spam
01-04 12:08 AM
Hi,
I just joined this forum. It really looks neat for just 4 days of existence..
In my view, we need to really differentiate this forum from lot others out their, the name of which I don't have to mention. One way of doing that would be making this an "action forum" than another information forum. As a starting point we should have clear vision and mission statements.
Vision should be strong and action oriented. Not like "helping the immigrant community." I would propose " Inspiring/Organizing legal immigrants to realize/understand their rights and play their part in securing/achieving them.." or something like that.
Mission statement should be the priorities (again actions/tasks/goals) per year, set in the beginning of every year..
I propose the following for this year:
1. Making sure Retro relief is put in and passed in the Immigration reform bill
2. Identify and tie-up with at least 2 high power partners
3. Some relief for people affected by FBI name check -- This could be long shot, but I am putting it anyway because it is close to my heart:-))
4. Others..
I will stop my onslaught and get ready to hear your good/bad comments..
Thanks
I just joined this forum. It really looks neat for just 4 days of existence..
In my view, we need to really differentiate this forum from lot others out their, the name of which I don't have to mention. One way of doing that would be making this an "action forum" than another information forum. As a starting point we should have clear vision and mission statements.
Vision should be strong and action oriented. Not like "helping the immigrant community." I would propose " Inspiring/Organizing legal immigrants to realize/understand their rights and play their part in securing/achieving them.." or something like that.
Mission statement should be the priorities (again actions/tasks/goals) per year, set in the beginning of every year..
I propose the following for this year:
1. Making sure Retro relief is put in and passed in the Immigration reform bill
2. Identify and tie-up with at least 2 high power partners
3. Some relief for people affected by FBI name check -- This could be long shot, but I am putting it anyway because it is close to my heart:-))
4. Others..
I will stop my onslaught and get ready to hear your good/bad comments..
Thanks
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puvathoor
02-17 11:02 AM
"U" does not mean quota is done for FY 08...it may be "U" becoz for those categoreis, quarterly quota exhausted....USCIS normally does not grab the entire FY's quota at one time...they do it quarterly basis.
Even i think definitely before Oct itself, EB2 India moves ahead.
Pasted below is language from the Jan 2008 Visa Bulletin..
-------------------
D. INDIA EMPLOYMENT SECOND PREFERENCE CUT-OFF DATE RETROGRESSION FOR JANUARY
It has been necessary to once again retrogress the India Employment Second preference cut-off date. This is a direct result of continued heavy applicant demand for numbers by CIS for adjustment of status cases despite the retrogression which occurred for December. It is likely that the annual limit for this category will be reached within the next few months, at which time the category would become “unavailable” for the remainder of fiscal year 2008.
-----------------
Based upon the above information in the Jan 2008 VB, I cannot digest that they use visa numbers on a quarterly basis.. I can appreciate visa numbers becoming available in later part of 2008 FY because of spillover from the other categories ( EB1) or ROW categories..
Also, Agree that credibility of this quote is to be questioned.. This is a very specific date / comment (I doubt State dept can predict April #s a month in advance of the actual date of release. Additionally, as discussed in many forums, because of the new no NC required if > 180 days, a lot of older PD applications in all categories will start getting visa # allocated. This is probably starting only in late Feb and pick up steam in March... I would think that state dept will wait and see how many visa # s are being allocated before making a drastic move on any visa categories..
I did some more searches on the Search engines and it did return out this statement across a few law firms' websites..
http://www.subhani-law.com/subhanilaw_subidx_news.aspx?main_idx=GAdmin2003551 43026
So the potential of a movement in the 2nd half because of spill over from Eb1 India / China to Eb2 India / China remains..
There is reason to be optimistic..
Even i think definitely before Oct itself, EB2 India moves ahead.
Pasted below is language from the Jan 2008 Visa Bulletin..
-------------------
D. INDIA EMPLOYMENT SECOND PREFERENCE CUT-OFF DATE RETROGRESSION FOR JANUARY
It has been necessary to once again retrogress the India Employment Second preference cut-off date. This is a direct result of continued heavy applicant demand for numbers by CIS for adjustment of status cases despite the retrogression which occurred for December. It is likely that the annual limit for this category will be reached within the next few months, at which time the category would become “unavailable” for the remainder of fiscal year 2008.
-----------------
Based upon the above information in the Jan 2008 VB, I cannot digest that they use visa numbers on a quarterly basis.. I can appreciate visa numbers becoming available in later part of 2008 FY because of spillover from the other categories ( EB1) or ROW categories..
Also, Agree that credibility of this quote is to be questioned.. This is a very specific date / comment (I doubt State dept can predict April #s a month in advance of the actual date of release. Additionally, as discussed in many forums, because of the new no NC required if > 180 days, a lot of older PD applications in all categories will start getting visa # allocated. This is probably starting only in late Feb and pick up steam in March... I would think that state dept will wait and see how many visa # s are being allocated before making a drastic move on any visa categories..
I did some more searches on the Search engines and it did return out this statement across a few law firms' websites..
http://www.subhani-law.com/subhanilaw_subidx_news.aspx?main_idx=GAdmin2003551 43026
So the potential of a movement in the 2nd half because of spill over from Eb1 India / China to Eb2 India / China remains..
There is reason to be optimistic..
CrazyBoys
01-31 11:50 PM
Normally VISA bulletine gets advertised atleast 15-20 days before date becomes current. You can apply for your wife's I-485 during that time (Mostly from 1st day of the month). I don't know there is any grace period after I-485 is approved. It is better to file for I-485 as soon as date gets current to avoid any risk.
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enggr
10-02 10:20 AM
you could try getting a letter from university that you had completed all the requirements for your degree in 2000 but your degree was formally awarded in 2002
immi_seeker,
That was a nice idea, but I won't get a letter from university saying that the degree requirements are completed in 2000. Also, the transcripts for one supplementary exam (in 2002) may speak against us. Do you think there's a chance? Please reply
immi_seeker,
That was a nice idea, but I won't get a letter from university saying that the degree requirements are completed in 2000. Also, the transcripts for one supplementary exam (in 2002) may speak against us. Do you think there's a chance? Please reply
more...
kicca
01-25 06:43 PM
^^
potatoeater
05-10 02:00 PM
Dude, you revived a 6 month old thread just to ask this innocuous question? And the title of this thread is pretty alarming.
Expect 5 thousand red dots now. Everybody will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
To admins..
we should have some facility to automatically close the threads that have been inactive for a while.
Guys,
I have a long layover at New Delhi airport. I am reaching their at 8PM and my next flight in the morning at 7:30AM. Is there any accommodation facility within airport? Or Do i need to go to city? This is the first time, i am going through delhi airport. Any helpful comments are welcome. Thanks and appreciate your help.
-Kumaresh
Expect 5 thousand red dots now. Everybody will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
To admins..
we should have some facility to automatically close the threads that have been inactive for a while.
Guys,
I have a long layover at New Delhi airport. I am reaching their at 8PM and my next flight in the morning at 7:30AM. Is there any accommodation facility within airport? Or Do i need to go to city? This is the first time, i am going through delhi airport. Any helpful comments are welcome. Thanks and appreciate your help.
-Kumaresh
more...
eb_retrogession
01-06 09:32 AM
This is a good effort towards solving the retrogression issue. Like many silent readers, I do have concern about contributing to a new organization.
Is there a way to know more details about this effort? Please send me a personal email so I can understand more and contribute with confidence.
Thanks!
Pls check your private message
Is there a way to know more details about this effort? Please send me a personal email so I can understand more and contribute with confidence.
Thanks!
Pls check your private message
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saravanaraj.sathya
08-24 10:51 AM
Pl post the recording I missed it.
Vivek Wadhwa spoke very nicely and hit right at the core of the EB Immigration issues and backlog. I talked to him along with my wife and told our story. I also told that lot of people like me will be opting Canada or Australia or even go back to India if the EB Immigration issues are not fixed. If US doesn't fix its Immigration Policies for Skilled Immigrants then they go back to their home countries or other contries who understand their worth. After all this is our most productive age and we won't waste it.
I will try finding the recording of the show and post it here.
Vivek Wadhwa spoke very nicely and hit right at the core of the EB Immigration issues and backlog. I talked to him along with my wife and told our story. I also told that lot of people like me will be opting Canada or Australia or even go back to India if the EB Immigration issues are not fixed. If US doesn't fix its Immigration Policies for Skilled Immigrants then they go back to their home countries or other contries who understand their worth. After all this is our most productive age and we won't waste it.
I will try finding the recording of the show and post it here.
more...
walker15
02-15 10:55 AM
Also your immigration attorney's involvement is very crucial in regard to your case.
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optimystic
03-19 02:44 PM
Well...my PD is current and my RD at Nebraska is also current as per thier processing times. But still no LUDs or any other updates so far :( (its been 19 days since my PD became current)
I already spoke to USCIS IO one week back, and was told its a bit too early, and wait for 45 days and call back if nothing happens until then. They weren't willing to give me the status whether my Namecheck crossed 180 days.
Just going to wait until April 1, and then call them again. Or get an INFOPASS . What do the gurus suggest?
[EB3 - I , PD May 2001, RD July 30 07, Nebraska ]
I already spoke to USCIS IO one week back, and was told its a bit too early, and wait for 45 days and call back if nothing happens until then. They weren't willing to give me the status whether my Namecheck crossed 180 days.
Just going to wait until April 1, and then call them again. Or get an INFOPASS . What do the gurus suggest?
[EB3 - I , PD May 2001, RD July 30 07, Nebraska ]
more...
americandesi
07-05 04:38 PM
If you leave US for 2 or 3 years and get back through a new employer, does your I140 priority date still holds good. A friend of mine got his I140 approved, left to canada and got his citizenship. He intends to move back and want to know if he can still use his priority date. Thanks.
I think you meant, I-485 in the first line. Once I-140 is Approved, its valid forever and you can apply for I-485 anytime as long as the PD holds good.
Since he's a canadian citizen he has 3 options to enter US viz. H1, L1 , TN. I would suggest that he enter US with H1 or L1 rather than TN, as the former has immigrant intent while the later doesn't. Applying for I-485 with TN VISA might result in rejection.
I think you meant, I-485 in the first line. Once I-140 is Approved, its valid forever and you can apply for I-485 anytime as long as the PD holds good.
Since he's a canadian citizen he has 3 options to enter US viz. H1, L1 , TN. I would suggest that he enter US with H1 or L1 rather than TN, as the former has immigrant intent while the later doesn't. Applying for I-485 with TN VISA might result in rejection.
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ebizash
07-23 12:16 PM
Don't mean to hijack this thread but since my question is related to AP renewal I thought I would. OP if you have problem with this question, let me know and I will delete this post.
I will be applying for AP renewal online for myself and my wife. This will be our 3rd AP (2nd renewal). The only problem is we never received the I-485 physical receipt (we know the LIN no. as well as A#) for her. So far my attorney had been filing the renewals but this time I want to save money and do it myself. I think its kind of stupid to pay 600-800 to attorney for such a simple task.
Has anyone been in this situation? Can anyone suggest, what other document we could use such as copy of prior APs, EADs, FP notices etc?
I will be applying for AP renewal online for myself and my wife. This will be our 3rd AP (2nd renewal). The only problem is we never received the I-485 physical receipt (we know the LIN no. as well as A#) for her. So far my attorney had been filing the renewals but this time I want to save money and do it myself. I think its kind of stupid to pay 600-800 to attorney for such a simple task.
Has anyone been in this situation? Can anyone suggest, what other document we could use such as copy of prior APs, EADs, FP notices etc?
more...
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manderson
11-09 10:56 AM
another good 485 stats website is this (THIS IS NOT A PLUG):
http://www.immigrationwatch.com/uscis-processing-statistics.html
this has status prediction feature also but wait till Feb/ March to get more accurate results when all the Sept/October receipts are counted in.
http://www.immigrationwatch.com/uscis-processing-statistics.html
this has status prediction feature also but wait till Feb/ March to get more accurate results when all the Sept/October receipts are counted in.
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wooster
07-11 02:11 AM
I had the same thing happen to me, applied PP on June19, it reached on 20th got approved on June21. Status still shows pending, but the lawyer got the approval notice with an A# to boot...
Just to update, I got a CRIS mail that I was approved on the June21 and the online status changed to approved today....thats more than 2 weeks after the lawyer got the approval notice...snail mail seems faster then online notifications....why is everything so Topsy turvy with these guys only !!
Just to update, I got a CRIS mail that I was approved on the June21 and the online status changed to approved today....thats more than 2 weeks after the lawyer got the approval notice...snail mail seems faster then online notifications....why is everything so Topsy turvy with these guys only !!
more...
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go_gc_way
06-01 04:28 PM
Thanks Admin for looking in to the question.
When I voted, It looked like to me that poll is started by IV, but not.
Though I like the idea of Quickness of a separate bill .. I appreciate how many steps / time / lobbying that would be required for such a step , after having followed the Forum for a long time.
I think , my self , I am not very sticky to such an idea.
When I voted, It looked like to me that poll is started by IV, but not.
Though I like the idea of Quickness of a separate bill .. I appreciate how many steps / time / lobbying that would be required for such a step , after having followed the Forum for a long time.
I think , my self , I am not very sticky to such an idea.
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neoklaus
11-14 03:33 PM
Does it have anything to do with how recently you travelled out of the country? or How recently you came into this country? My wife came to US only 6 months back and I am not sure if this has got to do anything with the whole biometrics thing?
It is probably just this IO who has a different intepretation of the rules.
I came to US in June,07, my husband & daughter -Aug.14,07...probably just interpretation matters
It is probably just this IO who has a different intepretation of the rules.
I came to US in June,07, my husband & daughter -Aug.14,07...probably just interpretation matters
more...
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nomi
12-08 08:20 AM
DEAR FRIENDS OF AMERICAN PROGRAMMERS, ENGINEERS, NURSES, PHYSICAL THERAPISTS AND SCIENTISTS,
Our citizen network did quite a job again today.
I cannot predict. But as the Senate offices begin to close their phones down for the evening (even as the Senate continues to do business), our friends on the Hill are feeling much more confident that we will wake up tomorrow morning and find that Sen. Cornyn and and the tech industry lobbyists will NOT yet have succeeded.
Some, though, believe Cornyn will make another attempt tonight to get a vote on his bill to almost double H-1B visas and employment-based greencards next year. Once the phone lines are down, however, you just have to take a rest and know you did what you could and hope that your efforts were enough to pull us through this evening.
Your thousands of phone calls made a major impression on all Senate offices and on both Republican and Democratic leadership offices in the House.
Our Capitol Hill Team is hearing from many staffers that this has been one of those "Phone Phenomenon" days in which one issue practically ties every office up in knots.
AND NEARLY 100% OF THE CALLS ARE ON OUR SIDE -- AGAINST HELPING THE TECH COMPANIES, UNIVERSITIES AND HOSPITALS TO USE MORE FOREIGN LABOR TO DEPRESS THE WAGES OF THEIR AMERICAN WORKERS
You may not have any idea how important that has been.
Perhaps most importantly, it has made our best Senator allies exceptionally determined to block Sen. Cornyn (R-TX). Our latest nose count is that nobody is backing off their "holds" that are keeping the Cornyn SKIL Act legislation from reaching the floor of the Senate.
Cornyn and the tech industry lobbyists continue to try to strike deals with the Senators to get them to remove their HOLDS. But backed by what they see as an overwhelming constituency knowledge of the issue and constituency opposition to increased foreign importation, the "holding" Senators are not budging. We are unaware of any of them accepting a deal to change their position.
The reason individual Senators are able to exercise such power with these holds is because Cornyn has to get a lot of normal precedure waived in order to bring up his bill at the last minute like this.
Our understanding is that Majority Leader Frist (R-TN) could go ahead and bring Cornyn's bill to the floor even with the holds if he wants to. But then he would have to get at least 60 of the 100 votes to break the holds of their colleagues -- which is kind of a personal thing.
The more that you make this bill seem totally radioactive the less likely Sen. Frist will want to end his Senate career on such an explosive note, or that 60 Senators would want to vote to break the holds.
A big thank you to all who have helped again today. There are hundreds of thousands of households this evening spread across the country that will have a much happier Christmas if we succeed in blocking the threat to their jobs, wages and standard of living that Cornyn's bill represents.
Our nation's nurses, physical therapists, scientists, engineers and programmers have studied hard and worked hard and invested considerable money to be able to do these jobs. Why should our government import massive numbers of foreign workers (which no independent study has shown are needed) when that action would cause so many middle class American households to suffer?
At NumbersUSA, we spend a lot of our time championing better treatment for the poor. But we also believe in the protection of middle-class Americans. You who have acted today have done a great service to these households.
I expect to have marching orders for you first thing tomorrow morning based on what the situation has become by that time.
THANKS,
ROY
P.S. If you didn't read Prof. Norm Matloff's San Francisco Chronicle op-ed today, please do so now because it explains so well why we consider this fight against major increases in legal foreign workers to be as important as our fight against illegal immigration.
Read the article here:
http://www.numbersusa.com/interests/hightech.html
Our citizen network did quite a job again today.
I cannot predict. But as the Senate offices begin to close their phones down for the evening (even as the Senate continues to do business), our friends on the Hill are feeling much more confident that we will wake up tomorrow morning and find that Sen. Cornyn and and the tech industry lobbyists will NOT yet have succeeded.
Some, though, believe Cornyn will make another attempt tonight to get a vote on his bill to almost double H-1B visas and employment-based greencards next year. Once the phone lines are down, however, you just have to take a rest and know you did what you could and hope that your efforts were enough to pull us through this evening.
Your thousands of phone calls made a major impression on all Senate offices and on both Republican and Democratic leadership offices in the House.
Our Capitol Hill Team is hearing from many staffers that this has been one of those "Phone Phenomenon" days in which one issue practically ties every office up in knots.
AND NEARLY 100% OF THE CALLS ARE ON OUR SIDE -- AGAINST HELPING THE TECH COMPANIES, UNIVERSITIES AND HOSPITALS TO USE MORE FOREIGN LABOR TO DEPRESS THE WAGES OF THEIR AMERICAN WORKERS
You may not have any idea how important that has been.
Perhaps most importantly, it has made our best Senator allies exceptionally determined to block Sen. Cornyn (R-TX). Our latest nose count is that nobody is backing off their "holds" that are keeping the Cornyn SKIL Act legislation from reaching the floor of the Senate.
Cornyn and the tech industry lobbyists continue to try to strike deals with the Senators to get them to remove their HOLDS. But backed by what they see as an overwhelming constituency knowledge of the issue and constituency opposition to increased foreign importation, the "holding" Senators are not budging. We are unaware of any of them accepting a deal to change their position.
The reason individual Senators are able to exercise such power with these holds is because Cornyn has to get a lot of normal precedure waived in order to bring up his bill at the last minute like this.
Our understanding is that Majority Leader Frist (R-TN) could go ahead and bring Cornyn's bill to the floor even with the holds if he wants to. But then he would have to get at least 60 of the 100 votes to break the holds of their colleagues -- which is kind of a personal thing.
The more that you make this bill seem totally radioactive the less likely Sen. Frist will want to end his Senate career on such an explosive note, or that 60 Senators would want to vote to break the holds.
A big thank you to all who have helped again today. There are hundreds of thousands of households this evening spread across the country that will have a much happier Christmas if we succeed in blocking the threat to their jobs, wages and standard of living that Cornyn's bill represents.
Our nation's nurses, physical therapists, scientists, engineers and programmers have studied hard and worked hard and invested considerable money to be able to do these jobs. Why should our government import massive numbers of foreign workers (which no independent study has shown are needed) when that action would cause so many middle class American households to suffer?
At NumbersUSA, we spend a lot of our time championing better treatment for the poor. But we also believe in the protection of middle-class Americans. You who have acted today have done a great service to these households.
I expect to have marching orders for you first thing tomorrow morning based on what the situation has become by that time.
THANKS,
ROY
P.S. If you didn't read Prof. Norm Matloff's San Francisco Chronicle op-ed today, please do so now because it explains so well why we consider this fight against major increases in legal foreign workers to be as important as our fight against illegal immigration.
Read the article here:
http://www.numbersusa.com/interests/hightech.html
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jasonalbany
07-04 12:28 PM
Access to Job Market in U.S. a Matter of Degrees
Foreign workers with high-tech skills are in demand, but visa quotas snarl the hiring process.
By Anna Gorman, Times Staff Writer
July 3, 2006
This spring, a U.S. high-tech company recruited British citizen Gareth Lloyd for a possible engineering job.
But before the Irvine office made its hiring decision, the number of available visas for skilled workers ran out, in a record time of less than two months.
Lloyd, who has degrees in applied physics and electrical and electronics engineering, found another job in Germany.
"I was a little bit incredulous," Lloyd, 34, said in a phone interview. "It seems arbitrary to put some kind of quota on this."
Much of the national debate on immigration has centered on undocumented workers who fill agriculture, construction and service jobs. But highly skilled foreign scientists, engineers and computer programmers recruited by U.S. companies to work here legally also have a lot at stake in the outcome. "The major focus for all the laws and all the bills has mainly been for illegal immigrants," said Swati Srivastava, an Indian software engineer who lives in Playa del Rey and is waiting for her green card. "We kind of get pushed to the sidelines."
The Senate's sweeping immigration bill that passed in May calls for increasing the number of H-1B visas, which are available for professional foreign workers, from 65,000 to 115,000 annually. Foreigners with certain advanced degrees would be exempt from the cap.
Despite President Bush's urging to increase such quotas, however, the House bill that passed late last year does not include any provisions for skilled-worker visas. And a conference committee, which would negotiate a compromise, has yet to be selected. U.S. companies complain that they are losing prospective employees to other countries because of a shortage of highly skilled and educated foreign workers. As a result, companies are either outsourcing science and engineering jobs or making do with fewer employees.
"There aren't enough U.S. citizens pursuing those types of degrees," said Jennifer Greeson, spokeswoman for Intel Corp. in Santa Clara, Calif., where about 5% of the company's U.S.-based employees are on H-1B visas. "U.S. companies being able to have access to talent, no matter where it originates, is key to our continued competitiveness."
But critics of the H-1B program argue that there are enough Americans qualified for the jobs. Companies just prefer to hire younger, less expensive workers from other countries, such as India and China, instead of more experienced American workers at higher salaries.
"The bottom line is cheap labor," said UC Davis computer-science professor Norman Matloff, who has studied the H-1B program.
The six-year visas are available to foreigners with at least a bachelor's degree. Firms must pay foreign workers the prevailing wage.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency begins accepting H-1B visa applications on April 1 each year. The agency received enough visas to hit the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 at the end of May this year, compared with August in 2005 and October in 2004. Those who receive the visas can begin work Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year.
There are also 20,000 additional visas available for foreign workers who earned a master's or higher-level degree in the U.S. The Citizenship and Immigration Services is still accepting applications for those visas.
Because the H-1B cap is reached more quickly each year, many companies prepare their paperwork ahead of time so they can be at the front of the line. But they say it's often difficult to make hiring decisions six months before the start date.
Orange County immigration attorney Mitchell Wexler has a courier ready on the first day to take his clients' completed applications to Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"The whole white-collar business community is kind of crossing our fingers" that the number of visas is raised, Wexler said. Highly skilled foreign workers, he said, are "the best and brightest" and should be invited into the economy.
"If we can't get them," Wexler added, "they will go to a country that will accept them, and they will get jobs in Canada, Australia and England and will compete against us."
One of Wexler's clients, Massachusetts-based Skyworks Solutions, develops and manufactures integrated circuits for cellphones. Connie Williams, senior human resources specialist at the company's Irvine office, said her firm was effectively cut off from a foreign labor pool that included Lloyd of Britain when the government stopped accepting H-1B applications.
Williams said she worries that if Congress fails to pass reform legislation, the door will slam shut even earlier next year. The company has just over 2,000 U.S.-based employees, roughly 100 of whom have H-1B visas.
"We need these highly skilled, highly educated, highly qualified engineers," said Williams. "These people are a needle in a haystack."
Once foreigners have H-1B visas, they face another hurdle � becoming permanent legal residents. Applicants are often forced to wait years because there are only 140,000 employment-based green cards available annually. A backlog at Citizenship and Immigration Services adds to the delays.
Swati and Aradhana Srivastava, 34, both Indian software engineers working in the U.S. on H-1B visas, began the green card process with their employer in November 2001. Since then, the sisters said they have not been able to change jobs, positions or salaries.
They have taken film classes and are eager to pursue second careers in filmmaking but cannot do so until after they get their green cards. They also are reluctant to buy property or start a business. If they don't get their green cards by the time they finish film school, the sisters may return home.
"It's like living in a holding pattern continuously," said Swati Srivastava, 28, a member of Immigration Voice, a new grass-roots organization of skilled foreign workers pushing for immigration reform. The Internet-based group formed late last year and has about 5,000 members scattered around the country.
"We work in [the] U.S. legally in high-skilled jobs, but we still get penalized for playing by the rules," Immigration Voice co-founder Aman Kapoor said in an e-mail. "Since no one was working on our issues, we decided to organize."
Sandy Boyd, vice president of the National Assn. of Manufacturers, said there is an urgency to fixing the problems facing highly skilled foreign workers, whether they're seeking temporary or permanent legal status. The Senate's proposed immigration bill would increase the number of available employment-based green cards.
If compromise legislation cannot be reached on the broader issues, Boyd said, Congress should pass a separate, more narrow reform bill.
"This is not an issue that can be put off until comprehensive immigration reform is passed," Boyd said, "because once we lose these jobs, it's very difficult for them to come back."
But industry lobbyists arguing against increases in H-1B visas say the program hurts U.S. citizens by lowering wages and increasing job competition. They cite a recent report by the Government Accountability Office that says the program lacks sufficient oversight from the Department of Labor.
"We feel for the most part there are not shortages of U.S. engineers and computer scientists that have the skills these companies are looking for," said Chris McManes, spokesman for the U.S. sector of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. "If the cap is increased, that will further hamper the ability of a U.S. engineer to find a job."
David Huber, a network engineer in Chicago and U.S. citizen by birth, said he twice lost out on jobs to foreign workers. He was passed over for one job and replaced at another, he said. Huber, who testified before the House in March, said he could not find work for nearly three years, despite his education and experience. "Too many of us cannot find jobs because companies are turning to H-1B workers as a first choice," Huber said in written testimony to the House.
Swadha Sharma, who lives in Arcadia, said she is not trying to replace U.S. workers. Sharma earned an electronics engineering degree in India but has long dreamed of becoming a math teacher. So while her husband worked here on an H-1B visa, she earned her teaching credential at Cal Poly Pomona.
Sharma, 30, started applying for teaching jobs early this year, but she said only one of three interested districts was willing to sponsor her for an H-1B visa. And that offer, from a Los Angeles charter school, came after the visa cap had been reached. Sharma now plans to pursue a master's degree but said the U.S. is "missing out on a catch."
"I am really qualified," she said. "Hopefully, I will be able to teach soon."
As for Lloyd, his plans to come to the United States are now on indefinite hold. He started his job in Germany but still laments the U.S. immigration system for limiting workers like himself from coming here.
"The H-1B scheme seems a little bit ridiculous," he said. "I would certainly be an asset to the American economy."
Foreign workers with high-tech skills are in demand, but visa quotas snarl the hiring process.
By Anna Gorman, Times Staff Writer
July 3, 2006
This spring, a U.S. high-tech company recruited British citizen Gareth Lloyd for a possible engineering job.
But before the Irvine office made its hiring decision, the number of available visas for skilled workers ran out, in a record time of less than two months.
Lloyd, who has degrees in applied physics and electrical and electronics engineering, found another job in Germany.
"I was a little bit incredulous," Lloyd, 34, said in a phone interview. "It seems arbitrary to put some kind of quota on this."
Much of the national debate on immigration has centered on undocumented workers who fill agriculture, construction and service jobs. But highly skilled foreign scientists, engineers and computer programmers recruited by U.S. companies to work here legally also have a lot at stake in the outcome. "The major focus for all the laws and all the bills has mainly been for illegal immigrants," said Swati Srivastava, an Indian software engineer who lives in Playa del Rey and is waiting for her green card. "We kind of get pushed to the sidelines."
The Senate's sweeping immigration bill that passed in May calls for increasing the number of H-1B visas, which are available for professional foreign workers, from 65,000 to 115,000 annually. Foreigners with certain advanced degrees would be exempt from the cap.
Despite President Bush's urging to increase such quotas, however, the House bill that passed late last year does not include any provisions for skilled-worker visas. And a conference committee, which would negotiate a compromise, has yet to be selected. U.S. companies complain that they are losing prospective employees to other countries because of a shortage of highly skilled and educated foreign workers. As a result, companies are either outsourcing science and engineering jobs or making do with fewer employees.
"There aren't enough U.S. citizens pursuing those types of degrees," said Jennifer Greeson, spokeswoman for Intel Corp. in Santa Clara, Calif., where about 5% of the company's U.S.-based employees are on H-1B visas. "U.S. companies being able to have access to talent, no matter where it originates, is key to our continued competitiveness."
But critics of the H-1B program argue that there are enough Americans qualified for the jobs. Companies just prefer to hire younger, less expensive workers from other countries, such as India and China, instead of more experienced American workers at higher salaries.
"The bottom line is cheap labor," said UC Davis computer-science professor Norman Matloff, who has studied the H-1B program.
The six-year visas are available to foreigners with at least a bachelor's degree. Firms must pay foreign workers the prevailing wage.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency begins accepting H-1B visa applications on April 1 each year. The agency received enough visas to hit the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 at the end of May this year, compared with August in 2005 and October in 2004. Those who receive the visas can begin work Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year.
There are also 20,000 additional visas available for foreign workers who earned a master's or higher-level degree in the U.S. The Citizenship and Immigration Services is still accepting applications for those visas.
Because the H-1B cap is reached more quickly each year, many companies prepare their paperwork ahead of time so they can be at the front of the line. But they say it's often difficult to make hiring decisions six months before the start date.
Orange County immigration attorney Mitchell Wexler has a courier ready on the first day to take his clients' completed applications to Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"The whole white-collar business community is kind of crossing our fingers" that the number of visas is raised, Wexler said. Highly skilled foreign workers, he said, are "the best and brightest" and should be invited into the economy.
"If we can't get them," Wexler added, "they will go to a country that will accept them, and they will get jobs in Canada, Australia and England and will compete against us."
One of Wexler's clients, Massachusetts-based Skyworks Solutions, develops and manufactures integrated circuits for cellphones. Connie Williams, senior human resources specialist at the company's Irvine office, said her firm was effectively cut off from a foreign labor pool that included Lloyd of Britain when the government stopped accepting H-1B applications.
Williams said she worries that if Congress fails to pass reform legislation, the door will slam shut even earlier next year. The company has just over 2,000 U.S.-based employees, roughly 100 of whom have H-1B visas.
"We need these highly skilled, highly educated, highly qualified engineers," said Williams. "These people are a needle in a haystack."
Once foreigners have H-1B visas, they face another hurdle � becoming permanent legal residents. Applicants are often forced to wait years because there are only 140,000 employment-based green cards available annually. A backlog at Citizenship and Immigration Services adds to the delays.
Swati and Aradhana Srivastava, 34, both Indian software engineers working in the U.S. on H-1B visas, began the green card process with their employer in November 2001. Since then, the sisters said they have not been able to change jobs, positions or salaries.
They have taken film classes and are eager to pursue second careers in filmmaking but cannot do so until after they get their green cards. They also are reluctant to buy property or start a business. If they don't get their green cards by the time they finish film school, the sisters may return home.
"It's like living in a holding pattern continuously," said Swati Srivastava, 28, a member of Immigration Voice, a new grass-roots organization of skilled foreign workers pushing for immigration reform. The Internet-based group formed late last year and has about 5,000 members scattered around the country.
"We work in [the] U.S. legally in high-skilled jobs, but we still get penalized for playing by the rules," Immigration Voice co-founder Aman Kapoor said in an e-mail. "Since no one was working on our issues, we decided to organize."
Sandy Boyd, vice president of the National Assn. of Manufacturers, said there is an urgency to fixing the problems facing highly skilled foreign workers, whether they're seeking temporary or permanent legal status. The Senate's proposed immigration bill would increase the number of available employment-based green cards.
If compromise legislation cannot be reached on the broader issues, Boyd said, Congress should pass a separate, more narrow reform bill.
"This is not an issue that can be put off until comprehensive immigration reform is passed," Boyd said, "because once we lose these jobs, it's very difficult for them to come back."
But industry lobbyists arguing against increases in H-1B visas say the program hurts U.S. citizens by lowering wages and increasing job competition. They cite a recent report by the Government Accountability Office that says the program lacks sufficient oversight from the Department of Labor.
"We feel for the most part there are not shortages of U.S. engineers and computer scientists that have the skills these companies are looking for," said Chris McManes, spokesman for the U.S. sector of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. "If the cap is increased, that will further hamper the ability of a U.S. engineer to find a job."
David Huber, a network engineer in Chicago and U.S. citizen by birth, said he twice lost out on jobs to foreign workers. He was passed over for one job and replaced at another, he said. Huber, who testified before the House in March, said he could not find work for nearly three years, despite his education and experience. "Too many of us cannot find jobs because companies are turning to H-1B workers as a first choice," Huber said in written testimony to the House.
Swadha Sharma, who lives in Arcadia, said she is not trying to replace U.S. workers. Sharma earned an electronics engineering degree in India but has long dreamed of becoming a math teacher. So while her husband worked here on an H-1B visa, she earned her teaching credential at Cal Poly Pomona.
Sharma, 30, started applying for teaching jobs early this year, but she said only one of three interested districts was willing to sponsor her for an H-1B visa. And that offer, from a Los Angeles charter school, came after the visa cap had been reached. Sharma now plans to pursue a master's degree but said the U.S. is "missing out on a catch."
"I am really qualified," she said. "Hopefully, I will be able to teach soon."
As for Lloyd, his plans to come to the United States are now on indefinite hold. He started his job in Germany but still laments the U.S. immigration system for limiting workers like himself from coming here.
"The H-1B scheme seems a little bit ridiculous," he said. "I would certainly be an asset to the American economy."
hairstyles in an American flag.
nhfirefighter13
November 25th, 2005, 07:51 AM
The first one isn't doing anything for me. I like the second one better but agree with the others that it needs a bit more DOF...and I'd go so far as to see if you could make the image (flower) as large as the lighter version.
BECsufferer
09-03 09:09 AM
Congrats to 12/2004 PD holders.
Unfortunatly for me and my wife, it appears we will be missing this window of opportunity. Just happened to have filed an AP for her. F&$k USCIS:mad:
Unfortunatly for me and my wife, it appears we will be missing this window of opportunity. Just happened to have filed an AP for her. F&$k USCIS:mad:
GooblyWoobly
07-18 06:25 PM
Wrong! Yes, you will be the new fee but then you will pay the same fee each year you renew your EAD. No fee payment only applies if you file your I-485 with the new fee structure.
If you are not planning on using EAD and she won't either then she needs to change status to H4.
Can someone else confirm this too? For Q2, I think you are wrong. Take this case....
Primary is on H1, derivative on H4, both apply for AOS, primary goes on EAD (thus invalidating H1, and in turn spouse's H4). So, the spouse just has AOS receipt number, and no H4. Is she out of status? Of course not. This is a very common scenario.
Also, for Q1, I765 is a completely different entity in the pay schedule http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/FinalUSCISFeeSchedule052907.pdf
So, why wouldn't I get the benefit of the higher fee if I pay that? Any source of information for you to say I will have to pay each year?
If you are not planning on using EAD and she won't either then she needs to change status to H4.
Can someone else confirm this too? For Q2, I think you are wrong. Take this case....
Primary is on H1, derivative on H4, both apply for AOS, primary goes on EAD (thus invalidating H1, and in turn spouse's H4). So, the spouse just has AOS receipt number, and no H4. Is she out of status? Of course not. This is a very common scenario.
Also, for Q1, I765 is a completely different entity in the pay schedule http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/FinalUSCISFeeSchedule052907.pdf
So, why wouldn't I get the benefit of the higher fee if I pay that? Any source of information for you to say I will have to pay each year?
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