The US Embassy Consul Mike Mussi and the Director General of Immigration Eshor Poudel gave away the first set of five-year, multiple-entry tourist visas to US travellers to Nepal, the US Embassy in Kathmandu informed in a release.

The United States Government has been extending similar services to Nepali travellers since many years. Nepal, with its latest decision, is following the similar visa terms for American visitors.

“Longer visa validity and lowered costs are good for both America and Nepal.  It will increase economic activity and exchanges between our countries,” Mussi said in a statement.

“Visa reciprocity is a standard and long-standing principle in visa policies worldwide. The United States Government and the Government of Nepal have been working towards establishing reciprocity for all types of visas since October 2017,” reads an official release.

This decision, which brings parity in the visa regimes of two countries, is expected to increase the pace of Americans’ tourism and business exchange visits to Nepal, thus benefiting Nepali economy.

“Similarly, American students and scholars are eager to study and conduct research in Nepal. Parity in our visa regimes means that more Americans will have the opportunity to study and research at Nepali academic institutions and participate in educational and cultural exchanges,” the release added.

The decision is also expected to offer significant benefits to certain categories of Nepali visa applicants.

According to the release, the decision will also benefit Nepali students planning educational career in the US by saving them USD 200 on each visa (more than 50 per cent savings) through the elimination of student visa issuance fees.

While tourism makes up major chunk of earnings for Nepal, US has been making a significant contribution to Nepal tourism with 90,000 US visitors to Nepal reported last year, a 15 percent rise over 2017 numbers.

Hope the new decision will benefit US and Nepal in all ways alongside benefits bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

Also Read

• How to Apply for a Nepal Business Visa?

The post Nepal Announces Multiple-Entry Visas to US Citizens appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

As a follow-up to our special coverage in February 2019, the legal war against the Trump Administration has finally turned positive for Honduras and Nepali immigrants is the United States.

As the latest reports say, the Trump Administration has taken back the decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for these two countries’ citizens in US.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), on March 12, 2019, informed that the US Government has given such exemptions to more than 10,000 Hondurans and Nepalis living in US.

The latest decision is the result of legal protests and lawsuits raised by a group of Honduras and Nepali TPS holders in US a month back.

The protests had also received wide range of support from ACLU and US immigrant rights advocates who had filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration on their decision to end TPS for immigrants of these two countries.

The lawsuit had a special mention that the government’s decision was motivated by racial agenda.

The lawsuit was filed in a District Court in San Francisco in support of six immigrants with TPS designation and two US citizens as children of beneficiaries.

The new announcement comes as a relief to more than 15,000 Nepalis and 86,000 Hondurans whose protections will end in June 2019 and January 2020, respectively.

Two Different Cases, A Common Relief!

TPS is a humanitarian grant offered by US for residents of countries hit by natural disasters or war situations. Under this support, US entitles the beneficiaries with legal provisions to work in US for a certain period.

Formed in 1990, the grant covers citizens of 10 countries. But the Trump administration has taken a decision to terminate TPS for 98% of those countries currently enjoying the grant.

Condemning the government decision, a San Francisco based US District Court, in October 2018, made a ruling blocking the US Administration from terminating TPS of more than 300,000 immigrants from different countries such as El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.

Following the first lawsuit in 2018, the Trump Administration announced termination of TPS for Nepalis and Hondurans.

Now, the latest decision unites the two different cases, giving them a common relief.

“I feel like I’ve been sick and this agreement is a few drops of medicine,” lead petitioner and a TPS holder from Nepal (from Sunnyvale) Keshav Bhattarai said in a statement.

 What the Government Argues?

The US Government lawyers state that TPS was never defined ‘permanent’ and the aforementioned countries have already recovered from their disaster situations.

A Department of Justice spokesperson opines that the decision to terminate TPS of Nepalis and Hondurans was lawful and reasonable.

Meanwhile, House Democrats on March 12, 2019 released the new version of the Dream Act called the Dream and Promise Act showing a path of permanent citizenship for TPS beneficiaries.

“Our lawsuit is not the solution to this — it’s temporary relief,” says Lawyer Ahilan Arulanantham with ACLU of Southern California, while arguing that immigrants with TPS, living in US for decades, deserve stability.

It’s worth waiting to watch the next turn in the issue that has been concerning immigrants with TPS status in US!

Stay tuned for more breaking news headlines on ‘Nepali immigrants in US’!

The post US Takes U-Turn on TPS Termination for Nepali Immigrants appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The issue is in opposition to Trump Government’s decision to terminate TPS designation for the two countries.

The protestors argue that the decision was against the constitutional provisions and is deeply hurting the immigrants’ sentiments.

Towards this end, some local organizations supporting the move have reportedly filed a lawsuit at the Northern District of California on February 11, 2019.

This suit was made on behalf of nine plaintiffs including 3 Nepalis, 3 Hondurans and 3 children (1 Nepali and 2 Honduran), born in the United States.

They argue that the new decision was against the US citizenship laws, which considers any children born in US as a ‘US citizenship’.

The suit names US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Deputy Secretary Elaine C Duke, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States of America as co-defendants.

“DHS (under previous administrations) regularly considered all of the conditions in that country, including the impact of natural disasters and social or economic crises that occurred after the country’s original TPS designation. But after President Trump took office, DHS-without any formal announcement or other explanation and without acknowledging any departure from past practice -adopted a new interpretation,” reads the preliminary complaint.

Advocates supporting the cause argue that ‘by doing do, the Trump Government has literally ignored the present conditions of the respective countries.’

“There’s a lot of evidence that the conditions are still bad [in Nepal], but the US Government ignored a lot of these evidence that would have supported renewal of TPS for Nepal,” says Laboni Hoq, Litigations Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice, one of the civil rights organizations in supporting the cause.

On-ground Assessment Lacks

The suit reportedly speaks about the Trump administration’s acts towards termination of Nepal’s status without prior on-ground assessment of the situation.

“It’s not that Nepal is not recovering, it is. But we still need time,” says Prathana Gurung from a NY-based advocacy organization called ‘Adhikaar’, which has been the active supporter of TPS extension for Nepal.

Gurung further says that “the terminations of TPS designation of nearly every single country that have come up for renewal is not a mere coincidence.”

“It’s part of a broader effort to remove immigrants and systematically eliminate the program,” he adds.

“Ultimately, we want to be able to win permanent residency for all TPS holders, not just Nepalis. And that can only be done through legislation which can take time,” says Gurung.

The row was based on the statements of the DHS Secretary Kirstjen M Nielsen, who in 2017, said, “…the disruption of living conditions in Nepal from the April 2015 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that served as the basis for its TPS designation have decreased to a degree that they should no longer be regarded as substantial.”

Nepal was granted TPS firstly on June 24, 2015 post the earthquake event that shook the country’s landscape, majorly the hilly areas. As the reports say, this decision has benefited around 15,000 Nepalis giving them access to live and work in US as ‘immigrants’, regardless of prior status.

Will have to wait and watch to understand where the issue heads!

Related:

• Nepalese Immigrants Face Hardships in the US

The post Nepalis Fight for Temporary Protected Status in US appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The designation will terminate on June 24, 2019.

The decision to terminate TPS for Nepal was made after a review of the environmental disaster-related conditions upon which the country’s original designation was based and an assessment of whether those originating conditions continue to exist as required by statute.

Based on careful consideration of available information, including recommendations received as part of an inter-agency consultation process, the Secretary determined that the disruption of living conditions in Nepal from the April 2015 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that served as the basis for its TPS designation have decreased to a degree that they should no longer be regarded as substantial, and Nepal can now adequately manage the return of its nationals.

Thus, as required under the applicable statute, the current TPS designation must be terminated.

Since the 2015 earthquake, conditions in Nepal have notably improved. Additionally, since the last review of the country’s conditions in October 2016, Nepal has made substantial progress in post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction.

For An Orderly Transition

To allow for an orderly transition, the effective date of the termination of TPS for Nepal will be delayed 12 months to provide time for individuals with TPS to arrange for their departure or to seek an alternative lawful immigration status in the United States, if eligible.

Nepali citizens in the United States who benefited from TPS may still receive other protections under our immigration system for which they are eligible.

The 12 months will also provide time for Nepal to prepare for the return and reintegration of its citizens.

During this timeframe, DHS will work with the Department of State and the Government of Nepal to help educate relevant stakeholders and facilitate an orderly transition.

A Facilitation Move 

In addition to materials posted online, DHS components will participate in outreach activities such as teleconferences, town halls and roundtables to ensure that affected populations have a full and accurate understanding of their rights and obligations.

Nepali citizens with current TPS registrations will be required to re-register for TPS and apply for Employment Authorization Documents in order to legally work in the United States until the termination of Nepal’s TPS designation becomes effective June 24, 2019. 

Further details about this termination for TPS, including the re-registration period, will appear in a Federal Register notice. Nepali TPS beneficiaries should not submit re-registration applications until the re-registration period is announced through the Federal Register notice.

Source: Department of Homeland Security, Government of United States.

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According to a recent update, the number of Nepali students pursuing educational courses in Australian Universities has increased.

The recently-released statistics show a rise in proportion of Nepali students by almost 46 percent to around 12,000 members out of the total 190,000 foreign students who had applied for courses in Australia during July-December 2017.

With this, Nepal replaced Brazil’s position as the third largest source of foreign student applicants for courses in Australia.

While Sydney’s Victoria University and Western Sydney University were found to be the major destinations for Nepali students, Auburn comes up as Sydney’s hub for Nepali speakers.

Interestingly, these figures are seen despite the indication of job-cuts in Australia for students from foreign destinations post the completion of their graduation.

Trend in the Recent Past

Nepal has witnessed an exponential growth as a source of international students in the last 10 years period.

The 2017 Open Doors Report by the Institute of International Education and the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, released in November 2017, has also shown a rise in Nepali students pursuing educational courses in US colleges and universities.

Surprisingly, Nepali students were found to be the fastest-growing international student community across US institutions.

“Every year, Nepali students travel to the United States to take advantage of outstanding opportunities for educational and professional development through hard work, thoughtful consideration about what course of study to pursue, careful financial planning, and an academic record that reflects good grades and test scores,” says US Chargé d’Affaires Michael Gonzales.

While US had 1.08 million international students as of November 2017, Nepal alone saw a 20 percent (around 11,607 students) rise in number of its students enrolled for higher education courses in US institutions.

As of November 2017, Nepal ranked 12 out of the top 25 countries with its students for undergraduate and graduate courses in US. Nepali students accounted for the highest growth rate of 42.4% for undergraduate courses among all the 25 countries.

India is another major source for Nepali students willing to pursue foreign studies. Lack of needed courses are moving Nepali students to look out for options outside the country.

“Hundreds of Nepali students are pursuing higher education degrees at Sharda University, and other universities also have a high number of Nepali students,” says Dube, a Nepali student pursuing MBA at Sharda University, Noida.

More than 500 Nepali students are pursuing higher education at Sharda University.

“Nepal basically lacks proper education policies. As a result, Nepali students have been investing a huge sum of money in higher education abroad,” says Prakash Pandey, president of Educational Consultancies Association of Nepal.

The post Nepali Students Across Foreign Varsities on Rise appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

At a program organized by the International Literary Society of Maryland Chapter, the Nepali community pitched on the need for promotion of Nepali language on a global scale.

Towards this end, they urged all the Nepali communities living in foreign destinations to come forward for the world-class translation of key Nepali literary works into English and other international languages.

“There was the need of publications that would provide information to the future generations about language, culture and tradition. A book on various subjects providing information to the future generation on Nepal and written in the English language which meets the global standard is badly needed at present,” says Kishor Nepal, an author and the Former President of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ).

Kishor urged the Non-Resident Nepalis (NRN) to extend support to their homeland in promoting Nepali literature through their skills and knowledge.

Translation, Need of the Hour

HB Bhandari, American politician of Nepali origin, called on for an immediate move towards translation of important Nepali documents and literary works.

Bhandari highlighted that there exists a sort of confusion in US-based universities regarding research on various Nepal-related topics.

NRN Maryland Chapter Pledges Support

In response, NRN Maryland Chapter President Durga Shrestha pledged the community’s support towards promotion and preservation Nepali language and literature, while highlighting its efforts for socio-economic transformation of Nepal.

Nepalese Journalists in America (NEJA) Former President Gautam Dahal called on the Non-Resident Nepali journalists community to come forward towards promotion of Nepali literature and language.

Journalist Tarun Poudel, Madhukar Adhikari, Dr Uttam Gauli, Dr Krishna Bista and Morgan State University Professor Dr Bhim Kattel were among other key delegates and speakers present at the event.

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