My 2 cents
This is in continuation to what I posted on the 15th under " Todays Update " I had told the official that if my Labor takes to the end of 2002 i may have to exit as my HI would expire- The official was genuinely sympathetic and said i would have an option of extending my sixth year to seventh year . I did not know the rule very well so i went back and researched this is what i could find in Shiela Murthy site
:As regular MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom readers are aware, the American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act (AC21), in certain circumstances, allows persons in H1B status to obtain extensions of that status beyond the six-year period (usually referred to as "seventh-year extensions"
. Sections 106(a) and (b) of AC21 set forth the following two requirements for such extensions: first, a labor certification application must have been filed for the person at least one year prior; and, second, either the I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) must also have been filed and be pending or approved,
I would like us to include in the letter that we may not be eligible for the extension as the extension requires two clauses
1. Labor filed for more than 1 year
2. Filing of 140
Hence i think there is a notion in the DOL that all of us would get extension please do mention that INS would not give us any benefit if we did not file 140, which ofcourse can be filed only after geting Labour approved.
We may also mention in our letter
1. How much we contribute to the econaomy of VA by paying taxes on our salary and taxes paid by the company
2. Indirect jobs created by us like support services office staff etc
3.It has not been easy for us to keep our jobs in this economy and we must be net contributors or economic accelerators
4. All of us provide a lot of training to our clients this helps in changing the skill sets of the employees from other skills to skilled software professionals.
5. Last but not least there is a " human cost involved "this might be just a application number in DOL files but it means a lot to our familes where in we legitametely try to build a better lives for our family memeners in US by following all the laws and a dream of building better lives in US
6. We spend a finest and most productive years of our lives in US 25 - 40 years when our earning and learining potential is maximum if we dont get our cards in time we would have to go back and we would not get a cent from the thoussands we contributed to Social Security,etc
Skill set changes soon and we may not be apt in learning new skills 5 years or 10 years from now and would still have a make a new beginig in our careers ( remember what happend to Cobol , AS400 guys)
I think I am hitting some of our concerns hence we should try to state the same
I think thefolks in 245 do not have problems of 7 year extensions ,ot employer change etc. they would continue to do what they do now only that one day they would get a card by post one day not like us where in we are governed by DOL, INS, IRS SSA and all other laws of the land
andhave to continusly keep us productive not oly to us but to our companies and community as a whole - we are not asking for any undue favours but to be only treated fairly and justly
