DDLMODES
07-06 10:10 AM
Hey guys,
I have a question to all of you...
AILA prepares the lawsuit and some (probably most) of the lawyers are supporting that.
For several days I keep hearing that WHEN you file (in July) is not important and I am wondering how that could be true...
I understand that the people who filed on July 2nd are beneficiaries of this but in my mind, everybody who files after falls under a different category because technically they would file after the revised bulletin was announced therefore have no argument. I understand that everybody else prepared (legal fees, medical exam and so on) and they are affected even if they didn't file but I am wondering how that can be justification enough after the dates (retrogression) were announced.
I am trying to understand why they say that it does not matter when you file. They need more people to back this up or is just so they can justify billing you for their work...
Is just scary, how many people play with our hopes and I need to understand if this is just to serve somebody's interests or it is what it is .
Please post your 2 cents ...
Thanks !
I have a question to all of you...
AILA prepares the lawsuit and some (probably most) of the lawyers are supporting that.
For several days I keep hearing that WHEN you file (in July) is not important and I am wondering how that could be true...
I understand that the people who filed on July 2nd are beneficiaries of this but in my mind, everybody who files after falls under a different category because technically they would file after the revised bulletin was announced therefore have no argument. I understand that everybody else prepared (legal fees, medical exam and so on) and they are affected even if they didn't file but I am wondering how that can be justification enough after the dates (retrogression) were announced.
I am trying to understand why they say that it does not matter when you file. They need more people to back this up or is just so they can justify billing you for their work...
Is just scary, how many people play with our hopes and I need to understand if this is just to serve somebody's interests or it is what it is .
Please post your 2 cents ...
Thanks !
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saimrathi
07-11 11:42 AM
I second that motion :)
I dont think we need to waste our time about such non competent organizations , let them take the credit , it just shows that this was a great idea. Looking at their website it does look like they have some good contacts .
I think immigration voice should write them a formal letter and ask them to publicise this to their "contacts" ..
If they got themselves into this picture well,lets put them to work!
I dont think we need to waste our time about such non competent organizations , let them take the credit , it just shows that this was a great idea. Looking at their website it does look like they have some good contacts .
I think immigration voice should write them a formal letter and ask them to publicise this to their "contacts" ..
If they got themselves into this picture well,lets put them to work!
Honda
04-15 02:28 PM
Yesterday, I was told by the client that my project is going to end by this month end i.e Apr 30. Actually it was supposed to go for the next 2 years. I am currently in the project working for the project. They said the lay off was becoz of budget issues. But I see I am the only one that is target in this lay-off. I am working with the same client for the past 3 years. The lay off news was really shocking and devastating.
I am currently 9 months pregnant. As the client did that to me, I thought that atleast I might have some options with my current employer. My employer is a desi consultancy. I never been on Bench for single day for the Past 6 years ( Day 1 that I entered into US to till now).
When I spoke to my employer today he gave me a termination letter stating that my project end date will be my last date with them. It was more shocking. I will be on maternity leave anytime in month of may depending on the delivery. I don't see any possible options that any client can take me into project when I am in 9th month of pregnancy.
As my husband is doing consulting, I filed the green card thru this employer, 485 is pending more than 180 days, 140 approved in EB2 category. We paid all the attorney fees and filing fees from our pocket. We spent nearly $10,000 for the GC process. My husband was on bench for the past 2 months. He got a job on EAD which is going to start next week.
1. I see that my employer is terminating me immediately because he can avoid maternity expenses. I told him that I will take 3 months FMLA for unpaid maternity leave from Apr 30th. And look for the Job immediately after delivery and get into the Job. But still he is telling he won't provide me that time. Maintaining the status is very important for me as me and my husband depends on the EAD.
2.My medical insurance is with my employer, If I get laid off in this critical situation, I won't be having insurance. We can't afford the delivery expenses without insurance.
3. Even though my husband will get insurance with the new company, We are not sure that company will cover the pre-existing pregnancy that is in final stages.
4. And also not sure that the insurance will be under the network of OBG/YN and the hospital I registered for delivery. His job is in different state but he will find out the options once he starts his job next week.
5. Does anyone think that my employer is discriminating the law? He is terminating me immediately becoz I am pregnant.
I am not sure whether he is doing the right thing but the situation I am in is the worst situation I ever expected of. Its lot of stress on me and my baby. We are unable to sleep for hour with all the tensions ahead. My husband's job is dependent on my valid status. If something screw up we both be in very bad situation. I really don't want any one in my situation.
Please help me, if any one know any options where I can maintain my status during the pregnancy and maternity leave, Please tell me.
Sorry to hear your situation. Please let me know right now which state you are? i have some options to tell you.
I am currently 9 months pregnant. As the client did that to me, I thought that atleast I might have some options with my current employer. My employer is a desi consultancy. I never been on Bench for single day for the Past 6 years ( Day 1 that I entered into US to till now).
When I spoke to my employer today he gave me a termination letter stating that my project end date will be my last date with them. It was more shocking. I will be on maternity leave anytime in month of may depending on the delivery. I don't see any possible options that any client can take me into project when I am in 9th month of pregnancy.
As my husband is doing consulting, I filed the green card thru this employer, 485 is pending more than 180 days, 140 approved in EB2 category. We paid all the attorney fees and filing fees from our pocket. We spent nearly $10,000 for the GC process. My husband was on bench for the past 2 months. He got a job on EAD which is going to start next week.
1. I see that my employer is terminating me immediately because he can avoid maternity expenses. I told him that I will take 3 months FMLA for unpaid maternity leave from Apr 30th. And look for the Job immediately after delivery and get into the Job. But still he is telling he won't provide me that time. Maintaining the status is very important for me as me and my husband depends on the EAD.
2.My medical insurance is with my employer, If I get laid off in this critical situation, I won't be having insurance. We can't afford the delivery expenses without insurance.
3. Even though my husband will get insurance with the new company, We are not sure that company will cover the pre-existing pregnancy that is in final stages.
4. And also not sure that the insurance will be under the network of OBG/YN and the hospital I registered for delivery. His job is in different state but he will find out the options once he starts his job next week.
5. Does anyone think that my employer is discriminating the law? He is terminating me immediately becoz I am pregnant.
I am not sure whether he is doing the right thing but the situation I am in is the worst situation I ever expected of. Its lot of stress on me and my baby. We are unable to sleep for hour with all the tensions ahead. My husband's job is dependent on my valid status. If something screw up we both be in very bad situation. I really don't want any one in my situation.
Please help me, if any one know any options where I can maintain my status during the pregnancy and maternity leave, Please tell me.
Sorry to hear your situation. Please let me know right now which state you are? i have some options to tell you.
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pappu
03-10 03:24 PM
Too late.
EB3I dropped out of school already!
Or watching cricket matches during exam time. :)
EB3 folks need to be the most worried people if they do not have Greencards. Unless there is any sense of desperation and expressed need, do not expect any lawmaker to vote for any greencard bill .
EB3I dropped out of school already!
Or watching cricket matches during exam time. :)
EB3 folks need to be the most worried people if they do not have Greencards. Unless there is any sense of desperation and expressed need, do not expect any lawmaker to vote for any greencard bill .
more...
dixie
08-01 01:48 PM
DISCLAIMER: SPECIFIC TO THE INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
I am sorry but I disagree with the "best among the best" comment. To equate success in the IIT entrance exam to being the best is a mistake. Success in the entrance exams to those Insititutions comes from focus and hard work. This does not necessarily mean that the people who go there are the best. They ARE definitely the best at preparing for the exam.
Keeping debates on "education standards" aside, from a middle-school student's perspective its definitely not easy to get into a decent higher educational institute in India; what with reservations and the enormous competition . We cannot deny that higher education opportunities are definitely better(though more expensive) in the developed countries.
I am sorry but I disagree with the "best among the best" comment. To equate success in the IIT entrance exam to being the best is a mistake. Success in the entrance exams to those Insititutions comes from focus and hard work. This does not necessarily mean that the people who go there are the best. They ARE definitely the best at preparing for the exam.
Keeping debates on "education standards" aside, from a middle-school student's perspective its definitely not easy to get into a decent higher educational institute in India; what with reservations and the enormous competition . We cannot deny that higher education opportunities are definitely better(though more expensive) in the developed countries.
codehari
09-11 06:04 PM
We bought house feb 07, still waiting for Perm LC approval. (Audit) :rolleyes:
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floridasun
12-31 04:17 PM
I have decided to give a break to these pain in the rear issues ...atleast for today and tomorrow. F***k this... Come what may... I will have a blast next 2 days :p
Wish you all a very happy new year 2011 and may every one cross the ocean of this GC torture system this new year !!
Wish you all a very happy new year 2011 and may every one cross the ocean of this GC torture system this new year !!
2010 of NFS wallpapers.
harrydr
04-16 01:43 PM
Hi,
After multiple requests to my employer, i finally was able to get a scanned copy of my I-140 approval notice. It's just the approval notice and not the original I-140.
My questions is, is that enough to port my PD in case i want to change my job and switch the company??
After multiple requests to my employer, i finally was able to get a scanned copy of my I-140 approval notice. It's just the approval notice and not the original I-140.
My questions is, is that enough to port my PD in case i want to change my job and switch the company??
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iwantgc
10-10 03:24 PM
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3046.html
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gcisadawg
01-23 12:56 AM
:confused: It must be typo.
It is typo.
It is typo.
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ags123
04-07 04:01 PM
Thanks Karthik but I am just an MS :)
But one thin I enjoy is problem solving and this is one of the hardest out there as it is dynamic.
With Eb3 India the Horizontal spillover methodology kills most hope as there is the large Eb2 India backlog. In 2007(I think) the vertical spillover methodology was followed and Eb3 India got 17000 or so visa numbers. So with Horizontal spillover and no number increase I am sorry to say movement is limited.
But one thin I enjoy is problem solving and this is one of the hardest out there as it is dynamic.
With Eb3 India the Horizontal spillover methodology kills most hope as there is the large Eb2 India backlog. In 2007(I think) the vertical spillover methodology was followed and Eb3 India got 17000 or so visa numbers. So with Horizontal spillover and no number increase I am sorry to say movement is limited.
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royus77
07-07 03:13 PM
Is finger print required for AP efiling? thanks
Will you get FP notice if you applied APO ONLY by paper ?
Can some body send me the Template for the cover letter .
Thanks
Roy
Will you get FP notice if you applied APO ONLY by paper ?
Can some body send me the Template for the cover letter .
Thanks
Roy
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superdoc
09-24 07:56 AM
Hi,
The notice doesn't say that I-485 was denied. for I-140, it says notice of Automatic revocation. For I-485 it says Acknowledgement of withdrawl. It looks to me that my previous desi employer actually withdrawn the I-485 application and thats the reason it says the I-140 is automatically revoked.. But how can they withdraw my I-485 application ?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
did you file a new g-28? if not do that right away..maybe they denied accidentally
I think MTR will be successful in your case..it will just be a few anxious weeks...
Remember worst case scenario..go back to INDIA which I think is not too bad as a software engineer !! Cheer up...
DESI employers are the biggest dousche bags around..i have decided that I will not work for another desi
The notice doesn't say that I-485 was denied. for I-140, it says notice of Automatic revocation. For I-485 it says Acknowledgement of withdrawl. It looks to me that my previous desi employer actually withdrawn the I-485 application and thats the reason it says the I-140 is automatically revoked.. But how can they withdraw my I-485 application ?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
did you file a new g-28? if not do that right away..maybe they denied accidentally
I think MTR will be successful in your case..it will just be a few anxious weeks...
Remember worst case scenario..go back to INDIA which I think is not too bad as a software engineer !! Cheer up...
DESI employers are the biggest dousche bags around..i have decided that I will not work for another desi
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kondur_007
09-22 05:35 PM
LOA...means I am still employed without benefits ...at my old company.
what you said makes sense..this is how I am looking at it
-join new company
-donot send in ac 21 paperwork
-if i have rfe send in paperwork from present employer which will only be a generic letter----(i don't know how much detail uscis likes)
-the reason i want to do LOA is that this way i will be sure they will not revoke i -140
-what do the gurus feel ?
BTW--gave u green --thanks for the reply
I think your plan may work out just fine. I would make a couple of suggestions:
1. If you are taking LOA from original employer, for practical purposes (for USCIS), you are not employed with that employer any more (they go by pay stubs). But if doing so helps to avoid revocation of 140, go ahead and do it that way.
2. Because you will actually get your pay check from new employer, you are employed by them (and you will work on EAD with them, make sure that this is mentioned on your I-9 form). No matter how much ignorant your employer is, they will have to have I-9 on file and it must have your EAD (not H1).
3. After doing this, you will be on I 485 pending status (no longer on H status), and so make sure you have current EAD and AP all the time.
4. If something goes wrong with your I 485 (very unlikely); you will have to leave the country and enter back on H visa and work for H visa sponsoring employer (probably your old employer).
5. It is perfectly fine to not file AC21. AC21 is needed only if you do not plan to join original sponsoring employer after GC approval. However, if you do want to file AC21, you do not need much documentation from your new employer. It just needs the simple letter stating your job position as a "physician" and brief job duties (briefer the better!) and salary (should be proportional or higher). If you do not file AC21, you may just keep that documentation on file with your attorney (which I would do to be on safe side). The implication of having this is as follows:
--If you have this documentation (even if not filed with USCIS), at the time of approval of your GC you will have the option of just staying with new employer or going back to original employer.
--If you do not have this, you will have to go back to original employer after GC approval with a "good faith intention of permanent job".
PM me if you have questions about what I said above, and I will be happy to talk to you.
Good Luck.
what you said makes sense..this is how I am looking at it
-join new company
-donot send in ac 21 paperwork
-if i have rfe send in paperwork from present employer which will only be a generic letter----(i don't know how much detail uscis likes)
-the reason i want to do LOA is that this way i will be sure they will not revoke i -140
-what do the gurus feel ?
BTW--gave u green --thanks for the reply
I think your plan may work out just fine. I would make a couple of suggestions:
1. If you are taking LOA from original employer, for practical purposes (for USCIS), you are not employed with that employer any more (they go by pay stubs). But if doing so helps to avoid revocation of 140, go ahead and do it that way.
2. Because you will actually get your pay check from new employer, you are employed by them (and you will work on EAD with them, make sure that this is mentioned on your I-9 form). No matter how much ignorant your employer is, they will have to have I-9 on file and it must have your EAD (not H1).
3. After doing this, you will be on I 485 pending status (no longer on H status), and so make sure you have current EAD and AP all the time.
4. If something goes wrong with your I 485 (very unlikely); you will have to leave the country and enter back on H visa and work for H visa sponsoring employer (probably your old employer).
5. It is perfectly fine to not file AC21. AC21 is needed only if you do not plan to join original sponsoring employer after GC approval. However, if you do want to file AC21, you do not need much documentation from your new employer. It just needs the simple letter stating your job position as a "physician" and brief job duties (briefer the better!) and salary (should be proportional or higher). If you do not file AC21, you may just keep that documentation on file with your attorney (which I would do to be on safe side). The implication of having this is as follows:
--If you have this documentation (even if not filed with USCIS), at the time of approval of your GC you will have the option of just staying with new employer or going back to original employer.
--If you do not have this, you will have to go back to original employer after GC approval with a "good faith intention of permanent job".
PM me if you have questions about what I said above, and I will be happy to talk to you.
Good Luck.
more...
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oldschool
08-16 09:58 PM
I do know recently where a person who got married before his greencard approval and filed his wife's case. He got approved but then three months after his approval; his wife has been sent to local office interview. I'll let you know what the outcome of that will be.
Another person was on F-1 and went straight to greencard through Schedule A. he got married after he filed for 485. Since he didn't have any non immigrant status; he could not bring his wife here. She had to do follow to join and chennai consulate asked all sorts of questions. Tax returns, w2's, letter from employer; when he joined and when he left.
Think of it this way; were you traveling before greencard with same employer? If you were then what would have changed that all of a sudden you don't like it. It would be a more plausible excuse if you didn't travel at all before and they started to make you do it after greencard approval.
Thanks for the reply. We got married before I applied for the greencard and my wife got here under H4 visa during which time visa numbers are unavailable for AOS. This is the reason why she just got applied this July.
I am not working as a traveler for my employer.
We'll await for the outcome of the interview of that person's wife you know. It's really hard to decide at this time because in the long run we'll be definitely applying for citizenship here.
Again, thank you very much.
Another person was on F-1 and went straight to greencard through Schedule A. he got married after he filed for 485. Since he didn't have any non immigrant status; he could not bring his wife here. She had to do follow to join and chennai consulate asked all sorts of questions. Tax returns, w2's, letter from employer; when he joined and when he left.
Think of it this way; were you traveling before greencard with same employer? If you were then what would have changed that all of a sudden you don't like it. It would be a more plausible excuse if you didn't travel at all before and they started to make you do it after greencard approval.
Thanks for the reply. We got married before I applied for the greencard and my wife got here under H4 visa during which time visa numbers are unavailable for AOS. This is the reason why she just got applied this July.
I am not working as a traveler for my employer.
We'll await for the outcome of the interview of that person's wife you know. It's really hard to decide at this time because in the long run we'll be definitely applying for citizenship here.
Again, thank you very much.
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chapper
10-23 09:34 PM
Congrats! - I'm happy for you. Thanks for sharing.
Did you get any LUD between I485 application and approval.
Did you get any LUD between I485 application and approval.
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sh2005
11-08 09:47 AM
hey friends,
I saw that Logiclife mentioned that the head will be from michigan. I am from michigan and a lot of my buddies also visit this site regularly. Let us know if we can make a difference. Please let us know what can we do to help our cause here. I am ready to drive, meet, talk to any one I can to push things here. I dont know how much of an impact that would be, but even a little can help.
thanks
Please pm me with any suggestions or ideas.
Same here.... In fact, Rep Conyers is a graduate of my alma mater... at this point, any nonconventional means to get the lawmakers attention :)
I saw that Logiclife mentioned that the head will be from michigan. I am from michigan and a lot of my buddies also visit this site regularly. Let us know if we can make a difference. Please let us know what can we do to help our cause here. I am ready to drive, meet, talk to any one I can to push things here. I dont know how much of an impact that would be, but even a little can help.
thanks
Please pm me with any suggestions or ideas.
Same here.... In fact, Rep Conyers is a graduate of my alma mater... at this point, any nonconventional means to get the lawmakers attention :)
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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."
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indio0617
06-19 10:35 AM
The dates came back to normal...What a relief!!!!!:) :) :) :)
You might want to change the thread heading, just to dispel some anxiety.
Thanks.
You might want to change the thread heading, just to dispel some anxiety.
Thanks.
eb3retro
10-15 11:33 AM
can you post the address that you sent to ? I am planning to do the same too. I will attach an email from the travel agent for loss of money if i cancel my tickets.
Guys,
I efiled my AP on 9/5/10 @NSC and it was approved today after requesting expediting on 10/5/10 based on financial loss, I have a business transaction back home for which i need to be present and provided all supporting documentation related to that.
This is what is think is more effective than contacting senators/Ombudsman for expediting, resend all the I-131 supporting documentation,proof of emergency/loss, 2 photos and include a cover letter with bold colorful fonts requesting expediting to the same address you sent your app earlier (btw, i used the USCIS center courier address and not PO Box address), i believe this way your app goes to the officer quicker and he has all the documents needed to approve your case right away if you qualify for expediting, i have used this process more than once and know it works at least for me....you have tried other methods, why not try this as well!
Good Luck!
Guys,
I efiled my AP on 9/5/10 @NSC and it was approved today after requesting expediting on 10/5/10 based on financial loss, I have a business transaction back home for which i need to be present and provided all supporting documentation related to that.
This is what is think is more effective than contacting senators/Ombudsman for expediting, resend all the I-131 supporting documentation,proof of emergency/loss, 2 photos and include a cover letter with bold colorful fonts requesting expediting to the same address you sent your app earlier (btw, i used the USCIS center courier address and not PO Box address), i believe this way your app goes to the officer quicker and he has all the documents needed to approve your case right away if you qualify for expediting, i have used this process more than once and know it works at least for me....you have tried other methods, why not try this as well!
Good Luck!
morchu
08-15 11:35 AM
6 months after GC is safer. The "6 months" is usually USCIS rough assumption for calculating "intent". Doest mean that you are absoulutely safe after 6 months. It doesnt mean that you are in danger before 6 months also.
You are supposed to have the "intent" to continue working for your GC employer AFTER getting your GC. The 6 months is to show that you HAD the intent, and after 6 months your intent changed.
You are supposed to have the "intent" to continue working for your GC employer AFTER getting your GC. The 6 months is to show that you HAD the intent, and after 6 months your intent changed.
