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vikki76
11-04 02:25 PM
leoindiano: if they are saying that numbers are consolidated- then they must be..now just for endless wait..
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kubmilegaGC
10-28 11:22 PM
13 years since I landed in this country.....finally, I got the approval email 15 minutes back. I am not sure how to express my feelings (or lack thereof).
I want to thank the following guys from the botton of my heart.
1) KubMilegaGC - who gave me support in September or was around for sometime in October to check on my status
2) SeekerOfPeace, KewlChap and fatjoe - for all the valuable information they have provided. Thank you so much guys!!
I did the following:
1) Took around 10 Infopass appointments, with the last one being today morning at 9 AM PST. IO told me that my case was under review since July 2009.
2) Attorney reached out to AILA liaison
3) Sent DHS-7001 to CIS Ombudsman
4) Letter requesting USCIS secretary Napolatino to inquire about the delay in my case
5) Letter to first lady last weekend requesting to inquire about the delay in my case
6) Several inquiries were made by Congresswoman on my behalf
7) Inquiry was made on my behalf by the senator
8) Opened several SRs - I think around 6 or 7
As a result, I now have around 30 different responses from USCIS/DHS. Looking at each response, it makes me believe that they have not even cared to look at my case and have just pulled out a response from a standard set of responses.
I believe what really helped me is a phone call using the POJ method to TSC. I was fortunate to get a hold of a very nice and polite IO. IO walked me through the entire process and to my utter disbelief told me that my case was still sitting in the storage area and collecting dust (this was 2 weeks back). While I was on the phone, the IO sent a request to the folks in the storage area to pull my file out. Luckily for me, the file was in one of the storage areas in Texas itself. Once the file was at the Texas service center, it sat in the holding area for almost a week . It seems like the officer picked up my file sometime at the end of last week or earlier this morning.
Edit to the post: In hindsight, I think the delay in my case was because I had 4 I-140s (2 from RIR labor and 2 from PERM, one each for EB2 and EB3). I think whenever the IOs looked at my file, they thought that my case was not current. The IO I talked to specifically put in a note for the IO to look at the EB2 140 (June 2004) and not the EB3 I-140 (June 2004) or the I-140s that I have from July 2005. I dont know what to tell my attorney, not sure why they had to file 140s in EB3 for me.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has supported me to get through this painful process. Last 60 days (since September 1st) have been very painful for me.
Good luck to all EB2 who are still waiting and to all the EB3 folks, I hope you guys become current soon and get your GCs - I really really admire your patience.
Keep the faith.....
My Dear friend - Congrats and welcome to the green club..I guess I can stop coming to these forums now..:) You got it! You did it! and you DESERVE it! you have shown great patience and I could not be more happy for you!
Enjoy the green - take couple days off and just RELAX.
Good luck to everyone else who is still waiting.
I want to thank the following guys from the botton of my heart.
1) KubMilegaGC - who gave me support in September or was around for sometime in October to check on my status
2) SeekerOfPeace, KewlChap and fatjoe - for all the valuable information they have provided. Thank you so much guys!!
I did the following:
1) Took around 10 Infopass appointments, with the last one being today morning at 9 AM PST. IO told me that my case was under review since July 2009.
2) Attorney reached out to AILA liaison
3) Sent DHS-7001 to CIS Ombudsman
4) Letter requesting USCIS secretary Napolatino to inquire about the delay in my case
5) Letter to first lady last weekend requesting to inquire about the delay in my case
6) Several inquiries were made by Congresswoman on my behalf
7) Inquiry was made on my behalf by the senator
8) Opened several SRs - I think around 6 or 7
As a result, I now have around 30 different responses from USCIS/DHS. Looking at each response, it makes me believe that they have not even cared to look at my case and have just pulled out a response from a standard set of responses.
I believe what really helped me is a phone call using the POJ method to TSC. I was fortunate to get a hold of a very nice and polite IO. IO walked me through the entire process and to my utter disbelief told me that my case was still sitting in the storage area and collecting dust (this was 2 weeks back). While I was on the phone, the IO sent a request to the folks in the storage area to pull my file out. Luckily for me, the file was in one of the storage areas in Texas itself. Once the file was at the Texas service center, it sat in the holding area for almost a week . It seems like the officer picked up my file sometime at the end of last week or earlier this morning.
Edit to the post: In hindsight, I think the delay in my case was because I had 4 I-140s (2 from RIR labor and 2 from PERM, one each for EB2 and EB3). I think whenever the IOs looked at my file, they thought that my case was not current. The IO I talked to specifically put in a note for the IO to look at the EB2 140 (June 2004) and not the EB3 I-140 (June 2004) or the I-140s that I have from July 2005. I dont know what to tell my attorney, not sure why they had to file 140s in EB3 for me.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has supported me to get through this painful process. Last 60 days (since September 1st) have been very painful for me.
Good luck to all EB2 who are still waiting and to all the EB3 folks, I hope you guys become current soon and get your GCs - I really really admire your patience.
Keep the faith.....
My Dear friend - Congrats and welcome to the green club..I guess I can stop coming to these forums now..:) You got it! You did it! and you DESERVE it! you have shown great patience and I could not be more happy for you!
Enjoy the green - take couple days off and just RELAX.
Good luck to everyone else who is still waiting.
485Mbe4001
10-17 11:13 AM
http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=285400
October 16, 2007 Contact: Press Office
Phone: 202.228.3685
Senate Approves Levin Amendment to Improve Oversight of FBI
Background Checks
WASHINGTON � The Senate has approved an amendment by Sen. Carl
Levin, D-Mich., to improve oversight of the FBI National Name Check
Program, which faces a substantial backlog. The program is used to
run background checks on people applying for immigration benefits or
seeking employment with the U.S. government, among many other
purposes. Levin's provision, which was included as an amendment to
the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Fiscal Year 2008
Appropriations Bill, would require the FBI to report to Congress
every year regarding progress made in improving the FBI's system of
processing background checks and automating investigative files.
"The background check program's enormous backlog poses an
unacceptable burden on people whose lives are on hold, and it also
leads to a national security risk," Levin said. "Approximately
31,000 cases have been pending for at least 33 months. If these
individuals are a security threat, we must know that sooner rather
than later."
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Ombudsman's 2007 Annual Report, there were 329,160 name check cases
pending in May 2007, which is and increase of 93,358 over the
previous year. Many immigrants who are applying for adjustment of
status to legal permanent resident, naturalization, asylum, or a
waiver end up waiting for months or years for the completion of the
name check process.
In 2003, Robert J. Garrity, Jr., then Acting Assistant Director of
the Records Management Division of the FBI stated before the House
Committee on Government Reform that, "[t]he name check delays have
significant consequences to FBI customers and stakeholders. The
delays impede hiring or clearing skilled workers; completing
government contracts; student enrollment, and�clearing requested
visas for business visits to the United States. More importantly
than all of the foregoing, these processing delays can also diminish
counterterrorism effectiveness."
October 16, 2007 Contact: Press Office
Phone: 202.228.3685
Senate Approves Levin Amendment to Improve Oversight of FBI
Background Checks
WASHINGTON � The Senate has approved an amendment by Sen. Carl
Levin, D-Mich., to improve oversight of the FBI National Name Check
Program, which faces a substantial backlog. The program is used to
run background checks on people applying for immigration benefits or
seeking employment with the U.S. government, among many other
purposes. Levin's provision, which was included as an amendment to
the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Fiscal Year 2008
Appropriations Bill, would require the FBI to report to Congress
every year regarding progress made in improving the FBI's system of
processing background checks and automating investigative files.
"The background check program's enormous backlog poses an
unacceptable burden on people whose lives are on hold, and it also
leads to a national security risk," Levin said. "Approximately
31,000 cases have been pending for at least 33 months. If these
individuals are a security threat, we must know that sooner rather
than later."
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Ombudsman's 2007 Annual Report, there were 329,160 name check cases
pending in May 2007, which is and increase of 93,358 over the
previous year. Many immigrants who are applying for adjustment of
status to legal permanent resident, naturalization, asylum, or a
waiver end up waiting for months or years for the completion of the
name check process.
In 2003, Robert J. Garrity, Jr., then Acting Assistant Director of
the Records Management Division of the FBI stated before the House
Committee on Government Reform that, "[t]he name check delays have
significant consequences to FBI customers and stakeholders. The
delays impede hiring or clearing skilled workers; completing
government contracts; student enrollment, and�clearing requested
visas for business visits to the United States. More importantly
than all of the foregoing, these processing delays can also diminish
counterterrorism effectiveness."
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conchshell
08-13 06:24 PM
please ignore this thread and let it die its own natural death. There is no point discussing all this again and again.
more...
shreekarthik
01-31 06:47 PM
confused now
No this is not rumor but that it is "imminent" is what AILA says as rumor. It could take a couple of months or couple of weeks to be published in the federal register.
No this is not rumor but that it is "imminent" is what AILA says as rumor. It could take a couple of months or couple of weeks to be published in the federal register.
rajeshalex
09-25 09:47 AM
May be we should delete this thread itself.
more...
belmontboy
09-15 09:20 PM
What works for someone may not work for us. VXG and others were lucky we are not as simple as that which does not mean that we left any stone unturned...it just doesn't work that way.....but again will keep on trying...
has anybody tried calling USCIS as the proxy applicant..I mean has anyone as a primary called USCIS for their dependent....the reason I am asking is I need to do that....I am sure there is no "sex" in the file and there is no way for them knowing that I am the primary applicant or not.
SoP
u going to talk in girl's tone? :D
has anybody tried calling USCIS as the proxy applicant..I mean has anyone as a primary called USCIS for their dependent....the reason I am asking is I need to do that....I am sure there is no "sex" in the file and there is no way for them knowing that I am the primary applicant or not.
SoP
u going to talk in girl's tone? :D
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anzerraja
07-19 04:23 PM
You are right in that the donation would go towards the core IV funds. But if we resort to writing personal checks and What if it is short of the amount he spent ? Should he wait for months if not years to realize the amount he spent ? I think they should be compensated immediately from the core IV funds.
The donations that we make to IV will be part of the general corpus which will be used for lobbying. As one core member pointed out 99% of that fund is utilized for lobbying, I am guessing remaining 1% is spent on hosting IV website.
If you guys want to help Aman we could write a personal check favoring Aman. What do you guys think?
The donations that we make to IV will be part of the general corpus which will be used for lobbying. As one core member pointed out 99% of that fund is utilized for lobbying, I am guessing remaining 1% is spent on hosting IV website.
If you guys want to help Aman we could write a personal check favoring Aman. What do you guys think?
more...
smartboy75
10-24 02:46 PM
You had mentioned in your previous post that your EB2 green card was approved in June 2007or did you mean EAD?
Am I missing something?
tnite..
I think he is one of those lucky ones ..whose I-485 was approved by USICS just before the July 2 fiasco....Remember they exhausted 60,000 visa numbers by burning mid-night oil ?? ring a bell...
Am I missing something?
tnite..
I think he is one of those lucky ones ..whose I-485 was approved by USICS just before the July 2 fiasco....Remember they exhausted 60,000 visa numbers by burning mid-night oil ?? ring a bell...
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hydboy77
04-15 01:11 PM
Is it correct to say only nebraska Service center is issuing the rfe because they are pre adjudicating while Texas service center is not issuing rfe because they are not pre adjudicating 485. A vast majority of people getting rfe on 485 (95% or more) are from nebraska Service center.
more...
sandiboy
07-18 01:46 PM
Pd: May 2002
Reached Nsc: 7/2 7:55 AM
Rejected: Don't Know
Ck Cashed: Not Yet
Reached Nsc: 7/2 7:55 AM
Rejected: Don't Know
Ck Cashed: Not Yet
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digital2k
08-06 12:33 PM
*
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arnab221
04-26 03:56 AM
Outsourcing cannot be stopped with these nonsense bills . Outsourcing can only be stopped when the US market relizes that it is highly overpriced for the same job that is doine abroad for a far lesser price and adjusts accordingly . Every work has a value associated to it and the price needs to be paid according to the value of the work and not the place it is done ( India or the US )
Example
*******
Lets take a example of a barber. The barber in India charges about Rs 30 ( 45 Cents ) whereas for the same task a barber in US charges about $ 15 ( Rs750 ) . Now the question is , is the barber in the US more skilled than the barber in India , or the Barber in US doing a job if much more value than the barber in India . The reason that the barber is charging more is simply because of the virtue of the fact that he is in the USA and nothig else .
In the same way the Software Consultants ( Indian or Americans ) who are getting paid more in the USA , pleas remember that the reason for the extra salkary is not because we are more skilled or do better value work . It is simply because of the virtue of being located in the USA and nothing else .
GM Ford and Chrysler
*******************
Now instead of frowing and looking down upon the people who do the same value work for less , we need to be appreciative of their competative spirit . They work hard , so the same work , get paid less and compete with us . Whats not to appreciate of that ? Is this not the way the American dream is made . These senators instead if introducing a price correction in the US to bring down the rate of work in US are trying protectionism tactics to prevent people from selling the same work at alower rate . The result will be what hapenned to GM and Ford and Chrysler .These contractors that these companies negotiated with their staff has resulted in their downfall . GM staff drinks beer outside a closed plant and still the UAW contract entiles them to $94.00 per hour . GM and ford though that American consumers will protect them from Honda and Toyota which had much cheaper workes ( on flexible rates ) and made much better cars . The Durbin Grassley amendment will result in the same fate to other american compoanies that happenned to GM and Ford .
Example
*******
Lets take a example of a barber. The barber in India charges about Rs 30 ( 45 Cents ) whereas for the same task a barber in US charges about $ 15 ( Rs750 ) . Now the question is , is the barber in the US more skilled than the barber in India , or the Barber in US doing a job if much more value than the barber in India . The reason that the barber is charging more is simply because of the virtue of the fact that he is in the USA and nothig else .
In the same way the Software Consultants ( Indian or Americans ) who are getting paid more in the USA , pleas remember that the reason for the extra salkary is not because we are more skilled or do better value work . It is simply because of the virtue of being located in the USA and nothing else .
GM Ford and Chrysler
*******************
Now instead of frowing and looking down upon the people who do the same value work for less , we need to be appreciative of their competative spirit . They work hard , so the same work , get paid less and compete with us . Whats not to appreciate of that ? Is this not the way the American dream is made . These senators instead if introducing a price correction in the US to bring down the rate of work in US are trying protectionism tactics to prevent people from selling the same work at alower rate . The result will be what hapenned to GM and Ford and Chrysler .These contractors that these companies negotiated with their staff has resulted in their downfall . GM staff drinks beer outside a closed plant and still the UAW contract entiles them to $94.00 per hour . GM and ford though that American consumers will protect them from Honda and Toyota which had much cheaper workes ( on flexible rates ) and made much better cars . The Durbin Grassley amendment will result in the same fate to other american compoanies that happenned to GM and Ford .
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singhsa3
05-23 02:45 PM
And the list is growing.
So please continue to call!
So please continue to call!
more...
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vikki76
10-28 07:12 PM
NSC.
Let me send u a pm to get text of that letter too.
Let me send u a pm to get text of that letter too.
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amits
03-11 01:06 PM
I agree that we should focus on FOIA effort to get the complete data.
If we get stats in bits and pieces then we may end up with more questions than answers.
If we get stats in bits and pieces then we may end up with more questions than answers.
more...
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carbon
09-13 03:42 PM
This might sound weired..but I think we can get some support from Housing Market !
Facts:
------
The housing market is slowing down significantly and there are millions of unsold homes out there.
More than 1/2 million people are stuck in the green card process. I am sure
most are waiting for green card before they buy their house and make longtime commitment.
I think we are a "Frozen" pool of customers for the Housing Market.
500000 H1B X 300000 (average house price) = 150 billion dollar market is just
inaccessible just because of retrogression.
I think we should convince them to help us FINANCIALY
Edit/Delete Message
Facts:
------
The housing market is slowing down significantly and there are millions of unsold homes out there.
More than 1/2 million people are stuck in the green card process. I am sure
most are waiting for green card before they buy their house and make longtime commitment.
I think we are a "Frozen" pool of customers for the Housing Market.
500000 H1B X 300000 (average house price) = 150 billion dollar market is just
inaccessible just because of retrogression.
I think we should convince them to help us FINANCIALY
Edit/Delete Message
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walking_dude
12-03 09:34 AM
Folks,
Questions such as IV gameplan , target etc. have already been disclosed along with an on-going funding drive !
IV gameplan - http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15745
IV target - http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showpost.php?p=200623&postcount=212
Funding drive - http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15493
Why are you still confused? What are you waiting for?
Any amount $5, $10 etc. can be donated through PayPal using IV e-mail id - donations AT immigrationvoice.org. SPREAD THE WORD
Questions such as IV gameplan , target etc. have already been disclosed along with an on-going funding drive !
IV gameplan - http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15745
IV target - http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showpost.php?p=200623&postcount=212
Funding drive - http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15493
Why are you still confused? What are you waiting for?
Any amount $5, $10 etc. can be donated through PayPal using IV e-mail id - donations AT immigrationvoice.org. SPREAD THE WORD
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Vexir
06-10 03:11 PM
Uh, can I redo my entry?
danielp78
06-07 09:00 AM
This is the kind of attitude that we must have in life. Not just in our immigration matters, but as general view of what life is and how to get things done.
If you want to change things, you have fight for it. And remember, trying to change the law is not against the law.
If you want to change things, you have fight for it. And remember, trying to change the law is not against the law.
qplearn
09-13 03:38 PM
Why don't you write and sumbit an op-ed piece to The NY Times? While I personally like watching Jim Lehrer's newshour on PBS, we shouldn't get obsessed with a particular program. We have been featured all over the mainstream media.
Here's the Washington Post Article that inspired me to join IV in April. I challenge you to write an article that will get us our next 6,000 members. And alll news articles about IV exist on a thread. Please look carefully before you trash our efforts. Thank you.
RR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skilled Immigrants Turn to K Street
High-Tech Workers Awaiting Green Cards Hire Lobbyists, Hit the Hill
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; D01
On the December day when Congress killed a budget amendment that might have allowed him to become an American a little sooner, Aman Kapoor started a movement.
He did not march through streets, carry signs, wave a flag from here or there. He did not walk off the job or file out of school. The computer programmer simply went online to a message board tracked by thousands of people in his predicament: highly skilled foreigners waiting years for their green cards.
"I think we can do better and really create the impact with organized effort," he wrote. "To achieve this we need a group of individuals who have shown commitment and motivation in this forum."
The next night, a dozen people living across the United States shed their Internet handles -- Kapoor's was "WaldenPond," a nod to his hero, Henry David Thoreau -- and addressed one another by name on a conference call that lasted an hour. Today, just four months later, the organization they dubbed Immigration Voice boasts 3,000 members; a fundraising goal of $200,000; and, most notably, a partnership with a high-powered lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC.
The group's transformation from an insular circle to a politically active movement offers a window into an alternative immigrant campaign being waged as the Senate this week resumes its work on immigration laws.
Most members and all the core organizers of Immigration Voice hail from India, though Chinese membership numbers in the hundreds and is on the rise. Most arrived on an international student visa or a visa known as the H-1B, reserved for highly skilled workers who can stay for up to six years -- unless an employer sponsors their green cards, which grant immigrants permanent residence in the United States and the right to live and work here freely. Over the past decade, the largest numbers of H-1Bs have been awarded to high-technology workers from India and China.
Thus, while the passage of a strict border-security bill introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) mobilized many other immigrants in December, members of this high-tech group had their eye on another: a budget reconciliation bill that, in the Senate version, would have allowed those waiting in line for a green card to proceed even if the quota had been exhausted. The provision was cut in conference committee, stirring many to action and leading to the founding of Immigration Voice.
While hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to get Congress's attention, Immigration Voice took a decidedly different approach. Shortly after the group was established, Kapoor and other volunteers began interviewing lobbyists, relying mostly on Google searches and data from the Center for Public Integrity's Web site.
"If it was not going to be big, it would not be worth the effort," said Kapoor, who works for Florida State University and has traveled to Washington nine times in the past three months. "Most of us have reached that point, having waited for eight or nine years, where individual lives are on hold."
Neither Quinn Gillespie nor Immigration Voice would disclose the amount being paid for the firm's services. Kapoor said it is "less than five figures."
"This is a sympathetic story," said Nick Maduros, a lobbyist for Quinn Gillespie. "For this group, their issues are very technical and are frankly not that controversial, but they have been overshadowed ."
Immigration Voices also enlisted the help of Rick Swartz, who has his own firm and has long been a leading lobbyist for immigration groups. Swartz gathered members of the group at his home one January weekend for a crash course in American politics, teaching them to position themselves as the "new Cubans for the Republicans."
Although their numbers are far smaller -- fewer than 2 million Indians live in the United States, according to the 2000 Census -- the group is among the more affluent immigrant communities. And because their numbers are smaller than those of Hispanics, they are trying to focus on other ways they can exert power -- through their wealth, their positions of influence in the high-tech and business communities, and their alliances with more established advocacy groups such as one for Indian physicians and an Indian political action committee.
While the immigrant marchers' demands have covered a range of issues, including allowing immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship, the members of this association are more narrowly focused: They want Congress to pass measures that would end the years-long wait for a green card. In fact, they warn that efforts to enable millions of illegal immigrants to remain here permanently would result in the same bureaucratic nightmare legal immigrants are now facing.
"If you're going to reform, reform across the board," said Bharati Mandapati, who oversees content for the group, which means she has learned how to word and pitch legislative amendments.
The group has refrained from taking a stand on the fate of the undocumented workers, though it monitors chatter on its Web site to ensure that frustrated high-tech workers don't disparage lower-skilled laborers such as landscapers and restaurant workers. It also has stayed mum on raising the cap on H-1Bs, the visas that made most of their passages possible.
Under a proposal introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the number of employment-based green cards being issued would increase from 140,000 to 290,000. Currently, no one country is supposed to take up more than 7 percent of the allotment, though unused green cards can be redistributed to countries that have already met their quota. That has made possible migrations in excess of 7 percent from nations such as India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Under the proposal, the per-country cap would be increased to a hard and fast 10 percent. Proponents say this would prevent one country from dominating the category and would retain jobs for native-born Americans.
But Mandapati, a California-based economist, argues that the restriction would hurt the United States because the demand for skills changes. "It just so happens that computer technology and certain technical skills are in great demand here and all over the world. It just so happens that there are two countries that have invested a lot of resources in educating people in these fields . . . India and China."
About a half-million immigrants are caught in the green-card backlog, some as they wait for Labor Department approval or because quotas have been exceeded. In that time, they cannot be promoted or given substantial pay increases because that would mean a change in job description and salary. They turn to Web sites to compare their wait times with others, and their Internet handles, such as "stucklabor" and "waiting_labor," exude their frustration.
During meetings on Capitol Hill, Maduros and at least one Immigration Voice representative lay out the group's platform, weaving in the personal stories of members. Shilpa Ghodgaonkar, a Germantown housewife, has become a staple anecdote -- and a frequent visitor on the Hill.
For four years, she and her husband have been waiting for their green cards. Ghodgaonkar's husband arrived on an H-1B visa, and she followed as his dependent, unauthorized to work here. To pass the time, she learned to cook. Then she volunteered as a career counselor in Montgomery County. Last year, she earned her MBA from George Washington University. In December, around the time Kapoor sent out his e-mail plea for mass mobilization, Ghodgaonkar had run out of options.
"I just couldn't keep quiet anymore," Ghodgaonkar said. "I cannot be depressed anymore."
She keeps a spreadsheet that lays out appointment times and the senators' offices she has visited or still plans to: Specter, Frist, Schumer, Brownback, Bingaman, Feinstein, Feingold. Wednesdays bring a weekly call with Quinn Gillespie. And every few nights, there are conference calls among Immigration Voice's core team.
Now the group plans to closely watch the debate resuming in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Earlier this month, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) proposed amendments with all of the group's provisions. Other lawmakers confirm that they are still meeting with the group to hear their concerns.
Immigration Voice leaders say the past few months have focused and politicized Indian immigrants in a way that was not apparent in the past. "There is a very 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' quality" about the current effort, Mandapati said. "It's been a journey, a loss of naivet� and getting to know about American politics."
� 2006 The Washington Post Company
This is not the article placed on the thread. And nobody is trashing your efforts!!!!
Here's the Washington Post Article that inspired me to join IV in April. I challenge you to write an article that will get us our next 6,000 members. And alll news articles about IV exist on a thread. Please look carefully before you trash our efforts. Thank you.
RR
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Skilled Immigrants Turn to K Street
High-Tech Workers Awaiting Green Cards Hire Lobbyists, Hit the Hill
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; D01
On the December day when Congress killed a budget amendment that might have allowed him to become an American a little sooner, Aman Kapoor started a movement.
He did not march through streets, carry signs, wave a flag from here or there. He did not walk off the job or file out of school. The computer programmer simply went online to a message board tracked by thousands of people in his predicament: highly skilled foreigners waiting years for their green cards.
"I think we can do better and really create the impact with organized effort," he wrote. "To achieve this we need a group of individuals who have shown commitment and motivation in this forum."
The next night, a dozen people living across the United States shed their Internet handles -- Kapoor's was "WaldenPond," a nod to his hero, Henry David Thoreau -- and addressed one another by name on a conference call that lasted an hour. Today, just four months later, the organization they dubbed Immigration Voice boasts 3,000 members; a fundraising goal of $200,000; and, most notably, a partnership with a high-powered lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC.
The group's transformation from an insular circle to a politically active movement offers a window into an alternative immigrant campaign being waged as the Senate this week resumes its work on immigration laws.
Most members and all the core organizers of Immigration Voice hail from India, though Chinese membership numbers in the hundreds and is on the rise. Most arrived on an international student visa or a visa known as the H-1B, reserved for highly skilled workers who can stay for up to six years -- unless an employer sponsors their green cards, which grant immigrants permanent residence in the United States and the right to live and work here freely. Over the past decade, the largest numbers of H-1Bs have been awarded to high-technology workers from India and China.
Thus, while the passage of a strict border-security bill introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) mobilized many other immigrants in December, members of this high-tech group had their eye on another: a budget reconciliation bill that, in the Senate version, would have allowed those waiting in line for a green card to proceed even if the quota had been exhausted. The provision was cut in conference committee, stirring many to action and leading to the founding of Immigration Voice.
While hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to get Congress's attention, Immigration Voice took a decidedly different approach. Shortly after the group was established, Kapoor and other volunteers began interviewing lobbyists, relying mostly on Google searches and data from the Center for Public Integrity's Web site.
"If it was not going to be big, it would not be worth the effort," said Kapoor, who works for Florida State University and has traveled to Washington nine times in the past three months. "Most of us have reached that point, having waited for eight or nine years, where individual lives are on hold."
Neither Quinn Gillespie nor Immigration Voice would disclose the amount being paid for the firm's services. Kapoor said it is "less than five figures."
"This is a sympathetic story," said Nick Maduros, a lobbyist for Quinn Gillespie. "For this group, their issues are very technical and are frankly not that controversial, but they have been overshadowed ."
Immigration Voices also enlisted the help of Rick Swartz, who has his own firm and has long been a leading lobbyist for immigration groups. Swartz gathered members of the group at his home one January weekend for a crash course in American politics, teaching them to position themselves as the "new Cubans for the Republicans."
Although their numbers are far smaller -- fewer than 2 million Indians live in the United States, according to the 2000 Census -- the group is among the more affluent immigrant communities. And because their numbers are smaller than those of Hispanics, they are trying to focus on other ways they can exert power -- through their wealth, their positions of influence in the high-tech and business communities, and their alliances with more established advocacy groups such as one for Indian physicians and an Indian political action committee.
While the immigrant marchers' demands have covered a range of issues, including allowing immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship, the members of this association are more narrowly focused: They want Congress to pass measures that would end the years-long wait for a green card. In fact, they warn that efforts to enable millions of illegal immigrants to remain here permanently would result in the same bureaucratic nightmare legal immigrants are now facing.
"If you're going to reform, reform across the board," said Bharati Mandapati, who oversees content for the group, which means she has learned how to word and pitch legislative amendments.
The group has refrained from taking a stand on the fate of the undocumented workers, though it monitors chatter on its Web site to ensure that frustrated high-tech workers don't disparage lower-skilled laborers such as landscapers and restaurant workers. It also has stayed mum on raising the cap on H-1Bs, the visas that made most of their passages possible.
Under a proposal introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the number of employment-based green cards being issued would increase from 140,000 to 290,000. Currently, no one country is supposed to take up more than 7 percent of the allotment, though unused green cards can be redistributed to countries that have already met their quota. That has made possible migrations in excess of 7 percent from nations such as India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Under the proposal, the per-country cap would be increased to a hard and fast 10 percent. Proponents say this would prevent one country from dominating the category and would retain jobs for native-born Americans.
But Mandapati, a California-based economist, argues that the restriction would hurt the United States because the demand for skills changes. "It just so happens that computer technology and certain technical skills are in great demand here and all over the world. It just so happens that there are two countries that have invested a lot of resources in educating people in these fields . . . India and China."
About a half-million immigrants are caught in the green-card backlog, some as they wait for Labor Department approval or because quotas have been exceeded. In that time, they cannot be promoted or given substantial pay increases because that would mean a change in job description and salary. They turn to Web sites to compare their wait times with others, and their Internet handles, such as "stucklabor" and "waiting_labor," exude their frustration.
During meetings on Capitol Hill, Maduros and at least one Immigration Voice representative lay out the group's platform, weaving in the personal stories of members. Shilpa Ghodgaonkar, a Germantown housewife, has become a staple anecdote -- and a frequent visitor on the Hill.
For four years, she and her husband have been waiting for their green cards. Ghodgaonkar's husband arrived on an H-1B visa, and she followed as his dependent, unauthorized to work here. To pass the time, she learned to cook. Then she volunteered as a career counselor in Montgomery County. Last year, she earned her MBA from George Washington University. In December, around the time Kapoor sent out his e-mail plea for mass mobilization, Ghodgaonkar had run out of options.
"I just couldn't keep quiet anymore," Ghodgaonkar said. "I cannot be depressed anymore."
She keeps a spreadsheet that lays out appointment times and the senators' offices she has visited or still plans to: Specter, Frist, Schumer, Brownback, Bingaman, Feinstein, Feingold. Wednesdays bring a weekly call with Quinn Gillespie. And every few nights, there are conference calls among Immigration Voice's core team.
Now the group plans to closely watch the debate resuming in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Earlier this month, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) proposed amendments with all of the group's provisions. Other lawmakers confirm that they are still meeting with the group to hear their concerns.
Immigration Voice leaders say the past few months have focused and politicized Indian immigrants in a way that was not apparent in the past. "There is a very 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' quality" about the current effort, Mandapati said. "It's been a journey, a loss of naivet� and getting to know about American politics."
� 2006 The Washington Post Company
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