mirage
10-06 07:42 PM
What you are seeing right now in US, you'll see that in India begining next year. Indian Property market is ripe for a crash. I wouldn't invest a penny until the dust settles...
wallpaper Rare TV Yellow
needhelp!
09-24 07:08 PM
There have been a lot of updates sent out via the verified state chapter mailing lists. If you are not part of any state chapter please check this page http://immigrationvoice.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72&Itemid=52 and if there is no state chapter for your state, you can request to become member of a neighboring state chapter.
http://boards.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=286606
I know the post was entirely wrong and foolish.
But I feel that I am in the dark about IV activities for the past one year.
I am one of the silent IV Supporters and long time (from the beginning) monthly contributing IV Member.
It would be better to have a special thread/monthly bulleting page from IV to tell the members to know about IV activities or progress.
After the last year July fiasco issue I have not seen any posting about IV activities on the web site other than lot of threads and could not able to figure out the work IV is exactly doing.
I strongly believe because of IV core team only we were able to come through successful in July 2007 Bulletin issue. But do not know what else is IV doing for the past 12 months.
The Flowers, Letters and Phone Calls is not working as we expect. I do not know about other activities other than sending letters and phones during every congress session.
I believe IV need to do some thing different. There is no media reports about legal immigration issue (not for IV) for the past one year.
My perspective is that we need to find a way that Media and Public will aware of the issues we face every day.
I am not questioning the IV Core Team. It would be great if the IV members know some details about IV activities every month in a bulletin or thread etc.
Thanks
vselvam
http://boards.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=286606
I know the post was entirely wrong and foolish.
But I feel that I am in the dark about IV activities for the past one year.
I am one of the silent IV Supporters and long time (from the beginning) monthly contributing IV Member.
It would be better to have a special thread/monthly bulleting page from IV to tell the members to know about IV activities or progress.
After the last year July fiasco issue I have not seen any posting about IV activities on the web site other than lot of threads and could not able to figure out the work IV is exactly doing.
I strongly believe because of IV core team only we were able to come through successful in July 2007 Bulletin issue. But do not know what else is IV doing for the past 12 months.
The Flowers, Letters and Phone Calls is not working as we expect. I do not know about other activities other than sending letters and phones during every congress session.
I believe IV need to do some thing different. There is no media reports about legal immigration issue (not for IV) for the past one year.
My perspective is that we need to find a way that Media and Public will aware of the issues we face every day.
I am not questioning the IV Core Team. It would be great if the IV members know some details about IV activities every month in a bulletin or thread etc.
Thanks
vselvam
whiteStallion
06-12 05:20 PM
An accident is an accident. It was on a public road and you were within speed limit. If someone does not want to get hurt they should sit at home their whole life and pray that the roof does not drop on them.
Tell it to a lawyer!
On a different note, you can file claims till 24 months after the accident and if any of the victims are minor, they can file a claim(medical/emotional blah blah) till they turn 18(if I remember correctly).
Tell it to a lawyer!
On a different note, you can file claims till 24 months after the accident and if any of the victims are minor, they can file a claim(medical/emotional blah blah) till they turn 18(if I remember correctly).
2011 Limited Edition Les Paul
sab
03-11 11:42 AM
oh ya, I remember you from the days of mumbai attack when you were supporting the terrorist and acting like their spokesperson, right?
.
I never supported any terrorist. You Sir are an ignorant idiot.
.
I never supported any terrorist. You Sir are an ignorant idiot.
more...
Jyothi
02-02 09:52 AM
Please see the response that I received from VisaLaw.com
The SKIL Bill is a proposed piece of legislation that would increase the
number of H-1Bs and green cards. It is included in the comprehensive
immigration bill Congress is likely to consider this spring and will
hopefully pass in the fall.
Regards,
Greg Siskind
Gregory Siskind, Attorney at Law
Siskind Susser Bland - Immigration Lawyers
Telephone: 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455
Fax: 800-684-1267 or 901-339-9604
Email: gsiskind@visalaw.com
Web: www.visalaw.com
The SKIL Bill is a proposed piece of legislation that would increase the
number of H-1Bs and green cards. It is included in the comprehensive
immigration bill Congress is likely to consider this spring and will
hopefully pass in the fall.
Regards,
Greg Siskind
Gregory Siskind, Attorney at Law
Siskind Susser Bland - Immigration Lawyers
Telephone: 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455
Fax: 800-684-1267 or 901-339-9604
Email: gsiskind@visalaw.com
Web: www.visalaw.com
pani_6
06-17 03:58 PM
Its cheap
more...
willgetgc2005
11-13 03:58 PM
CIR will be as controversial as ever. SKIL, if any is our best bet.
CIR seems to be a perpetual wait. Both parties will not close it.
They need big issues to bicker and promise the electorate
for the next election.
IRAQ and CIR will be those big tickets they will use as levers.
Sorry to sound negative, but it is just the way I see it.SKIL is our only option, IF AT ALL. CIR is just an illusion and who knows if our provisions will be in CIR even if it becomes a reality ??!!!
_________________________________________________
CIR seems to be a perpetual wait. Both parties will not close it.
They need big issues to bicker and promise the electorate
for the next election.
IRAQ and CIR will be those big tickets they will use as levers.
Sorry to sound negative, but it is just the way I see it.SKIL is our only option, IF AT ALL. CIR is just an illusion and who knows if our provisions will be in CIR even if it becomes a reality ??!!!
_________________________________________________
2010 Gibson Les Paul Junior.jpg
swamy
11-02 10:09 AM
anyone seen the gig by richard pryor- a radiothon to raise funds do repatriate slaves back to africa - trust me you'll die laughing!- i'll see if its youtubed. gjoe - just let cis know of your brainwave - i'm sure their tender hearts will melt.
1) We can go back; need not pretend if we think we have the brains
2) If you go "your GC misery is over". After that "A new beginning for you and this society"
3) If you don't go back you don't lose credibility. You just prove that you want to live here no matter what. Eveyone has the right to make his choice based on what works out well for him/her
4) For those who voted "yes" I think they know what they want in life and why they are here. No matter what the conditions are here or anywhere they will make the right choices instead of expecting someone else to control their lives.
The counter point is "Lobbying is not the only path to our freedom and independence"
Like you mentioned pointing out people and there posts is not required ( if you think that is a smart threat and expect people to backoff) because everyone can search every post of the other person if they want to do so.
FOR ALL THOSE WHO VOTED YES - IF WE HAVE ENOUGH NUMBERS WE CAN CHARTER A A380 OR TWO DREAMLINERS ONE FROM THE EAST COAST AND ONE FROM THE WEST COAST WITH STOPS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TO DROP OFF PEOPLE. IT HELPS US, AIRBUS/BOEING AND THE "NO" SAYERS WAITING FOR THEIR GC'S. THIS WOULD BE FOR SURE A BIG EVENT IN THE HISTORY.
I am not against IV and its goals or against any views or opinions of people. It is a free world, but if we want to pay a price for that we can do so in many ways. e.g. Waiting for GC.
1) We can go back; need not pretend if we think we have the brains
2) If you go "your GC misery is over". After that "A new beginning for you and this society"
3) If you don't go back you don't lose credibility. You just prove that you want to live here no matter what. Eveyone has the right to make his choice based on what works out well for him/her
4) For those who voted "yes" I think they know what they want in life and why they are here. No matter what the conditions are here or anywhere they will make the right choices instead of expecting someone else to control their lives.
The counter point is "Lobbying is not the only path to our freedom and independence"
Like you mentioned pointing out people and there posts is not required ( if you think that is a smart threat and expect people to backoff) because everyone can search every post of the other person if they want to do so.
FOR ALL THOSE WHO VOTED YES - IF WE HAVE ENOUGH NUMBERS WE CAN CHARTER A A380 OR TWO DREAMLINERS ONE FROM THE EAST COAST AND ONE FROM THE WEST COAST WITH STOPS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TO DROP OFF PEOPLE. IT HELPS US, AIRBUS/BOEING AND THE "NO" SAYERS WAITING FOR THEIR GC'S. THIS WOULD BE FOR SURE A BIG EVENT IN THE HISTORY.
I am not against IV and its goals or against any views or opinions of people. It is a free world, but if we want to pay a price for that we can do so in many ways. e.g. Waiting for GC.
more...
garamchai2go
12-17 12:32 PM
Hi,
I am also struck in the same situation. My Interview was done on 7th Dec and so far I did not get the passport. Vfs website says "Your passport has not been handed over to VFS. I sent an email to 'ChennaiNIV@state.gov'. Got a reply that application is under process will be processed soon.
Thanks for all the responses.
DesiXP
My appointment is 6th Dec 1400 hrs, and today consulate CSR confirmed that VFS will have the passport tomorrow. I will check with VFS tomorrow and let you know.
I am also struck in the same situation. My Interview was done on 7th Dec and so far I did not get the passport. Vfs website says "Your passport has not been handed over to VFS. I sent an email to 'ChennaiNIV@state.gov'. Got a reply that application is under process will be processed soon.
Thanks for all the responses.
DesiXP
My appointment is 6th Dec 1400 hrs, and today consulate CSR confirmed that VFS will have the passport tomorrow. I will check with VFS tomorrow and let you know.
hair gibson les paul custom
vansvenkat
12-04 01:21 AM
This suggestion is very good,There should be some fee to get access( to generate money).
how about breaking this into multiple levels.
(1) account maintenance fee: charge $1/month for maintaining the account, members who paid this fee will have read access to all threads except IV core updates. IV can generate $25K a month with this option, this can cover day to day expenses.
(2) usage fee: charge $??/month for using the IV forums, members who paid this free can post and respond and read IV updates.
how about breaking this into multiple levels.
(1) account maintenance fee: charge $1/month for maintaining the account, members who paid this fee will have read access to all threads except IV core updates. IV can generate $25K a month with this option, this can cover day to day expenses.
(2) usage fee: charge $??/month for using the IV forums, members who paid this free can post and respond and read IV updates.
more...
stuckinmuck
05-24 01:38 PM
Does this amendment strictly apply to new H1B filings or will it also impact people with H1B and an approved I-140 but need to extend it due to retrogression?
Regarding the exodus, maybe that is their purpose. Maybe, they have enough
hi-tech workers and they don't need more. I guess we need to watch and wait and accept this as a reality.
Regarding the exodus, maybe that is their purpose. Maybe, they have enough
hi-tech workers and they don't need more. I guess we need to watch and wait and accept this as a reality.
hot Gibson Guitar Board: Les Paul
jkays94
05-25 02:35 PM
So please ask for your rights but remember you are in their country, nobody forced you to come here, and beggars can't be choosers.
Not everyone is an economic refugee and it should never be assumed to be the case or status quo. We pay taxes just like everyone else while some invest here and have a right to be represented by whomever makes decisions in congress besides we do pay taxes that goes towards their salaries and maintaining congressional offices. What would the US be like if the founders of immigrant founded or co-founded companies had decided to found their companies in other countries ? What if Google, Ebay, Intel were Russian, French or Hungarian companies instead ? Your point is not lost though, immigration is a priviledge not a right. If they deny us this priviledge we shall reluctantly leave but it should not assumed that we shall be the one's to suffer instead this economy will feel that impact. This is a global economy with many opportunities out there.
I wonder if the bashers of the H1-B program knew that :
More than 82,000 U.S. workers and professionals have completed training through programs funded by the H-1B fees as of December 31, 2005, according to the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. In addition, the Bush Administration recently has used the H-1B fees to provide multi-year grants to communities for training and economic revitalization. Through the WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) initiative, the U.S. Department of Labor is providing $195 million in grants to thirteen regional economies.
or that :
The H-1B fees paid by companies have funded more than 40,000 scholarships for U.S. students in math and science through the National Science Foundation. The fees obtained from employers have also funded hands-on science programs for 80,000 middle and high school students and 3,700 teachers. In addition, more than 55,000 U.S. workers and professionals have received training through the H-1B fees paid by companies.
Not everyone is an economic refugee and it should never be assumed to be the case or status quo. We pay taxes just like everyone else while some invest here and have a right to be represented by whomever makes decisions in congress besides we do pay taxes that goes towards their salaries and maintaining congressional offices. What would the US be like if the founders of immigrant founded or co-founded companies had decided to found their companies in other countries ? What if Google, Ebay, Intel were Russian, French or Hungarian companies instead ? Your point is not lost though, immigration is a priviledge not a right. If they deny us this priviledge we shall reluctantly leave but it should not assumed that we shall be the one's to suffer instead this economy will feel that impact. This is a global economy with many opportunities out there.
I wonder if the bashers of the H1-B program knew that :
More than 82,000 U.S. workers and professionals have completed training through programs funded by the H-1B fees as of December 31, 2005, according to the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. In addition, the Bush Administration recently has used the H-1B fees to provide multi-year grants to communities for training and economic revitalization. Through the WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) initiative, the U.S. Department of Labor is providing $195 million in grants to thirteen regional economies.
or that :
The H-1B fees paid by companies have funded more than 40,000 scholarships for U.S. students in math and science through the National Science Foundation. The fees obtained from employers have also funded hands-on science programs for 80,000 middle and high school students and 3,700 teachers. In addition, more than 55,000 U.S. workers and professionals have received training through the H-1B fees paid by companies.
more...
house epiphone les paul junior
dealguy007
03-30 08:47 AM
Cannot make it to DC, just donated $50. Thanks for all your efforts.
transaction ID for the payment is: 31603569X3296592K.
transaction ID for the payment is: 31603569X3296592K.
tattoo Epiphone Limited Edition
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.
more...
pictures Is this a true tv yellow
ingegarcia
02-06 10:43 AM
thanks for explaining. my suggestion then is to go to school on F1 (maybe ?) and get a degree that can help him/her get a job that qualifies under H1b.
Our main goal to solve the retrogression problem.
Since you can study under H4 you cannot apply for F1 (My wife tried that already) :)
Our main goal to solve the retrogression problem.
Since you can study under H4 you cannot apply for F1 (My wife tried that already) :)
dresses Gibson/Epiphone Dealer.
ilikekilo
04-02 08:37 PM
Did anyone who applied with TSC see LUD? I am asking this because it seems, TSC online system is not working.
fyi, I had a soft LUD today on my 485..
fyi, I had a soft LUD today on my 485..
more...
makeup TV Yellow
annsheila79
04-19 09:48 AM
congratulations
girlfriend 1958 Les Paul Junior TV Yellow
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!!!!
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GCDo
05-09 10:51 AM
For that matter nothing is an achievement. if Some one gets a baby everyone greets him. Is that an achievement? If you buy a house you are happy. Is that an achievement? For some people coming to US was an achievement. Some people think getting a green card. We see all congratulation message when someone get his GC.
So Please be broad minded. It may be nothing for you. But for some people it is an achievement. People like me are happy by achieving small things. This may nothing for you But it is good reason for the celebration for the people like us.
Great achievement . Guys are not able to get GC in 10 years and this guy has got Citizenship in 10 year.
So Please be broad minded. It may be nothing for you. But for some people it is an achievement. People like me are happy by achieving small things. This may nothing for you But it is good reason for the celebration for the people like us.
Great achievement . Guys are not able to get GC in 10 years and this guy has got Citizenship in 10 year.
justareader
01-30 05:10 PM
Done
gsc999
07-20 01:36 PM
I think US experience will hold good in canada, at at least in IT. Canadian experience matters for immigrants who directly come from their home countries, never having lived in north america before. The trick is to find a good enough job for your experience level .. what is the point of going there and doing the same kind of job that you were stuck with here ?. That is easier said than done given the limited size of the canadian IT industry. I second your thoughts if you do get a good job, an year or so should be good enough to establish yourself. I fact, I know a couple of guys from my area who moved to canada with their families to escape retrogression, and are now well-settled there with no intention of ever coming back to the US. But yes, it took a while for them to find those jobs.
I think rpatel is right. This what I heard from one of my buddies who moved to Canada in 2003 and recently got PR.
Canadian firms prefer Canadian work experience. This doesn't mean that your past experience doesn't count, just not that much
I think rpatel is right. This what I heard from one of my buddies who moved to Canada in 2003 and recently got PR.
Canadian firms prefer Canadian work experience. This doesn't mean that your past experience doesn't count, just not that much
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