Project Cosmos
- Thread starter cosmos
- Start date
GC_YEAHRIGHT!
Registered Users (C)
Good Speech Cosmos
..count me in for the fax campaign!!!..
Your writing took me back down memory lane, doing Elocution competitions..a good speech...if ever we have to give this as a speech at some forum count me in as a volunteer too
Commendable effort....lets keep the momentum!!! We shall overcome.
..count me in for the fax campaign!!!..
Your writing took me back down memory lane, doing Elocution competitions..a good speech...if ever we have to give this as a speech at some forum count me in as a volunteer too
Commendable effort....lets keep the momentum!!! We shall overcome.
Draft #2
Friends, please review and provide feedback. Feel free to recommend further deletions and/or some additions. Thanks.
-------------------------------------------------
Draft #2 ( A trimmed down version)
When the first President, George Washington, placed his hand upon the Bible, he stood less than a single day's journey by horseback from raw, untamed wilderness. There were 4 million Americans in a union of 13 States. Today there are 70 times as many in a union of 50 States. The United States of America has lighted the world with her inventions, gone to the aid of mankind wherever in the world there was a cry for help, journeyed to the Moon and safely returned.
It was believed then and now there are no limits to growth and human progress when men and women are free to follow their dreams.
The two-party system has served the US well over the years, but never better than in those times of great challenge when people came together not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans united in a common cause. America is at crossroads of history once again. There is a spirited debate amongst both parties on how to better secure the last great hope against rising terrorism in the world. There is a spirited debate about how to create more jobs. There is a spirited debate about health care, social security, Medicare, and more, as there should be.
But let these debates not freeze the lives of hundreds of thousands of I-485 applicants waiting forever to better their lot and contribute even more to the American economy.
I want to tell you about a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who teach our children, heal us when we are sick, write complex computer applications, invent and innovate at workplaces across America —professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, doctors, lawyers, etc. This special interest group is, in short, a special breed called the immigration benefits applicants (particularly the employment based I-485 applicants).
I-485 applicants are law-abiding, decent, hard working men, women and children waiting for their status to be adjusted to that of a legal permanent resident. They pay over $5 billion (an estimated 500,000 EB applicants * $10,000) in federal and state taxes every year.
I-485 application processing time for most applicants has now increased to more than 2 years at all the service centers causing immeasurable hardship to all the would be immigrant families. Most of us are unable to buy homes not because our credit is bad. On the contrary, our credit is excellent. But bank managers do not understand our visa status (even though we are on American soil through purely legitimate means). Career advancement has been hampered since the applicant has to remain with the same respective employer (or) similar job in order to benefit from this adjustment of status. The majority of the employers have taken advantage of these restrictions, created by the severe processing delays. Such restrictions again are impacting the livelihood of not only immigration benefits applicants but also the company they work for. The technological advances are far ahead of the immigration approval cycles. It is but unfortunate that we cannot learn more and be more useful to the company that we work for and to the country that we live in, simply because we are supposed to be doing same or similar job only.
I am writing to you today to dramatize this appalling condition. In a sense I am writing to you to cash a check. When the President and the Congress said that they believe that all immigration benefits applications should be processed within 6 months, they were in essence signing a promissory note, figuratively speaking, to which every immigration applicant was to fall heir.
It is obvious today that USCIS has defaulted on this promissory note. Instead of honoring this sacred sentiment, USCIS has returned the check marked "insufficient funds", literally and figuratively. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. It is frustrating, unfair, and plain wrong.
We seek immediate relief from this august body. Even the honorable legislators are accountable. But why is USCIS not held accountable for such a poor service to immigration benefits petitioners? USCIS gives the lowest priority to processing I-485 applications. When we ask them why, the reply is always that they are working on some other type of application that has to be processed within a certain timeframe. Why not process I-485 within a certain timeframe?
All we ask of you, honorable legislators, is that you direct USCIS to process all the pending employment based I-485 applications within the next three months and new applications to be processed within 6 months. Unless you direct USCIS to process our I-485 applications in a timely manner, they are not going to do anything about pending applications, because they are not accountable.
I-485 applicants have gone through very stringent and rigorously applied labor laws that ensure we do not in fact displace a qualified American from his or her job. We have followed every immigration law in the book and we have already qualified to become immigrants. The question is then that of the final adjustment of status. I-485 approval changes our visa status to that of a legal permanent resident after we have already cleared all the other requirements.
I-485 applicants seek freedom from the shackles of immigration processing delays. We are not asking for special favors. We are asking for timely processing of I-485 petitions.
If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, America achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in this land, Americans unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth.
When our immigration benefits applications are held in abeyance for over 18 to 24 months, when our lives in a limbo state, how will our minds be free? Granted, we were not born here. But for how long will that be held against us?
We too have a dream. That one day we will be free at last. In spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, we still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. It is a dream that is alive and well.
We have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." We have a dream that one day we can work for any employer that we believe will utilize our potential to the fullest. We have a dream that an immigrant application is approved within 6 months. We have a dream today. We have a dream that one day we will be able to say “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
To quote President FDR, “There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given, of other generations much is expected, but this generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.” This generation of Americans will create history. This generation of immigrants will make America a greater nation than it already is. Let this Congress take action to help the immigrants realize their dreams and create an environment where genius and potential of the immigrant mind is unleashed for the good of mankind.
God bless America and God bless us all.
Thank You,
Your Name
Street Address,
City, State, Zip
Proposed implementation schedule: June 7 – June 11
Target audience: All 100 Senators and 434 Congressmen
List of volunteers so far:
cosmos
Edison’s volunteer list (don’t know how many are here)
Gutterboy
FI485
Dsatish
Kashmir
TheWarrior
Sgi
Brokenarrow
Becky
GCDreamz
Kadamtal
Gc_yeahright
Laguna
OmGV
Linuxrox
Mango_pickle
Please sign up for the fax campaign.
Friends, please review and provide feedback. Feel free to recommend further deletions and/or some additions. Thanks.
-------------------------------------------------
Draft #2 ( A trimmed down version)
When the first President, George Washington, placed his hand upon the Bible, he stood less than a single day's journey by horseback from raw, untamed wilderness. There were 4 million Americans in a union of 13 States. Today there are 70 times as many in a union of 50 States. The United States of America has lighted the world with her inventions, gone to the aid of mankind wherever in the world there was a cry for help, journeyed to the Moon and safely returned.
It was believed then and now there are no limits to growth and human progress when men and women are free to follow their dreams.
The two-party system has served the US well over the years, but never better than in those times of great challenge when people came together not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans united in a common cause. America is at crossroads of history once again. There is a spirited debate amongst both parties on how to better secure the last great hope against rising terrorism in the world. There is a spirited debate about how to create more jobs. There is a spirited debate about health care, social security, Medicare, and more, as there should be.
But let these debates not freeze the lives of hundreds of thousands of I-485 applicants waiting forever to better their lot and contribute even more to the American economy.
I want to tell you about a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who teach our children, heal us when we are sick, write complex computer applications, invent and innovate at workplaces across America —professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, doctors, lawyers, etc. This special interest group is, in short, a special breed called the immigration benefits applicants (particularly the employment based I-485 applicants).
I-485 applicants are law-abiding, decent, hard working men, women and children waiting for their status to be adjusted to that of a legal permanent resident. They pay over $5 billion (an estimated 500,000 EB applicants * $10,000) in federal and state taxes every year.
I-485 application processing time for most applicants has now increased to more than 2 years at all the service centers causing immeasurable hardship to all the would be immigrant families. Most of us are unable to buy homes not because our credit is bad. On the contrary, our credit is excellent. But bank managers do not understand our visa status (even though we are on American soil through purely legitimate means). Career advancement has been hampered since the applicant has to remain with the same respective employer (or) similar job in order to benefit from this adjustment of status. The majority of the employers have taken advantage of these restrictions, created by the severe processing delays. Such restrictions again are impacting the livelihood of not only immigration benefits applicants but also the company they work for. The technological advances are far ahead of the immigration approval cycles. It is but unfortunate that we cannot learn more and be more useful to the company that we work for and to the country that we live in, simply because we are supposed to be doing same or similar job only.
I am writing to you today to dramatize this appalling condition. In a sense I am writing to you to cash a check. When the President and the Congress said that they believe that all immigration benefits applications should be processed within 6 months, they were in essence signing a promissory note, figuratively speaking, to which every immigration applicant was to fall heir.
It is obvious today that USCIS has defaulted on this promissory note. Instead of honoring this sacred sentiment, USCIS has returned the check marked "insufficient funds", literally and figuratively. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. It is frustrating, unfair, and plain wrong.
We seek immediate relief from this august body. Even the honorable legislators are accountable. But why is USCIS not held accountable for such a poor service to immigration benefits petitioners? USCIS gives the lowest priority to processing I-485 applications. When we ask them why, the reply is always that they are working on some other type of application that has to be processed within a certain timeframe. Why not process I-485 within a certain timeframe?
All we ask of you, honorable legislators, is that you direct USCIS to process all the pending employment based I-485 applications within the next three months and new applications to be processed within 6 months. Unless you direct USCIS to process our I-485 applications in a timely manner, they are not going to do anything about pending applications, because they are not accountable.
I-485 applicants have gone through very stringent and rigorously applied labor laws that ensure we do not in fact displace a qualified American from his or her job. We have followed every immigration law in the book and we have already qualified to become immigrants. The question is then that of the final adjustment of status. I-485 approval changes our visa status to that of a legal permanent resident after we have already cleared all the other requirements.
I-485 applicants seek freedom from the shackles of immigration processing delays. We are not asking for special favors. We are asking for timely processing of I-485 petitions.
If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, America achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in this land, Americans unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth.
When our immigration benefits applications are held in abeyance for over 18 to 24 months, when our lives in a limbo state, how will our minds be free? Granted, we were not born here. But for how long will that be held against us?
We too have a dream. That one day we will be free at last. In spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, we still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. It is a dream that is alive and well.
We have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." We have a dream that one day we can work for any employer that we believe will utilize our potential to the fullest. We have a dream that an immigrant application is approved within 6 months. We have a dream today. We have a dream that one day we will be able to say “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
To quote President FDR, “There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given, of other generations much is expected, but this generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.” This generation of Americans will create history. This generation of immigrants will make America a greater nation than it already is. Let this Congress take action to help the immigrants realize their dreams and create an environment where genius and potential of the immigrant mind is unleashed for the good of mankind.
God bless America and God bless us all.
Thank You,
Your Name
Street Address,
City, State, Zip
Proposed implementation schedule: June 7 – June 11
Target audience: All 100 Senators and 434 Congressmen
List of volunteers so far:
cosmos
Edison’s volunteer list (don’t know how many are here)
Gutterboy
FI485
Dsatish
Kashmir
TheWarrior
Sgi
Brokenarrow
Becky
GCDreamz
Kadamtal
Gc_yeahright
Laguna
OmGV
Linuxrox
Mango_pickle
Please sign up for the fax campaign.
Folks, we have only 15 or so volunteers without Edison's list (which may have an overlap). Even if each one of us sends 50 faxes, we can only do 750 faxes. Should we scale down our target to only 100 senators? Time is running out for the campaign start date of June 7th. Or should we delay the campaign. Please provide feedback.
Please consider joining this campaign. Appreciate your help! Thanks.
Please consider joining this campaign. Appreciate your help! Thanks.
140_takes_4ever
Registered Users (C)
I like this much better than shooting for all the Senators and Congressmen. The reason for that being:kashmir said:
1. Unless a bill makes it past the sub committee, it will NEVER make it to the floor.
2. It is absolutely imperitive to get sub committee members on board because they are the acknowledged authorities in their field and other house/senate members look to them for leadership on these issues.
3. It will be more effective if we can get all our volunteers to send faxes to a few people, increase the count there as compared to sending a couple of faxes to a number of people, where it won't be as effective.
Also, the faxes CANNOT be essays. You need to be to the point, brief, explain your case and stop. The problem with waxing lyrical is as dsatish mentioned, no one reads it or has the time to read it. And if they skip points, they might miss the entire point of the fax.
desi_alien
Registered Users (C)
count me in
definetely count me in.
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wac02122
definetely count me in.
----------
wac02122
desi_alien
Registered Users (C)
political spin
Might help put in some political spin, if it helps
like intelligent immigrants are leaving US to thier home countires unable to bear the wait (and uncertainity) and along with them are taking the jobs offshore as most companies are unwilling to loose good talent.
Might help put in some political spin, if it helps
like intelligent immigrants are leaving US to thier home countires unable to bear the wait (and uncertainity) and along with them are taking the jobs offshore as most companies are unwilling to loose good talent.
kashmir said:
140_takes_4ever said:
I suppose we have to start with immigration sub committee.
I have done my best to trim the content. It is 2 pages long in 11.5 font size of Times Roman. It was 4 pages in 12 font size when I first posted. Now, I may need someone else to chop down the content more. Any volunteers?
The style of my writing was a copy of some speeches by President Reagan and MLK. I think that the Congressional assistants would feel a bit differently about getting faxes this style instead of the usual matter-of-fact letters/faxes. But I don't feel very strongly one way or another. I will leave it upto you folks. I need more feedback.
Thanks for your active participation.
Last edited by a moderator:
140_takes_4ever
Registered Users (C)
Cosmos,
No offense implied by my criticism. It is just my opinion that Faxes/emails should be brief and to the point to be effective. Speaches are great when you have a captive audience. Here some low level intern will read the fax, try to paraphrase it in his/her own words, before the higher ups even get to see it. It is only after you have their attention, will you have a chance to engage in more flowery speach.
Again that is just my opinion, feel free to discard it.
No offense implied by my criticism. It is just my opinion that Faxes/emails should be brief and to the point to be effective. Speaches are great when you have a captive audience. Here some low level intern will read the fax, try to paraphrase it in his/her own words, before the higher ups even get to see it. It is only after you have their attention, will you have a chance to engage in more flowery speach.
Again that is just my opinion, feel free to discard it.
140_takes_4ever said:Cosmos,
No offense implied by my criticism. It is just my opinion that Faxes/emails should be brief and to the point to be effective. Speaches are great when you have a captive audience. Here some low level intern will read the fax, try to paraphrase it in his/her own words, before the higher ups even get to see it. It is only after you have their attention, will you have a chance to engage in more flowery speach.
Again that is just my opinion, feel free to discard it.
I knew no offense was meant and none taken. I think you are doing a terrific job and I do not see anything wrong with your constructive inputs.
People like Kashmir, you, dsatish and so many others have kept these forums alive. From time to time, we may not agree on a thing or two. But that is to be expected. Our intentions and goals are all the same. Thanks!
T - 7 days
I watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with my son over the long weekend. There was a scene at the end that particularly impressed me. In my own words…
Harry looks troubled when he is with Head Master Dumbledore. He says, “ I cannot but notice some similarities between myself and Voldemart.”
Dumbledore replies, “Harry, people are known not by their abilities, but by their choices.”
Choices!
Most of us have suffered quite a bit due to immigration delays. What have we done about it? There is a clear choice. Either we do something about it. Or not. If not, I wonder why.
If you like Project Cosmos, please join us. If not, you have other excellent ways to participate and make a difference:
- Project Ocean (http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=99973)
- Funds (http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=120801&page=6&pp=15)
- Come up with a new initiative
Friends, let your choice make a difference.
(PS: In case you were on another planet when Harry Potter was – and still is - the hottest thing on this planet, Harry is a boy-genius-good-wizard and Voldemart is an evil wizard. JK Rowling, author of the popular book series, was on social welfare at one time before she made her choice and made a difference to her life to the tune of $400 million )
I watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with my son over the long weekend. There was a scene at the end that particularly impressed me. In my own words…
Harry looks troubled when he is with Head Master Dumbledore. He says, “ I cannot but notice some similarities between myself and Voldemart.”
Dumbledore replies, “Harry, people are known not by their abilities, but by their choices.”
Choices!
Most of us have suffered quite a bit due to immigration delays. What have we done about it? There is a clear choice. Either we do something about it. Or not. If not, I wonder why.
If you like Project Cosmos, please join us. If not, you have other excellent ways to participate and make a difference:
- Project Ocean (http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=99973)
- Funds (http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=120801&page=6&pp=15)
- Come up with a new initiative
Friends, let your choice make a difference.
(PS: In case you were on another planet when Harry Potter was – and still is - the hottest thing on this planet, Harry is a boy-genius-good-wizard and Voldemart is an evil wizard. JK Rowling, author of the popular book series, was on social welfare at one time before she made her choice and made a difference to her life to the tune of $400 million
)140_takes_4ever
Registered Users (C)
More like a BILLION $! She passed the 400 million $ mark a long time ago!