pappu
10-16 10:10 AM
If you marry a girl after geting greencard you have to wait 5 years to bring her to US. So better yet, marry after you get citizenship :D which might be when you are ready to collect your social security
:D
Good to see some light hearted comments to help uplift our moods in the gloomy greencard situation.
:D
Good to see some light hearted comments to help uplift our moods in the gloomy greencard situation.
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chanduv23
09-22 04:57 PM
A very horrible psychopath who has proven himself to be a loser all his life has given me a red with the following " hehehehehhehehehehh" words for my above post.
My message to whoever gave me a red - u r such a loser.
Invoking AC21 is easy, but you need to know what you can expect and how to resolve it
(1) If you decided to change to new employer using EAD - there is nothing you need to do. Just join and work.
(2) As employer is asking what they need to do - tell them they need to provide an AC21 letter of support - you can find various formats on the web.
(3) Your new job must be in same or similar category.
(4) Call customer service to verify your address on file - also hire a personal attorney and make sure they file g 28 and have them on file too for USCIS communication
(5) Your AC21 letter may/may not reach your file depending on the service center, officer and a lot of other factors.
(6) Usually most AC21 cases go through just fine unless your ex employer requests a revoke on i 140 - in such a situation you may get an RFE, NOID or a straight denial on 485 - nothing to worry about - you can resolve all these and you will find yourself back on track.
Hope this helps
My message to whoever gave me a red - u r such a loser.
Invoking AC21 is easy, but you need to know what you can expect and how to resolve it
(1) If you decided to change to new employer using EAD - there is nothing you need to do. Just join and work.
(2) As employer is asking what they need to do - tell them they need to provide an AC21 letter of support - you can find various formats on the web.
(3) Your new job must be in same or similar category.
(4) Call customer service to verify your address on file - also hire a personal attorney and make sure they file g 28 and have them on file too for USCIS communication
(5) Your AC21 letter may/may not reach your file depending on the service center, officer and a lot of other factors.
(6) Usually most AC21 cases go through just fine unless your ex employer requests a revoke on i 140 - in such a situation you may get an RFE, NOID or a straight denial on 485 - nothing to worry about - you can resolve all these and you will find yourself back on track.
Hope this helps
vaishalikumar
08-27 03:55 PM
I am also in PA and my DL(driving licence) will expire in last of September month and my H1b extension is still pending at California Center . Can i get DL renewed from PENNDOT on the basis of Receipt Notice of H1b Extension and a letter from employer ?
I'm in the same boat. PA DoT wants to see visa stamp on the passport.. applied for 1st 3 year extn at VSC on 7/10, will up it to PP this week... anyone in PA got their DL renewed using RN... please specify how and where??
I'm in the same boat. PA DoT wants to see visa stamp on the passport.. applied for 1st 3 year extn at VSC on 7/10, will up it to PP this week... anyone in PA got their DL renewed using RN... please specify how and where??
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gcsngh
09-22 04:19 PM
Is a great idea...the punch line must start with "Legal"....;)
Bumper Stickers are a powerful tool to pread political messages in America. It may not catch the eye balls of the senators, but can definitely give spead the message of IV.
It's cheap, and long term free advertisement. I would say IV should distribute attractive non-controversial bumper-stickers, instead of flyers which end up in garbage cans
Bumper Stickers are a powerful tool to pread political messages in America. It may not catch the eye balls of the senators, but can definitely give spead the message of IV.
It's cheap, and long term free advertisement. I would say IV should distribute attractive non-controversial bumper-stickers, instead of flyers which end up in garbage cans
more...
chanduv23
08-04 09:35 AM
o.k...I hope you are correct. but how do you explain this ..my friend with a PD in 2004 EB3 had submitted incomplete medicals for his wife as they were expecting a addition in the family ..they submitted during the fiasco with RD in july / aug 2007 ..however no RFE's so far ?? (TSC shows processing dates in end aug 2007 ..which could mean that they are processing sept cases )
Same with one of my friend - his PD is EB3 2005 India - he never received his FP as yet and is just planning to wait it out. Gets his EAd and Ap renewed regularly.
Same with one of my friend - his PD is EB3 2005 India - he never received his FP as yet and is just planning to wait it out. Gets his EAd and Ap renewed regularly.
senthil1
07-04 12:18 PM
Will it really create ablity to pay issue when an employer keeps many I140s without pay and create a problem for future Gc processing? If that is really an issue then cancelling I140 is not retaliation. People can post their views.
You have used AC21 after 180 days then what is there to worry? Even if you receive RFE you can reply and you can get GC.
I have been a big fan of IV and have been a visitor to IV for a while. I now plan to become a volunteer and join my state chapter and also contribute in all possible ways to IV because I think IV is the best thing to happen to this community.
Dear gurus - here is my issue and I need some real concrete help.
I was working for a New Jersey based consulting company on a percentage basis ie 80/20 and all costs towards GC and h1b were by me. I found my own projects and negotiated my own billing rate.
I worked for this company for 3 years and filed for 485 in July 2007. I am EB2 India with a priority date of March 2nd, 2006. My 140 was approved in June, 2006.
In March, 2008 my project got over and I started looking for new projects. Market conditions forced me to take up a fulltime job using my EAD and I had to move into a fulltime job.
As it is safe past 180 days, I used AC21 portability and moved.
I had been having excellent relationship with my desi employer and in fact also payed up some money to the employer because the client did not pay for last 2 months of my project and my desi employer held me responsible as it was me who negotiated with the client and said it is my issue - for which I agreed.
I already sent a AC21 letter to USCIS through my Attorney - I am not sure if my file got updated.
My desi employer wants to withdraw the 140 petition now. He says, he cannot keep 140 petitions of employees who leave the organization and not on w2 and he will have "ability to pay issue"
I have heard horror stories of USCIS issuing denials and NOID because AC21 letter never reached the file even though it was sent in time and I guess this is exactly what my desi employer thinks - teach lesson by withdrawing 140.
I spoke to my Attorney and she says "your file may not be updated but we will keep a record that we sent" useful in case we want to respond to NOID or RFE.
Folks - please post your AC21 success/horror stories when previous employer withdrew the 140 petition.
What are my options to avoid a NOID or denial
Thanks in advance
You have used AC21 after 180 days then what is there to worry? Even if you receive RFE you can reply and you can get GC.
I have been a big fan of IV and have been a visitor to IV for a while. I now plan to become a volunteer and join my state chapter and also contribute in all possible ways to IV because I think IV is the best thing to happen to this community.
Dear gurus - here is my issue and I need some real concrete help.
I was working for a New Jersey based consulting company on a percentage basis ie 80/20 and all costs towards GC and h1b were by me. I found my own projects and negotiated my own billing rate.
I worked for this company for 3 years and filed for 485 in July 2007. I am EB2 India with a priority date of March 2nd, 2006. My 140 was approved in June, 2006.
In March, 2008 my project got over and I started looking for new projects. Market conditions forced me to take up a fulltime job using my EAD and I had to move into a fulltime job.
As it is safe past 180 days, I used AC21 portability and moved.
I had been having excellent relationship with my desi employer and in fact also payed up some money to the employer because the client did not pay for last 2 months of my project and my desi employer held me responsible as it was me who negotiated with the client and said it is my issue - for which I agreed.
I already sent a AC21 letter to USCIS through my Attorney - I am not sure if my file got updated.
My desi employer wants to withdraw the 140 petition now. He says, he cannot keep 140 petitions of employees who leave the organization and not on w2 and he will have "ability to pay issue"
I have heard horror stories of USCIS issuing denials and NOID because AC21 letter never reached the file even though it was sent in time and I guess this is exactly what my desi employer thinks - teach lesson by withdrawing 140.
I spoke to my Attorney and she says "your file may not be updated but we will keep a record that we sent" useful in case we want to respond to NOID or RFE.
Folks - please post your AC21 success/horror stories when previous employer withdrew the 140 petition.
What are my options to avoid a NOID or denial
Thanks in advance
more...
NolaIndian32
05-29 01:55 PM
Weldonsprings, you might be mistaken about the UAFA bill which is up for a vote on June 3, 2009. The intent of the UAFA is to allow US Citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their foreign-born partners for permanent residency by means of demonstrating a "permanent partnership". Let me re-emphasize, this bill is geared primarily for the LGBT Community of which I am a proud member, so if you are supporting this bill, my thanks to you.
[QUOTE=WeldonSprings;343823]That is correct! The bills in the house and senate coming up for discussion does not mention visa re-capture. However, Please look at the titles-don't they sound the same. The contents are different. The content of S.424 is to give permanent residents the same STATUS as US citizens so that they can sponsor their wives, parents, brothers, sisters and doggies...So an amendment is necessary. That's why I have written in the original post-
[QUOTE=WeldonSprings;343823]That is correct! The bills in the house and senate coming up for discussion does not mention visa re-capture. However, Please look at the titles-don't they sound the same. The contents are different. The content of S.424 is to give permanent residents the same STATUS as US citizens so that they can sponsor their wives, parents, brothers, sisters and doggies...So an amendment is necessary. That's why I have written in the original post-
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gcisadawg
02-23 02:56 PM
And who is complaining about all of this?
It is gcisaDAWG :D
That is a good one! :D
But read my post right after that!
It is gcisaDAWG :D
That is a good one! :D
But read my post right after that!
more...
chanduv23
09-22 09:31 PM
Chanduv23,
Thanks again for being ever so helpful. That being said, can you please share your thoughts on the following situation?
140 approved, 485 pending for more than 180 days, EAD/AP approved, and in hand.
Candidate leaves sponsoring employer and joins another employer (similar position/salary, etc.) New employer's attorneys send the AC21 letter and G-28 forms to the USCIS. The attorneys are very familiar with this, have handled lots of AC21 cases (Fragomen).
Is there any way the candidate can call USCIS customer service and ask for the attorney/representative's name on file, just to make sure that the G28 did get processed and the attorney name on file got changed from the old law firm to the new one? Would customer service share that information with the candidate?
Thanks,
Yes and no. It depends on the customer service representative or if you take infopass, it depends on the VO. You generally know when your Attorney files for G 28 because you actually sign the G 28. G 28 is like any other form like 485 or EAD or AP etc... so if your 485 and 140 and h1b everything gets filed properly why do you think g 28 does not get filed properly?
Try to be very pleasing and polite to a CS rep or a VO and try to get the info, they may let you know your Attorney on file.
Good luck
Thanks again for being ever so helpful. That being said, can you please share your thoughts on the following situation?
140 approved, 485 pending for more than 180 days, EAD/AP approved, and in hand.
Candidate leaves sponsoring employer and joins another employer (similar position/salary, etc.) New employer's attorneys send the AC21 letter and G-28 forms to the USCIS. The attorneys are very familiar with this, have handled lots of AC21 cases (Fragomen).
Is there any way the candidate can call USCIS customer service and ask for the attorney/representative's name on file, just to make sure that the G28 did get processed and the attorney name on file got changed from the old law firm to the new one? Would customer service share that information with the candidate?
Thanks,
Yes and no. It depends on the customer service representative or if you take infopass, it depends on the VO. You generally know when your Attorney files for G 28 because you actually sign the G 28. G 28 is like any other form like 485 or EAD or AP etc... so if your 485 and 140 and h1b everything gets filed properly why do you think g 28 does not get filed properly?
Try to be very pleasing and polite to a CS rep or a VO and try to get the info, they may let you know your Attorney on file.
Good luck
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GCtogo
09-24 01:42 PM
Hello Gurus,
I am also in the same situation. Last week, My desi employer gave me a deadline to find a project after which he will lay me off. On the same day my concurrently filed I-140(July 07 filed) was approved. I have also applied for EAD renewal. My approved H-1B petition has two more years. Now I am focussed more on finding a full time position. If I get one, should I ask the new company to transfer my H-1B visa or should I be using the EAD once I get it? What do you Gurus recommend? Any information on this will be really helpful for me in making up my mind.
My details:
PD: May 30th, 2006
EB2 India
Thanks
I am also in the same situation. Last week, My desi employer gave me a deadline to find a project after which he will lay me off. On the same day my concurrently filed I-140(July 07 filed) was approved. I have also applied for EAD renewal. My approved H-1B petition has two more years. Now I am focussed more on finding a full time position. If I get one, should I ask the new company to transfer my H-1B visa or should I be using the EAD once I get it? What do you Gurus recommend? Any information on this will be really helpful for me in making up my mind.
My details:
PD: May 30th, 2006
EB2 India
Thanks
more...
gconmymind
08-27 07:33 PM
I got a FP notice for next month. It is certainly not related to AP or EAD renewal, since I don't have any pending AP or EAD renewal. I got my EAD renewed last March and AP in May. So hoping that I got the FP notice since they started looking at my 485 application and something positive will be end result.
Good luck.
This is what I wanted to hear! :) Good Luck to you too...
Good luck.
This is what I wanted to hear! :) Good Luck to you too...
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hebbar77
09-11 06:54 PM
I bought one in 2004 , but in india !
Here I enjoy the freedom and savings with renting the apt for a small amount... I can drive across the country anytime if I want to ...
My personal opinion buying a house =a h1b visa 10 years must have/keep job. This will be different for dual income folks.
Here I enjoy the freedom and savings with renting the apt for a small amount... I can drive across the country anytime if I want to ...
My personal opinion buying a house =a h1b visa 10 years must have/keep job. This will be different for dual income folks.
more...
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ohguy
09-27 10:25 AM
We applied at TSC (e-filed) 2 weeks earlier than your and got a decision last week. So you probably could get a decision soon in about 2 weeks.
Hi I am applying advance parole for the first time, I am a july 2007 485 filer but never really cared to apply AP. Now I am planning to go to India in december what are my chances of getting my AP approved before that. Below are my case details:
Service Center - Texas
Method of filing - efile
Filing date - 08/30/2010
Received date - 08/30/2010
Documents Sent - 09/3/2010
Documents Received- 09/5/2010
LUD - 09/13/2010
RFE if any - None
Approved / denial - None
Hi I am applying advance parole for the first time, I am a july 2007 485 filer but never really cared to apply AP. Now I am planning to go to India in december what are my chances of getting my AP approved before that. Below are my case details:
Service Center - Texas
Method of filing - efile
Filing date - 08/30/2010
Received date - 08/30/2010
Documents Sent - 09/3/2010
Documents Received- 09/5/2010
LUD - 09/13/2010
RFE if any - None
Approved / denial - None
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chanduv23
07-09 01:12 PM
I saw the thread about the negative comments on Fox... Can you please direct me to MSNBC's coverage on this?
Look for the Brian Williams thread
Look for the Brian Williams thread
more...
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saimrathi
08-27 09:13 AM
I beg to differ.. My PA DL is based on my Work Visa, hence it expires on the day my visa expires.. I tried to renew online and the system said since you are not a citizen u have to go to the DL Center for a renewal... Maybe your DL is from the time you were student or otherwise...
The best thing about PA is through online.
Visit the below link
http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/driverLicensePhotoIDCenter/renewNonCommercials.shtml
and click on renew online. Here you have to enter your details and pay through credit card. You will receive the confirmation letter (DL60A/DL60R) through regular mail with in 10 days. Take the letter and go to the DMV for photograph.
The photograph folks don't ask any immigration documents, just the SSN original card. That's it.
The best thing about PA is through online.
Visit the below link
http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/driverLicensePhotoIDCenter/renewNonCommercials.shtml
and click on renew online. Here you have to enter your details and pay through credit card. You will receive the confirmation letter (DL60A/DL60R) through regular mail with in 10 days. Take the letter and go to the DMV for photograph.
The photograph folks don't ask any immigration documents, just the SSN original card. That's it.
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logiclife
04-11 10:45 AM
Question gurus... I have a xerox copy of my approved I-140. Will this be enough to port the priority date? or do you need the original copy to be submitted along with the new I-140 application when you request portability of older priority date?? please clarify.
One of the immigration lawyers I talked to said that photocopy should be fine.
One of the immigration lawyers I talked to said that photocopy should be fine.
more...
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walking_dude
09-22 02:10 PM
Let me be objective, as much I can be, here.
....there would have been more than 2,000 in DC.........but clearly they did not.......i was willing to give it a shot - but unfortunately could not and did not want to specifically postpone something else to make it to DC.......
Dear Sir, you didn't attend ,thinking that it was unworthy of postphoning a meeting. And yet you lament not more than 2,000 attended.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry at such statements.
.........those were different times and different issues.........colonialism, racial discrimination etc........who would employ us in the future...in Gandhi's days - they did not have electronic background checks......!!
The core issue is the same, back then and today - fight against Injustice, ill-treatment of human beings by Government.
Here's why Gandhi inspires people like me in our struggle.
"BE the change you'd like to see in the World" ( Gandhi's polite way of saying - cribbing doesn't help. Do it yourself, or ....)
He also said - " It's a bigger sin to suffer injustice than committing it" . [ He wasn't appreciative about Do-Nothings. Not at all. He called them the "greater sinners", as their silence encourages even more injustice]
I agree with you on one thing though. Gandhis struggle was bigger than ours. Ours is nothing compared to it - You talk of no "background checks" in Gandhis time... when people used to be beaten on their head for marching peacefully. Many of them would bleed to death. Our struggle may be inspired by Gandhiji, but we will never be able to match the sacrifices made by othose martyrs. We may be inspired by Gandhis principles, but we can never be the Gandhi.
But the least we can do to respect that great man, is to follow some of his principles (like those stated above) in to our daily lives. Is that too much to ask?
Another take - if US can have an endless source of temporary workers coming in, paying into income tax and social security taxes and medicare taxes for a few years......and going back without claiming a single dime of social benefits......its the best possible situation for US....a forever young, qualified, minimum wages (i.e prevailing wages) earning tax paying transient population supporting/ subsidizing an archaic and otherwise struggling social security and healthcare system.
Another of those arm-chair conspiracy theories. Knowledge retention is critical to companys success. A guy fresh out of college is never equivalent a guy with several years of experience in the same field. Dollar value is dropping, Rupee is rising, salaries in India are rising. If people cannot get GC in a short period of time, there would very little incentive in coming and working here. As you must be aware most H1s these days are used to outsource work to India (by Infy and others), and not to get people to work permanently here. I suggest you read the Kauffman report thoroughly to understand the situation.
.....to create a nice "politically correct shield" for people's own private agendas (and the collective agenda of all of us) - to get a GC. Are we here to improve america's competitiveness (if that was the primary purpose of our coming here - shame on us for not staying back and improving our respective motherlands' competitiveness) or our own future - if the latter - lets call a spade a spade.........
I admire your gall in dismissing us as shameless, self-serving, unpatriotic liars,in polite words of course , while doing absolutely nothing to help our cause.
Let me put this politely. "Don't do unto others, what you don't want others do unto you". Don't cast aspersions others, if you don't others to cast aspersions on you.
so - whats the "so what" from my post? is it to critique what IV is doing - no! The "so what" is - unless there are drastic and dramatic measures - concrete changes are not possible........small procedural victories - maybe........drastic change.....no way!
Dear Sir, what do YOU suggest that we do? You think peaceful rallies won't work. On the one hand, you suggest only disobedience movement will work. On the other, you scare us ,saying if we do that we are in deep-six.
In other words, you'd have us 'Do Nothing At All', and hope that our issues will vanish miraculously by the magic of Harry Potter.
Dear Sir, you deserve a Noble prize for your theories
....there would have been more than 2,000 in DC.........but clearly they did not.......i was willing to give it a shot - but unfortunately could not and did not want to specifically postpone something else to make it to DC.......
Dear Sir, you didn't attend ,thinking that it was unworthy of postphoning a meeting. And yet you lament not more than 2,000 attended.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry at such statements.
.........those were different times and different issues.........colonialism, racial discrimination etc........who would employ us in the future...in Gandhi's days - they did not have electronic background checks......!!
The core issue is the same, back then and today - fight against Injustice, ill-treatment of human beings by Government.
Here's why Gandhi inspires people like me in our struggle.
"BE the change you'd like to see in the World" ( Gandhi's polite way of saying - cribbing doesn't help. Do it yourself, or ....)
He also said - " It's a bigger sin to suffer injustice than committing it" . [ He wasn't appreciative about Do-Nothings. Not at all. He called them the "greater sinners", as their silence encourages even more injustice]
I agree with you on one thing though. Gandhis struggle was bigger than ours. Ours is nothing compared to it - You talk of no "background checks" in Gandhis time... when people used to be beaten on their head for marching peacefully. Many of them would bleed to death. Our struggle may be inspired by Gandhiji, but we will never be able to match the sacrifices made by othose martyrs. We may be inspired by Gandhis principles, but we can never be the Gandhi.
But the least we can do to respect that great man, is to follow some of his principles (like those stated above) in to our daily lives. Is that too much to ask?
Another take - if US can have an endless source of temporary workers coming in, paying into income tax and social security taxes and medicare taxes for a few years......and going back without claiming a single dime of social benefits......its the best possible situation for US....a forever young, qualified, minimum wages (i.e prevailing wages) earning tax paying transient population supporting/ subsidizing an archaic and otherwise struggling social security and healthcare system.
Another of those arm-chair conspiracy theories. Knowledge retention is critical to companys success. A guy fresh out of college is never equivalent a guy with several years of experience in the same field. Dollar value is dropping, Rupee is rising, salaries in India are rising. If people cannot get GC in a short period of time, there would very little incentive in coming and working here. As you must be aware most H1s these days are used to outsource work to India (by Infy and others), and not to get people to work permanently here. I suggest you read the Kauffman report thoroughly to understand the situation.
.....to create a nice "politically correct shield" for people's own private agendas (and the collective agenda of all of us) - to get a GC. Are we here to improve america's competitiveness (if that was the primary purpose of our coming here - shame on us for not staying back and improving our respective motherlands' competitiveness) or our own future - if the latter - lets call a spade a spade.........
I admire your gall in dismissing us as shameless, self-serving, unpatriotic liars,in polite words of course , while doing absolutely nothing to help our cause.
Let me put this politely. "Don't do unto others, what you don't want others do unto you". Don't cast aspersions others, if you don't others to cast aspersions on you.
so - whats the "so what" from my post? is it to critique what IV is doing - no! The "so what" is - unless there are drastic and dramatic measures - concrete changes are not possible........small procedural victories - maybe........drastic change.....no way!
Dear Sir, what do YOU suggest that we do? You think peaceful rallies won't work. On the one hand, you suggest only disobedience movement will work. On the other, you scare us ,saying if we do that we are in deep-six.
In other words, you'd have us 'Do Nothing At All', and hope that our issues will vanish miraculously by the magic of Harry Potter.
Dear Sir, you deserve a Noble prize for your theories
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a1b2c3
11-02 01:58 AM
I asked my attorney he said that I need to wait at least 1 more year. The Nov and Dec are gone in holidays. These Gov emp are worst then Indian Gov Emp.
I wouldn't believe everything lawyers say. I don't think you need to wait another year.
I wouldn't believe everything lawyers say. I don't think you need to wait another year.
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theoneit
03-12 03:07 PM
".. Kismet pe rone ka nai,
Calendar badalte rehne ka... "
Calendar badalte rehne ka... "
kanta80
04-25 11:00 PM
Here is the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501963.html
Sorry if someone else had already posted it.
Thanks.
Ed to add text in case link gets outdated:
Skilled Immigrants Turn to K Street
High-Tech Workers Awaiting Green Cards Hire Lobbyists, Hit the Hill
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Page D01
On the December day when Congress killed a budget amendment that might have allowed him to become an American a little sooner, Aman Kapoor started a movement.
He did not march through streets, carry signs, wave a flag from here or there. He did not walk off the job or file out of school. The computer programmer simply went online to a message board tracked by thousands of people in his predicament: highly skilled foreigners waiting years for their green cards.
"I think we can do better and really create the impact with organized effort," he wrote. "To achieve this we need a group of individuals who have shown commitment and motivation in this forum."
The next night, a dozen people living across the United States shed their Internet handles -- Kapoor's was "WaldenPond," a nod to his hero, Henry David Thoreau -- and addressed one another by name on a conference call that lasted an hour. Today, just four months later, the organization they dubbed Immigration Voice boasts 3,000 members; a fundraising goal of $200,000; and, most notably, a partnership with a high-powered lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC.
The group's transformation from an insular circle to a politically active movement offers a window into an alternative immigrant campaign being waged as the Senate this week resumes its work on immigration laws.
Most members and all the core organizers of Immigration Voice hail from India, though Chinese membership numbers in the hundreds and is on the rise. Most arrived on an international student visa or a visa known as the H-1B, reserved for highly skilled workers who can stay for up to six years -- unless an employer sponsors their green cards, which grant immigrants permanent residence in the United States and the right to live and work here freely. Over the past decade, the largest numbers of H-1Bs have been awarded to high-technology workers from India and China.
Thus, while the passage of a strict border-security bill introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) mobilized many other immigrants in December, members of this high-tech group had their eye on another: a budget reconciliation bill that, in the Senate version, would have allowed those waiting in line for a green card to proceed even if the quota had been exhausted. The provision was cut in conference committee, stirring many to action and leading to the founding of Immigration Voice.
While hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to get Congress's attention, Immigration Voice took a decidedly different approach. Shortly after the group was established, Kapoor and other volunteers began interviewing lobbyists, relying mostly on Google searches and data from the Center for Public Integrity's Web site.
"If it was not going to be big, it would not be worth the effort," said Kapoor, who works for Florida State University and has traveled to Washington nine times in the past three months. "Most of us have reached that point, having waited for eight or nine years, where individual lives are on hold."
Neither Quinn Gillespie nor Immigration Voice would disclose the amount being paid for the firm's services. Kapoor said it is "less than five figures."
"This is a sympathetic story," said Nick Maduros, a lobbyist for Quinn Gillespie. "For this group, their issues are very technical and are frankly not that controversial, but they have been overshadowed ."
Immigration Voices also enlisted the help of Rick Swartz, who has his own firm and has long been a leading lobbyist for immigration groups. Swartz gathered members of the group at his home one January weekend for a crash course in American politics, teaching them to position themselves as the "new Cubans for the Republicans."
Although their numbers are far smaller -- fewer than 2 million Indians live in the United States, according to the 2000 Census -- the group is among the more affluent immigrant communities. And because their numbers are smaller than those of Hispanics, they are trying to focus on other ways they can exert power -- through their wealth, their positions of influence in the high-tech and business communities, and their alliances with more established advocacy groups such as one for Indian physicians and an Indian political action committee.
While the immigrant marchers' demands have covered a range of issues, including allowing immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship, the members of this association are more narrowly focused: They want Congress to pass measures that would end the years-long wait for a green card. In fact, they warn that efforts to enable millions of illegal immigrants to remain here permanently would result in the same bureaucratic nightmare legal immigrants are now facing.
"If you're going to reform, reform across the board," said Bharati Mandapati, who oversees content for the group, which means she has learned how to word and pitch legislative amendments.
The group has refrained from taking a stand on the fate of the undocumented workers, though it monitors chatter on its Web site to ensure that frustrated high-tech workers don't disparage lower-skilled laborers such as landscapers and restaurant workers. It also has stayed mum on raising the cap on H-1Bs, the visas that made most of their passages possible.
Under a proposal introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the number of employment-based green cards being issued would increase from 140,000 to 290,000. Currently, no one country is supposed to take up more than 7 percent of the allotment, though unused green cards can be redistributed to countries that have already met their quota. That has made possible migrations in excess of 7 percent from nations such as India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Under the proposal, the per-country cap would be increased to a hard and fast 10 percent. Proponents say this would prevent one country from dominating the category and would retain jobs for native-born Americans.
But Mandapati, a California-based economist, argues that the restriction would hurt the United States because the demand for skills changes. "It just so happens that computer technology and certain technical skills are in great demand here and all over the world. It just so happens that there are two countries that have invested a lot of resources in educating people in these fields . . . India and China."
About a half-million immigrants are caught in the green-card backlog, some as they wait for Labor Department approval or because quotas have been exceeded. In that time, they cannot be promoted or given substantial pay increases because that would mean a change in job description and salary. They turn to Web sites to compare their wait times with others, and their Internet handles, such as "stucklabor" and "waiting_labor," exude their frustration.
During meetings on Capitol Hill, Maduros and at least one Immigration Voice representative lay out the group's platform, weaving in the personal stories of members. Shilpa Ghodgaonkar, a Germantown housewife, has become a staple anecdote -- and a frequent visitor on the Hill.
For four years, she and her husband have been waiting for their green cards. Ghodgaonkar's husband arrived on an H-1B visa, and she followed as his dependent, unauthorized to work here. To pass the time, she learned to cook. Then she volunteered as a career counselor in Montgomery County. Last year, she earned her MBA from George Washington University. In December, around the time Kapoor sent out his e-mail plea for mass mobilization, Ghodgaonkar had run out of options.
"I just couldn't keep quiet anymore," Ghodgaonkar said. "I cannot be depressed anymore."
She keeps a spreadsheet that lays out appointment times and the senators' offices she has visited or still plans to: Specter, Frist, Schumer, Brownback, Bingaman, Feinstein, Feingold. Wednesdays bring a weekly call with Quinn Gillespie. And every few nights, there are conference calls among Immigration Voice's core team.
Now the group plans to closely watch the debate resuming in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Earlier this month, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) proposed amendments with all of the group's provisions. Other lawmakers confirm that they are still meeting with the group to hear their concerns.
Immigration Voice leaders say the past few months have focused and politicized Indian immigrants in a way that was not apparent in the past. "There is a very 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' quality" about the current effort, Mandapati said. "It's been a journey, a loss of naivete and getting to know about American politics."
Sorry if someone else had already posted it.
Thanks.
Ed to add text in case link gets outdated:
Skilled Immigrants Turn to K Street
High-Tech Workers Awaiting Green Cards Hire Lobbyists, Hit the Hill
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Page D01
On the December day when Congress killed a budget amendment that might have allowed him to become an American a little sooner, Aman Kapoor started a movement.
He did not march through streets, carry signs, wave a flag from here or there. He did not walk off the job or file out of school. The computer programmer simply went online to a message board tracked by thousands of people in his predicament: highly skilled foreigners waiting years for their green cards.
"I think we can do better and really create the impact with organized effort," he wrote. "To achieve this we need a group of individuals who have shown commitment and motivation in this forum."
The next night, a dozen people living across the United States shed their Internet handles -- Kapoor's was "WaldenPond," a nod to his hero, Henry David Thoreau -- and addressed one another by name on a conference call that lasted an hour. Today, just four months later, the organization they dubbed Immigration Voice boasts 3,000 members; a fundraising goal of $200,000; and, most notably, a partnership with a high-powered lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC.
The group's transformation from an insular circle to a politically active movement offers a window into an alternative immigrant campaign being waged as the Senate this week resumes its work on immigration laws.
Most members and all the core organizers of Immigration Voice hail from India, though Chinese membership numbers in the hundreds and is on the rise. Most arrived on an international student visa or a visa known as the H-1B, reserved for highly skilled workers who can stay for up to six years -- unless an employer sponsors their green cards, which grant immigrants permanent residence in the United States and the right to live and work here freely. Over the past decade, the largest numbers of H-1Bs have been awarded to high-technology workers from India and China.
Thus, while the passage of a strict border-security bill introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) mobilized many other immigrants in December, members of this high-tech group had their eye on another: a budget reconciliation bill that, in the Senate version, would have allowed those waiting in line for a green card to proceed even if the quota had been exhausted. The provision was cut in conference committee, stirring many to action and leading to the founding of Immigration Voice.
While hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to get Congress's attention, Immigration Voice took a decidedly different approach. Shortly after the group was established, Kapoor and other volunteers began interviewing lobbyists, relying mostly on Google searches and data from the Center for Public Integrity's Web site.
"If it was not going to be big, it would not be worth the effort," said Kapoor, who works for Florida State University and has traveled to Washington nine times in the past three months. "Most of us have reached that point, having waited for eight or nine years, where individual lives are on hold."
Neither Quinn Gillespie nor Immigration Voice would disclose the amount being paid for the firm's services. Kapoor said it is "less than five figures."
"This is a sympathetic story," said Nick Maduros, a lobbyist for Quinn Gillespie. "For this group, their issues are very technical and are frankly not that controversial, but they have been overshadowed ."
Immigration Voices also enlisted the help of Rick Swartz, who has his own firm and has long been a leading lobbyist for immigration groups. Swartz gathered members of the group at his home one January weekend for a crash course in American politics, teaching them to position themselves as the "new Cubans for the Republicans."
Although their numbers are far smaller -- fewer than 2 million Indians live in the United States, according to the 2000 Census -- the group is among the more affluent immigrant communities. And because their numbers are smaller than those of Hispanics, they are trying to focus on other ways they can exert power -- through their wealth, their positions of influence in the high-tech and business communities, and their alliances with more established advocacy groups such as one for Indian physicians and an Indian political action committee.
While the immigrant marchers' demands have covered a range of issues, including allowing immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship, the members of this association are more narrowly focused: They want Congress to pass measures that would end the years-long wait for a green card. In fact, they warn that efforts to enable millions of illegal immigrants to remain here permanently would result in the same bureaucratic nightmare legal immigrants are now facing.
"If you're going to reform, reform across the board," said Bharati Mandapati, who oversees content for the group, which means she has learned how to word and pitch legislative amendments.
The group has refrained from taking a stand on the fate of the undocumented workers, though it monitors chatter on its Web site to ensure that frustrated high-tech workers don't disparage lower-skilled laborers such as landscapers and restaurant workers. It also has stayed mum on raising the cap on H-1Bs, the visas that made most of their passages possible.
Under a proposal introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the number of employment-based green cards being issued would increase from 140,000 to 290,000. Currently, no one country is supposed to take up more than 7 percent of the allotment, though unused green cards can be redistributed to countries that have already met their quota. That has made possible migrations in excess of 7 percent from nations such as India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Under the proposal, the per-country cap would be increased to a hard and fast 10 percent. Proponents say this would prevent one country from dominating the category and would retain jobs for native-born Americans.
But Mandapati, a California-based economist, argues that the restriction would hurt the United States because the demand for skills changes. "It just so happens that computer technology and certain technical skills are in great demand here and all over the world. It just so happens that there are two countries that have invested a lot of resources in educating people in these fields . . . India and China."
About a half-million immigrants are caught in the green-card backlog, some as they wait for Labor Department approval or because quotas have been exceeded. In that time, they cannot be promoted or given substantial pay increases because that would mean a change in job description and salary. They turn to Web sites to compare their wait times with others, and their Internet handles, such as "stucklabor" and "waiting_labor," exude their frustration.
During meetings on Capitol Hill, Maduros and at least one Immigration Voice representative lay out the group's platform, weaving in the personal stories of members. Shilpa Ghodgaonkar, a Germantown housewife, has become a staple anecdote -- and a frequent visitor on the Hill.
For four years, she and her husband have been waiting for their green cards. Ghodgaonkar's husband arrived on an H-1B visa, and she followed as his dependent, unauthorized to work here. To pass the time, she learned to cook. Then she volunteered as a career counselor in Montgomery County. Last year, she earned her MBA from George Washington University. In December, around the time Kapoor sent out his e-mail plea for mass mobilization, Ghodgaonkar had run out of options.
"I just couldn't keep quiet anymore," Ghodgaonkar said. "I cannot be depressed anymore."
She keeps a spreadsheet that lays out appointment times and the senators' offices she has visited or still plans to: Specter, Frist, Schumer, Brownback, Bingaman, Feinstein, Feingold. Wednesdays bring a weekly call with Quinn Gillespie. And every few nights, there are conference calls among Immigration Voice's core team.
Now the group plans to closely watch the debate resuming in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Earlier this month, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) proposed amendments with all of the group's provisions. Other lawmakers confirm that they are still meeting with the group to hear their concerns.
Immigration Voice leaders say the past few months have focused and politicized Indian immigrants in a way that was not apparent in the past. "There is a very 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' quality" about the current effort, Mandapati said. "It's been a journey, a loss of naivete and getting to know about American politics."
vparam
09-20 06:11 PM
Not able to find how to start a new thread... so I start my prediction here :-)
Category ROW China India Mexico Philipines
EB2 C 01MAR06 01June04 C C
3rd 01AUG03 01SEP01 22APR02 22APR02 01AUG03
Category ROW China India Mexico Philipines
EB2 C 01MAR06 01June04 C C
3rd 01AUG03 01SEP01 22APR02 22APR02 01AUG03
