Legal Slavery

K

kamrans

Registered Users (C)
This is what I am predicting. This is all legal Slavery. They all are thinking about the political advantage and nobody cares for people who are coming and living here legally paying all the taxes and obeys all the laws.
Retrogression and backlogs are all part of the same policy. These people are really smart and they come up with a good plan.
Slavery in US changes the form and will never get finished.
I dont see any light at the end of the tunnel.
 
guys...i can understand the frustration........but what the point in blaming a foreign country for not treating us right........why do we not have another plan for our life.......why do we need to go through this month after month??
 
Slavery?

We can go back to our countries at any moment.

If more than 500,000 people in L.A. cannot change anything by protesting, I think the only option is that all foeigners (legal and illegal) stop working for 1 week to see waht happens.

The politicians (with the exception of Sen. Mel Martinez, Kennedy, Specter, Mc. Cain and some others) doesn't want any more immigrants in this Country, specially Mr. Tancredo (his Grandparents were Italians - and I suppose that they did not come here as an Investors to open a Bank in NYC!!!!!!)

We have to options:

- Wait (with a deadline)
- GO back home.

For my part, I will wait until Dec 2007 (I am in PBEC Hell Hole) Dec 2003 Priority date. If by this date, there is no Labor Certification, I will go back to my Country or Plan C: Canada.
 
dmbronner........i agree with you.....there is no point in taking this shit (unless we are useless except in thriving usa economy)anymore.....its time to get some dignity for ourself.......its better to go to canada/australia/europe in a bad economy since atleast we are a Permanent resident on a path to citizenship....same as every other person in that country....

over here....i feel like a second class citizen......cannot buy a property because of this uncertainity........cannot find a good assignment because most employers in my area want to hire only GC/citizens........have to take a ton of bullshit from my colleagues/managers......because i am in a begging position.....
 
I agree with you Techy2468, I am also in a begging position in my company for 3 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, eventhough I am 30, I only will waste 2 more years, if by then there is not a labor certicate, I will go back, there is no sense to wait indefinitely for a GC and when you are 45 or 50 it is useless because you were not able to go up for a better position in the company to avoid to forfeit the Labor Certification position.

What company will hire a person with 10 years of experience in the same position? A recruiter gives a sh.... if you had to maintain these position because you were in a GC process, bla... bla
 
What we should do ..

Guys and Gals,

I know the current situation is just horrible. We have a right to feel upset at this. The way for us to handle this situation is to try to make the most of it. Lets save us much money as possible, try to get more traning and education and keep our assests liquid. We should ready ourselves to leave this country if we have to. The only thing they can forcefully take from us are taxes and that is all we should let them take. There is no need to contribute to this society in any other way. We should be totally passive towards contributing anything more than the absolute minium and try to keep as much of what we earn in our hands. We are second class citizens and we should behave like second class citizens. Why should we behave differently. The US looks after its selfish needs and so should we. There is no point in complaining about this anymore. Its time to realize our true position in this "FREE" society and act accordingly. Do whats best for you and forget about the rest .. that is the only solution.

regards,

saras76
 
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saras76........i totally agree with you....

but my friends who have a PD of "EB3-late 2002-early 2003", they are neither near nor far......what can they do.....its been 3-5 years since they have been working with the same employer......most of the employers are not very bad....but still....it sucks being in the same job for 5 years...with not much promotion/pay raise.

i simply dont know what to suggest to them....since they have sacrificed so much waiting for their GC .....now how can they abandon this....knowing that if anything goes positive....they will be kings in usa.......otherwise they will be paupers (not much savings....since most are single income family....)
 
They are like me ...

techy2468 said:
saras76........i totally agree with you....

but my friends who have a PD of "EB3-late 2002-early 2003", they are neither near nor far......what can they do.....its been 3-5 years since they have been working with the same employer......most of the employers are not very bad....but still....it sucks being in the same job for 5 years...with not much promotion/pay raise.

i simply dont know what to suggest to them....since they have sacrificed so much waiting for their GC .....now how can they abandon this....knowing that if anything goes positive....they will be kings in usa.......otherwise they will be paupers (not much savings....since most are single income family....)
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techy,

I have been with the same employer for 6 years now. I get paid less than everyone in my group and have to fight for equal treatment. I have invested 6 years into this damn process and the worst part is that my case was delayed because USCIS misplaced by files and could not even locate it for a year. By the time they found it, retro had hit. So its been rough but I have hung in there and continue to do so. As hard as it may be for some to believe I sometimes wish that my company would lay me off putting me in a position to abandon this process and not feel guilty about it. These are extreme thoughts that come to mind sometimes but then I slap myself on the head and move on with my life. Tell your friends to make the most of what they have and do what is necessary to improve their lives and the lives of their families. We only live once and cannot let this process become larger than life .. there is a plan out there for each of us .. we need to make sure we don't disrupt it by idiotic actions. It is human to feel depressed at times but we need to focus on positives otherwise there is no point to life ..

I try to do what I can and then leave the rest to fate .. that is what most of us need to do.

saras
 
techy2468 said:
saras76........i totally agree with you....

but my friends who have a PD of "EB3-late 2002-early 2003", they are neither near nor far......what can they do.....its been 3-5 years since they have been working with the same employer......most of the employers are not very bad....but still....it sucks being in the same job for 5 years...with not much promotion/pay raise.

i simply dont know what to suggest to them....since they have sacrificed so much waiting for their GC .....now how can they abandon this....knowing that if anything goes positive....they will be kings in usa.......otherwise they will be paupers (not much savings....since most are single income family....)
Click to expand...

I am in the same position as you all are... but what I've learnt is that the more you talk about it, the more frustrating it gets. As mentioned above, get as much education possible, save as many dollars and leave back for ur country of origin or explore other options like Australia, New Zealand, if u have contacts there. Do not let your fear and pessimism grow. I decided to stay here because I believed in it and I am a bit religious about events in life. Things change sometimes due to man-made factors and sometimes due to natural factors. My gut feeling is that things will change soon (within 6-8 months).
 
saras76 said:
techy,

I have been with the same employer for 6 years now. I get paid less than everyone in my group and have to fight for equal treatment. I have invested 6 years into this damn process and the worst part is that my case was delayed because USCIS misplaced by files and could not even locate it for a year. By the time they found it, retro had hit. So its been rough but I have hung in there and continue to do so. As hard as it may be for some to believe I sometimes wish that my company would lay me off putting me in a position to abandon this process and not feel guilty about it. These are extreme thoughts that come to mind sometimes but then I slap myself on the head and move on with my life. Tell your friends to make the most of what they have and do what is necessary to improve their lives and the lives of their families. We only live once and cannot let this process become larger than life .. there is a plan out there for each of us .. we need to make sure we don't disrupt it by idiotic actions. It is human to feel depressed at times but we need to focus on positives otherwise there is no point to life ..

I try to do what I can and then leave the rest to fate .. that is what most of us need to do.

saras
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I'm in the same position and I totally understand what you are going through. But nice thinking.. We live once and don't let this issue cloud your life forever.
 
saras, u speak reality. Yes, people put their mind and soul into a company just to get their GC. The GC system is not fair. Making u depend on a private company for getting a permenant residency is itself a farce.

Great people were not employees of Wipro, Microsoft or Accenture and no great people got GC from these companies. One can depend on his own skills and capabilities to become great.

If people chose a h1b path towards GC, it is a roller coaster ride. Be ready for it.
 
saras76 said:
techy,

I have been with the same employer for 6 years now. I get paid less than everyone in my group and have to fight for equal treatment. I have invested 6 years into this damn process and the worst part is that my case was delayed because USCIS misplaced by files and could not even locate it for a year. By the time they found it, retro had hit. So its been rough but I have hung in there and continue to do so. As hard as it may be for some to believe I sometimes wish that my company would lay me off putting me in a position to abandon this process and not feel guilty about it. These are extreme thoughts that come to mind sometimes but then I slap myself on the head and move on with my life. Tell your friends to make the most of what they have and do what is necessary to improve their lives and the lives of their families. We only live once and cannot let this process become larger than life .. there is a plan out there for each of us .. we need to make sure we don't disrupt it by idiotic actions. It is human to feel depressed at times but we need to focus on positives otherwise there is no point to life ..

I try to do what I can and then leave the rest to fate .. that is what most of us need to do.

saras
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saras, you seesm like a smart person and slavery is a strong word and I belive it works mutually, as long as people have slavery attitude there are people out their who exploit the situation,

I understand it's tough for people who's labour is not cleared or they can not file 485 due to retrogression, you can always file AC-21 and negotiate with your employer not to revoke I-140, even if he does you can hire good lawyer to fight ur AC-21 case.

so far I negoitated with my employer and used AC-21 twice, I am now a independent consultant in w2 my salary is almost twice the salary filed in labour, I just really don't care about GC as long as they renew my EAD.

look itz all about choices that we make,
common guys we are all well educated we could do better, just need to make a right choice and should be ready to take a calculated risk.

and for those who can't file I485 and if you want to change your job, hire a good lawyer and file perm labour and still use existing PD, spend some money and hire a good attorney don't be slaves you have choice,
 
yes, there are options. I changed employer in 6th year, joined consulting company on %age basis, my conssulting company have applied for eb2 PERM on march 2nd, 2006. I got my 7th year extension based on labor pending in BEC ffrom old company and I will file 8th soon and if my PERM gets approved and when 140 gets approved, I get to keep my priority date and also get h1b extensions/transsfer in 3 year increments. As I work on %age basis, I generally negotiate the rate, if I figure out my project might come to an end I immediately start looking for contract jobs and switch to a new assignment. I report overtime and get paid. I get good experience and skills.
If employers get pinch of losing valuble employees they will make it comfortable for you to stay in an organization. If employers think u cannot jump because of GC retro, then they will exploit u.

So many americans I know with good skills do consulting. They do not take perm offers because they want to bill all hours they worked and also make additional money by doing their own projects outside and also want to keep options open for time off etc...

Apply for Canadian GC, work in US, India etcc.... If u become Canadian citizen u can work on TN visa .. there are so many options.

I am in the process of locating companies where h1b workers can have a hastle free consulting relationship with a %age option. Let us work on this option.
 
We are by no means "slaves" ..

guldukan said:
saras, you seesm like a smart person and slavery is a strong word and I belive it works mutually, as long as people have slavery attitude there are people out their who exploit the situation,

I understand it's tough for people who's labour is not cleared or they can not file 485 due to retrogression, you can always file AC-21 and negotiate with your employer not to revoke I-140, even if he does you can hire good lawyer to fight ur AC-21 case.

so far I negoitated with my employer and used AC-21 twice, I am now a independent consultant in w2 my salary is almost twice the salary filed in labour, I just really don't care about GC as long as they renew my EAD.

look itz all about choices that we make,
common guys we are all well educated we could do better, just need to make a right choice and should be ready to take a calculated risk.

and for those who can't file I485 and if you want to change your job, hire a good lawyer and file perm labour and still use existing PD, spend some money and hire a good attorney don't be slaves you have choice,
Click to expand...


guldukan,

I totally agree that we are not slaves. We chose to be here and we chose to apply for our GCs. No one is forcing us to stay here. Although some of us may feel hostage to this immigration process, it is unfair to call it slavery. We are free to abandon it at any time.

My complaint is against the unfair immigration system and I have every right to voice it. I am in a legal process with the US government and have the full right to question what is going on. As a legal immigrant who has done everything by the law and has gone through the process for 4-5 years I feel cheated by this system. What I am trying to get across is that we immigrants need to wake up and face reality. The immigration system is broken, no one is really concerned about our futures and we are at the mercy of pure politics. It is important that we realize this and make decisions accordingly. It would be foolish to place to much faith in this system and make choices that may come back to haunt us. Thats all I am saying. We need to look after our own interests because NO ONE is looking after them. Often times I meet to many legal immigrants who have way to much faith in the "fairness" of this immigration system and the US in general. They counter my views by stating that things are much worse in other countries. Well "WE" are not in those countries, we are in the US and hence that is a stupid counter arguement. In my opinion it is rather naive to think that things will just work out. They may for some of us but there are equal chances that it may not for a majority of us. That is my only point.

As for some who like to throw the "If you are not happy then go back to your country arguement", I say that "I chose to come here and will leave when I choose." I am obeying all the lawys here, I am adding value to the economy and I will complain against unjust practices. It is my right and no one can ask me to get out simply because I am questioning/complaining against a process that everyone knows is broken. Isn't expressing ones views openly and questioning the governent a core part of being American. Having lived here for 11 years, I have assimilated into this society and am doing what I feel is very American. Its funny to see people outraged over my "american" behavior.

Lastly I want to add that while it is easy for certain proffessionals to change careers using AC21 it is not always the case with everyone. Not everyone is a consultant and not everyone can travel from one city to another at the drop of a hat. There is no "one size fits all" solution here. Just because people can change jobs with AC21 and can work using EADs does not take away from the fact that there are thousands of people who have been waiting for years on end and are being treated unfarily. That is the bottom line.

regards,

saras
 
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Ok here is my take on this issue.

The biggest bas...ds for causing all this mess are the State and the Federal DOL. The blame squarely falls on them.

I have no problem with waiting even 10 yrs if someone with PD before me gets GC, however when someone with a PD later than me gets a GC that really upsets me. DOL tends to do FIFO or not depending on whenever they want.

I agree with Saras 76 completely. We need to keep our assets liquid and be ready to bolt at the right time. Saras both me and you have PD's in August 2001 EB3 India. However at least you could file your 485 and get AP etc. I couldnt even file for 485 because my labor was cleared after retro.
Now techincally we only have 6 months between March 01 and August 01 but do you think it may even be current after 1-2 yrs.

The reality is we cant really keep on having "chalta hai, chalne do" attitude. Many of us have lived in "fools paradise" for yrs trying to stay positive , keep spirits high and hope we will get GC in 6 months, 1 yrs, 2 yrs and now nearly 5 1/2. We have to have backup mplans and set dates or we may be doing this 5 yrs henceforth too.

If anything else this should serve as warning to ppl starting off on their H1's to be disciplined and not waste money on the latest cars and gadgets and be aware not to be too casual about the process.
 
Form co-operatives and incorporate own companies

If you feel bonded to your current employer because of the GC process, here is a suggestion:

Join with your friends in similiar situation and form co-operatives and incorporate own companies. Bring in your contracts to your own companies and get fairer salaries. Consult the legal gurus in this forum how you can take advantage of AC21 in this situation :)

I have incorporated my own limited liability company recently in partnership with my son who got EAD as my dependent. My next job contract will go to this company for sure.
 
saras,

My point was to say that we are not slaves and the word slave is too strong, I think you agreed on that part,

About voicing about system and being American there is nothing wrong and I agree with you, but at this point it does not make any difference, as you said we are at the mercy of politics, itz not just us, this country itself is at the mercy of politics, take any example for that matter, Health care, taxes, Iraq war is just nothing but politcs.

Democrats and Republicans are bending over backwards to win hispanic votes, corporate America is enjoying the situation by having employees in bonded labour and outsourcing rest of the job, so effectivly no body is lobbying for "legal Immigrants" and you should know better nothing works here without effective lobbying our only hope is with ImmigrationVoice who are new and strugling really hard to rise funds.

by the way I did my part by contributing to IV.

Well I have seen many who just crib about the system and does not do much to change the situation, so there is lot of difference about cribing and rising your voice effectivley and thats being a true "American"

I just hope you are not one among them
 
Hey Guys -

I completely share your sentiments. I had decided long back - I will keep my assets liquid and after a cut-off date, just leave the country for some place I can find my dignity.

My concerns are about thousands of other fellow H1B aspirants who are desperate to follow their American dreams and are likely to fall into the same trap we all are in. I am not even sure if those folks realize the real situation here. In my opinion, media should cover highlight these issues to educate people back in India and other country. To the least, this will allow people to take informed decisions. Other countries who want to tap into Indian brain-power should also come forward to leverage this huge opportunity.

In my opinion, US leveraged immigrant brain power to achieve sustainined competitive advanatage. Now, if it's political think tank is not ready to bring changes in the system, let some other country take advantage of this huge potention. Man, I am all for Canada, Australia or some other European country. What you guys think?
 
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