we_can
12-19 02:51 PM
$25. Kudos to this fund raising effort.
Even though $100 was not a minimum, I think that there was a psychological barrier of having it as the first visible option on the contribution page that was deterring a lot of users (including yours truly).
I encourage everyone on this forum to come forward and do this.
Even though $100 was not a minimum, I think that there was a psychological barrier of having it as the first visible option on the contribution page that was deterring a lot of users (including yours truly).
I encourage everyone on this forum to come forward and do this.
wallpaper The interior
abracadabra102
07-11 10:51 AM
my reply was only meant to highlight what you have been doing on this thread. i do not care who is in which EB category. and i know exactly how people with masters degrees suffer in EB3. however, for you to argue that all category preference should just disappear, is quite ridiculous and i have explained the reasons to you. that does not mean people in EB3 are not suffering or that all those in EB3 are either holding advanced degrees or 3 year bachelor degrees. that stereotyping is in your head alone. certainly not in mine. you never answered any of my questions though. what would be the effect of YOUR solutions? would people like me EVER get a GC?
please do not unload your frustrations on all of us and derail what should be important.
iv has one goal- to end retrogression. period. iv's founder belonged to EB3. so do several core members. you have some funny perception that iv is about EB2. so be it. ironical though, because iv is commonly accused of being an entirely EB3 india organization.
so let me hear how the following things iv has constantly been fighting for, are somehow not helpful for EB3??
recapture GC
exempt families
remove country quotas
as for STEM exemption, if EB2 clears up, where do you think the GC numbers will go? what should we ask for? exemption for all??? not to mention that would get YOU a GC as quickly as possible and would LEAVE ME OUT. i still call and lobby for STEM exemption. i don't whine and moan on the forum about how it excludes health care professionals. if i have an issue, i work to resolve it- note the iv-physicians chapter in my signature that works to resolve specific issues. i created it and we have had success in reaching lawmakers with our problems.
anyway, iv is clearly not about a few leaders. the tone on the forums and the discussions are dictated by its members. iv has more EB3 members than any other category. so now ask yourself, WHY does the forum seem to discuss more EB2 issues (at least to you) ??? whose fault would that be if it were true? who needs to take responsibility to highlight their issues?
you have the option to change your job sir. if you are so frustrated, find a job that is up to your skill levels. you will not hear me on this forum complaining that EB1 should not get preference- hey i contribute as much or more. so why?
get with it. we fight the battles we think we can win. ANY GC numbers/exemptions will move everyone ahead in the line. what part of that do you not understand?
and now again. stop this divisive crap. we have more important issues to deal with.
Excellent post. My thoughts exactly.
please do not unload your frustrations on all of us and derail what should be important.
iv has one goal- to end retrogression. period. iv's founder belonged to EB3. so do several core members. you have some funny perception that iv is about EB2. so be it. ironical though, because iv is commonly accused of being an entirely EB3 india organization.
so let me hear how the following things iv has constantly been fighting for, are somehow not helpful for EB3??
recapture GC
exempt families
remove country quotas
as for STEM exemption, if EB2 clears up, where do you think the GC numbers will go? what should we ask for? exemption for all??? not to mention that would get YOU a GC as quickly as possible and would LEAVE ME OUT. i still call and lobby for STEM exemption. i don't whine and moan on the forum about how it excludes health care professionals. if i have an issue, i work to resolve it- note the iv-physicians chapter in my signature that works to resolve specific issues. i created it and we have had success in reaching lawmakers with our problems.
anyway, iv is clearly not about a few leaders. the tone on the forums and the discussions are dictated by its members. iv has more EB3 members than any other category. so now ask yourself, WHY does the forum seem to discuss more EB2 issues (at least to you) ??? whose fault would that be if it were true? who needs to take responsibility to highlight their issues?
you have the option to change your job sir. if you are so frustrated, find a job that is up to your skill levels. you will not hear me on this forum complaining that EB1 should not get preference- hey i contribute as much or more. so why?
get with it. we fight the battles we think we can win. ANY GC numbers/exemptions will move everyone ahead in the line. what part of that do you not understand?
and now again. stop this divisive crap. we have more important issues to deal with.
Excellent post. My thoughts exactly.
Macaca
02-04 07:35 PM
I have tried to explain the general approach taken by an American System in another forum. The moral of it is that don't think that someone (USCIS/senator/congressperson) does not know what they are doing. They know what they are doing and will continue doing it unless someone kicks their ass.
As an example, White House did not do the right thing with a Canadian citizen by sending him to his contry where he was tortured (the story was on last week; the person got millions from Canadian Govt). So far Republicans did not care about it. Last week a democratic committee chewed Gonzales's (in charge of USCIS also) ass. He said he will provide evidence soon.
I have been in similar situations where I have to do things not liked by some persons. I just act dumb and keep doing what I have to do unless someone much higher up chews my ass.
This is standard American procedure.
As an example, White House did not do the right thing with a Canadian citizen by sending him to his contry where he was tortured (the story was on last week; the person got millions from Canadian Govt). So far Republicans did not care about it. Last week a democratic committee chewed Gonzales's (in charge of USCIS also) ass. He said he will provide evidence soon.
I have been in similar situations where I have to do things not liked by some persons. I just act dumb and keep doing what I have to do unless someone much higher up chews my ass.
This is standard American procedure.
2011 2011 Jaguar XJ Supercharged
theMan
12-18 09:05 PM
Second round of contribution sent in. Hope all members follow suit. We should not let the lack on funds come in the way of getting the job done. Appreciate all the hard work put in by the members.
more...
gc_check
04-13 10:38 PM
Do you or anyone who thinks that backlogs are due to labor substitution have any proof to claim so ?
Even if there were some, they definitely won't be in large numbers. First of all to use a sub labor, one labor had to become available. Do you think there were so many labors floating around to grab one ? I don't think so.
How come EB3 ROW went "U" if all the backlog was due to labor subs ?
Well, There are many people still waiting for GC with original labor and not substitute labor with PD 2003 or prior to that. I'm not saying Sub Labor is the only reason, but it is one of the reason. Even though they are few...the impact is big... With 7% per country limit and visa numbers looks like would not spill over to EB3 due to demand in EB2 and other categories, even very few (say 3000 - 6000 labor sub applications) could consume a year or 2 years worth of visa numbers for this category for retro countries.... Even each family member (dependent) would consume a visa... with atleat 2 visa per applicant, 3000 - 5000 total EB3 labor sub could easily consume 2 years quote... if you count all.. then the "U" in VB might make sense... For EB3 ROW, there are lotz of people from Canada, S. Korea, Thailand, Australia, UK etc, and it went 'U' from 2003... The dates could move well for ROW... but for retrogressed country, I do not see the bright side yet.... Also the 485 PD was current for all categories almost all of 2003 & 2004 till Dec 31 2004, It retrogressed starting from Jan 2005 and later.... Also, the total 140,000 is for all EB categories. The 3000 - 5000 is just a conservative realistic guess.. not based on any data. Do the Math !!! You might agree !!!
Even if there were some, they definitely won't be in large numbers. First of all to use a sub labor, one labor had to become available. Do you think there were so many labors floating around to grab one ? I don't think so.
How come EB3 ROW went "U" if all the backlog was due to labor subs ?
Well, There are many people still waiting for GC with original labor and not substitute labor with PD 2003 or prior to that. I'm not saying Sub Labor is the only reason, but it is one of the reason. Even though they are few...the impact is big... With 7% per country limit and visa numbers looks like would not spill over to EB3 due to demand in EB2 and other categories, even very few (say 3000 - 6000 labor sub applications) could consume a year or 2 years worth of visa numbers for this category for retro countries.... Even each family member (dependent) would consume a visa... with atleat 2 visa per applicant, 3000 - 5000 total EB3 labor sub could easily consume 2 years quote... if you count all.. then the "U" in VB might make sense... For EB3 ROW, there are lotz of people from Canada, S. Korea, Thailand, Australia, UK etc, and it went 'U' from 2003... The dates could move well for ROW... but for retrogressed country, I do not see the bright side yet.... Also the 485 PD was current for all categories almost all of 2003 & 2004 till Dec 31 2004, It retrogressed starting from Jan 2005 and later.... Also, the total 140,000 is for all EB categories. The 3000 - 5000 is just a conservative realistic guess.. not based on any data. Do the Math !!! You might agree !!!
hebbar77
04-13 02:29 PM
I am no expert but here is what I think.
by concentrating energy on spilled over milk, why not work towards recapturing unused visa numbers? It has been done in past successfully. It is in huge numbers, guess around 300-400K or so.
while wasting energy on 2-3K or may be 5K lc sub cases will do no good for everyone. visa recapture will solve problems for most of the community.
take your pick. its no brainer!!!
LC Sub is long gone. Those who *legally* got pre-2001 may already have gc by now, and its not going to affect them anyway.
Think in a professional manner and do what provides the most benefit.
ok , agreed. Can pappu get it done within certain time. How much does it cost?
Lets share the bill. Straight to business!
by concentrating energy on spilled over milk, why not work towards recapturing unused visa numbers? It has been done in past successfully. It is in huge numbers, guess around 300-400K or so.
while wasting energy on 2-3K or may be 5K lc sub cases will do no good for everyone. visa recapture will solve problems for most of the community.
take your pick. its no brainer!!!
LC Sub is long gone. Those who *legally* got pre-2001 may already have gc by now, and its not going to affect them anyway.
Think in a professional manner and do what provides the most benefit.
ok , agreed. Can pappu get it done within certain time. How much does it cost?
Lets share the bill. Straight to business!
more...
dtekkedil
07-08 12:11 PM
Where is this address on USCIS web site. I cannot find it .Can someone post the link . I want to verify before I send the flowers
http://grassley.senate.gov/releases/2006/02272006.pdf
http://grassley.senate.gov/releases/2006/02272006.pdf
2010 2010 - Jaguar XJ
mambarg
07-17 06:58 PM
Thanks a lot.
You guys are great. I am very happy today.
You guys are great. I am very happy today.
more...
sk2006
08-15 03:25 AM
If your PD was current, but they didn't give you a visa, that is a mistake. Why should someone report getting a visa is a mistake? He applied for the visa, he/she got it. Is it his/her job to watch USCIS? What future problems should he/she expect for getting a visa?
It is your choice but there were suggestions from attorneys that if GC is issued when PD is not current, it should be reported to USCIS to avoid future troubles. Search this forum for details. There were two threads disucssing this.
Further, it is great mis-impression that everyone who applies for a GC watches visa bulletins, or knows how they work.
Yes. Not until the ass is on fire. Then they run to IV.
Some don't even have emails.
:eek::confused:
It is your choice but there were suggestions from attorneys that if GC is issued when PD is not current, it should be reported to USCIS to avoid future troubles. Search this forum for details. There were two threads disucssing this.
Further, it is great mis-impression that everyone who applies for a GC watches visa bulletins, or knows how they work.
Yes. Not until the ass is on fire. Then they run to IV.
Some don't even have emails.
:eek::confused:
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bsbawa10
09-11 06:43 AM
Did you try this campaign?
Matthew Oh has posted an appeal to USCIS to make sure no visa number is wasted , in light of the grim October bulletin.
If he can make an appeal, why are we not making an effort for our own good?I still see TSC giving some approvals very slowly. NSC just sucks. I believe NSC did all this in retaliation to the faxes people sent in to complain slow processing, which were very justified faxes.
I see some accusations labelled at me about selfish EB2 motives. This is not about EB2. Even if dates are current, NSC is sleeping from last week of August. We cannot just allow them to arbitrarily close the gate whenever they want. People are allowed to file 485s till Sep 30. Consular processing applicants will go through. We, I485 pending applicants will just watch like idiots. The issue here is to make USCIS work on basis of visa bulletin, which is what they are supposed to do. Someday after say re-capture bill passes, say Eb3 is current. Then, what guarantee is there that NSC will not repeat the same fiasco?
I fully appreciate the need to direct efforts towards re-capture bill. But, this issue is equally important.
I am totally furstrated by the lack of mobilization in this direction. I request everybody to so something in the remaining 20 days.
I wrote letter to Zoe, I am going to write to more congressmen. But yes, I am also frustrated by lack of mobilization. I am strongly against sending flower compaign. USCIS does not deserve flowers. It deserves demand for resignation of every slack person in there.
Can any one of us survive in our jobs for 5 days even if we do the kind of arbitrary/inconsistent/random actions like USCIS does ?
Matthew Oh has posted an appeal to USCIS to make sure no visa number is wasted , in light of the grim October bulletin.
If he can make an appeal, why are we not making an effort for our own good?I still see TSC giving some approvals very slowly. NSC just sucks. I believe NSC did all this in retaliation to the faxes people sent in to complain slow processing, which were very justified faxes.
I see some accusations labelled at me about selfish EB2 motives. This is not about EB2. Even if dates are current, NSC is sleeping from last week of August. We cannot just allow them to arbitrarily close the gate whenever they want. People are allowed to file 485s till Sep 30. Consular processing applicants will go through. We, I485 pending applicants will just watch like idiots. The issue here is to make USCIS work on basis of visa bulletin, which is what they are supposed to do. Someday after say re-capture bill passes, say Eb3 is current. Then, what guarantee is there that NSC will not repeat the same fiasco?
I fully appreciate the need to direct efforts towards re-capture bill. But, this issue is equally important.
I am totally furstrated by the lack of mobilization in this direction. I request everybody to so something in the remaining 20 days.
I wrote letter to Zoe, I am going to write to more congressmen. But yes, I am also frustrated by lack of mobilization. I am strongly against sending flower compaign. USCIS does not deserve flowers. It deserves demand for resignation of every slack person in there.
Can any one of us survive in our jobs for 5 days even if we do the kind of arbitrary/inconsistent/random actions like USCIS does ?
more...
raamskl
07-22 08:51 PM
Hi,
I am married and my husband is working in US on H1B visa. I came into the country with an L1 visa in Dec '06. The I 94 is valid till Oct 2009.
In Apr 2007, I applied for my H1B and it was approved with a start date of October 2007.
I quit my company by end of May 2007. Since the H1B was NOT applied with COS, I applied for my H4 last week but I have not got the approval notice for H4 yet. :(
Is it still possible for my husband to file my 485 along with his? What do I enter for questions regarding my current status?? Can I say that my current status is H4 and give the "valid till" date as the end date of my husband's H1B date?
Please help!!!
Thanks Elfreda
Isn't Elfreda out of status since May '07 when the L1 ended, as I guess the company she was working for would have reported it? H1 doesn't start until oct '07 and H4 is pending, so what is the status now??
Does anyone else have any informed opinion?
Thanks.
I am married and my husband is working in US on H1B visa. I came into the country with an L1 visa in Dec '06. The I 94 is valid till Oct 2009.
In Apr 2007, I applied for my H1B and it was approved with a start date of October 2007.
I quit my company by end of May 2007. Since the H1B was NOT applied with COS, I applied for my H4 last week but I have not got the approval notice for H4 yet. :(
Is it still possible for my husband to file my 485 along with his? What do I enter for questions regarding my current status?? Can I say that my current status is H4 and give the "valid till" date as the end date of my husband's H1B date?
Please help!!!
Thanks Elfreda
Isn't Elfreda out of status since May '07 when the L1 ended, as I guess the company she was working for would have reported it? H1 doesn't start until oct '07 and H4 is pending, so what is the status now??
Does anyone else have any informed opinion?
Thanks.
hot Jaguar XJ - Interior, 2012
sugaur
12-09 04:41 PM
Ok. One last shot. You need to get better with your posting skills, don't type up comments inline and then call the other person blind :)
The links which I posted have nothing to do with left or right. Skip the commentary if you so please, read the quotes attributed to the Sheriff.
Like I posted earlier, I am not condoning the illegal acts per se, just how 'law' was being implemented.
We can agree to disagree. We just don't look at things the same way. I am done here. Good luck. Peace !
Same to you:) And I hope you see the light soon!:)
The links which I posted have nothing to do with left or right. Skip the commentary if you so please, read the quotes attributed to the Sheriff.
Like I posted earlier, I am not condoning the illegal acts per se, just how 'law' was being implemented.
We can agree to disagree. We just don't look at things the same way. I am done here. Good luck. Peace !
Same to you:) And I hope you see the light soon!:)
more...
house Jaguar Xj Interior Photos.
sai_dt2000
08-11 02:36 PM
LaserCard Systems : News & Events : Press Releases (http://www.lasercard.com/newsReleases.php?key=50&release=175&yr=2009)
tattoo 08-2011 Jaguar XJ interior
Milind123
09-07 11:09 PM
We have known Rosa Park personally and she was a speaker at one of our meetings and let me tell you none of you are close to what she was.
It looks like you are planning to go to DC. There is big difference between planning and execution. You folks are theoritical and not practical. This time the bus will be empty. You just don't have it in you. Take it from me.
BTW it's Parks not Park. Of course she was a great lady. If any one of us are close to her, no one really knows. Not ever you. Maybe we will get a "Rosa Parks" in this rally. If that happens you will write:
"We have known "Rosa Parks" and she was a speaker at one of our meetings and let me tell you ........"
It looks like you are planning to go to DC. There is big difference between planning and execution. You folks are theoritical and not practical. This time the bus will be empty. You just don't have it in you. Take it from me.
BTW it's Parks not Park. Of course she was a great lady. If any one of us are close to her, no one really knows. Not ever you. Maybe we will get a "Rosa Parks" in this rally. If that happens you will write:
"We have known "Rosa Parks" and she was a speaker at one of our meetings and let me tell you ........"
more...
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gctest
09-16 10:00 AM
You were obviously born stupid.
I am not really a great fan of your attitude towards people from India
Is India... go back...
Let us post your EB2 job online so that I can help find a US person to do it.
PM me.. OK?
I am not really a great fan of your attitude towards people from India
Is India... go back...
Let us post your EB2 job online so that I can help find a US person to do it.
PM me.. OK?
dresses 2012 Jaguar XJ Interior View
GCWORRIES
04-26 07:38 AM
I think you should consider accepting stories of those you have yet to start their GC process. This gives another perspective, to tell people that even those who are highly qualified and experienced are in two minds whether to file for GC or not. Why this thought? this is because the delays and long wait acts as a deterent. End of the day, if these people are already frustrated at the onset, then they may decide to leave US and seek opportunities elsewhere, leading to loss of such valuable talent to the US. This was explicitly highlighted in yesterday's Judiciary Committee presentations by the four Economists.
While accepting stories from those waiting for GC, please also accept stories from those who are apprehensive of filing due to the delays, hence conveying a reason that US risks losing highly skilled workers should these circumstances continue.
These are my thoughts!
While accepting stories from those waiting for GC, please also accept stories from those who are apprehensive of filing due to the delays, hence conveying a reason that US risks losing highly skilled workers should these circumstances continue.
These are my thoughts!
more...
makeup Jaguar Xj Interior Pics
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!
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english_august
07-06 08:49 AM
No the core group doesn't oppose or endorse the idea. If you like the idea then go for it.
As for the media coverage, I was talking to a reporter last night and he agreed that this was a very good way to get media attention - so if people can increase the numbers, it would really help.
Additionally, here are my 2 cents on how the media coverage works. You think up of something unique and then create a buzz around it by talking about it in various forums, blog sites etc. So here's what I've done
1. Wrote about it on Desicritics: http://desicritics.org/2007/07/06/004733.php
2. Posted this message to South Asian Journalists Association mailing list (www.saja.org)
3. Talking to various reporters to cover this
You cannot get everyone excited about all the action items, correct? So if people are excited about this, why grumble about some of them not supporting other action items? I for one have actively taken part in all of them and I like this one as well.
As for the media coverage, I was talking to a reporter last night and he agreed that this was a very good way to get media attention - so if people can increase the numbers, it would really help.
Additionally, here are my 2 cents on how the media coverage works. You think up of something unique and then create a buzz around it by talking about it in various forums, blog sites etc. So here's what I've done
1. Wrote about it on Desicritics: http://desicritics.org/2007/07/06/004733.php
2. Posted this message to South Asian Journalists Association mailing list (www.saja.org)
3. Talking to various reporters to cover this
You cannot get everyone excited about all the action items, correct? So if people are excited about this, why grumble about some of them not supporting other action items? I for one have actively taken part in all of them and I like this one as well.
hairstyles 2010 Jaguar XJ Interior
chintu25
03-09 10:46 AM
Wait for today EOB .... if you do not get a reply from IV go for the Paypal account. Nothing wrong in that
oliTwist
02-02 06:36 PM
Hey guys,
I am also in the same boat. (well kind of similar). I am "AOS Pending" or EAD status now and want to change the name (First Name, which is lengthy and getting cut in the EAD card and other cards, so want to trim it or make is simple).
I see that SantaClara County City Court has this site explaining the process Probate Court Name Change For Adults - Superior Court, Santa Clara County (http://www.scselfservice.org/probate/adult/namechangeadults.htm#how)
Has anyone done this? Can we use this name change decree to change the name in the pending records (like 485 Application, EAD cards, DMV, etc... and also our Passport )?
Has anyone done it?
:confused:
I am also in the same boat. (well kind of similar). I am "AOS Pending" or EAD status now and want to change the name (First Name, which is lengthy and getting cut in the EAD card and other cards, so want to trim it or make is simple).
I see that SantaClara County City Court has this site explaining the process Probate Court Name Change For Adults - Superior Court, Santa Clara County (http://www.scselfservice.org/probate/adult/namechangeadults.htm#how)
Has anyone done this? Can we use this name change decree to change the name in the pending records (like 485 Application, EAD cards, DMV, etc... and also our Passport )?
Has anyone done it?
:confused:
Chiwere
08-22 10:18 AM
at some point the visa numbers are going to be all used up. The lucky ones would get their GC by then and the others will have to wait for a few months.
Why worry over it? The line only gets shorter and shorter and everybody will get their turn sooner than later.
As long as they don't waste any visa numbers, there is no need for any worry. Even their random processing order does not bother me that much, because demand for EB2 will be less than supply next year. Its time for EB3 to fasten the seat belts....
Willgetagc- Do you mean fasten belt for a fast forward movement, and if so why this unwarranted optimism?
Why worry over it? The line only gets shorter and shorter and everybody will get their turn sooner than later.
As long as they don't waste any visa numbers, there is no need for any worry. Even their random processing order does not bother me that much, because demand for EB2 will be less than supply next year. Its time for EB3 to fasten the seat belts....
Willgetagc- Do you mean fasten belt for a fast forward movement, and if so why this unwarranted optimism?
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