still_waiting
05-18 11:33 AM
It's working for me.... report covered issues very well .
rayoflight
12-21 01:51 PM
Have you contributed to the MILLION dollar drive? Please visit the funding thread!
Thanks for asking Pushkar. I did.
Thanks for asking Pushkar. I did.
paritp
02-03 05:48 PM
Mine was approved on Nov 15th 2010 but still have not received it. I called customer service 4 times but no user.
Last week I had info pass appointment and the lady told me they will track my package as they have already sent it on Nov 15th. Still nothing
All the best in you case.
Last week I had info pass appointment and the lady told me they will track my package as they have already sent it on Nov 15th. Still nothing
All the best in you case.
reddy77
08-09 08:10 AM
Even I did the same thing, MY PD was current in July Bulletin, So I applied (Premium processing) for 3 years extension based on approved 140 in Jun 2nd week and got the approval in Jun 3rd week for 3 years ...
more...
paskal
11-05 10:54 PM
The following are not counted against H1b caps as far as i know, the list may not be complete:
existing visa-transfer jobs
employees of not for profit entities
University employees
J-1 doctors starting an underserved area job
existing visa-transfer jobs
employees of not for profit entities
University employees
J-1 doctors starting an underserved area job
dba9ioracle
09-15 03:10 PM
Nice idea.. I am for it.
more...
mrsr
05-19 11:22 PM
No friend i am planning to do next week
MerciesOfInjustices
05-22 12:48 AM
On Monday, May 22, 2006, a very important new study was released on the "impact of backlogs, processing delays, and long wait times on legal immigrants seeking to join the U.S. workforce as skilled employment-based and family-sponsored immigrants". Aman Kapoor and Shilpa Ghodgaonkar from IV spoke at the release as did Senator Cornyn! The title of the study says it very clearly - Legal Immigrants: Waiting Forever (http://www.nfap.com/researchactivities/studies/NFAPStudyLegalImmigrantsWaitingForever052206.pdf)!
Certainly this is a great study, for several reasons.
It is the first of its kind
It is derived from official data, not from anecdotal evidence
It is written by independent, non-partisan scholars, who are not immigrants!
It confirms the need for fixing the 'Legal side of Immigration' ASAP!
Among the findings of the study:
• Waits for green cards (permanent residence) in the Skilled Workers and Professionals category have worsened considerably in the past few years, with the current wait for a newly-sponsored high skill immigrant in this category exceeding five years.
One of the co-authors is Stuart Anderson, Executive Director of the National Foundation for American Policy. He is very experienced on Immigration matters, and has served in the INS (in Policy/Planning) and on Capitol Hill. Impeccable credentials - though I would not support anybody on the operations side of the INS! He might have even authored the language of some of the laws that govern us now, when he served on Sen Brownback's staff!
Stuart Anderson, Executive Director of the National Foundation for American Policy, served as Executive Associate Commissioner for Policy and Planning and Counselor to the Commissioner at the Immigration and Naturalization Service from August 2001 to January 2003. He spent four and a half years on Capitol Hill on the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, first for Senator Spencer Abraham and then as Staff Director of the subcommittee for Senator Sam Brownback. Prior to that, Stuart was Director of Trade and Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., where he produced reports on the military contributions of immigrants and the role of immigrants in high technology. He has an M.A. from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Political Science from Drew University. Stuart has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other publications.
Amongst others on NFAP Advisory Board, the name of James Ziglar stands out. Many of us remember him as the former head of the INS - definitely somebody who is well-versed with Immigration matters.
But, this Board also includes Prof Jagdish Bhagwati, renowned economist - certainly a very learned & highly-skilled immigrant. (Interestingly, if Prof Bhagwati had to apply for his Green Card today - he would get it only in several years! Or, they would have to get an Act of Congress for him!). Also on the Board is Cesar Conda, who was an advisor to Vice-President Cheney on domestic policy.
The official release (http://www.nfap.com/researchactivities/studies/NFAPRelease052206.pdf) of the study took place at Washington D.C.
Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who opposes the current guestworker plan in the bill being debated in the Senate, said he had offered an amendment to the bill that would eliminate the quota for some highly-skilled workers educated in the US. He said economic competitiveness was at stake in the way in which the issue was handled.
Aman Kapoor, founder of the group (Immigration Voice), says the broken employment-based immigration system forces workers like him to live in a state of limbo. People working in the US who are waiting for their green cards, as he has done since October 2003, cannot change jobs or move up in position, thus restricting their opportunities, he says.
It was also covered by MSNBC (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12919954/).
Please look up the NFAP website NFAP (http://www.nfap.com)! It is amazingly accurate, and uptodate. It highlights mostly H-1B related issues, but is very knowledgeable about the business aspects of Immigration.
We already know our issues, but a study from non-partisan scholars adds immense weight to them! Even if this study goes beyond our issues, all of the issues will be important to us or our family at some point of our lives!
In summary, this study will be huge in advancing our cause!
Certainly this is a great study, for several reasons.
It is the first of its kind
It is derived from official data, not from anecdotal evidence
It is written by independent, non-partisan scholars, who are not immigrants!
It confirms the need for fixing the 'Legal side of Immigration' ASAP!
Among the findings of the study:
• Waits for green cards (permanent residence) in the Skilled Workers and Professionals category have worsened considerably in the past few years, with the current wait for a newly-sponsored high skill immigrant in this category exceeding five years.
One of the co-authors is Stuart Anderson, Executive Director of the National Foundation for American Policy. He is very experienced on Immigration matters, and has served in the INS (in Policy/Planning) and on Capitol Hill. Impeccable credentials - though I would not support anybody on the operations side of the INS! He might have even authored the language of some of the laws that govern us now, when he served on Sen Brownback's staff!
Stuart Anderson, Executive Director of the National Foundation for American Policy, served as Executive Associate Commissioner for Policy and Planning and Counselor to the Commissioner at the Immigration and Naturalization Service from August 2001 to January 2003. He spent four and a half years on Capitol Hill on the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, first for Senator Spencer Abraham and then as Staff Director of the subcommittee for Senator Sam Brownback. Prior to that, Stuart was Director of Trade and Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., where he produced reports on the military contributions of immigrants and the role of immigrants in high technology. He has an M.A. from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Political Science from Drew University. Stuart has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other publications.
Amongst others on NFAP Advisory Board, the name of James Ziglar stands out. Many of us remember him as the former head of the INS - definitely somebody who is well-versed with Immigration matters.
But, this Board also includes Prof Jagdish Bhagwati, renowned economist - certainly a very learned & highly-skilled immigrant. (Interestingly, if Prof Bhagwati had to apply for his Green Card today - he would get it only in several years! Or, they would have to get an Act of Congress for him!). Also on the Board is Cesar Conda, who was an advisor to Vice-President Cheney on domestic policy.
The official release (http://www.nfap.com/researchactivities/studies/NFAPRelease052206.pdf) of the study took place at Washington D.C.
Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who opposes the current guestworker plan in the bill being debated in the Senate, said he had offered an amendment to the bill that would eliminate the quota for some highly-skilled workers educated in the US. He said economic competitiveness was at stake in the way in which the issue was handled.
Aman Kapoor, founder of the group (Immigration Voice), says the broken employment-based immigration system forces workers like him to live in a state of limbo. People working in the US who are waiting for their green cards, as he has done since October 2003, cannot change jobs or move up in position, thus restricting their opportunities, he says.
It was also covered by MSNBC (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12919954/).
Please look up the NFAP website NFAP (http://www.nfap.com)! It is amazingly accurate, and uptodate. It highlights mostly H-1B related issues, but is very knowledgeable about the business aspects of Immigration.
We already know our issues, but a study from non-partisan scholars adds immense weight to them! Even if this study goes beyond our issues, all of the issues will be important to us or our family at some point of our lives!
In summary, this study will be huge in advancing our cause!
more...
thescadaman
11-04 09:23 AM
A little over a months time, I received a letter saying that the typo on my last name has been corrected. I could confirm that since the mailing address had all the correct details.
Hence, I guess, their typo correction system is a bit slow but it works!
ISSUE RESOLVED!
Hence, I guess, their typo correction system is a bit slow but it works!
ISSUE RESOLVED!
Dipika
11-03 01:21 PM
i have not done visa extention for my mother in law, but i had asked lawyer about it when last year my mother in law was here.
Lawyer said it's possible to get extention. and they need traveler's check of $5K on my mother in law name to send for extention, which proves she has enough money to stay and travel further in USA.
i had not followed it, but this time i'm going to do it when my in laws visit again.
I would say it would be batter to go through lawyer as they have different tricks to get it faster and easily.
Lawyer said it's possible to get extention. and they need traveler's check of $5K on my mother in law name to send for extention, which proves she has enough money to stay and travel further in USA.
i had not followed it, but this time i'm going to do it when my in laws visit again.
I would say it would be batter to go through lawyer as they have different tricks to get it faster and easily.
more...
EkAurAaya
03-20 10:26 AM
if you are foreign national selling a house, 10 % of your sale price may be held in escrow account till you pay the taxes. This is the case in atleast some states. This is what your real estate lawyer might be referring to. The rest 10 % is released after you have shown proof that you have paid your taxes.
Thanks you pointed me in the right direction... very interesting its called FIRPTA
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=105000,00.html
Anyone investing in Real estate should read this
Thanks you pointed me in the right direction... very interesting its called FIRPTA
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=105000,00.html
Anyone investing in Real estate should read this
bheemi
03-28 03:05 PM
Hi Logicifile,
so are we going to work on pushing an ammendment when this bill is on discussion on the senate floor or house...could you please clarify...
Thanks
so are we going to work on pushing an ammendment when this bill is on discussion on the senate floor or house...could you please clarify...
Thanks
more...
jonty_11
07-12 12:00 PM
if u switch status from h1 to h4...i think u willl be subjected to cap next time u file for H1..as its a fresh H1 and not H1-Transfer
singhsa3
11-15 09:12 AM
Tri State Folks,
You just saw priority dates in Dec visa bulletin. What do you plan to do now?
I have some answers for you but would like to hear from you first..
You just saw priority dates in Dec visa bulletin. What do you plan to do now?
I have some answers for you but would like to hear from you first..
more...
number30
03-27 10:16 AM
As i can work only 240 days from my I94 expiry date, i can't work after July 2010
so am planning to go to India to attend the embassy as soon as possible.
Thanks in Advance,
Satya.
240 days only in case of Pending. Do not stay over 180 days.
so am planning to go to India to attend the embassy as soon as possible.
Thanks in Advance,
Satya.
240 days only in case of Pending. Do not stay over 180 days.
pushkarw
12-21 01:53 PM
You are a Ray of light my friend. We need more like you to make this place brighter!
Thanks for asking Pushkar. I did.
Thanks for asking Pushkar. I did.
more...
RiaonH4
01-18 10:30 AM
There is a add on Sulekha which says u can apply Canadian Citizenship if u are on H1/F1/L1 and u need not move to Canada and stay and work in US. Has someone tried this or have any comments on this idea ?
Add says -->
Attention H1B, F1s, L1s
To difficult to get USA green Card?
Canadian Green Card helps you stay in USA Legally
You do not need to move to Canada
Get a Canadian Green card as a Back-up
Linky --> http://www.maple-immigration.com/ad_index_en.htm
:confused:
Ria
Add says -->
Attention H1B, F1s, L1s
To difficult to get USA green Card?
Canadian Green Card helps you stay in USA Legally
You do not need to move to Canada
Get a Canadian Green card as a Back-up
Linky --> http://www.maple-immigration.com/ad_index_en.htm
:confused:
Ria
nk2006
07-05 12:58 PM
possible reasons
(i)USCIS dont want to see a large number applications - as Ombudsman report indicated their performance is measured based on how much time it took to process an application. If they accept 485 applications only to keep them longer it will skew their performance benchmarks to their disadvantage. (ii)Also they just dont want to work for the rest of this financial year. By making visas unavailable their work load might have come down dramatically.
(iii)Ego clashes between some higher ups between DOS and USCIS; OR the communication gap between these two orgs is just too much.
(iv) Too may anti-immigrant who wants to screw legal-immigrants at any given opportunity. This is possible too...on numbersusa website there are special instructions/appeals to USCIS staff to do a few things and also to get some info on H1b filings, I140 filings etc. Maybe these activist employees have grown in size with tacit support from higher ups.
Of course all of these are just speculations. BUT I still could not understand why USCIS went out of its way (processing 60k applicaitons in one month; 18k in one day is certainly going way toooooooo much out of their way based on their normal efficiency) to process. I am sure they might have approved many cases which they could not have done normally. Finding out this aspect should might yield a very good story for a journalist - we should highlight this aspect in our letters to media.
(i)USCIS dont want to see a large number applications - as Ombudsman report indicated their performance is measured based on how much time it took to process an application. If they accept 485 applications only to keep them longer it will skew their performance benchmarks to their disadvantage. (ii)Also they just dont want to work for the rest of this financial year. By making visas unavailable their work load might have come down dramatically.
(iii)Ego clashes between some higher ups between DOS and USCIS; OR the communication gap between these two orgs is just too much.
(iv) Too may anti-immigrant who wants to screw legal-immigrants at any given opportunity. This is possible too...on numbersusa website there are special instructions/appeals to USCIS staff to do a few things and also to get some info on H1b filings, I140 filings etc. Maybe these activist employees have grown in size with tacit support from higher ups.
Of course all of these are just speculations. BUT I still could not understand why USCIS went out of its way (processing 60k applicaitons in one month; 18k in one day is certainly going way toooooooo much out of their way based on their normal efficiency) to process. I am sure they might have approved many cases which they could not have done normally. Finding out this aspect should might yield a very good story for a journalist - we should highlight this aspect in our letters to media.
HRPRO
03-07 07:05 PM
6 months.
Can we renew H1 after we're laid off based on 140 approval. I'm thinking going for regular or premium extension because it's about the time for extension. I still have a job this week...not sure about next...so looks like premium is the best. At least I'll have H1 extension for 3 yrs when I jump into the job market again....or is this irrelevant and I can renew even after laid off.
Smuggy,
If I were you, I would start looking right away and will definitely file the transfer with a Premium. I consider it the cost for peace of mind more than anything else.
HRPRO
Can we renew H1 after we're laid off based on 140 approval. I'm thinking going for regular or premium extension because it's about the time for extension. I still have a job this week...not sure about next...so looks like premium is the best. At least I'll have H1 extension for 3 yrs when I jump into the job market again....or is this irrelevant and I can renew even after laid off.
Smuggy,
If I were you, I would start looking right away and will definitely file the transfer with a Premium. I consider it the cost for peace of mind more than anything else.
HRPRO
cagcwait
02-21 05:00 PM
Info posted by BerkeleyBee in a different thread. This should be in the Resources section..
************************************************** ********
BerkeleyBee's post in CA - Meet the Lawmakers thread
Meeting with Dianne Feinstein's staff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feb 15, 2006
Today, four members of IV met with 3 staffers from Dianne Feinstein�s office in San Francisco.
Two constituent services representatives, who deal with immigration problems on a daily basis (helping people with labor cert, I-140, I-485, security check etc problems) and one assistant field representative who interfaces with the Senator�s staff in DC on a whole host of issues.
We spent 1.5 hours with them. We went through our presentation, answering questions and giving examples all the way. Then we spent some time talking about how they could help us, suggestions about what IV should do, and how we could work with them. All in all it was an excellent meeting � they were riveted through out � asked lots of questions and were very supportive.
TAKEAWAYS
1.Getting the Word Out to Lawmakers
� They all said they learned a lot from our presentation � the people who deal with immigration problems on a nitty gritty daily level didn�t know the big picture on legal immigration, and the field representative didn�t know anything about the particular problems of legal EB immigrants.
� The field representative said she had had three meeting with immigration related groups that day already, and that the Senator�s staff has been hearing about immigration a lot BUT this was the first time she was hearing about legal skilled immigrants!!
� They thought our goals were reasonable and that they would be supportive. They thought we should reach out to as many other lawmakers as possible
BOTTOM LINE: Do you want favorable legislation not to pass simply because people didn�t know about our problems??? No! We need to get the word out.
2.Content
� They repeatedly said they were impressed with our presentation (go check it out).
� They liked the fact that we had an easy to read table which showed which of the current bills addressed some of our goals.
� They liked the fact that we printed and bound two copies of the presentation to give them.
� We also gave them copies of our tri-fold brochure
� We also gave them a number tabbed, bound copy of the following
-Must Read Documents on Legal Skilled Immigration
a) CIS Ombudsman's Report:
http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlib...eport_2005.pdf
b) GAO Report on Backlogs at USCIS
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0620.pdf
c) Exec Summary of NAS Rising Above a Gathering Storm
http://fermat.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html
d) How Visa Date Cutoffs Are Established from July 2000 Bulletin
http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/visa_b...7bulletin.html
e) President�s Economic Report: Chapter 2: Skills for the U.S. Workforce.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/ch2-erp06.pdf
3.Action Items
� We decided to keep in touch � I will follow up on the feedback they get from the Senator�s DC staffers.
� They wanted to know more about how our meetings with other lawmakers are going.
� I offered to act as source of facts and examples for their office on these issues � since I have read the relevant documents and data carefully.
� They suggested that we keep reaching out to members of the House � especially those who are in states without a lot of tech sector firms � those are the people who are least likely to know about our existence, let alone our problems.
BOTTOM LINE: I will keep in touch with all three, sharing talking points and getting feedback.
4. Lessons for future meetings with lawmakers/ Lessons for other states
� Do not be intimidated by the idea of initiating a meeting with the staffers of lawmaker � they do this all the time, and are friendly, easy to talk to, it is their job to listen to you� just put yourselves in the mindset of someone telling a story to a friendly audience.
� Get organized, print and bind copies of the presentation and additional docs listed above to give to them.
� Do a dry run of the talk, so that you build a narrative patter to go with the slides � this worked really well in this meeting.
� Whenever possible use examples from the experience of the IV members present to illustrate the point in the slide � for example when we were doing the I-485 Life with and Without Slide, we used Ollie and Neha�s experiences with layoffs and partner not being able to work
� Ask how you can follow up with them, what they would like you to do
� Write to thank them for their time and reiterate your basic points
************************************************** ********
BerkeleyBee's post in CA - Meet the Lawmakers thread
Meeting with Dianne Feinstein's staff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feb 15, 2006
Today, four members of IV met with 3 staffers from Dianne Feinstein�s office in San Francisco.
Two constituent services representatives, who deal with immigration problems on a daily basis (helping people with labor cert, I-140, I-485, security check etc problems) and one assistant field representative who interfaces with the Senator�s staff in DC on a whole host of issues.
We spent 1.5 hours with them. We went through our presentation, answering questions and giving examples all the way. Then we spent some time talking about how they could help us, suggestions about what IV should do, and how we could work with them. All in all it was an excellent meeting � they were riveted through out � asked lots of questions and were very supportive.
TAKEAWAYS
1.Getting the Word Out to Lawmakers
� They all said they learned a lot from our presentation � the people who deal with immigration problems on a nitty gritty daily level didn�t know the big picture on legal immigration, and the field representative didn�t know anything about the particular problems of legal EB immigrants.
� The field representative said she had had three meeting with immigration related groups that day already, and that the Senator�s staff has been hearing about immigration a lot BUT this was the first time she was hearing about legal skilled immigrants!!
� They thought our goals were reasonable and that they would be supportive. They thought we should reach out to as many other lawmakers as possible
BOTTOM LINE: Do you want favorable legislation not to pass simply because people didn�t know about our problems??? No! We need to get the word out.
2.Content
� They repeatedly said they were impressed with our presentation (go check it out).
� They liked the fact that we had an easy to read table which showed which of the current bills addressed some of our goals.
� They liked the fact that we printed and bound two copies of the presentation to give them.
� We also gave them copies of our tri-fold brochure
� We also gave them a number tabbed, bound copy of the following
-Must Read Documents on Legal Skilled Immigration
a) CIS Ombudsman's Report:
http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlib...eport_2005.pdf
b) GAO Report on Backlogs at USCIS
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0620.pdf
c) Exec Summary of NAS Rising Above a Gathering Storm
http://fermat.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html
d) How Visa Date Cutoffs Are Established from July 2000 Bulletin
http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/visa_b...7bulletin.html
e) President�s Economic Report: Chapter 2: Skills for the U.S. Workforce.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/ch2-erp06.pdf
3.Action Items
� We decided to keep in touch � I will follow up on the feedback they get from the Senator�s DC staffers.
� They wanted to know more about how our meetings with other lawmakers are going.
� I offered to act as source of facts and examples for their office on these issues � since I have read the relevant documents and data carefully.
� They suggested that we keep reaching out to members of the House � especially those who are in states without a lot of tech sector firms � those are the people who are least likely to know about our existence, let alone our problems.
BOTTOM LINE: I will keep in touch with all three, sharing talking points and getting feedback.
4. Lessons for future meetings with lawmakers/ Lessons for other states
� Do not be intimidated by the idea of initiating a meeting with the staffers of lawmaker � they do this all the time, and are friendly, easy to talk to, it is their job to listen to you� just put yourselves in the mindset of someone telling a story to a friendly audience.
� Get organized, print and bind copies of the presentation and additional docs listed above to give to them.
� Do a dry run of the talk, so that you build a narrative patter to go with the slides � this worked really well in this meeting.
� Whenever possible use examples from the experience of the IV members present to illustrate the point in the slide � for example when we were doing the I-485 Life with and Without Slide, we used Ollie and Neha�s experiences with layoffs and partner not being able to work
� Ask how you can follow up with them, what they would like you to do
� Write to thank them for their time and reiterate your basic points
GC_LOOKIN
05-08 11:27 PM
I think if iam not wrong its not based of the priority date or anything else. Its just random
we received a soft LUD on 04-30 we are july 2007 filers..not sure what it means..
we received a soft LUD on 04-30 we are july 2007 filers..not sure what it means..