sparuthi
09-17 01:00 PM
They are in recess.. will HR5882 come up after lunch.. I m on west coast,. so i dont know what has already taken place.. can someone pl let us know here..thanks
wallpaper Napoleon Dynamite Poster
conchshell
08-19 02:11 PM
:D:D good one. But isn't that nice to get both GC and social security at the same time.... ?
yep, but his social security will be exhausted in getting a medical insurance :D:D
yep, but his social security will be exhausted in getting a medical insurance :D:D
manishgc
04-07 12:40 PM
Add $100 from me.
2011 the film Napoleon Dynamite
raj2007
06-12 11:31 AM
Hi,
Today I met an attorney(not the one from Insurance..that is WIP still).
He feels that the main target is Rental agency(with deep pockets) and not the others who were included as defendants.
His argument is,
-- I am on H1
-- Not much of bank balance
-- No assets
-- Have a very old 98 model car(not even lexus , BMW etc..)
-- With a spouse and 2 kids to be taken care of
So I am poor chap and there is nothing they can extract much out of my pockets other than the 50K which my insurance will pay. He feels it is pretty straight forward case.The only twist to the story is, he is thinking that some of the defendants(rental agencies and others) may file lawsuits against me [I donno what they can extract out of me] as police report/Insurance agency concluded it as my fault (80% - 20%) after the accident..
In case If I wanted to have my attorney, I need to cough up $275/hr and 5K check upfront and he feels his fee may add upto 10K by the end of all this. So not sure whether just go with insurance agent's attorney for the time being and just wait how it goes, even if the case goes against me as I don't have much bank balance etc I am not sure what they can get out of me..
Any thoughts??
Just wait before hiring any attroney. Rental agency attroney will fight till end and your credit card company also covers the insurance.
I feel you will be OK.
Today I met an attorney(not the one from Insurance..that is WIP still).
He feels that the main target is Rental agency(with deep pockets) and not the others who were included as defendants.
His argument is,
-- I am on H1
-- Not much of bank balance
-- No assets
-- Have a very old 98 model car(not even lexus , BMW etc..)
-- With a spouse and 2 kids to be taken care of
So I am poor chap and there is nothing they can extract much out of my pockets other than the 50K which my insurance will pay. He feels it is pretty straight forward case.The only twist to the story is, he is thinking that some of the defendants(rental agencies and others) may file lawsuits against me [I donno what they can extract out of me] as police report/Insurance agency concluded it as my fault (80% - 20%) after the accident..
In case If I wanted to have my attorney, I need to cough up $275/hr and 5K check upfront and he feels his fee may add upto 10K by the end of all this. So not sure whether just go with insurance agent's attorney for the time being and just wait how it goes, even if the case goes against me as I don't have much bank balance etc I am not sure what they can get out of me..
Any thoughts??
Just wait before hiring any attroney. Rental agency attroney will fight till end and your credit card company also covers the insurance.
I feel you will be OK.
more...
natrajs
07-02 02:32 PM
I think we should also hear from people who have taken action and what their experience was. This may give ideas to others.
I have taken my Ex - employer to DOL and USCIS and I was successful getting my money back.
If you go with lawsuit then it becomes partially a Civil case rather than criminal offense.
If any one needs info how to proceed send me a PM
I have taken my Ex - employer to DOL and USCIS and I was successful getting my money back.
If you go with lawsuit then it becomes partially a Civil case rather than criminal offense.
If any one needs info how to proceed send me a PM
paskal
03-13 10:22 AM
Don't worry - IV core will appear out of the blue when:
1)- there is a good news - to claim the responsibility (regardless whos efforts)
2)- when they are in urgent need of funds (don't ask just give)
Local chapter is a joke for most of the states, in my state there were only 2 meetings in 6 months and in second no one came including organizer :D
So basically by not joining local chapter you are not missing anything! trust me :)
Read/Write => Enjoy IV, Don't compain
yup it would serve your purpose better if the "core members" sat around at your service to answer your daily whinings...now that would be great right?
btw if people did not come to chapter meetings who is responsible? the leadership is voluntary and does what it can along with their regular jobs and life committments. those like you that perpetually whine and won't lift a finger need to ask some hard questions of yourself though. either this is a grassroots effort or it will certainly fail. fortunately there are members more committed than you who are actually doing things to help themselves even as i speak. there are meetings on with lawmakers and the admin changes campaign is moving. one state chapter has held a lobby day in DC this month and others are all set to hold their own efforts. if your chapter is defunct, help to give it life. or you could slink back into your hole of course...after complaining about others...
1)- there is a good news - to claim the responsibility (regardless whos efforts)
2)- when they are in urgent need of funds (don't ask just give)
Local chapter is a joke for most of the states, in my state there were only 2 meetings in 6 months and in second no one came including organizer :D
So basically by not joining local chapter you are not missing anything! trust me :)
Read/Write => Enjoy IV, Don't compain
yup it would serve your purpose better if the "core members" sat around at your service to answer your daily whinings...now that would be great right?
btw if people did not come to chapter meetings who is responsible? the leadership is voluntary and does what it can along with their regular jobs and life committments. those like you that perpetually whine and won't lift a finger need to ask some hard questions of yourself though. either this is a grassroots effort or it will certainly fail. fortunately there are members more committed than you who are actually doing things to help themselves even as i speak. there are meetings on with lawmakers and the admin changes campaign is moving. one state chapter has held a lobby day in DC this month and others are all set to hold their own efforts. if your chapter is defunct, help to give it life. or you could slink back into your hole of course...after complaining about others...
more...
leoindiano
10-29 11:28 AM
caliguy,
i sent you a PM for letter.
Vikki,
my case is similar to yours. RD august 3rd 2007. PD Nov 19th 2004.
I recently found that my case is pending review again. It was assigned to IO on sept 17th, got a FP notice, then it went back to storage again.
I called last week and opened SR. today called POJ twice and asked them to send a request to assign to IO, both times IO said, will do it. Not sure, if they are really doing it. Because, they dont give you any tracking number. I will keep calling them.
i sent you a PM for letter.
Vikki,
my case is similar to yours. RD august 3rd 2007. PD Nov 19th 2004.
I recently found that my case is pending review again. It was assigned to IO on sept 17th, got a FP notice, then it went back to storage again.
I called last week and opened SR. today called POJ twice and asked them to send a request to assign to IO, both times IO said, will do it. Not sure, if they are really doing it. Because, they dont give you any tracking number. I will keep calling them.
2010 Napoleon Dynamite
desi3933
08-19 02:54 PM
........
........
So a citizen can really help. Please make your contact details available, so that when emergency arises, you can help them by contacting the congressman or senators.
Thanks so much for the suggestion. How can I have my contact details available without posting it on Public Forum?
Meantime, please contact me thru PM, if I can be any help.
........
So a citizen can really help. Please make your contact details available, so that when emergency arises, you can help them by contacting the congressman or senators.
Thanks so much for the suggestion. How can I have my contact details available without posting it on Public Forum?
Meantime, please contact me thru PM, if I can be any help.
more...
Vexir
06-10 03:11 PM
Uh, can I redo my entry?
hair Napoleon Dynamite
gsc999
07-12 12:30 AM
Does that mean that you are preparing the press release as well? Please send some information our way so that we can start blogging.
Can you help us create the press release?
Please see first page of this thread for event details. Thanks in advance
Can you help us create the press release?
Please see first page of this thread for event details. Thanks in advance
more...
ganguteli
04-27 12:19 PM
Did you mean the India on Earth? :D I dont think people laid off from IT companies in India even get severence.
Senthil1 is an anti-immigrant and should have been banned long time back.
Senthil1 is an anti-immigrant and should have been banned long time back.
hot Napoleon Dynamite movie poster
purplehazea
02-01 04:59 PM
Amazing, I think we are the most self critical group of human beings on this planet. Unwilling to acknowledge and boast of the right things we do and predisposed to criticising ourselves when things are not PERFECT.
more...
house napoleon dynamite | 2004
polapragada
04-26 06:45 PM
We dont have to fight on H1B vs L1B. But the fact is employees with L1 are suffering more then H1Bs.
YES santhan...
BTW I am H1B :D
YES santhan...
BTW I am H1B :D
tattoo Napoleon Dynamite Movie Still
polapragada
04-26 07:24 PM
Thats exactly why we need to be against L1s. There is no numerical limit on them. Companies can pay peanuts as you just wrote.They work here for 1 year and take the job permenantly. They screw the work culture here
What work culture you are talking about.. LOL!!
Its besiness man... you are in a captlist country...
And we are here because of GLOBALIZATION...
Don't be too selfish
What work culture you are talking about.. LOL!!
Its besiness man... you are in a captlist country...
And we are here because of GLOBALIZATION...
Don't be too selfish
more...
pictures Napoleon Dynamite Mugshot
yadavnay
07-18 12:40 PM
DateDelivered:Jul 2nd
Center:NSC
Status:None
Center:NSC
Status:None
dresses Kip Dynamite Picture
Ramba
03-10 05:47 PM
I seriously doubt that this list is a 140 pending. Not 485. In 485 stage NIW will not come into picture.
more...
makeup Napoleon Dynamite
StuckInTheMuck
08-25 12:06 PM
Diptam,
I haven't yet used the SBI-NY remittance service (registered only last week), but I do not need to open account with them. Instead, I can send money home (only to an existing SBI India account) directly from my credit card, using a specific remittance form. I find this arrangement convenient, but mailing the form for each such transaction adds to delay. I find your suggestion better instead, and also probably quicker.
I haven't yet used the SBI-NY remittance service (registered only last week), but I do not need to open account with them. Instead, I can send money home (only to an existing SBI India account) directly from my credit card, using a specific remittance form. I find this arrangement convenient, but mailing the form for each such transaction adds to delay. I find your suggestion better instead, and also probably quicker.
girlfriend Napoleon Dynamite finally
paskal
12-13 10:01 PM
I am not able to start and feel that there is already hidden membership is there. Is there any thuth in this feeling? How does IV is working in terms of access rights?
IV is already not member friendly. With 25,000 members, raising 30,000 is getting so difficult. Why so? I once posed the question and moderators conveniently deleted it.
anyone can start a thread, if you need help doing it, you may wish to ask politely and someone will tell you.
why so? ask yourself. read your own comments. and let us all know how you have helped the process of ending YOUR retrogression.
i have reviewed every post you ever put on iv. i don't see any deleted post.
so you may want to think again. hardly anything is deleted around here. otherwise a lot of intemperate stuff that's posted would disappear.
ultimately it comes to this: if 25,000 members show no interest in contributing in a fund drive (barring the minuscule 500 who did), what's the point in being "friendly". hey- iv is you and me. there is nothing else. no building, assets, stocks. I or aman or pappu or logiclife and every other core member and iv leader are just like you. we have jobs and families to take care of. we are afflicted by immigration retrogression- like you.
we have put in time, money and effort at great cost to our personal lives. i wish i could "like you" to that one too.
if "members" are willing to make this their organization their own- if there is to be this sense of involvement and ownership, then we will succeed. if not, if the attitude for the most is going to be "why should i" and "nope i am not contributing" and "how dare you ask" and "i have free speech" and "why doesn't iv do xyz for me" and "why should logiclife use this and that tenor" and "why did abc say def to me" and "i demand respect" and the best "these are my 2c but don't ask me to lift a finger to do this- iv should do this" then forget it. won't happen. because that IV you are imagining doing wonders and making miracles is YOU.
let me take this opportunity to thank everyone that participated in the fund drive, joined state chapters, met lawmakers, took initiatives to start state groups, ran the funding threads and contributed in any other way.
you are guys are true assets to iv- in fact you are the true iv. kudos to you!
IV is already not member friendly. With 25,000 members, raising 30,000 is getting so difficult. Why so? I once posed the question and moderators conveniently deleted it.
anyone can start a thread, if you need help doing it, you may wish to ask politely and someone will tell you.
why so? ask yourself. read your own comments. and let us all know how you have helped the process of ending YOUR retrogression.
i have reviewed every post you ever put on iv. i don't see any deleted post.
so you may want to think again. hardly anything is deleted around here. otherwise a lot of intemperate stuff that's posted would disappear.
ultimately it comes to this: if 25,000 members show no interest in contributing in a fund drive (barring the minuscule 500 who did), what's the point in being "friendly". hey- iv is you and me. there is nothing else. no building, assets, stocks. I or aman or pappu or logiclife and every other core member and iv leader are just like you. we have jobs and families to take care of. we are afflicted by immigration retrogression- like you.
we have put in time, money and effort at great cost to our personal lives. i wish i could "like you" to that one too.
if "members" are willing to make this their organization their own- if there is to be this sense of involvement and ownership, then we will succeed. if not, if the attitude for the most is going to be "why should i" and "nope i am not contributing" and "how dare you ask" and "i have free speech" and "why doesn't iv do xyz for me" and "why should logiclife use this and that tenor" and "why did abc say def to me" and "i demand respect" and the best "these are my 2c but don't ask me to lift a finger to do this- iv should do this" then forget it. won't happen. because that IV you are imagining doing wonders and making miracles is YOU.
let me take this opportunity to thank everyone that participated in the fund drive, joined state chapters, met lawmakers, took initiatives to start state groups, ran the funding threads and contributed in any other way.
you are guys are true assets to iv- in fact you are the true iv. kudos to you!
hairstyles Picture of Napoleon Dynamite
logiclife
02-13 01:45 PM
I have tried to convince people (Indians and some Chinese) to join IV. People don't. They don't believe IV has the capability to get anything done. A lot of people don't care if IV existed or not. They believe that Congress will get to it when it deems right. Core members were asking a few weeks ago if that is the message people are sending. Yes it is.
Yeah. We know that. A lot of people think IV cannot get anything done. IV never promised that we will cause CIR to happen. We never promised that we will cause SKIL to happen. They all happen, mostly on their own. IV's role is to add amendments when they come and remove provisions that hurt us. We did that successfully last year by getting the hard country cap removed. No one else was interested in removing the hard cap. It took a lot of co-ordination and lot of trips and lot of hard work to get it done. If that harmful provision had stayed, then the new quota of 650,000 in S 2611 would have been useless. People forget achivements of IV or think that it was negligible. Retrogression would have been exacerbated with hard country cap.
And this year, if CIR or SKIL bill come, we will be able to achive much much more. We are in much better shape and its hard for me to convince you of that unless I divulge details. That I cannot do. Its up to you if you can trust IV core on that.
You are reading the message right. I don't want IV to die. I am suggesting people with leadership skills to come forward and get SOME F**KING RESULTS. That is what is needed. It is do or die situation.
Yes, we know that your situation and a lot of other people's situation is do-or-die situation. We know that lot of visitors and members are being squeezed by their situation (exploiting employer, travel restrictions, naggin H4 spouse, no wage growth, no job mobility, no promotions) and that will end only when they get out of H1 and get GC. Its actually the do-or-die situation that prompted the creation of IV.
I am not a leader and I don't want to pretend that I am. I ask others who are not to step down and encourage the right people to take leadership positions.
That's what it seemed from your original post. And nothing wrong with that. If you are up to the job then you are welcome. We already have state-chapters and people are not actively participating in that. Last week, on California's state chapter conf call, 2 people came. If you take leadership, you need to do things locally like meeting with other people in your city, forming a group of 4-5 people and going and meeting your congressman. And if you want to be in IV core, then you have to call us on the phone number listed and we can see if you can add any value to core by doing things we routinely do, like content prep, website maint, travelling to DC for meetings, talking to other orgs etc. If you are up to the job, sure, why not. Anyone who considers themselves fit for IV core, please call us. We really do need help as we are overwhelmed.
I am a very dissatisfied member of IV. Are you satisfied with IV so far? Why doesn't everyone raise these questions? What has caused us to fail so far?
I am dissatisfied too with the results. Its not like I am a happy camper on H1. What has caused us to fail? The same thing that has caused us to fail last year, the same thing that caused industry to fail in getting H1 quota raised, the same thing that caused failure of Universities to get F4 visa for masters degree holders. And these guys have lobbying budget in millions? Why do you think they failed?
Whatever caused their failure, caused our failure too. In DC, issues are not debated and legislated based on morality and merits of those issues. They are taken up based on contemporary politics and other factors like lobbying, public attention, elections and political parties.
For example: Last year, they debated a constitutional amendment to ban flag burned in USA. And spent precious time of congress on debating it. How to you think that would have helped anyone? Even it had passed, what was the merit of the issue? Flag burned mostly happens outside USA. In USA people rarely burn US flags. So banning flag burning in USA is like banning metric system. Its meaningless. Yet, they spent time on it.
Read papers, read articles from other lobbying orgs and learn something. Legislations dont happen on their own because the issues carry weight and have merits. Merits have nothing to do with congressional action.
To quote a bestselling economist Steven Levitt :
"If morality is how we would like the world to work, economy is how the world actually works".
Same thing applies to US congress. They dont set their timetable of bills based on morality and merits. There are other factors.
Yeah. We know that. A lot of people think IV cannot get anything done. IV never promised that we will cause CIR to happen. We never promised that we will cause SKIL to happen. They all happen, mostly on their own. IV's role is to add amendments when they come and remove provisions that hurt us. We did that successfully last year by getting the hard country cap removed. No one else was interested in removing the hard cap. It took a lot of co-ordination and lot of trips and lot of hard work to get it done. If that harmful provision had stayed, then the new quota of 650,000 in S 2611 would have been useless. People forget achivements of IV or think that it was negligible. Retrogression would have been exacerbated with hard country cap.
And this year, if CIR or SKIL bill come, we will be able to achive much much more. We are in much better shape and its hard for me to convince you of that unless I divulge details. That I cannot do. Its up to you if you can trust IV core on that.
You are reading the message right. I don't want IV to die. I am suggesting people with leadership skills to come forward and get SOME F**KING RESULTS. That is what is needed. It is do or die situation.
Yes, we know that your situation and a lot of other people's situation is do-or-die situation. We know that lot of visitors and members are being squeezed by their situation (exploiting employer, travel restrictions, naggin H4 spouse, no wage growth, no job mobility, no promotions) and that will end only when they get out of H1 and get GC. Its actually the do-or-die situation that prompted the creation of IV.
I am not a leader and I don't want to pretend that I am. I ask others who are not to step down and encourage the right people to take leadership positions.
That's what it seemed from your original post. And nothing wrong with that. If you are up to the job then you are welcome. We already have state-chapters and people are not actively participating in that. Last week, on California's state chapter conf call, 2 people came. If you take leadership, you need to do things locally like meeting with other people in your city, forming a group of 4-5 people and going and meeting your congressman. And if you want to be in IV core, then you have to call us on the phone number listed and we can see if you can add any value to core by doing things we routinely do, like content prep, website maint, travelling to DC for meetings, talking to other orgs etc. If you are up to the job, sure, why not. Anyone who considers themselves fit for IV core, please call us. We really do need help as we are overwhelmed.
I am a very dissatisfied member of IV. Are you satisfied with IV so far? Why doesn't everyone raise these questions? What has caused us to fail so far?
I am dissatisfied too with the results. Its not like I am a happy camper on H1. What has caused us to fail? The same thing that has caused us to fail last year, the same thing that caused industry to fail in getting H1 quota raised, the same thing that caused failure of Universities to get F4 visa for masters degree holders. And these guys have lobbying budget in millions? Why do you think they failed?
Whatever caused their failure, caused our failure too. In DC, issues are not debated and legislated based on morality and merits of those issues. They are taken up based on contemporary politics and other factors like lobbying, public attention, elections and political parties.
For example: Last year, they debated a constitutional amendment to ban flag burned in USA. And spent precious time of congress on debating it. How to you think that would have helped anyone? Even it had passed, what was the merit of the issue? Flag burned mostly happens outside USA. In USA people rarely burn US flags. So banning flag burning in USA is like banning metric system. Its meaningless. Yet, they spent time on it.
Read papers, read articles from other lobbying orgs and learn something. Legislations dont happen on their own because the issues carry weight and have merits. Merits have nothing to do with congressional action.
To quote a bestselling economist Steven Levitt :
"If morality is how we would like the world to work, economy is how the world actually works".
Same thing applies to US congress. They dont set their timetable of bills based on morality and merits. There are other factors.
maddipati1
12-31 02:20 PM
PLEASE HIGHLIGHT RE-CAPTURE OF WASTED VISAS
AND CHANGE IN THE LAW TO VISA ROLL-OVER IN FUTURE.
I think asking for increase in visa numbers works against us, especially in this economy. They may not be interested in removing per country quota too.
But, we have a genuine and strong case regarding re-capture of wasted visas. The root of this evil (retrogression) is due to wasted visas in last 5/6 years. Its quite simple math, US didn't stop/reduce H1 visas who get into the GC pipe, but reduced the number of people going out of pipe, hence the congestion.
Please make sure u highlight this one. This should be top most priority all the time.
Dear Sir/Madam
I have been in the country Legally on a student visa and then on a work visa for 10 years. I have been in line and have applied for a greencard 6 years ago and my application has been shuttled through various departments and agencies in a 4 step procedure and now being stalled for want of a number (An immigrant number) for a highly skilled immigrant. There are an estimated 1/2 million legal law abiding, tax paying individuals in a similar situation who need your attention. All of them are in the country on a work visa and are in line to recieve an employment based green card.
The Employment based green card system is completely broken due to excessive delays and backlogs in petitions of nearly half a million highly skilled workers who are certified by US Government to be doing a job that no US citizen is willing, qualified or able to do. The delays in obtaining a permanent residency are due to 2 reasons: Numerical caps on employment-based green cards and processing delays in adjudication of files. Today the system takes anywhere between 6-12 years to grant Green cards to some of the best and brightest of the world who have chosen America as their future home.
These future Americans are facing huge quality of life issues and their employers are facing difficulty in attracting more of the best and brightest of the world due to the broken system. The system prevents these workers from accepting promotions and switching jobs for the time-period it takes to process their files. By stagnating career growth and suffocating the creativity of the most innovative and technical minds of the world.
The processing delays mock America�s respect for those who �play by the rules� and get in line. At the same time USCIS awards 10s of thousands of greencards to people every year outside of USA based on a pick or lottery.
At the end of 2006, there were an estimated 200,000 employment-based principals waiting for labor certification, which is the first step in the U.S. immigration process. The number of pending I-140 applications, the second step of the immigration process, stood at 50,132. This was over seven times the number in 1996. The number of employment-based principals with approved I-140 applications and unfiled or pending I-485s, or the last step in the immigration process, was 309,823, a threefold increase from a decade earlier. Overall, there were 500,040 employment-based principals (in the three main employment visa categories of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3) waiting for legal permanent residence. And the total including family members was 1,055,084.
These numbers are particularly troubling when you consider there are only around 120,000 visas available for skilled immigrants in the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories. To make things worse, no more than 7 percent of the visas are allocated to immigrants from any one country. So immigrants from countries with large populations like India and China have the same number of visas available (8,400) as those from Iceland and Poland.
At the same time, a debate rages about H-1B visas and this gets considerable press coverage. Companies such as Microsoft, Intel, and Oracle have been lobbying for visas to bring in skilled immigrants, but have focused on expanding the numbers of H-1B visas available. Why? Perhaps because workers on these visas are desirable, as they are less likely to leave their employers during the decade or more they are waiting for permanent residence.
So we want skilled immigrants, but we want them to come on the right visas as permanent residents. The battles being fought are about bringing in more people with H-1B visas�not about those who are already here with them and stranded in �immigration limbo.�
Unlike many of the problems facing the United States, this one isn�t hard to fix. All we have to do is to increase the number of visas offered to skilled workers in the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories from 120,000 to around 300,000 per year. And we need to remove the per-country limits. Instead of requiring graduates from top universities who receive jobs from American corporations to go through the tedious H-1B visa process, we should provide a direct path to permanent residence. We are now competing with the rest of the world for the best talent. We need to do all we can to attract and keep skilled immigrants, rather than bring them here temporarily, train them, and send them home.
One more most important aspect is also to provide an oversight over USCIS. Presently, processing delays, lost paperwork, incourteous and bad customer service and above all a non-transparent system is what immigrants face. Why should legal tax paying immigrants wait in line patiently for half a decade and pay high fees to get lousy customer service and no accountability for fees?.
Yours truely,
Frustrated, law abiding, tax paying immigrant
AND CHANGE IN THE LAW TO VISA ROLL-OVER IN FUTURE.
I think asking for increase in visa numbers works against us, especially in this economy. They may not be interested in removing per country quota too.
But, we have a genuine and strong case regarding re-capture of wasted visas. The root of this evil (retrogression) is due to wasted visas in last 5/6 years. Its quite simple math, US didn't stop/reduce H1 visas who get into the GC pipe, but reduced the number of people going out of pipe, hence the congestion.
Please make sure u highlight this one. This should be top most priority all the time.
Dear Sir/Madam
I have been in the country Legally on a student visa and then on a work visa for 10 years. I have been in line and have applied for a greencard 6 years ago and my application has been shuttled through various departments and agencies in a 4 step procedure and now being stalled for want of a number (An immigrant number) for a highly skilled immigrant. There are an estimated 1/2 million legal law abiding, tax paying individuals in a similar situation who need your attention. All of them are in the country on a work visa and are in line to recieve an employment based green card.
The Employment based green card system is completely broken due to excessive delays and backlogs in petitions of nearly half a million highly skilled workers who are certified by US Government to be doing a job that no US citizen is willing, qualified or able to do. The delays in obtaining a permanent residency are due to 2 reasons: Numerical caps on employment-based green cards and processing delays in adjudication of files. Today the system takes anywhere between 6-12 years to grant Green cards to some of the best and brightest of the world who have chosen America as their future home.
These future Americans are facing huge quality of life issues and their employers are facing difficulty in attracting more of the best and brightest of the world due to the broken system. The system prevents these workers from accepting promotions and switching jobs for the time-period it takes to process their files. By stagnating career growth and suffocating the creativity of the most innovative and technical minds of the world.
The processing delays mock America�s respect for those who �play by the rules� and get in line. At the same time USCIS awards 10s of thousands of greencards to people every year outside of USA based on a pick or lottery.
At the end of 2006, there were an estimated 200,000 employment-based principals waiting for labor certification, which is the first step in the U.S. immigration process. The number of pending I-140 applications, the second step of the immigration process, stood at 50,132. This was over seven times the number in 1996. The number of employment-based principals with approved I-140 applications and unfiled or pending I-485s, or the last step in the immigration process, was 309,823, a threefold increase from a decade earlier. Overall, there were 500,040 employment-based principals (in the three main employment visa categories of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3) waiting for legal permanent residence. And the total including family members was 1,055,084.
These numbers are particularly troubling when you consider there are only around 120,000 visas available for skilled immigrants in the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories. To make things worse, no more than 7 percent of the visas are allocated to immigrants from any one country. So immigrants from countries with large populations like India and China have the same number of visas available (8,400) as those from Iceland and Poland.
At the same time, a debate rages about H-1B visas and this gets considerable press coverage. Companies such as Microsoft, Intel, and Oracle have been lobbying for visas to bring in skilled immigrants, but have focused on expanding the numbers of H-1B visas available. Why? Perhaps because workers on these visas are desirable, as they are less likely to leave their employers during the decade or more they are waiting for permanent residence.
So we want skilled immigrants, but we want them to come on the right visas as permanent residents. The battles being fought are about bringing in more people with H-1B visas�not about those who are already here with them and stranded in �immigration limbo.�
Unlike many of the problems facing the United States, this one isn�t hard to fix. All we have to do is to increase the number of visas offered to skilled workers in the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories from 120,000 to around 300,000 per year. And we need to remove the per-country limits. Instead of requiring graduates from top universities who receive jobs from American corporations to go through the tedious H-1B visa process, we should provide a direct path to permanent residence. We are now competing with the rest of the world for the best talent. We need to do all we can to attract and keep skilled immigrants, rather than bring them here temporarily, train them, and send them home.
One more most important aspect is also to provide an oversight over USCIS. Presently, processing delays, lost paperwork, incourteous and bad customer service and above all a non-transparent system is what immigrants face. Why should legal tax paying immigrants wait in line patiently for half a decade and pay high fees to get lousy customer service and no accountability for fees?.
Yours truely,
Frustrated, law abiding, tax paying immigrant
coopheal
05-23 04:38 PM
When you call the law makers and tell them you support XYZ bill.. my question is what do you get out of it!
When the lawmaker realizes that he is getting 10000 calls from LEGAL aliens,
>who are not from his constituency,
>who can�t vote and
>who can�t contribute to his election campaign�
what is the motivation for the law maker to support the bill�
So to avoid sounding stupid and foolish and desperate when you call� a more logical approach would be to :
a) Generate a public petition form on IV website and have all the members� login and sign the forms digitally�
b) Then have IV reps.. fax them and send them to lobby groups �.
c) Lawmakers will listen to one talking head�and not worry abt 1000 calls that borders on ..�saar �support the bill saar�..
How many of you have actually talked to the lawmakers? Its always the assistant!
But instead .. someone says we have a signed petition of 25000 members effected by immigration mess �. And it�s a hi tech workers lobby group ..every lawmaker will talk to you and not the assistant!
Conclusion: calling the lawmakers haphazardly is actually hurting IV cause..to a certain extent!
:cool:
Clarify to me how your objections dont apply to a petition signed by 25000 legal aliens:
>who are not from his constituency,
>who can�t vote and
>who can�t contribute to his election campaign�
When the lawmaker realizes that he is getting 10000 calls from LEGAL aliens,
>who are not from his constituency,
>who can�t vote and
>who can�t contribute to his election campaign�
what is the motivation for the law maker to support the bill�
So to avoid sounding stupid and foolish and desperate when you call� a more logical approach would be to :
a) Generate a public petition form on IV website and have all the members� login and sign the forms digitally�
b) Then have IV reps.. fax them and send them to lobby groups �.
c) Lawmakers will listen to one talking head�and not worry abt 1000 calls that borders on ..�saar �support the bill saar�..
How many of you have actually talked to the lawmakers? Its always the assistant!
But instead .. someone says we have a signed petition of 25000 members effected by immigration mess �. And it�s a hi tech workers lobby group ..every lawmaker will talk to you and not the assistant!
Conclusion: calling the lawmakers haphazardly is actually hurting IV cause..to a certain extent!
:cool:
Clarify to me how your objections dont apply to a petition signed by 25000 legal aliens:
>who are not from his constituency,
>who can�t vote and
>who can�t contribute to his election campaign�