Raise awareness about labor certificate process backlog

How to raise awareness about labor certificate backlog

  • Send letters/email/fax to DOL, local senators, newspaper editors

    Votes: 35 67.3%

  • Hire lobbying firm to represents us.

    Votes: 20 38.5%

  • Hire Rajiv's or other law firm to represent us for lawsuit

    Votes: 33 63.5%

  • Get together and sign petition.

    Votes: 26 50.0%

  • Give advertisement in national newspapers.

    Votes: 20 38.5%

  • Wait couple more years and do nothing

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Shut the f up and stop this

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Keep it up, come up with other way

    Votes: 4 7.7%
  • Total voters
    52
  • Poll closed .
styrum said:
Friends,

I am in the same boat. However, here are some undisputable numbers from "2003 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics" that prove that the delays are unfortunately, more than some beuracrat's laziness, lack of funds, lack of awareness, etc.

Page 7:
Table A
Immigrants Admitted by Major Category of Admission: Fiscal Years 2001-03

Total
2003: 705,827 2002: 1,063,732 2001: 1,064,318

Employment-based preferences
2003: 82,137 2002: 174,968 2001: 179,195

Please note, that both 2002 and 2003 happened after 9/11. Nevertheless, without any significant changes in the law (quotas, etc.) between these years, just by mere sabotage of processing the total immigration was reduced by 1/3 and employment-based - by 53%!!!

These official numbers are shockingly illustrative. They prove that our ordeal is an obvious and undeniable (it's THEIR numbers!) sabotage. Please use these numbers everywhere, in all the petitions, letters etc. I think they can be a base for a lawsuit against the government.

The 2002 and 2003 editions of the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and the 1996 through 2001 editions of the Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service are available on the Immigration Statistics page of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security Internet website. The Immigration Statistics page can be reached directly at: http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/index.htm.
Click to expand...

Your analysis makes sense, it clearly show that DOL/USCIS is presurized by policy makers to slow down immigration process. I dont think regulating immigration is wrong. My only gripe is lack of information; this uncertainity is killling us. Do you think most modern country in the world couldn't solve backlog problem where IRS processes millions of complicated files within a day. DOL failed and is failing to take obvious steps to solve backlog. There are so many unanswered question (why they have to do this 45 day letter nonsense, just to buy time ?) with this BEC initiative. I think, we would have been better off if we had seen change in political scene last year. Now wait for couple more years if they haven't kicked us out till then.
 
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Let us Get Organised

I really appreciate the efforts of USCISisMockery, Spidey, and other intelligent members. From the previous efforts about the potential issue, I have found that many threads have been raised and our threadmates have gone way far towards solutions. And suddenly, all the efforts were undone. We are the most intelligent people on the face of the earth, yet we let our effort go in vein. Well, immimates, let us put together all our efforts and work out of our heart of hearts towards solution. As a starting point, let us bring old immimates who started actions like us in the past, with us by sending PM to them.

I have tried to read most of such action thread and found out following active members.

1. Dsatish
2. GC_dude123
3. edison,
4. jarkandi,
5. rajum
6. God_bless_you
7. RahulatDC
8. bluelabor

These are some of them, I am attaching their posts here.

Crushing Immigration Hidden Desi!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are many phases immigration process is traversing through.Time and again manifesting the idiocracy at its best with new policies authored under pretentious intentions of improving it and eradicating illegal immigration. And time and again it has proved to be more expensive, resource-consuming, and totally diverted from serving the actual purpose. Not to mention the enormous unfairness it causes to the non-immigrant community who forebear everything played out at it with deliberate silence and bitterness.


Cyber coolies of Indian diaspora living in the united states seem to have learnt the tactics of awaiting the American Dream to come true in the form of a Green Card by 'laying low' their intellectual and technical expertise(and someone forbid,eventually have the expertise vamoose!!).

Some do job-hopping among indian consulting companies (Slave Traders of their own country men, generally owned by some dickhead who was lucky to get a Green Card in the past). Not to mention their degrading negotiations of hourly rates for these professionals.They have played this prostitution business of brains to such a deteriorated level that any typical American IS manager can easily climb up the career ladder with a bravo pat on his back from the CEO of the company for getting "Raj,an indian guy, an enterprise systems' architect at a knock-out price from one of those indian consulting companies!!!"

When per capita income among indians in america is highest compared to any other ethnic group in the country (who knows! some research claims!!), and they seem to pose a threat to the 'white' collared positions of the corporate world, it is indeed in the best interests of the government to show stepmother treatment to the non-immigrant community turning into immigrant community.

Read more here http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=160279

--------------------->

GCDREAMS_18

"can we do anything about this at all?
maybe by ourselves we cant, but even if 10,000 of the 300,000 cases in the backlog unite, hire a lawyer and sue the DOL, maybe we can just get somewhere?

if each of the 10,000 cases could shell out $100 each, we have $1,000,000. Should be enough to fight a case?"

--------------------->

SAINWA

"****FACTS****
::US laws and Government listens only to Corporation's interests. They would mend any law for their capitalist interests.

WHAT YOU ARE: Slave worker of modern world. America has traditionally used slaves in one form or other for the capitalistc gains. The slavery in some way exists today in form of H1Bs.

What you are NOT: You are not a organised labor class. If you would have been a unionised labor class , you could have brought down into knees the powerfull corporates by one call and get your genuine needs met. Just imagine the thought of all H1B workers going into leave for a month (paid / unpaid does not matter). Can u imagine the corporate IT working without the H1B slaves ?

What you need to do : ? I don't know ...you make the judgement. .I just presented the facts."
 
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sanjay_41 said:
I really appreciate the efforts of USCISisMockery, Spidey, and other intelligent members. From the previous efforts about the potential issue, I have found that many threads have been raised and our threadmates have gone way far towards solutions. And suddenly, all the efforts were undone. We are the most intelligent people on the face of the earth, yet we let our effort go in vein. Well, immimates, let us put together all our efforts and work out of our heart of hearts towards solution. As a starting point, let us bring old immimates who started actions like us in the past, with us by sending PM to them.

I have tried to read most of such action thread and found out following active members.

1. Dsatish
2. GC_dude123
3. edison,
4. jarkandi,
5. rajum
6. God_bless_you
7. RahulatDC
8. bluelabor

These are some of them, I am attaching their posts here.

Crushing Immigration Hidden Desi!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are many phases immigration process is traversing through.Time and again manifesting the idiocracy at its best with new policies authored under pretentious intentions of improving it and eradicating illegal immigration. And time and again it has proved to be more expensive, resource-consuming, and totally diverted from serving the actual purpose. Not to mention the enormous unfairness it causes to the non-immigrant community who forebear everything played out at it with deliberate silence and bitterness.


Cyber coolies of Indian diaspora living in the united states seem to have learnt the tactics of awaiting the American Dream to come true in the form of a Green Card by 'laying low' their intellectual and technical expertise(and someone forbid,eventually have the expertise vamoose!!).

Some do job-hopping among indian consulting companies (Slave Traders of their own country men, generally owned by some dickhead who was lucky to get a Green Card in the past). Not to mention their degrading negotiations of hourly rates for these professionals.They have played this prostitution business of brains to such a deteriorated level that any typical American IS manager can easily climb up the career ladder with a bravo pat on his back from the CEO of the company for getting "Raj,an indian guy, an enterprise systems' architect at a knock-out price from one of those indian consulting companies!!!"

When per capita income among indians in america is highest compared to any other ethnic group in the country (who knows! some research claims!!), and they seem to pose a threat to the 'white' collared positions of the corporate world, it is indeed in the best interests of the government to show stepmother treatment to the non-immigrant community turning into immigrant community.

Read more here http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=160279

--------------------->

GCDREAMS_18

"can we do anything about this at all?
maybe by ourselves we cant, but even if 10,000 of the 300,000 cases in the backlog unite, hire a lawyer and sue the DOL, maybe we can just get somewhere?

if each of the 10,000 cases could shell out $100 each, we have $1,000,000. Should be enough to fight a case?"

--------------------->

SAINWA

"****FACTS****
::US laws and Government listens only to Corporation's interests. They would mend any law for their capitalist interests.

WHAT YOU ARE: Slave worker of modern world. America has traditionally used slaves in one form or other for the capitalistc gains. The slavery in some way exists today in form of H1Bs.

What you are NOT: You are not a organised labor class. If you would have been a unionised labor class , you could have brought down into knees the powerfull corporates by one call and get your genuine needs met. Just imagine the thought of all H1B workers going into leave for a month (paid / unpaid does not matter). Can u imagine the corporate IT working without the H1B slaves ?

What you need to do : ? I don't know ...you make the judgement. .I just presented the facts."
Click to expand...

Some additional resources, how the efforts were started from simple thread to the point they reached almost 70% towards fund collection and suddenly everything stopped. We need to be aware. We can use the framework already started by our ancestors last year. Please read all the threads.

http://boards.immigrationportal.com...2682#post782682
http://boards.immigrationportal.com...ad.php?t=122531
http://boards.immigrationportal.com...ad.php?t=121175
 
Let work together!

sanjay_41 said:
Some additional resources, how the efforts were started from simple thread to the point they reached almost 70% towards fund collection and suddenly everything stopped. We need to be aware. We can use the framework already started by our ancestors last year. Please read all the threads.

http://boards.immigrationportal.com...2682#post782682
http://boards.immigrationportal.com...ad.php?t=122531
http://boards.immigrationportal.com...ad.php?t=121175
Click to expand...

Sanjay,
First, Excellent research.
Second, You are right, when it comes to collecting funds or taking leadership all hell breaks loose.
1. How many of us buy stuff for Mail-in-Rebate offers? Answers is probably we all have done that. Do you know if you got all your money back?
2. Also, many of us buy lottery tickets?
3. How many times you to go temple/gurudwara/masjid/church and put money in offerings?
4. I can go on and on....

The point is , we need to INVEST some small amount to get BIG benefit. Here, we are talking about a petty 50-100$ and the reward is GC. If there is some distrust(I dont blame those guys, It is okay to distrust someone you dont know), a lawyer can be hired who can do all that work for us.

I am all in to chip in whatever money that is required to RAISE awareness of our plight. This is a country where lobbying works a big lot (e.g....Recently Narendra Modi was denied VISA to enter USA due to lobbying....and it worked). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE....get together...we need to UNITE. This is the right time.
USCIS_IS_MOCKERY, Spidy etc. are doing a great job. atleast they are stepping forward.

For people in North Carolina, I won't mind collecting signature's/Letters/ etc...I am willing to stand outside popular groceriy stores/Malls to collect signatures/letters etc. I am willing to go to W DC and stand outside with a play card.

Lets do something.....this is the right time.
 
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Lobbying.. http://www.clpi.org/

http://www.clpi.org/

From..
http://www.democracyctr.org/resources/lobbying.html

Ways To Make Your Voice Heard

People who work with nonprofit groups or in direct services have an important role to play in educating public officials about the issues and concerns they deal with.


Letter Writing: Writing to a public official does make a difference. They know that every person who writes represents many others who feel the same but don't write. Follow these tips to be most effective:


Be clear about what you want, listing the bill, etc.

Tell a story or example to make the issue real.

Ask for a direct response with his or her position.

Personal letters are much better than form letters or petitions.



Visits: Every citizen has the right to seek a meeting with their legislator, councilperson or other elected representative. These tips will help make visits effective:


Keep your group small (4-5 people).

Make your group diverse.

Discuss in advance how to handle the meeting.

Be direct but not threatening.

Know your facts.

Leave informational material with the official.


Try to arrange the visit on your turf. Invite the person to tour a clinic or whatever facility or site which conveys your message in real and human terms.


Establish a relationship with staff: Many elected officials have staff people you can contact. These people are generally more accessible than the official and can usually help to get your message through.
 
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I am ready to chip in few dollars too and also ready to do whatever it takes to get this going. I might not be the best leader to work for but I am ready to put my efforts with my time, money, signature, letters etc.
 
GOD_BLESS_YOU said:
contribute three hrs in a week..


http://www.clpi.org/three_hours.html


Turorials for How to lobby...

http://www.clpi.org/tutorial.html
Click to expand...


Great Stuff!
Need to spread these ideas in other threads too!
Everytime we see a Thread posting which has disappointment, frustration, irritation, impatience init, we need to point them to this thread. Need to create awareness. I will also try to post this thread on murthy leslaw and other chat forums that i visit frequently.
 
Response for Letter to Secretary

Any effort from anyone was/is not fruitless. Though Reply is standard but they are getting the letter. Bottom line, There is will there is way. So please take some action(small or big) but don’t keep on planning forever. Thx

====

Dear Mr. Mishra.

Your letter to Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao was referred to this office for reply. The Division of Foreign Labor Certification in the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is responsible for administering the Department’s Foreign Labor Certification Program.

As part of our efforts to improve the processing of permanent labor certification applications, the San Francisco Regional Office sent this application to the ETA Philadelphia Backlog Processing Center. The Center informed us it sent a “45-day letter” to the employer or its representative on February 7, 2005, asking if it wished to continue with the processing of the application. The Center received an affirmative response on February 16, 2005, and the case has been placed in the processing queue for Reduction-in-Recruitment cases.

We regret that there is such a large number of backlogged cases and empathize with your situation. However, in the interest of fairness and consistency, applications are processed in the order of their receipt and cannot be expedited based solely on the needs of individual employers or aliens. This avoids inequities that can arise when attempting to determine the relative merits of literally thousands of applications.

ETA has established two Permanent Program Backlog Centers in accordance with an interim final rule we published in the Federal Register on July 21, 2004. The rule allows us to consolidate state and Federal functions of the application review process into centralized locations. Additional resources were requested from Congress in FY 2005 so that we may continue work on eliminating the backlog. Congress was not able to provide the full amount of funding requested. We estimate with adequate resources, it will take approximately 24-30 months to eliminate the permanent program’s backlog of cases. This new timeframe and consolidated approach to processing favorably compares to our old method which may have required a period of four or more years to reach and process a case.

To further improve the operations of the permanent labor certification program, ETA implemented a new re-engineered permanent labor certification program on March 28, 2005, as published in a final regulation on December 27, 2004. We believe the new program will improve services to our various stakeholders.

I hope that this information is helpful.
 
I also think we need to raise another question here. Why are we paying social security and medicare taxes and supporting baby boomers. I understand why we pay federal, state or county taxes. But social security and medicare we shouldn't. We are treated as "aliens" and we should be paying for someone else retirement benefits. This is a capitalist country and money is the easiest way to get attention of White house and congress.
 
Working togehter

Dear immimates (We will use Immimate word to greet ourselves, if possible):

The way, we are getting responses from the members (who has worked on the issue earlier) is very encouraging. Let us try to get more and more input from old members from the past threads. Let us bring them with us also to get their invaluable vision to aid us.

I urge all the sincere immimates to try to invite them by sending private message or any other way if possible. Once we get the hold of old immimates, we will have first step already finished half way as we will get their knowledge to proceed with. Mean while based on the result of poll, we can decide the course of action. Also to attract more and more member to immimateship by putting small link in signature and all other possible way. Our target must be atleast 1000 immimates to start with.

I also request immimates to supply their own inputs on getting altogether as starting point. I am very pleased we have received inputs from GOD_BLESS_YOU, GCCOVET, few of the old members. We can assume that we will have their vision for starting point.

So as first stepping stone let us get together again. Next 15 days we will rigorously work on getting together if immimates concent.
 
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Guys, its good idea to meet at "Menlo park" park at Edison, NJ this saturday around noon, to discuss our course of action. We have to act quickly when iron is hot. I am sure lot of people working in NY commute from NJ. Edison is accessible from Morristown to Jersey City to South Jersey. Spidey or somebody can held similar meeting at King of Prussia, so we will have two chapters working simultaneously, one NJ and other PA.

If we get sufficient response, we will go and set the meeting up. Once we set meeting we have to be quick spread word around because we only have 3 more days to market. Please make sure you pass on our effort to your colleague or friend who are in similar situation but don't care. Just think of it and you will come up with 10-20 victims who will attend the meeting. I am ready to meet even if we can get together 10 victims.
 
GC_Lover said:
I am ready, I stay 15 mins away from Edison. I am in!
Click to expand...

Guys and Ladies,

This is a good effort and I see it's picked up some traction.

I believe we can do better by using numbers. Random and individual letters / emails and faxes have their rightful place in raising awareness and lots of people signing letters with their contact information and mailing a big fat stack of signed letters with a cover letter outlining the effort to senators / media / DOL / BPC will also have an impact.

We have started one such effort here:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=173573&page=1

We can use your signatures - The plan is to see how many signatures we have on May 31st 2005 and then I will create a mailing package and send mail by US Mail to senators etc...

Please take a look at this effort - like I said - we can use your support.
It's easy and doesn't require you to do much..
thanks-
 
Guys, I am posting draft version. Please comment on validity of some of the data and also if anything is controversial or offensive. We understand DOL's position (less funding, scarce resources) and we don't want to make it worse. Also this letter was drafter before DOL FAQs were released.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this letter.

We are group of professionals (around 300,000) who were promised “land of opportunities”. But after many years of faith in American democracy system, we are loosing hopes and we need help from influential leaders like you.

We will present story of a Jhang from China that represents most of us. Jhang, since childhood was dreaming of wonderland like "America". As brilliant he was, he came to US as student for higher studies after completing his bachelor from China. Using his family savings, he completed his masters and his dream came true when he became part of most dedicated and efficient workforce in the world. His employer was quick to realize his professionalism and intelligence to prepare and apply for his Labor Certificate. It was around November 2001 when his application was filed at NY SWA. By that time all SWA agencies were completely backlogged by 245(i) applications (April 2001) from “illegals”. Hoping that DOL status page will change from April 2001, Jhang spent more than 18 months waiting. Then one day he discovered DOL is processing May 2001 cases, and he got assurance that there is still justice in the system.

But then DOL came up with idea of completely scraping the existing labor certificate system and introducing new "faster" system called PERM. So logically its safe to assume that DOL will adjudicate all existing backlogged cases before implementing new system. But no, DOL added more red tape ness to already chaotic system by eliminating all SWA and created 2 backlog elimination center (BEC). Since December 2004, these two centers are data entering the cases and its being estimated that data entry will continue till end of this year.

Once data entry is completed, DOL will add one more level of entropy by sending "45 day letter" to lawyers and employers and mandating them to acknowledge it. Meanwhile DOL fixes the glitches to PERM system. DOL is estimating that all backlogs will be eliminated within 24-30 months, but looking at current pace it seems very optimistic estimate. Conservative or liberal, democrats or republicans, sane or insane, everybody agrees that legal immigration is better than illegal, but DOL discounted legal immigrants like Jhang so that they can process thousands of 245(i) applications who came to this country illegaly or overstayed their status. Its ironical that DOL will adjudicate application that will be be filled in this year (through PERM) before applications filled in 2001.

Jhang is waiting now to get his 6th year extension to his H1, so that he can stay in the country for one more year. At the age (31) when he is supposed to consolidate his family, raise his children, he is living in uncertainty. In spite of substantial savings, he is renting because he was always 6 months away from his labor. But those 6 months never got reduced. He is postponing expanding his family so that he doesn’t have to raise his new born in new environment. His wife, being on H4 status, she couldn't work so best way to utilize the time was to get further education. These years he denied all promotions, ignored opportunities just so that he doesn't have to start labor process from the beginning.

Nobody, not even his employer or lawyer knows where his file is. DOL doesn’t have any status page where employer or lawyer can get information. Even though he is invaluable employee to his company for 6 years now (and he is being handsomely rewarded), he might have to abruptly stop his life not because of his inability but because of DOL delay.

While in US for 8 years, he contributed financially (paying thousands in taxes, investing in American companies) and socially to the society and now he is more Americanized than Chinese. His normal food is burgers and not noodles.

As a legal, tax-paying and productive member of society, Jhang's career and his spouses working status is stalled by this seemingly never ending unfair wait in the American legal immigration system and is very discouraging and possibly detrimental to the interest of the American global economy in the 21st century.

To honorable officer, we would also like to mention that labor certificate is only first step to gain permanent residency in U.S. With visa retrogressed back to many years, that’s another battle (many years of wait) for Jhang to fight before he sleeps.

Here are some of the suggestions that we think will help our cause.
- Divert resources from Atlanta and Chicago center to eliminate current backlog.
- Set stringent target for DOL to adjudicate all backlogged applications by March 2006.
- Request senate to allocate more funding to DOL for this cause.
- Stop "45 day letters" formality.

We request you to set up an inquiry to DOL backlog and take immediate action to eliminate it so that many “Jhangs” keep on serving the greatest country on earth.
 
Can We hire Rajiv

I think we should collect money hire Rajiv to help us through. I think every body in the trap are willing to pay some money to do that.

Time is ticking please do something to break this trap


- Thanks

:(
 
LC approved from PEC for MD

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and found it very useful. Here are the details of my case:
PD : Dec'2001
State: MD
Reached PA region : Jan'2003
45-day letter received and replied in Feb'05.

Has any one know if there is any approval from PEC for applications applied through MD ? I heard there are some approvals for NY-applications with PD Nov'2001.

It is tough to wait so long, but forum like this makes it easy by providing some insight and finding people in similar situation as mine.

Thanks all !!
 
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