US Congresswoman says she was denied Vietnam visa
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A US Congresswoman who has criticised Vietnam's human rights record has been denied a visa to visit the communist country for the second time, she said.
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CRAWFORD, Tex., July 8 -- Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan said Sunday that she plans to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unless Pelosi introduces articles of impeachment against President Bush in the next two weeks.
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Amy Winehouse will not be performing at this year's Grammy Awards because her request for a visa has been turned down by the U.S. Embassy, her publicist said Thursday.
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The head of an independent panel  investigating alleged corruption in the now-defunct U.N.  oil-for-food program for Iraq rejected on Tuesday a request to  immediately turn over evidence that he has gathered to U.S.  congressional investigators.
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Leading Democrats who soon will  control the legislative agenda in the U.S. Congress rejected on  Monday a colleague's call for reinstatement of the U.S.  military draft.
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A group of Senate Democrats opposing  the nomination of Condoleezza Rice as U.S. secretary of state  on Tuesday accused her of deceiving Congress and called her an  architect of blunders in the Iraq war.
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An American journalist who  commanded a boat alongside John Kerry in Vietnam broke a  35-year silence on Saturday and defended the Democratic  presidential candidate against Republican critics of his  military service.
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A woman who moved to the US as a baby and later won a California council seat faces deportation for illegally voting.
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(InfoWorld) - As Democrats take over leadership of both houses of the U.S. Congress from Republicans, technology industry lobbyists will try again to push for worker visa reform. Legislation to allow more highly skilled foreign workers to come to the U.S. and stay longer failed in the last session of Congress, but it will be reintroduced in the next session, said Andrea Hoffman, vice president of TechNet, a lobbying group for technology companies. TechNet is pushing for three reforms, Hoffman said: Increasing the number of H1B visas granted annually to foreign workers employed temporarily at U.S. companies; granting employment-based visas to workers whose H1B visas are about to expire but whose application for lawful permanent residency (commonly known as a "green card") is backlogged; and allowing foreign workers who earn advanced degrees at U.S. colleges and universities to stay and work in the U.S. once they graduate. Legislation on those reforms became part of a controversial immigration reform bill that tied Congress up in debates about illegal immigrants, deportation, and border security and ultimately failed. With Democrats winning control of the Congress in the November elections, TechNet is going to push its reform agenda anew, Hoffman said. "We are very optimistic," she said. "The change in leadership will be a very good opportunity for the tech industry." One way to keep highly skilled and well-paying jobs in the U.S. is to reform the student visa policy, said Gary Fazzino, vice president of governmental affairs for Hewlett-PackardÂ and a member of TechNet. "We're interested in making it easier for foreign-born students who come here and receive technical degrees to remain in the U.S. more easily than has been the case in the last few years," Fazzino said. HP hosted a public forum Monday on legislative issues in the new Congress featuring U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, a Silicon Valley Democrat. "I'll be very sensitive to the needs of the valley," Lantos told IDG News Service after the event, when asked about the proposed immigration reforms. He declined to discuss specifics. Under current law, 65,000 H1B visas are granted each year to foreign workers, each of whom needs to be sponsored by a U.S. company that couldn't find an American worker who has the needed skills. But that quota for federal fiscal year 2007 was filled before the year even began, according to Hoffman. TechNet wants the ceiling raised to 115,000. Labor interest oppose raising the ceiling. Among the critics is the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, in Seattle, which argues that there are more high-tech workers available in the U.S. than jobs to fill. TechNet also advocates a new "employment-based visa" category for those who have an H1B that is about to expire but are still on a waiting list for a green card. There is a backlog of more than 500,000 green card applications in the U.S., according to ImmigrationVoice.org. "The system is archaic," Hoffman said. "It is not consistent or structured in such a way that it fits business practices and models ... and we need change."
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Private security contractor Blackwater USA denied on Saturday it was involved in illegally shipping automatic weapons and military goods to Iraq.
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A senior US State Department official said she had seen no signs of persecution in Vietnam's Central Highlands of ethnic minority people who had fled to Cambodia and were later repatriated.
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 26  Â A Senate vote this week on a bill threatening to impose steep tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States was put into doubt on Tuesday after the billÂs authors said they were unsure whether to press ahead with the vote.
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Khartoum has dismissed charges that a US diplomat had been denied an entry visa and said the envoy would be welcome in Sudan as long as the mission was &quot;constructive,&quot; the foreign ministry said.
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Eleven Afghans were prevented from travelling to Australia last week after their visas were found to be false, Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said.
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A commander of a Navy boat alongside John Kerry in Vietnam broke a 35-year silence and defended the Democratic presidential nominee&#39;s war record against attacks by other veterans.
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Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday rejected a bid by a lawmaker earlier ousted as a federal judge on corruption charges to head a congressional panel that helps protect America's security.
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A Vietnam veteran who served with Sen. John Kerry in a swift boat group broke a 35-year silence this weekend to back Kerry&#39;s version of events from one of their missions together and to chastise veterans critical