impose visa restrictions on owners and officials at travel agencies based in India who knowingly enable illegal immigration to the US. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said US diplomatic staff in India are working to 'actively identify and target those engaged in facilitating illegal immigration and human smuggling and trafficking operations'. The crackdown targets travel agencies that secure visitor visas for supposed tourists who then overstay and fail to return to India. 'We will continue to take steps to impose visa restrictions against owners, executives and senior officials of travel agencies to cut off alien smuggling networks,' Ms Bruce said in a statement. Anyone who overstays a visa is at risk of being deported or faces a permanent ban from securing future visas. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US imposes visa bans on India travel agents for facilitating illegal migration
WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Monday that it was imposing visa restrictions on owners and other staff at India-based travel agencies that it says knowingly facilitate illegal migration to the United States. An unspecified number of unnamed people linked to travel agencies in India were being hit with visa bans under the Immigration and Nationality Act based on information gathered by the U.S. mission to India, department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. Washington often issues visa bans without publishing the names of those targeted. "We will continue to take steps to impose visa restrictions against owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies to cut off alien smuggling networks," Bruce said, without detailing how the travel agents had facilitated illegal migration. The move comes amid President Donald Trump's broad crackdown on migration to the United States and efforts to deport undocumented immigrants in the country. The U.S. embassy in New Delhi has repeatedly posted on its social media sites warning for Indian nationals visiting the United States not to overstay their authorized period of stay in the country, warning they will face deportation and a permanent ban from entering the country for doing so.
