rb_248
03-28 08:37 AM
I think it will stay where it is now for this quarter.....just my guess. Then for the last quarter, we may see some advancement.....again this is my guess.
satyasaich
06-20 04:08 PM
First of all,
If i may ask, do you have valid visa stamp in your passport?
If so, (and if circumstances permit), plan to complete your travel with in that validity.
Honestly if it's a family emergency (god forbid ) then it's a decision one has to take.
Another option is convert your husband's H1B in to premium, so that you can get your H4 with a valid I-94 as well and you are safe. Ofcourse if your visa expires in the passport, all you have to do is appear in one of the US consulates in india. There shall not be any problem for H4 stamping
OMG are you guys saying dont travel even in emergency situations?!!
If i may ask, do you have valid visa stamp in your passport?
If so, (and if circumstances permit), plan to complete your travel with in that validity.
Honestly if it's a family emergency (god forbid ) then it's a decision one has to take.
Another option is convert your husband's H1B in to premium, so that you can get your H4 with a valid I-94 as well and you are safe. Ofcourse if your visa expires in the passport, all you have to do is appear in one of the US consulates in india. There shall not be any problem for H4 stamping
OMG are you guys saying dont travel even in emergency situations?!!
bkam
05-18 03:41 PM
Good job, IV core group. Media attention is usually a sign that things are getting hot and resolution is a must.
As other people mentioned below - love to be a member of the IV team (3,000+ smart, dedicated people, wow!)
As other people mentioned below - love to be a member of the IV team (3,000+ smart, dedicated people, wow!)
cbpds
06-01 07:00 PM
Cant agree with you more, the below request should be dealt with separately instead of been clubbed with other major issues( akin to legal immigration clubbed with CIR), will need Congress approval though.
Request IV to highlight this issue separately as it will surely help a small section hanging between H1 and EAD, who are not in the "safe" zone.
There should be boat load of people who have their I140 approved and stuck. Irrespective of the population, it is important that this be addressed. They are one job away from loosing status. By issuing a 3 year employer independent EAD before a PR number becomes available is worthy cause. By this way, everyone in the pipeline knows that someday their paperwork will be cleared for good and until then they have the EAD to keep them going. The very fact that an I140 has been approved for a petitioner and the intent to immigrate has been approved, should allow the petitioner the temporary relief of having the choice to work and live little better. The the only thing that is preventing your status validated is the availability of Visa number, which is more of a procedural/legislative issue. So, hope this request is pushed in one or another form.
Request IV to highlight this issue separately as it will surely help a small section hanging between H1 and EAD, who are not in the "safe" zone.
There should be boat load of people who have their I140 approved and stuck. Irrespective of the population, it is important that this be addressed. They are one job away from loosing status. By issuing a 3 year employer independent EAD before a PR number becomes available is worthy cause. By this way, everyone in the pipeline knows that someday their paperwork will be cleared for good and until then they have the EAD to keep them going. The very fact that an I140 has been approved for a petitioner and the intent to immigrate has been approved, should allow the petitioner the temporary relief of having the choice to work and live little better. The the only thing that is preventing your status validated is the availability of Visa number, which is more of a procedural/legislative issue. So, hope this request is pushed in one or another form.
more...
tammigaw
02-14 05:10 AM
First i would like to thank all of them for providing me invaluable responses and support.
Since i work as a independent contractor i am not sure if i can complain to DOL.
I greatly appreciate if any one who went through this process can provide me a referral to a reasonable lawyer based in NJ in terms of fee and services .
Thanks a lot and god bless you all.
Since i work as a independent contractor i am not sure if i can complain to DOL.
I greatly appreciate if any one who went through this process can provide me a referral to a reasonable lawyer based in NJ in terms of fee and services .
Thanks a lot and god bless you all.
chanduv23
09-14 02:12 PM
Nothing will happen to you
Just follow your heart
Will se you in DC
Just follow your heart
Will se you in DC
more...
aish_m04
11-21 12:46 AM
I am in the same situation as yours. Any update after the infopass appointment.
schandra
12-01 05:44 PM
Thanks Better_Days for the reply.
It is response like these that give us some hope to this never ending quest.
It is good to know that you can file a New PERM and a second I-140.
But do you know whether we can file a New I-140 on the basis of the original labor instead of filing a New Perm? I ask this bcoz in cases like mine where i have already exhausted 6yrs, would be difficult to file a PERM now.
I see in some other thread, they did file a new I-140 and they were requested to first withdraw the Appeal, but in that case, do we know whether the new I-140 was approved first before we withdraw?
It is response like these that give us some hope to this never ending quest.
It is good to know that you can file a New PERM and a second I-140.
But do you know whether we can file a New I-140 on the basis of the original labor instead of filing a New Perm? I ask this bcoz in cases like mine where i have already exhausted 6yrs, would be difficult to file a PERM now.
I see in some other thread, they did file a new I-140 and they were requested to first withdraw the Appeal, but in that case, do we know whether the new I-140 was approved first before we withdraw?
more...
cmanoj2000
07-28 01:29 AM
Came to US in 2004. But never was after GC. Applied in Feb 2008 EB2. So does not look like will get my GC in next couple of years.
'cooler' has well said that value of GC has changed as life has progressed. Now thinking of going back as parents getting older. Plus daughter has US citizenship. If she wants to come back here, that is her privilege.
Completing 40 SS credits next year. So can return after that. Bought home in 2006 at the peak of the buble so getting out of the house is probably the only hurdle left.
'cooler' has well said that value of GC has changed as life has progressed. Now thinking of going back as parents getting older. Plus daughter has US citizenship. If she wants to come back here, that is her privilege.
Completing 40 SS credits next year. So can return after that. Bought home in 2006 at the peak of the buble so getting out of the house is probably the only hurdle left.
gsc999
01-21 01:36 AM
Thanks everyone who showed up. We actually did better than we had expected.
A total of 55 letters signed today, and will be dispatched tomorrow to the White House and to IV.
Go NORCAL, go IV!
---
Update: We have 10 more. That takes the total to 65.
Cheers!
A total of 55 letters signed today, and will be dispatched tomorrow to the White House and to IV.
Go NORCAL, go IV!
---
Update: We have 10 more. That takes the total to 65.
Cheers!
more...
crystal
06-15 06:20 PM
I found in another forum similar question but not exact.
http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=115661
as per the above link even though u dont apply for EAD , once you file I-485, you no longer can work on F1-EAD if I understand it correctly
(moderators please do not delete the above link , as I am just trying to get information for my cause.)
I am on F1 -OPT and my husband wants to apply for EAD...we are totally confused..i ma talking to my present compnay lawyers and my husbands compnay lawyers, they said it should be OK.... But i am not convinced.... they say there is alwys arisk involved..but it is a chance that we have to take.... i will keep you posted when i make a decision..lot of my frinds are in teh same position..so will tell you about otehr facts which i come across
http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=115661
as per the above link even though u dont apply for EAD , once you file I-485, you no longer can work on F1-EAD if I understand it correctly
(moderators please do not delete the above link , as I am just trying to get information for my cause.)
I am on F1 -OPT and my husband wants to apply for EAD...we are totally confused..i ma talking to my present compnay lawyers and my husbands compnay lawyers, they said it should be OK.... But i am not convinced.... they say there is alwys arisk involved..but it is a chance that we have to take.... i will keep you posted when i make a decision..lot of my frinds are in teh same position..so will tell you about otehr facts which i come across
imm_pro
08-26 12:45 PM
Congrats man..looks like you got ur GC in a record 2.5 years..way to go
more...
glus
05-31 10:37 AM
thanx
This is my first time $200 contribution for this great organization. Keep up the good work guys!!
Google Checkout #778027030093989
This is my first time $200 contribution for this great organization. Keep up the good work guys!!
Google Checkout #778027030093989
manand24
08-03 12:17 PM
Well atleast we arent alone I guess
Hopefully we will get them soon! Keeping fingers crossed! Just imagine the wait times for AP, EAD and eventually GC. Just forget about it!
Hopefully we will get them soon! Keeping fingers crossed! Just imagine the wait times for AP, EAD and eventually GC. Just forget about it!
more...
shirish
10-15 12:42 PM
Sorry Gurus, Couldn't figure out how to start a new thread. So posting here,
My spouse is on H4, Now she wants to use EAD and work.She wants to work part time, She has found a job as well, but the employer is sayng she can do parttime only for few months, after that she has to do full time or find a job somewhere else. Now if she cannot find another parttime job after few months, and has to stop working , will it affect her status?
Thankx in advance.
My spouse is on H4, Now she wants to use EAD and work.She wants to work part time, She has found a job as well, but the employer is sayng she can do parttime only for few months, after that she has to do full time or find a job somewhere else. Now if she cannot find another parttime job after few months, and has to stop working , will it affect her status?
Thankx in advance.
DSLStart
09-08 01:09 PM
Just tried, got connected after trying for 4/5 times. Automated response system sucks, its in different languages, but after pressing 1 (for English) still could not get the further menu.
Finally when the call got through the voice quality totally sucked. It is like how it used to be in 1990s with delay and static. Won't use again.
Finally when the call got through the voice quality totally sucked. It is like how it used to be in 1990s with delay and static. Won't use again.
more...
looivy
08-15 11:24 AM
The answer to the FAQ clearly states that you should be fine and expect some processing delays. I am not sure what else you would like to know.
What I am looking for is how do they physically transfer the application? I am afraid of dealing with another incompetent organization such as USPS. Also, what type of processing delays should I expect?
How recent were the guidelines that I-485 be sent to the same center as I-140? Were these guidelines applicable on July 2nd.
What I am looking for is how do they physically transfer the application? I am afraid of dealing with another incompetent organization such as USPS. Also, what type of processing delays should I expect?
How recent were the guidelines that I-485 be sent to the same center as I-140? Were these guidelines applicable on July 2nd.
learning01
04-12 12:33 PM
As I had already posted in the news article thread (http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showpost.php?p=8552&postcount=225), this is an exhaustive article with a bold and thought provoking headlines. The article can be accessed here - http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/427793.html
Many skilled foreigners leaving U.S.
Exodus rooted in backlog for permanent status
Karin Rives, Staff Writer
When the Senate immigration bill fell apart last week, it did more than stymie efforts to deal with illegal immigration.
It derailed efforts to deal with an equally vexing business concern: a backlog in applications for so-called green cards, the coveted cards that are actually pink or white and that offer proof of lawful permanent residency.
Many people now wait six years or longer for the card. There are 526,000 applications pending, according to Immigration Voice, an advocacy group that tracks government data.
Lately, this has prompted an exodus of foreign workers who tired of waiting, to return home or go further afield. With the economies in Asia and elsewhere on the rise, they can easily find work in the native countries or in third nations that are more generous with their visas.
"You have China, Russia, India -- a lot of countries where you can go and make a lot of money. That's the biggest thing that has changed," said Murali Bashyam, a Raleigh immigration lawyer who helps companies sponsor immigrants. "Before, people were willing to wait it out. Now they can do just as well going back home, and they do."
Mike Plueddeman said he lost three employees (one a senior programmer with a doctorate) at Durham-based DynPro in the past two years because they tired of waiting for their green cards.
All three found good jobs in their home countries within a few weeks of leaving Durham, said Plueddeman, the software consultancy's human resource director.
"We are talking about very well-educated and highly skilled people who have been in the labor force a long time," he said. "You hate losing them."
This budding brain drain comes as the first American baby boomers retire and projections show a huge need for such professionals in the years ahead. U.S. universities graduate about 70,000 information technology students annually. Many people say that number won't meet the need for a projected 600,000 additional openings for information systems professionals between 2002 and 2012, and the openings made by retirements.
"We just don't have the pipeline right now," said Joe Freddoso, director of Cisco Systems' Research Triangle Park operations. "We are concerned there's going to be a shortage, and we're already seeing that in some areas."
Cisco has advertised an opening for a data-security specialist in Atlanta for several months, unable to find the right candidate. Freddoso believes the problem will spread unless the government allows more foreign workers to enter the country, and expedites their residency process.
However, not everybody believes in the labor shortage that corporations fret about.
Critics say that proposals to allow more skilled workers into the country would only depress wages and displace American-born workers who have yet to fully recover from the dot-com bust.
"We should only issue work-related visas if we really need them," said Caroline Espinosa, a spokeswoman with NumbersUSA, a Washington, D.C., group pushing for immigration reduction. "There are 2.5 million native born American workers in the math and computer field who are currently out of work. It begs the question whether we truly need foreign workers."
She added that the immigration backlog would be aggravated by raising the cap for temporary and permanent visas, which would make it harder for those who deserve to immigrate to do so.
Waiting since 2003
Sarath Chandrand, 44, a software consultant from India, moved with his wife and two young daughters from Raleigh to Toronto in December because he couldn't live with more uncertainty. He applied for his green card in early 2003 and expects it will take at least two more years to get it.
His former employer continues to sponsor his application for permanent residency, hoping that he will eventually return. But Chandrand doesn't know what the future will hold.
"I miss Raleigh, the weather, the people," he said in a phone interview. "But it's a very difficult decision to make, once you've settled in a country, to move out. You go through a lot of mental strain. Making another move will be difficult."
Canada won him over because its residency process takes only a year and a half and doesn't require sponsorship from an employer.
The competition from Canada also worries Plueddeman, who said several of his employees are also applying for residency in both countries. "They'll go with whoever comes first," he said.
And it's not just India and Canada that beckon. New Zealand and Australia are among nations that actively market themselves to professionals in the United States, with perks such as an easy process to get work visas.
New Zealand, with a population of 4 million, has received more than 1,900 applications from skilled migrants and their families in the past two years, said Don Badman, the Los Angeles marketing director for that country's immigration agency. Of those, about 17 percent were non-Americans working in the United States.
Badman's team has hired a public relations agency to get the word out. They have also run ads in West Coast newspapers and attended trade shows, mainly to attract professionals in health care and information technology.
Dana Hutchison, an operating room nurse from Cedar Mountain south of Asheville, could have joined a hospital in the United States that offers fat sign-on bonuses. Instead, she's in the small town of Tauranga, east of Auckland, working alongside New Zealand nurses and doctors.
"It would be hard for me to work in the U.S. again," she said. Where she is now, "the working conditions are so fabulous. Everybody is friendly and much less stressed. It's like the U.S. was in the 1960s."
Limit of 140,000
Getting a green card was never a quick process. The official limit for employment-based green cards is 140,000 annually.
And there is a bottleneck of technology professionals from India and China. They hold many, if not most, of all temporary work visas, and many try to convert their work visa to permanent residency, and eventually full citizenship. But under current rules, no single nationality can be allotted more than 7 percent of the green cards.
In his February economic report, President Bush outlined proposals to overhaul the system for employment-based green cards:
* Open more slots by exempting spouses and children from the annual limit of 140,000 green cards. Such dependents now make up about half of all green card recipients, because workers sponsored by employers can include their family in the application.
* Replace the current cap with a "flexible market-based cap" that responds to the need that employers have for foreign workers.
* Raise the 7 percent limit for nations such as India that have many highly skilled workers.
After steady lobbying from technology companies, Congress is also paying more attention to the issue. The Senate immigration bill had proposed raising the annual cap for green cards to 290,000.
Kumar Gupta, a 33-year-old software engineer, has been watching the legislative proposals as he weighs his options. After six years in the United States, he is considering returning to India after learning that the green card he applied for in November 2004 could take another four or five years.
Being on a temporary work visa means that he cannot leave his job. Nor does he want to buy a home for his family without knowing he will stay in the country.
"Even if the job market is not as good as here, you can get a very good salary in India," he said. "If I have offers there, I will think of moving."
Let's utilize this write up and start quoting the link in our personal comments / emails to other news anchors, commentators, blogs etc.
I thought this deserves it's own thread. Please comment and act.
Many skilled foreigners leaving U.S.
Exodus rooted in backlog for permanent status
Karin Rives, Staff Writer
When the Senate immigration bill fell apart last week, it did more than stymie efforts to deal with illegal immigration.
It derailed efforts to deal with an equally vexing business concern: a backlog in applications for so-called green cards, the coveted cards that are actually pink or white and that offer proof of lawful permanent residency.
Many people now wait six years or longer for the card. There are 526,000 applications pending, according to Immigration Voice, an advocacy group that tracks government data.
Lately, this has prompted an exodus of foreign workers who tired of waiting, to return home or go further afield. With the economies in Asia and elsewhere on the rise, they can easily find work in the native countries or in third nations that are more generous with their visas.
"You have China, Russia, India -- a lot of countries where you can go and make a lot of money. That's the biggest thing that has changed," said Murali Bashyam, a Raleigh immigration lawyer who helps companies sponsor immigrants. "Before, people were willing to wait it out. Now they can do just as well going back home, and they do."
Mike Plueddeman said he lost three employees (one a senior programmer with a doctorate) at Durham-based DynPro in the past two years because they tired of waiting for their green cards.
All three found good jobs in their home countries within a few weeks of leaving Durham, said Plueddeman, the software consultancy's human resource director.
"We are talking about very well-educated and highly skilled people who have been in the labor force a long time," he said. "You hate losing them."
This budding brain drain comes as the first American baby boomers retire and projections show a huge need for such professionals in the years ahead. U.S. universities graduate about 70,000 information technology students annually. Many people say that number won't meet the need for a projected 600,000 additional openings for information systems professionals between 2002 and 2012, and the openings made by retirements.
"We just don't have the pipeline right now," said Joe Freddoso, director of Cisco Systems' Research Triangle Park operations. "We are concerned there's going to be a shortage, and we're already seeing that in some areas."
Cisco has advertised an opening for a data-security specialist in Atlanta for several months, unable to find the right candidate. Freddoso believes the problem will spread unless the government allows more foreign workers to enter the country, and expedites their residency process.
However, not everybody believes in the labor shortage that corporations fret about.
Critics say that proposals to allow more skilled workers into the country would only depress wages and displace American-born workers who have yet to fully recover from the dot-com bust.
"We should only issue work-related visas if we really need them," said Caroline Espinosa, a spokeswoman with NumbersUSA, a Washington, D.C., group pushing for immigration reduction. "There are 2.5 million native born American workers in the math and computer field who are currently out of work. It begs the question whether we truly need foreign workers."
She added that the immigration backlog would be aggravated by raising the cap for temporary and permanent visas, which would make it harder for those who deserve to immigrate to do so.
Waiting since 2003
Sarath Chandrand, 44, a software consultant from India, moved with his wife and two young daughters from Raleigh to Toronto in December because he couldn't live with more uncertainty. He applied for his green card in early 2003 and expects it will take at least two more years to get it.
His former employer continues to sponsor his application for permanent residency, hoping that he will eventually return. But Chandrand doesn't know what the future will hold.
"I miss Raleigh, the weather, the people," he said in a phone interview. "But it's a very difficult decision to make, once you've settled in a country, to move out. You go through a lot of mental strain. Making another move will be difficult."
Canada won him over because its residency process takes only a year and a half and doesn't require sponsorship from an employer.
The competition from Canada also worries Plueddeman, who said several of his employees are also applying for residency in both countries. "They'll go with whoever comes first," he said.
And it's not just India and Canada that beckon. New Zealand and Australia are among nations that actively market themselves to professionals in the United States, with perks such as an easy process to get work visas.
New Zealand, with a population of 4 million, has received more than 1,900 applications from skilled migrants and their families in the past two years, said Don Badman, the Los Angeles marketing director for that country's immigration agency. Of those, about 17 percent were non-Americans working in the United States.
Badman's team has hired a public relations agency to get the word out. They have also run ads in West Coast newspapers and attended trade shows, mainly to attract professionals in health care and information technology.
Dana Hutchison, an operating room nurse from Cedar Mountain south of Asheville, could have joined a hospital in the United States that offers fat sign-on bonuses. Instead, she's in the small town of Tauranga, east of Auckland, working alongside New Zealand nurses and doctors.
"It would be hard for me to work in the U.S. again," she said. Where she is now, "the working conditions are so fabulous. Everybody is friendly and much less stressed. It's like the U.S. was in the 1960s."
Limit of 140,000
Getting a green card was never a quick process. The official limit for employment-based green cards is 140,000 annually.
And there is a bottleneck of technology professionals from India and China. They hold many, if not most, of all temporary work visas, and many try to convert their work visa to permanent residency, and eventually full citizenship. But under current rules, no single nationality can be allotted more than 7 percent of the green cards.
In his February economic report, President Bush outlined proposals to overhaul the system for employment-based green cards:
* Open more slots by exempting spouses and children from the annual limit of 140,000 green cards. Such dependents now make up about half of all green card recipients, because workers sponsored by employers can include their family in the application.
* Replace the current cap with a "flexible market-based cap" that responds to the need that employers have for foreign workers.
* Raise the 7 percent limit for nations such as India that have many highly skilled workers.
After steady lobbying from technology companies, Congress is also paying more attention to the issue. The Senate immigration bill had proposed raising the annual cap for green cards to 290,000.
Kumar Gupta, a 33-year-old software engineer, has been watching the legislative proposals as he weighs his options. After six years in the United States, he is considering returning to India after learning that the green card he applied for in November 2004 could take another four or five years.
Being on a temporary work visa means that he cannot leave his job. Nor does he want to buy a home for his family without knowing he will stay in the country.
"Even if the job market is not as good as here, you can get a very good salary in India," he said. "If I have offers there, I will think of moving."
Let's utilize this write up and start quoting the link in our personal comments / emails to other news anchors, commentators, blogs etc.
I thought this deserves it's own thread. Please comment and act.
milind70
11-03 12:54 PM
From first hand experiences of fellow friends and collegues who tried to extend the visitors visa for their parents or their in laws ,99 percent of the time they have been denied reentry . I personally know a case where a friends mother in law successfully extended her stay for another 3 months after initial grant of 6 months. After that vist she was denied reentry for 3 times atleast that i know of. One thing here is to note that whether to grant entry or not is in the hands of the IO at POE. By extending your stay plants seeds of doubts about overstay. Also medical reasons and taking care of child are not considered strong reason for extension unless the medical condition is very serious
rally
07-13 09:51 AM
If you invest more than 1 million(like bechams hollywood hills home) in US you are eligible to apply for a greencard
GCneeded
03-14 03:37 PM
Thank you all for the responses.
nat23,
My mother is planning to come to USA during first or second week of may.
nat23,
My mother is planning to come to USA during first or second week of may.
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