Why should one write to the lawmakers (senators, congressmen)? What difference would it make?
The reason is simple. Your opinion counts. A couple of years ago, greencard processing was taking forever, anywhere from 3 to 5 years. (Meanwhile would-be-immigrants would get frustrated, sometimes lose job. Besides, employers would exploit and marriage/travel/family plans would suffer etc. Basically life was a slavery then.). So, thousands of individuals like me, as well as organization like ISN (http://www.isn.org/) wrote thousands of emails and letters to senators/congressmen/IEEE/prominent individuals/Companies like INTEL & MICROSOFT as well as called local offices of lawmakers. And, as a result of such a grassroot campaign, more or less almost all the things that were being asked were made into a law passed by senate in Oct 2000. (That is the law that allows one to change job today if the adjustment of status application is still pending after 180 days, extends one\'s H1 visa for a year if one has already initiated GC process etc.) Such an actual letter is given below:
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Aug 27, 1999
Honorable Congressman,
I read your proposal about T-visa and I would like to comment on a related topic. I understand the purpose behind the T-visa is to increase the pool of high-tech workers.
Many of current such high-tech workers in the USA came on student visas (F and J visa) and subsequently took up jobs on H1 visa. Many of such student-turned-employees have been here for more than 6-10 years and the USA is effectively a home for them. Some of these workers have applied for their permanent residency and they are stuck in the final stage of obtaining permanent residency, called form I-485 (Adjustment of Status). For last 2 years it has been taking Immigration and Naturalization Service, INS 2 to 3 years and now it is expected to take 4-6 years unless lawmakers step in. And, that is where I am seeking your help. If the I-485s are not approved as soon as possible, the US stand to lose many of these workers as they might be forced to return to their countries defeating the very purpose of keeping their skills in the USA.
In a nutshell, this is how employment based immigration works:
Step 1: Labor Certification (This step could take 5 months to 2+ years)
Step 2: Preference Petition, I-140 (This step could take 5 months to 1+ year).
After these 2 steps one has to wait for another 1-2 years till the priority date becomes current.
Step 3: Adjustment of Status, I-485 (This step used to take 2 years to 3+ years).
Total Time: 2 ½ years to 8+ years
Before coming to Step 3,one has already spent 2-3 years. Lately INS has not been processing I-485 applications and as a result the backlog has increased quite substantially. This could be because INS has either become busy or lacks manpower and funding. So, now this step is expected to take 4-6 years in the worst case. Just imagine having to spend another 4-6 years waiting for the process, which could be done in 2-4 months! Approval of I-485 is just a formality and almost I-485s get approved.
I urge you to introduce legislation where INS is mandated to take a decision on the I-485 application within 6 months of submission. If INS fails to do so, the application should be automatically approved. Not only that if I-485 is still pending for the approval, the petitioner should be allowed to change jobs if the boss is abusive or work has not remained challenging anymore.
I hope you would find these issues important enough to add in your proposal for T-visas and get them resolved in 1999. I look forward to your reply.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
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My point is, IT WORKED ONCE AND IF ENOUGH OF US PROTEST; IT WOULD WORK AGAIN. After all, no terrorist is going to go back in 30 days. Similarly,
The reason is simple. Your opinion counts. A couple of years ago, greencard processing was taking forever, anywhere from 3 to 5 years. (Meanwhile would-be-immigrants would get frustrated, sometimes lose job. Besides, employers would exploit and marriage/travel/family plans would suffer etc. Basically life was a slavery then.). So, thousands of individuals like me, as well as organization like ISN (http://www.isn.org/) wrote thousands of emails and letters to senators/congressmen/IEEE/prominent individuals/Companies like INTEL & MICROSOFT as well as called local offices of lawmakers. And, as a result of such a grassroot campaign, more or less almost all the things that were being asked were made into a law passed by senate in Oct 2000. (That is the law that allows one to change job today if the adjustment of status application is still pending after 180 days, extends one\'s H1 visa for a year if one has already initiated GC process etc.) Such an actual letter is given below:
************************************************************************
Aug 27, 1999
Honorable Congressman,
I read your proposal about T-visa and I would like to comment on a related topic. I understand the purpose behind the T-visa is to increase the pool of high-tech workers.
Many of current such high-tech workers in the USA came on student visas (F and J visa) and subsequently took up jobs on H1 visa. Many of such student-turned-employees have been here for more than 6-10 years and the USA is effectively a home for them. Some of these workers have applied for their permanent residency and they are stuck in the final stage of obtaining permanent residency, called form I-485 (Adjustment of Status). For last 2 years it has been taking Immigration and Naturalization Service, INS 2 to 3 years and now it is expected to take 4-6 years unless lawmakers step in. And, that is where I am seeking your help. If the I-485s are not approved as soon as possible, the US stand to lose many of these workers as they might be forced to return to their countries defeating the very purpose of keeping their skills in the USA.
In a nutshell, this is how employment based immigration works:
Step 1: Labor Certification (This step could take 5 months to 2+ years)
Step 2: Preference Petition, I-140 (This step could take 5 months to 1+ year).
After these 2 steps one has to wait for another 1-2 years till the priority date becomes current.
Step 3: Adjustment of Status, I-485 (This step used to take 2 years to 3+ years).
Total Time: 2 ½ years to 8+ years
Before coming to Step 3,one has already spent 2-3 years. Lately INS has not been processing I-485 applications and as a result the backlog has increased quite substantially. This could be because INS has either become busy or lacks manpower and funding. So, now this step is expected to take 4-6 years in the worst case. Just imagine having to spend another 4-6 years waiting for the process, which could be done in 2-4 months! Approval of I-485 is just a formality and almost I-485s get approved.
I urge you to introduce legislation where INS is mandated to take a decision on the I-485 application within 6 months of submission. If INS fails to do so, the application should be automatically approved. Not only that if I-485 is still pending for the approval, the petitioner should be allowed to change jobs if the boss is abusive or work has not remained challenging anymore.
I hope you would find these issues important enough to add in your proposal for T-visas and get them resolved in 1999. I look forward to your reply.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
************************************************************************
My point is, IT WORKED ONCE AND IF ENOUGH OF US PROTEST; IT WOULD WORK AGAIN. After all, no terrorist is going to go back in 30 days. Similarly,