Lack of Visa Numbers:Where do we go from here ?

G

GCdreamer2006

Registered Users (C)
This is a summary and thoughts on what we could do next for the Phase 2/3:

1. It was decided on the Judiciary Committee Business Meeting on October 20th that relief provisions will be submitted to the full Senate for consideration. There are differences to be worked out in the House of Reps, but I am not sure exactly which part of the proposal is reason for disagreement. The most important relief consideration towards EB greencard applicants is the exemption of family dependends toward the visa number headcounts. Phase I was a victory. A first step, but it was a victory. Good work to all of us and thanks to Compete America and US Chamber of Commerce.

2. Timeline for final consideration of such proposal ? Unknown at this point. I have asked this question for a source inside the House of Representatives and as soon as I receive more details I can share. Perhaps more important than a timeline it is the level of opposition against this measure. This is the one I have asked my connections to find out as well.

3. What should we do ?
We should call, fax and thank all the Senators member of the Judiciary Committee who voted in favor of our cause. Here are they:

Delaware
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Sen. Biden, Joseph
(202-224-5042)

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Illinois
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Sen. Durbin, Richard
(202-224-2152)

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Kansas
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Sen. Brownback, Sam
(202-224-6521)

=========================
Massachusetts
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Sen. Kennedy, Edward
(202-224-4543)

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New York
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Sen. Schumer, Charles
(202-224-6542)

=================
Ohio
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Sen. DeWine, Mike
(202-224-2315)

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Pennsylvania
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Sen. Specter, Arlen
(202-224-4254)

=========================
South Carolina
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Sen. Graham, Lindsey
(202-224-5972)

=========================
Texas
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Sen. Cornyn, John
(202-224-2934)

=========================
Utah
=========================
Sen. Hatch, Orrin
(202-224-5251)

=========================
Vermont
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Sen. Leahy, Patrick
(202-224-4242)

=========================
Wisconsin
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Sen. Feingold, Russell
(202-224-5323)
Sen. Kohl, Herb
(202-224-5653)

4. We should continue to call, write, write, write, send fax to media and senators and pledge for support. If possible, come up with "business sense" reasons why we should get the greencards on a timely manner, such as potential to switch jobs/career advancement and contribute to innovation at that point, etc.

5. Remember we will face opposition from the anti-immigration groups. That is the real challenge ahead. Therefore if we assume someone else will call senators and media to support our cause, we lose for sure.
 
We should seen opinion of a good lobby group

We should seek advice from a good lobby group.
We could ask competeamerica.org about what would be a reasonable step/action.

I agree that there are some strong anti-immigration lobby groups. We should plan and act carefully.
 
In reality, not only I checked whether it would be a good idea take part on this, but also I checked with a couple of leaders of "immigration reduction" groups how our cause would be perceived. I think the common sense is that our employment base greencard applications face only moderate opposition. Many Americans that are against the S.1033 McCain/Kennedy bill are OK with our cause. I think it is positive that we continue to educate and remind senators politely about our plight. Again, the real impact on this will actually be coming from business, employers and the US Chamber and others. The I think, and I may be wrong, is this:
If the greencard process used to take 3-5 years, I think most people would be reasonable and would try to keep it that away. A permanent residency process taking 6-10 years to get completed is unreasonable. I think our request is fair and it acceptable by a lot of people. The part that increases the H1B numbers seems to be more sensitive though...
 
Good points

I agree with most of your points.
We should try to keep H-1 issue seperate from GC. Both can be fought for but seperately. H-1 visa has strong opposition from some groups.
 
come to think of it: employers would not be over-excited about having I485\EAD\AP at I140 stage(even if numbers are unavailable); because this will employees can jump ship in ~ a year after the employer starts their GC. approx 6 months for perm and six months after that.
most large companies will not have a problem with that; but small employers.... I am not sure.
since this is tied to budget deficit issue and is not a separate proposal like mccain-kennedy or cornyn-kyl bill, it may be handled faster.
GCdreamer2006 said:
In reality, not only I checked whether it would be a good idea take part on this, but also I checked with a couple of leaders of "immigration reduction" groups how our cause would be perceived. I think the common sense is that our employment base greencard applications face only moderate opposition. Many Americans that are against the S.1033 McCain/Kennedy bill are OK with our cause. I think it is positive that we continue to educate and remind senators politely about our plight. Again, the real impact on this will actually be coming from business, employers and the US Chamber and others. The I think, and I may be wrong, is this:
If the greencard process used to take 3-5 years, I think most people would be reasonable and would try to keep it that away. A permanent residency process taking 6-10 years to get completed is unreasonable. I think our request is fair and it acceptable by a lot of people. The part that increases the H1B numbers seems to be more sensitive though...
Click to expand...
 
GCDreamer,
Your points are well thought, and hope things will move quite fast..I am hoping that it gets implemented by Jan-Feb next year. Major questions remains how much relief it will give us in short term or long term. I believe that it will have major impact on long term but in short term it will have at least 2-3 years before PD's are current

Thanks for ur hard work
 
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