cpolisetti
03-31 03:56 PM
She was also available for Q&A earlier today on Washington Post. I am quoting one question and answer in particular. Probably she can help in more visibilty of our voice?
Here is the link for todays Q&A:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/30/DI2006033001345.html
Question from Washington, D.C.: Thank you for your informative article on a topic that needs more attention.
I'm trying to get an sense of the scope of the problem from the perspective of an H-1B visa holder. Just how long does it typically take professionals from India and China/Taiwan to get a green card through their employer these days? What disinsentives are there for employers, other than the risk that the green card may not be approved and their employee will have to return to their home country?
Answer from S. Mitra Kalita: Absent from much of this debate are the voices of H-1B holders themselves and I thank you for your question. I talked to someone who wouldn't allow himself to be quoted by name (so I did not use him in today's story) but this particular individual's story is one I hear often: He has been here for nine years, first on a student visa, then an H-1B. His employer applied for his green card in 2002 and he has been waiting four years because it is tied up in the backlog for labor certification. He said he is giving it six more months and if it doesn't come through, he's heading back to India. This stage is the one that a lot of observers agree where a worker risks being exploited. They are beholden to the employer because of the green card sponsorship (an H-1B visa can travel with a worker from one company to another, however) and cannot get promoted because that is technically a change in job classification -- and would require a new application. On the other hand, a lot of companies say that they know once someone gets a green card, they are out the door because suddenly they can start a company, go work for someone else, get promoted... Anyway, I could go on and on with background on this but instead I will post a story I did last summer on the green card backlog. Hang on.
Todays article:
Most See Visa Program as Severely Flawed
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 31, 2006; D01
Somewhere in the debate over immigration and the future of illegal workers, another, less-publicized fight is being waged over those who toil in air-conditioned offices, earn up to six-figure salaries and spend their days programming and punching code.
They are foreign workers who arrive on H-1B visas, mostly young men from India and China tapped for skilled jobs such as software engineers and systems analysts. Unlike seasonal guest workers who stay for about 10 months, H-1B workers stay as long as six years. By then, they must obtain a green card or go back home.
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony for and against expanding the H-1B program. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would increase the H-1B cap to 115,000 from 65,000 and allow some foreign students to bypass the program altogether and immediately get sponsored for green cards, which allow immigrants to be permanent residents, free to live and work in the United States.
But underlying the arguments is a belief, even among the workers themselves, that the current H-1B program is severely flawed.
Opponents say the highly skilled foreign workers compete with and depress the wages of native-born Americans.
Supporters say foreign workers stimulate the economy, create more opportunities for their U.S. counterparts and prevent jobs from being outsourced overseas. The problem, they say, is the cumbersome process: Immigrants often spend six years as guest workers and then wait for green card sponsorship and approval.
At the House committee hearing yesterday, Stuart Anderson, executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, a nonprofit research group, spoke in favor of raising the cap. Still, he said in an interview, the H-1B visa is far from ideal. "What you want to have is a system where people can get hired directly on green cards in 30 to 60 days," he said.
Economists seem divided on whether highly skilled immigrants depress wages for U.S. workers. In 2003, a study for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found no effect on salaries, with an average income for both H-1B and American computer programmers of $55,000.
Still, the study by Madeline Zavodny, now an economics professor at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., concluded "that unemployment was higher as a result of these H-1B workers."
In a working paper released this week, Harvard University economist George J. Borjas studied the wages of foreigners and native-born Americans with doctorates, concluding that the foreigners lowered the wages of competing workers by 3 to 4 percent. He said he suspected that his conclusion also measured the effects of H-1B visas.
"If there is a demand for engineers and no foreigners to take those jobs, salaries would shoot through the roof and make that very attractive for Americans," Borjas said.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA says H-1B salaries are lower. "Those who are here on H-1B visas are being worked as indentured servants. They are being paid $13,000 less in the engineering and science worlds," said Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr., president of the advocacy group for technical professionals, which favors green-card-based immigration, but only for exceptional candidates.
Wyndrum said the current system allows foreign skilled workers to "take jobs away from equally good American engineers and scientists." He based his statements about salary disparities on a December report by John Miano, a software engineer, who favors tighter immigration controls. Miano spoke at the House hearing and cited figures from the Occupational Employment Statistics program that show U.S. computer programmers earn an average $65,000 a year, compared with $52,000 for H-1B programmers.
"Is it really a guest-worker program since most people want to stay here? Miano said in an interview. "There is direct displacement of American workers."
Those who recruit and hire retort that a global economy mandates finding the best employees in the world, not just the United States. And because green-card caps are allocated equally among countries (India and China are backlogged, for example), the H-1B becomes the easiest way to hire foreigners.
It is not always easy. Last year, Razorsight Corp., a technology company with offices in Fairfax and Bangalore, India, tried to sponsor more H-1B visas -- but they already were exhausted for the year. Currently, the company has 12 H-1B workers on a U.S. staff of 100, earning $80,000 to $120,000 a year.
Charlie Thomas, Razorsight's chief executive, said the cap should be based on market demand. "It's absolutely essential for us to have access to a global talent," he said. "If your product isn't the best it can be with the best cost structure and development, then someone else will do it. And that someone else may not be a U.S.-based company."
Because H-1B holders can switch employers to sponsor their visas, some workers said they demand salary increases along the way. But once a company sponsors their green cards, workers say they don't expect to be promoted or given a raise.
Now some H-1B holders are watching to see how Congress treats the millions of immigrants who crossed the borders through stealthier means.
Sameer Chandra, 30, who lives in Fairfax and works as a systems analyst on an H-1B visa, said he is concerned that Congress might make it easier for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally to get a green card than people like him. "What is the point of staying here legally?" he said.
His Houston-based company has sponsored his green card, and Chandra said he hopes it is processed quickly. If it is not, he said, he will return to India. "There's a lot of opportunities there in my country."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/30/DI2006033001345.html
Here is the link for todays Q&A:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/30/DI2006033001345.html
Question from Washington, D.C.: Thank you for your informative article on a topic that needs more attention.
I'm trying to get an sense of the scope of the problem from the perspective of an H-1B visa holder. Just how long does it typically take professionals from India and China/Taiwan to get a green card through their employer these days? What disinsentives are there for employers, other than the risk that the green card may not be approved and their employee will have to return to their home country?
Answer from S. Mitra Kalita: Absent from much of this debate are the voices of H-1B holders themselves and I thank you for your question. I talked to someone who wouldn't allow himself to be quoted by name (so I did not use him in today's story) but this particular individual's story is one I hear often: He has been here for nine years, first on a student visa, then an H-1B. His employer applied for his green card in 2002 and he has been waiting four years because it is tied up in the backlog for labor certification. He said he is giving it six more months and if it doesn't come through, he's heading back to India. This stage is the one that a lot of observers agree where a worker risks being exploited. They are beholden to the employer because of the green card sponsorship (an H-1B visa can travel with a worker from one company to another, however) and cannot get promoted because that is technically a change in job classification -- and would require a new application. On the other hand, a lot of companies say that they know once someone gets a green card, they are out the door because suddenly they can start a company, go work for someone else, get promoted... Anyway, I could go on and on with background on this but instead I will post a story I did last summer on the green card backlog. Hang on.
Todays article:
Most See Visa Program as Severely Flawed
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 31, 2006; D01
Somewhere in the debate over immigration and the future of illegal workers, another, less-publicized fight is being waged over those who toil in air-conditioned offices, earn up to six-figure salaries and spend their days programming and punching code.
They are foreign workers who arrive on H-1B visas, mostly young men from India and China tapped for skilled jobs such as software engineers and systems analysts. Unlike seasonal guest workers who stay for about 10 months, H-1B workers stay as long as six years. By then, they must obtain a green card or go back home.
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony for and against expanding the H-1B program. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would increase the H-1B cap to 115,000 from 65,000 and allow some foreign students to bypass the program altogether and immediately get sponsored for green cards, which allow immigrants to be permanent residents, free to live and work in the United States.
But underlying the arguments is a belief, even among the workers themselves, that the current H-1B program is severely flawed.
Opponents say the highly skilled foreign workers compete with and depress the wages of native-born Americans.
Supporters say foreign workers stimulate the economy, create more opportunities for their U.S. counterparts and prevent jobs from being outsourced overseas. The problem, they say, is the cumbersome process: Immigrants often spend six years as guest workers and then wait for green card sponsorship and approval.
At the House committee hearing yesterday, Stuart Anderson, executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, a nonprofit research group, spoke in favor of raising the cap. Still, he said in an interview, the H-1B visa is far from ideal. "What you want to have is a system where people can get hired directly on green cards in 30 to 60 days," he said.
Economists seem divided on whether highly skilled immigrants depress wages for U.S. workers. In 2003, a study for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found no effect on salaries, with an average income for both H-1B and American computer programmers of $55,000.
Still, the study by Madeline Zavodny, now an economics professor at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., concluded "that unemployment was higher as a result of these H-1B workers."
In a working paper released this week, Harvard University economist George J. Borjas studied the wages of foreigners and native-born Americans with doctorates, concluding that the foreigners lowered the wages of competing workers by 3 to 4 percent. He said he suspected that his conclusion also measured the effects of H-1B visas.
"If there is a demand for engineers and no foreigners to take those jobs, salaries would shoot through the roof and make that very attractive for Americans," Borjas said.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA says H-1B salaries are lower. "Those who are here on H-1B visas are being worked as indentured servants. They are being paid $13,000 less in the engineering and science worlds," said Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr., president of the advocacy group for technical professionals, which favors green-card-based immigration, but only for exceptional candidates.
Wyndrum said the current system allows foreign skilled workers to "take jobs away from equally good American engineers and scientists." He based his statements about salary disparities on a December report by John Miano, a software engineer, who favors tighter immigration controls. Miano spoke at the House hearing and cited figures from the Occupational Employment Statistics program that show U.S. computer programmers earn an average $65,000 a year, compared with $52,000 for H-1B programmers.
"Is it really a guest-worker program since most people want to stay here? Miano said in an interview. "There is direct displacement of American workers."
Those who recruit and hire retort that a global economy mandates finding the best employees in the world, not just the United States. And because green-card caps are allocated equally among countries (India and China are backlogged, for example), the H-1B becomes the easiest way to hire foreigners.
It is not always easy. Last year, Razorsight Corp., a technology company with offices in Fairfax and Bangalore, India, tried to sponsor more H-1B visas -- but they already were exhausted for the year. Currently, the company has 12 H-1B workers on a U.S. staff of 100, earning $80,000 to $120,000 a year.
Charlie Thomas, Razorsight's chief executive, said the cap should be based on market demand. "It's absolutely essential for us to have access to a global talent," he said. "If your product isn't the best it can be with the best cost structure and development, then someone else will do it. And that someone else may not be a U.S.-based company."
Because H-1B holders can switch employers to sponsor their visas, some workers said they demand salary increases along the way. But once a company sponsors their green cards, workers say they don't expect to be promoted or given a raise.
Now some H-1B holders are watching to see how Congress treats the millions of immigrants who crossed the borders through stealthier means.
Sameer Chandra, 30, who lives in Fairfax and works as a systems analyst on an H-1B visa, said he is concerned that Congress might make it easier for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally to get a green card than people like him. "What is the point of staying here legally?" he said.
His Houston-based company has sponsored his green card, and Chandra said he hopes it is processed quickly. If it is not, he said, he will return to India. "There's a lot of opportunities there in my country."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/30/DI2006033001345.html
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Beemar
11-04 09:08 PM
Situation - During the month of July, I filed my 485 when all categories were current. Got my receipt too. Missed wife's application because her papers were not ready. Now priority dates have retrogressed again.
Saving grace - Our H1/H4 are in order with many long years left on them.
Question - Can I file my wife 485 now as a dependent, even though "my" PD is not current yet. The core point is that, does the concept of PD applies to the dependent 485 applications too?
Saving grace - Our H1/H4 are in order with many long years left on them.
Question - Can I file my wife 485 now as a dependent, even though "my" PD is not current yet. The core point is that, does the concept of PD applies to the dependent 485 applications too?
GC_Applicant
08-11 11:16 AM
May I know what is the objective of this poll and how can its outcome help us?
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prem_goel
07-07 01:17 AM
My lawyer who handled my H-1b transfer told me that. I find it logical as well. If you are the beneficiary of an approved H-1B petition, then why can't you go back to that status whenever you want. So I think its correct. however she did mention that she handled the case of a person who was on EAD for about an year. i am assuming his old H-1B petition must've been valid when they filed again.
more...
uma001
03-08 02:12 PM
usually you will be asked for W2 for those years since your priority date.It doesnt matter when you entered US initially
amitarora74
08-04 01:32 PM
I had absolutely no trouble. I have travelled to India and also to Canada(by Road) and used my AP both times while my wife had GC and my kid her US passport(all different status:-)), we all went to same officer and he never asked anything on why i had different status etc
more...
dummgelauft
04-14 10:04 AM
Umnagini! tough luck man. If this were at-all possible, I would have had my Green card 5 years ago. I have the exact same situation as yours. No, can't do it.
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smuggymba
10-08 05:14 PM
GCNirvana007 - Who filed you PERM? Who provided you with approved I-140? Who filed ur GC? ....company A.............right.............so u have to work for company A and yes u r obligated legally from USCIS perspective to work with them. Don't tell me u don't know this. Going thru GC process, one almost becomes an immigration lawyer so you should know this if u don't already.
Recent H1-B company B has nothing to do with GC.
Bottomline - Why did u file GC in EB category? ANSWER - To work for that employer A.
Now u r saying something about company C running ur payroll.
Ok. So whoever runs my payroll is my employer. Lets say its Company C.
Question is
Am I obligated to Company A in any way?
Am I obligated to Company B which had my recent H1B?
Based on the answers i am assuming no but will wait to hear from you guys.
Recent H1-B company B has nothing to do with GC.
Bottomline - Why did u file GC in EB category? ANSWER - To work for that employer A.
Now u r saying something about company C running ur payroll.
Ok. So whoever runs my payroll is my employer. Lets say its Company C.
Question is
Am I obligated to Company A in any way?
Am I obligated to Company B which had my recent H1B?
Based on the answers i am assuming no but will wait to hear from you guys.
more...
unseenguy
02-23 12:01 PM
Hello everyone - My company has announced a 10% across the board paycut. I am sulking over it as there is no job guarantee. I am in a big consulting org. There are no new projects coming and my project is there till end of April. I have I140 approved but I am afraid that my employer may seek to revoke it , if I leave on my own.
Gurus - Do you think it is wise to use AC21 in this situation. It will take years for me to get back to (2-3) my original salary level and if I accept the paycut and lay off happens, the future employer may seek further paycut or same salary.
My wife has already lost job and hence I am paranoid that I have taken almost 50% paycut if we consider 2 incomes. I dont think economy is THAT bad.
Gurus - Do you think it is wise to use AC21 in this situation. It will take years for me to get back to (2-3) my original salary level and if I accept the paycut and lay off happens, the future employer may seek further paycut or same salary.
My wife has already lost job and hence I am paranoid that I have taken almost 50% paycut if we consider 2 incomes. I dont think economy is THAT bad.
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sargon
01-26 12:09 PM
Who deleted it?
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LondonTown
07-30 10:35 AM
No, VO returned my passport to me. They said will be sending a mail after review all those documents given by me.
It took 5 weeks for me before I got the email.
Update the thread for others reference when you get the email. Good luck..!
It took 5 weeks for me before I got the email.
Update the thread for others reference when you get the email. Good luck..!
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copsmart
02-23 06:08 PM
People can only give mere advise, but you are the one who is going to take the final decision that is right for you.
The person who can answer some of your questions is nobody, but you.
IMO, the market is not as good as you think, and it�s going through the worst recession ever.
If not at your current job, you may have to take a pay cut at your future job, because that�s the current economic reality.
Since you have asked� I would suggest you to stay where you are and float your resume in the market and see the kind of response you get. I hope you will have a better idea then.
Good luck!
shut up idiot. Do you know how many 485s have been rejected for using AC21? Some people have advised me to stay where I am as long as it takes, but my gut tells me to find another job. So I am just asking for risk and opinions.
The person who can answer some of your questions is nobody, but you.
IMO, the market is not as good as you think, and it�s going through the worst recession ever.
If not at your current job, you may have to take a pay cut at your future job, because that�s the current economic reality.
Since you have asked� I would suggest you to stay where you are and float your resume in the market and see the kind of response you get. I hope you will have a better idea then.
Good luck!
shut up idiot. Do you know how many 485s have been rejected for using AC21? Some people have advised me to stay where I am as long as it takes, but my gut tells me to find another job. So I am just asking for risk and opinions.
more...
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ssss
08-01 05:18 PM
UPS issued same tracking number for 2 different packages from same place of origin lastweek.
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BECsufferer
05-11 09:17 PM
If everybody writes one letter per week to President O. and mail it using postal mail, soon their would be a buzz. We need that buzz now.
It will cost us $.44 each to mail letter and as these letters continue to pour in (obviously re-directed to waste bin), the word about all this will leak to media and ultimately to Mr. O.
Want to do it?
It will cost us $.44 each to mail letter and as these letters continue to pour in (obviously re-directed to waste bin), the word about all this will leak to media and ultimately to Mr. O.
Want to do it?
more...
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kaisersose
10-17 11:47 AM
Hi,
My LCA Job title is "Computer and Information Systems Manager" , O-net Job Code 11-3021.00. Can I take a job of "Computer Systems Engineers/Architects" , O-net Job Code 15-1099.02. Is it not considered as similar occupation?
Thanks,
By definition, if they were similar, they would be under the same main code.
Otherwise, we can find something common between any two jobs in this universe and claim similarity. This is open to interpretation and we should not rely on USCIS to be favorable in their interpretations all the time. Hence, I suggest you avoid such risks. But I would also add that you should be consulting attorneys and getting professional counsel in this matter.
My LCA Job title is "Computer and Information Systems Manager" , O-net Job Code 11-3021.00. Can I take a job of "Computer Systems Engineers/Architects" , O-net Job Code 15-1099.02. Is it not considered as similar occupation?
Thanks,
By definition, if they were similar, they would be under the same main code.
Otherwise, we can find something common between any two jobs in this universe and claim similarity. This is open to interpretation and we should not rely on USCIS to be favorable in their interpretations all the time. Hence, I suggest you avoid such risks. But I would also add that you should be consulting attorneys and getting professional counsel in this matter.
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lostinus
07-17 06:56 PM
Great job IV team. Congratulations. Thanks a million.
Contributed $100 today. Pledge to put more in every quarter.
Contributed $100 today. Pledge to put more in every quarter.
more...
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sukhyani
09-04 04:19 PM
You must be right ... I was not anticipating this turn of events whatsoever as I knew what the current PD is in the September Visa Bulletin but maybe they assign me a visa number when they got my application in June.... who knows...
What was the Approval date on your I140?
What was the Approval date on your I140?
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lghtslpr
02-08 12:26 PM
Someone over at immigrationportal.com is organizing a letter-writing campaign to demand transparency at the Philadelphia Backlog Processing Center. I think it's a great idea. Please participate. See details here:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showpost.php?p=1352681&postcount=10560
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showpost.php?p=1352681&postcount=10560
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mallu
07-19 08:49 PM
And ask many Indians,Chinese etc about their namecheck experience :-)
But this won't be easy "Do you want us to compromise on national security", will be the first question asked . They will acknowledge the applicants pain and won't budge . "We know thousands like you are getting screwed for many years, but national security is foremost'.
I really hope they rely on electronic documents and don't push paper from one office to another.
First, I would like to congratulate each and every member of IV for having an effect on USCIS and successfully able to submit the 485 in July. The things that mattered were the unity and direction / advise from the core team. Its a victory by any standard.
The next big problem will be the delay in FBI name check. With the very little workload they have there are backlogged cases from 2003. It is again like a black box (Hope you remember philly BEC). You can do anything you want but FBI wont budge. And with this extra 200K + applications, the situation would get worse and worse. You really do not want to get stuck here for years. The only thing that works is WOM, and thats not an easy thing to do.
I would strongly urge the core team to consider this as an agenda along with ongoing effort of legislative solution of retrogression (Increasing the number of GCs). I would also ask all the members who were able to file 485 to read some of the forums (Yahoo namecheck tracker, immigration.com etc), and prepare yourself of what is coming. Right now, if you are unlucky, you get stuck, but later if you are lucky, you will get through.
We will win at the end, because we have not done anything wrong. Just keep unity.
Thanks
I contributed $150
But this won't be easy "Do you want us to compromise on national security", will be the first question asked . They will acknowledge the applicants pain and won't budge . "We know thousands like you are getting screwed for many years, but national security is foremost'.
I really hope they rely on electronic documents and don't push paper from one office to another.
First, I would like to congratulate each and every member of IV for having an effect on USCIS and successfully able to submit the 485 in July. The things that mattered were the unity and direction / advise from the core team. Its a victory by any standard.
The next big problem will be the delay in FBI name check. With the very little workload they have there are backlogged cases from 2003. It is again like a black box (Hope you remember philly BEC). You can do anything you want but FBI wont budge. And with this extra 200K + applications, the situation would get worse and worse. You really do not want to get stuck here for years. The only thing that works is WOM, and thats not an easy thing to do.
I would strongly urge the core team to consider this as an agenda along with ongoing effort of legislative solution of retrogression (Increasing the number of GCs). I would also ask all the members who were able to file 485 to read some of the forums (Yahoo namecheck tracker, immigration.com etc), and prepare yourself of what is coming. Right now, if you are unlucky, you get stuck, but later if you are lucky, you will get through.
We will win at the end, because we have not done anything wrong. Just keep unity.
Thanks
I contributed $150
panky72
09-17 05:09 PM
there was a thread before which I am unable to find..abt a guy who was told that Ap is only for emergency travel...someone had quoted a law from INS taht said otherwise...I want to keep a copy of the law handy in case I find an eccentric IO at POE...
Anyone has a link to that legislation..?
its probably this thread
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21334
Anyone has a link to that legislation..?
its probably this thread
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21334
newlife2
09-20 12:12 AM
Guys, I was just laid off and have efiled i539 3 days after the termination date for a status change to F2. Now working on the application letter. Do you think I should mention the layoff in the letter?
If I do mention it:
Con: The layoff might quickly catch the eyes of the immigration officer and if he want to check my status, he could find out the 3 days OOS.
Pro: My previous job was well paid. By mentioning it, I give the reason that why I want to stay at home as F2 instead of keeping the well paid job.
I guess I will mention it in the letter to explain the whole situation and hope everything will be all right. Let me know if anybody disagrees asap, I will mail out the stuff with in next two days.
If I do mention it:
Con: The layoff might quickly catch the eyes of the immigration officer and if he want to check my status, he could find out the 3 days OOS.
Pro: My previous job was well paid. By mentioning it, I give the reason that why I want to stay at home as F2 instead of keeping the well paid job.
I guess I will mention it in the letter to explain the whole situation and hope everything will be all right. Let me know if anybody disagrees asap, I will mail out the stuff with in next two days.
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