Lobbying/Identifying the Last Successful Coalition

B

berkeleybee

Registered Users (C)
It seems important to identify the coalition that was successful in getting the H-1B caps raised. Clearly they had the clout and the right strategy figured out.

Do we know who (lobbyists and legislators) were involved and how that happened?


Some groups that I found were:

1. AILA
http://www.aila.org/

2. CompeteAmerica
http://www.competeamerica.org/index.html

Compete America, formerly called American Businesses for Legal Immigration, is the group that managed to get the H-1B waiver for foreign students with Masters and PhD degrees from US universities.


much smaller and now defunct

3. Immigrant Support Network
http://www.isn.org/

The Immigration subcommittee of the judiciary committee is sure to be involved, even if they are preoccupied with supreme court nominations right now. A list of the senators is available at

http://www.vote-smart.org/committee.php?comm_id=40

Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship Subcommittee
416 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3521
Fax: 202-224-0103

Republicans:
John Cornyn, TX, Chair
Charles E. Grassley, IA
Jon Kyl, AZ
Mike DeWine, OH
Jeff Sessions, AL
Sam Brownback, KS
Tom Coburn, OK

Democrats:
Edward M. Kennedy, MA, Ranking Member
Joseph R. Biden Jr., DE
Dianne Feinstein, CA
Russell D. Feingold, WI
Charles E. Schumer, NY
Richard J. Durbin, IL
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Compete America Looking for Stories and Faces

I sent an email to Eric Thomas (ethomas@competeamerica.org) at Compete America to ask if they were aware of the effects of the October 2005 Visa Bulletin and the implications of per-country limits.



He wrote back saying:
Thank you for writing. This is a top priority for Compete America, and we are actively working for a legislative solution to the green card crisis. If you would like to help, we are in the process of collecting personal stories about people caught unfairly in the system. We believe that “putting a face” on the issue will help Members of Congress better understand the situation and help us gain support for a solution. To that end, we are looking for highly accomplished professionals that have been forced to wait for years — and who are either still waiting, or have given up and returned home. Both situations point to the high cost being paid by individuals and by U.S. companies.
Thanks again,
Eric Thomas
Click to expand...

We need the articulate members amongst us to get up there and tell our stories. If you feel up to this, write back to him.


I am also attaching the letter I sent [which borrows liberally from the two Dinesh Shenoy articles (2001, 2005)]. I would encourage you to modify the letter with some details about yourself and send it to legislators and members of the media. So far I have sent it to the Democrat members of the immigration subcommittee and Thomas Friedman at the New York Times.
 
Faces/ Highlighting the Per-Country Limit Problem

I apologize for flooding this thread, but the thought that Compete America is looking for stories and faces to show members of congress made me think of something

To illustrate the per-country limit problem what we need is to find people who applied on the same approximate date, with the same qualifications, but were of different countries.

One person, in all likelihood, European who got his greencard right away, once labor certification happened, because he/she is from the "right" country

Five or ten others, in all likelihood, brown-skinned, who are still waiting, all because they are from the "wrong" country.

If that doesn't make people sit up and start paying attention to the details/take note of the implication of the current policy I don't know what will.

Do you or your friends have any such examples?
 
Lobbying and other Pro-Immigration Groups: The Ultimate List!

I was delighted when I found this comprehensive list of pro-immigration organizations, put together by someone who is anti-immigration, even anti-temporary workers. Little did they know how useful it would be to us (not to worry, even if they take the page down, I've saved it as an archive file, but we can't attach .mht files to these posts).

We should get in touch with as many of these organizations as possible. Make them focus on getting rid of per-country limits.

http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/Skunks.htm#ABLI
 
We need to put an ad in New York Times

I had a little suggestion...if it makes any sense.

Someone had made a mention of putting up a "large" ad in the New York Times, Economist, WallStreet Journal. How about we set up a separate fund on this forum just for that. Make it so that people can pay via Paypal. Of course, tehy cna pay by check or credit card if they want. But Paypal would be quicker, safer, and easier to manage.

A summary of the arguments for removing retrogression should be depicted in a eye-catching but informative manner. And we should put some faces to the plight.

I dont know how much a half-page ad costs for NYT. I am hazarding a guess here. Say $20000. If each person contributes, on an average, $50, thats 400 people. This forum may easily have that many people who are affected by the retrogression. And I think $50 is a paltry sum to pay considering the time and trouble that would be saved by reaching a wider audience and getting some positive results. Papers like NYT and Wall Street Journal reach an elite audience and these papers usually make the government take stock of their opinions and editorials. Maybe this would attract interest of some journalists who would be willing to do some stories/articles ont his issue and we would get a domino effect that would build momentum for this cause.

I think a start would be to start a new thread with a lot of visibility, somethign like the announcements made by Rajivji about how DOL backed off their position on PERM and get a count of how many people would contribute. Then, we can get someone with good creative skills or the right contacts to draft the ad.

Any comments?

Thanks,

Santosh
 
Ads and Activism

Santosh,

That is a good idea, but I think we have not got to the point where we have lined up our arguments and organizations. If there is an ad, there will be coverage, and we need to have talking points and spokespersons lined up to continue the debate.

My sense is that we are not there yet; Check out the techworkers yahoo groups.

We don't seem to have realized that there are large lobby groups that are already invested in this process, and that we need to work with them not reinvent the wheel.

I find it interesting that this thread does not get as much traffic as threads where we simply vent about the basic problem, without analysis.



santosh_30 said:
I had a little suggestion...if it makes any sense.

Someone had made a mention of putting up a "large" ad in the New York Times, Economist, WallStreet Journal. How about we set up a separate fund on this forum just for that. Make it so that people can pay via Paypal. Of course, tehy cna pay by check or credit card if they want. But Paypal would be quicker, safer, and easier to manage.

A summary of the arguments for removing retrogression should be depicted in a eye-catching but informative manner. And we should put some faces to the plight.

I dont know how much a half-page ad costs for NYT. I am hazarding a guess here. Say $20000. If each person contributes, on an average, $50, thats 400 people. This forum may easily have that many people who are affected by the retrogression. And I think $50 is a paltry sum to pay considering the time and trouble that would be saved by reaching a wider audience and getting some positive results. Papers like NYT and Wall Street Journal reach an elite audience and these papers usually make the government take stock of their opinions and editorials. Maybe this would attract interest of some journalists who would be willing to do some stories/articles ont his issue and we would get a domino effect that would build momentum for this cause.

I think a start would be to start a new thread with a lot of visibility, somethign like the announcements made by Rajivji about how DOL backed off their position on PERM and get a count of how many people would contribute. Then, we can get someone with good creative skills or the right contacts to draft the ad.

Any comments?

Thanks,

Santosh
Click to expand...
 
American Council for International Personnel

Lynn Shotwell at the American Council for International Personnel (http://www.acip.com/acipweb.nsf/Policy_Center?OpenPage) wrote back to me saying that they are working with Congress on this issue, and asking if she could use my story.

I'd encourage you to write with your experiences to

Lynn Shotwell,
Executive Director
Lynn_Shotwell@acip.com


berkeleybee said:
I was delighted when I found this comprehensive list of pro-immigration organizations, put together by someone who is anti-immigration, even anti-temporary workers. Little did they know how useful it would be to us (not to worry, even if they take the page down, I've saved it as an archive file, but we can't attach .mht files to these posts).

We should get in touch with as many of these organizations as possible. Make them focus on getting rid of per-country limits.

http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/Skunks.htm#ABLI
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, Berkeleybee

I too think we should focus on lobbying groups. Thanks for your effort.


berkeleybee said:
Lynn Shotwell at the American Council for International Personnel (http://www.acip.com/acipweb.nsf/Policy_Center?OpenPage) wrote back to me saying that they are working with Congress on this issue, and asking if she could use my story.

I'd encourage you to write with your experiences to

Lynn Shotwell,
Executive Director
Lynn_Shotwell@acip.com
Click to expand...
 
berkeleybee,

Thank you for sharing your constructive information.

We must keep the immigration reform issue front and center. By continuously communicating our issues/concerns about the retrogression to the local and national media, advocacy groups, and Congress, the retrogression will be resolved sooner than later. But we have do it together.

I will e-mail Lynn_Shotwell@acip.com and ethomas@competeamerica.org (Eric Thomas). I will also instruct friends and family to e-mail Eric and Lynn regarding the retrogression.

I agree that we don't need to reinvent the wheel.

There is already a plethora of organizations (see list below) advocating/applauding for Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005 (also known as Kennedy-McCain act). Kennedy-McCain bill will increase employment-based visas to 290,000 from 140,000.

"Business, Labor, Faith, and Immigrant Communities Applaud Introduction of The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
American Jewish Committee (AJC)
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)
Arizona Interfaith Network (AIN)
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)
Conservatives and Business Representatives
Cook County (IL) Resolution
Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)
Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC)
Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM)
The Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), AFL-CIO
Heartland Alliance’s Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center (MIHRC)
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
Idaho Community Action Network (ICAN)
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
Immigrant Rights Network of Iowa & Nebraska
International Franchise Association
Jesuit Conference and Jesuit Refugee Service USA
Laborers' International Union of North American (LIUNA), AFL-CIO
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS)
Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC)
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund
National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Restaurant Association
New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC)
OCA
PCUN, Oregon's farmworker union, and CAUSA, Oregon's immigrant rights coalition
People for the American Way (PFAW)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), AFL-CIO
UNITE HERE!
US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)
United Farm Workers (UFW)
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce"

Source: http://www.cirnow.org/content/en/support_cir_bill.htm

Media is also getting the message because in the last few months major circulations have written about immigration reform. Los Angeles Time, New York Times, among others.

Let's continue to e-mail/fax/write to the advocacy groups as well as to the media and Congress about the retrogression.
 
email to Eric Thomas (compete America)

Per BerkeleyBee's suggestion I sent an email to Eric Thomas (Compete America), this is the reply i got back from him. I also emailed Lynn, awaiting a reply...
**************************************

Thank you very much for sharing your story with me. Â I can only imagine how frustrating the system has been for you. Â As you know, we are collecting these stories to help put a face on the issue so the Washington bureaucrats cant just look at numbers. We will be in touch as the project progresses. Many thanks and best wishes to you and your family.
Eric Thomas
Compete America
***********************************
I suggest other's do the same...

Keep up the good work BerkeleyBee,appreciate it.
 
Activism and the Thread

Thanks for the nice words both on the thread and in private messages. Those of you who are reading this thread -- rate it (those stars next to some threads) and keep it going.

The political wheels are just beginning to be oiled, we each need to do our bit to get them moving.

Those who are writing in with their stories to Compete America and ACIP -- make them as specific as possible, describe the various ways in which you are affected.

BTW, do we have forum members whose firms are already members of Compete America? Most of the big tech firms are, as are many universities.
 
Getting rid of per country quotas ?! Wait a minute.

Pardon me if I misunderstood this, but you seem to think that a way to solve this backlog problems for Indians is by getting rid of per country quotas ? If so, then the worldwide people like me would be affected in a huge pile of millions of Indians and Chinese GC applicants. I think that is not fair. If this is correct, I suggest that you guys simply suggest increase of Visa numbers, but don't suggest fixes at expenses of making the worldwide people suffer with this. I don't think that will ever be implemented anyway, but let's make sure we implement a fair fix to everyone.

Originally Posted by berkeleybee
I was delighted when I found this comprehensive list of pro-immigration organizations, put together by someone who is anti-immigration, even anti-temporary workers. Little did they know how useful it would be to us (not to worry, even if they take the page down, I've saved it as an archive file, but we can't attach .mht files to these posts).

We should get in touch with as many of these organizations as possible. Make them focus on getting rid of per-country limits.
 
Do you really think what you want is fair. It is not going to be decided by me and you, therefore there is no point in arguing but I believe, those million people belong to same world as yours and we all are foreginers. Whoever comes first gets served first. I hope you are not talking about minority rights for smaller countries. By this logic you can also say since indians and chinese can consume so much oil there is nothing left for other countries so Smaller countries should get free oil. It is a free market economy. This is not a cultural event. we are talking about employment based immigration. whoever has got the skills should get the first choice. But don`t worry US policy makers think you are right, for whatever reason.


marlon2006 said:
Pardon me if I misunderstood this, but you seem to think that a way to solve this backlog problems for Indians is by getting rid of per country quotas ? If so, then the worldwide people like me would be affected in a huge pile of millions of Indians and Chinese GC applicants. I think that is not fair. If this is correct, I suggest that you guys simply suggest increase of Visa numbers, but don't suggest fixes at expenses of making the worldwide people suffer with this. I don't think that will ever be implemented anyway, but let's make sure we implement a fair fix to everyone.

Originally Posted by berkeleybee
I was delighted when I found this comprehensive list of pro-immigration organizations, put together by someone who is anti-immigration, even anti-temporary workers. Little did they know how useful it would be to us (not to worry, even if they take the page down, I've saved it as an archive file, but we can't attach .mht files to these posts).

We should get in touch with as many of these organizations as possible. Make them focus on getting rid of per-country limits.
Click to expand...
 
Unlikely this per country quota will change, and yes, I think it is very fair as is but that's off topic and I won't discuss it in this thread; without a per country quota, immigration diversity would be almost non existent.
That could be very good for Indians but not good at all for the host country and the rest of the world.



nashdel said:
Do you really think what you want is fair. It is not going to be decided by me and you, therefore there is no point in arguing but I believe, those million people belong to same world as yours and we all are foreginers. Whoever comes first gets served first. I hope you are not talking about minority rights for smaller countries. By this logic you can also say since indians and chinese can consume so much oil there is nothing left for other countries so Smaller countries should get free oil. It is a free market economy. This is not a cultural event. we are talking about employment based immigration. whoever has got the skills should get the first choice. But don`t worry US policy makers think you are right, for whatever reason.
Click to expand...
 
Immigration should depend on the skills that bring value to the country and not on the country where you were born. "Employment based visa" literally means based on the skills needed for employment. Moreover I dont think it is fair to give same number of visas to country with a population of 10million and 1billion. Certainly not if person from country A is more talented than person from country B.
 
I disagree

The original intention was to get better Diversity, offcourse talent is necessary but immigrants of all level are equally valuable.
I have been convincing myself "Everyone has same importance in this world. No one is more important that other."

acmil said:
Immigration should depend on the skills that bring value to the country and not on the country where you were born. "Employment based visa" literally means based on the skills needed for employment. Moreover I dont think it is fair to give same number of visas to country with a population of 10million and 1billion. Certainly not if person from country A is more talented than person from country B.
Click to expand...
 
Hey marlon, I feel cheap to answer this therefore I would say, My best wishes for you. May you go on Get you GC and then open a company with 100 employees each one from different country even if they do not have right skills.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top