paskal
12-20 11:18 AM
this is good news indeed for a lot of people!
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aadimanav
06-12 02:50 PM
Posting quick links::)
Panel I:
Edward Sweeney
Senior Vice President
Worldwide Human Resources
National Semiconductor Corporatio
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Sweeney080612.pdf
Lee Colby
Electrical Engineer
Lee Colby & associates and Past Chair of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Santa Clara Valley Section
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Colby080612.pdf
John Pearson
Director of the Bechtel International Center
Stanford University Association of International Educators
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Pearson080612.pdf
Yongjie Yang, Ph.D.
Legal Immigrant Association
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Yang080612.pdf
Mark Krikorian
Executive Director
Center for Immigration Studies
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Krikorian080612.pdf
Panel II:
Jana Stonestreet Ph.D., RN
Chief Nursing Executive
Baptist Health System
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Stonestreet080612.pdf
Cheryl A. Peterson, MSN, RN
Senior Policy Fellow
American Nurses Association
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Peterson080612.pdf
Steven Francy
Executive Director
RNs Working Together, AFL-CIO
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Francy080612.pdf
Panel I:
Edward Sweeney
Senior Vice President
Worldwide Human Resources
National Semiconductor Corporatio
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Sweeney080612.pdf
Lee Colby
Electrical Engineer
Lee Colby & associates and Past Chair of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Santa Clara Valley Section
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Colby080612.pdf
John Pearson
Director of the Bechtel International Center
Stanford University Association of International Educators
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Pearson080612.pdf
Yongjie Yang, Ph.D.
Legal Immigrant Association
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Yang080612.pdf
Mark Krikorian
Executive Director
Center for Immigration Studies
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Krikorian080612.pdf
Panel II:
Jana Stonestreet Ph.D., RN
Chief Nursing Executive
Baptist Health System
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Stonestreet080612.pdf
Cheryl A. Peterson, MSN, RN
Senior Policy Fellow
American Nurses Association
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Peterson080612.pdf
Steven Francy
Executive Director
RNs Working Together, AFL-CIO
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/Francy080612.pdf
eb3retro
04-16 01:48 PM
Yes I believe my attorney did provide the educational evaluation documents. It was the same documentation used for the H1B & the PERM Certification. Any idea of what my chances are with the appeal?
i hate to say this, in my opinion, urs is a little tough case. This is just my thought. Other gurus here may have a better advice for u. But this is uscis, you are dealing with. So you never know. Provide a better educational evaluation and keep your fingers crossed. All the best.
i hate to say this, in my opinion, urs is a little tough case. This is just my thought. Other gurus here may have a better advice for u. But this is uscis, you are dealing with. So you never know. Provide a better educational evaluation and keep your fingers crossed. All the best.
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gapala
02-12 11:49 PM
Unfortunately IRS doesn't help.. And employer get benefit of doubt for lost mail :-) But they'll send you a form to fill and submit instead of W2... At least thats what I experienced... I also thought that employer cannot withold W2.. But yes, they can... due to lost mail concept :-) They'd send W2 copy to IRS without fail.. just the mail to employee would be lost...
That reason if not genuine would be a lie and its a crime especially when it comes to tax matters and uncle sam is involved. I was advised by a atorney to file a complaint and in my case the customer care at IRS contacted the company HR directly.
That reason if not genuine would be a lie and its a crime especially when it comes to tax matters and uncle sam is involved. I was advised by a atorney to file a complaint and in my case the customer care at IRS contacted the company HR directly.
more...
doggy
07-21 09:45 PM
Hey Ronhira, I really enjoyed reading your reply.. I really don't care about this so called call but your reply simply made me smile. Thanks...
You are right. I was on the call, and they only blathered about some Job ADS that specify "H1 Only" or something. THey have an rss feed going on the left side of the brightfuturejobs site, and they want the Antis to post en masse about how these jobs violate their rights.
The push is to get the Durbin bill passed. And they want to use these posts as "historical evidence" or some crap like that.
Pretty much BS. What a waste.
I think there were probably 10-15 people who joined. But I could identify 4/5 separate individuals. So, probably rest of them were Indians.
You are right. I was on the call, and they only blathered about some Job ADS that specify "H1 Only" or something. THey have an rss feed going on the left side of the brightfuturejobs site, and they want the Antis to post en masse about how these jobs violate their rights.
The push is to get the Durbin bill passed. And they want to use these posts as "historical evidence" or some crap like that.
Pretty much BS. What a waste.
I think there were probably 10-15 people who joined. But I could identify 4/5 separate individuals. So, probably rest of them were Indians.
Hydro
03-17 01:35 AM
Helo all,
My mom had filed for an F2B category immigrant visa for me. Consequently, I attended an interview at the US consulate in Chennai, India and was given 221 (g) blue slip and asked to wait. When I contacted the embassy after 3 months I was asked to wait as my case is under administrative processing due to name check.
Any idea how long more I shud be waiting, andyone in the same boat
thnx
My mom had filed for an F2B category immigrant visa for me. Consequently, I attended an interview at the US consulate in Chennai, India and was given 221 (g) blue slip and asked to wait. When I contacted the embassy after 3 months I was asked to wait as my case is under administrative processing due to name check.
Any idea how long more I shud be waiting, andyone in the same boat
thnx
more...
coloniel60
08-14 07:58 AM
Yes, there is no point in re-filing,rather it will create confusion. I spoke to USCIS ,at this point the fedex receipt no. is good enough ,to prve that your application reached service center,before 17th august . Now it makes sense to just wait for the receipt.
People can show someone elses fedex receipt and claim that they too mailed their application. How can USCIS find out which fedex receipt is for what application?
People can show someone elses fedex receipt and claim that they too mailed their application. How can USCIS find out which fedex receipt is for what application?
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wa_Saiprasad
03-22 07:18 PM
bump
more...
hopefull
07-06 09:24 PM
Hopefull,
Why did you choose your screen name as 'Hopefull'? Are you hopeful about yourself? Or are you hopeful about others? Or may for everyone? Either way your message and tone of your post doesn't sound hopeful for anybody. Could you please consider changing your screen name to "HOPELESS"? This would help eliminate the hypocrisy due to your screen name. What do you say?
BTW, Full Time job is NOT a virtue. Kindness towards the environment you live in is a virtue. Let�s all HOPE and pray that you could gather some of the real virtues of life.
BBBBRrrrrrrrr another idiot
1) My screen name has nothing to do with the argument here. If we discuss my screen name we are going on a tangent which is very typical of desis (I rememeber womanly taunts in movies and woman gossip where they would pick anything but would niether make a point nor a valid argument)
so you can see where your argument is going..
2) Hopefull signifies optimism. A pessimist is an optimist who is very analytical or knows better. Your argument is similar to "And they lived happily ever after ...(after singing around green trees) ...." ignoring the ground reality, facts that no dent has been made and also turninga blind eye to the fact that there are people since 2001/2002 stuck. Its 2007 meaning five years and if the Dept is not willing to budge after all these efforts to a number more than 7000, and you still are HOPEFULL ignoring the facts means that you are an idiot. Yes you will get your GC before you die for sure provided you live upto the age of appx 70 and your consulting firm is around and you are not tired of the bickering with your employer.
Its just like a Yash Chora SRK movie ...it only happens in reel life and not real life ..
3) as far as the FT job goes we both knwo it deep within what it means...i hope you are smart enough to get the point and wont make me word it to emabrass you further..
4) if you would be intelligent enough to shed some light on how kindness and make you get your GC in thsi scenario ...
just a piece of advise ..STOP BEING DUMB
Why did you choose your screen name as 'Hopefull'? Are you hopeful about yourself? Or are you hopeful about others? Or may for everyone? Either way your message and tone of your post doesn't sound hopeful for anybody. Could you please consider changing your screen name to "HOPELESS"? This would help eliminate the hypocrisy due to your screen name. What do you say?
BTW, Full Time job is NOT a virtue. Kindness towards the environment you live in is a virtue. Let�s all HOPE and pray that you could gather some of the real virtues of life.
BBBBRrrrrrrrr another idiot
1) My screen name has nothing to do with the argument here. If we discuss my screen name we are going on a tangent which is very typical of desis (I rememeber womanly taunts in movies and woman gossip where they would pick anything but would niether make a point nor a valid argument)
so you can see where your argument is going..
2) Hopefull signifies optimism. A pessimist is an optimist who is very analytical or knows better. Your argument is similar to "And they lived happily ever after ...(after singing around green trees) ...." ignoring the ground reality, facts that no dent has been made and also turninga blind eye to the fact that there are people since 2001/2002 stuck. Its 2007 meaning five years and if the Dept is not willing to budge after all these efforts to a number more than 7000, and you still are HOPEFULL ignoring the facts means that you are an idiot. Yes you will get your GC before you die for sure provided you live upto the age of appx 70 and your consulting firm is around and you are not tired of the bickering with your employer.
Its just like a Yash Chora SRK movie ...it only happens in reel life and not real life ..
3) as far as the FT job goes we both knwo it deep within what it means...i hope you are smart enough to get the point and wont make me word it to emabrass you further..
4) if you would be intelligent enough to shed some light on how kindness and make you get your GC in thsi scenario ...
just a piece of advise ..STOP BEING DUMB
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kaisersose
05-29 06:02 PM
With due respect, please refrain from posting pessimistic rants originating from unofficial sources. This may be true, but common sense should tell everyone to wait for such news to come from official sources.
These are things beyond our control. Best not to get anyone's panties into a bunch over such news. If the GC is not possible, that is still OK. Move back to the country of origin and life will go on - thoug not as planned.
The last thing we should be doing is whine about our troubles.
These are things beyond our control. Best not to get anyone's panties into a bunch over such news. If the GC is not possible, that is still OK. Move back to the country of origin and life will go on - thoug not as planned.
The last thing we should be doing is whine about our troubles.
more...
H4_losing_hope
02-21 12:38 PM
I checked with some of my colleagues and friends. They all have sent the letters, but most of them have not participated in this poll at the start. So I wouldnt get discouraged by smaller number of votes in it.
thanks for your efforts!
thanks for your efforts!
hot I am student member of IV
Prashant
01-17 11:49 AM
Sent Letters, To the President and IV
more...
house the student union deal and
paskal
06-24 07:18 PM
I learned that the full committee meeting was scheduled for June 23rd (yesterday). Was it dropped or rescheduled?? Can you give that piece of information?
Folks,
I do not have any update on any meeting right now...I'm sure that once something becomes available, we will all hear...!
Folks,
I do not have any update on any meeting right now...I'm sure that once something becomes available, we will all hear...!
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EkAurAaya
04-13 11:11 AM
its updated... no change!
more...
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madnak
07-02 04:19 PM
Medical Expenses: $400
Photographs + courier fees: $80
Misc. (gas, photocopy etc.): $50
Total: $530
Attorney Fees: employer
Photographs + courier fees: $80
Misc. (gas, photocopy etc.): $50
Total: $530
Attorney Fees: employer
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makemygc
07-06 06:29 PM
Just like USCIS, they duped us at the last moment.
more...
makeup This is for FAFSA student aid
garybanz
11-02 04:25 PM
I will repeat again that I said earlier.
Again, do not quote some lawyer's opinion on this issue from his/her website.
Papu,
The law seems to have changes due to AC21, I don't think we can get any actual data of any one who got his GC after AC21 and has already converted to citizenship.
It would be really great if IV can contact USCIS and get an official guideline on this topic.
Thanks.
Again, do not quote some lawyer's opinion on this issue from his/her website.
Papu,
The law seems to have changes due to AC21, I don't think we can get any actual data of any one who got his GC after AC21 and has already converted to citizenship.
It would be really great if IV can contact USCIS and get an official guideline on this topic.
Thanks.
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gcseeker2002
01-30 07:10 AM
Anybody Travelled with only Advance Payrole through Frankfurt recently please post ?
where they will check for transit visa in usa while boarding or in frankfurt or in india while return ?
My nationality is Indian. Presently i am residing in USA . I have " Advance Payrole Document " . I am planning to travel in this February 2011 from " Atlanta -> Frankfurt -> India(Hyderabad) " and return is in May 2011 from " India(Hyderabad) -> Frankfurt -> Atlanta " in lufthansa airways.
So shall i go for this round trip with a valid " Advance Payrole Document " only ? or i need to have " Air Transit Visa ? If i need Air transit Visa could you please let me know how to apply and what documents i need to submit .
please help already buyed tickets from lufthansa website. non refundable ticket. before that one time i cancelled ticket. airport transit visa shall we apply by post/mail ? in person cant go because very far totally 30 hors drive that too with infant driving not possible . please help ?
While pending i-485 if i applied for German airport transit visa is there any negative concerns because of that ?
Please reply soon . I really appriciate you . Thank You.
I went to India in 1st week of Dec and returned Jan 1st through Lufthansa(Frankfurt), and both ways, no transit visa was asked for or checked for either before boarding/check-in or in Frankfurt. On the way to India, they just make sure you have a Indian visa(or passport) and on way back, they just check if you have US visa(or AP). Don't worry too much, believe me, it is more of an embarrasment for Lufthansa ,in front of several hundreds of travellers, to deny boarding to someone without transit visa. If they do it, they know they would get free negative publicity that would erode their traveller base for years .
where they will check for transit visa in usa while boarding or in frankfurt or in india while return ?
My nationality is Indian. Presently i am residing in USA . I have " Advance Payrole Document " . I am planning to travel in this February 2011 from " Atlanta -> Frankfurt -> India(Hyderabad) " and return is in May 2011 from " India(Hyderabad) -> Frankfurt -> Atlanta " in lufthansa airways.
So shall i go for this round trip with a valid " Advance Payrole Document " only ? or i need to have " Air Transit Visa ? If i need Air transit Visa could you please let me know how to apply and what documents i need to submit .
please help already buyed tickets from lufthansa website. non refundable ticket. before that one time i cancelled ticket. airport transit visa shall we apply by post/mail ? in person cant go because very far totally 30 hors drive that too with infant driving not possible . please help ?
While pending i-485 if i applied for German airport transit visa is there any negative concerns because of that ?
Please reply soon . I really appriciate you . Thank You.
I went to India in 1st week of Dec and returned Jan 1st through Lufthansa(Frankfurt), and both ways, no transit visa was asked for or checked for either before boarding/check-in or in Frankfurt. On the way to India, they just make sure you have a Indian visa(or passport) and on way back, they just check if you have US visa(or AP). Don't worry too much, believe me, it is more of an embarrasment for Lufthansa ,in front of several hundreds of travellers, to deny boarding to someone without transit visa. If they do it, they know they would get free negative publicity that would erode their traveller base for years .
hairstyles As a student who came here
mpadapa
05-15 02:23 PM
Please work on the following action item. It is very time critical.
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19113
Folks,
Please call the below selected members from CHC. There are reasons why we should NOT be calling every one in the CHC. The members we have to target from CHC and their corresponding numbers are listed below.
Tell them that you would like to talk to some one who handles immigration/legal matters, If forwarded to voice mail, leave a VM. If the VM is full, you can get back to the main line by pressing 0 and then leave a message with them.
The message you have to deliver when calling these offices is
I would like Representative "Representative Name" to co sponsor bills HR 5882 and HR 5921, sponsored by Zoe Lofgren. Both of these bills have wide bipartisan support in the house and will help reduce the back logs associated with USCIS. These bills are a great first step towards immigration reform.
DO NOT GET INTO THE LEGAL/ILLEGAL DISCUSSION WITH STAFF MEMBERS
Only if the staff member bring up the issue of CIR, in that case say that -
In the past we have been supporting Comprehensive approach and still continue to support comprehensive approach and we look for our our main issues to be addressed whenever comprehensive bill is passed. However, this is is just an interim fix to begin or start the immigration reform process.
.
Raul grijalva
ph (202) 225-2435
Charles Gonzalez
Phone: (202)225-3236
Dennis Cardoza
(202) 225-6131
Jim Costa
(202)225-3341
Henry Cuellar
phone: 202-225-1640
Ruben Hinojosa
phone: 202-225-2531
Ciro Rodriguez
202 225 4511
Lucille Roybal-Allard
202 225 1766
Hilda Solis
202 225 5464
Senator Robert Menendez
202 224 4744
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19113
Folks,
Please call the below selected members from CHC. There are reasons why we should NOT be calling every one in the CHC. The members we have to target from CHC and their corresponding numbers are listed below.
Tell them that you would like to talk to some one who handles immigration/legal matters, If forwarded to voice mail, leave a VM. If the VM is full, you can get back to the main line by pressing 0 and then leave a message with them.
The message you have to deliver when calling these offices is
I would like Representative "Representative Name" to co sponsor bills HR 5882 and HR 5921, sponsored by Zoe Lofgren. Both of these bills have wide bipartisan support in the house and will help reduce the back logs associated with USCIS. These bills are a great first step towards immigration reform.
DO NOT GET INTO THE LEGAL/ILLEGAL DISCUSSION WITH STAFF MEMBERS
Only if the staff member bring up the issue of CIR, in that case say that -
In the past we have been supporting Comprehensive approach and still continue to support comprehensive approach and we look for our our main issues to be addressed whenever comprehensive bill is passed. However, this is is just an interim fix to begin or start the immigration reform process.
.
Raul grijalva
ph (202) 225-2435
Charles Gonzalez
Phone: (202)225-3236
Dennis Cardoza
(202) 225-6131
Jim Costa
(202)225-3341
Henry Cuellar
phone: 202-225-1640
Ruben Hinojosa
phone: 202-225-2531
Ciro Rodriguez
202 225 4511
Lucille Roybal-Allard
202 225 1766
Hilda Solis
202 225 5464
Senator Robert Menendez
202 224 4744
nkhari
07-19 10:30 AM
sorry..didn't know her visa appointment.
El_Guapo
04-13 11:16 AM
I am new to this community and have been watching some other forums online, but I am glad we have one dedicated for EB immigration. Way to go Immigration Voice!!!
Now, before anyone jumps at me, I promise to contribute for IV's efforts and donate for the various projects in a couple days.
The reason I am posting this is because I saw various threads with various ideas to gain visibility and make out cause known to all. I saw thready ranging from writing to senators to sending a 1 cent check everyday to sending a voided check for a big amount. Other notable ideas include sending flowers, calling senators, FOIA campaign, writing to the Obama administration, etc. While I agree that each of these actions contribute small drops to the ocean, I honestly think we should think BIG!!
I have analyzed EB Immigration considerably and here are my thoughts -
Anti-Immigrants, especially the ones against EB Immigration feel that we take away their jobs. However our defense against that is there's aren't that many skilled immigrants for certain skill set and hence we fill that void and keep corporate America competitive. However a lot of us argue that we who are waiting in line for our potential Green Cards pay our taxes and aide by the law, etc. All valid arguments. However, that doesn't make us any different than the majority of the 90% workforce that is employed. They all pay taxes too.
I have seen other ideas being floated around where they said "Buy a house, get a green card." Now, two issues with this - How many of us potential immigrants have 250 grand to invest in a house? I don't and can perhaps pay 5-10% down payment on a house. But if I lose my job, then I will be forced to default too and that doesn't help the economy. Also, there are more than 10 million homes in foreclosure and even hypothetically, let's say we will buy a house on a mortgage at 10% down. There are, say 1 million immigrants in waiting including dependents. And we buy 500,000 homes. That is a small dent in the entire real estate economy. Won't make a significant difference. Secondly, the current mess we are in was caused by the "sub prime" mortgage loans. If you know what "sub prime" means, then you probably know the areas where these houses were purchased. Have you seen the neighborhoods or the areas where these houses are foreclosed? A majority of us won't even drive through there, leave alone buying houses there. So obviously, us buying homes is not going to solve this economic mess. If you still insist, then you perhaps need to take a class on economics 101.
OK, say why am I saying all this? Well, for one, while its great that we put our brains to work to help solve the economic crisis, since a good economy has a knock on effect on immigration, but we can't come up with ordinary ideas. These are extraordinary times and we need extraordinary ideas. We need to think out of the box. I appreciate the efforts of IV with the FOIA drive, but here's my question with that - Besides knowing how long the wait is going to be to get our GC based on the information from USCIS, what other purpose is the FOIA going to solve? Probably not much. But I do agree that having those numbers helps us in identifying where we need to focus our lobbying efforts. If we know the bottleneck is EB2-EB3 spillover, we can work on that with USCIS.
Someone mentioned in another thread where we all need to concentrate on one effort rather than be divided in multiple efforts. And I think it was suggested that we focus on visa numbers recapturing. I think its a great idea. However, please be aware that in the context of CIR, EB immigration is a small drop. And hence any lobbying to increase/recapture visa numbers need to be done with the FB immigration. EB and FB together can lobby for the recapture visa numbers project and might achieve considerable success.
If we as EB immigrants need to make our voice known, we need to take a leaf out of the President's book, from his campaign. He started a grass roots level campaign and look at where that has led him to!! So here is my suggestion for a project that will highlight our cause and lead some of the anti- EB Immigration Aholes to shut up their various holes.
I am assuming we have around 500K immigrants in waiting. Let's say there are 250K primary applicants. The goal is we try to get an email database of as many potential immigrants we can. Next we start an email campaign highlighting a story of an immigrant family or a news article against immigration or lobbying by anti immigrant groups or lack of visibility in ongoing discussions on CIR. At the bottom of each email, we have a donate button that takes the person to IV's donation page/paypal, whatever it might be. We start with a minimum of $50 and go upwards to $500. The goal is if we have atleast, say 100,000 potential immigrants to contribute a min of $50, then if my calculations are in order, that is about $5 Millions. We might have more depending on how many more people contribute and how much more than the min $50 that people contribute. But the baseline collection would be about $5 Million. OK, so what do we with that money? Well, the biggest skill set for us EB immigrants are our education. We have a minimum of a bachelors degree and have a penchant for being well educated. That is the weakness in the American education system - Education. We say thousands of high school dropouts. Thousands of college drop outs. The Obama administration has clearly said they need to invest in America's future. And hence they have a big ambitious spending on fixing the educational system. I know that as non permanent residents or citizens, we are not allowed to contribute to any politicians. However, we can donate money to the state or to a charity organization. What I suggest is we collect this money and send it to the first lady, Michelle Obama and have her send this to a non profit community project for education on our behalf. This will bring a lot of attention because we as EB immigrants are saying, we want to contribute to better the educational system if given a chance so that the future American generations don't become prey to the 21st century American competitiveness like outsourcing and H Visas and stuff.
This might seem like a small drop in the ocean, but it is definitely a bright one!! And don't tell me it can't be done. It sure can be done. There was someone who already did this at the grassroots level, and his name is Barack Obama!!!
I am willing to talk to the IV Core team to discuss if needed.
Now, before anyone jumps at me, I promise to contribute for IV's efforts and donate for the various projects in a couple days.
The reason I am posting this is because I saw various threads with various ideas to gain visibility and make out cause known to all. I saw thready ranging from writing to senators to sending a 1 cent check everyday to sending a voided check for a big amount. Other notable ideas include sending flowers, calling senators, FOIA campaign, writing to the Obama administration, etc. While I agree that each of these actions contribute small drops to the ocean, I honestly think we should think BIG!!
I have analyzed EB Immigration considerably and here are my thoughts -
Anti-Immigrants, especially the ones against EB Immigration feel that we take away their jobs. However our defense against that is there's aren't that many skilled immigrants for certain skill set and hence we fill that void and keep corporate America competitive. However a lot of us argue that we who are waiting in line for our potential Green Cards pay our taxes and aide by the law, etc. All valid arguments. However, that doesn't make us any different than the majority of the 90% workforce that is employed. They all pay taxes too.
I have seen other ideas being floated around where they said "Buy a house, get a green card." Now, two issues with this - How many of us potential immigrants have 250 grand to invest in a house? I don't and can perhaps pay 5-10% down payment on a house. But if I lose my job, then I will be forced to default too and that doesn't help the economy. Also, there are more than 10 million homes in foreclosure and even hypothetically, let's say we will buy a house on a mortgage at 10% down. There are, say 1 million immigrants in waiting including dependents. And we buy 500,000 homes. That is a small dent in the entire real estate economy. Won't make a significant difference. Secondly, the current mess we are in was caused by the "sub prime" mortgage loans. If you know what "sub prime" means, then you probably know the areas where these houses were purchased. Have you seen the neighborhoods or the areas where these houses are foreclosed? A majority of us won't even drive through there, leave alone buying houses there. So obviously, us buying homes is not going to solve this economic mess. If you still insist, then you perhaps need to take a class on economics 101.
OK, say why am I saying all this? Well, for one, while its great that we put our brains to work to help solve the economic crisis, since a good economy has a knock on effect on immigration, but we can't come up with ordinary ideas. These are extraordinary times and we need extraordinary ideas. We need to think out of the box. I appreciate the efforts of IV with the FOIA drive, but here's my question with that - Besides knowing how long the wait is going to be to get our GC based on the information from USCIS, what other purpose is the FOIA going to solve? Probably not much. But I do agree that having those numbers helps us in identifying where we need to focus our lobbying efforts. If we know the bottleneck is EB2-EB3 spillover, we can work on that with USCIS.
Someone mentioned in another thread where we all need to concentrate on one effort rather than be divided in multiple efforts. And I think it was suggested that we focus on visa numbers recapturing. I think its a great idea. However, please be aware that in the context of CIR, EB immigration is a small drop. And hence any lobbying to increase/recapture visa numbers need to be done with the FB immigration. EB and FB together can lobby for the recapture visa numbers project and might achieve considerable success.
If we as EB immigrants need to make our voice known, we need to take a leaf out of the President's book, from his campaign. He started a grass roots level campaign and look at where that has led him to!! So here is my suggestion for a project that will highlight our cause and lead some of the anti- EB Immigration Aholes to shut up their various holes.
I am assuming we have around 500K immigrants in waiting. Let's say there are 250K primary applicants. The goal is we try to get an email database of as many potential immigrants we can. Next we start an email campaign highlighting a story of an immigrant family or a news article against immigration or lobbying by anti immigrant groups or lack of visibility in ongoing discussions on CIR. At the bottom of each email, we have a donate button that takes the person to IV's donation page/paypal, whatever it might be. We start with a minimum of $50 and go upwards to $500. The goal is if we have atleast, say 100,000 potential immigrants to contribute a min of $50, then if my calculations are in order, that is about $5 Millions. We might have more depending on how many more people contribute and how much more than the min $50 that people contribute. But the baseline collection would be about $5 Million. OK, so what do we with that money? Well, the biggest skill set for us EB immigrants are our education. We have a minimum of a bachelors degree and have a penchant for being well educated. That is the weakness in the American education system - Education. We say thousands of high school dropouts. Thousands of college drop outs. The Obama administration has clearly said they need to invest in America's future. And hence they have a big ambitious spending on fixing the educational system. I know that as non permanent residents or citizens, we are not allowed to contribute to any politicians. However, we can donate money to the state or to a charity organization. What I suggest is we collect this money and send it to the first lady, Michelle Obama and have her send this to a non profit community project for education on our behalf. This will bring a lot of attention because we as EB immigrants are saying, we want to contribute to better the educational system if given a chance so that the future American generations don't become prey to the 21st century American competitiveness like outsourcing and H Visas and stuff.
This might seem like a small drop in the ocean, but it is definitely a bright one!! And don't tell me it can't be done. It sure can be done. There was someone who already did this at the grassroots level, and his name is Barack Obama!!!
I am willing to talk to the IV Core team to discuss if needed.