gsc999
06-29 11:12 AM
My friend
What else we lose if we stand up the plate to express some legitimate concerns?
Most of the members of this forum (and so many more) have already lost the prime time of their lives because we just followed the path of playing by rules.
Unless some compelling personal reasons, i do not see any thing wrong to raise the voice
---
satyasaich,
I am sorry for the misunderstanding. It seems my attempt at sarcasm didn't work.
CIR is not amnesty. It is a solution to a problem. People who label CIR as "amnesty" are narrowly viewing the legal definition rather than taking the broader view of trying to solve the problem of immigration. The issue here is not what is the legal definition of amnesty but a comprehensive solution to immigration.
What else we lose if we stand up the plate to express some legitimate concerns?
Most of the members of this forum (and so many more) have already lost the prime time of their lives because we just followed the path of playing by rules.
Unless some compelling personal reasons, i do not see any thing wrong to raise the voice
---
satyasaich,
I am sorry for the misunderstanding. It seems my attempt at sarcasm didn't work.
CIR is not amnesty. It is a solution to a problem. People who label CIR as "amnesty" are narrowly viewing the legal definition rather than taking the broader view of trying to solve the problem of immigration. The issue here is not what is the legal definition of amnesty but a comprehensive solution to immigration.
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walking_dude
10-25 01:57 PM
Guys, I couldn't reply to you all earlier , here, as I was busy with my job and personal chores.
Let's settle for Yahoo now, as it has powerful features such as Polls and Database that aren't available in Google. Also the Google group created by me has gone into 'La-La land' ( google bugs!)
Here's our new Secure and Trusted Yahoo group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ivmi
Here's the latest
1) We are getting our group registered as Official on IV (details sent to IV)
2) News from IV on Legislative updates issues will be posted on the group this weekend (10/20 attendees, be sure to join by then)
3) Some 10/20 Attendees to the meet have been added directly to the group. Others have been sent invites ( Yahoo restricts direct add to 10 per day). Please join ASAP. Let me know if there are any issues [ PM/'Private Message' or E-mail me]. I'll help you get joined.
4) Others, please provide the following details while requesting to join the group.
A) FULL NAME
B) IV handle (N/A for non-members)
C) Telephone [ we'll call you. No request to join will be accepted without Telephone number]
D) City and Zip Code + 4
We will call you to verify and then your request will be accepted. We regret the inability to accomodate anonymous requesters, as we wish to keep our group Secure and Trusted for the purpose of dissemination of sensitive IV information. Your co-operation to make this happen is greatly appreciated.
Let's settle for Yahoo now, as it has powerful features such as Polls and Database that aren't available in Google. Also the Google group created by me has gone into 'La-La land' ( google bugs!)
Here's our new Secure and Trusted Yahoo group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ivmi
Here's the latest
1) We are getting our group registered as Official on IV (details sent to IV)
2) News from IV on Legislative updates issues will be posted on the group this weekend (10/20 attendees, be sure to join by then)
3) Some 10/20 Attendees to the meet have been added directly to the group. Others have been sent invites ( Yahoo restricts direct add to 10 per day). Please join ASAP. Let me know if there are any issues [ PM/'Private Message' or E-mail me]. I'll help you get joined.
4) Others, please provide the following details while requesting to join the group.
A) FULL NAME
B) IV handle (N/A for non-members)
C) Telephone [ we'll call you. No request to join will be accepted without Telephone number]
D) City and Zip Code + 4
We will call you to verify and then your request will be accepted. We regret the inability to accomodate anonymous requesters, as we wish to keep our group Secure and Trusted for the purpose of dissemination of sensitive IV information. Your co-operation to make this happen is greatly appreciated.
aadimanav
06-22 12:25 AM
Source:
The Oh Law Firm (http://www.immigration-law.com/)
06/21/2009: CIR and What's Ahead
On Friday, Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs officially announced that the President was scheduled to call a small group of Congressional leaders and political leaders to the White House to open a dialogue on CIR next Thursday, 06/25/2009. Troublesome was another statement that recognizes the facts by the Press Secretary at the same press conference that the Congress did not have enough numbers to pass a CIR legislation. As we reported earlier, for a CIR to pass the Congress, it should pass both the Senate and the House. However, it is the House that lacks enough numbers at this time to pass a CIR legislation this year. There are a plenty of House legislators who represent districts that are politically not affected by the Hispanic population and their political pressures. These legislators usually form a group of Democratic represenstives who are either conservative and middle of the road in the political ideology. The situation tends to be different when it comes to the Senate that is consisted of legislators based on their statewide consistuencies as opposed to the House representatives that represent small neighborhood and district constituencies. The Senators' decisions are thus derived more from broader national political or statewide political issues and interests of the whole party. For this reasons, for the past several years, the Senate initiated and was able to pass CIR bills which have ended up in the ditch when it moved to the House floor. The background behind the Press Secretary's announcement downplaying the potential success of CIR within this year is their motivation to control unrealistic rise of expectation in the CIR supporting community on the President's initiatives that can also end up in another ditch with potential negative political fall-outs to his political leadership. The current politcal landscape and environment then raise two questions. The first question is whether the President and the Democratic Congress will have enough energy and zeal to successfuly change the existing political landscape, particularly in the House of Representatives, within such a limited time within this year. The Congress will soon go into the Summer recess and the remaining legislative days in the Congressional calendar for 2009 are very limited. The second question is why then Senate Majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, has been spinning in media on his agenda to take up a CIR bill this fall with the full realization of political reality that can be ditched again in the House. It appears that part of such spinning is related to his own political future. His seat in the Senate will be up for reelection in the national mid-term election in 2010 and he needs a strong support from the Hispanic constituency in the State of Nevada. The Hispanic population has been rapidly growing durng the past several years in the State of Nevada. His push for a CIR will achieve his political calculation, no matter whether the bill will pass or fail in the Senate. Again, the chance for a CIR passing the Senate in 2009 is indeed very good as the chance for Senate Democrats pulling together 60 votes may turn realistic, particularly as affected by the final result of the current Senate election dispute in the State of Minnesota. In the very near future, the Minnesota Supreme Court is likely to hand down a decision sustaining the election of Mr. Al Franken, a progressive Democrat, as the next Senator, over the conservative former(?) Senator Norm Coleman. For the discussion per se, let's assume that the CIR fails to pass either in the Senate or in the House. The Senator Harry Reid will still get all the credits in his Hispanic constituency in the State of Nevada for his initiatives in the Senate to legislate a CIR!
All in all, year 2009 will turn out to be the only year that can pass a CIR because this is a so-called leap-year when there is no national reelection and the House members will be less affected by their activities this year. The key is whether the President Obama will have enough energy, steam, and polical motive to make a full-court pressing and arm-twisting of the conservative Democratic members in the House within a "very" short period of time, within this Summer or early fall at the latest. Currently, his and Democrats' top two reform agenda stay with the nation's health care and energy reforms. Until we see such full dedication and commitment of the President to the CIR within a given time, one should not raise the level of his/her hope or expectation too high as it will indeed bring out really devastating frustration and hopelessness in 2010 in that considering the November 2010 mid-year election, the chance for CIR next year will turn out to be very slim because of the rerunnng Democrats in the election from small districts that are not affected by the Hispanic political pressures. Until we see such solid momentum and heat of passion on the part of the President leading to quick actions in the near future, all the media campaign and spinning of news by the White House and the Senator Reid may have to be taken with caution and discount.
The Oh Law Firm (http://www.immigration-law.com/)
06/21/2009: CIR and What's Ahead
On Friday, Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs officially announced that the President was scheduled to call a small group of Congressional leaders and political leaders to the White House to open a dialogue on CIR next Thursday, 06/25/2009. Troublesome was another statement that recognizes the facts by the Press Secretary at the same press conference that the Congress did not have enough numbers to pass a CIR legislation. As we reported earlier, for a CIR to pass the Congress, it should pass both the Senate and the House. However, it is the House that lacks enough numbers at this time to pass a CIR legislation this year. There are a plenty of House legislators who represent districts that are politically not affected by the Hispanic population and their political pressures. These legislators usually form a group of Democratic represenstives who are either conservative and middle of the road in the political ideology. The situation tends to be different when it comes to the Senate that is consisted of legislators based on their statewide consistuencies as opposed to the House representatives that represent small neighborhood and district constituencies. The Senators' decisions are thus derived more from broader national political or statewide political issues and interests of the whole party. For this reasons, for the past several years, the Senate initiated and was able to pass CIR bills which have ended up in the ditch when it moved to the House floor. The background behind the Press Secretary's announcement downplaying the potential success of CIR within this year is their motivation to control unrealistic rise of expectation in the CIR supporting community on the President's initiatives that can also end up in another ditch with potential negative political fall-outs to his political leadership. The current politcal landscape and environment then raise two questions. The first question is whether the President and the Democratic Congress will have enough energy and zeal to successfuly change the existing political landscape, particularly in the House of Representatives, within such a limited time within this year. The Congress will soon go into the Summer recess and the remaining legislative days in the Congressional calendar for 2009 are very limited. The second question is why then Senate Majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, has been spinning in media on his agenda to take up a CIR bill this fall with the full realization of political reality that can be ditched again in the House. It appears that part of such spinning is related to his own political future. His seat in the Senate will be up for reelection in the national mid-term election in 2010 and he needs a strong support from the Hispanic constituency in the State of Nevada. The Hispanic population has been rapidly growing durng the past several years in the State of Nevada. His push for a CIR will achieve his political calculation, no matter whether the bill will pass or fail in the Senate. Again, the chance for a CIR passing the Senate in 2009 is indeed very good as the chance for Senate Democrats pulling together 60 votes may turn realistic, particularly as affected by the final result of the current Senate election dispute in the State of Minnesota. In the very near future, the Minnesota Supreme Court is likely to hand down a decision sustaining the election of Mr. Al Franken, a progressive Democrat, as the next Senator, over the conservative former(?) Senator Norm Coleman. For the discussion per se, let's assume that the CIR fails to pass either in the Senate or in the House. The Senator Harry Reid will still get all the credits in his Hispanic constituency in the State of Nevada for his initiatives in the Senate to legislate a CIR!
All in all, year 2009 will turn out to be the only year that can pass a CIR because this is a so-called leap-year when there is no national reelection and the House members will be less affected by their activities this year. The key is whether the President Obama will have enough energy, steam, and polical motive to make a full-court pressing and arm-twisting of the conservative Democratic members in the House within a "very" short period of time, within this Summer or early fall at the latest. Currently, his and Democrats' top two reform agenda stay with the nation's health care and energy reforms. Until we see such full dedication and commitment of the President to the CIR within a given time, one should not raise the level of his/her hope or expectation too high as it will indeed bring out really devastating frustration and hopelessness in 2010 in that considering the November 2010 mid-year election, the chance for CIR next year will turn out to be very slim because of the rerunnng Democrats in the election from small districts that are not affected by the Hispanic political pressures. Until we see such solid momentum and heat of passion on the part of the President leading to quick actions in the near future, all the media campaign and spinning of news by the White House and the Senator Reid may have to be taken with caution and discount.
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everonh1
06-21 02:59 PM
I am in same boat.
Here is my experience with USCIS at San Francisco:-
Went to USCIS SFO Today.
They bluntly told me that they have no process to re-issue I-94s.
Either file an H1 Extension or leave the country and get back in for a new extended I-94.
I argued with them that this is real crazy - how come you dont have a process to fix the I-94 after passport is extended and well before I-94 expiry date.
They had no answer and stuck to their answer that they cant do much and I have only those 2 options.
I asked them if San Francisco CBP will fix it - they said NO,they wont.
Also,apparently as per USCIS officials,I cant go to any of the border Countries like Canada,Mexico as they dont issue I-94 if stay there is less than 30 days.
So I have to go out to any country other than border countries and only then I-94 will be issued?
How more crazy can USCIS be?
How come AILA or someone never raised this issue with USCIS- as this is such a common scenario.
Here is my experience with USCIS at San Francisco:-
Went to USCIS SFO Today.
They bluntly told me that they have no process to re-issue I-94s.
Either file an H1 Extension or leave the country and get back in for a new extended I-94.
I argued with them that this is real crazy - how come you dont have a process to fix the I-94 after passport is extended and well before I-94 expiry date.
They had no answer and stuck to their answer that they cant do much and I have only those 2 options.
I asked them if San Francisco CBP will fix it - they said NO,they wont.
Also,apparently as per USCIS officials,I cant go to any of the border Countries like Canada,Mexico as they dont issue I-94 if stay there is less than 30 days.
So I have to go out to any country other than border countries and only then I-94 will be issued?
How more crazy can USCIS be?
How come AILA or someone never raised this issue with USCIS- as this is such a common scenario.
more...
vin13
01-08 11:06 AM
I returned back from India a few days ago. My experience was very similar to "LostInGCProcess". The only difference was that i had only 2 copies of AP. They kept one and gave me one.
So, it should not be a problem if you have 2 AP copies. Just make sure you come out of Immigration with 1 copy for your future travels.
They will not take the only copy you have if you make another trip out of the country before it expires.
You need just the AP and Passport. Please let the officer know that you are using AP. Or they will keep looking through your passport for a visa.
It is good to have supporting documents such as I-485 receipt, I-140 approval, recent paystubs, employment letter from your HR (stating you are still employed). As 'LostInGCProcess" said, please do not provide them until reqested
So, it should not be a problem if you have 2 AP copies. Just make sure you come out of Immigration with 1 copy for your future travels.
They will not take the only copy you have if you make another trip out of the country before it expires.
You need just the AP and Passport. Please let the officer know that you are using AP. Or they will keep looking through your passport for a visa.
It is good to have supporting documents such as I-485 receipt, I-140 approval, recent paystubs, employment letter from your HR (stating you are still employed). As 'LostInGCProcess" said, please do not provide them until reqested
kewlchap
04-06 01:15 AM
Hello all,
Anyone knows if there is a certain length of time that I need to be employed with my GC sponsor after 485 approval?
I have heard 3-4 months, but I am wondering if there is legal time limit or if this is a "good faith" limit.
Appreciate responses.
Anyone knows if there is a certain length of time that I need to be employed with my GC sponsor after 485 approval?
I have heard 3-4 months, but I am wondering if there is legal time limit or if this is a "good faith" limit.
Appreciate responses.
more...
mattresscoil
12-09 07:58 AM
Hi,
I filed my I-140 and 485 concurrently using substitue labor by June'07. Still my I-140 is pending. Recently again I filed my Labor with the same company(No change in the compary ). it got approved last week. I am going to apply for new I-140. Can I port the previous PD?
Thanks
VK
Venkatanathen:
Your previous I140 needs to be approved. If it is pending, I dont think you can port a priority date from it. Again please have this answer qualified by an attorney.
I filed my I-140 and 485 concurrently using substitue labor by June'07. Still my I-140 is pending. Recently again I filed my Labor with the same company(No change in the compary ). it got approved last week. I am going to apply for new I-140. Can I port the previous PD?
Thanks
VK
Venkatanathen:
Your previous I140 needs to be approved. If it is pending, I dont think you can port a priority date from it. Again please have this answer qualified by an attorney.
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larmani
04-29 01:50 PM
Did you already applied for H1 extention and got RFE or you are just assuming you might get RFE. I recently applied extention for another 3 years and got it successfully. Our AOS is also pending. So dont worry. Anyway it is you choice to use EAD and extend every year.
more...
Bezzer
09-06 08:51 PM
im not really new to photoshop...i've been using it for a couple of years...just never done a pixel stretch before.. :)
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deba
02-03 04:02 PM
I have used my Canadian PR card for transit thru the UK while on AP. It was quite some time back though. The gate agent took a while to go thru my docs, but was satisfied and was allowed to board both ways. The verification obviously took a bit longer on the way back to the US, but nothing unusual. If I remember well, I did carry a copy of the transit rules with me in case there was any issue. My guess is you should be fine.
more...
mps
09-06 11:46 PM
Wow ! This is going to kill real estate market for sure !
I know my friends who live in apartment here in US but they have purchased investment properties in India.
Certain metros had seen unprecedented zoom in real estate prices which was heavily supported by NRI money especially returning IT workers.
I know my friends who live in apartment here in US but they have purchased investment properties in India.
Certain metros had seen unprecedented zoom in real estate prices which was heavily supported by NRI money especially returning IT workers.
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sagar_nyc
02-10 05:31 PM
My I 140 got approved in 2006. And my lawyer got approval notice. He also gave me copy of it. I just registered my I 140 case number on USCIS site. I was stunned to find out the status that
Current Status: Notice Returned as Undeliverable.
On September 19, 2006, the post office returned the notice we last sent you on this case I140 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER as undeliverable. This may have serious effects on processing this case. Please call 1-800-375-5283 to update your mailing address for this notice to be re-sent.
I immediately contacted my lawyer. He said that Since He have original approved copy of I140 , I should not worry about it.
I tried even contacting IO. But IO told me that regarding I140 only employer or attorney can call to discuss further. She didn't give me any answers.
Gurus what you think?
Current Status: Notice Returned as Undeliverable.
On September 19, 2006, the post office returned the notice we last sent you on this case I140 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER as undeliverable. This may have serious effects on processing this case. Please call 1-800-375-5283 to update your mailing address for this notice to be re-sent.
I immediately contacted my lawyer. He said that Since He have original approved copy of I140 , I should not worry about it.
I tried even contacting IO. But IO told me that regarding I140 only employer or attorney can call to discuss further. She didn't give me any answers.
Gurus what you think?
more...
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freedom_fighter
01-27 10:52 AM
Congrats! Enjoy the freedom.
i'm not going anywhere and would like to contribute in what ever way possible to address our cause.
i'm not going anywhere and would like to contribute in what ever way possible to address our cause.
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GCDelay
11-30 11:39 AM
xxx
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belmontboy
01-24 04:32 PM
In 2010 - around 20K visa is issued in EB2 and around 3K in EB3...
Does anyone know the exact demands for each year from 2005 ,2006,2007,2008, 2009 ,2010,2011 -- then it will give clear picture .
Yes.
Thread titled "Eb2 calculations..." has the information you need.
Does anyone know the exact demands for each year from 2005 ,2006,2007,2008, 2009 ,2010,2011 -- then it will give clear picture .
Yes.
Thread titled "Eb2 calculations..." has the information you need.
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smit
02-27 09:20 PM
Can anyone tell me what was final outcome of this? and which state it was where this happened?
more...
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Nil
07-21 09:50 AM
Very Potent topic.
During the downturn, company decided to dissolve local satellite office and have everyone in the region work from home.
DOL audited labor application asking 'why home and work addresses are the same: is the candidate related to employer?'
Go figure.
Lawyer mentioned there is no provision on the labor app form to indicate 'home office'. Also, in this case, where to do the labor for - the region where the professional is living or the main office (opposite coasts in my case) is unclear.
If the residing city is tested for labor, which is rational, how do you ensure 'the ad must be displayed at the workplace'?
What if DOL denies application due to lack of clarity on such issues?
IV leadership pls comment as possible.....
During the downturn, company decided to dissolve local satellite office and have everyone in the region work from home.
DOL audited labor application asking 'why home and work addresses are the same: is the candidate related to employer?'
Go figure.
Lawyer mentioned there is no provision on the labor app form to indicate 'home office'. Also, in this case, where to do the labor for - the region where the professional is living or the main office (opposite coasts in my case) is unclear.
If the residing city is tested for labor, which is rational, how do you ensure 'the ad must be displayed at the workplace'?
What if DOL denies application due to lack of clarity on such issues?
IV leadership pls comment as possible.....
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h1techSlave
07-24 09:48 AM
2. Look for a job for him in a public/non-profit organization where you don�t have a lot of H-1 restrictions. Ask him to build up his skill set and be prepared to do any kind of employment.
I think this is the best option, if the Indian citizen has marketiable skills. Non-profits/universities etc. can file for H1, even when quota is exhausted. If the spouse in the US know some one from the non-profit, then trying to file for H1 for spouse is one good option. I know one couple, who went thru that route. I think (I don't know for sure) the husband had to volunteer (he was already here in H4) for a couple of months to prove to the university that he is good. As I understand, you can volunteer for non-profits when you are in H4. Of course they are not going to pay you while in H4.
I think the nitty gritties of these things has to be worked on with a good immigration lawyer.
Cheers,
h1techSlave
I think this is the best option, if the Indian citizen has marketiable skills. Non-profits/universities etc. can file for H1, even when quota is exhausted. If the spouse in the US know some one from the non-profit, then trying to file for H1 for spouse is one good option. I know one couple, who went thru that route. I think (I don't know for sure) the husband had to volunteer (he was already here in H4) for a couple of months to prove to the university that he is good. As I understand, you can volunteer for non-profits when you are in H4. Of course they are not going to pay you while in H4.
I think the nitty gritties of these things has to be worked on with a good immigration lawyer.
Cheers,
h1techSlave
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learning01
04-12 12:33 PM
As I had already posted in the news article thread (http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showpost.php?p=8552&postcount=225), this is an exhaustive article with a bold and thought provoking headlines. The article can be accessed here - http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/427793.html
Many skilled foreigners leaving U.S.
Exodus rooted in backlog for permanent status
Karin Rives, Staff Writer
When the Senate immigration bill fell apart last week, it did more than stymie efforts to deal with illegal immigration.
It derailed efforts to deal with an equally vexing business concern: a backlog in applications for so-called green cards, the coveted cards that are actually pink or white and that offer proof of lawful permanent residency.
Many people now wait six years or longer for the card. There are 526,000 applications pending, according to Immigration Voice, an advocacy group that tracks government data.
Lately, this has prompted an exodus of foreign workers who tired of waiting, to return home or go further afield. With the economies in Asia and elsewhere on the rise, they can easily find work in the native countries or in third nations that are more generous with their visas.
"You have China, Russia, India -- a lot of countries where you can go and make a lot of money. That's the biggest thing that has changed," said Murali Bashyam, a Raleigh immigration lawyer who helps companies sponsor immigrants. "Before, people were willing to wait it out. Now they can do just as well going back home, and they do."
Mike Plueddeman said he lost three employees (one a senior programmer with a doctorate) at Durham-based DynPro in the past two years because they tired of waiting for their green cards.
All three found good jobs in their home countries within a few weeks of leaving Durham, said Plueddeman, the software consultancy's human resource director.
"We are talking about very well-educated and highly skilled people who have been in the labor force a long time," he said. "You hate losing them."
This budding brain drain comes as the first American baby boomers retire and projections show a huge need for such professionals in the years ahead. U.S. universities graduate about 70,000 information technology students annually. Many people say that number won't meet the need for a projected 600,000 additional openings for information systems professionals between 2002 and 2012, and the openings made by retirements.
"We just don't have the pipeline right now," said Joe Freddoso, director of Cisco Systems' Research Triangle Park operations. "We are concerned there's going to be a shortage, and we're already seeing that in some areas."
Cisco has advertised an opening for a data-security specialist in Atlanta for several months, unable to find the right candidate. Freddoso believes the problem will spread unless the government allows more foreign workers to enter the country, and expedites their residency process.
However, not everybody believes in the labor shortage that corporations fret about.
Critics say that proposals to allow more skilled workers into the country would only depress wages and displace American-born workers who have yet to fully recover from the dot-com bust.
"We should only issue work-related visas if we really need them," said Caroline Espinosa, a spokeswoman with NumbersUSA, a Washington, D.C., group pushing for immigration reduction. "There are 2.5 million native born American workers in the math and computer field who are currently out of work. It begs the question whether we truly need foreign workers."
She added that the immigration backlog would be aggravated by raising the cap for temporary and permanent visas, which would make it harder for those who deserve to immigrate to do so.
Waiting since 2003
Sarath Chandrand, 44, a software consultant from India, moved with his wife and two young daughters from Raleigh to Toronto in December because he couldn't live with more uncertainty. He applied for his green card in early 2003 and expects it will take at least two more years to get it.
His former employer continues to sponsor his application for permanent residency, hoping that he will eventually return. But Chandrand doesn't know what the future will hold.
"I miss Raleigh, the weather, the people," he said in a phone interview. "But it's a very difficult decision to make, once you've settled in a country, to move out. You go through a lot of mental strain. Making another move will be difficult."
Canada won him over because its residency process takes only a year and a half and doesn't require sponsorship from an employer.
The competition from Canada also worries Plueddeman, who said several of his employees are also applying for residency in both countries. "They'll go with whoever comes first," he said.
And it's not just India and Canada that beckon. New Zealand and Australia are among nations that actively market themselves to professionals in the United States, with perks such as an easy process to get work visas.
New Zealand, with a population of 4 million, has received more than 1,900 applications from skilled migrants and their families in the past two years, said Don Badman, the Los Angeles marketing director for that country's immigration agency. Of those, about 17 percent were non-Americans working in the United States.
Badman's team has hired a public relations agency to get the word out. They have also run ads in West Coast newspapers and attended trade shows, mainly to attract professionals in health care and information technology.
Dana Hutchison, an operating room nurse from Cedar Mountain south of Asheville, could have joined a hospital in the United States that offers fat sign-on bonuses. Instead, she's in the small town of Tauranga, east of Auckland, working alongside New Zealand nurses and doctors.
"It would be hard for me to work in the U.S. again," she said. Where she is now, "the working conditions are so fabulous. Everybody is friendly and much less stressed. It's like the U.S. was in the 1960s."
Limit of 140,000
Getting a green card was never a quick process. The official limit for employment-based green cards is 140,000 annually.
And there is a bottleneck of technology professionals from India and China. They hold many, if not most, of all temporary work visas, and many try to convert their work visa to permanent residency, and eventually full citizenship. But under current rules, no single nationality can be allotted more than 7 percent of the green cards.
In his February economic report, President Bush outlined proposals to overhaul the system for employment-based green cards:
* Open more slots by exempting spouses and children from the annual limit of 140,000 green cards. Such dependents now make up about half of all green card recipients, because workers sponsored by employers can include their family in the application.
* Replace the current cap with a "flexible market-based cap" that responds to the need that employers have for foreign workers.
* Raise the 7 percent limit for nations such as India that have many highly skilled workers.
After steady lobbying from technology companies, Congress is also paying more attention to the issue. The Senate immigration bill had proposed raising the annual cap for green cards to 290,000.
Kumar Gupta, a 33-year-old software engineer, has been watching the legislative proposals as he weighs his options. After six years in the United States, he is considering returning to India after learning that the green card he applied for in November 2004 could take another four or five years.
Being on a temporary work visa means that he cannot leave his job. Nor does he want to buy a home for his family without knowing he will stay in the country.
"Even if the job market is not as good as here, you can get a very good salary in India," he said. "If I have offers there, I will think of moving."
Let's utilize this write up and start quoting the link in our personal comments / emails to other news anchors, commentators, blogs etc.
I thought this deserves it's own thread. Please comment and act.
Many skilled foreigners leaving U.S.
Exodus rooted in backlog for permanent status
Karin Rives, Staff Writer
When the Senate immigration bill fell apart last week, it did more than stymie efforts to deal with illegal immigration.
It derailed efforts to deal with an equally vexing business concern: a backlog in applications for so-called green cards, the coveted cards that are actually pink or white and that offer proof of lawful permanent residency.
Many people now wait six years or longer for the card. There are 526,000 applications pending, according to Immigration Voice, an advocacy group that tracks government data.
Lately, this has prompted an exodus of foreign workers who tired of waiting, to return home or go further afield. With the economies in Asia and elsewhere on the rise, they can easily find work in the native countries or in third nations that are more generous with their visas.
"You have China, Russia, India -- a lot of countries where you can go and make a lot of money. That's the biggest thing that has changed," said Murali Bashyam, a Raleigh immigration lawyer who helps companies sponsor immigrants. "Before, people were willing to wait it out. Now they can do just as well going back home, and they do."
Mike Plueddeman said he lost three employees (one a senior programmer with a doctorate) at Durham-based DynPro in the past two years because they tired of waiting for their green cards.
All three found good jobs in their home countries within a few weeks of leaving Durham, said Plueddeman, the software consultancy's human resource director.
"We are talking about very well-educated and highly skilled people who have been in the labor force a long time," he said. "You hate losing them."
This budding brain drain comes as the first American baby boomers retire and projections show a huge need for such professionals in the years ahead. U.S. universities graduate about 70,000 information technology students annually. Many people say that number won't meet the need for a projected 600,000 additional openings for information systems professionals between 2002 and 2012, and the openings made by retirements.
"We just don't have the pipeline right now," said Joe Freddoso, director of Cisco Systems' Research Triangle Park operations. "We are concerned there's going to be a shortage, and we're already seeing that in some areas."
Cisco has advertised an opening for a data-security specialist in Atlanta for several months, unable to find the right candidate. Freddoso believes the problem will spread unless the government allows more foreign workers to enter the country, and expedites their residency process.
However, not everybody believes in the labor shortage that corporations fret about.
Critics say that proposals to allow more skilled workers into the country would only depress wages and displace American-born workers who have yet to fully recover from the dot-com bust.
"We should only issue work-related visas if we really need them," said Caroline Espinosa, a spokeswoman with NumbersUSA, a Washington, D.C., group pushing for immigration reduction. "There are 2.5 million native born American workers in the math and computer field who are currently out of work. It begs the question whether we truly need foreign workers."
She added that the immigration backlog would be aggravated by raising the cap for temporary and permanent visas, which would make it harder for those who deserve to immigrate to do so.
Waiting since 2003
Sarath Chandrand, 44, a software consultant from India, moved with his wife and two young daughters from Raleigh to Toronto in December because he couldn't live with more uncertainty. He applied for his green card in early 2003 and expects it will take at least two more years to get it.
His former employer continues to sponsor his application for permanent residency, hoping that he will eventually return. But Chandrand doesn't know what the future will hold.
"I miss Raleigh, the weather, the people," he said in a phone interview. "But it's a very difficult decision to make, once you've settled in a country, to move out. You go through a lot of mental strain. Making another move will be difficult."
Canada won him over because its residency process takes only a year and a half and doesn't require sponsorship from an employer.
The competition from Canada also worries Plueddeman, who said several of his employees are also applying for residency in both countries. "They'll go with whoever comes first," he said.
And it's not just India and Canada that beckon. New Zealand and Australia are among nations that actively market themselves to professionals in the United States, with perks such as an easy process to get work visas.
New Zealand, with a population of 4 million, has received more than 1,900 applications from skilled migrants and their families in the past two years, said Don Badman, the Los Angeles marketing director for that country's immigration agency. Of those, about 17 percent were non-Americans working in the United States.
Badman's team has hired a public relations agency to get the word out. They have also run ads in West Coast newspapers and attended trade shows, mainly to attract professionals in health care and information technology.
Dana Hutchison, an operating room nurse from Cedar Mountain south of Asheville, could have joined a hospital in the United States that offers fat sign-on bonuses. Instead, she's in the small town of Tauranga, east of Auckland, working alongside New Zealand nurses and doctors.
"It would be hard for me to work in the U.S. again," she said. Where she is now, "the working conditions are so fabulous. Everybody is friendly and much less stressed. It's like the U.S. was in the 1960s."
Limit of 140,000
Getting a green card was never a quick process. The official limit for employment-based green cards is 140,000 annually.
And there is a bottleneck of technology professionals from India and China. They hold many, if not most, of all temporary work visas, and many try to convert their work visa to permanent residency, and eventually full citizenship. But under current rules, no single nationality can be allotted more than 7 percent of the green cards.
In his February economic report, President Bush outlined proposals to overhaul the system for employment-based green cards:
* Open more slots by exempting spouses and children from the annual limit of 140,000 green cards. Such dependents now make up about half of all green card recipients, because workers sponsored by employers can include their family in the application.
* Replace the current cap with a "flexible market-based cap" that responds to the need that employers have for foreign workers.
* Raise the 7 percent limit for nations such as India that have many highly skilled workers.
After steady lobbying from technology companies, Congress is also paying more attention to the issue. The Senate immigration bill had proposed raising the annual cap for green cards to 290,000.
Kumar Gupta, a 33-year-old software engineer, has been watching the legislative proposals as he weighs his options. After six years in the United States, he is considering returning to India after learning that the green card he applied for in November 2004 could take another four or five years.
Being on a temporary work visa means that he cannot leave his job. Nor does he want to buy a home for his family without knowing he will stay in the country.
"Even if the job market is not as good as here, you can get a very good salary in India," he said. "If I have offers there, I will think of moving."
Let's utilize this write up and start quoting the link in our personal comments / emails to other news anchors, commentators, blogs etc.
I thought this deserves it's own thread. Please comment and act.
dhiru
08-03 03:16 PM
I have similar issue, I have applied for the EAD renewal on May 18th and received the notice on May 24th. My EAD is expiring on August 18th, and still have not heard back from USCIS. I have called the USCIS on July 26th and opened a service request, but it got rejected asking me to wait for 90 business days. What are my options ?
a. Can I still keep working?
b. Should I quit my job?
c. Can I take unpaid vacation?
Please help...
Thnx.
a. Can I still keep working?
b. Should I quit my job?
c. Can I take unpaid vacation?
Please help...
Thnx.
Administrator2
09-15 05:21 PM
Last time CIR had sweet deal for Illegals ..
Pay $100 and get Z visa ( Work Permit ) .. --> GC --> Citizenship ---> Vote for ?? ..
For Legals ...go back and restart in new queue .. We dont want to skilled people be free of our companies. We expect you to be enslaved ..We are leader of Free world.
What happened in 2007 is now history. That is not likely to repeat in the upcoming CIR. At this time CIR is the only way to get things moving. Unless CIR is defeated or unless administration says that they do not want a CIR bill, piece meal approach is not likely to happen. Given the situation, asking for a separate bills is setting ourselves for failure, and it alienates us and our issues from the pro-immigration community. At this time, if you call/meet with lawmakers asking for EB only bill, the pro-immigration lawmakers get turned off and anti-immigrant lawmakers use the count of your call to oppose the immigration reform. At this time its a bad idea by calling lawmakers asking for "EB only bill". It will only turn out to hurt our issues and the cause. Additionally, it doesn't help to call specific lawmakers who already understand, agree, support and champion our issues.
IV do not have a any position on on the issue of illegals/undocumented. And whatever is your personal belief, please understand the reality of the situation and refrain from attacking illegals on IV forums as it doesn't help our cause in anyways.
Pay $100 and get Z visa ( Work Permit ) .. --> GC --> Citizenship ---> Vote for ?? ..
For Legals ...go back and restart in new queue .. We dont want to skilled people be free of our companies. We expect you to be enslaved ..We are leader of Free world.
What happened in 2007 is now history. That is not likely to repeat in the upcoming CIR. At this time CIR is the only way to get things moving. Unless CIR is defeated or unless administration says that they do not want a CIR bill, piece meal approach is not likely to happen. Given the situation, asking for a separate bills is setting ourselves for failure, and it alienates us and our issues from the pro-immigration community. At this time, if you call/meet with lawmakers asking for EB only bill, the pro-immigration lawmakers get turned off and anti-immigrant lawmakers use the count of your call to oppose the immigration reform. At this time its a bad idea by calling lawmakers asking for "EB only bill". It will only turn out to hurt our issues and the cause. Additionally, it doesn't help to call specific lawmakers who already understand, agree, support and champion our issues.
IV do not have a any position on on the issue of illegals/undocumented. And whatever is your personal belief, please understand the reality of the situation and refrain from attacking illegals on IV forums as it doesn't help our cause in anyways.
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