The US government is in a good mood to support India and said it had increased H-1B visas issued to Indians by 24 percent between 2010 and 2011.  The H-1B visas, which allow skilled professionals to work on a temporary basis in the US, have gone up from 54,111 issued in 2010 to 67,195 in 2011. India has been consistently pressing the US for a prompt resolution of the problems being faced by the IT industry over H-1B visas. The issue was highlighted by India at different fora, including the India-US CEOs forum and in meetings with top US officials. “This 24 percent increase is tied to the highest ever H-1B application and issuance rates in the history of the US mission to India, and illustrates the booming nature of US-India business relations,” the US embassy said in a statement here.

India is the single largest beneficiary of H-1B visas by a wide margin.In the past four years, applicants in India have received more than twice as many H-1B visas as the four next-highest countries combined, the US mission said.

Australia cuts 15,000 Indian student Visas: Immigration authorities in Australia have cancelled 15,066 foreign student visas in the last one year, and the worst hit are Indians. Of the total, 3,624 students lost their visas because they flunked in some or all subjects or were no-shows to class, the Herald Sun reported. This was a 37 percent rise in visa cancellation. Visa cancellations had remained relatively steady for four years.

The crackdown has hit Indian students the hardest. One in every six foreign students is an Indian. Most international students come to New South Wales and Victoria Despite the immigration department overseeing the visa programme, some foreign students do not return to their home countries and end up as illegal immigrants