abhijitp
09-21 03:40 PM
What has this rally given us?
Well, I can tell you that whoever flew in/ drove in/ walked 4 miles between noon and 2:30pm is convinced of the need for an organized and peaceful battle against the unfair and broken green card process. The 1000 souls that showed up on that day, besides those who pitched in any way to help them, will find sending webfaxes and meeting their lawmakers (locally) to be a piece of cake. Once that happens, things can only get better for us as a community!
Well, I can tell you that whoever flew in/ drove in/ walked 4 miles between noon and 2:30pm is convinced of the need for an organized and peaceful battle against the unfair and broken green card process. The 1000 souls that showed up on that day, besides those who pitched in any way to help them, will find sending webfaxes and meeting their lawmakers (locally) to be a piece of cake. Once that happens, things can only get better for us as a community!
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kart2007
05-17 12:52 PM
First of all make a complaint about the employer to the INS that he is not paying... and make decision, US is not your entire life. If you have confidence you can do anything anywhere in this small world.
So I assume you told this to your neighbor who lives downstairs :D
So I assume you told this to your neighbor who lives downstairs :D
satishku_2000
01-03 07:13 PM
Definition of marriage according to the DOMA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_Marriage_Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_Marriage_Act
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ArunAntonio
03-22 01:30 AM
I have mailed asking for the meeting info. I will meet the local lawmakers.
more...
gc4arun
08-19 10:57 AM
pending NC, that's what I hear everyime I am lucky to be connected to second level CSR /IO
NC is cleared( source: Recent Infopass appt )
NC is cleared( source: Recent Infopass appt )
genius
05-02 03:03 AM
Hi everyone,
Last week one of my friend(Mexican) from mexico was sent back from the airport and her visa was revoked (B1/B2).The officer claimed that since she lived in the US for almost 5-6 months (no overstays) for the last 2 years,she must have worked here.Is there any possibility that she could apply for another visa (either after waiting for a few months and what are the Odds?).Can the immigrant lawyer do anything to help her get her any other visa (student or something).
Please help!!
Thanks in advance!!!
Last week one of my friend(Mexican) from mexico was sent back from the airport and her visa was revoked (B1/B2).The officer claimed that since she lived in the US for almost 5-6 months (no overstays) for the last 2 years,she must have worked here.Is there any possibility that she could apply for another visa (either after waiting for a few months and what are the Odds?).Can the immigrant lawyer do anything to help her get her any other visa (student or something).
Please help!!
Thanks in advance!!!
more...
rameshvaid
06-17 11:36 AM
Thanks for your support...Please post the link to that thread or your full story here. It would very helpful...
Thanks.
Here is the link..a PAINFUL ONE..
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18501&highlight=stuck+montreal
AND
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18965&highlight=stuck+montreal
RV
Thanks.
Here is the link..a PAINFUL ONE..
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18501&highlight=stuck+montreal
AND
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18965&highlight=stuck+montreal
RV
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zoozee
08-28 01:30 PM
Me and my my spouse are attending DC rally flying from San Jose.We did even attend San Jose rally.
If everyone makes a sensible effort this time together we will be very strong in our voice.
WE ENCOURAGE EACH ONE SHOULD PARTICIPATE WITH STRONG HOPE AND WILL.
Regards.
If everyone makes a sensible effort this time together we will be very strong in our voice.
WE ENCOURAGE EACH ONE SHOULD PARTICIPATE WITH STRONG HOPE AND WILL.
Regards.
more...
vnsriv
05-13 03:50 PM
I and my wife applied for I485(EB3) in July 2007. We both have got our EADs, but not used it.
My H1 is valid till May 2009. I have I140 approved and have got my H1(3 years) till May 2009.
My wife has her own H1b valid till Dec 2008.
We are planning to get divorced. i have applied for Divorce in India in this month (may 2008).
Is there a way I can cancel my 485 application. Because If i get my green card it will be difficult for me to marry girl from India.
My wife has mentioned that she will be applying for Divorce in USA.
Can I withdraw my 485 application and just be on H1 and wait for applying later. I do not care about GC.
Sad to hear about divorce. What is your PD date, EB category and country
My H1 is valid till May 2009. I have I140 approved and have got my H1(3 years) till May 2009.
My wife has her own H1b valid till Dec 2008.
We are planning to get divorced. i have applied for Divorce in India in this month (may 2008).
Is there a way I can cancel my 485 application. Because If i get my green card it will be difficult for me to marry girl from India.
My wife has mentioned that she will be applying for Divorce in USA.
Can I withdraw my 485 application and just be on H1 and wait for applying later. I do not care about GC.
Sad to hear about divorce. What is your PD date, EB category and country
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naushit
12-12 04:23 PM
I think that the DOS (Dept of State) releases VISA Numbers on a quarterly basis. If that is the case, there should be movement in EB2 India in Jan 2007.
The other possibility always exists that the numbers were released for this quarter but the demand was SO HIGH that the net date did not move at all.
possible?? maybe!!
My understanding is (50% confidence level) , Number for next quarter ( JAN-FEB-MARCH) are already released, and accounted in this Bulletin. My logic is Oct-Nov-Dec was the 1st quarter, and thats why there was change in Oct Bulletin, If this is true...then we should not expect any change in FEB and March bulletin.
I hope I am wrong. please confirm!
The other possibility always exists that the numbers were released for this quarter but the demand was SO HIGH that the net date did not move at all.
possible?? maybe!!
My understanding is (50% confidence level) , Number for next quarter ( JAN-FEB-MARCH) are already released, and accounted in this Bulletin. My logic is Oct-Nov-Dec was the 1st quarter, and thats why there was change in Oct Bulletin, If this is true...then we should not expect any change in FEB and March bulletin.
I hope I am wrong. please confirm!
more...
illinois_alum
07-24 02:33 PM
Self E-Filed for wife on June 24'08
FP: July 16'08
No word on approval yet!
PD: Feb 18 '06
I-140 Approved June '06
I-485 Filed July '07
FP: July 16'08
No word on approval yet!
PD: Feb 18 '06
I-140 Approved June '06
I-485 Filed July '07
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nixstor
07-06 02:58 PM
I understand that the air time on the show can be very very limited. Probably a min or less. After discussing the VB fiasco, If Dr Bahrainwala gets a chance, He should strongly consider mentioning the root cause of the problem.
"The root cause of the situation is the inability of
a) DOS/USCIS to recapture the visa numbers from previous years
b) to carry forward the unused numbers for atleast one year
If congress makes the needed legislative changes to solve the above two issues, USCIS/DOS will not be in the ugliest predicaments like they are in right now"
"The root cause of the situation is the inability of
a) DOS/USCIS to recapture the visa numbers from previous years
b) to carry forward the unused numbers for atleast one year
If congress makes the needed legislative changes to solve the above two issues, USCIS/DOS will not be in the ugliest predicaments like they are in right now"
more...
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India_USA
07-08 09:08 AM
Not a fan of AZ law, but I'm delighted that it has pushed immigration issue to the forefront, forced federal govt's hand and jolted it out of its inaction. Many a battles will be won/lost over immigration in Nov 2010 elections.
agree with you..........
need a few more things to go wrong before the fed really wakes up and does something right this time around!!
agree with you..........
need a few more things to go wrong before the fed really wakes up and does something right this time around!!
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ca_immigrant
10-30 08:46 PM
what an unnecessary hassle.....good that all is ok for your case !!
more...
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xbohdpukc
03-18 01:49 PM
Hello Everybody
This is my first post. I worked my ass off to get a favorable
solution for retrogression during the budget bill. But as everyone knows it was defeated in the house reconcilation. I'm not being pessimistic but my gut feeling is that eventhough senate comes with something, the chances are slim that the house would agree to it. Sensenbrenners bill which house passed has no provisions for EB immigrants and backlogs. I'm pretty sure all of you are aware of Mr. Tancredo's fury against immigrants too.
Having said that I dont mean we have no way out. We have to work very very hard. We have to raise money and do some hard lobbying. But above all we have to get our employers to back this issue. With all of the above reasons I think it might be a very bad idea to guess we would have any favorable legislation in a shorter span of time. So we have to plan something for a longer period of time and execute it very diligantly, I guess.
I think Immigrationvoice is on the right path... Lets face it people!!!
thanks
babu.
EB immigrants are not a hot political issue with the House, when the illegals are. Nowhere do the house representatives, except Tancredo and the likes, voiced their opposition to expanding EB immigration and providing some sort of relief for people caught in the backlog. I believe that the immigration provisions were dropped from S.1932 just because it was a wrong bill. The pork got chopped off and this pork was too easy to compromise as there were much more important issues to fight for, like drilling in Alaska and Medicare. This bill IS about immigration issues and is about border security issues as well. The fact that Frist's bill drops the very controversial guest worker program can be considered as both a good and a bad thing. It is good since the bill will sail more smoothly through the Senate and hopefully the conference. On the other hand it is bad since Senate representatives in the conference now will not have this guest worker program to trade and drop when House reps will demand to drop something off the bill. To my understanding the way the conferences work, they need to meet somewhere in the middle in between the versions of the bill and since we have the very minimalistic bill passed by the House it is the Senate which will need to compromise and drop provisions from its bill.
But taking the guest worker program off the bill is a good start I guess.
This is my first post. I worked my ass off to get a favorable
solution for retrogression during the budget bill. But as everyone knows it was defeated in the house reconcilation. I'm not being pessimistic but my gut feeling is that eventhough senate comes with something, the chances are slim that the house would agree to it. Sensenbrenners bill which house passed has no provisions for EB immigrants and backlogs. I'm pretty sure all of you are aware of Mr. Tancredo's fury against immigrants too.
Having said that I dont mean we have no way out. We have to work very very hard. We have to raise money and do some hard lobbying. But above all we have to get our employers to back this issue. With all of the above reasons I think it might be a very bad idea to guess we would have any favorable legislation in a shorter span of time. So we have to plan something for a longer period of time and execute it very diligantly, I guess.
I think Immigrationvoice is on the right path... Lets face it people!!!
thanks
babu.
EB immigrants are not a hot political issue with the House, when the illegals are. Nowhere do the house representatives, except Tancredo and the likes, voiced their opposition to expanding EB immigration and providing some sort of relief for people caught in the backlog. I believe that the immigration provisions were dropped from S.1932 just because it was a wrong bill. The pork got chopped off and this pork was too easy to compromise as there were much more important issues to fight for, like drilling in Alaska and Medicare. This bill IS about immigration issues and is about border security issues as well. The fact that Frist's bill drops the very controversial guest worker program can be considered as both a good and a bad thing. It is good since the bill will sail more smoothly through the Senate and hopefully the conference. On the other hand it is bad since Senate representatives in the conference now will not have this guest worker program to trade and drop when House reps will demand to drop something off the bill. To my understanding the way the conferences work, they need to meet somewhere in the middle in between the versions of the bill and since we have the very minimalistic bill passed by the House it is the Senate which will need to compromise and drop provisions from its bill.
But taking the guest worker program off the bill is a good start I guess.
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aray
04-02 12:41 PM
Sent Fax # 10 & 11.
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naveenkprasadam
04-13 12:31 PM
I am new to this community and have been watching some other forums online, but I am glad we have one dedicated for EB immigration. Way to go Immigration Voice!!!
Now, before anyone jumps at me, I promise to contribute for IV's efforts and donate for the various projects in a couple days.
The reason I am posting this is because I saw various threads with various ideas to gain visibility and make out cause known to all. I saw thready ranging from writing to senators to sending a 1 cent check everyday to sending a voided check for a big amount. Other notable ideas include sending flowers, calling senators, FOIA campaign, writing to the Obama administration, etc. While I agree that each of these actions contribute small drops to the ocean, I honestly think we should think BIG!!
I have analyzed EB Immigration considerably and here are my thoughts -
Anti-Immigrants, especially the ones against EB Immigration feel that we take away their jobs. However our defense against that is there's aren't that many skilled immigrants for certain skill set and hence we fill that void and keep corporate America competitive. However a lot of us argue that we who are waiting in line for our potential Green Cards pay our taxes and aide by the law, etc. All valid arguments. However, that doesn't make us any different than the majority of the 90% workforce that is employed. They all pay taxes too.
I have seen other ideas being floated around where they said "Buy a house, get a green card." Now, two issues with this - How many of us potential immigrants have 250 grand to invest in a house? I don't and can perhaps pay 5-10% down payment on a house. But if I lose my job, then I will be forced to default too and that doesn't help the economy. Also, there are more than 10 million homes in foreclosure and even hypothetically, let's say we will buy a house on a mortgage at 10% down. There are, say 1 million immigrants in waiting including dependents. And we buy 500,000 homes. That is a small dent in the entire real estate economy. Won't make a significant difference. Secondly, the current mess we are in was caused by the "sub prime" mortgage loans. If you know what "sub prime" means, then you probably know the areas where these houses were purchased. Have you seen the neighborhoods or the areas where these houses are foreclosed? A majority of us won't even drive through there, leave alone buying houses there. So obviously, us buying homes is not going to solve this economic mess. If you still insist, then you perhaps need to take a class on economics 101.
OK, say why am I saying all this? Well, for one, while its great that we put our brains to work to help solve the economic crisis, since a good economy has a knock on effect on immigration, but we can't come up with ordinary ideas. These are extraordinary times and we need extraordinary ideas. We need to think out of the box. I appreciate the efforts of IV with the FOIA drive, but here's my question with that - Besides knowing how long the wait is going to be to get our GC based on the information from USCIS, what other purpose is the FOIA going to solve? Probably not much. But I do agree that having those numbers helps us in identifying where we need to focus our lobbying efforts. If we know the bottleneck is EB2-EB3 spillover, we can work on that with USCIS.
Someone mentioned in another thread where we all need to concentrate on one effort rather than be divided in multiple efforts. And I think it was suggested that we focus on visa numbers recapturing. I think its a great idea. However, please be aware that in the context of CIR, EB immigration is a small drop. And hence any lobbying to increase/recapture visa numbers need to be done with the FB immigration. EB and FB together can lobby for the recapture visa numbers project and might achieve considerable success.
If we as EB immigrants need to make our voice known, we need to take a leaf out of the President's book, from his campaign. He started a grass roots level campaign and look at where that has led him to!! So here is my suggestion for a project that will highlight our cause and lead some of the anti- EB Immigration Aholes to shut up their various holes.
I am assuming we have around 500K immigrants in waiting. Let's say there are 250K primary applicants. The goal is we try to get an email database of as many potential immigrants we can. Next we start an email campaign highlighting a story of an immigrant family or a news article against immigration or lobbying by anti immigrant groups or lack of visibility in ongoing discussions on CIR. At the bottom of each email, we have a donate button that takes the person to IV's donation page/paypal, whatever it might be. We start with a minimum of $50 and go upwards to $500. The goal is if we have atleast, say 100,000 potential immigrants to contribute a min of $50, then if my calculations are in order, that is about $5 Millions. We might have more depending on how many more people contribute and how much more than the min $50 that people contribute. But the baseline collection would be about $5 Million. OK, so what do we with that money? Well, the biggest skill set for us EB immigrants are our education. We have a minimum of a bachelors degree and have a penchant for being well educated. That is the weakness in the American education system - Education. We say thousands of high school dropouts. Thousands of college drop outs. The Obama administration has clearly said they need to invest in America's future. And hence they have a big ambitious spending on fixing the educational system. I know that as non permanent residents or citizens, we are not allowed to contribute to any politicians. However, we can donate money to the state or to a charity organization. What I suggest is we collect this money and send it to the first lady, Michelle Obama and have her send this to a non profit community project for education on our behalf. This will bring a lot of attention because we as EB immigrants are saying, we want to contribute to better the educational system if given a chance so that the future American generations don't become prey to the 21st century American competitiveness like outsourcing and H Visas and stuff.
This might seem like a small drop in the ocean, but it is definitely a bright one!! And don't tell me it can't be done. It sure can be done. There was someone who already did this at the grassroots level, and his name is Barack Obama!!!
I am willing to talk to the IV Core team to discuss if needed.
Idea is too good.If we can make it work this is one of the best idea to get the attention of the administration.
Now, before anyone jumps at me, I promise to contribute for IV's efforts and donate for the various projects in a couple days.
The reason I am posting this is because I saw various threads with various ideas to gain visibility and make out cause known to all. I saw thready ranging from writing to senators to sending a 1 cent check everyday to sending a voided check for a big amount. Other notable ideas include sending flowers, calling senators, FOIA campaign, writing to the Obama administration, etc. While I agree that each of these actions contribute small drops to the ocean, I honestly think we should think BIG!!
I have analyzed EB Immigration considerably and here are my thoughts -
Anti-Immigrants, especially the ones against EB Immigration feel that we take away their jobs. However our defense against that is there's aren't that many skilled immigrants for certain skill set and hence we fill that void and keep corporate America competitive. However a lot of us argue that we who are waiting in line for our potential Green Cards pay our taxes and aide by the law, etc. All valid arguments. However, that doesn't make us any different than the majority of the 90% workforce that is employed. They all pay taxes too.
I have seen other ideas being floated around where they said "Buy a house, get a green card." Now, two issues with this - How many of us potential immigrants have 250 grand to invest in a house? I don't and can perhaps pay 5-10% down payment on a house. But if I lose my job, then I will be forced to default too and that doesn't help the economy. Also, there are more than 10 million homes in foreclosure and even hypothetically, let's say we will buy a house on a mortgage at 10% down. There are, say 1 million immigrants in waiting including dependents. And we buy 500,000 homes. That is a small dent in the entire real estate economy. Won't make a significant difference. Secondly, the current mess we are in was caused by the "sub prime" mortgage loans. If you know what "sub prime" means, then you probably know the areas where these houses were purchased. Have you seen the neighborhoods or the areas where these houses are foreclosed? A majority of us won't even drive through there, leave alone buying houses there. So obviously, us buying homes is not going to solve this economic mess. If you still insist, then you perhaps need to take a class on economics 101.
OK, say why am I saying all this? Well, for one, while its great that we put our brains to work to help solve the economic crisis, since a good economy has a knock on effect on immigration, but we can't come up with ordinary ideas. These are extraordinary times and we need extraordinary ideas. We need to think out of the box. I appreciate the efforts of IV with the FOIA drive, but here's my question with that - Besides knowing how long the wait is going to be to get our GC based on the information from USCIS, what other purpose is the FOIA going to solve? Probably not much. But I do agree that having those numbers helps us in identifying where we need to focus our lobbying efforts. If we know the bottleneck is EB2-EB3 spillover, we can work on that with USCIS.
Someone mentioned in another thread where we all need to concentrate on one effort rather than be divided in multiple efforts. And I think it was suggested that we focus on visa numbers recapturing. I think its a great idea. However, please be aware that in the context of CIR, EB immigration is a small drop. And hence any lobbying to increase/recapture visa numbers need to be done with the FB immigration. EB and FB together can lobby for the recapture visa numbers project and might achieve considerable success.
If we as EB immigrants need to make our voice known, we need to take a leaf out of the President's book, from his campaign. He started a grass roots level campaign and look at where that has led him to!! So here is my suggestion for a project that will highlight our cause and lead some of the anti- EB Immigration Aholes to shut up their various holes.
I am assuming we have around 500K immigrants in waiting. Let's say there are 250K primary applicants. The goal is we try to get an email database of as many potential immigrants we can. Next we start an email campaign highlighting a story of an immigrant family or a news article against immigration or lobbying by anti immigrant groups or lack of visibility in ongoing discussions on CIR. At the bottom of each email, we have a donate button that takes the person to IV's donation page/paypal, whatever it might be. We start with a minimum of $50 and go upwards to $500. The goal is if we have atleast, say 100,000 potential immigrants to contribute a min of $50, then if my calculations are in order, that is about $5 Millions. We might have more depending on how many more people contribute and how much more than the min $50 that people contribute. But the baseline collection would be about $5 Million. OK, so what do we with that money? Well, the biggest skill set for us EB immigrants are our education. We have a minimum of a bachelors degree and have a penchant for being well educated. That is the weakness in the American education system - Education. We say thousands of high school dropouts. Thousands of college drop outs. The Obama administration has clearly said they need to invest in America's future. And hence they have a big ambitious spending on fixing the educational system. I know that as non permanent residents or citizens, we are not allowed to contribute to any politicians. However, we can donate money to the state or to a charity organization. What I suggest is we collect this money and send it to the first lady, Michelle Obama and have her send this to a non profit community project for education on our behalf. This will bring a lot of attention because we as EB immigrants are saying, we want to contribute to better the educational system if given a chance so that the future American generations don't become prey to the 21st century American competitiveness like outsourcing and H Visas and stuff.
This might seem like a small drop in the ocean, but it is definitely a bright one!! And don't tell me it can't be done. It sure can be done. There was someone who already did this at the grassroots level, and his name is Barack Obama!!!
I am willing to talk to the IV Core team to discuss if needed.
Idea is too good.If we can make it work this is one of the best idea to get the attention of the administration.
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senthil
01-08 03:17 PM
that lately any visa interview that has to be taken in india is no more bound to any consulate, especially if you are already been in usa. you are free to book web-appointment's in any of indian consulates to get it done.
pl check respective sources / attorney to make sure before you decide.
just my 2 cents to see if i can help you skip madras :-)
i wld assume our friends here might have very valuable inputs regarding this.
lets wait
pl check respective sources / attorney to make sure before you decide.
just my 2 cents to see if i can help you skip madras :-)
i wld assume our friends here might have very valuable inputs regarding this.
lets wait
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JunRN
12-20 01:37 PM
I agree with you. It's not required by law to file any AC21 papers so the USCIS cannot do much. Also, the green card cannot be revoked after 5 years so by the time you apply for citizenship, the USCIS cannot do anything bad to you. Worst case, they will ask about it during the citizenship interview so it's a good idea to keep your employment offer handy. But it's very unlikely and I really doubt they can deny your citizenship based on this. That's why I see no drawbacks in not filing AC21 and no benefits in filing it if you know that I-140 won't be withdrawn. My advice would be to take an employment letter from current employer and keep it in case the USCIS asks for it. There is no need to cause troubles for yourself by letting the USCIS know about it.
There are so many things not required by law but you have to do which if you did not do is fraud or lie by ommision. Any material change to your case which could affect the decision of USCIS in awarding you with GC should be reported and USCIS "expects" us to do that.
I am telling all of you, there is a similar case on going right now. A couple apply for citizenship and got denied because of the discovery of fraud on their GC process. They are now in "removal proceedings".
There are so many things not required by law but you have to do which if you did not do is fraud or lie by ommision. Any material change to your case which could affect the decision of USCIS in awarding you with GC should be reported and USCIS "expects" us to do that.
I am telling all of you, there is a similar case on going right now. A couple apply for citizenship and got denied because of the discovery of fraud on their GC process. They are now in "removal proceedings".
aadimanav
05-14 08:56 PM
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=government&articleId=9085658&taxonomyId=13&intsrc=kc_top
May 14, 2008 (Computerworld) Efforts to increase the H-1B cap have been stuck in a legislative swamp, but U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) has introduced three bills in the last few weeks to help foreign nationals already working in the U.S. to obtain permanent residency. She announced her latest legislative effort late Wednesday.
Fixing the permanent residency, or green card employment-based, visa program has been a top legislative goal of high-tech industry proponents, on par with their efforts to raise the H-1B cap.
And Lofgren, who heads the U.S. House Subcommittee on Immigration, is in the position to move legislation to the head of the class. But it remains to be seen whether she can jump over the legislative stalemate created by lawmakers who want comprehensive immigration reform or nothing at all.
Lofgren's latest bill, HR 6039, which is not yet available online, will exempt graduates of U.S. universities with advanced degrees in science and tech -- the so called STEM degrees (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) -- from the annual 140,000 limit on these permanent residency visas. The bill was officially introduced yesterday.
In a statement, Lofgren said that more than 50% of graudates with advanced degrees in science and engineering are foreign-born. "If we want our economy to continue competing in the global market, we have to retain these foreign students so they compete with us instead of against us in other countries. These men and women are the innovators of tomorrow, and we aren't the only ones looking to retain their talents. Increasingly, employers from Europe, Australia, Canada, and even China and India, are beating U.S. employers for valuable talent," said Lofgren.
That bill is closely tied to legislation introduced earlier this month by Lofgren, HR 5921. That bill seeks to eliminate the per-country caps on employment-based visas. The U.S. caps at 7% per country the number of employment-based visas issued to would-be visiting workers. "Because of this cap, a Chinese or Indian post-graduate at he top of his/her class at MIT may have to wait half a decade or more for a green card, much longer than a student from a less-populated country," said Lofgren, in a statement released when the legislation was announced.
Although much of the focus has been on the H-1B cap and its 85,000-visa quota, which includes the 20,000 set aside for holders of advanced degrees, high-tech industry proponents say the difficulty in getting permanent residency for their employees is as much a problem as getting H-1B visas.
Microsoft has about 4,000 employees for whom it is trying to gain permanent residency, said Jack Krumholtz, managing director of federal government affairs at Microsoft. They face long waits because of the green card backlog, suffering personal and professional frustrations along the way, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates testified.
"We only hire people that we think can contribute to our innovation and corporate bottom line over the long haul, so we move immediately to apply for green cards for you and your family members," said Krumholtz, who said Microsoft is supporting Lofgren's legislative effort.
The typical path for a tech worker is, first, work after graduation on a student visa -- a period that was recently extended by the Bush administration from a year to 29 months -- and then an H-1B visa until employment-based permanent residency can be achieved.
Other legislative steps taken by Lofgren include a bill that would take unused employment-based green cards and essentially roll them over for resuse in a subsequent year. That bill is HR 5882. There are Republican co-sponsors for each of these bills.
Lofgren's across-the-aisle backers of these bills include U.S. Reps. Chris Cannon (R-Utah), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).
Ron Hira, an assistant professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said he believes the U.S. can absorb more highly skilled, permanent immigrants with green cards "without significantly harming the American workforce. But we have to do it the right way."
Among the issues, says Hira, is the thorny question of "who are we going to grant employment-based permanent residence to?" Educational level attained (bachelor's, masters or Ph.D) and the academic area studied by potential residents are apt to be factors in that.
Hira said that one "significant problem" with the Lofgren bills "has to do with using exemptions as a way around tackling the decision of how many [to grant]," and he added the plan to "recapture" was a gimmick to get around the quota issue. Among the questions Congress should look at, says Hira, is the impact of the changes; he indicated, for instance, that the legislation may change incentives, prompting foreign nationals to seek degrees from any U.S. school they can because it will be seen as a path to permanent residency.
May 14, 2008 (Computerworld) Efforts to increase the H-1B cap have been stuck in a legislative swamp, but U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) has introduced three bills in the last few weeks to help foreign nationals already working in the U.S. to obtain permanent residency. She announced her latest legislative effort late Wednesday.
Fixing the permanent residency, or green card employment-based, visa program has been a top legislative goal of high-tech industry proponents, on par with their efforts to raise the H-1B cap.
And Lofgren, who heads the U.S. House Subcommittee on Immigration, is in the position to move legislation to the head of the class. But it remains to be seen whether she can jump over the legislative stalemate created by lawmakers who want comprehensive immigration reform or nothing at all.
Lofgren's latest bill, HR 6039, which is not yet available online, will exempt graduates of U.S. universities with advanced degrees in science and tech -- the so called STEM degrees (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) -- from the annual 140,000 limit on these permanent residency visas. The bill was officially introduced yesterday.
In a statement, Lofgren said that more than 50% of graudates with advanced degrees in science and engineering are foreign-born. "If we want our economy to continue competing in the global market, we have to retain these foreign students so they compete with us instead of against us in other countries. These men and women are the innovators of tomorrow, and we aren't the only ones looking to retain their talents. Increasingly, employers from Europe, Australia, Canada, and even China and India, are beating U.S. employers for valuable talent," said Lofgren.
That bill is closely tied to legislation introduced earlier this month by Lofgren, HR 5921. That bill seeks to eliminate the per-country caps on employment-based visas. The U.S. caps at 7% per country the number of employment-based visas issued to would-be visiting workers. "Because of this cap, a Chinese or Indian post-graduate at he top of his/her class at MIT may have to wait half a decade or more for a green card, much longer than a student from a less-populated country," said Lofgren, in a statement released when the legislation was announced.
Although much of the focus has been on the H-1B cap and its 85,000-visa quota, which includes the 20,000 set aside for holders of advanced degrees, high-tech industry proponents say the difficulty in getting permanent residency for their employees is as much a problem as getting H-1B visas.
Microsoft has about 4,000 employees for whom it is trying to gain permanent residency, said Jack Krumholtz, managing director of federal government affairs at Microsoft. They face long waits because of the green card backlog, suffering personal and professional frustrations along the way, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates testified.
"We only hire people that we think can contribute to our innovation and corporate bottom line over the long haul, so we move immediately to apply for green cards for you and your family members," said Krumholtz, who said Microsoft is supporting Lofgren's legislative effort.
The typical path for a tech worker is, first, work after graduation on a student visa -- a period that was recently extended by the Bush administration from a year to 29 months -- and then an H-1B visa until employment-based permanent residency can be achieved.
Other legislative steps taken by Lofgren include a bill that would take unused employment-based green cards and essentially roll them over for resuse in a subsequent year. That bill is HR 5882. There are Republican co-sponsors for each of these bills.
Lofgren's across-the-aisle backers of these bills include U.S. Reps. Chris Cannon (R-Utah), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).
Ron Hira, an assistant professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said he believes the U.S. can absorb more highly skilled, permanent immigrants with green cards "without significantly harming the American workforce. But we have to do it the right way."
Among the issues, says Hira, is the thorny question of "who are we going to grant employment-based permanent residence to?" Educational level attained (bachelor's, masters or Ph.D) and the academic area studied by potential residents are apt to be factors in that.
Hira said that one "significant problem" with the Lofgren bills "has to do with using exemptions as a way around tackling the decision of how many [to grant]," and he added the plan to "recapture" was a gimmick to get around the quota issue. Among the questions Congress should look at, says Hira, is the impact of the changes; he indicated, for instance, that the legislation may change incentives, prompting foreign nationals to seek degrees from any U.S. school they can because it will be seen as a path to permanent residency.
meridiani.planum
06-05 04:01 AM
EB2 India will move very fast till 01 JAN 06 as because based on June 2007 bulletin, just before the july fiasco,( http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3236.html ) the PD for China is 01 JAN 06. That means in EB2 Category except India and China every other country is current. So till India reaches 01 JAN 06 PD in EB2, all the spill overs will be moved to EB2 India. By the time India EB2 reaches 01 JAN 06, China PD in EB2 will move further from 01 JAN 06 by using its 7% quota. So Inidia PD for EB2 again moves fast till that changed China PD using the spill overs. After that India and China will share the spill overs based on the PD priority. All this happens if and only if the USCIS works effectively and uses all the available visa numbers for the present fiscal year. My prediction for EB2 India PD is it touch 2005 /even cross few months in 2005 by the end of this year if USCIS works effectively.
July 07 was a very special case. Throughout the year the USCIS had not issues many visa's, and per the ombudsmans report in May they were going so slow that they would relaly have to scramble if they dont waste tons of visas.
They year by all reports they are using up visa numbers at a quick pace. WHy do you think they will jump all the way to 2006?
Just getting spillover is not enough, if the total demand for visa's is high. Case in point is EB3-ROW which technically has almost no limits, yet languishes in a retrogressed state because the total number of visa's (140k) is too low and however you divvy them up people are going to end up waiting...
July 07 was a very special case. Throughout the year the USCIS had not issues many visa's, and per the ombudsmans report in May they were going so slow that they would relaly have to scramble if they dont waste tons of visas.
They year by all reports they are using up visa numbers at a quick pace. WHy do you think they will jump all the way to 2006?
Just getting spillover is not enough, if the total demand for visa's is high. Case in point is EB3-ROW which technically has almost no limits, yet languishes in a retrogressed state because the total number of visa's (140k) is too low and however you divvy them up people are going to end up waiting...