hopeful08
04-21 12:29 PM
Isn't this everyody's concern ? GC process is something that has absolutely no predictability. It's all luck...I've been waiting for that moment from almost 8 years postponing many important decisions in life. So, I've come to the realization that the only thing we can do is hope.
jessie1981
07-13 04:40 PM
how many ppl are gonna be there? It must be very hot wearing a suit.
Mahatma
08-15 09:56 AM
Welcome VDL Rao and continue to bless us through your wisdom.
Sorry if somebody offended you knowingly or unknowingly.
The best parameter of your recognition is: so many people wait to hear your words.
Please make it a routene to enlighten us at leat every 15 days about your take on USCIS affairs.
I am pledging to double my recurring contribution for next 3 years.
Regards.
Sorry if somebody offended you knowingly or unknowingly.
The best parameter of your recognition is: so many people wait to hear your words.
Please make it a routene to enlighten us at leat every 15 days about your take on USCIS affairs.
I am pledging to double my recurring contribution for next 3 years.
Regards.
gkaplan
04-22 12:13 AM
country if birth is germany
more...
katewill
08-24 02:28 PM
i got it. thanks Xu1
according to your info, can i assume:
out of 360K,
270k belongs to EB3
135k still in DBEC (lets say 100K for 2001-02 cases)
135k still in PBEC (lets say 35K pending 2001-02)
so still 135k pending for EB3 for 2001-02.
so what is ratio of big 4 vs. the rest in EB3? any guess?
no one knows monthly BEC approval rate either right?
i am trying to guess how further will it retrogress...(well no one knows but...)
according to your info, can i assume:
out of 360K,
270k belongs to EB3
135k still in DBEC (lets say 100K for 2001-02 cases)
135k still in PBEC (lets say 35K pending 2001-02)
so still 135k pending for EB3 for 2001-02.
so what is ratio of big 4 vs. the rest in EB3? any guess?
no one knows monthly BEC approval rate either right?
i am trying to guess how further will it retrogress...(well no one knows but...)
bkshres
07-01 12:35 PM
I have seen people getting FAFSA loan with pending I-485. If you are in non-immigrant visa status even H1B then you can NOT apply for FAFSA. But if you are in pending I-485 working on EAD then should be good. Better talk with school advisor for more detail.
Good luck
BK
Good luck
BK
more...
days_go_by
08-23 10:52 PM
180K per BEC and 2 of them so 360K cases overall.
ibbu_arif
11-16 10:27 AM
Hello Gurus,
I have been searching various posts and found quite answers to quite a few questions I had in mind, but as usual I am left out with few more queries :)
Following is my current Status
Pending I-485 Application, AP valid till Dec 6th 2008 and EAD Valid till Oct 2010.
Already applied for AP extension for me and my wife on Oct 10 2008 and awaiting for Approval.
I had travelled once on my AP in April 2008 for a week to Visit my sick mother... I understand that this Puts me on parolee status. But Please NOTE that I am still with my H1B Status with my employer. Didn't use my EAD for I-9 forms.
After returning, my employer applied for my H1B extension for 3 years ( I already completed my 6 yrs of H1B). It is already approved and I have a Approved/Valid H1B document till May 30 2011.
From the info in some posts, I understood that this extension puts me back into H1B Status.
Now the actual question :
-------------------------
I had to Visit India in Jan 2009. I already booked my tickets for Jan4th (you know how it is , you always have to book earlier ), with an anticipation that I will get my AP extension Approved before that time. (I gave 3 months time for myself)
If I get my AP approved before I leave then NO Issues, I will again use my AP to re-enter USA in Feb 2009.
But let's assume I don't get it Approved before I leave.
a) Am I allowed to travel outside USA while my AP is Pending ?
b) If allowed, Can my AP get approved while I am outside US (i.e in India) ? Or will they Cancel my AP application?
c) I know I should get my H1B Visa stamping done while in India to re-enter on H1B Status. Do you see any problems that the consular officer/POE officer can create like
why did I leave the country while my AP application is Pending ?
Why are applying for H1B Visa while you could have used your AP?
I appreciate your detailed answers.
Thanks
I have been searching various posts and found quite answers to quite a few questions I had in mind, but as usual I am left out with few more queries :)
Following is my current Status
Pending I-485 Application, AP valid till Dec 6th 2008 and EAD Valid till Oct 2010.
Already applied for AP extension for me and my wife on Oct 10 2008 and awaiting for Approval.
I had travelled once on my AP in April 2008 for a week to Visit my sick mother... I understand that this Puts me on parolee status. But Please NOTE that I am still with my H1B Status with my employer. Didn't use my EAD for I-9 forms.
After returning, my employer applied for my H1B extension for 3 years ( I already completed my 6 yrs of H1B). It is already approved and I have a Approved/Valid H1B document till May 30 2011.
From the info in some posts, I understood that this extension puts me back into H1B Status.
Now the actual question :
-------------------------
I had to Visit India in Jan 2009. I already booked my tickets for Jan4th (you know how it is , you always have to book earlier ), with an anticipation that I will get my AP extension Approved before that time. (I gave 3 months time for myself)
If I get my AP approved before I leave then NO Issues, I will again use my AP to re-enter USA in Feb 2009.
But let's assume I don't get it Approved before I leave.
a) Am I allowed to travel outside USA while my AP is Pending ?
b) If allowed, Can my AP get approved while I am outside US (i.e in India) ? Or will they Cancel my AP application?
c) I know I should get my H1B Visa stamping done while in India to re-enter on H1B Status. Do you see any problems that the consular officer/POE officer can create like
why did I leave the country while my AP application is Pending ?
Why are applying for H1B Visa while you could have used your AP?
I appreciate your detailed answers.
Thanks
more...
samsanju.corp
01-08 02:10 AM
Interview date 9th dec 2009
Submitted all documents 10th dec 2009 as mentioned below:-
1) Petitioner's Federal Income Tax returns
2) Petitioner's state unemployment wage reports for last 4 quarters.
3) Letter from end client in US on letterhead indicating your services are expected.
4) List of petitioner's employees at your job site including names, titles, salaries, and immigration status.
5) Copy of contract between petitioner and contracting company with detailed job itinerary.
Till date I together with my employer have written 6 emails but there is no response.
I personally visited mumbai Consulate information center but they did't ave me any answer.
Can anyone please tell me how long this whole process will take?
Is there any chance that such case goes into endless loop?
My house and all belongings are in U.S. and I am clueless as what to do
Submitted all documents 10th dec 2009 as mentioned below:-
1) Petitioner's Federal Income Tax returns
2) Petitioner's state unemployment wage reports for last 4 quarters.
3) Letter from end client in US on letterhead indicating your services are expected.
4) List of petitioner's employees at your job site including names, titles, salaries, and immigration status.
5) Copy of contract between petitioner and contracting company with detailed job itinerary.
Till date I together with my employer have written 6 emails but there is no response.
I personally visited mumbai Consulate information center but they did't ave me any answer.
Can anyone please tell me how long this whole process will take?
Is there any chance that such case goes into endless loop?
My house and all belongings are in U.S. and I am clueless as what to do
kminkeller
03-09 01:00 PM
Hi I am very new to this forum and actually to all the Immigration related forums. Here is what my situation is.
I was working for a company A, got my PERM and I140 approved on EB3 and filed my I485 on with PD August 2007. I have also have the EAD and AP and am working on EAD as my H1 got voided after getting laid off from Company A on 2009. I am working with a company B with a higher salary than company A. This company didnt want to deal with USCIS and my agreement with this company does not allow me to discuss immigration matter with them. Now I got a new offer from company C with similar or slightly higher salary. Company C is ready to do my paper work.
Now I need to know what are the things that I can do.
1. Do I need to file PERM, I140 again on EB2?
2. Do I need to file for H1 again and complete the entire process?
3. What is and how to do EB3 to EB2 porting? is that all I need to do?
Please give me some advice. Thanks in advance.
KM
I was working for a company A, got my PERM and I140 approved on EB3 and filed my I485 on with PD August 2007. I have also have the EAD and AP and am working on EAD as my H1 got voided after getting laid off from Company A on 2009. I am working with a company B with a higher salary than company A. This company didnt want to deal with USCIS and my agreement with this company does not allow me to discuss immigration matter with them. Now I got a new offer from company C with similar or slightly higher salary. Company C is ready to do my paper work.
Now I need to know what are the things that I can do.
1. Do I need to file PERM, I140 again on EB2?
2. Do I need to file for H1 again and complete the entire process?
3. What is and how to do EB3 to EB2 porting? is that all I need to do?
Please give me some advice. Thanks in advance.
KM
more...
g03
05-16 10:29 AM
John Kyl from Arizona wants to put an amendment to make "current legals ineligible for this benefit for this if they go out of status from now on".
mambarg
08-05 06:13 PM
With 700K predicted applications pending From July ,
Was just wondering what will be long term effects.
Imagine they process a very conservation 200K apps for EAD/AP/485 in say 6 months and issue EAD for 1 year.
Now coming July which is 6 months prior to expiry of 1st EAD.
There will be 200K applications again in june/july/aug for EAD renewal/AP renewal ?
It is like any surge in electric voltage generally blows away the device.
I am expecting something this surge will blow away their fingerprint/fbi name check/INS staff , everyone.
I think now INS wants to put these into queues of FBI/DOS and put the blame squarely on them.
Over the period of next 1 year or so, everyone who is in EB3 will migrate to EB2 as he can switch job in EAD and then process another Labor/140 without getting affected ??
What if all the background adjudication of 485 is done in 1 year and then we change from EB3 to EB2, its not going to affect the current 485 ? It will just put the file in a better category ?
Was just wondering what will be long term effects.
Imagine they process a very conservation 200K apps for EAD/AP/485 in say 6 months and issue EAD for 1 year.
Now coming July which is 6 months prior to expiry of 1st EAD.
There will be 200K applications again in june/july/aug for EAD renewal/AP renewal ?
It is like any surge in electric voltage generally blows away the device.
I am expecting something this surge will blow away their fingerprint/fbi name check/INS staff , everyone.
I think now INS wants to put these into queues of FBI/DOS and put the blame squarely on them.
Over the period of next 1 year or so, everyone who is in EB3 will migrate to EB2 as he can switch job in EAD and then process another Labor/140 without getting affected ??
What if all the background adjudication of 485 is done in 1 year and then we change from EB3 to EB2, its not going to affect the current 485 ? It will just put the file in a better category ?
more...
arthsidhu
09-10 01:54 AM
The way these companies are run is pathetic. I know a Desi employer who invested his revenues into Tollywood (Telugu) movies. :D Isn�t it amusing?
Most of these movies flopped and he didn't have any money to pay his employees. Some one complained to DOL and they blacklisted the company preventing them from processing anymore H1's or GC's. The Desi employer eventually started another company and went into the whole crappy business again.
American desi, the employer you are referring to is known as Netsoft previously which has a long history of employee abuse and also the abuse of the H1B visas. It changed name to HIDEF TECHNOLOGIES 17177 N Laurel Park Dr # 402, Livonia, MI 48152-3951 after some of its employees complained about it to DOL . It still exists and has come back with vengeance in abusing this H1b visas. It is located in Livonia, Michigan. So beware of this company.
HIDEF TECHNOLOGIES
17177 N Laurel Park Dr # 348
Livonia, MI , 48152-3951
Phone: 734-632-0308
Most of these movies flopped and he didn't have any money to pay his employees. Some one complained to DOL and they blacklisted the company preventing them from processing anymore H1's or GC's. The Desi employer eventually started another company and went into the whole crappy business again.
American desi, the employer you are referring to is known as Netsoft previously which has a long history of employee abuse and also the abuse of the H1B visas. It changed name to HIDEF TECHNOLOGIES 17177 N Laurel Park Dr # 402, Livonia, MI 48152-3951 after some of its employees complained about it to DOL . It still exists and has come back with vengeance in abusing this H1b visas. It is located in Livonia, Michigan. So beware of this company.
HIDEF TECHNOLOGIES
17177 N Laurel Park Dr # 348
Livonia, MI , 48152-3951
Phone: 734-632-0308
seetheavatar
10-15 03:33 PM
Don't worry guys.If you have received a mail saying that your GC is posted and if it is more than 30 days you can contact the customer service and create a service request.
You will get your card within 30 days.
If it was sent to a different address it would be returned to USCIS and you will be getting a mail saying that your GC was returned.
For this case also you have to create a service request and you will get your card within 30 days.
You will get your card within 30 days.
If it was sent to a different address it would be returned to USCIS and you will be getting a mail saying that your GC was returned.
For this case also you have to create a service request and you will get your card within 30 days.
more...
poorslumdog
05-10 10:30 PM
Guys,
I have a long layover at New Delhi airport. I am reaching their at 8PM and my next flight in the morning at 7:30AM. Is there any accommodation facility within airport? Or Do i need to go to city? This is the first time, i am going through delhi airport. Any helpful comments are welcome. Thanks and appreciate your help.
There is a huge run way... try to make use of it.
I have a long layover at New Delhi airport. I am reaching their at 8PM and my next flight in the morning at 7:30AM. Is there any accommodation facility within airport? Or Do i need to go to city? This is the first time, i am going through delhi airport. Any helpful comments are welcome. Thanks and appreciate your help.
There is a huge run way... try to make use of it.
eb3retro
06-17 04:33 PM
u r right, green for you...
Let's say there is a problem. What can you do to fix it? You want to start GC fresh?
Relax... I have seen many people who bought PDs from consultants paying 10k and got GCs too. Don't worry. If you post these kind of threads, it make people waiting for years more frustrating. Be happy for your luck. Go chill. Don't keep saying you are afraid and all.
Let's say there is a problem. What can you do to fix it? You want to start GC fresh?
Relax... I have seen many people who bought PDs from consultants paying 10k and got GCs too. Don't worry. If you post these kind of threads, it make people waiting for years more frustrating. Be happy for your luck. Go chill. Don't keep saying you are afraid and all.
more...
quizzer
10-19 12:23 PM
EB-2, NSC, PD 10/30/07. Only LUD on 11/22/06, since then nothing
Ask your company/lawyer to raise a service request since its more than 30 days of the processing time
Ask your company/lawyer to raise a service request since its more than 30 days of the processing time
bank_king2003
04-21 11:29 AM
I did try to get into it so that i can start an effort to file a lawsuit but it seems after spending couple of hundread dollars to talk to lawyers I came across that federal courts have no power to do anything against USCIS if it is ineffeciency due to beurocracy delays.
So Technically you can file a lawsuit even as an individual but then Federal Court wont be able to held USCIS accountable as USCIS will give excuse as beurocracy delays and lack of resources and that lands on Congress so Federal court will have to get Congress involved.
Very Sad ... but its true ... this is a clean example how unfair this country is and it still preaches other countries on this planet about liberty, justice blah blah ...
So Technically you can file a lawsuit even as an individual but then Federal Court wont be able to held USCIS accountable as USCIS will give excuse as beurocracy delays and lack of resources and that lands on Congress so Federal court will have to get Congress involved.
Very Sad ... but its true ... this is a clean example how unfair this country is and it still preaches other countries on this planet about liberty, justice blah blah ...
shirish
03-26 11:32 AM
According to my knowledge it has to be after the college. You cannot be fulltime employed and full time student at the same time.
So in nutshell. B.S + 5 years exp (After completing BS) and also the job must demand for BS + 5 years exp.Else you cannot file under EB2.
Thanks guys... I believe my experiences are "progressive" (whatever that means) in a sense that during 5 years of work I progressed accordignly and to the level that the job description / ad for my position would require BS plus 5 years of experience.
What I don't get and was not quite sure about was the fact that 2 of those 5 years were during college. 5 years of experience is 5 years - I don't get why they would not like it. It is normal for people to work full time and go to college full time. When you get hired, if you have 5 years of full time experience, the prospective employer could not care less that 2 years of that were gained during last 2 years of college.
Dunno ... with USCIS and their rules ...
I asked my lawyer (duahhaaaa) and he said it's ok ... but I don't trust him.
M.
So in nutshell. B.S + 5 years exp (After completing BS) and also the job must demand for BS + 5 years exp.Else you cannot file under EB2.
Thanks guys... I believe my experiences are "progressive" (whatever that means) in a sense that during 5 years of work I progressed accordignly and to the level that the job description / ad for my position would require BS plus 5 years of experience.
What I don't get and was not quite sure about was the fact that 2 of those 5 years were during college. 5 years of experience is 5 years - I don't get why they would not like it. It is normal for people to work full time and go to college full time. When you get hired, if you have 5 years of full time experience, the prospective employer could not care less that 2 years of that were gained during last 2 years of college.
Dunno ... with USCIS and their rules ...
I asked my lawyer (duahhaaaa) and he said it's ok ... but I don't trust him.
M.
jasonalbany
07-04 12:28 PM
Access to Job Market in U.S. a Matter of Degrees
Foreign workers with high-tech skills are in demand, but visa quotas snarl the hiring process.
By Anna Gorman, Times Staff Writer
July 3, 2006
This spring, a U.S. high-tech company recruited British citizen Gareth Lloyd for a possible engineering job.
But before the Irvine office made its hiring decision, the number of available visas for skilled workers ran out, in a record time of less than two months.
Lloyd, who has degrees in applied physics and electrical and electronics engineering, found another job in Germany.
"I was a little bit incredulous," Lloyd, 34, said in a phone interview. "It seems arbitrary to put some kind of quota on this."
Much of the national debate on immigration has centered on undocumented workers who fill agriculture, construction and service jobs. But highly skilled foreign scientists, engineers and computer programmers recruited by U.S. companies to work here legally also have a lot at stake in the outcome. "The major focus for all the laws and all the bills has mainly been for illegal immigrants," said Swati Srivastava, an Indian software engineer who lives in Playa del Rey and is waiting for her green card. "We kind of get pushed to the sidelines."
The Senate's sweeping immigration bill that passed in May calls for increasing the number of H-1B visas, which are available for professional foreign workers, from 65,000 to 115,000 annually. Foreigners with certain advanced degrees would be exempt from the cap.
Despite President Bush's urging to increase such quotas, however, the House bill that passed late last year does not include any provisions for skilled-worker visas. And a conference committee, which would negotiate a compromise, has yet to be selected. U.S. companies complain that they are losing prospective employees to other countries because of a shortage of highly skilled and educated foreign workers. As a result, companies are either outsourcing science and engineering jobs or making do with fewer employees.
"There aren't enough U.S. citizens pursuing those types of degrees," said Jennifer Greeson, spokeswoman for Intel Corp. in Santa Clara, Calif., where about 5% of the company's U.S.-based employees are on H-1B visas. "U.S. companies being able to have access to talent, no matter where it originates, is key to our continued competitiveness."
But critics of the H-1B program argue that there are enough Americans qualified for the jobs. Companies just prefer to hire younger, less expensive workers from other countries, such as India and China, instead of more experienced American workers at higher salaries.
"The bottom line is cheap labor," said UC Davis computer-science professor Norman Matloff, who has studied the H-1B program.
The six-year visas are available to foreigners with at least a bachelor's degree. Firms must pay foreign workers the prevailing wage.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency begins accepting H-1B visa applications on April 1 each year. The agency received enough visas to hit the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 at the end of May this year, compared with August in 2005 and October in 2004. Those who receive the visas can begin work Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year.
There are also 20,000 additional visas available for foreign workers who earned a master's or higher-level degree in the U.S. The Citizenship and Immigration Services is still accepting applications for those visas.
Because the H-1B cap is reached more quickly each year, many companies prepare their paperwork ahead of time so they can be at the front of the line. But they say it's often difficult to make hiring decisions six months before the start date.
Orange County immigration attorney Mitchell Wexler has a courier ready on the first day to take his clients' completed applications to Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"The whole white-collar business community is kind of crossing our fingers" that the number of visas is raised, Wexler said. Highly skilled foreign workers, he said, are "the best and brightest" and should be invited into the economy.
"If we can't get them," Wexler added, "they will go to a country that will accept them, and they will get jobs in Canada, Australia and England and will compete against us."
One of Wexler's clients, Massachusetts-based Skyworks Solutions, develops and manufactures integrated circuits for cellphones. Connie Williams, senior human resources specialist at the company's Irvine office, said her firm was effectively cut off from a foreign labor pool that included Lloyd of Britain when the government stopped accepting H-1B applications.
Williams said she worries that if Congress fails to pass reform legislation, the door will slam shut even earlier next year. The company has just over 2,000 U.S.-based employees, roughly 100 of whom have H-1B visas.
"We need these highly skilled, highly educated, highly qualified engineers," said Williams. "These people are a needle in a haystack."
Once foreigners have H-1B visas, they face another hurdle � becoming permanent legal residents. Applicants are often forced to wait years because there are only 140,000 employment-based green cards available annually. A backlog at Citizenship and Immigration Services adds to the delays.
Swati and Aradhana Srivastava, 34, both Indian software engineers working in the U.S. on H-1B visas, began the green card process with their employer in November 2001. Since then, the sisters said they have not been able to change jobs, positions or salaries.
They have taken film classes and are eager to pursue second careers in filmmaking but cannot do so until after they get their green cards. They also are reluctant to buy property or start a business. If they don't get their green cards by the time they finish film school, the sisters may return home.
"It's like living in a holding pattern continuously," said Swati Srivastava, 28, a member of Immigration Voice, a new grass-roots organization of skilled foreign workers pushing for immigration reform. The Internet-based group formed late last year and has about 5,000 members scattered around the country.
"We work in [the] U.S. legally in high-skilled jobs, but we still get penalized for playing by the rules," Immigration Voice co-founder Aman Kapoor said in an e-mail. "Since no one was working on our issues, we decided to organize."
Sandy Boyd, vice president of the National Assn. of Manufacturers, said there is an urgency to fixing the problems facing highly skilled foreign workers, whether they're seeking temporary or permanent legal status. The Senate's proposed immigration bill would increase the number of available employment-based green cards.
If compromise legislation cannot be reached on the broader issues, Boyd said, Congress should pass a separate, more narrow reform bill.
"This is not an issue that can be put off until comprehensive immigration reform is passed," Boyd said, "because once we lose these jobs, it's very difficult for them to come back."
But industry lobbyists arguing against increases in H-1B visas say the program hurts U.S. citizens by lowering wages and increasing job competition. They cite a recent report by the Government Accountability Office that says the program lacks sufficient oversight from the Department of Labor.
"We feel for the most part there are not shortages of U.S. engineers and computer scientists that have the skills these companies are looking for," said Chris McManes, spokesman for the U.S. sector of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. "If the cap is increased, that will further hamper the ability of a U.S. engineer to find a job."
David Huber, a network engineer in Chicago and U.S. citizen by birth, said he twice lost out on jobs to foreign workers. He was passed over for one job and replaced at another, he said. Huber, who testified before the House in March, said he could not find work for nearly three years, despite his education and experience. "Too many of us cannot find jobs because companies are turning to H-1B workers as a first choice," Huber said in written testimony to the House.
Swadha Sharma, who lives in Arcadia, said she is not trying to replace U.S. workers. Sharma earned an electronics engineering degree in India but has long dreamed of becoming a math teacher. So while her husband worked here on an H-1B visa, she earned her teaching credential at Cal Poly Pomona.
Sharma, 30, started applying for teaching jobs early this year, but she said only one of three interested districts was willing to sponsor her for an H-1B visa. And that offer, from a Los Angeles charter school, came after the visa cap had been reached. Sharma now plans to pursue a master's degree but said the U.S. is "missing out on a catch."
"I am really qualified," she said. "Hopefully, I will be able to teach soon."
As for Lloyd, his plans to come to the United States are now on indefinite hold. He started his job in Germany but still laments the U.S. immigration system for limiting workers like himself from coming here.
"The H-1B scheme seems a little bit ridiculous," he said. "I would certainly be an asset to the American economy."
Foreign workers with high-tech skills are in demand, but visa quotas snarl the hiring process.
By Anna Gorman, Times Staff Writer
July 3, 2006
This spring, a U.S. high-tech company recruited British citizen Gareth Lloyd for a possible engineering job.
But before the Irvine office made its hiring decision, the number of available visas for skilled workers ran out, in a record time of less than two months.
Lloyd, who has degrees in applied physics and electrical and electronics engineering, found another job in Germany.
"I was a little bit incredulous," Lloyd, 34, said in a phone interview. "It seems arbitrary to put some kind of quota on this."
Much of the national debate on immigration has centered on undocumented workers who fill agriculture, construction and service jobs. But highly skilled foreign scientists, engineers and computer programmers recruited by U.S. companies to work here legally also have a lot at stake in the outcome. "The major focus for all the laws and all the bills has mainly been for illegal immigrants," said Swati Srivastava, an Indian software engineer who lives in Playa del Rey and is waiting for her green card. "We kind of get pushed to the sidelines."
The Senate's sweeping immigration bill that passed in May calls for increasing the number of H-1B visas, which are available for professional foreign workers, from 65,000 to 115,000 annually. Foreigners with certain advanced degrees would be exempt from the cap.
Despite President Bush's urging to increase such quotas, however, the House bill that passed late last year does not include any provisions for skilled-worker visas. And a conference committee, which would negotiate a compromise, has yet to be selected. U.S. companies complain that they are losing prospective employees to other countries because of a shortage of highly skilled and educated foreign workers. As a result, companies are either outsourcing science and engineering jobs or making do with fewer employees.
"There aren't enough U.S. citizens pursuing those types of degrees," said Jennifer Greeson, spokeswoman for Intel Corp. in Santa Clara, Calif., where about 5% of the company's U.S.-based employees are on H-1B visas. "U.S. companies being able to have access to talent, no matter where it originates, is key to our continued competitiveness."
But critics of the H-1B program argue that there are enough Americans qualified for the jobs. Companies just prefer to hire younger, less expensive workers from other countries, such as India and China, instead of more experienced American workers at higher salaries.
"The bottom line is cheap labor," said UC Davis computer-science professor Norman Matloff, who has studied the H-1B program.
The six-year visas are available to foreigners with at least a bachelor's degree. Firms must pay foreign workers the prevailing wage.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency begins accepting H-1B visa applications on April 1 each year. The agency received enough visas to hit the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 at the end of May this year, compared with August in 2005 and October in 2004. Those who receive the visas can begin work Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year.
There are also 20,000 additional visas available for foreign workers who earned a master's or higher-level degree in the U.S. The Citizenship and Immigration Services is still accepting applications for those visas.
Because the H-1B cap is reached more quickly each year, many companies prepare their paperwork ahead of time so they can be at the front of the line. But they say it's often difficult to make hiring decisions six months before the start date.
Orange County immigration attorney Mitchell Wexler has a courier ready on the first day to take his clients' completed applications to Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"The whole white-collar business community is kind of crossing our fingers" that the number of visas is raised, Wexler said. Highly skilled foreign workers, he said, are "the best and brightest" and should be invited into the economy.
"If we can't get them," Wexler added, "they will go to a country that will accept them, and they will get jobs in Canada, Australia and England and will compete against us."
One of Wexler's clients, Massachusetts-based Skyworks Solutions, develops and manufactures integrated circuits for cellphones. Connie Williams, senior human resources specialist at the company's Irvine office, said her firm was effectively cut off from a foreign labor pool that included Lloyd of Britain when the government stopped accepting H-1B applications.
Williams said she worries that if Congress fails to pass reform legislation, the door will slam shut even earlier next year. The company has just over 2,000 U.S.-based employees, roughly 100 of whom have H-1B visas.
"We need these highly skilled, highly educated, highly qualified engineers," said Williams. "These people are a needle in a haystack."
Once foreigners have H-1B visas, they face another hurdle � becoming permanent legal residents. Applicants are often forced to wait years because there are only 140,000 employment-based green cards available annually. A backlog at Citizenship and Immigration Services adds to the delays.
Swati and Aradhana Srivastava, 34, both Indian software engineers working in the U.S. on H-1B visas, began the green card process with their employer in November 2001. Since then, the sisters said they have not been able to change jobs, positions or salaries.
They have taken film classes and are eager to pursue second careers in filmmaking but cannot do so until after they get their green cards. They also are reluctant to buy property or start a business. If they don't get their green cards by the time they finish film school, the sisters may return home.
"It's like living in a holding pattern continuously," said Swati Srivastava, 28, a member of Immigration Voice, a new grass-roots organization of skilled foreign workers pushing for immigration reform. The Internet-based group formed late last year and has about 5,000 members scattered around the country.
"We work in [the] U.S. legally in high-skilled jobs, but we still get penalized for playing by the rules," Immigration Voice co-founder Aman Kapoor said in an e-mail. "Since no one was working on our issues, we decided to organize."
Sandy Boyd, vice president of the National Assn. of Manufacturers, said there is an urgency to fixing the problems facing highly skilled foreign workers, whether they're seeking temporary or permanent legal status. The Senate's proposed immigration bill would increase the number of available employment-based green cards.
If compromise legislation cannot be reached on the broader issues, Boyd said, Congress should pass a separate, more narrow reform bill.
"This is not an issue that can be put off until comprehensive immigration reform is passed," Boyd said, "because once we lose these jobs, it's very difficult for them to come back."
But industry lobbyists arguing against increases in H-1B visas say the program hurts U.S. citizens by lowering wages and increasing job competition. They cite a recent report by the Government Accountability Office that says the program lacks sufficient oversight from the Department of Labor.
"We feel for the most part there are not shortages of U.S. engineers and computer scientists that have the skills these companies are looking for," said Chris McManes, spokesman for the U.S. sector of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. "If the cap is increased, that will further hamper the ability of a U.S. engineer to find a job."
David Huber, a network engineer in Chicago and U.S. citizen by birth, said he twice lost out on jobs to foreign workers. He was passed over for one job and replaced at another, he said. Huber, who testified before the House in March, said he could not find work for nearly three years, despite his education and experience. "Too many of us cannot find jobs because companies are turning to H-1B workers as a first choice," Huber said in written testimony to the House.
Swadha Sharma, who lives in Arcadia, said she is not trying to replace U.S. workers. Sharma earned an electronics engineering degree in India but has long dreamed of becoming a math teacher. So while her husband worked here on an H-1B visa, she earned her teaching credential at Cal Poly Pomona.
Sharma, 30, started applying for teaching jobs early this year, but she said only one of three interested districts was willing to sponsor her for an H-1B visa. And that offer, from a Los Angeles charter school, came after the visa cap had been reached. Sharma now plans to pursue a master's degree but said the U.S. is "missing out on a catch."
"I am really qualified," she said. "Hopefully, I will be able to teach soon."
As for Lloyd, his plans to come to the United States are now on indefinite hold. He started his job in Germany but still laments the U.S. immigration system for limiting workers like himself from coming here.
"The H-1B scheme seems a little bit ridiculous," he said. "I would certainly be an asset to the American economy."
santb1975
02-13 04:57 PM
We have to do this
Lets do it for us!
Lets do it for us!
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