Another major win on policy reforms coming out of the Heart of Silicon Valley!! Way to Go!!
This should have been done long time back.. In-fact for some time during 2005-2007 (pardon my memory), INS (aka USCIS) had relaxed rules and allowed using of unused Quota from different countries.. but remember.. it was unused Quota.. also this was discontinued later on and in-fact regressed or something like that resulting in even longer wait times for Green Cards.. Pathetic system.. Mainly designed to let employers/business (Isn't business biggest contributor for all political parties??) take advantage of it and let their employees work as Bonded Labor as long as their Green Card is pending..
I hope it will be fixed now.. All the best!!!
Here are details from San Jose Mercury News!!!
IMMIGRATION POLICY
Push to redefine green card rules rooted in valley
By Matt O’Brien
mattobrien@bayareanewsgroup.com
Who in the world gets to be an American?
Family connections and job credentials permit hundreds of thousands of foreigners to legally immigrate to the United States each year. But for others from India, China, Mexico and the Philippines, their place of birth makes it harder for them to get a green card because of long-standing U.S. restrictions.
Anand Sundaram, hindered by the rules, didn’t think they were fair. So the 36-year-old San Jose tech worker boarded a plane, flew to Washington, D.C., and began knocking on doors inside the U.S. Capitol.
Sundaram is not a professional lobbyist. He can’t even vote. But in a feat that has stunned more jaded political observers, he and other Indian immigrants with little electoral power have helped bring a divided, hyperpartisan Congress to the brink of a rare accord.
Indian immigrants must wait years longer for employment-based visas than other immigrants with similar credentials because of decades-old limits on how many people can settle in the United States from any one country each year. A bill working through Congress would eliminate the nationality- based ceilings, reducing the long lines for people from countries with the highest demand for green cards.
“It’s a modern version of ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Wash-ington,’” said Aman Kapoor, one of the founders of Santa Clara-based Immigration Voice.
The group that began as an online network of frustrated Indian guest workers in Silicon Valley has transformed into a persistent lobbying force of thousands who write emails, call and visit politicians, tweet their cause and raise money.
All in hopes of making the long lines for “green cards,” which allow permanent residency in the United States, less dependent on what country a person is from.
“It’s a question of fairness,” Kapoor said.
Their appeals finally worked.
The House of Representatives voted 389-15 on Nov. 29 to approve the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, which could end some of the last vestiges of a quota system that once regulated U.S. immigration based on country of origin.
The bipartisan bill, which still must pass the Senate, emerged quietly for a policy that could fundamentally change the rules of the game for so many aspiring immigrants. Immigration has been a politically toxic issue on which Republicans and Democrats rarely find common ground, but the strongest voices have been largely silent because the bill neither increases nor decreases immigration, just rearranges who can come in.
“I’m neutral on this bill,” said UC Davis professor Norman Matloff, a critic of highskilled visa programs he says harm U.S. software workers.
For many Indian and Chinese technology workers, getting permanent U.S. residency means nearing the end of a process that begins with coming to the United States on a provisional basis, either as a student or a guest worker hired by a company on a temporary H-1B visa. It’s the H-1B program that needs an overhaul, said Matloff, who added he has “no strong opinions” on the green card bill.
The lack of strong opinions from those who usually have many has opened the doors for the “Fairness” bill’s proponents.
Its chief provision would eliminate a per-country cap that prevents nationals from any one country from holding more than 7 percent of all employment-based green cards. In a second provision, the ceiling for family-based immigration would expand from 7 to 15percent per country.
The national limits have made it harder for Indian and Chinese immigrants to get permanent U.S. residency because their populous home countries are “oversubscribed” in the work-based immigration backlog. The family limits have caused similar problems for Mexicans and Filipinos who face the longest lines to join family members in the United States. Some have been waiting 20 years or more.
“The whole idea of the system is based on merit and need, the needs of the American economy. Where you’re born should have nothing to do with it,” said U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, a cosponsor.
But under the current system, she said, “the number of visas for India, with a population of 1.4 billion, is the same as Iceland, with a population of 350,000.”
Fixing that problem should be simple enough, said Lofgren, who with other supporters has downplayed the significance of the bill.
“It’s better than current law but it’s a very tiny thing,” she said.
However, since the total pool of 140,000 work-based visas and 226,000 family preference visas will not rise, a policy that levels the playing field for Indians, Chinese, Mexicans and Filipinos will lengthen the backlog by months and years for everyone else.
“My Brazilian clients, my clients from Israel, my European clients, they’re going to lose out,” said San Jose immigration lawyer Indu Liladhar-Hathi. “The ideal solution, of course, would have been to increase the numbers but that would have had a lot of opposition.”
Texas and Utah Republicans led the charge in passing the bill through the House, but Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has used a parliamentary maneuver to indefinitely halt the bill in the Senate, stating it will do nothing to help U.S. citizens looking for jobs.
Sundaram traveled to the Senate last week with other activists to make a case for passage. He already won his own green card while fighting for the bill. His 5-year wait was longer than people from other countries with his work experience and education might face, but shorter than many Indians he knows because he fits into the “secondpreference” skills category, a faster track that requires an advance degree or extraordinary skills.
He also had a U.S. job he really liked, which is important for H-1B workers because most cannot change jobs without permission as they await a chance for permanent residency, he said.
“You spend your 20s doing the same thing. There’s no professional growth,” he said.
Many also say they have refrained from buying a house or making other investments that could go to waste if forced back to India. Some limit travel in fear it will jeopardize their chances of staying.
“People have not been able to go home for years, not been able to go to their parent’s funeral,” he said. Sundaram said he and other immigrants pushing for change are motivated by a shared frustration at the system, but also a shared admiration for what’s possible in this country.
“Obviously they are trying to help themselves, but by helping themselves they’re helping the future generations and helping America by keeping it competitive,” Sundaram said of Immigration Voice’s army of volunteer lobbyists. “The political process allows the guy on the street to come to the Capitol to do this. Is it perfect? No. But it’s still the best in the world. We get kicked, dust off, go back doing the same thing again. We’ve been doing this for six years now.”
JIM GENSHEIMER/STAFF
Anand Sundaram, left, and Pratik Dakwala worked on the passage of the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act in the House. The bill is now stalled in the Senate.
This should have been done long time back.. In-fact for some time during 2005-2007 (pardon my memory), INS (aka USCIS) had relaxed rules and allowed using of unused Quota from different countries.. but remember.. it was unused Quota.. also this was discontinued later on and in-fact regressed or something like that resulting in even longer wait times for Green Cards.. Pathetic system.. Mainly designed to let employers/business (Isn't business biggest contributor for all political parties??) take advantage of it and let their employees work as Bonded Labor as long as their Green Card is pending..
I hope it will be fixed now.. All the best!!!
Here are details from San Jose Mercury News!!!
IMMIGRATION POLICY
Push to redefine green card rules rooted in valley
By Matt O’Brien
mattobrien@bayareanewsgroup.com
Who in the world gets to be an American?
Family connections and job credentials permit hundreds of thousands of foreigners to legally immigrate to the United States each year. But for others from India, China, Mexico and the Philippines, their place of birth makes it harder for them to get a green card because of long-standing U.S. restrictions.
Anand Sundaram, hindered by the rules, didn’t think they were fair. So the 36-year-old San Jose tech worker boarded a plane, flew to Washington, D.C., and began knocking on doors inside the U.S. Capitol.
Sundaram is not a professional lobbyist. He can’t even vote. But in a feat that has stunned more jaded political observers, he and other Indian immigrants with little electoral power have helped bring a divided, hyperpartisan Congress to the brink of a rare accord.
Indian immigrants must wait years longer for employment-based visas than other immigrants with similar credentials because of decades-old limits on how many people can settle in the United States from any one country each year. A bill working through Congress would eliminate the nationality- based ceilings, reducing the long lines for people from countries with the highest demand for green cards.
“It’s a modern version of ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Wash-ington,’” said Aman Kapoor, one of the founders of Santa Clara-based Immigration Voice.
The group that began as an online network of frustrated Indian guest workers in Silicon Valley has transformed into a persistent lobbying force of thousands who write emails, call and visit politicians, tweet their cause and raise money.
All in hopes of making the long lines for “green cards,” which allow permanent residency in the United States, less dependent on what country a person is from.
“It’s a question of fairness,” Kapoor said.
Their appeals finally worked.
The House of Representatives voted 389-15 on Nov. 29 to approve the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, which could end some of the last vestiges of a quota system that once regulated U.S. immigration based on country of origin.
The bipartisan bill, which still must pass the Senate, emerged quietly for a policy that could fundamentally change the rules of the game for so many aspiring immigrants. Immigration has been a politically toxic issue on which Republicans and Democrats rarely find common ground, but the strongest voices have been largely silent because the bill neither increases nor decreases immigration, just rearranges who can come in.
“I’m neutral on this bill,” said UC Davis professor Norman Matloff, a critic of highskilled visa programs he says harm U.S. software workers.
For many Indian and Chinese technology workers, getting permanent U.S. residency means nearing the end of a process that begins with coming to the United States on a provisional basis, either as a student or a guest worker hired by a company on a temporary H-1B visa. It’s the H-1B program that needs an overhaul, said Matloff, who added he has “no strong opinions” on the green card bill.
The lack of strong opinions from those who usually have many has opened the doors for the “Fairness” bill’s proponents.
Its chief provision would eliminate a per-country cap that prevents nationals from any one country from holding more than 7 percent of all employment-based green cards. In a second provision, the ceiling for family-based immigration would expand from 7 to 15percent per country.
The national limits have made it harder for Indian and Chinese immigrants to get permanent U.S. residency because their populous home countries are “oversubscribed” in the work-based immigration backlog. The family limits have caused similar problems for Mexicans and Filipinos who face the longest lines to join family members in the United States. Some have been waiting 20 years or more.
“The whole idea of the system is based on merit and need, the needs of the American economy. Where you’re born should have nothing to do with it,” said U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, a cosponsor.
But under the current system, she said, “the number of visas for India, with a population of 1.4 billion, is the same as Iceland, with a population of 350,000.”
Fixing that problem should be simple enough, said Lofgren, who with other supporters has downplayed the significance of the bill.
“It’s better than current law but it’s a very tiny thing,” she said.
However, since the total pool of 140,000 work-based visas and 226,000 family preference visas will not rise, a policy that levels the playing field for Indians, Chinese, Mexicans and Filipinos will lengthen the backlog by months and years for everyone else.
“My Brazilian clients, my clients from Israel, my European clients, they’re going to lose out,” said San Jose immigration lawyer Indu Liladhar-Hathi. “The ideal solution, of course, would have been to increase the numbers but that would have had a lot of opposition.”
Texas and Utah Republicans led the charge in passing the bill through the House, but Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has used a parliamentary maneuver to indefinitely halt the bill in the Senate, stating it will do nothing to help U.S. citizens looking for jobs.
Sundaram traveled to the Senate last week with other activists to make a case for passage. He already won his own green card while fighting for the bill. His 5-year wait was longer than people from other countries with his work experience and education might face, but shorter than many Indians he knows because he fits into the “secondpreference” skills category, a faster track that requires an advance degree or extraordinary skills.
He also had a U.S. job he really liked, which is important for H-1B workers because most cannot change jobs without permission as they await a chance for permanent residency, he said.
“You spend your 20s doing the same thing. There’s no professional growth,” he said.
Many also say they have refrained from buying a house or making other investments that could go to waste if forced back to India. Some limit travel in fear it will jeopardize their chances of staying.
“People have not been able to go home for years, not been able to go to their parent’s funeral,” he said. Sundaram said he and other immigrants pushing for change are motivated by a shared frustration at the system, but also a shared admiration for what’s possible in this country.
“Obviously they are trying to help themselves, but by helping themselves they’re helping the future generations and helping America by keeping it competitive,” Sundaram said of Immigration Voice’s army of volunteer lobbyists. “The political process allows the guy on the street to come to the Capitol to do this. Is it perfect? No. But it’s still the best in the world. We get kicked, dust off, go back doing the same thing again. We’ve been doing this for six years now.”
JIM GENSHEIMER/STAFF
Anand Sundaram, left, and Pratik Dakwala worked on the passage of the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act in the House. The bill is now stalled in the Senate.
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