man-woman-and-gc
03-07 10:24 AM
i've pledged $25
I'm yet to see IV core response to this....not sure where this will end without their backing
I'm yet to see IV core response to this....not sure where this will end without their backing
wallpaper local pick up. 2005
optimystic
08-25 05:30 PM
What does it mean that EB2 numbers became unavailable as of Aug 21st? !!!!!
The Sept Visa bulletin (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4328.html) states that India EB2 cutoff date is 01 Aug 06 !!
If the visa numbers are indeed exhausted, then, the Sept Visa bulletin will be INCORRECT ! and the USCIS/DOS has to redact the Sept bulletin !!! Sounds like another fiasco brewing to me ! Call it EB2-I Fiasco ! You heard it first here. :)
Would be interesting to see how one can legally corner USCIS with proper evidence that they bungled up. They could always keep all cases in pending state , saying they are still processing/waiting for data, examining details etc, and not have to approve any EB2 cases in the month of Sept..... But would be very difficult to hide it from public and AILA etc...
They could then wait until Oct so new numbers get allotted, and then they can adjust EB2-I cutoff dates more carefully at that time.... gimme_GC2006 pray to god that , come oct bulletin, EB2-I does not retrogress beneath your PD ! All my best wishes to you.
Just noticed that EB2 cutoff for EB2-I in Aug bulletin was 01 Jun 06 !!!
And in Sept bulletin they advanced it by two more months to 01 Aug 06 !!!!...But now their systems show that Visa numbers are all exhausted even before we enter Sept !!! Holy Cow! :eek:
This would expose their blatant lottery mechanism that they employ to simply advance and then retrogress PDs without the simplest of clues as to how many cases they have pending and could be processed
This would also explain "cut off date not established" that the IO quoted as the reason.....
The visa numbers exhausted midway thru the month of the bulletin...so the system went into some init mode, waiting for next cutoff date to be established. But this time, come sept, the system would again see a valid cutoff date (actually a progressed date!!) , but NO VISA numbers !!
The Sept Visa bulletin (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4328.html) states that India EB2 cutoff date is 01 Aug 06 !!
If the visa numbers are indeed exhausted, then, the Sept Visa bulletin will be INCORRECT ! and the USCIS/DOS has to redact the Sept bulletin !!! Sounds like another fiasco brewing to me ! Call it EB2-I Fiasco ! You heard it first here. :)
Would be interesting to see how one can legally corner USCIS with proper evidence that they bungled up. They could always keep all cases in pending state , saying they are still processing/waiting for data, examining details etc, and not have to approve any EB2 cases in the month of Sept..... But would be very difficult to hide it from public and AILA etc...
They could then wait until Oct so new numbers get allotted, and then they can adjust EB2-I cutoff dates more carefully at that time.... gimme_GC2006 pray to god that , come oct bulletin, EB2-I does not retrogress beneath your PD ! All my best wishes to you.
Just noticed that EB2 cutoff for EB2-I in Aug bulletin was 01 Jun 06 !!!
And in Sept bulletin they advanced it by two more months to 01 Aug 06 !!!!...But now their systems show that Visa numbers are all exhausted even before we enter Sept !!! Holy Cow! :eek:
This would expose their blatant lottery mechanism that they employ to simply advance and then retrogress PDs without the simplest of clues as to how many cases they have pending and could be processed
This would also explain "cut off date not established" that the IO quoted as the reason.....
The visa numbers exhausted midway thru the month of the bulletin...so the system went into some init mode, waiting for next cutoff date to be established. But this time, come sept, the system would again see a valid cutoff date (actually a progressed date!!) , but NO VISA numbers !!
Deepika
06-19 09:31 PM
I have a similar problem. In all my documents i just have one name as given name from childhood no surname or initials.
In passport given name is : XXX
And surname is : blank
In my H4 stamping they made it
Given name : FNU (First name unknow)
Last Name : XXX
So in my medical record and I-94, I-797 in US i use FNU XXX. I am planning to apply with this name itself as i feel it may take a while and is not safe to go to indain embassy and have a name change with this short time.
I plan to have my husbands name as my last name later.
Can i do it after filing for 485 or getting GC. Do reply.
In passport given name is : XXX
And surname is : blank
In my H4 stamping they made it
Given name : FNU (First name unknow)
Last Name : XXX
So in my medical record and I-94, I-797 in US i use FNU XXX. I am planning to apply with this name itself as i feel it may take a while and is not safe to go to indain embassy and have a name change with this short time.
I plan to have my husbands name as my last name later.
Can i do it after filing for 485 or getting GC. Do reply.
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malibuguy007
12-04 08:13 AM
Everybody who reads this thread should either donate themselves or if they have already done so, then make sure you talk to a friend and convince him/her to donate. You are not doing any public service by donating to IV (nothing wrong with those kind of donations). Whatever you donate will actually come back to you as a benefit you really want and in a much bigger multiple.
more...
santb1975
06-09 01:40 PM
Can you?
We can also ask some big companies like Microsoft who back legal immigration extensively to help us financially right?
just my 2 cents
We can also ask some big companies like Microsoft who back legal immigration extensively to help us financially right?
just my 2 cents
eb2dec2005
09-13 01:49 PM
I incorporated the points you made and the revisions are in fuchsia:
The Ombudsman
USCIS
September 10. 2008
Sir/Madam,
On behalf of the employment-based legal immigrant community in the United States of America, I am writing to highlight the ongoing egregious inefficiencies in the immigration �services� provided by the USCIS and the DOS. There have been numerous occasions when there have been erratic movements in the DOS published visa bulletin dates. This, as we understand it, is owing to USCIS under- or over-estimating the number of applicants available for adjustment of status. And in the rare instances when the date finally moves forward by a substantial window, USCIS tends to approve the more recent applications as opposed to the ones that were filed earlier. Let me explain with an example: in the July 2008 visa bulletin, the cut-off date for the India EB2 category was 01 April 2004. A month later, the cut-off date for Indian EB2 applicants abruptly moved forward two years and was set at 01 June 2006. Instead of approving applicants who applied in 2004 and 2005, USCIS approved applicants from 2006. Where is the justice in that??? Why bother publishing the cut-off date if approvals are to be randomly allocated???
We understand we have to stand in line and wait our turn. Each applicant is assigned a priority date which chronologically determines his/her turn for approval. To further complicate matters, once the I-485 is filed, a crop of other dates are issued by the USCIS � a receipt date, a notice date and a processing date. USCIS then takes the liberty to throw random rules at us � �Case adjudication is based on receipt date� �No, we process applications based on notice date�, �Actually, it�s the processing date that determines which applications are adjusted.� !!!
Please take a moment to consider how these conflicting statements and arbitrary decisions wreak havoc on our morale and psyches? No one, NOT even the USCIS, has a clue as to what exactly is happening in their processing centers. The USCIS has never been able to clearly state the exact number of applications languishing, excuse us, we meant pending, in their �service� centers! We, employment-based immigrants, are tax-paying, law-abiding, educated individuals contributing to America�s knowledge economy - yet we have been subjected to the worst aspects of the US employment-based immigration system. These include:
1) Extended wait times at each step of the immigration process.
2) Lack of transparency on the part of USCIS (re: priority date, receipt date, notice date).
3) Lack of USCIS customer service � once applications are submitted to USCIS they disappear into a black hole. Barring a website where one can nominally check one�s case status (but which in reality remains static for months, even years!) there is no concept of updating an applicant on where his case stands. And this is despite the applicant paying immigration fees that often run into thousands of dollars over the years. We are simply expected to wait in a complete void of information, for however long it may take, until approval.
4) Lost opportunities owing to the lack of job portability during the process (a time period spanning an average of five years, whereas an applicant from any country besides India gets his/her PR card in under two years).
Another inconsistency, surfacing in August 2008, begs redressal � while I-485 applicants (albeit those from 2006 instead instead of earlier years) at the TSC were being approved in a steady stream, the NSC was almost completely inactive resulting in only a very few cases being approved prior to August 20th. After this date, the NSC appeared to completely hold off on all I-485 approvals while approvals continued at the TSC. Could somebody please account for this preferential treatment for I-485 applicants at the TSC versus those at the NSC? Furthermore, when complaint faxes were sent in to the NSC in protest, instead of issuing a formal statement to explain their approach, the NSC retaliated by issuing a bunch of RFEs. Is the USCIS trying to intimidate us so that we remain quiescent??
While we are grateful for the opportunity to partake in the American dream, it is ironic that we arrive in America and find that our freedom is shackled � we are bound to our sponsoring employer from the start to the end of an extremely lengthy process. Although legal immigration reform is our ongoing aim, for now, we sincerely request you to investigate the process whereby the monthly visa bulletin is set and to ensure FIFO (first in, first out) adjustment so that those of us who have been waiting longer receive attention prior to those who have applied later. We want USCIS to be accountable to us, its paying customers.
We request you to lend us your ear and address these issues so that we are not subjected to them in the future. Kindly note that there remain roughly 15 days until the October 2008 visa bulletin goes into affect. Once October arrives, the dates for Indian EB2 candidates retrogress to 2003. We believe you have the power to help a few more of us who have been waiting, seemingly endlessly, to get out of this immigration limbo.
Thanking you,
I really appreciate your initiative in drafting this letter.Please let us know, how each one of us could contribute . Whom should the faxes/emails/pamplets be sent.
The Ombudsman
USCIS
September 10. 2008
Sir/Madam,
On behalf of the employment-based legal immigrant community in the United States of America, I am writing to highlight the ongoing egregious inefficiencies in the immigration �services� provided by the USCIS and the DOS. There have been numerous occasions when there have been erratic movements in the DOS published visa bulletin dates. This, as we understand it, is owing to USCIS under- or over-estimating the number of applicants available for adjustment of status. And in the rare instances when the date finally moves forward by a substantial window, USCIS tends to approve the more recent applications as opposed to the ones that were filed earlier. Let me explain with an example: in the July 2008 visa bulletin, the cut-off date for the India EB2 category was 01 April 2004. A month later, the cut-off date for Indian EB2 applicants abruptly moved forward two years and was set at 01 June 2006. Instead of approving applicants who applied in 2004 and 2005, USCIS approved applicants from 2006. Where is the justice in that??? Why bother publishing the cut-off date if approvals are to be randomly allocated???
We understand we have to stand in line and wait our turn. Each applicant is assigned a priority date which chronologically determines his/her turn for approval. To further complicate matters, once the I-485 is filed, a crop of other dates are issued by the USCIS � a receipt date, a notice date and a processing date. USCIS then takes the liberty to throw random rules at us � �Case adjudication is based on receipt date� �No, we process applications based on notice date�, �Actually, it�s the processing date that determines which applications are adjusted.� !!!
Please take a moment to consider how these conflicting statements and arbitrary decisions wreak havoc on our morale and psyches? No one, NOT even the USCIS, has a clue as to what exactly is happening in their processing centers. The USCIS has never been able to clearly state the exact number of applications languishing, excuse us, we meant pending, in their �service� centers! We, employment-based immigrants, are tax-paying, law-abiding, educated individuals contributing to America�s knowledge economy - yet we have been subjected to the worst aspects of the US employment-based immigration system. These include:
1) Extended wait times at each step of the immigration process.
2) Lack of transparency on the part of USCIS (re: priority date, receipt date, notice date).
3) Lack of USCIS customer service � once applications are submitted to USCIS they disappear into a black hole. Barring a website where one can nominally check one�s case status (but which in reality remains static for months, even years!) there is no concept of updating an applicant on where his case stands. And this is despite the applicant paying immigration fees that often run into thousands of dollars over the years. We are simply expected to wait in a complete void of information, for however long it may take, until approval.
4) Lost opportunities owing to the lack of job portability during the process (a time period spanning an average of five years, whereas an applicant from any country besides India gets his/her PR card in under two years).
Another inconsistency, surfacing in August 2008, begs redressal � while I-485 applicants (albeit those from 2006 instead instead of earlier years) at the TSC were being approved in a steady stream, the NSC was almost completely inactive resulting in only a very few cases being approved prior to August 20th. After this date, the NSC appeared to completely hold off on all I-485 approvals while approvals continued at the TSC. Could somebody please account for this preferential treatment for I-485 applicants at the TSC versus those at the NSC? Furthermore, when complaint faxes were sent in to the NSC in protest, instead of issuing a formal statement to explain their approach, the NSC retaliated by issuing a bunch of RFEs. Is the USCIS trying to intimidate us so that we remain quiescent??
While we are grateful for the opportunity to partake in the American dream, it is ironic that we arrive in America and find that our freedom is shackled � we are bound to our sponsoring employer from the start to the end of an extremely lengthy process. Although legal immigration reform is our ongoing aim, for now, we sincerely request you to investigate the process whereby the monthly visa bulletin is set and to ensure FIFO (first in, first out) adjustment so that those of us who have been waiting longer receive attention prior to those who have applied later. We want USCIS to be accountable to us, its paying customers.
We request you to lend us your ear and address these issues so that we are not subjected to them in the future. Kindly note that there remain roughly 15 days until the October 2008 visa bulletin goes into affect. Once October arrives, the dates for Indian EB2 candidates retrogress to 2003. We believe you have the power to help a few more of us who have been waiting, seemingly endlessly, to get out of this immigration limbo.
Thanking you,
I really appreciate your initiative in drafting this letter.Please let us know, how each one of us could contribute . Whom should the faxes/emails/pamplets be sent.
more...
santb1975
11-28 12:32 PM
^^^
2010 dresses 1991-2005 Acura NSX
asharda
07-06 03:36 PM
Deliver on 7/10/2007 to:
Mr Emilio Gonzalez
US Citizen and Immigration Service
20 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20529
United States
202-307-1565
Occasion:
Sympathy
Message:
Dear Mr. Gonzalez, Thank you for giving us hope on June 12 and taking it away on July 2(I-485 reversal). I Pray you never have to go through this pain, sorrow and torture
God Bless America
Mr Emilio Gonzalez
US Citizen and Immigration Service
20 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20529
United States
202-307-1565
Occasion:
Sympathy
Message:
Dear Mr. Gonzalez, Thank you for giving us hope on June 12 and taking it away on July 2(I-485 reversal). I Pray you never have to go through this pain, sorrow and torture
God Bless America
more...
villamonte6100
08-10 11:27 AM
My opinion is that you should be fine. Just make sure that you've nailed everything down correctly on your G-325A.
This might be a side track but what types of questions INS ask during GC interview.
ANYONE?
This might be a side track but what types of questions INS ask during GC interview.
ANYONE?
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belmontboy
04-15 09:00 PM
PlainSpeak...F1 are not burden to US, they pay big college fees for the education.
You know who is real burden, thats H4 visa holders like you. who have nothing to do. they just sit home eat and fight.
you are a classic example of burden to the society.. you are spending all the time here and fighting with everyone.
if anyone starts talking about anything, you just come and start fighting.
Jet
Lets not denigrate all the H4's. I am sure our near and dear ones aren't vile as PlainSpeak.
Funny post though
You know who is real burden, thats H4 visa holders like you. who have nothing to do. they just sit home eat and fight.
you are a classic example of burden to the society.. you are spending all the time here and fighting with everyone.
if anyone starts talking about anything, you just come and start fighting.
Jet
Lets not denigrate all the H4's. I am sure our near and dear ones aren't vile as PlainSpeak.
Funny post though
more...
ajay
06-16 01:14 PM
Ajay and his family hosted us. Thanks a lot to him and his family.
Thanks Ameet for your compliments. It was our pleasure also to have you with your family with us. We also enjoyed your stay.
Thanks Ameet for your compliments. It was our pleasure also to have you with your family with us. We also enjoyed your stay.
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nandakumar
03-06 01:24 PM
I'll contribute.
more...
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jonty_11
07-05 06:26 PM
no count in faster than yes count..
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sugaur
12-09 07:31 PM
Thanks for posting the link.
1.4.6 A pregnant inmate shall not be restrained while in labor, while giving birth, or during the post-partum recovery period, unless requested by attending medical staff or as specifically directed by the Warden. If restraints are necessary in any manner under such conditions, they should be the least restrictive type possible to remain consistent with sound security practices.
So the warden can still order restraints.
1.4.6 A pregnant inmate shall not be restrained while in labor, while giving birth, or during the post-partum recovery period, unless requested by attending medical staff or as specifically directed by the Warden. If restraints are necessary in any manner under such conditions, they should be the least restrictive type possible to remain consistent with sound security practices.
So the warden can still order restraints.
more...
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venkat80
08-22 12:14 AM
On March 12, 2002, the House passed such an extension. Section
245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act was first enacted as a temporary
provision in 1994 and has been extended several times since then. It enables
unauthorized aliens in the United States who are eligible for immigrant visas based on
family relationships or job skills to become legal permanent residents (LPRs) without
leaving the country, provided they pay an additional fee. Before an alien can apply
to adjust to LPR status, the alien must have an approved immigrant visa petition and
must have a visa number immediately available to him or her. Currently, to be eligible
to adjust status under �245(i), an unauthorized alien must be the beneficiary of an
immigrant petition or labor certification application filed by April 30, 2001. An
unauthorized alien whose petition or application was not filed by April 30, 2001 must
go overseas to obtain a visa.
Originally Posted by amsgc
- What was the subject?
It was some thing like 245- xxxxx India/China- Was it about about EB or FB?
245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act was first enacted as a temporary
provision in 1994 and has been extended several times since then. It enables
unauthorized aliens in the United States who are eligible for immigrant visas based on
family relationships or job skills to become legal permanent residents (LPRs) without
leaving the country, provided they pay an additional fee. Before an alien can apply
to adjust to LPR status, the alien must have an approved immigrant visa petition and
must have a visa number immediately available to him or her. Currently, to be eligible
to adjust status under �245(i), an unauthorized alien must be the beneficiary of an
immigrant petition or labor certification application filed by April 30, 2001. An
unauthorized alien whose petition or application was not filed by April 30, 2001 must
go overseas to obtain a visa.
Originally Posted by amsgc
- What was the subject?
It was some thing like 245- xxxxx India/China- Was it about about EB or FB?
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am2006
12-18 08:30 PM
I did put the 4-digit code from front of the card. Don't know what the issue is. Anyway used another card and contributed successfully. Want to make sure the focus of the group is on making more contributions, and not get bogged down with any issues that might come up. We are on a roll folks!!!!
more...
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greatguy
12-19 11:36 AM
billpay initiated for 20 bucks. Will reach the PO Box address in 5 business days.
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suresh1
08-14 01:54 PM
My I-485 was recieved on 7/3/07.
140 was approved 6/2006 by TSC. See a LUD on 7/28/07.
My 485 was sent to NSC.
Still waiting for reciepts/cashed checks.
140 was approved 6/2006 by TSC. See a LUD on 7/28/07.
My 485 was sent to NSC.
Still waiting for reciepts/cashed checks.
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frostrated
08-11 12:43 PM
i guess with more EB3 folks moving to EB2, it will help those of us who are stuck with no option to move to EB2. :)
i think they need to make a rule where if you are stuck more than 5 years due to retrogression, all over flow visas need to be first given to those folks in the order of PD.
i think they need to make a rule where if you are stuck more than 5 years due to retrogression, all over flow visas need to be first given to those folks in the order of PD.
shantanup
06-16 04:01 PM
Good to have you back in action. Your attitude towards IV issues, lawmaker meetings and advocacy efforts in general is inspiring for others.
A Great Big Thank You to all of you who have been Contributing to enable IV to organize an event of this proportion.
My sincere gratitude for the countless hours/days/weeks/months that IV leadership has donated in doing the background work and getting the advocacy days put together. Special thanks to Aman, Himanshu, Pratik, Anu, Jay, Sivkanth, Gopal, Puneet, Kiran, Meenal, Prasad, Bimal, Vikrant, Devang, Ravi, Renji, Ameet & all the DC folk who arranged for out-of-staters to stay in their homes and helped with all the logistics. I got to witness your contributions first-hand. Thank You to your families who supported you and to all the other volunteers working remotely and finally to the ones that I inadvertently left out, a humongous thanks to you too! Kudos to the member from California who attended the event despite having a sick baby at home. Many many attendees have made many many personal sacrifices to come for this event and they are worthy of applause.
At first, I was hesitant to join because I hadn't been as actively involved in the past months; there was too much personal stuff going on that needed to be dealt with; too much work load, and taking vacation now meant I would have to take unpaid leave when I needed it later. Plus the cost of tickets and getting away from family responsibilities. I thought I could escape with a $ contribution and let someone else do the real work. However, a few phone calls later, I realized how lame all this sounded when people that didn't need to be doing this were working hard for my issues and volunteering for an effort of which I was going to be a beneficiary. It helped that we had a team of members from Texas chapter who had already come forward to go to DC and others were contributing to enable more members to participate.
Many conference calls were organized by IV leadership right up to the day of the event and many volunteers made hundreds of phone calls to request our members to participate and represent their state and districts. After all, members of congress are working to solve issues that are most affecting their own constituents and having members from their own district coming to DC carries a lot of weight. Many IV members I spoke with had some problem or another and couldn't make it, and then there were few that really wanted to help out in any way they could. In the background, meetings were being sought from both Senate and House representatives, and confirmations were coming in right up to the last minute.
Situation Room on Sunday:
Got to the Situation Room in Hyatt on Sunday afternoon. Nervous excitement was in the air. Meeting new faces & reconnecting with old ones brought back memories of September 2007 and the atmosphere of college festivals. Training sessions were already in progress, followed by mock sessions which I thought were a terrific idea. There were printers set up and volunteers were at work printing business cards and IV information materials and arranging them into folders. Another row of tables had been set up for signing in, IV coordinator & state chapter leaders were matching up meetings with team members , reaching out to members to confirm their attendance and new members were pouring in throughout the day and evening. Pictures were being taken and posted on the blog. Past and present USCIS Ombudsman visited us there and supported us and spent time talking to us one on one. There were a couple of people that had joined IV just a few days ago and now participating in Lobby Day. Then there was my DC host who was not going to be able to participate in the meetings, but the energy of the situation room got to him and made him change his decision. And how couldn't it! I stayed there helping out until midnight, but a few folks didn't leave until the wee hours of dawn. I must confess that IV Situation Room is THE most fun thing to do in DC. For those of you who missed it, I hope Congress does nothing and you get another chance when IV plans this again. (just kidding...)
Monday - Day 1 of Advocacy:
We met in situation room in the morning. Everyone picked up their schedules for the day and were off to a day of true grass-roots work of educating Congressional staff of our issues and proposing solutions. The most important part was telling our own stories of how the process is affecting our lives and driving talent out of the country. The staff members were very polite and listened carefully to our points. Not one of them argued against any of our issues. The support was there, although we did hear things about political climate causing the delay in action on part of Congress. I was done with meetings at 4 pm on Monday and we walked across the Capitol and onto New Jersey Avenue enjoying the perfect DC weather on our way back to the Situation Room. Folders had to be prepared for the next day and schedules created as well, since there were some last minute meetings coming in & some members not able to make it for the next day. We also had to pack and move and set up the new room upstairs since we switched rooms in the Hyatt. Once again, we got out of there at 3.30 am, and had to get back in by 9am.
Tuesday - Day 2 of Advocacy
Another full day of meetings was in store for everyone. We had fewer members on Tuesday since a lot of them had gone back on Monday and a lot of members did at least a few meetings by themselves. By this time we were all experts at the message we needed to deliver. Once again the response was similar. Some of the offices gave us leads into other representatives that might be able to champion the issue. Some of them were supportive of administrative fixes that could be done while Congress contemplates on larger fixes. Tuesday was the first time I had meetings on both the House and Senate side and we walked through the Capitol to get to the other side. There is a little mini train you can ride and the building has impressive murals and architecture. But we had very little time to appreciate those in detail. I had the opportunity to meet one Senator himself and it was a whole new feeling being face-to-face and talking to someone that shapes American future laws everyday and is directly going to vote on my issue. This is what democracy was all about, and IV was the enabler providing me the opportunity to be heard on the Hill.
Tuesday - Congressional Reception
This was held in the Capitol itself, we had leading lawyers attend as well as Ombudsman and Congressional staff and lobbyists. There was some nice food to be enjoyed by all, informal discussions, humor and brainstorming for the future. After the 2 hour reception many had flights to catch and rest of us went back to wrap up in the Situation room and brainstorm for the future.
At the end of it all, I was a little sad to leave all the excitement and return to "normal" life. But there is tons of work to be done in local chapters and those of us who have been to DC know how important it is to go and seek out the members from each and every constituency from our state, get members to come forward and talk to the media, and finally raise funds so that we can continue lobbying Congress to fix this problem.
Thank You IV for providing us with this platform to get our voices heard where it matters the most. Go IV!
A Great Big Thank You to all of you who have been Contributing to enable IV to organize an event of this proportion.
My sincere gratitude for the countless hours/days/weeks/months that IV leadership has donated in doing the background work and getting the advocacy days put together. Special thanks to Aman, Himanshu, Pratik, Anu, Jay, Sivkanth, Gopal, Puneet, Kiran, Meenal, Prasad, Bimal, Vikrant, Devang, Ravi, Renji, Ameet & all the DC folk who arranged for out-of-staters to stay in their homes and helped with all the logistics. I got to witness your contributions first-hand. Thank You to your families who supported you and to all the other volunteers working remotely and finally to the ones that I inadvertently left out, a humongous thanks to you too! Kudos to the member from California who attended the event despite having a sick baby at home. Many many attendees have made many many personal sacrifices to come for this event and they are worthy of applause.
At first, I was hesitant to join because I hadn't been as actively involved in the past months; there was too much personal stuff going on that needed to be dealt with; too much work load, and taking vacation now meant I would have to take unpaid leave when I needed it later. Plus the cost of tickets and getting away from family responsibilities. I thought I could escape with a $ contribution and let someone else do the real work. However, a few phone calls later, I realized how lame all this sounded when people that didn't need to be doing this were working hard for my issues and volunteering for an effort of which I was going to be a beneficiary. It helped that we had a team of members from Texas chapter who had already come forward to go to DC and others were contributing to enable more members to participate.
Many conference calls were organized by IV leadership right up to the day of the event and many volunteers made hundreds of phone calls to request our members to participate and represent their state and districts. After all, members of congress are working to solve issues that are most affecting their own constituents and having members from their own district coming to DC carries a lot of weight. Many IV members I spoke with had some problem or another and couldn't make it, and then there were few that really wanted to help out in any way they could. In the background, meetings were being sought from both Senate and House representatives, and confirmations were coming in right up to the last minute.
Situation Room on Sunday:
Got to the Situation Room in Hyatt on Sunday afternoon. Nervous excitement was in the air. Meeting new faces & reconnecting with old ones brought back memories of September 2007 and the atmosphere of college festivals. Training sessions were already in progress, followed by mock sessions which I thought were a terrific idea. There were printers set up and volunteers were at work printing business cards and IV information materials and arranging them into folders. Another row of tables had been set up for signing in, IV coordinator & state chapter leaders were matching up meetings with team members , reaching out to members to confirm their attendance and new members were pouring in throughout the day and evening. Pictures were being taken and posted on the blog. Past and present USCIS Ombudsman visited us there and supported us and spent time talking to us one on one. There were a couple of people that had joined IV just a few days ago and now participating in Lobby Day. Then there was my DC host who was not going to be able to participate in the meetings, but the energy of the situation room got to him and made him change his decision. And how couldn't it! I stayed there helping out until midnight, but a few folks didn't leave until the wee hours of dawn. I must confess that IV Situation Room is THE most fun thing to do in DC. For those of you who missed it, I hope Congress does nothing and you get another chance when IV plans this again. (just kidding...)
Monday - Day 1 of Advocacy:
We met in situation room in the morning. Everyone picked up their schedules for the day and were off to a day of true grass-roots work of educating Congressional staff of our issues and proposing solutions. The most important part was telling our own stories of how the process is affecting our lives and driving talent out of the country. The staff members were very polite and listened carefully to our points. Not one of them argued against any of our issues. The support was there, although we did hear things about political climate causing the delay in action on part of Congress. I was done with meetings at 4 pm on Monday and we walked across the Capitol and onto New Jersey Avenue enjoying the perfect DC weather on our way back to the Situation Room. Folders had to be prepared for the next day and schedules created as well, since there were some last minute meetings coming in & some members not able to make it for the next day. We also had to pack and move and set up the new room upstairs since we switched rooms in the Hyatt. Once again, we got out of there at 3.30 am, and had to get back in by 9am.
Tuesday - Day 2 of Advocacy
Another full day of meetings was in store for everyone. We had fewer members on Tuesday since a lot of them had gone back on Monday and a lot of members did at least a few meetings by themselves. By this time we were all experts at the message we needed to deliver. Once again the response was similar. Some of the offices gave us leads into other representatives that might be able to champion the issue. Some of them were supportive of administrative fixes that could be done while Congress contemplates on larger fixes. Tuesday was the first time I had meetings on both the House and Senate side and we walked through the Capitol to get to the other side. There is a little mini train you can ride and the building has impressive murals and architecture. But we had very little time to appreciate those in detail. I had the opportunity to meet one Senator himself and it was a whole new feeling being face-to-face and talking to someone that shapes American future laws everyday and is directly going to vote on my issue. This is what democracy was all about, and IV was the enabler providing me the opportunity to be heard on the Hill.
Tuesday - Congressional Reception
This was held in the Capitol itself, we had leading lawyers attend as well as Ombudsman and Congressional staff and lobbyists. There was some nice food to be enjoyed by all, informal discussions, humor and brainstorming for the future. After the 2 hour reception many had flights to catch and rest of us went back to wrap up in the Situation room and brainstorm for the future.
At the end of it all, I was a little sad to leave all the excitement and return to "normal" life. But there is tons of work to be done in local chapters and those of us who have been to DC know how important it is to go and seek out the members from each and every constituency from our state, get members to come forward and talk to the media, and finally raise funds so that we can continue lobbying Congress to fix this problem.
Thank You IV for providing us with this platform to get our voices heard where it matters the most. Go IV!
mpadapa
09-07 10:08 PM
come on man!! Give me a break:eek:
IV members R going to prove U wrong by having more than 5,000 ppl for the rally.. Why don't U (Sherman_tribiani) chill out on a friday night and get the hell out of here.
We will prove U wrong on Sep 18. Come to DC on Sep 18 and be a witness along with U'r buddy lou doubbs:D
Isn’t it odd that the timing of your rally coincides with the introduction of the Strive act?
Granted you scored a point when you were allowed to file for employment authorization this July. If your one rally worked, do you really think other rallies will work too? The world of politics is driven by numbers; you do not have enough numbers to get any lawmaker interested. So wake up Macacas, admit it, you all are bunch of losers.
So far as the skills are concerned, you have been harping on the theme that you are highly skilled? If the definition of highly skilled is a mere undergrad degrees then 75% of Adult Americans are highly skilled. I bet not even 5% of you have PHDs and you call yourself highly skilled. Huhhh
And this for the leadership of your organization: You are wasting your time. If you are so desperate to get green cards contact me. We will see what we can do… One thing I believe though is this country needs people with leadership skills and not so called "Highly Skilled". So I will be more than happy to work with you. I am sure you have my e-mail address. At the least, I can help make the process faster for you, if so called visa numbers are available.
IV members R going to prove U wrong by having more than 5,000 ppl for the rally.. Why don't U (Sherman_tribiani) chill out on a friday night and get the hell out of here.
We will prove U wrong on Sep 18. Come to DC on Sep 18 and be a witness along with U'r buddy lou doubbs:D
Isn’t it odd that the timing of your rally coincides with the introduction of the Strive act?
Granted you scored a point when you were allowed to file for employment authorization this July. If your one rally worked, do you really think other rallies will work too? The world of politics is driven by numbers; you do not have enough numbers to get any lawmaker interested. So wake up Macacas, admit it, you all are bunch of losers.
So far as the skills are concerned, you have been harping on the theme that you are highly skilled? If the definition of highly skilled is a mere undergrad degrees then 75% of Adult Americans are highly skilled. I bet not even 5% of you have PHDs and you call yourself highly skilled. Huhhh
And this for the leadership of your organization: You are wasting your time. If you are so desperate to get green cards contact me. We will see what we can do… One thing I believe though is this country needs people with leadership skills and not so called "Highly Skilled". So I will be more than happy to work with you. I am sure you have my e-mail address. At the least, I can help make the process faster for you, if so called visa numbers are available.
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