Explosion at Mexican Resort isn't scaring away Canadian Tourists

TORONTO - High-profile Canadian deaths in Mexico have been capturing headlines for years but even the latest tragedy — five dead in a hotel explosion — will do little to deter travel to the country, observers said Monday. Travel from Canada to Mexico has risen steadily in recent years, despite violent incidents involving Canadians and an escalating drug war that has claimed tens of thousands of Mexican lives. Since Domenic and Nancy Ianiero of Woodbridge, Ont., were found with their throats slit in February 2006 at a resort near Playa del Carmen, some 18 Canadians have died in the country, according to a Mexican embassy official. Some have been fatally shot, including Kenneth Klowak, who was killed by armed men after he refused to stop at...

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Posted in: canada embassy , canada tourist , Mexico Explosion , travel news

All About K1 Fiance Visa

Many Filipinos consider USA as a popular place for business, employment, or settlement, but some consider USA to be tha place for finding their destined loved ones. And it's the time for K1 Visa to take part. The most common question heeard about this topic is the the kind of visa itself, What is K1 Visa ? A K1 visa or commonly known as US Fiance Visa is a dual intent visa issued to the fiance of a United States citizen to enter the United States. A K1 visa requires a foreigner to marry his or her US citizen petitioner within 90 days of entry, or leave the U.S. Once the couple marries, the foreign citizen can adjust status to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Although a K1 visa is legally classified as a non-immigrant...

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Posted in: K1 Fiancee Visa , k1 Philippines visa , K1 Visa Philippines , US K1 Visa , US Visa

UK immigration and UK Visa policy changes

UK Immigration Minister Damian Green spoke recently at the Royal Commonwealth Society in London about immigration. The Immigration Minister said that the Government wishes to "maximise" the benefits of immigration. The contents of the immigration minister's speech had already been widely reported in the news ahead of the actual speech. The UK immigration minister went on to say that the UK has benefitted from immigration but 'will only continue to do so if it is properly controlled'. He also said:'This means that the unsustainable levels of net migration seen in recent years must be brought down.' UK Immigration has done research recently on immigration into the UK and has published a new report about immigration called "The migrant journey"....

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Posted in: UK Immigration , UK Visa Philippines , UK Visa Services

Beware of Bogus UK Visa and Job Offers

The UK Border Agency has issued a warning to would-be working UK Visa applicants, urging them to be on their guard for scammers offering them jobs that do not exist. A number of incidents have been reported which involve bogus job offers being made to foreign nationals who want to work in the UK. The scam, which appears to be email based, frequently cites the names and titles of real UK Border Agency officials, presumably to add authenticity to the offers of “work”. The purpose of the scam has not yet been established, although it is possible the scammers intend to issue fake UK work visas in exchange for payment.  Rob Yeldham, director of communications at the UK Border Agency, has issued the following warning to foreign nationals wanting...

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Posted in: UK Embassy , UK Immigration , UK Visa Services , UK work Visa

Philippine Embassy and Consulate in Bangkok Remains Open for Service

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday assured Filipinos working or studying in Bangkok that the Philippine Embassy in Thailand will remain open to serve them despite the clashes between the Thai military and ‘Red Shirt’ protesters in the capital city of Bangkok. DFA spokesman J. Eduardo Malaya said there are no plans to close the embassy due to the increasing violence in central Bangkok, adding that public service will continue for the benefit of the Filipinos in Thailand. Some embassies such as those of the US and Australia had been temporarily closed due to the increased violence near their area. “The Philippine Consulate in Thailand is located along SukhumvitRoad, which is some appreciable distance from the commercial business...

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Posted in: Philippine Consulate , Philippine Embassy , Thailand Immigration

US visa Services fees to increase on June 4

MANILA, Philippines – The fees for the processing of US visas will increase on June 4, 2010, the US Department of State announced. “The US embassy in Manila will immediately begin collecting the new fees for appointments made for June 4 or later,” the US Department of State said. The department said the increase for the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) will ensure sufficient resources to meet the increasing cost of processing non-immigrant visas. It added that the new fee for US Tourist Visa (B1/B2 category), seafarer/crew visas (C1/D), student visas (F), and exchange visitor visas (J) will be $140 or the equivalent in pesos. The new MRV fee for work visas (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will be $150. Trader/investor visas (E) will rise to...

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Posted in: US Embassy , US K1Visa , US K3 Visa , US Tourist Visa , US Visa Services

Philippines Immigrations and Tourism up 7.9 percent in 2010

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine tourism department reported a 7.89 percent growth in foreign tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2010. Renowned for beautiful beaches, spectacular scuba diving and small, intimate and affordable beach bungalow resorts, Puerto Galera, Cebu, Bohol and Boracay continue to attract recession-wary travelers looking for the best available bargains. Visitors from Korea, Taiwan, China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Europe, Australia and the United States all increased. Tourism and Services in the Philippines officials said the Lunar New Year in February was a major factor contributing to the growth in the arrivals. Another factor was recent civil unrest and violence in Thailand, which experienced a sharp decline...

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Posted in: philippine immigration , philippine travel , Services in the Philippines

US increase US Visa Validity for Serbs to 10 years

The United States has increased the length of US Visa validity for Serbia's citizens to ten years in a sign of improving ties with the Balkan country.Ambassador Mary Warlick says the increase applies to business and tourism visas. Visas in other categories will still be issued to a maximum three years. Warlick described the move Thursday as "an important milestone in relations between the United States and Serbia, and a symbol of our deepening friendship."Relations between Washington and Belgrade were tense in the past because of U.S.-led NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, and America's support for the independence of Kosovo.Warlick cited "significant progress" in relations in the past year. Source: Bloomberg Business We...

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Posted in: US Embassy , US Visa Services

Tips for Starting a Business: Investors stand by the economy

With shooting in the streets of Bangkok, grenades exploding and the stock exchange on fire, Thailand might seem to be the last place for investors for Starting Up A Business. But the turmoil, which has seen more than 50 people killed and about 1,600 injured, has had a remarkably limited impact on financial markets. Investors have judged that the disturbances - largely restricted to a high-profile but compact district of central Bangkok - represent only a modest threat to Thailand's economic stability. Investors do not wish to pull out of one of the most open and investor-friendly of east Asia's fast-growing economies, where the government has, within the past month, raised its 2010 GDP increase forecast from a range of 3.3-5.3 per cent to...

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Posted in: Starting Up A Business , thailand , Tips on Starting a business

Canadian Immigration Remained at High Levels in 2009

The rate of immigration and Visa for Canada applications remains high with more than 500,000 new permanent and temporary residents in 2009. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney had the following to say: "Momentum toward a full economic recovery continued throughout 2009, and immigration will continue to support that momentum."Immigration Minister Kenney went onto say that "The Government of Canada is maintaining immigration levels to meet Canada's short-, medium- and long-term economic needs, help offset our aging population and low birthrate, and sustain our workforce."Canadian immigration released the following immigration statistics:There were 252,124 new immigrants in...

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Posted in: canada embassy , canada immigration , Canada Visa , student Visa

US Visa Services Closed This Week

The United States embassy in Bangkok has suspended US Visa Services at its Wireless Road consulate until at least Friday for security reason.The embassy said it is not safe for officials of the consular section to travel to work at their office on Witthayu Road and it has only a limited number of officials to work for emergency cases. Visa applicants who have appointments for an interview will be informed of the service suspension by telephone or e-mail.The Bangkok office of the United Nations has also announced to close on Monday and Tuesday during which its officials are allowed to work at home. Source: Bangkok Po...

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Posted in: Thailand Immigration , US Embassy , US Visa Services

Sarah Palin Takes Aim at Obama, Immigration, and Border Security

Former Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin teamed up with Arizona Govenor Jan Brewer over the weekend in a heated debate over Arizona’s border security and the immigration law requiring all immigrants to present Immigration Consultants and registration documents to police upon request. Palin and Brewer appeared together in a press conference to promote a website that aims to help educate Americans on the Arizona SB1070. “This state has enacted a law. It mirrors the federal law, which allows police to ask those they otherwise have stopped to provide a driver’s license or other verification of legal presence. I think for most American people, there reaction to this would be, 'Oh, why haven’t the police already been doing that?'" Palin’s...

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Posted in: Arizona Immigration Law , Immigration Consultants , Immigration Services