americandesi
08-27 01:41 PM
The reason why most people end up with such situations is that the employers don’t file for H1 extensions on time. Though the law allows filing of H1 extensions upto 6 months before its expiry, most employers file for extensions only at the last moment. It’s advisable to go for premium processing in such cases, so as to get the approvals on time.
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logiclife
07-09 12:06 PM
What do you mean by working? Is this just your idea or you have some information on the effects of this campaign?
I am not saying that it is working on the USCIS. We dont know yet coz the flowers start reaching there tommorow. If it is working on USCIS, we would know by the end of the week. Not now.
But it is working on the media.
What I am saying is we are getting a good amount of attention from a lot of newspapers - which is important to create more awareness on the plight of half a million law abiding immigrants and the backlogs they are facing.
I am not saying that it is working on the USCIS. We dont know yet coz the flowers start reaching there tommorow. If it is working on USCIS, we would know by the end of the week. Not now.
But it is working on the media.
What I am saying is we are getting a good amount of attention from a lot of newspapers - which is important to create more awareness on the plight of half a million law abiding immigrants and the backlogs they are facing.
gcseeker2002
12-11 01:09 PM
Maybe you should request to send an e-mail on place. This is what we did.
Send email to who ? Can you pls describe in detail what email they need to send and what reason they need to put in. My local office always says NSC is processing July cases so you should have it soon, but that "soon" has never happened. It is 160+ days since I applied.
Send email to who ? Can you pls describe in detail what email they need to send and what reason they need to put in. My local office always says NSC is processing July cases so you should have it soon, but that "soon" has never happened. It is 160+ days since I applied.
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pappu
05-28 12:57 PM
IV admins,
For those who are attending the event, it would be beneficial if someone could provide some tips about moving around DC area/Capitol Hill area for these lobby days. Will there be an IV arranged transportation ?
Appreciate if we could get more details about the planning for these three days.
We are going to be posting FAQs soon on IV website. People who have confirmed their participation will also be contacted personally. Please also check with IV co-coordinator (Starsun) if you have specific questions or write to info at immigrationvoice.org
For those who are attending the event, it would be beneficial if someone could provide some tips about moving around DC area/Capitol Hill area for these lobby days. Will there be an IV arranged transportation ?
Appreciate if we could get more details about the planning for these three days.
We are going to be posting FAQs soon on IV website. People who have confirmed their participation will also be contacted personally. Please also check with IV co-coordinator (Starsun) if you have specific questions or write to info at immigrationvoice.org
more...
aadimanav
08-17 09:14 AM
I got a reply for these letters from my local Senator. She just said thank you for expressing my opinion about this bill and she gave me the latest status on it.
Thanks.
Who is your local Senator?
Thanks.
Who is your local Senator?
gc_mania_03
08-28 02:23 PM
1) 2-passport size photographs with your A#, name written on the back.
2) Letter justifying the need for AP.
3) Copy of I-485 receipt
4) Copy of old AP.
5) Copy of Passport information page (or) DL
6) Copy of Confirmation notice of e-file.
Folks,
I need some advice on AP filing.
I E-Filed my wife's AP last weekend and promptly sent the documents. But, just now I realized that I did not enclose the passport-photos with the packet.
What do you think can be done now?
I plan to send another packet, with a cover letter stating that I had forgot the photos and they are in the packet. I also plan to enclose the confirmation receipt with the packet.
Should that be enough?
2) Letter justifying the need for AP.
3) Copy of I-485 receipt
4) Copy of old AP.
5) Copy of Passport information page (or) DL
6) Copy of Confirmation notice of e-file.
Folks,
I need some advice on AP filing.
I E-Filed my wife's AP last weekend and promptly sent the documents. But, just now I realized that I did not enclose the passport-photos with the packet.
What do you think can be done now?
I plan to send another packet, with a cover letter stating that I had forgot the photos and they are in the packet. I also plan to enclose the confirmation receipt with the packet.
Should that be enough?
more...
plassey
08-25 12:54 PM
Unfortunately not that I know of. I even talked the supervisors.
I will be in the same boat if I don't see my 9th year H1B extension before end of next month. NJ DMV must have some interim provision for individuals like us.
I will be in the same boat if I don't see my 9th year H1B extension before end of next month. NJ DMV must have some interim provision for individuals like us.
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krishmunn
04-20 02:24 PM
My advice to most people who do not perfectly fit into eb2 is to do the eb3 petition first (which is guaranteed to be approved). Get your place in line for the greencard.
If it is taking too long then you can try an eb2 later; if it gets approved then you will get the old priority date. If it doesn't; well you can say you tried but you didn't lost your place in line for the greencard because you still have the old eb3 in place.
However, if your cases is not clear for eb2 and you try this first and it gets denied then you will lose valuable time in line for the greencard because you have to start from the beginning.
Since, last august DOL has become weird with even approving eb3 labors. Generally, attornies will put language in the eta 9089 that they will accept three years of experience for each year of bachelors degree missing (this is in line with education evaluators and uscis).
However, this isn't the same criteria DOL uses. They will state that if a person doesn't have a degree then you are willing to accept 12 years of experience which is excessive and they deny the labor (before they were giving hard time to eb2 but not it is eb3 that they are after). So now we have an issue that DOL criteria is different then uscis critera. You use dol criteria, labor gets approved but 140 gets denied. Use uscis criteria and labor gets denied. Now, everyone has to adjust and file eb3 labors as skilled workers and only require two years of experience (it's getting more and more messy)
The 3 year experience = 1 year education towards degree is used for H1 NOT for GC. It has never been for GC.
For EB3 GC, there is a classification for skilled workers which do not require a degree.
If it is taking too long then you can try an eb2 later; if it gets approved then you will get the old priority date. If it doesn't; well you can say you tried but you didn't lost your place in line for the greencard because you still have the old eb3 in place.
However, if your cases is not clear for eb2 and you try this first and it gets denied then you will lose valuable time in line for the greencard because you have to start from the beginning.
Since, last august DOL has become weird with even approving eb3 labors. Generally, attornies will put language in the eta 9089 that they will accept three years of experience for each year of bachelors degree missing (this is in line with education evaluators and uscis).
However, this isn't the same criteria DOL uses. They will state that if a person doesn't have a degree then you are willing to accept 12 years of experience which is excessive and they deny the labor (before they were giving hard time to eb2 but not it is eb3 that they are after). So now we have an issue that DOL criteria is different then uscis critera. You use dol criteria, labor gets approved but 140 gets denied. Use uscis criteria and labor gets denied. Now, everyone has to adjust and file eb3 labors as skilled workers and only require two years of experience (it's getting more and more messy)
The 3 year experience = 1 year education towards degree is used for H1 NOT for GC. It has never been for GC.
For EB3 GC, there is a classification for skilled workers which do not require a degree.
more...
nk2006
03-03 12:39 PM
Bulls eye. this is what I am thinking.
I am looking for an answer in general for all.
As Chandu pointed out, in general, AOS (pending 485) status gives some protection in terms of maintaining legal status in between jobs. 'Technically' once six months are completed at the employer on whose job the I-485 has been submitted - we should be good. But the issue is AC21 process is not a well streamlined one - no forms etc. Earlier the volume of these cases might be very low for USCIS; now after the July 2007 there are lot more people in the I-485 stage and recent economic conditions could have contributed to large number of people using/potentially using AC21 process to change jobs. Heard many issues - hope USCIS will streamline the process for AC21 job change issues.
I am looking for an answer in general for all.
As Chandu pointed out, in general, AOS (pending 485) status gives some protection in terms of maintaining legal status in between jobs. 'Technically' once six months are completed at the employer on whose job the I-485 has been submitted - we should be good. But the issue is AC21 process is not a well streamlined one - no forms etc. Earlier the volume of these cases might be very low for USCIS; now after the July 2007 there are lot more people in the I-485 stage and recent economic conditions could have contributed to large number of people using/potentially using AC21 process to change jobs. Heard many issues - hope USCIS will streamline the process for AC21 job change issues.
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chakdepatte
12-31 07:51 AM
if you take your h1 renewal reciept they are suppose to give an interim date. I had the same problem in Columbus, OH.
H1 expired awaiting h1 renewal for 3 years (as I40 approved). First they denied. then i politley asked the DMV guy if he could drop me and pick me up and my wife from work everyday.
he asked me to get the renewal notice, letter from employee and intent to work further with the employee.
they gave me a 6 months dirvers licence.
and believe me, i dont think DMV guys know any happenings that impacts h1 guys. its the citizen law or illegal immigrant law and we get caught in the cross fire.
next time give them the immigrationvoice.ORG URL and ask them to educate themselves.
all the best.
H1 expired awaiting h1 renewal for 3 years (as I40 approved). First they denied. then i politley asked the DMV guy if he could drop me and pick me up and my wife from work everyday.
he asked me to get the renewal notice, letter from employee and intent to work further with the employee.
they gave me a 6 months dirvers licence.
and believe me, i dont think DMV guys know any happenings that impacts h1 guys. its the citizen law or illegal immigrant law and we get caught in the cross fire.
next time give them the immigrationvoice.ORG URL and ask them to educate themselves.
all the best.
more...
makemygc
08-27 12:26 PM
A growing number of states now refuse to issue driver's license beyond the validity of I-94. that means that until your H1 extension is approved, you wont get it, because the new I-94 with new dates will come only after your extension is approved.
Now, in Arizona, they accept receipt of H1. In Nevada they dont. Other states have other rules. I know only about these 2.
You can upgrade your H1 to premium filling out a form and it will get approved in 7-10 days. Your employer should bear the expense of premium filing because the employer procrastinate and delay filing of extensions even though its possible to file extension 6 months ahead of expiration date. That procrastination should cost the employer or the lawyer, whoever caused the delay.
You cant blame DMVs for asking for latest I-94. That is the only way they can make sure they are not issuing driver's license to those who overstayed their visas and became illegals. The blame here lies at the feet of employers and lawyers who delay filing extension till the last moment. USCIS gives H1 extension in usually 3-4 months. If everyone filed 6 months ahead of expiry, there is no problem.
Sometimes the government does all it can, and it is possible to avoid all pain if right things are done. But people never easily admit their own mistakes of procrastination and then blame USCIS. USCIS and DMVs of states are totally ok on this issue, in my opinion.
What if DMV refuses to renew the license if I-94/H1 is extended for 1 year (mostly in the case of H1 extension beyond 6th year) but is not stamped on your passport. This happened with me. DMV officer insisted on visa stamped on my passport and he was not ready to accept the I-797 form which I was showing. Finally, I've to go to other DMV and count on my luck to get my license renewed.
This is a as much a problem with DMV as a problem with employees. I did not 100% agreed with your comments that it's a problem with an employer. Now a days even filing 6 months prior to expiration is not guranteed to give you a timely approval.
In Florida, no matter if you have 1 yr or 3yrs I-94/Visa, they only issue you a license for 1 year. Period. Florida..anyway sucks.
Also, can someone tell me, once you get an EAD, can we use that to get the license renewal?
Now, in Arizona, they accept receipt of H1. In Nevada they dont. Other states have other rules. I know only about these 2.
You can upgrade your H1 to premium filling out a form and it will get approved in 7-10 days. Your employer should bear the expense of premium filing because the employer procrastinate and delay filing of extensions even though its possible to file extension 6 months ahead of expiration date. That procrastination should cost the employer or the lawyer, whoever caused the delay.
You cant blame DMVs for asking for latest I-94. That is the only way they can make sure they are not issuing driver's license to those who overstayed their visas and became illegals. The blame here lies at the feet of employers and lawyers who delay filing extension till the last moment. USCIS gives H1 extension in usually 3-4 months. If everyone filed 6 months ahead of expiry, there is no problem.
Sometimes the government does all it can, and it is possible to avoid all pain if right things are done. But people never easily admit their own mistakes of procrastination and then blame USCIS. USCIS and DMVs of states are totally ok on this issue, in my opinion.
What if DMV refuses to renew the license if I-94/H1 is extended for 1 year (mostly in the case of H1 extension beyond 6th year) but is not stamped on your passport. This happened with me. DMV officer insisted on visa stamped on my passport and he was not ready to accept the I-797 form which I was showing. Finally, I've to go to other DMV and count on my luck to get my license renewed.
This is a as much a problem with DMV as a problem with employees. I did not 100% agreed with your comments that it's a problem with an employer. Now a days even filing 6 months prior to expiration is not guranteed to give you a timely approval.
In Florida, no matter if you have 1 yr or 3yrs I-94/Visa, they only issue you a license for 1 year. Period. Florida..anyway sucks.
Also, can someone tell me, once you get an EAD, can we use that to get the license renewal?
hot The Inverted-U Theory or
Jaime
09-22 08:13 PM
This is an actual drain stopper....feel familiar???
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kaisersose
05-13 02:28 PM
it depends on who is in which category ..I feel the above (1 -2 -3) is unjust ..not that I/we can influence how it flows. my view is that the category which is at the end should get more visas ...and I would support this even if things change tomorrow (EB3 current and EB2 severly retrogressed or EB-wwide - retrogressed ..not that it will ever happen !!)
Based on what?
EB1 is more qualified than other categories and is seen as someone who is in a better position to contribute to the national welfare of the country. EB3 is the least qualified of the three and is also the most likely candidate to displace an American.
And you think America should throttle the flow on qualified EB1 and be more generous with EB3?
EB2 is different however. Most EB2 are people who were EB3 earlier (like myself). For such people, there is a provision to upgrade to EB2 through interfiling - as option that is being heavily used even as we speak. So where is the problem?
Based on what?
EB1 is more qualified than other categories and is seen as someone who is in a better position to contribute to the national welfare of the country. EB3 is the least qualified of the three and is also the most likely candidate to displace an American.
And you think America should throttle the flow on qualified EB1 and be more generous with EB3?
EB2 is different however. Most EB2 are people who were EB3 earlier (like myself). For such people, there is a provision to upgrade to EB2 through interfiling - as option that is being heavily used even as we speak. So where is the problem?
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WaitingForMyGC
08-26 10:17 AM
In Michigan they don't even look at your visa to renew your license.
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bayarea07
09-22 02:58 PM
Can you please put a poll on top which will let us know on how many people called
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psaxena
06-30 11:35 AM
But Gandhi ji actually did something when he was humiliated , unlike MOST IV MEMBERS" who just talk.. yes right TALK
Something tragic/humiliating on big scale happens to some of the ppl in EB community. Its sad, I guess even Gandhi didnt do anything until he really got humiliated in south africa.
Something tragic/humiliating on big scale happens to some of the ppl in EB community. Its sad, I guess even Gandhi didnt do anything until he really got humiliated in south africa.
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04-16 02:50 PM
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03-11 11:31 AM
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gcandgc
06-03 04:50 AM
Sukanya Roy is America's spelling bee champion | Sukanya Roy | 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee | Indian Express (http://expressbuzz.com/world/sukanya-roy-is-americas-spelling-bee-champion/280779.html)
WASHINGTON: Spelling tongue twister "cymotrichous", Greek for having wavy hair, Indian American Sukanya Roy has won the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee crown to retain the coveted honour for the community for the fourth year in a row.
Roy, 14, an eighth-grader at Abington Heights Middle School, Pennsylvania, said she knew as soon as she heard "cymotrichous" that she'd get the word right and win the championship Thursday night.
"My heart started pounding, I guess," she said. "I couldn't believe it. . It's just amazing. It's hard to put into words."
It was Roy's third trip to the national spelling bee, and she had credited her past experience with keeping her calm and relaxed heading into the finals. She tied for 12th place in 2009 and 20th place in 2010.
Roy speaks Bengali and every summer travels to India to visit family. She hopes to pursue a career in international relations.
Roy is the ninth Indian-American in the last 13 years, a run that began when Nupur Lala captured the crown in 1999 and was later featured in the documentary "Spellbound."
The winner will be awarded a $30,000 cash prize, a trophy, a $2,500 US savings bond, a complete reference library, a $5,000 scholarship and $2,600 in reference works and other prizes.
Anamika Veeramani had scored a hat-trick for Indian-Americans in taking the crown last year.
Roy was one of the six Indian Americans - Sriram Hathwar, Arvind Mahankali, Prakash Mishra, Mashad Arora, and Dhivya Senthil Murugan - who made it to the last 13 in the finals.
The youngest finalist was 10-year-old Dhivya Murugan of Denver, who was born in India.
The spelling bee kids just keep getting better and better. Even words like chlorthalidone," "dreikanter," "renminbi" and "helichrysum" couldn't sufficiently narrow down the field in the semifinals, which needed 95 minutes of overtime earlier Thursday to whittle the competitors from 41 to 13.
The week began with 275 spellers. A written test Tuesday and two oral rounds Wednesday reduced the field for the semifinals.
According to the Scripps Spelling Bee's website, this year brought contenders ranging in age from 8 to 15 years old from all over the world.
-----------------
GCANDGC
WASHINGTON: Spelling tongue twister "cymotrichous", Greek for having wavy hair, Indian American Sukanya Roy has won the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee crown to retain the coveted honour for the community for the fourth year in a row.
Roy, 14, an eighth-grader at Abington Heights Middle School, Pennsylvania, said she knew as soon as she heard "cymotrichous" that she'd get the word right and win the championship Thursday night.
"My heart started pounding, I guess," she said. "I couldn't believe it. . It's just amazing. It's hard to put into words."
It was Roy's third trip to the national spelling bee, and she had credited her past experience with keeping her calm and relaxed heading into the finals. She tied for 12th place in 2009 and 20th place in 2010.
Roy speaks Bengali and every summer travels to India to visit family. She hopes to pursue a career in international relations.
Roy is the ninth Indian-American in the last 13 years, a run that began when Nupur Lala captured the crown in 1999 and was later featured in the documentary "Spellbound."
The winner will be awarded a $30,000 cash prize, a trophy, a $2,500 US savings bond, a complete reference library, a $5,000 scholarship and $2,600 in reference works and other prizes.
Anamika Veeramani had scored a hat-trick for Indian-Americans in taking the crown last year.
Roy was one of the six Indian Americans - Sriram Hathwar, Arvind Mahankali, Prakash Mishra, Mashad Arora, and Dhivya Senthil Murugan - who made it to the last 13 in the finals.
The youngest finalist was 10-year-old Dhivya Murugan of Denver, who was born in India.
The spelling bee kids just keep getting better and better. Even words like chlorthalidone," "dreikanter," "renminbi" and "helichrysum" couldn't sufficiently narrow down the field in the semifinals, which needed 95 minutes of overtime earlier Thursday to whittle the competitors from 41 to 13.
The week began with 275 spellers. A written test Tuesday and two oral rounds Wednesday reduced the field for the semifinals.
According to the Scripps Spelling Bee's website, this year brought contenders ranging in age from 8 to 15 years old from all over the world.
-----------------
GCANDGC
saketkapur
09-22 03:17 PM
Unlimited calling on the Now network is my way to go......... :D
kanta80
04-25 11:00 PM
Here is the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501963.html
Sorry if someone else had already posted it.
Thanks.
Ed to add text in case link gets outdated:
Skilled Immigrants Turn to K Street
High-Tech Workers Awaiting Green Cards Hire Lobbyists, Hit the Hill
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Page D01
On the December day when Congress killed a budget amendment that might have allowed him to become an American a little sooner, Aman Kapoor started a movement.
He did not march through streets, carry signs, wave a flag from here or there. He did not walk off the job or file out of school. The computer programmer simply went online to a message board tracked by thousands of people in his predicament: highly skilled foreigners waiting years for their green cards.
"I think we can do better and really create the impact with organized effort," he wrote. "To achieve this we need a group of individuals who have shown commitment and motivation in this forum."
The next night, a dozen people living across the United States shed their Internet handles -- Kapoor's was "WaldenPond," a nod to his hero, Henry David Thoreau -- and addressed one another by name on a conference call that lasted an hour. Today, just four months later, the organization they dubbed Immigration Voice boasts 3,000 members; a fundraising goal of $200,000; and, most notably, a partnership with a high-powered lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC.
The group's transformation from an insular circle to a politically active movement offers a window into an alternative immigrant campaign being waged as the Senate this week resumes its work on immigration laws.
Most members and all the core organizers of Immigration Voice hail from India, though Chinese membership numbers in the hundreds and is on the rise. Most arrived on an international student visa or a visa known as the H-1B, reserved for highly skilled workers who can stay for up to six years -- unless an employer sponsors their green cards, which grant immigrants permanent residence in the United States and the right to live and work here freely. Over the past decade, the largest numbers of H-1Bs have been awarded to high-technology workers from India and China.
Thus, while the passage of a strict border-security bill introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) mobilized many other immigrants in December, members of this high-tech group had their eye on another: a budget reconciliation bill that, in the Senate version, would have allowed those waiting in line for a green card to proceed even if the quota had been exhausted. The provision was cut in conference committee, stirring many to action and leading to the founding of Immigration Voice.
While hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to get Congress's attention, Immigration Voice took a decidedly different approach. Shortly after the group was established, Kapoor and other volunteers began interviewing lobbyists, relying mostly on Google searches and data from the Center for Public Integrity's Web site.
"If it was not going to be big, it would not be worth the effort," said Kapoor, who works for Florida State University and has traveled to Washington nine times in the past three months. "Most of us have reached that point, having waited for eight or nine years, where individual lives are on hold."
Neither Quinn Gillespie nor Immigration Voice would disclose the amount being paid for the firm's services. Kapoor said it is "less than five figures."
"This is a sympathetic story," said Nick Maduros, a lobbyist for Quinn Gillespie. "For this group, their issues are very technical and are frankly not that controversial, but they have been overshadowed ."
Immigration Voices also enlisted the help of Rick Swartz, who has his own firm and has long been a leading lobbyist for immigration groups. Swartz gathered members of the group at his home one January weekend for a crash course in American politics, teaching them to position themselves as the "new Cubans for the Republicans."
Although their numbers are far smaller -- fewer than 2 million Indians live in the United States, according to the 2000 Census -- the group is among the more affluent immigrant communities. And because their numbers are smaller than those of Hispanics, they are trying to focus on other ways they can exert power -- through their wealth, their positions of influence in the high-tech and business communities, and their alliances with more established advocacy groups such as one for Indian physicians and an Indian political action committee.
While the immigrant marchers' demands have covered a range of issues, including allowing immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship, the members of this association are more narrowly focused: They want Congress to pass measures that would end the years-long wait for a green card. In fact, they warn that efforts to enable millions of illegal immigrants to remain here permanently would result in the same bureaucratic nightmare legal immigrants are now facing.
"If you're going to reform, reform across the board," said Bharati Mandapati, who oversees content for the group, which means she has learned how to word and pitch legislative amendments.
The group has refrained from taking a stand on the fate of the undocumented workers, though it monitors chatter on its Web site to ensure that frustrated high-tech workers don't disparage lower-skilled laborers such as landscapers and restaurant workers. It also has stayed mum on raising the cap on H-1Bs, the visas that made most of their passages possible.
Under a proposal introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the number of employment-based green cards being issued would increase from 140,000 to 290,000. Currently, no one country is supposed to take up more than 7 percent of the allotment, though unused green cards can be redistributed to countries that have already met their quota. That has made possible migrations in excess of 7 percent from nations such as India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Under the proposal, the per-country cap would be increased to a hard and fast 10 percent. Proponents say this would prevent one country from dominating the category and would retain jobs for native-born Americans.
But Mandapati, a California-based economist, argues that the restriction would hurt the United States because the demand for skills changes. "It just so happens that computer technology and certain technical skills are in great demand here and all over the world. It just so happens that there are two countries that have invested a lot of resources in educating people in these fields . . . India and China."
About a half-million immigrants are caught in the green-card backlog, some as they wait for Labor Department approval or because quotas have been exceeded. In that time, they cannot be promoted or given substantial pay increases because that would mean a change in job description and salary. They turn to Web sites to compare their wait times with others, and their Internet handles, such as "stucklabor" and "waiting_labor," exude their frustration.
During meetings on Capitol Hill, Maduros and at least one Immigration Voice representative lay out the group's platform, weaving in the personal stories of members. Shilpa Ghodgaonkar, a Germantown housewife, has become a staple anecdote -- and a frequent visitor on the Hill.
For four years, she and her husband have been waiting for their green cards. Ghodgaonkar's husband arrived on an H-1B visa, and she followed as his dependent, unauthorized to work here. To pass the time, she learned to cook. Then she volunteered as a career counselor in Montgomery County. Last year, she earned her MBA from George Washington University. In December, around the time Kapoor sent out his e-mail plea for mass mobilization, Ghodgaonkar had run out of options.
"I just couldn't keep quiet anymore," Ghodgaonkar said. "I cannot be depressed anymore."
She keeps a spreadsheet that lays out appointment times and the senators' offices she has visited or still plans to: Specter, Frist, Schumer, Brownback, Bingaman, Feinstein, Feingold. Wednesdays bring a weekly call with Quinn Gillespie. And every few nights, there are conference calls among Immigration Voice's core team.
Now the group plans to closely watch the debate resuming in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Earlier this month, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) proposed amendments with all of the group's provisions. Other lawmakers confirm that they are still meeting with the group to hear their concerns.
Immigration Voice leaders say the past few months have focused and politicized Indian immigrants in a way that was not apparent in the past. "There is a very 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' quality" about the current effort, Mandapati said. "It's been a journey, a loss of naivete and getting to know about American politics."
Sorry if someone else had already posted it.
Thanks.
Ed to add text in case link gets outdated:
Skilled Immigrants Turn to K Street
High-Tech Workers Awaiting Green Cards Hire Lobbyists, Hit the Hill
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Page D01
On the December day when Congress killed a budget amendment that might have allowed him to become an American a little sooner, Aman Kapoor started a movement.
He did not march through streets, carry signs, wave a flag from here or there. He did not walk off the job or file out of school. The computer programmer simply went online to a message board tracked by thousands of people in his predicament: highly skilled foreigners waiting years for their green cards.
"I think we can do better and really create the impact with organized effort," he wrote. "To achieve this we need a group of individuals who have shown commitment and motivation in this forum."
The next night, a dozen people living across the United States shed their Internet handles -- Kapoor's was "WaldenPond," a nod to his hero, Henry David Thoreau -- and addressed one another by name on a conference call that lasted an hour. Today, just four months later, the organization they dubbed Immigration Voice boasts 3,000 members; a fundraising goal of $200,000; and, most notably, a partnership with a high-powered lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC.
The group's transformation from an insular circle to a politically active movement offers a window into an alternative immigrant campaign being waged as the Senate this week resumes its work on immigration laws.
Most members and all the core organizers of Immigration Voice hail from India, though Chinese membership numbers in the hundreds and is on the rise. Most arrived on an international student visa or a visa known as the H-1B, reserved for highly skilled workers who can stay for up to six years -- unless an employer sponsors their green cards, which grant immigrants permanent residence in the United States and the right to live and work here freely. Over the past decade, the largest numbers of H-1Bs have been awarded to high-technology workers from India and China.
Thus, while the passage of a strict border-security bill introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) mobilized many other immigrants in December, members of this high-tech group had their eye on another: a budget reconciliation bill that, in the Senate version, would have allowed those waiting in line for a green card to proceed even if the quota had been exhausted. The provision was cut in conference committee, stirring many to action and leading to the founding of Immigration Voice.
While hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to get Congress's attention, Immigration Voice took a decidedly different approach. Shortly after the group was established, Kapoor and other volunteers began interviewing lobbyists, relying mostly on Google searches and data from the Center for Public Integrity's Web site.
"If it was not going to be big, it would not be worth the effort," said Kapoor, who works for Florida State University and has traveled to Washington nine times in the past three months. "Most of us have reached that point, having waited for eight or nine years, where individual lives are on hold."
Neither Quinn Gillespie nor Immigration Voice would disclose the amount being paid for the firm's services. Kapoor said it is "less than five figures."
"This is a sympathetic story," said Nick Maduros, a lobbyist for Quinn Gillespie. "For this group, their issues are very technical and are frankly not that controversial, but they have been overshadowed ."
Immigration Voices also enlisted the help of Rick Swartz, who has his own firm and has long been a leading lobbyist for immigration groups. Swartz gathered members of the group at his home one January weekend for a crash course in American politics, teaching them to position themselves as the "new Cubans for the Republicans."
Although their numbers are far smaller -- fewer than 2 million Indians live in the United States, according to the 2000 Census -- the group is among the more affluent immigrant communities. And because their numbers are smaller than those of Hispanics, they are trying to focus on other ways they can exert power -- through their wealth, their positions of influence in the high-tech and business communities, and their alliances with more established advocacy groups such as one for Indian physicians and an Indian political action committee.
While the immigrant marchers' demands have covered a range of issues, including allowing immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship, the members of this association are more narrowly focused: They want Congress to pass measures that would end the years-long wait for a green card. In fact, they warn that efforts to enable millions of illegal immigrants to remain here permanently would result in the same bureaucratic nightmare legal immigrants are now facing.
"If you're going to reform, reform across the board," said Bharati Mandapati, who oversees content for the group, which means she has learned how to word and pitch legislative amendments.
The group has refrained from taking a stand on the fate of the undocumented workers, though it monitors chatter on its Web site to ensure that frustrated high-tech workers don't disparage lower-skilled laborers such as landscapers and restaurant workers. It also has stayed mum on raising the cap on H-1Bs, the visas that made most of their passages possible.
Under a proposal introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the number of employment-based green cards being issued would increase from 140,000 to 290,000. Currently, no one country is supposed to take up more than 7 percent of the allotment, though unused green cards can be redistributed to countries that have already met their quota. That has made possible migrations in excess of 7 percent from nations such as India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Under the proposal, the per-country cap would be increased to a hard and fast 10 percent. Proponents say this would prevent one country from dominating the category and would retain jobs for native-born Americans.
But Mandapati, a California-based economist, argues that the restriction would hurt the United States because the demand for skills changes. "It just so happens that computer technology and certain technical skills are in great demand here and all over the world. It just so happens that there are two countries that have invested a lot of resources in educating people in these fields . . . India and China."
About a half-million immigrants are caught in the green-card backlog, some as they wait for Labor Department approval or because quotas have been exceeded. In that time, they cannot be promoted or given substantial pay increases because that would mean a change in job description and salary. They turn to Web sites to compare their wait times with others, and their Internet handles, such as "stucklabor" and "waiting_labor," exude their frustration.
During meetings on Capitol Hill, Maduros and at least one Immigration Voice representative lay out the group's platform, weaving in the personal stories of members. Shilpa Ghodgaonkar, a Germantown housewife, has become a staple anecdote -- and a frequent visitor on the Hill.
For four years, she and her husband have been waiting for their green cards. Ghodgaonkar's husband arrived on an H-1B visa, and she followed as his dependent, unauthorized to work here. To pass the time, she learned to cook. Then she volunteered as a career counselor in Montgomery County. Last year, she earned her MBA from George Washington University. In December, around the time Kapoor sent out his e-mail plea for mass mobilization, Ghodgaonkar had run out of options.
"I just couldn't keep quiet anymore," Ghodgaonkar said. "I cannot be depressed anymore."
She keeps a spreadsheet that lays out appointment times and the senators' offices she has visited or still plans to: Specter, Frist, Schumer, Brownback, Bingaman, Feinstein, Feingold. Wednesdays bring a weekly call with Quinn Gillespie. And every few nights, there are conference calls among Immigration Voice's core team.
Now the group plans to closely watch the debate resuming in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Earlier this month, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) proposed amendments with all of the group's provisions. Other lawmakers confirm that they are still meeting with the group to hear their concerns.
Immigration Voice leaders say the past few months have focused and politicized Indian immigrants in a way that was not apparent in the past. "There is a very 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' quality" about the current effort, Mandapati said. "It's been a journey, a loss of naivete and getting to know about American politics."
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