Help Change the Law for spouses of Green Card Holders - Points to Note

[Rajiv S. Khanna]

Hi All,
Listed below are points that Rajiv wanted to share with you as we get organized in the grassroot advocacy effort:

a) Define goals clearly. Do not try to achieve too many things at the same time.

b) Politics is a process. Everybody participating in this effort should understand that changes will not happen overnight. It will take time. We have to let the Members of Congress know that we are not going to go away and that we will stick with the cause till we succeed.

c) There is no need to excessively publicize the issue e.g. with media, press etc. We do not want to attract opposition before we reach our goal.

d) Where you live is where you must advocate. Your local senators/congressman are the people you want to meet and talk to.

e) America is about politics. Get used to the idea that you are going to have to be involved in politics if you live in the U.S.

f) It’s important for you all to understand that in this effort, we shall need the support of the people who are U.S citizens. These are the people who get a chance to vote and whose cooperation can make a big difference.)

g) What’s next?
We have a new addition in the team, Puja, who is working towards organizing this effort under the guidance of Rajiv. We are also seeking allies (people and organizations) that can help us in this cause. Some of them are. Stand by for more guidance, thoughts and discussion points.


Thanks all for your time and support

 

[Homa]

Telephone conversation with Paul Baurer, from Congressman Robert Andrews office

Date: Wednesday, June 4th, 2003

RE: Telephone meeting between attorney, Mr. Rajiv S. Khanna and Mr. Paul Baurer, the Legislative Correspondent for Congressman Robert Andrews, spoke regarding the support "to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the admission to the United States for permanent residence without numerical limitation of spouses of permanent resident aliens." (Bill
# H.R. 539).
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Mr. Khanna spoke with Mr. Baurer, who has agreed to assist us in our grassroots campaign.
Mr. Baurer advised us to do the following:

1. Prepare a petition that only consist of signatures of individuals
supporting the H.R. 539 Bill, based on their respective Congressional District. He believes that this would have a greater impact and would more likely get the attention of the individual Congress members, as it can prove that there are many individuals in their District concerned about this issue.

2. Muster the support of the members of the Sub-Committee: Currently, the H.R. 539 is in the Sub-Committee for review, and therefore, it would be better to contact these members and do our best to have them support the H.R. 539 Bill. Mr. Baurer will provide our office with a list of the members in the Sub-Committee.

In conclusion, Mr. Baurer said that we may not have the necessary support in the current 108th Congress for the H.R. 539 Bill. However, we should continue to do our best to lobby the Congressional members, so that it may be passed in the 109th Congress next year. He strongly emphasized the importance of constituents in meeting with their local Congress members, to
gain support for H.R. 539 Bill.


Thank you,
Homa


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Homa Naderi; Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, PC - Your Host
http://www.immigration.com
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The writer of this message is not a lawyer and this message is not meant to be legal advice. Before relying on this information, you must consult a lawyer on the facts of your specific case. The Law Offices Of Rajiv S. Khanna takes no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.

 

[Homa]

Discussion with Congressman John Conveyer's office

Date: Tuesday, June 10th, 2003

RE: Telephone meeting between attorney, Mr. Rajiv S. Khanna and Ms. Kristin Wells from Congressman John Conyers's office, spoke regarding how to make changes in improving the existing
V Visa.
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Mr. Khanna spoke with Ms. Wells, who advised us to do the following:

1. Prepare and provide a "Position paper" to members of Congress, in hopes to (1.) seek the willingness of a member to sponsor a Bill and (2.) to gain support on our cause.

2. Seek assistances from other advocacy groups, such as AILA.


In conclusion, Ms. Wells requested that we provide her office with written materials on the subject, and after reviewing and discussing it with their office, Congressman Conyers's office may consider to becoming the sponsor of the Bill. She ended with saying that this process "Can take a long time, but you never know".

 

[Rajiv S. Khanna]

Re: yea no progress

Re: yea no progress

quote:
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Originally posted by anand72
this topic has been going on for more than one year now but no progress has been made. I don't know that putting up websites is going to get us anywhere. Is there going to be some positive results from the advocacy software and the website. we already collected lots of petitions what happened to that? We need to be contacting some high profile immigrant support groups who have some clout in washington. without that we cannot make any headway. There must be someone working full time on this matter within that group only then some of us would be willing to shell out money to push things forward. Right now I don't feel there is any direction or leadership or any fulltime effort in regards to this matter by anybody. Even so it seems like a multi-year (4-5?) effort to make anything happen which would really not help me much so yes I am starting to lose interest.
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The problem is who can kep track of the efforts and mould them for maximum effectiveness. This not a short term project. People are already using our software to send letters to Congressmen. I think that helps a little bit in the short term. But for maximum effectiveness we have to manage all advocacy efforts like a commercial project. I know that a lot of people will lose interest by the time we are up and running. But what can be done about that, really. If you folks have any better ideas, let me know.

By the way talking of petitions, as a result of one of our petitions, I received a phone call from Dale Zeigler, the chief of the US Department of Labor, ETA (for all of USA) to discuss our problems and his recommended solutions. So, I think doing something is better than doing nothing. Given time, we will be doing it all very effectively.

Of course, if you folks wish to raise money and hire full time help, I would be only too happy to help. This is your effort, you decide.