What AILA has done for legal immigrants?????!!!!!!!!!
What AILA has done for legal immigrants?????!!!!!!!!!
AILA members have helped millions of immigrants to fulfill their American dream by helping to get H1, GC and Citizenship and menay other servies. AILA Attorney’s role is similar to a Doctor. As Doctor does the service for a fee, so is the Attorney...
AILA is not a charity organization serving for free. AILA is no different than any other private business
This July Visa Bulletin Fiasco has jeopardized AILA members business, so the need for filing lawsuit. Its helping clients and in turn helping themselves.
Here are few historical situations where AILA did not do much to help their clients as it was not directly helping them and I personally experienced and endured these un-favorable situations in the last 10 years.
1. 245i Cases: In 2001, Former President of USA, Bill Clinton was very generous to grant indirect amnesty to 100s of thousands of out of status personnel in US to apply for GC through family and employment channels. 100s of thousands benefited. Several new attorneys became millionaires. Employment sponsors were created and 100s of LCs applied through single companies. In the east cost it took nearly 4 years to get labor approved. Till then the attorney fee paid was purely for the attorney only and no fee was needed to apply for labor. Imagine couple of thousand dollars each for 100s of applicants for four years. AILA has never put any successful effort to expedite the labor certification process, nor lobbied to prevent transferring pending applications to backlog centers. (Here AILA may say that they have done their best in this regard, but let us not consider any thing less than successful).
Result, many abandoned labor certifications, which are sold in substitute labor market for as high as 25k. Both, employer and attorney are beneficiaries in this LC sale. My guess is that, not more than 5% have received genuine labor substitute benefit with out spending extra amount.
2. Limited Annual Employment GC quota: Having known that 100s of thousands of additional labor certifications are pouring into the system through 245i , AILA has not been successful in lobbying for additional quota to accommodate the 245i cases. These amnesty cases were merged with H1 legal immigrant GC cases and resulted in deep retrogression to the advantage of AILA members. Legal immigrants were pushed behind 245i cases. These Amnesty cases should have been pooled separate like ‘other workers’ to protect the legal Tax paying immigrants GC applications. What AILA has done in this regard.
3. Labor Substitution: While every one knows the sincerity of this provision, AILA has done its best to stop/delay the elimination of labor substitution. It has always asked every prospective beneficiary to fight tooth and nail to stop elimination for the sole reason of self help than American Industrial needs.
4. I 485 transfers and Bi Specialization: East Coast States Labor Certifications were delayed by years and years, while other states were approving in less that a year. 2001 applications were approved in late 2004 and 2005. These 4 years old PDs were submitted to Vermont Center.
In 2005 July, when visa numbers became un- available, several thousands were struck, while at other centers GCs were approved with PDs 2003 and 2004.
These pending 2001 and 2002 year PD 485 cases were waiting at Vermont center from 2005 to 2007 for the PD to become current for retrogressed countries. Bi specialization was promoted as cure for this imbalance of approval dates.
5. In March 2007 all Vermont center 485 cases were transferred to Texas service center. What a disadvantage??? 2001 PD cases from Vermont center with 485 RD in 2004 and 2005 have to watch in desperation when 2002, 2003, and 2004 cases from native Texas center are getting approved in Jun 2007. What AILA has done to protect the interest of Vermont center 485 cases with PD in 2001 and 2002??. Profit is the primary motive. There is no profit to fight for 2001 delayed cases. The fee is already collected. Clients are not going to pay any more fee for the pending 485 cases.
( There are several dozen more reasons. However, this forum is not a public platform. It’s a kind gesture from an outstanding AILA member.)
New 485 cases is a gold mine and already major chunk of processing fee is collected by attorneys. Now they want to protect that fee and are expecting four fold business more to come. Having lost the hopes of CIR business boom, AILA has to work hard to protect this July VISA bulletin in the interest of its members.
What ever is the motive, fighting for the visa bulletin fiasco is good for new GC prospects with approved labor. Challenging the late June approvals does not make the Visa Bulletin Fiasco case any stronger. Adhering to the cause of disadvantaged 485 prospects will make the case more genuine and appealing to the court for expeditious relief measures.
USCIS and DOS seem to have already realized the confusion of July 2007 Visa Bulletin and trying to correct it, as we can see from the two updates. In a day or two USCIS may come out with welcoming clarifications.
No doubt that the way USCIS and DOS handled the employment based GC processing in the last decade is deplorable. No synchronization. Left hand doesn’t know what right hand is doing. However, do they care and fear of AILA!!!!!! That’s a million dollar question!!!
Suing Federal Agency is not an easy thing to do. It may have serious repercussions in the form of added obstacles in 485 adjudications , strict adherence to rules and increased denials. Again, does AILA care for these repercussions? Its a billion dollar question!!!!
