Latest news with #DOS
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
O-1 Visa vs. H-1B Visa: What's the difference between the two
When it comes to working in the United States, both the O-1 and H-1B visas serve as gateways for international talent, but they cater to very different kinds of professionals. Here's all that you need to know. While the O-1 nonimmigrant visa is designed for individuals who possess extraordinary ability in fields like science, education, business, athletics, or the arts, it also includes those with a demonstrated record of exceptional achievement in the motion picture or television industry. To qualify, the applicant must have received national or international recognition for their work. In contrast, the H-1B visa is aimed at skilled workers in specialty occupations, fields that typically require a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Common areas include IT, finance, engineering, healthcare, and academia. Here's how the two visas differ in key areas: Purpose and eligibility H1B: Designed for 'specialty occupations,' such as professionals in STEM fields. Requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent in the job's field. O1: Reserved for individuals demonstrating extraordinary ability or achievement in fields like science, arts, education, business, or sports. Requires evidence of national or international acclaim. Duration of Stay H1B: Initially granted for up to 3 years, with a maximum total of 6 years. Extensions beyond 6 years are possible via time spent abroad or through pending green card processes . O1: No maximum duration. Grant is up to 3 years initially, renewable in 1-year increments. Read more: 10 favourite Indian destinations for backpacking under INR 800 a day Home residency requirement (212(e)) H1B: If the individual is subject to the 212(e) two-year home residency requirement, they must fulfill one of the following conditions to qualify for H-1B status. Spend two years residing in their country of lawful permanent residence (as listed on the DS-2019), or Obtain a waiver of the requirement, with a recommendation from the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and final approval from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). O1: Not subject to this requirement. Visa issuance abroad and entry is handled through USCIS and consular processing . ಸಾಂದರ್ಭಿಕ ಚಿತ್ರ Application process H1B: Requires a Labor Condition Application (LCA) certified by the Department of Labor, followed by USCIS petition approval and consular visa stamp (if applicable). O1: Requires USCIS petition approval and, if applying from outside the US, consular processing. No LCA needed . Filing timeline and extensions H1B: Employers may file a petition up to 180 days before employment begins. Extensions require updated documentation; beneficiaries can stay up to 240 days while extension is pending. O 1: Petitions can be filed up to one year before start date with similar 240day automatic stay during USCIS processing . Read more: 6 pahadi escapes in Uttarakhand for the next peaceful break Changing employers H1B: Allows 'portability,' workers may begin with a new employer upon USCIS receiving the petition. O1: Requires petition approval before starting with a new employer . Dependents' employment H1B: Dependents (H4) can apply for work authorisation if the primary holder has an approved I140 or extended status beyond six years. O1: Dependents (O3) are not eligible for employment authorisation. Patient care roles H1B: Allows full patient contact for US or foreign-med school grads who pass licensure exams. O1: Permits patient care based on state and institutional rules; no fixed regulations . Outside employment Neither H1B nor O1 allows employment outside the petitioning employer without NIH ethics and DIS approval. Return travel guarantee Employers must cover return-travel costs for both H1B and O1 visa holders if employment is terminated before the end date. Which one should you choose? Go for H1B if you have a bachelor's-degree job in a specialty field and want a clear pathway to a green card. Opt for O1 if you've earned significant acclaim in your field and need flexibility—no cap, no six-year limit, and fewer bureaucratic hoops. Understanding these differences will help professionals and employers make informed decisions between the structured route of the H1B and the elite O1 path.
WIRED
5 days ago
- WIRED
So Long, Blue Screen of Death. Amazingly, You'll Be Missed
Jun 27, 2025 1:37 PM After a long and storied history, the BSOD is being replaced. WIRED takes a trip down memory lane to wave goodbye to the iconic screen we all love to hate. A blue Windows error message is shown on a laptop. Photograph:For decades, the Blue Screen of Death, or BSOD to its friends, has instilled a mix of panic, dread, exasperation, and rage across countless Windows users. But now, Microsoft is getting ready to retire it. According to a Microsoft blog post, the Windows 11 crash screen—or, as the company puts it, 'unexpected restart screen'—will soon adopt a distinctly more minimalist vibe. Along with scrapping the blue (in favor of a perhaps even more dread-inducing black), the revamp also ditches the sad face emoji and QR code. All that remains is a single ominous sentence—'Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart'—along with a stop code and details of the errant driver that contributed to your PC's misfortune. A Black Screen of Death is something Microsoft has teased before. But why now? Why no more blue? And where did the Blue Screen of Death come from in the first place? Out of the Blue: Before the BSOD To be clear, there was no grand plan behind the Blue Screen of Death. Its origin story is a patchwork of coincidences and iteration. Even the term itself likely evolved organically, perhaps derived from 'Black Screen of Death,' used by InfoWorld's Robert X. Cringely while writing about a bug that affected networked PCs running Windows 3.1. That screen, you'll note, wasn't even blue. Early versions of Windows did have blue screens, but they weren't really about death. Windows 1 (1985) would spew white-on-blue garbage when confronted with the wrong version of DOS during boot. Windows 3.1 (1992) used the same scheme for important system messages that required user input and for the rudimentary task manager that let you kill unruly apps or reboot. At most, this was Blue Screen of Mild Dilemma territory. When things went really bad, you'd get dumped back into DOS. Which also wasn't blue. Windows 95 moved things on a bit by not kicking you back to DOS when it imploded. But its system error screens still gave you the option to limp along, even if Windows by then was one wobble from collapse. A Blue Screen of Potentially Delayed Death, then. But BSOPDD never caught on as an acronym because it's far too silly . Blue-Sky Thinking: Evolution of the BSOD The real BSOD, the one burned into tech lore, arguably arrived with Windows NT 3.1 (1993). When the system hit a critical error, it threw up a wall of white text on a blue background, which might help engineers diagnose an issue—or make the average user stare at it and weep. So why blue? Years ago, former Microsoft architect John Vert explained that the color scheme matched his workstation boot screen and text editor. And when Windows crashed, the display adapter was forced into text mode with a basic color palette. Vert added that he was unaware of other Windows blue screens. In short, then, he chose what he knew and liked. Yet those arbitrary decisions stuck for nearly two decades, aside from minor tweaks to simplify the output to make it a little less terrifying. Significant changes arrived with Windows 8 (2012), which was the first real attempt to make the crash screen user-friendly. But this being Microsoft, that effort included a huge, obnoxious, almost sarcastic sad-face emoji above text that read, 'Your PC ran into a problem that it couldn't handle, and now it needs to restart.' At least the shade of blue was nicer. Later, Windows 10 (2016) added a QR code, so that rather than scrawl down error messages, you could use your phone to quickly jump to a support page. (And then probably reboot anyway, when you realized it wasn't any help.) Then came Windows 11 (2021), which briefly made the dramatic visual change of turning the BSOD black, matching the system's login and shutdown screens. That was subsequently reverted, perhaps in response to the anguished cries of confused users and support desk engineers alike. So, what's different this time? Back in Black: Why Microsoft Is Ditching the Blue In 2024, a botched CrowdStrike update rendered countless PCs unusable, taking down airlines, railways, banks, TV stations, and more. What had they in common? All proudly displayed the Blue Screen of Death. It's not hard to imagine Microsoft wanting to distance itself from that imagery by making its crash screen less iconic, less memorable, less memeable , and less noticeable. Not that Microsoft would ever say that. Officially, the new crash screen is part of the broader Windows Resiliency Initiative, designed to, well, make Windows more resilient. And the redesign specifically is all about clarity and simplicity. According to David Weston, Microsoft Vice President, Enterprise and OS Security, it 'improves readability and aligns better with Windows 11 design principles, while preserving the technical information on the screen for when it is needed.' There's arguably an added bonus, too: removing all distinct visuals from the Windows crash screen gives Apple one less thing to poke fun at. So no more sneakily adding BSOD colors and :( to macOS PC icons. Sad face indeed. Feeling Blue: Microsoft Might Regret the Change But before WIRED suggests black looks good on everyone, including the Windows Lock Screen, let's ask: Should Microsoft think again, as it did in 2021? A whistle-stop tour of color theory books will tell you blue is widely regarded as positive, right across cultures. It's the most favored hue and associated with calmness, serenity, and competence. It's the sky and the sea—the 'everything's probably fine' shade. By contrast, black is the absence of color. Cold. Ominous. The void. More importantly, the Blue Screen of Death is recognizable . You can spot it across the room and instantly know something has gone very wrong. A black crash screen, though, risks blending in with update screens. And something you definitely don't want to do is have users in any way confuse the two. As a commenter WIRED spotted put it, 'You wouldn't change the colors of road signs, so why do that to the computer equivalent?' Whatever the reason—ditching a negative image, unifying design, simplifying an experience, or just change for the sake of it—the Blue Screen of Death is on borrowed time. Still, the BSOD acronym will surely live on, because there's no chance Microsoft's 'unexpected restart screen' term will stick. That's not a name; it's a euphemism. It'll always be a Screen of Death to WIRED, whatever its hue, black or blue. The BSOD is dead. Long live the BSOD.
Tokyo Weekender
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Tokyo Weekender
New US Visa Rule Requires Applicants To Set Social Media Accounts to ‘Public'
On Monday, the United States Embassy in Japan announced via X that applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas must make their social media accounts 'public.' According to the US Department of State (DOS), those who keep their social media accounts private may be deemed as trying to hide their activities. Officers have reportedly been told to reject visa applications in cases where the applicant has expressed 'hostile attitudes' toward the US, advocated for or supported 'designated foreign terrorists and other threats to US national security,' or supported an tis emitism. 'Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their personal social media accounts to 'public' to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States,' read t he post . The F, M and J visas are all student visas. F-1 is for academic studies, M-1 is for vocational or non-academic studies and J-1 is for exchange visitor programs. List of Contents: Reaction to the US Embassy Post Social Media Checks Becoming Stricter in the US Related Posts Reaction to the US Embassy Post The post by the United States Embassy in Japan has garnered more than 2 million views. Some raised concerns about their visas potentially being rejected because their social media pages are not pro-US enough. Others vented their frustration at the kind of country the US is becoming, suggesting freedom of speech is being stifled. 'What happens if I criticize Trump? Isn't that against freedom of speech? Well, thanks to your president, your country has become quite an unappealing place, so I doubt anyone would want to go there anyway,' posted one user. Not everyone was against the ruling, though, with some posting their support. 'I'm amazed at people quoting 1984 ,' wrote one X user. 'This isn't about the US targeting their own citizens. It's about verifying the identities of newcomers to protect their people. Checking whether newcomers are Trojan horses for homeland defense. To prevent large-scale civil unrest or infiltration of key national institutions, this kind of vetting is essential, isn't it? It's a normal procedure.' Social Media Checks Becoming Stricter in the US The US has been checking the social media accounts of visa applicants and immigrants since at least 2019. However, in the past few months, these checks have allegedly become a lot stricter. Speaking to USA Today in April, Susanne Heubel, senior counsel at the New York-based immigration law firm Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, said that up until January 2025, the searches had been 'almost negligible.' She added, 'I travel a lot, I have clients who travel a lot, of all sorts of nationalities and visa statuses, and nobody has ever complained about these searches until now.' Related Posts US Visa Applicants From Japan Now Require Disclosing 5 Years of Social Media History Japanese PhD Student Has Visa Revoked in the US Due to Alleged Criminal History Renewing a Japanese Visa, More Fun Every Year
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Visa interviews for international students set to open, subject to review of social media accounts
AI-generated image (For representative purposes only) Visa interviews for international students (those seeking a F-visa or M-visa) and those aspiring to visit US on an exchange visa (J visa) is set to open, but the news is mixed. The new requirement by the US Department of State (DOS) is that all applicants must make their social media accounts open for government review. In late May, DOS had paused consulate visa interviews for these categories of applicants to enable introduction and implementation of enhanced social media screening and vetting processes. A tersely worded statement, issued late night on Wednesday, by DOS states, 'We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the US, including those who pose a threat to US national security. Under new guidance, we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J non-immigrant classifications. To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J non-immigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to public'. Several federal agencies under the Trump administration are issuing constant reminders that 'A US visa is a privilege, not a right,' – these words and the concern about 'national security' echo throughout this statement. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Doutor: Manter a massa muscular após os 50 anos depende deste hábito noturno Revista do Homem Saiba Mais Undo 'The US must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the US do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests, and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission,' adds the statement. It may be recalled that in mid-March, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian PhD student at Columbia University, self-deported to Canada after her US student visa was revoked due to alleged campus activism. The subsequent weeks saw hundreds of F-1 visas and/or SEVIS records being revoked for a multitude of reasons including campus activism, some reasons were as trifling as a traffic violation. Several US district courts have granted temporary injunctions to international students against such revocations. In April, as was duly reported by TOI, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated that the agency will 'begin considering aliens' antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests. This will immediately affect aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity. ' Given that this course of action existed, the pause on the issue of international student visas had taken the student community by surprise. According to immigration attorneys the need to have social media accounts 'public' is the marked difference. Given the past actions of the US authorities, a student from Pune, who was aspiring to study in the US had deleted all her social media accounts. 'My immigration attorney has now told me that even the lack of a social media presence could be held against me – it could indicate that I had things to hide,' she told TOI. Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at told TOI, 'All foreign students and scholars applying for F, M and J visas will need to ensure their social media accounts are public for review. Consular officers will screen for 'hostility' toward US citizens, culture, government, or institutions. There is absolutely no guidance on what these 'hostility indicators' mean or to what extent the US government will go to determine hostility. This vague criteria creates uncertainty for applicants and raises questions about consistency and fairness in the visa application review process.' New York based Cyrus Mehta, founder of an immigration law firm added, 'This is so very authoritarian and even creepy, and it is aimed at stifling all forms of critical speech that is integral to a student's education.' According to a recent report released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), there were 15.8 lakh international students in the US during 2024, with the Indian contingent of nearly 4.2 lakh students being the largest. However, recent trends have shown a decline in interest in studying in the US.
Hindustan Times
19-06-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Sit back to savour mindfulness on this Sauntering Day
Celebrated annually, World Sauntering Day (June 19) is a reminder for individuals to step away from hectic schedules and embrace a slower, more deliberate pace. With slow living coming to the forefront, we look at how you can begin this practise right from your plate. Mindful eating is the concept of paying full attention to the experience of consuming food, as well as the internal and external processes.'Eating often becomes an automatic, rushed act, disconnected from our physical sensations and emotional states,' says dietician Vidhi Chawla. According to Vidhi, the disconnect with yourself while eating can prevent your brain from properly registering fullness signals. A rushed pace can also impair digestion, causing bloating and reflux. 'Eating fast is associated with stress and distraction, which causes you to miss out on the sensory experience,' she shares. Eateries are also catching, encouraging customers to slow it down. For instance, Delhi-based DOS has unveiled a breakfast menu inspired by slow mornings. 'Our breakfast experience is intended to provide a more leisurely, purposeful morning, enabling visitors to stop and think before the bustle starts,' says chef and co-founder Jatin Mallick. In Mumbai, actor Shilpa Shetty Kudnra's recently-launched cafe Blondie features a slow bar for hand-brewed coffee. Meanwhile, Hinoki Coffee Bar and Thought Explorers Club are celebrating with slow conversations over slow drinks. 'Events like these are necessary to help enjoy life as is,' says Shivangi, a college student who frequents the eatery. The benefits of eating mindfully: Mindful eating prepares your body to process food and regulates appetite to foster a healthier relationship with food. Mindful eating isn't just about your gut—it directly impacts your mental well-being. 'According to yoga and naturopathy, the gut is the second brain. When we eat with awareness, we reduce stress, improve sleep, and even lower the chances of anxiety and depression,' says Dr Narendra K Shetty, chief wellness officer at Kshemavana Naturopathy and Yoga. Slowing down eating activates the parasympathetic system, which is responsible to help you rest and digest. Mindful eating also helps calm your thoughts, regulate hormones and boosts mood. This also prevents guilt and shame associated with emotional or unconscious eating. According to Dr Shetty, in yoga this process is called ahara shuddhi — purity in food and its consumption. What we eat becomes our mind. Eating mindfully isn't just about nutrition but nurturing inner harmony. He suggests beginning small with the following steps: Eat your breakfast in silence without a phone or screen. Chew each bite 20-30 times to aid digestion — your gut will thank you. Take three deep breaths before each meal to reset your nervous system. Place your spoon down between bites to slow down. Eat one meal a day in total silence. Make it sacred. Involve your senses — observe the colour, texture, aroma, and even the sound of food.
