Fri. Feb 3rd, 2023

visa

UK finally extends visa for NHS doctor who was critically ill with Covid 1 min read

UK finally extends visa for NHS doctor who was critically ill with Covid

iwano@_84 2 years ago





© Photograph: GoFundMe/PA
Dr Basem Enany, a consultant cardiologist, was placed on a ventilator after developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare complication of Covid-19.

An Egyptian NHS doctor who feared he might be removed from the UK because he was too sick to work after becoming critically ill from Covid-19 complications is celebrating after his visa was finally extended by the Home Office.

Dr Basem Enany, a locum consultant cardiologist at York teaching hospital, had treated many coronavirus patients. He was placed on a ventilator after developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare complication of Covid-19 and other viruses, which left him partially paralysed. Enany believes that there is only one other recorded Covid-related case like his in the UK.

The stress of being critically ill was compounded by fears that the Home Office would not renew his work visa because of his illness, leaving the family at risk of removal, or of

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China Blasts Trump’s ‘Political Repression’ Over U.S. Visa Restrictions 1 min read

China Blasts Trump’s ‘Political Repression’ Over U.S. Visa Restrictions

iwano@_84 2 years ago

Beijing hit out at new “anti-China” Trump administration measures on Thursday, describing the State Department’s new visa restrictions targeting over 90 million Chinese Communist Party members as “political repression.”





© Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images
File photo: A Chinese flag flies outside the now shuttered Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas.

The new regulations—effective immediately starting Wednesday—limit the length of U.S. visitor visas granted to registered Communist Party members and their immediate families to a single entry lasting just 30 days, according to the New York Times.

Denial of the usual 10-year, multiple-entry visitor visas could affect some 270 million Chinese citizens with ties to their country’s ruling party, including those less politically inclined who join in order to further business interests in the mainland.

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At a regular press briefing Thursday, Chinese foreign

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China hits out at US after report of new visa restrictions 1 min read

China hits out at US after report of new visa restrictions

iwano@_84 2 years ago

BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday accused critics in the U.S. government of “an escalation of political suppression” against Beijing following a report of new visa restrictions on members of China’s ruling Communist Party and their immediate family members.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said China would “make representations” to the U.S. following the report Thursday in the New York Times that such people would be limited to one-month, single-entry visas.

Hua called Washington’s approach “totally inconsistent with the U.S.’s own interests,” and said it would damage America’s global image.

“I think it is obvious to all that this is an escalation of political suppression by some extreme anti-China forces in the U.S. out of strong ideological prejudice and deep-rooted Cold War mentality against China,” Hua said at a daily briefing.

The Times report could not immediately be confirmed, but follows earlier hints that Washington was planning such a move,

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Facebook’s Diem, Visa, PayPal extend reach in crypto payments space 1 min read

Facebook’s Diem, Visa, PayPal extend reach in crypto payments space

iwano@_84 2 years ago

  • Facebook’s Diem, formerly known as Libra, and Visa are looking to extend their reach in the growing crypto payments space.
  • Additionally, PayPal’s CEO has underscored the importance of regulatory compliance for the developing industry.
  • Insider Intelligence publishes hundreds of insights, charts, and forecasts on the Payments & Commerce industry with the Payments & Commerce Briefing. You can learn more about subscribing here.

Visa, PayPal, and Diem, formerly known as Libra, are looking to capitalize on the rapidly growing industry.


Visa is eyeing the cryptocurrency space.

Insider Intelligence


  • Visa’s newest credit card will feature crypto rewards—helping it cash in on consumers’ appetite for rewards. The card network partnered with cryptocurrency startup BlockFi to introduce the Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card. Users will get 1.5% cash back for every transaction made on the card—which will then be converted to Bitcoin and stored in a BlockFi account in a regular monthly cycle—as well
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Visa Backs First Credit Card to Offer Bitcoin Rewards 1 min read

Visa Backs First Credit Card to Offer Bitcoin Rewards

iwano@_84 2 years ago

It’s about to get a lot easier to earn bitcoin thanks to a first-of-its-kind credit card: the Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card. While there are debit cards by Coinbase and Fold that offer bitcoin rewards, this is the first credit card that rewards you with the cryptocurrency, instead of points or miles.

Visa and cryptocurrency financial tech company BlockFi have partnered to release the Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card to U.S. residents in all states except for New York (due to regulatory restrictions) in spring 2021. The card will be issued by Evolve Bank & Trust, and Deserve will be a technology and program management partner for the card.

Cardholders will earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases that will automatically be converted to bitcoin and placed into a BlockFi account every month. Since bitcoin earned from card transactions is deposited into a BlockFi account, it’s regarded as standard crypto funding, and

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U.S. Tightens Visa Rules for Chinese Communist Party Members 1 min read

U.S. Tightens Visa Rules for Chinese Communist Party Members

iwano@_84 2 years ago

The Trump administration on Wednesday issued new rules to curtail travel to the United States by members of the Chinese Communist Party and their immediate families, a move certain to further exacerbate tensions between the two countries.

The new policy, which took immediate effect, limits the maximum validity of travel visas for party members and their families to one month and a single entry, according to two people familiar with the matter. A State Department spokesman said in an emailed statement it was reducing the validity of visas for party members from 10 years to one month.

Previously, party members, like other Chinese citizens, could obtain visitor visas for the United States of up to 10 years in duration. The new measures do not affect party members’ eligibility for other kinds of visas, such as immigration, one of the people added.

In principle, the policy change could affect the travel

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Visa Partners With Ethereum Digital-Dollar Startup That Raised $271 Million 1 min read

Visa Partners With Ethereum Digital-Dollar Startup That Raised $271 Million

iwano@_84 2 years ago

Credit card giant Visa today announced it is connecting its global payments network of 60 million merchants to the U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC) developed by Circle Internet Financial on the ethereum blockchain. The digital currency is now valued at $2.9 billion.

While Visa itself won’t custody the digital currency, effective immediately, the partnership will see Circle working with Visa to help select Visa credit card issuers start integrating the USDC software into their platforms and send and receive USDC payments. Circle itself is also going through the same Fast Track program. In turn, businesses will eventually be able to send international USDC payments to any business supported by

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US court scraps Trump’s tough H-1B visa rules 1 min read

US court scraps Trump’s tough H-1B visa rules

iwano@_84 2 years ago

Lubna Kably & Shilpa Phadnis | TNN

Mumbai/Bengaluru: A US district court has set aside the two recently introduced rules that stifled hiring of H-1B workers, by significantly hiking wages and restricting eligibility norms. The ruling is important from the point of view of Indians already in the US, whose H-1B applications would come up for renewal and also those aspiring to take up employment in the US.

These rules were promulgated on a fast-track basis and introduced as interim final rules in early October, without the normal procedure of inviting public comments and vetting the same — a process that can take several months.

Judge Jeffrey S White of the US district court (Northern District of California), in his order dated December 1, held that the Trump administration had failed to show there was good cause to dispense with the rational and thoughtful discourse that is provided by the

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Federal judge halts Trump’s H-1B visa rules 1 min read

Federal judge halts Trump’s H-1B visa rules

iwano@_84 2 years ago

  


Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down two Trump administration rules issued in October meant to restrict H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. In a 23-page order, US District Judge Jeffrey White said the administration failed to show “good cause” for issuing the rules on an emergency basis, bypassing a customary comment period.

The technology industry relies heavily on H-1B visas. About three-quarters of 85,000 allotted H-1B visas each year go to people who work in tech. 

The Trump administration had argued that the rules, which fall under the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security, needed to be issued quickly because of unemployment spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. The Labor Department rule, which went into effect in October, raised the minimum salaries employers

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Visa (V) Forays Further into Cryptocurrency Space With BlockFi 1 min read

Visa (V) Forays Further into Cryptocurrency Space With BlockFi

iwano@_84 2 years ago

Visa Inc. V recently collaborated with BlockFi, to roll out a credit card, which will exclusively reward bitcoin to users after each purchase. Notably, BlockFi is best known for offering enhanced financial products and services to participants in cryptocurrency markets.

Notably, Deserve, which is a credit card firm, and Evolve Bank will work in conjunction with the above-mentioned companies to introduce BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card, which is the first credit card to be launched across the crypto ecosystem.

The card, with an annual fee of $200, will be launched first in the United States with the shipping of the same cards commencing in spring 2021.

What makes the credit card noteworthy is that it enables automatic conversion of 1.5% cash back to bitcoin that will keep accruing with every transaction on the card, which in turn will be transferred to the clients’ BlockFi account. This entire procedure will take

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