longq
02-13 03:09 PM
They do not have to go to 7% if they don't want to. However; they can't go over it; if there is more demand then supply.
I am not disputing this. Entire discussion here is how to handle if demand is less than supply due to the impose of 7%.
I am not disputing this. Entire discussion here is how to handle if demand is less than supply due to the impose of 7%.
wallpaper %IMG_DESC_1%
Dhundhun
08-08 04:57 PM
My kids aged out. Is there any way they can take benefit of my immigration based on my PD? Otherwise, how can they benefit?
My daughter turns 21 in 2003
PD 03/10/2005
My son turns 21 in Apr 2005
I140 filed Oct 2006, approved Sep 2007
I485 Applied in Aug 2007
Thanks in anticipation.
--dhundhun
My daughter turns 21 in 2003
PD 03/10/2005
My son turns 21 in Apr 2005
I140 filed Oct 2006, approved Sep 2007
I485 Applied in Aug 2007
Thanks in anticipation.
--dhundhun
EB-VoiceImmigration
01-15 03:18 AM
i will certainly comment on this gcperm issue. I mean who is this guy ?? Has he messed up you peoples mind so bad that you keep seeing him everywhere. I mean what has he said that was so bad that you guys start frothing at you mouth and behaving like this.
:d:d:d:d
:d:d:d:d
2011 %IMG_DESC_2%
unitednations
02-13 03:03 PM
I am not saying 7% is not applicable for recaptured numbers. EB3-ROW was current while EB3-IN,Ch retrogressed in 2005.
Again 7% is not a quota or minimum or maximum. It is a guiding tool to avoid monopoly (not to prevent) for fist two months in a quarter and gave the remaining number to third month. It is not meant for reservation.
As you said Bangaldeshies can not raise flag they as have not consumed 7% quota. Therefore one can not argue that Bangladesh-EB3 should be "current".
At the end, first-come first served should prevails.
The 7% is a maximum.
They do not have to go to 7% if they don't want to. However; they can't go over it; if there is more demand then supply.
Again 7% is not a quota or minimum or maximum. It is a guiding tool to avoid monopoly (not to prevent) for fist two months in a quarter and gave the remaining number to third month. It is not meant for reservation.
As you said Bangaldeshies can not raise flag they as have not consumed 7% quota. Therefore one can not argue that Bangladesh-EB3 should be "current".
At the end, first-come first served should prevails.
The 7% is a maximum.
They do not have to go to 7% if they don't want to. However; they can't go over it; if there is more demand then supply.
more...
bayarea07
07-21 09:29 PM
The Thing is No Matter how much we go logically, but nobodys know which direction USCIS will take.
Not that I am contradicting your logic for calculations, i completely agree with your calculations.
Not that I am contradicting your logic for calculations, i completely agree with your calculations.
paskal
12-13 12:02 PM
as always Mark!
There may or may not be constitution grounds to challenge the law, I've thought about this too, however from a pragmatic point of view....
1) The money needed to pay the lawyers would likely be more than for lobbying. Importantly money for legal costs is best to be on hand -- i.e. good cash flow, otherwise you risk missing legal deadlines. It would mean diverting money from lobbying. If we were flush with cash e.g. every member paid just $100 per year this would work.
2) Even among members of congress that are behind us, several have reservations about removing country cap (although they are willing to raise it).
3) EB3 ROW is retrogressed anyway. India EB3 is about May 2001, and ROW EB3 Oct 2002. The effect of only removing country quota would be put EB3 generally at about Oct 2001.
The way to move forward for all is to increase total through put, e.g. raise caps, remove dependents from caps, recapture unused quota, tie caps to multiple of H1B quota. For ROW it would move steadily forward, and India move and then would jump forward every 4th quarter with massive spill over from ROW.
As I said I'm not against the idea in principle, just being pragmatic.
There may or may not be constitution grounds to challenge the law, I've thought about this too, however from a pragmatic point of view....
1) The money needed to pay the lawyers would likely be more than for lobbying. Importantly money for legal costs is best to be on hand -- i.e. good cash flow, otherwise you risk missing legal deadlines. It would mean diverting money from lobbying. If we were flush with cash e.g. every member paid just $100 per year this would work.
2) Even among members of congress that are behind us, several have reservations about removing country cap (although they are willing to raise it).
3) EB3 ROW is retrogressed anyway. India EB3 is about May 2001, and ROW EB3 Oct 2002. The effect of only removing country quota would be put EB3 generally at about Oct 2001.
The way to move forward for all is to increase total through put, e.g. raise caps, remove dependents from caps, recapture unused quota, tie caps to multiple of H1B quota. For ROW it would move steadily forward, and India move and then would jump forward every 4th quarter with massive spill over from ROW.
As I said I'm not against the idea in principle, just being pragmatic.
more...
hebbar77
09-04 03:36 PM
I second your thoughts...do we have the muscle and money power to take on those gundas. If no, we can not do anything. If yes, you become another group of gundas...
Like collecting money to lobby for GC we can accumalate money for Political party as well. I can tell you every Indian would contribute to such endeavor.
Like collecting money to lobby for GC we can accumalate money for Political party as well. I can tell you every Indian would contribute to such endeavor.
2010 %IMG_DESC_3%
manderson
10-18 12:25 PM
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061018.BOARDIMM16/TPStory/National (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061018.BOARDIMM16/TPStory/National)
Immigration board short of staff as backlog grows
GLORIA GALLOWAY
OTTAWA -- The number of immigrants and refugees waiting for permission to stay in Canada has grown since the Conservatives took power last February, the chairman of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada told a Commons committee yesterday.
"This year, the IRB has a complement of 156 members. As of today, we have 40 vacancies," Jean-Guy Fleury said at a meeting of a parliamentary immigration committee.
When he appeared before the committee in May, Mr. Fleury said he was optimistic that the backlog of cases would drop below 20,000. And it did fall to 19,800 a short time later, he said yesterday.
But, because there are not enough people to hear cases, it has since climbed to 20,500 and Mr. Fleury said he expects it will quickly hit 24,500. The government, meanwhile, has made just eight new appointments and 12 reappointments since the January election, he said.
"In the absence of appointments and reappointments, I cannot fulfill my promises to this committee on processing times and innovative reforms," Mr. Fleury said.
Lesley Harmer, spokesperson for Immigration Minister Monte Solberg, said the minister has taken several steps to get the positions filled.
"We have brought in reforms that have reduced the process for applicants down from eight months to four months," Ms. Harmer said.
"As well, at the minister's urging, to cast the net wide and ensure potential candidates are informed, an advertisement was placed in the Canada Gazette and national newspapers to draw in a new pool of applicants for openings on the board. This resulted in more than 350 new candidates. We're also continuing to look for ways to reform the system and get competent, professional members on the board."
But opposition members who sit on the immigration committee said Mr. Solberg must act quickly to fill the vacancies.
"I think it is a very serious issue," said Bill Siksay, the NDP immigration critic. "The vacancies mean that the work's not getting done, that important decisions aren't being made, that people are being left in limbo."
Mr. Fleury said he has met with the minister about eight times since the election and that the only reason for those meetings is to discuss appointments, Mr. Siksay said. "So I think that the minister is a barrier in all of this."
Liberal immigration critic, Raymonde Folco, a former member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, said the backlog that her party started to reduce is now increasing again.
"I know from experience that it takes an awful lot of people to take care of these hundreds and hundreds of refugee claimants who come in every year," Ms. Folco said.
"Just in terms of mathematics, when you divide the number of immigration judges we have now by the number of cases that come in, you realize that gives such a load to people that they can't support it."
Meili Faille, the Bloc's immigration critic, also blamed the minister and the Conservative government for the problem.
There have been many complaints from lawyers, Ms. Faille said, "but also from people in our constituencies where their hearings are being postponed and delayed and what the IRB revealed to us this morning is that backlogs are increasing since the Conservatives have been in place."
Immigration board short of staff as backlog grows
GLORIA GALLOWAY
OTTAWA -- The number of immigrants and refugees waiting for permission to stay in Canada has grown since the Conservatives took power last February, the chairman of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada told a Commons committee yesterday.
"This year, the IRB has a complement of 156 members. As of today, we have 40 vacancies," Jean-Guy Fleury said at a meeting of a parliamentary immigration committee.
When he appeared before the committee in May, Mr. Fleury said he was optimistic that the backlog of cases would drop below 20,000. And it did fall to 19,800 a short time later, he said yesterday.
But, because there are not enough people to hear cases, it has since climbed to 20,500 and Mr. Fleury said he expects it will quickly hit 24,500. The government, meanwhile, has made just eight new appointments and 12 reappointments since the January election, he said.
"In the absence of appointments and reappointments, I cannot fulfill my promises to this committee on processing times and innovative reforms," Mr. Fleury said.
Lesley Harmer, spokesperson for Immigration Minister Monte Solberg, said the minister has taken several steps to get the positions filled.
"We have brought in reforms that have reduced the process for applicants down from eight months to four months," Ms. Harmer said.
"As well, at the minister's urging, to cast the net wide and ensure potential candidates are informed, an advertisement was placed in the Canada Gazette and national newspapers to draw in a new pool of applicants for openings on the board. This resulted in more than 350 new candidates. We're also continuing to look for ways to reform the system and get competent, professional members on the board."
But opposition members who sit on the immigration committee said Mr. Solberg must act quickly to fill the vacancies.
"I think it is a very serious issue," said Bill Siksay, the NDP immigration critic. "The vacancies mean that the work's not getting done, that important decisions aren't being made, that people are being left in limbo."
Mr. Fleury said he has met with the minister about eight times since the election and that the only reason for those meetings is to discuss appointments, Mr. Siksay said. "So I think that the minister is a barrier in all of this."
Liberal immigration critic, Raymonde Folco, a former member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, said the backlog that her party started to reduce is now increasing again.
"I know from experience that it takes an awful lot of people to take care of these hundreds and hundreds of refugee claimants who come in every year," Ms. Folco said.
"Just in terms of mathematics, when you divide the number of immigration judges we have now by the number of cases that come in, you realize that gives such a load to people that they can't support it."
Meili Faille, the Bloc's immigration critic, also blamed the minister and the Conservative government for the problem.
There have been many complaints from lawyers, Ms. Faille said, "but also from people in our constituencies where their hearings are being postponed and delayed and what the IRB revealed to us this morning is that backlogs are increasing since the Conservatives have been in place."
more...
snathan
03-30 01:26 PM
Left parties are the worst no doubt about that. Have you gone through the BJP manifesto, its IT vision document and also have you heard about Friends of BJP forums started by Indian businessmen. Yes, Advani runs his politics on religion and Ram temple. Do you think congress does not use religion? Do you hear the news that in Kerala congress has fielded candidates supported by church? Tomorrow if Sri Sri Ravi Shankar or Ramdev baba do the same thing with BJP, our media will shout from the roof top that this is communalism. Do you know Congress is allied with Muslim League in Kerala?
Snathan, all parties use the dirty tricks. Congress, BJP, Communists. But I will always support the party which builds Ram Temple rather than the party which destroys Ram Setu and even denies the existence of Ram.
Yes...We had them in power for five years. It was a joke. India was Shining and we had to wear sun glass.
I am not supporting the congress party. I am only supporting the MMS. To me, he is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarr better than Mr.Advani or Mayavathi
Snathan, all parties use the dirty tricks. Congress, BJP, Communists. But I will always support the party which builds Ram Temple rather than the party which destroys Ram Setu and even denies the existence of Ram.
Yes...We had them in power for five years. It was a joke. India was Shining and we had to wear sun glass.
I am not supporting the congress party. I am only supporting the MMS. To me, he is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarr better than Mr.Advani or Mayavathi
hair %IMG_DESC_4%
ss1026
03-29 06:45 PM
or is it ignorance? (even if you are responding to someone' post)
Hindus in India have come a long way when it comes to religious tolerance,don't you know that?
Remember we had a Muslim as president(Abdul Kalam) a Sikh for PM(Manmohan Singh) a Italian Roman Catholic as the president of the ruling party(Sonia Gandhi).
If you say so then I think Sonial Gandhi/Rahul Gandhi/(even Priyanka Gandhi would be the front runners in list. Don't forget Sikh riots/Bofors/Oil Scam/the now Missile scam /KGB connection (ref 'State Within State')/ Rahul Gandhi's arrest by FBI and many more...
Here, have fun... enjoy this.( I know if it was written by a Hindu you would come back saying it's biased.But now you can really enjoy it )
To all it's a must read
http://74.125.93.104/search?q=cache:prdjEwwFXSUJ:www.francoisgautier.co m/Written%2520Material/Christian%2520India.doc+ambika+soni+religion&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
On a side note:
Kashmir Hindus were ousted by Muslims. Even during the recent Mumbai attacks perpetrators gave a interview to the news channel saying that it is an attack on the Hindu India.
Still Hindus maintained communal harmony even though Antulay, a muslim ,tried to take advantage of the situation.Still people like you carp about Muslim discrimination.
What is this desperation to keep the almost non-existent (Hindus-hate Muslims, Hindus hate Christians)hatred/discrimination alive even though reality time and again proves the harmony of Hindus.
Even after all this I believe the truth that be it Hindus/Muslims/Christians... we are human beings and equal by the very virtue .
My point is that a person/politician should be judged by the actions/governance and not their lineage. Congress is corrupt like most parties and that discussion is valid (though I would rather see this forum only used for immigration matters...).
I can certainly provide hundreds of links to make this a dividing post but I dont have a propensity for it. My point was to a show a mirror to people who post some ridiculous posts but get away since they seem to be in the majority or atleast seem to be the loudest. Using the measures of US, a lot of what is said in non-immigration matters on this forum would be deemed so racist.
As for Kashmir hindus, I truly wishes Justice is done to them. They are the Children of kashmir. Just like I wish justice is done for every person in India whether the crime be done by extremists or State actors. As for the non-existent discrimination of minorities, I hope you are right but trying to silence people who raise such issues is no way to provide justice. Even to this day, discrimination against blacks is a matter of grave concern in this country. A strength of a society/democracy is the treatment of the weakest/minorities.
Hindus in India have come a long way when it comes to religious tolerance,don't you know that?
Remember we had a Muslim as president(Abdul Kalam) a Sikh for PM(Manmohan Singh) a Italian Roman Catholic as the president of the ruling party(Sonia Gandhi).
If you say so then I think Sonial Gandhi/Rahul Gandhi/(even Priyanka Gandhi would be the front runners in list. Don't forget Sikh riots/Bofors/Oil Scam/the now Missile scam /KGB connection (ref 'State Within State')/ Rahul Gandhi's arrest by FBI and many more...
Here, have fun... enjoy this.( I know if it was written by a Hindu you would come back saying it's biased.But now you can really enjoy it )
To all it's a must read
http://74.125.93.104/search?q=cache:prdjEwwFXSUJ:www.francoisgautier.co m/Written%2520Material/Christian%2520India.doc+ambika+soni+religion&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
On a side note:
Kashmir Hindus were ousted by Muslims. Even during the recent Mumbai attacks perpetrators gave a interview to the news channel saying that it is an attack on the Hindu India.
Still Hindus maintained communal harmony even though Antulay, a muslim ,tried to take advantage of the situation.Still people like you carp about Muslim discrimination.
What is this desperation to keep the almost non-existent (Hindus-hate Muslims, Hindus hate Christians)hatred/discrimination alive even though reality time and again proves the harmony of Hindus.
Even after all this I believe the truth that be it Hindus/Muslims/Christians... we are human beings and equal by the very virtue .
My point is that a person/politician should be judged by the actions/governance and not their lineage. Congress is corrupt like most parties and that discussion is valid (though I would rather see this forum only used for immigration matters...).
I can certainly provide hundreds of links to make this a dividing post but I dont have a propensity for it. My point was to a show a mirror to people who post some ridiculous posts but get away since they seem to be in the majority or atleast seem to be the loudest. Using the measures of US, a lot of what is said in non-immigration matters on this forum would be deemed so racist.
As for Kashmir hindus, I truly wishes Justice is done to them. They are the Children of kashmir. Just like I wish justice is done for every person in India whether the crime be done by extremists or State actors. As for the non-existent discrimination of minorities, I hope you are right but trying to silence people who raise such issues is no way to provide justice. Even to this day, discrimination against blacks is a matter of grave concern in this country. A strength of a society/democracy is the treatment of the weakest/minorities.
more...
Aah_GC
07-11 06:10 PM
Guys.. can one of you please suggest a good Canadian PR processing company? I keep getting mails from cr@protechimmigration.com. Is Protech good?
Would really appreciate a reply.
Would really appreciate a reply.
hot %IMG_DESC_5%
sounakc
07-22 01:27 PM
I have been following this thread for last couple of days and I feel I need to make few points. I remember when this amway/qucikstar thing started several of my close friends got entangled and tried to involve me. However, every time I bailed myself out by clearly mentioning to them "Right now, making lot of money is not in my top priorities. I want to focus on my carrier." Fortunately, I was able to fend off the proposals and clearly make my point.
In this thread, several of you are mentioning to ridicule, diminish, embarrass, and even socially out casting an amway/quickstar member. I feel its going a little bit too far. If you dont like to be in the amway/quickstar business stay clear of it, nobody will be able to force you in it. Setting up anti-amway websites, sharing names of the "bugging" amway members, distributing their phone numbers, and destroying their social reputation is harming the person personally, not the amway/quickstar business. We all know by now the amway/quickstar is a scam, majority of its signed members end up losing valuable time and money. How do you feel if some of your mentioned action emotionally push a distressed person off the cliff. Think about it a bit !!!
In this thread, several of you are mentioning to ridicule, diminish, embarrass, and even socially out casting an amway/quickstar member. I feel its going a little bit too far. If you dont like to be in the amway/quickstar business stay clear of it, nobody will be able to force you in it. Setting up anti-amway websites, sharing names of the "bugging" amway members, distributing their phone numbers, and destroying their social reputation is harming the person personally, not the amway/quickstar business. We all know by now the amway/quickstar is a scam, majority of its signed members end up losing valuable time and money. How do you feel if some of your mentioned action emotionally push a distressed person off the cliff. Think about it a bit !!!
more...
house %IMG_DESC_17%
yabadaba
07-04 08:52 AM
I am writing to you to ask for your support is covering one of the news item that seems to have been buried because the people impacted are Americans of the future and are not a vocal constituency.
Skilled immigrants like Doctors, Engineers & Scientists have been paying all the taxes, following all the laws of the land and have been stuck in huge wait period of 3- 7 years to obtain green card.
On 13th of June 07, USCIS announced that all these people stuck for years can apply for the green card starting 2nd July 07. Everyone spent 2 weeks & $3000 per person at the minimum towards Attorney fees, medical tests & other non-recoverable direct costs prepared the application and started to send it to USCIS starting 2nd July 07.
In an unusual act of absolute disregard to the hardships and financial loss of these applicants, USCIS announced on the morning of 2nd July 07 that they will not accept any application for green card.
A COMPLETE REVERSAL OF THEIR EARLIER POLICY THAT HAS 50 YEARS OF PRECEDENT.
During the immigration debate you covered groups like NumbersUSA that have restrictionist agenda. The rallying cry for all anti immigrants was for people to come legally. We have come here legally but are mired in the bureaucratic road block because no one from the 4th estate holds their feet to the fire.
Currently, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren has asked Secretary Rice and Secretary Chertoff for answers. A number of lawyers have claimed this is tantamount to a scandal at USCIS since they have not followed the law. American Immigration Lawyers Association is in the process of filing a class action lawsuit.
The media is the only voice for us to reach the law makers and the American public. During the comprehensive immigration reform we kept hearing that we need to have a national debate on immigration. We are here. We are suffering. We are waiting. Would not a debate on legal immigrants we a good place to start?
Links for your research
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/us/04visas.html
http://lofgren.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1808
http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2007/07/full-blown-scan.html
http://www.usimmlaw.com/current_information.htm
http://www.immigrationvoice.com
Thanks
Regards
yabadaba
Skilled immigrants like Doctors, Engineers & Scientists have been paying all the taxes, following all the laws of the land and have been stuck in huge wait period of 3- 7 years to obtain green card.
On 13th of June 07, USCIS announced that all these people stuck for years can apply for the green card starting 2nd July 07. Everyone spent 2 weeks & $3000 per person at the minimum towards Attorney fees, medical tests & other non-recoverable direct costs prepared the application and started to send it to USCIS starting 2nd July 07.
In an unusual act of absolute disregard to the hardships and financial loss of these applicants, USCIS announced on the morning of 2nd July 07 that they will not accept any application for green card.
A COMPLETE REVERSAL OF THEIR EARLIER POLICY THAT HAS 50 YEARS OF PRECEDENT.
During the immigration debate you covered groups like NumbersUSA that have restrictionist agenda. The rallying cry for all anti immigrants was for people to come legally. We have come here legally but are mired in the bureaucratic road block because no one from the 4th estate holds their feet to the fire.
Currently, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren has asked Secretary Rice and Secretary Chertoff for answers. A number of lawyers have claimed this is tantamount to a scandal at USCIS since they have not followed the law. American Immigration Lawyers Association is in the process of filing a class action lawsuit.
The media is the only voice for us to reach the law makers and the American public. During the comprehensive immigration reform we kept hearing that we need to have a national debate on immigration. We are here. We are suffering. We are waiting. Would not a debate on legal immigrants we a good place to start?
Links for your research
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/us/04visas.html
http://lofgren.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1808
http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2007/07/full-blown-scan.html
http://www.usimmlaw.com/current_information.htm
http://www.immigrationvoice.com
Thanks
Regards
yabadaba
tattoo %IMG_DESC_6%
sanjay
03-31 02:43 PM
Here are the comments I got from people when I asked Marphad to add Modi name to the list.
* you racist hindu bastard...
* take this nonsense elsewhere
* xxxxxxx
* xxxx xxx.
* You get what you deserve. What's so "non-annonymous" about "sanjay"? You are now a minority in this country. Maybe Americans should treat you like Modi treats minorities. Maybe then you will understand the value of life. All life.
* ??
HUH ! ! ! Long live Democracy. And 18 people had polled for Modi as of now.
* you racist hindu bastard...
* take this nonsense elsewhere
* xxxxxxx
* xxxx xxx.
* You get what you deserve. What's so "non-annonymous" about "sanjay"? You are now a minority in this country. Maybe Americans should treat you like Modi treats minorities. Maybe then you will understand the value of life. All life.
* ??
HUH ! ! ! Long live Democracy. And 18 people had polled for Modi as of now.
more...
pictures %IMG_DESC_7%
mallu
02-15 10:42 PM
...I do not foresee my Jan 2003 EB-2 India PD becoming current any time soon. ....
Why ? You got the number of EB2 India cases pending that have PD before yours ?
Why ? You got the number of EB2 India cases pending that have PD before yours ?
dresses %IMG_DESC_12%
Saralayar
10-02 07:13 PM
My parents are visiting me with visitors visa. They got the I-94 for 6 months. Can I extend their stay for another 6 months?. Will this affect their future entry in to USA?. Kindly advice what I need to do. Thanks in advance. What are the formalities I need to do to extend their stay?
more...
makeup %IMG_DESC_9%
nixstor
09-23 01:29 AM
As completely unrelated these two issues are (from a law maker's perspective) on a normal day, these are possibly those times when each of these issues can help the other.
IV has been discussing about the possibility of one for two solution (partial). The idea is to request congress to exempt EB applicants & their dependents from numerical limits of the Immigrant visas, if they buy a home. It is my belief that market sentiment is the most important thing in any financial market(s) and the housing prospects look pretty bleak. There are lot of members in the EB community that have NOT bought their own home, even though they could afford one because of the uncertainty with EB GC. IV's idea is to bridge the financial committees and judiciary committees in the House/Senate and see if corresponding Chairman/Ranking members are willing to listen. Things are moving so fast with the 700bn USD bail out plan and we will NOT have time to do things the normal way, through our counsel. We have to present this idea to the corresponding staff members of key members of congress (see list below) and see if this gets traction now or going forward.
Please do not bring EB-5 discussion/comparison here. The proposed partial solution is different from EB-5 in that EB-5 investors invest money and we are investing in our future with a genuine intention of making USA our permanent home.
If you already have a home, thats fine. Any such legislation will reduce the wait times in EB categories and we need housing markets to rebound for a safer economy before the ripple effects are felt every where.
Who to write to
Staff members(Chief of Staff, Legislative LA, Financial LA, Legislative Director) of Chairman/Ranking members of House/Senate Judiciary committee & Finance/Banking committee, Staff members of your representative and your senators. Please find staff members of the committees in the spreadsheet (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pptN-jEpAiyd3snslhPjBfw).
You can find your representative & senator staff members on this website (http://www.outsourcecongress.org/outsource/congress/schstaffers.html).
Please use valid email addresses and NOT fictitious/junk mail. It undermines the whole purpose and our emails will be flagged by mail scanners / spam checkers as some thing similar to famous Nigeria bank account scams.
Email Subject: Proposal to alleviate current US Housing/economic crisis
Content/Message
SUMMARY
This proposal alleviates the current US economic crisis, by motivating the US high skilled, legal immigrant workers to purchase homes. The size of this immigrant population is approximately 800,000 individuals. This effort if successful would inject up to US$ 20Billion approximately into the economy (approximately US$ 100 Billion in houses sold across the country) , while at the same time directing this money into the root cause of the economic crisis – the illiquidity of the national housing market. The above calculation is done
assuming a median US home price of $212,400 and buyers making a down-payment of 20% of the cost of the home. Roughly estimating 400,000 buyers.
BACKGROUND
Undoubtedly, we are all devastated by the shake up on Wall Street in the past 15 days. Experts agree that the underpinning problem is the housing crisis caused by sub-prime mortgage loans. Many of us, who cannot afford our monthly mortgage payments are losing homes and putting them up for sale and foreclosure, which further adds to the crisis. At the same time, most of the Employment-based (EB) immigrant community would like to purchase homes and make the United States a permanent home for their families. These EB immigrants however, are living in a state of limbo, mostly in rental apartments because of the delays and uncertainties involved with the EB immigration procedure. The wait times in EB categories are exacerbated by the delays in processing by USCIS, even though eligible applicants have filed for Permanent Residency also known as Adjustment of Status. Such processing delays have resulted in the wastage of 218,000 immigrant visa numbers (Page 52 of USCIS Ombudsman Annual report 2007). The current Department of State visa bulletin shows 7+ years of wait times in certain categories. We strongly believe that legislation can be worked out in such a way that the housing markets all over the country can move towards recovery, while at the same time motivating the Green Card applicants to catalyze this recovery.
It should be noted that this proposal by no means brings more immigrant workers into the US. The workers in the EB, skilled category are already present in the US, doing skilled jobs that no US worker is available to do. They are part of the long queue of backlogged cases that USICIS will eventually process; however, this wait can take years and in that case could not be used as a tool to minimize the course of the current economic crisis.
SOLUTION
Congress can pass legislation that exempts EB green card applicants and their dependents from the numerical limits of visa numbers, provided applicant(s) have bought a home making 20% down payment on the sale price of the home, for a time period deemed necessary by the congress.
How can Employment based Immigrants help alleviate the housing problem?
(1) Employment based immigrants are highly skilled and are employed in occupations such as Software, IT, Health care, Energy, Finance, Education and Research & Development across the United States.
(2) Average income of these individuals/households is around 65,000/130,000 USD.
(3) All these Employment based immigrants have gone through Department of Labor’s recruiting process, which certifies that there is no willing, able and qualified US Citizen to do the job.
(4) Most of the Employment based immigrants have excellent credit history and good source of income to make the payments needed for their home mortgage.
(5) By requiring a 20% down payment from this group of buyers, Congress can directly channel this money to where it is need most – at the banks.
(6) Employment based green card applicants have been living in the United States for 6-8 years. Many of them have US graduate degrees in their fields of expertise. These applicants are well versed with the American culture and will not change the cultural landscape.
(7) Financial burden on US government and treasury will be reduced drastically if the glut of houses in the market decreases.
As a member of the community that wants to make the US its permanent home, I want to contribute to a solution that helps USA and US during these tough times. I sincerely believe that the 30 year commitment on mortgages by Employment based immigrants in the housing market, backed by solid, risk free mortgages can turn the down ward spiral in the housing market into a upward spiral.
END OF CONTENT
IV has been discussing about the possibility of one for two solution (partial). The idea is to request congress to exempt EB applicants & their dependents from numerical limits of the Immigrant visas, if they buy a home. It is my belief that market sentiment is the most important thing in any financial market(s) and the housing prospects look pretty bleak. There are lot of members in the EB community that have NOT bought their own home, even though they could afford one because of the uncertainty with EB GC. IV's idea is to bridge the financial committees and judiciary committees in the House/Senate and see if corresponding Chairman/Ranking members are willing to listen. Things are moving so fast with the 700bn USD bail out plan and we will NOT have time to do things the normal way, through our counsel. We have to present this idea to the corresponding staff members of key members of congress (see list below) and see if this gets traction now or going forward.
Please do not bring EB-5 discussion/comparison here. The proposed partial solution is different from EB-5 in that EB-5 investors invest money and we are investing in our future with a genuine intention of making USA our permanent home.
If you already have a home, thats fine. Any such legislation will reduce the wait times in EB categories and we need housing markets to rebound for a safer economy before the ripple effects are felt every where.
Who to write to
Staff members(Chief of Staff, Legislative LA, Financial LA, Legislative Director) of Chairman/Ranking members of House/Senate Judiciary committee & Finance/Banking committee, Staff members of your representative and your senators. Please find staff members of the committees in the spreadsheet (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pptN-jEpAiyd3snslhPjBfw).
You can find your representative & senator staff members on this website (http://www.outsourcecongress.org/outsource/congress/schstaffers.html).
Please use valid email addresses and NOT fictitious/junk mail. It undermines the whole purpose and our emails will be flagged by mail scanners / spam checkers as some thing similar to famous Nigeria bank account scams.
Email Subject: Proposal to alleviate current US Housing/economic crisis
Content/Message
SUMMARY
This proposal alleviates the current US economic crisis, by motivating the US high skilled, legal immigrant workers to purchase homes. The size of this immigrant population is approximately 800,000 individuals. This effort if successful would inject up to US$ 20Billion approximately into the economy (approximately US$ 100 Billion in houses sold across the country) , while at the same time directing this money into the root cause of the economic crisis – the illiquidity of the national housing market. The above calculation is done
assuming a median US home price of $212,400 and buyers making a down-payment of 20% of the cost of the home. Roughly estimating 400,000 buyers.
BACKGROUND
Undoubtedly, we are all devastated by the shake up on Wall Street in the past 15 days. Experts agree that the underpinning problem is the housing crisis caused by sub-prime mortgage loans. Many of us, who cannot afford our monthly mortgage payments are losing homes and putting them up for sale and foreclosure, which further adds to the crisis. At the same time, most of the Employment-based (EB) immigrant community would like to purchase homes and make the United States a permanent home for their families. These EB immigrants however, are living in a state of limbo, mostly in rental apartments because of the delays and uncertainties involved with the EB immigration procedure. The wait times in EB categories are exacerbated by the delays in processing by USCIS, even though eligible applicants have filed for Permanent Residency also known as Adjustment of Status. Such processing delays have resulted in the wastage of 218,000 immigrant visa numbers (Page 52 of USCIS Ombudsman Annual report 2007). The current Department of State visa bulletin shows 7+ years of wait times in certain categories. We strongly believe that legislation can be worked out in such a way that the housing markets all over the country can move towards recovery, while at the same time motivating the Green Card applicants to catalyze this recovery.
It should be noted that this proposal by no means brings more immigrant workers into the US. The workers in the EB, skilled category are already present in the US, doing skilled jobs that no US worker is available to do. They are part of the long queue of backlogged cases that USICIS will eventually process; however, this wait can take years and in that case could not be used as a tool to minimize the course of the current economic crisis.
SOLUTION
Congress can pass legislation that exempts EB green card applicants and their dependents from the numerical limits of visa numbers, provided applicant(s) have bought a home making 20% down payment on the sale price of the home, for a time period deemed necessary by the congress.
How can Employment based Immigrants help alleviate the housing problem?
(1) Employment based immigrants are highly skilled and are employed in occupations such as Software, IT, Health care, Energy, Finance, Education and Research & Development across the United States.
(2) Average income of these individuals/households is around 65,000/130,000 USD.
(3) All these Employment based immigrants have gone through Department of Labor’s recruiting process, which certifies that there is no willing, able and qualified US Citizen to do the job.
(4) Most of the Employment based immigrants have excellent credit history and good source of income to make the payments needed for their home mortgage.
(5) By requiring a 20% down payment from this group of buyers, Congress can directly channel this money to where it is need most – at the banks.
(6) Employment based green card applicants have been living in the United States for 6-8 years. Many of them have US graduate degrees in their fields of expertise. These applicants are well versed with the American culture and will not change the cultural landscape.
(7) Financial burden on US government and treasury will be reduced drastically if the glut of houses in the market decreases.
As a member of the community that wants to make the US its permanent home, I want to contribute to a solution that helps USA and US during these tough times. I sincerely believe that the 30 year commitment on mortgages by Employment based immigrants in the housing market, backed by solid, risk free mortgages can turn the down ward spiral in the housing market into a upward spiral.
END OF CONTENT
girlfriend %IMG_DESC_14%
katewill
11-09 09:20 AM
oh well, this is how i feel. "i should have studied more and started with EB2"
rules are rules, fair or unfair.
what have you done other than just waiting? ( i've been waiting too)
while others changed jobs and moved on to EB2 and got GC in 6 month.
maybe you can also search companies with sub labor.
you could have done alot of things if you needed to, but you didn't. (i didn't either)
rules are rules, fair or unfair.
what have you done other than just waiting? ( i've been waiting too)
while others changed jobs and moved on to EB2 and got GC in 6 month.
maybe you can also search companies with sub labor.
you could have done alot of things if you needed to, but you didn't. (i didn't either)
hairstyles %IMG_DESC_11%
desi3933
06-15 03:54 PM
........
........
1. If the outsourcing companies would pay on an avg at 80K per head for the "well qualified" people, I am even ok with their dumping their dumping the L1s here. Why is it that you guys are ok with the L1s being dumped at 40K-60K salaries ? Shouldn't they get paid high too ? This is what I am arguing for. If the outsourcing cos don't want to pay this rate, then keep them in the country of origin. No need to depress wages here. Is this a wrong thing to ask ?
......
Where did you get that 80k number? You think 80k is good salary for that job, someone else may say 65k, I may say 90k. The salary, among other things, is determined by market forces. If you can't find enough people with xyz then company will be forced to offer more.
As long as there are people who are ready to work on salary 52k (example), employer will not pay 70k. As long as employer is following all the legal requirements, no one can dictate salary for the job.
I am a US citizen of Indian origin with background in Computer Science, Finance, and Business Laws. I have been in this country for 11+ years and I have seen so many changes in tech world. Nobody talks of sign-on bonus on H1B anymore. I am dot net architect and I am seeing lot of competition for jobs and this is causing downtrend pressure on salary. But, instead of, blaming someone else for the competition, I am taking it head on. We need to keep working on our skillset and employer will pay the salary. Like they say, for the right candidate salary is not a constraint.
Let us not forget our struggling days of H1. The least, we can do, is to encourage our fellow immigrants who are waiting for their green cards.
.
........
1. If the outsourcing companies would pay on an avg at 80K per head for the "well qualified" people, I am even ok with their dumping their dumping the L1s here. Why is it that you guys are ok with the L1s being dumped at 40K-60K salaries ? Shouldn't they get paid high too ? This is what I am arguing for. If the outsourcing cos don't want to pay this rate, then keep them in the country of origin. No need to depress wages here. Is this a wrong thing to ask ?
......
Where did you get that 80k number? You think 80k is good salary for that job, someone else may say 65k, I may say 90k. The salary, among other things, is determined by market forces. If you can't find enough people with xyz then company will be forced to offer more.
As long as there are people who are ready to work on salary 52k (example), employer will not pay 70k. As long as employer is following all the legal requirements, no one can dictate salary for the job.
I am a US citizen of Indian origin with background in Computer Science, Finance, and Business Laws. I have been in this country for 11+ years and I have seen so many changes in tech world. Nobody talks of sign-on bonus on H1B anymore. I am dot net architect and I am seeing lot of competition for jobs and this is causing downtrend pressure on salary. But, instead of, blaming someone else for the competition, I am taking it head on. We need to keep working on our skillset and employer will pay the salary. Like they say, for the right candidate salary is not a constraint.
Let us not forget our struggling days of H1. The least, we can do, is to encourage our fellow immigrants who are waiting for their green cards.
.
Imigrait
06-16 04:53 PM
For the most part it is if it were left to market forces. Employers, rationally, would only want as much as talent for the price they pay. Most importantly, employers would be willing to go the extra mile to sponsor green cards only if they perceive that the immigrant employee would add value both in the present and the future. Now again, when I say employers, I mean the genuine employers and not the fly by night consulting body shops or the outsourcing companies. I strongly believe that EB based GC for a very large part is built on merit. You may see sme cases wherein some ordinary people getting green cards. They, in my opinion , are mostly from these body shops who got "lucky".
Of course everyone who have worse qualifications(according to who??-> dilipcr ) are ordinary. Rest of the people are good. This is the same argument as "now that I have GC, let me come out and say retrogressions and less GCs are good, cuz I am qualified and I already have GC."
And yes I agree EB based GC is built by merit. Merit according to the employer who will keep paying the employee if the employee performs his job at least satisfactorily. Dilipcr is not the adjudicator here, the market aka the employer is. And...... the employer is making sure it is following the regulations prescribed by USCIS.
Cant believe I am using that word !!!.
What's not to believe? You just did!
In my opinion it does not. But be careful in this forum though. People may view your statement as egotistic.
People don't view any statement that you're from a top college as egoistic. Ppl view it as egoistic when after 15-20 years out of college you still throw around your college name to make other people treat you differently. Dude, after 20 years people from various colleges are working with you, some doing a worse job than you and some better, colleges don't matter any more for the current job. It might have some influence in a new job.
Now the distortion comes into play when outsourcing companies flout rules and undercut the market through pervasive fraud. Like other industries such as manufacturing/agriculture etc, IT wages are destined to decline but not at this rate. The acceleration in the decline of wages is perpetuated by these scum outsourcing companies. If the decline in wages were let to decline at the speed of market, then it gives talented people time to upgrade skills or move to other industries without having to sacrifice quality of living. So per your argument, yes the end employer is following the rules by employing people from the outsourcing company because the employer does not know or looks the other way of the outsourcing company commiting pervasive fraud. Oh BTW that 80K number was just to highlight that the L1s should be paid high too. It was not based on any scientific or statistical evidence.
Why are you calling outsourcing companies scum? So do you call the companies that manufacture in China as scum too? I know tonnes of engineers from Infosys, TCS, Wipro and others who work for Google,Msft,Apple,Amazon etc etc. So now that these people have bathed in Ganga(google etc etc) their scum is washed off?
"the speed of market" -The outsourcing companies are part of the market. Yes the salaries have gone down, but that's according to the speed of the market, not due to some participants outside the market.
"committing pervasive fraud" - No US or foreign company will keep a company if the value proposition dosen't work for them. For Building a webpage or multi tiered web applications we don't need a rocket scientist. Hence, the market is paying what is deserved. Would you be able to keep a job if you don't perform in the US? Then why will an outsourcing company be treated differently?
Ok it seems lots of other people are also responding so I'll stop here. :D
Of course everyone who have worse qualifications(according to who??-> dilipcr ) are ordinary. Rest of the people are good. This is the same argument as "now that I have GC, let me come out and say retrogressions and less GCs are good, cuz I am qualified and I already have GC."
And yes I agree EB based GC is built by merit. Merit according to the employer who will keep paying the employee if the employee performs his job at least satisfactorily. Dilipcr is not the adjudicator here, the market aka the employer is. And...... the employer is making sure it is following the regulations prescribed by USCIS.
Cant believe I am using that word !!!.
What's not to believe? You just did!
In my opinion it does not. But be careful in this forum though. People may view your statement as egotistic.
People don't view any statement that you're from a top college as egoistic. Ppl view it as egoistic when after 15-20 years out of college you still throw around your college name to make other people treat you differently. Dude, after 20 years people from various colleges are working with you, some doing a worse job than you and some better, colleges don't matter any more for the current job. It might have some influence in a new job.
Now the distortion comes into play when outsourcing companies flout rules and undercut the market through pervasive fraud. Like other industries such as manufacturing/agriculture etc, IT wages are destined to decline but not at this rate. The acceleration in the decline of wages is perpetuated by these scum outsourcing companies. If the decline in wages were let to decline at the speed of market, then it gives talented people time to upgrade skills or move to other industries without having to sacrifice quality of living. So per your argument, yes the end employer is following the rules by employing people from the outsourcing company because the employer does not know or looks the other way of the outsourcing company commiting pervasive fraud. Oh BTW that 80K number was just to highlight that the L1s should be paid high too. It was not based on any scientific or statistical evidence.
Why are you calling outsourcing companies scum? So do you call the companies that manufacture in China as scum too? I know tonnes of engineers from Infosys, TCS, Wipro and others who work for Google,Msft,Apple,Amazon etc etc. So now that these people have bathed in Ganga(google etc etc) their scum is washed off?
"the speed of market" -The outsourcing companies are part of the market. Yes the salaries have gone down, but that's according to the speed of the market, not due to some participants outside the market.
"committing pervasive fraud" - No US or foreign company will keep a company if the value proposition dosen't work for them. For Building a webpage or multi tiered web applications we don't need a rocket scientist. Hence, the market is paying what is deserved. Would you be able to keep a job if you don't perform in the US? Then why will an outsourcing company be treated differently?
Ok it seems lots of other people are also responding so I'll stop here. :D
rajeev_74
09-23 05:36 AM
As completely unrelated these two issues are (from a law maker's perspective) on a normal day, these are possibly those times when each of these issues can help the other.
IV has been discussing about the possibility of one for two solution (partial). The idea is to request congress to exempt EB applicants & their dependents from numerical limits of the Immigrant visas, if they buy a home. It is my belief that market sentiment is the most important thing in any financial market(s) and the housing prospects look pretty bleak. There are lot of members in the EB community that have NOT bought their own home, even though they could afford one because of the uncertainty with EB GC. IV's idea is to bridge the financial committees and judiciary committees in the House/Senate and see if corresponding Chairman/Ranking members are willing to listen. Things are moving so fast with the 700bn USD bail out plan and we will NOT have time to do things the normal way, through our counsel. We have to present this idea to the corresponding staff members of key members of congress (see list below) and see if this gets traction now or going forward.
Please do not bring EB-5 discussion/comparison here. The proposed partial solution is different from EB-5 in that EB-5 investors invest money and we are investing in our future with a genuine intention of making USA our permanent home.
If you already have a home, thats fine. Any such legislation will reduce the wait times in EB categories and we need housing markets to rebound for a safer economy before the ripple effects are felt every where.
Who to write to
Staff members(Chief of Staff, Legislative LA, Financial LA, Legislative Director) of Chairman/Ranking members of House/Senate Judiciary committee & Finance/Banking committee, Staff members of your representative and your senators. Please find staff members of the committees in the spreadsheet (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pptN-jEpAiyd3snslhPjBfw).
You can find your representative & senator staff members on this website (http://www.outsourcecongress.org/outsource/congress/schstaffers.html).
Please use valid email addresses and NOT fictitious/junk mail. It undermines the whole purpose and our emails will be flagged by mail scanners / spam checkers as some thing similar to famous Nigeria bank account scams.
Email Subject: Proposal to alleviate current US Housing/economic crisis
Content/Message
SUMMARY
This proposal alleviates the current US economic crisis, by motivating the US high skilled, legal immigrant workers to purchase homes. The size of this immigrant population is approximately 800,000 individuals. This effort if successful would inject up to US$ 20Billion approximately into the economy (approximately US$ 100 Billion in houses sold across the country) , while at the same time directing this money into the root cause of the economic crisis � the illiquidity of the national housing market. The above calculation is done
assuming a median US home price of $212,400 and buyers making a down-payment of 20% of the cost of the home. Roughly estimating 400,000 buyers.
BACKGROUND
Undoubtedly, we are all devastated by the shake up on Wall Street in the past 15 days. Experts agree that the underpinning problem is the housing crisis caused by sub-prime mortgage loans. Many of us, who cannot afford our monthly mortgage payments are losing homes and putting them up for sale and foreclosure, which further adds to the crisis. At the same time, most of the Employment-based (EB) immigrant community would like to purchase homes and make the United States a permanent home for their families. These EB immigrants however, are living in a state of limbo, mostly in rental apartments because of the delays and uncertainties involved with the EB immigration procedure. The wait times in EB categories are exacerbated by the delays in processing by USCIS, even though eligible applicants have filed for Permanent Residency also known as Adjustment of Status. Such processing delays have resulted in the wastage of 218,000 immigrant visa numbers (Page 52 of USCIS Ombudsman Annual report 2007). The current Department of State visa bulletin shows 7+ years of wait times in certain categories. We strongly believe that legislation can be worked out in such a way that the housing markets all over the country can move towards recovery, while at the same time motivating the Green Card applicants to catalyze this recovery.
It should be noted that this proposal by no means brings more immigrant workers into the US. The workers in the EB, skilled category are already present in the US, doing skilled jobs that no US worker is available to do. They are part of the long queue of backlogged cases that USICIS will eventually process; however, this wait can take years and in that case could not be used as a tool to minimize the course of the current economic crisis.
SOLUTION
Congress can pass legislation that exempts EB green card applicants and their dependents from the numerical limits of visa numbers, provided applicant(s) have bought a home making 20% down payment on the sale price of the home, for a time period deemed necessary by the congress.
How can Employment based Immigrants help alleviate the housing problem?
(1) Employment based immigrants are highly skilled and are employed in occupations such as Software, IT, Health care, Energy, Finance, Education and Research & Development across the United States.
(2) Average income of these individuals/households is around 65,000/130,000 USD.
(3) All these Employment based immigrants have gone through Department of Labor�s recruiting process, which certifies that there is no willing, able and qualified US Citizen to do the job.
(4) Most of the Employment based immigrants have excellent credit history and good source of income to make the payments needed for their home mortgage.
(5) By requiring a 20% down payment from this group of buyers, Congress can directly channel this money to where it is need most � at the banks.
(6) Employment based green card applicants have been living in the United States for 6-8 years. Many of them have US graduate degrees in their fields of expertise. These applicants are well versed with the American culture and will not change the cultural landscape.
(7) Financial burden on US government and treasury will be reduced drastically if the glut of houses in the market decreases.
As a member of the community that wants to make the US its permanent home, I want to contribute to a solution that helps USA and US during these tough times. I sincerely believe that the 30 year commitment on mortgages by Employment based immigrants in the housing market, backed by solid, risk free mortgages can turn the down ward spiral in the housing market into a upward spiral.
END OF CONTENT
I feel this is is worth trying...
IV has been discussing about the possibility of one for two solution (partial). The idea is to request congress to exempt EB applicants & their dependents from numerical limits of the Immigrant visas, if they buy a home. It is my belief that market sentiment is the most important thing in any financial market(s) and the housing prospects look pretty bleak. There are lot of members in the EB community that have NOT bought their own home, even though they could afford one because of the uncertainty with EB GC. IV's idea is to bridge the financial committees and judiciary committees in the House/Senate and see if corresponding Chairman/Ranking members are willing to listen. Things are moving so fast with the 700bn USD bail out plan and we will NOT have time to do things the normal way, through our counsel. We have to present this idea to the corresponding staff members of key members of congress (see list below) and see if this gets traction now or going forward.
Please do not bring EB-5 discussion/comparison here. The proposed partial solution is different from EB-5 in that EB-5 investors invest money and we are investing in our future with a genuine intention of making USA our permanent home.
If you already have a home, thats fine. Any such legislation will reduce the wait times in EB categories and we need housing markets to rebound for a safer economy before the ripple effects are felt every where.
Who to write to
Staff members(Chief of Staff, Legislative LA, Financial LA, Legislative Director) of Chairman/Ranking members of House/Senate Judiciary committee & Finance/Banking committee, Staff members of your representative and your senators. Please find staff members of the committees in the spreadsheet (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pptN-jEpAiyd3snslhPjBfw).
You can find your representative & senator staff members on this website (http://www.outsourcecongress.org/outsource/congress/schstaffers.html).
Please use valid email addresses and NOT fictitious/junk mail. It undermines the whole purpose and our emails will be flagged by mail scanners / spam checkers as some thing similar to famous Nigeria bank account scams.
Email Subject: Proposal to alleviate current US Housing/economic crisis
Content/Message
SUMMARY
This proposal alleviates the current US economic crisis, by motivating the US high skilled, legal immigrant workers to purchase homes. The size of this immigrant population is approximately 800,000 individuals. This effort if successful would inject up to US$ 20Billion approximately into the economy (approximately US$ 100 Billion in houses sold across the country) , while at the same time directing this money into the root cause of the economic crisis � the illiquidity of the national housing market. The above calculation is done
assuming a median US home price of $212,400 and buyers making a down-payment of 20% of the cost of the home. Roughly estimating 400,000 buyers.
BACKGROUND
Undoubtedly, we are all devastated by the shake up on Wall Street in the past 15 days. Experts agree that the underpinning problem is the housing crisis caused by sub-prime mortgage loans. Many of us, who cannot afford our monthly mortgage payments are losing homes and putting them up for sale and foreclosure, which further adds to the crisis. At the same time, most of the Employment-based (EB) immigrant community would like to purchase homes and make the United States a permanent home for their families. These EB immigrants however, are living in a state of limbo, mostly in rental apartments because of the delays and uncertainties involved with the EB immigration procedure. The wait times in EB categories are exacerbated by the delays in processing by USCIS, even though eligible applicants have filed for Permanent Residency also known as Adjustment of Status. Such processing delays have resulted in the wastage of 218,000 immigrant visa numbers (Page 52 of USCIS Ombudsman Annual report 2007). The current Department of State visa bulletin shows 7+ years of wait times in certain categories. We strongly believe that legislation can be worked out in such a way that the housing markets all over the country can move towards recovery, while at the same time motivating the Green Card applicants to catalyze this recovery.
It should be noted that this proposal by no means brings more immigrant workers into the US. The workers in the EB, skilled category are already present in the US, doing skilled jobs that no US worker is available to do. They are part of the long queue of backlogged cases that USICIS will eventually process; however, this wait can take years and in that case could not be used as a tool to minimize the course of the current economic crisis.
SOLUTION
Congress can pass legislation that exempts EB green card applicants and their dependents from the numerical limits of visa numbers, provided applicant(s) have bought a home making 20% down payment on the sale price of the home, for a time period deemed necessary by the congress.
How can Employment based Immigrants help alleviate the housing problem?
(1) Employment based immigrants are highly skilled and are employed in occupations such as Software, IT, Health care, Energy, Finance, Education and Research & Development across the United States.
(2) Average income of these individuals/households is around 65,000/130,000 USD.
(3) All these Employment based immigrants have gone through Department of Labor�s recruiting process, which certifies that there is no willing, able and qualified US Citizen to do the job.
(4) Most of the Employment based immigrants have excellent credit history and good source of income to make the payments needed for their home mortgage.
(5) By requiring a 20% down payment from this group of buyers, Congress can directly channel this money to where it is need most � at the banks.
(6) Employment based green card applicants have been living in the United States for 6-8 years. Many of them have US graduate degrees in their fields of expertise. These applicants are well versed with the American culture and will not change the cultural landscape.
(7) Financial burden on US government and treasury will be reduced drastically if the glut of houses in the market decreases.
As a member of the community that wants to make the US its permanent home, I want to contribute to a solution that helps USA and US during these tough times. I sincerely believe that the 30 year commitment on mortgages by Employment based immigrants in the housing market, backed by solid, risk free mortgages can turn the down ward spiral in the housing market into a upward spiral.
END OF CONTENT
I feel this is is worth trying...
No comments:
Post a Comment