After Brexit, EU citizens will lose the automatic right to live and work in the U.K., and Britons to settle in the bloc's 27 remaining nations. This has sparked fears of massive job shortage in Britain which is why Prime Minister Boris Johnson has introduced a new fast-track visa to attract more of the world's best scientists to the U.K.

February 2 onwards, one will be able to apply for a Schengen visa for a trip to Europe up to six months in advance of the proposed travel date, instead of the present three months. According to an EU spokesperson, the new rules will provide faster procedures particularly allowing for applications to be lodged up to 6 months, and no later than 15 days.

The fee hike by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is for the short-term work permits used by IT companies to send highly-skilled workers to the US, and Nasscom has opposed it in a submission to the immigration agency’s parent, Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari, an Indian-American US Air Force colonel, is among 11 new NASA graduates who have successfully completed their over two years' of basic astronaut training . Astronaut candidate training included practice, and testing in spacewalking, robotics, International Space Station systems, T-38 jet proficiency, and Russian language.

Under the new system, only applications selected through the random selection process will be eligible to file the H-1B cap subject petitions. Through this new process, USCIS hopes to dramatically streamline processing by reducing paperwork and data exchange, and will provide an overall cost savings to petitioning employers.