mirage
08-19 04:28 PM
And that's never gonna happen. All Green Card seekers have stopped filing in EB-3, they are somehow managing to file in EB-2 by hook or by crook. So until congress changes any Law, every single spill over visa will be consumed by EB-2s and EB-3 India is not going to get a single spill over Visa...
1. I don't see any chances of getting any spill overs in the next two years.
2. There are only 3000 visas available for EB3-I in any given year (7% of EB3 quota). EB3-I will get few more if and when EB3-ROW gets current.
1. I don't see any chances of getting any spill overs in the next two years.
2. There are only 3000 visas available for EB3-I in any given year (7% of EB3 quota). EB3-I will get few more if and when EB3-ROW gets current.
wallpaper Brain, MRI, MRA - acute right
qasleuth
07-24 02:25 PM
Let me give this a shot:
Brightsider/Raji,
Going by your id registration date, I am presuming you are new to this site and do not know the history of what transpired over the last few years. There are hundreds of threads/discussions/posts where these arguments have been made and answered. We (all of us) are seeing increased interest in solving our EB-GC problems because of hopeless retrogression and a ray of hope in terms of CIR. Just because one shows new interest, you cannot expect immediate consolation and agreement on what you say/propose.
There were numerous times when members felt a specific campaign and/or item needs to be pursued. Serious discussions happened and eventually the advice of core which gets its info from various sources supported or not. There is nothing to stop you or I from pursuing an option.
I for many months did not understand the rationale and the way the system/politics function in this country. I still do not understand. BUT I do understand certain basic things:
1. How laws are crafted: the process, the resources involved and other technical matters.
2. Lobbying and advocacy: What role they play when dealing with lawmaking. Go read about the healthcare bill and what is happening in the Congress, lobbying, interest groups, associations, ordinary citizens, PACs, non-partisan groups. you might get a taste of what this is all about.
3. Systems: USCIS, DOL, Homeland Security etc
4. Politics: The main parties involved (Dems, Republicans). Who reacts to what and what their core values are. What is left, middle, right. who is where.
5. How national and state politics matter.
I am going to generalize here a bit: A lot of members who get their info from CNN or Google Reader or other 'mainstream' media sources might get either a black or white version of news/happenings. I quickly realized there are numerous shades of gray when dealing with Washington DC. How politics of left, middle and right come into play, which Senator or representative votes which way and why, etc. Listening to a press conference and reading an article on CNN does not give one insight into politics. These are the 'backend' intelligence which I trust core to know and advice us. I do not expect them to reveal their sources nor specific tactics. Most often than not, there is a rational explanation.
In this specific case, my take is: AILA with all their nobel intentions are in the 'business' of making money from folks like us and our employers. There are many shades here and it is not all black or white as it may seem. Like a member pointed out, AILA does not represent just EB or legal immigration. There are other things involved which may be detrimental to us (you do not want to be bracketed in the same category as illegals or want amnesty as an example). Apart from this, timing is critical.
One of the most important parties apart from Lawmakers is our opponents. Anti-immigrants who wants to know tactics, strategy: who we are calling, whom we are faxing, whom we are meeting, how we work, etc. They doggedly follow and couteract many items. For every fax/call/email you send there might be a counter reply from anti-immigrants. When core suggests confidentiality and secrecy, those I believe are not some magic/secret cloakish things but a matter of pragmatic reality. That is the world we are in and to be successful, we have to deal with those realities.
Giving out updated information is not as simple as it seems. These are steps which can be easily retraced and antis can quickly use those steps and backstab us, crippling our efforts. Updated information == tactics. My last point is about: Donors Vs Non-donors. Do you know that you need not be a donor to volunteer ? Try getting in touch with folks at IV. There is a lot you can do and you seem to be the right person whom we need on our side. I urge you to contact IV.
Brightsider/Raji,
Going by your id registration date, I am presuming you are new to this site and do not know the history of what transpired over the last few years. There are hundreds of threads/discussions/posts where these arguments have been made and answered. We (all of us) are seeing increased interest in solving our EB-GC problems because of hopeless retrogression and a ray of hope in terms of CIR. Just because one shows new interest, you cannot expect immediate consolation and agreement on what you say/propose.
There were numerous times when members felt a specific campaign and/or item needs to be pursued. Serious discussions happened and eventually the advice of core which gets its info from various sources supported or not. There is nothing to stop you or I from pursuing an option.
I for many months did not understand the rationale and the way the system/politics function in this country. I still do not understand. BUT I do understand certain basic things:
1. How laws are crafted: the process, the resources involved and other technical matters.
2. Lobbying and advocacy: What role they play when dealing with lawmaking. Go read about the healthcare bill and what is happening in the Congress, lobbying, interest groups, associations, ordinary citizens, PACs, non-partisan groups. you might get a taste of what this is all about.
3. Systems: USCIS, DOL, Homeland Security etc
4. Politics: The main parties involved (Dems, Republicans). Who reacts to what and what their core values are. What is left, middle, right. who is where.
5. How national and state politics matter.
I am going to generalize here a bit: A lot of members who get their info from CNN or Google Reader or other 'mainstream' media sources might get either a black or white version of news/happenings. I quickly realized there are numerous shades of gray when dealing with Washington DC. How politics of left, middle and right come into play, which Senator or representative votes which way and why, etc. Listening to a press conference and reading an article on CNN does not give one insight into politics. These are the 'backend' intelligence which I trust core to know and advice us. I do not expect them to reveal their sources nor specific tactics. Most often than not, there is a rational explanation.
In this specific case, my take is: AILA with all their nobel intentions are in the 'business' of making money from folks like us and our employers. There are many shades here and it is not all black or white as it may seem. Like a member pointed out, AILA does not represent just EB or legal immigration. There are other things involved which may be detrimental to us (you do not want to be bracketed in the same category as illegals or want amnesty as an example). Apart from this, timing is critical.
One of the most important parties apart from Lawmakers is our opponents. Anti-immigrants who wants to know tactics, strategy: who we are calling, whom we are faxing, whom we are meeting, how we work, etc. They doggedly follow and couteract many items. For every fax/call/email you send there might be a counter reply from anti-immigrants. When core suggests confidentiality and secrecy, those I believe are not some magic/secret cloakish things but a matter of pragmatic reality. That is the world we are in and to be successful, we have to deal with those realities.
Giving out updated information is not as simple as it seems. These are steps which can be easily retraced and antis can quickly use those steps and backstab us, crippling our efforts. Updated information == tactics. My last point is about: Donors Vs Non-donors. Do you know that you need not be a donor to volunteer ? Try getting in touch with folks at IV. There is a lot you can do and you seem to be the right person whom we need on our side. I urge you to contact IV.
Macaca
03-09 09:46 AM
I dont think any of your postings are less stimulating but I guess there is no big impact on these free lunchers.
Very true. Here is an example. Item 3 in following post is to decide the importance of contributing $20/month to the member.
Stephen Covey Quotes to help members focus on their responsibilities.
Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconcious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.
If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to keep getting what we're getting.
Most people struggle with life balance simply because they haven't paid the price to decide what is really important to them.
We are the creative force of our life, and through our own decisions rather than our conditions, if we carefully learn to do certain things, we can accomplish those goals.
Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
The responses are
Oh boy!
Macaca u sound like an old KaKa .........
Very true. Here is an example. Item 3 in following post is to decide the importance of contributing $20/month to the member.
Stephen Covey Quotes to help members focus on their responsibilities.
Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconcious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.
If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to keep getting what we're getting.
Most people struggle with life balance simply because they haven't paid the price to decide what is really important to them.
We are the creative force of our life, and through our own decisions rather than our conditions, if we carefully learn to do certain things, we can accomplish those goals.
Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
The responses are
Oh boy!
Macaca u sound like an old KaKa .........
2011 Images of a rain dural
cooldude0807
09-17 11:46 AM
Hope they get to HR 5882 before the lunch break!!!
more...
DSLStart
04-09 02:33 PM
If your file is being touched by an IO or if there is a system wide update, that date will change.
How do I find out if there has been a Soft LUD? I have an online account on uscis.gov and the "Last Updated" fields are all in 2007 (when I filed my AOS).
How do I find out if there has been a Soft LUD? I have an online account on uscis.gov and the "Last Updated" fields are all in 2007 (when I filed my AOS).
p1234
10-02 04:52 PM
My personal opinion is that other than few algorithm, electrical design, compiler design kind of jobs, most jobs in Computer applications can be done by an EB3/EB2 person. It's only how your company treats a particular job opening that you get designated as EB2/EB3. I could file in EB2 and lots of top-rankers from my class could only file in EB3. Does that make them any less capable than me?? Nope!
Correct. gctest is a very narrow-minded individual just like some of the phds are.
I have read many papers published by these phd students during my MS coursework. Many of them are an absolute trash!
They propose something which has bunch of shortcomings and then list them down as future work.
Others come along, look at the future work section and propose something else with one less shortcoming
and so on...
Every researcher says his/her proposal is better and runs biased set of tests to support the claims.
99% of such research papers would be used as toilet papers in India by the homeless!
Industry doesn't even look at most of this academic trash.
Most of these phds (not all) end up as lecturers making people yawn in the class.
The real productive ones that graduate from top notch universities, the cream of the crop that achieve breakthroughs don't come to this public forum and trash people around.
They are the EB1, no wonders gctest is clubbed as EB2, is he any better than any of us?
Correct. gctest is a very narrow-minded individual just like some of the phds are.
I have read many papers published by these phd students during my MS coursework. Many of them are an absolute trash!
They propose something which has bunch of shortcomings and then list them down as future work.
Others come along, look at the future work section and propose something else with one less shortcoming
and so on...
Every researcher says his/her proposal is better and runs biased set of tests to support the claims.
99% of such research papers would be used as toilet papers in India by the homeless!
Industry doesn't even look at most of this academic trash.
Most of these phds (not all) end up as lecturers making people yawn in the class.
The real productive ones that graduate from top notch universities, the cream of the crop that achieve breakthroughs don't come to this public forum and trash people around.
They are the EB1, no wonders gctest is clubbed as EB2, is he any better than any of us?
more...
arrarrgee
07-16 10:37 AM
signed
I plan to send this petition to all senior executives of Time Warner Inc by Priority Mail and Fax. CNN is a fully owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/loudobbs
I plan to send this petition to all senior executives of Time Warner Inc by Priority Mail and Fax. CNN is a fully owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/loudobbs
2010 Brain aneurysm
vbkris77
03-10 06:21 PM
CIS awhile back reported that they only have 60K I140 applications pending. So 125K I140 applications can't be pending..
My understanding is VSC and CSC are working on H1B and NSC and TSC work on I140, I485s.
My understanding is VSC and CSC are working on H1B and NSC and TSC work on I140, I485s.
more...
Euclid
08-01 11:39 AM
Hi smisachu,
I think high frequency stat arb is high tech front running. This will be the next biggest blow out according to me.
Could you explain what you mean by this? Are you referring to "Flash Trading"
or the whole of HFT?
I think high frequency stat arb is high tech front running. This will be the next biggest blow out according to me.
Could you explain what you mean by this? Are you referring to "Flash Trading"
or the whole of HFT?
hair This MRI study is often used
NNReddy
04-19 03:09 PM
Visa recapture will help thousands of people and move the queue up
more...
chanduv23
03-13 01:36 PM
I agree with most of your comments here. I am more realistic than most people here in the forums. So, I dont want all ducks in a row and world peace issues sorted out. Because, I know that is not happening anytime soon.
True, in a election year and with all the anti-immigration sentiments around, it is highly unlikely that something will happen in the near future. So, NO. I am not waiting to see some success, before I join the band wagon. When you started IV a few years back, I am not sure you envisioned this many members today. Inspite of having over 25000 members, the admin fix compaign only seem to have received about 10% letters. So, What are the other members doing? Why are they not participating? what is holding them back? That is a question for everyone of us. That is something, I thought every member should reflect upon. We have around 25000 members here in IV. But, we know for a fact that there are atleast a million people waiting in line. How do we reach them and how to get them to actively participate in IV action items?
Like you said, IV is a grass roots organization and it is up to the members to make things happen. But how? Apart from these action items for admin fixes etc, Can't IV have a membership drive? Get more people to join IV and contribute.
I know for a fact, that there are so many people here in Nebraska who have no clue about IV. I have been educating them when I get an opportunity. A Local Chapter could easily solve the problem. But, until now, I had no clue as to what is required to start a chapter. (Thank you Walking_dude). Answers to questions like this is what I meant by transaparency. Not the accounts or donations, as someone suggested in this forum.
Also, When I suggested about honarary payments to core team, I am not trying to belitte anyone in the team. I just thought, that you and other members of the core team should be compensated for all the efforts you put in. After all, these efforts and money you spend is going to benefit me and every other aspiring immigrant of this country. So, It was just a thought.
I will try my best to lay the foundations of IV presence here in NE. I would welcome any suggestions and comments.
It takes time. We all started out like you, in the Tri State Area, and in other cities we targetted grocery shops, distrubuted flyers in major events, had booths and out members tirelessly and selflessly worked and continue to do so. We see more and more members getting motivated as time goes and this is a good sign.
We have started off a lot of publicity campaigns like advertising on local radio, different sites, mailing lists, emails, invite a friend, free legal counsels, meet and greets and it just goes on.......
You are most welcome to take initiative and execute it and IV members will provide you all support u need.
Evey IV member can support IV in some form or the other.
I am personally glad that you are now motivated. Welcome to the band wagon.
True, in a election year and with all the anti-immigration sentiments around, it is highly unlikely that something will happen in the near future. So, NO. I am not waiting to see some success, before I join the band wagon. When you started IV a few years back, I am not sure you envisioned this many members today. Inspite of having over 25000 members, the admin fix compaign only seem to have received about 10% letters. So, What are the other members doing? Why are they not participating? what is holding them back? That is a question for everyone of us. That is something, I thought every member should reflect upon. We have around 25000 members here in IV. But, we know for a fact that there are atleast a million people waiting in line. How do we reach them and how to get them to actively participate in IV action items?
Like you said, IV is a grass roots organization and it is up to the members to make things happen. But how? Apart from these action items for admin fixes etc, Can't IV have a membership drive? Get more people to join IV and contribute.
I know for a fact, that there are so many people here in Nebraska who have no clue about IV. I have been educating them when I get an opportunity. A Local Chapter could easily solve the problem. But, until now, I had no clue as to what is required to start a chapter. (Thank you Walking_dude). Answers to questions like this is what I meant by transaparency. Not the accounts or donations, as someone suggested in this forum.
Also, When I suggested about honarary payments to core team, I am not trying to belitte anyone in the team. I just thought, that you and other members of the core team should be compensated for all the efforts you put in. After all, these efforts and money you spend is going to benefit me and every other aspiring immigrant of this country. So, It was just a thought.
I will try my best to lay the foundations of IV presence here in NE. I would welcome any suggestions and comments.
It takes time. We all started out like you, in the Tri State Area, and in other cities we targetted grocery shops, distrubuted flyers in major events, had booths and out members tirelessly and selflessly worked and continue to do so. We see more and more members getting motivated as time goes and this is a good sign.
We have started off a lot of publicity campaigns like advertising on local radio, different sites, mailing lists, emails, invite a friend, free legal counsels, meet and greets and it just goes on.......
You are most welcome to take initiative and execute it and IV members will provide you all support u need.
Evey IV member can support IV in some form or the other.
I am personally glad that you are now motivated. Welcome to the band wagon.
hot stock photo : A real MRI/ MRA
rksaigal
07-30 01:11 PM
What would you recommend to enter this field on a long term basis and to supplement one's income?
more...
house MRI Patient Information
yadavnay
07-18 12:40 PM
DateDelivered:Jul 2nd
Center:NSC
Status:None
Center:NSC
Status:None
tattoo Basilar Artery Aneurysm, MRI
saimrathi
07-11 09:06 PM
I had to answer as NO as i live in northeastern PA... the poll should have had an option "I would love to but I live too far away.. but I'll be there in spirit" .. :)
more...
pictures Brain MRI is performed. The
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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!!!!
dresses Brain aneurysm, cerebral
rsayed
08-19 02:52 PM
Well, s/he did say s/he was proud to be an INDIAN-American, didn't s/he? In the order you wanted...
hyuk...hyuk!!! :D:D:D
hyuk...hyuk!!! :D:D:D
more...
makeup rain called ventricles,
pa_arora
01-31 02:03 PM
i had 25 of my friends voted for it and now its on number 3 and 11 respectively.
WOOOO HOOOO.
running around to have more peoplr vote for it...
make it number 1 guys.
WOOOO HOOOO.
running around to have more peoplr vote for it...
make it number 1 guys.
girlfriend MRI Brain
vejella
07-11 11:02 AM
Does you think it might be possible that USCIS could hold the AOS application and automatically process the application with out any refiling cost ...with or With out encashing the checks...
This solution might be a possible fix to all Folks even if their PD comes in OCT Bulletin ....
This solution might be a possible fix to all Folks even if their PD comes in OCT Bulletin ....
hairstyles Brain, MRI, MRA - acute right
go_guy123
08-20 04:39 PM
Excellent point. It is called the Selective Service System (Selective Service System: Welcome (http://www.sss.gov)), used when the President orders a military draft (like the ones during WW2 and Vietnam war)
You have to register (males only) if you become a Permanent Resident in the ages 18-26; otherwise you could have problems during naturalization (N-400 has a specific question for Selective Service) and securing Federal Student Aid.
Given the backlog and mess...i wonder how many will be 26 and below. Mainly applies to family based immigration.
You have to register (males only) if you become a Permanent Resident in the ages 18-26; otherwise you could have problems during naturalization (N-400 has a specific question for Selective Service) and securing Federal Student Aid.
Given the backlog and mess...i wonder how many will be 26 and below. Mainly applies to family based immigration.
getgreensoon1
04-20 12:06 PM
Can someone please give a GC immediately to getgreensoon1 so that he can get off this forum for good and not talk BS anymore :D
plainspeak saying this.....
plainspeak saying this.....
BEC_fog
01-31 12:30 PM
Just voted for both questions....they are no 6 and no 18 at this moment after sorting by most popular.
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