jonty_11
06-21 02:22 PM
Let me help ArunANtonio here:
Here are links to similar discussions for the last week or so.
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5392&highlight=working+couple
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4998&highlight=working+couple
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5341&highlight=working+couple
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5125&highlight=working+couple
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4974&highlight=working+couple
Here are links to similar discussions for the last week or so.
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5392&highlight=working+couple
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4998&highlight=working+couple
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5341&highlight=working+couple
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5125&highlight=working+couple
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4974&highlight=working+couple
wallpaper Tags: Brad Paisley
americandesi
03-26 02:53 PM
I was thinking exactly like you until she educated me on this yesterday.
The problem with the EAD is you are invoking AC21. There are several possible problems here including
1. Complying with AC21 requirements of job code, 180 days after 485 RD, etc.
2. Invoking AC21 without 140 approval. This is not against the law, but is risky in case of a 140 RFE.
There are more reasons, but these ought to provide enough clarity on the problem. It is in the employer's interest to ensure that the candidate does not have any such issues; issues which will lead to termination of employment. The Recruiter cannot check DOL job codes and USCIS documents. That is the job of Legal which means $$$.
So if the hiring manager does not have a budget for these extra costs or if he has an equally good candidate who is a GC holder or a citizen, it is easier to go with him or her.
Agreed. But EAD doesn’t apply to EB based immigrants alone. There are hundreds of thousands of family based immigrants who use EAD until their status gets adjusted and I-140/AC21/180 days etc. are not applicable to them. Same applies to the spouses of EB applicants. In such cases it’s a waste of time/money for the company to consult with the legal department.
I believe it’s the responsibility of the EAD holder to communicate what he expects from the new employer (like AC21) after which the company could decide whether to go with the legal department or not. Just assuming that all EAD cases fall under I-140/AC21/180 days etc. is plain ignorance.
The problem with the EAD is you are invoking AC21. There are several possible problems here including
1. Complying with AC21 requirements of job code, 180 days after 485 RD, etc.
2. Invoking AC21 without 140 approval. This is not against the law, but is risky in case of a 140 RFE.
There are more reasons, but these ought to provide enough clarity on the problem. It is in the employer's interest to ensure that the candidate does not have any such issues; issues which will lead to termination of employment. The Recruiter cannot check DOL job codes and USCIS documents. That is the job of Legal which means $$$.
So if the hiring manager does not have a budget for these extra costs or if he has an equally good candidate who is a GC holder or a citizen, it is easier to go with him or her.
Agreed. But EAD doesn’t apply to EB based immigrants alone. There are hundreds of thousands of family based immigrants who use EAD until their status gets adjusted and I-140/AC21/180 days etc. are not applicable to them. Same applies to the spouses of EB applicants. In such cases it’s a waste of time/money for the company to consult with the legal department.
I believe it’s the responsibility of the EAD holder to communicate what he expects from the new employer (like AC21) after which the company could decide whether to go with the legal department or not. Just assuming that all EAD cases fall under I-140/AC21/180 days etc. is plain ignorance.
kewlchap
10-06 04:01 PM
Anyone tried Ombudsman for the recent EB2 approval issues? Any point in trying that avenue?
2011 Tina Fey, Brad Paisley episode
EB3Victim
06-29 05:08 PM
American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) Seeks Plaintiffs for the Lawsuit on Visa Bulletin Fiasco
The AILF is an affiliate of the AILA and its litigation arm. They are seeking the victims who would participate as plaintiffs in the lawsuit by the organization against the government agencies relating to the outrageous and lawlessness of the agencies involving the management of immigrant visa numbers and implementing the visa bulletin in compliance with the law. Please contact your attorneys if you are willing to participate in the lawsuit.
The AILF is an affiliate of the AILA and its litigation arm. They are seeking the victims who would participate as plaintiffs in the lawsuit by the organization against the government agencies relating to the outrageous and lawlessness of the agencies involving the management of immigrant visa numbers and implementing the visa bulletin in compliance with the law. Please contact your attorneys if you are willing to participate in the lawsuit.
more...
ganguteli
06-17 02:12 PM
Good job slumdogs. You are becoming a puppet of anti-immigrants. Today they are using you to throw your L1 brothers out. Tomorrow they will throw you out. There is fraud in H1 too. No visa is perfect. Just like no American citizen is perfect. 1 in 100 citizen has gone to jail.
If you have so much energy and motivation, why don't you go after anti-immigrants and expose their evil.
Educated idiots!
If you have so much energy and motivation, why don't you go after anti-immigrants and expose their evil.
Educated idiots!
sjkumar
03-29 02:11 PM
Thats.. Good News..
more...
ramus
06-29 07:04 PM
There is more update on AILA web-site...
"Follow-up to Update on July Visa Availability"
Can anybody find out what is it?
"Follow-up to Update on July Visa Availability"
Can anybody find out what is it?
2010 Babies, Brad Paisley, Kimberly
sweet_jungle
03-27 03:17 AM
One more company that does not hire on EAD is Applied Biosystems
There is a whole lot of good information about citizenship or immigration status discrimination at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc
From their Employee Brochure:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc/pdf/publications/en_wbroc.pdf
From their Employer Brochure:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc/pdf/publications/en_guide0507.pdf
From OSC Update newsletter April 2004:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc/pdf/osc_update_APR04.pdf
FAQ:
If you are told by an employer (verbally or in writing) that they will consider only citizens or green card holders, call the OSC hotline. They may not give you the job based on some other criteria but they will not discriminate anybody else in the future.
If you find any job posting or ad which states that they will hire only citizens or green card holders, or explicitly declines to hire somebody with EAD, post it here. If you don't wish to, maybe somebody else can make the call.
In most cases it would be pure ignorance on the recruiter's part. A simple phone call from OSC will clear that.
Of course the best course is to avoid bringing up EAD in the first place. But if it comes to that, you can reach out to OSC, even if you don't have anything in writing.
There is a whole lot of good information about citizenship or immigration status discrimination at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc
From their Employee Brochure:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc/pdf/publications/en_wbroc.pdf
From their Employer Brochure:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc/pdf/publications/en_guide0507.pdf
From OSC Update newsletter April 2004:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc/pdf/osc_update_APR04.pdf
FAQ:
If you are told by an employer (verbally or in writing) that they will consider only citizens or green card holders, call the OSC hotline. They may not give you the job based on some other criteria but they will not discriminate anybody else in the future.
If you find any job posting or ad which states that they will hire only citizens or green card holders, or explicitly declines to hire somebody with EAD, post it here. If you don't wish to, maybe somebody else can make the call.
In most cases it would be pure ignorance on the recruiter's part. A simple phone call from OSC will clear that.
Of course the best course is to avoid bringing up EAD in the first place. But if it comes to that, you can reach out to OSC, even if you don't have anything in writing.
more...
rahulp
05-23 09:59 PM
I want to be in a position to use AC21 as early as possible. What happens if laid off after getting EAD but before 6 months since filing I-485?
hair Brad Paisley And Wife - Page 2
walking_dude
01-14 10:36 AM
Posted on my blog too http://fix-gc-now.blogspot.com/.
I request everyone to embed it in your blog and or provide link to it. This will give publicity to our effort by increasing the web footprint.
Posted below is the HTML snippet to embed the video
<object width="425" height="373"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wGpSCdeEkB4&rel=1&border=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wGpSCdeEkB4&rel=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="373"></embed></object>
I request everyone to embed it in your blog and or provide link to it. This will give publicity to our effort by increasing the web footprint.
Posted below is the HTML snippet to embed the video
<object width="425" height="373"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wGpSCdeEkB4&rel=1&border=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wGpSCdeEkB4&rel=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="373"></embed></object>
more...
amoljak
07-21 09:41 PM
All these statistics are based on wage rate specified on LCA. But in many cases LCA wage is treated as a minimum wage by companies. I don't think many companies get a new LCA when the salary rises, I don't think they are supposed to. It also does not include bonuses as companies often don't know what the bonus is going to be when they apply for an LCA.
Even based on the LCA salaries 10% H1Bs in 2006 were for 100K or more. (Unlike what the programmer's guild wrongly says (1%) )
Even based on the LCA salaries 10% H1Bs in 2006 were for 100K or more. (Unlike what the programmer's guild wrongly says (1%) )
hot Brad Paisley and wife
somegchuh
04-17 01:47 PM
Guys,
I have heard from friends that if after 90 days of applying you don't receive an EAD card, you can walk into a local USCIS office and they will issue you an EAD. Is this still true? If yes, what documentation do I need to take with me? Its been 2 months since I applied. Anybody know how long it is taking from NSC?
Thanks
I have heard from friends that if after 90 days of applying you don't receive an EAD card, you can walk into a local USCIS office and they will issue you an EAD. Is this still true? If yes, what documentation do I need to take with me? Its been 2 months since I applied. Anybody know how long it is taking from NSC?
Thanks
more...
house Country Singer Brad Paisley
brahmam
09-24 11:12 PM
Hey Bharatpremi, taking your numbers and assuming horizontal spill over instead of vertical would make eb2 all over current. total spill over from eb1 = 53807, total eb2 quota = 40040, pending eb2 = 74932
assume eb1 demand = 5000, eb2 demand = 20000
we can easily see eb2 getting completely approved.
assume eb1 demand = 5000, eb2 demand = 20000
we can easily see eb2 getting completely approved.
tattoo wallpaper tattoo Brad Paisley
alterego
03-26 05:08 AM
I am not aware of anything that says that you need to bring this up initially in your job search. I personally wouldn't put it in my CV.
Apply for a job, as you would if you had a green card (keeping within the AC21 parameters.) If the question of visa sponsorship comes up then you can say you do not need it. I am not sure why people bring this up with their prospective employers. If you have employment authorisation, you have it, it is not employer specific, it is not site specific, it is quite broad in its scope. The employer
has to complete the I-9 like for anyone else. Any issues would be with the USCIS at the time of adjudication and that would be if AC21 rules are broken.
I think that sometimes we project our own fears onto employers and make issues when none exist. I've seen the same sort of doubts expressed about AP travel.
Folks need to grow more confident generally. For many their immigrant petitions 140s have been approved and their 485s have been pending for quite a while. They give you these interim benefits for a reason, so you can use them!
Apply for a job, as you would if you had a green card (keeping within the AC21 parameters.) If the question of visa sponsorship comes up then you can say you do not need it. I am not sure why people bring this up with their prospective employers. If you have employment authorisation, you have it, it is not employer specific, it is not site specific, it is quite broad in its scope. The employer
has to complete the I-9 like for anyone else. Any issues would be with the USCIS at the time of adjudication and that would be if AC21 rules are broken.
I think that sometimes we project our own fears onto employers and make issues when none exist. I've seen the same sort of doubts expressed about AP travel.
Folks need to grow more confident generally. For many their immigrant petitions 140s have been approved and their 485s have been pending for quite a while. They give you these interim benefits for a reason, so you can use them!
more...
pictures 2010 Brad Paisley, Wife
sri1309
03-12 01:16 PM
Dear Sri1309,
Good morning!! Thanks a lot for your message about the letter to Ms Zoe. I think your letter is very fine. Good luck to everyone on immigration issue!!
I have a question on your solution#4) "granting citizenship to people who have stayed in US for 10 years by rules to pay taxes". The 10 years ----are you talking about several years of study plus several years of working in US in H-1B visa ONLY or for any people who have legally stayed in US for 10 years??? I raise this question because I am curious to know whether I will fit this category. I was a foreign student in US for 10 years and pay foreign student tuition fee in full for 10 years. The first 6 years in several degrees and then back home and then come to US again for professional doctorate degree in 4 years. Originally I find employer to file me the H-1B visa but the quota for Master degree or above is full and then I back home until now. I am sure someone has similar situations to me!!
From other forum, someone said that it is extremely difficult to legalize the illegal aliens due to recent huge economic recession. But if each illegal aliens give non-refundable $5000 immigration entry fee to the country, the country will have about $60 billion fixed income. Then I immediately have thought about if our international students who have stayed in US for 5 years or above give more immigration entry fee to the country, the country will have tremendous cash flow into the economy and may help the economic crisis. I have previously replied to somebody and the link is as below:
This thread is located at:
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=23955&goto=newpost
Do you think my thought is stupid and unreasonable??? If someone thinks a better idea/thought, please correct my idea. Anyway, good luck to everyone on the immigration issue because this topic is very tough due to recent economic recession!!
Have a nice day!! Thanks a lot!!
I will come to your quesiton, but let me ask the other guys who just responded, a question.
Sunx_2004, Sarala, and ALL
Thanks for the compliments, I'm happy but we will be thrilled if apart from compliments, if you've said that you have just written to change.gov or to atleast one or two reps. Just spend a $10 on postage stamps. Dont think the reps dont read our letters.
If you want a green from me, in your reply, please reply with atleast that you have posted this on change.gov, under Agenda--> Immigration--> Submit your ideas. OK? after really doing it.
when two of you do, it will make 4 others do.. then 16.., read my other thread by searching "Chain reaction".. that too went down the drain..
Now to this post.. Ofcors how can I not include you in this.One of the last points clearly says to give a greencard to anyone who graduates here. Now its upto them to let in quality students., I support filters at entry level into schools or jobs, not to those who have spent 5-10 years here..
My point is 5 years in US legally and 10 years in US legally. No matter if you went to school, or were on H1 from day one.
Also I am sure you have good # of friends in situation like you are in. Pass this message to them also to write and also about IV.
But dont wait for anyone to come and help you out. Create a snowball affect which gathers mass as it rolls.
Good morning!! Thanks a lot for your message about the letter to Ms Zoe. I think your letter is very fine. Good luck to everyone on immigration issue!!
I have a question on your solution#4) "granting citizenship to people who have stayed in US for 10 years by rules to pay taxes". The 10 years ----are you talking about several years of study plus several years of working in US in H-1B visa ONLY or for any people who have legally stayed in US for 10 years??? I raise this question because I am curious to know whether I will fit this category. I was a foreign student in US for 10 years and pay foreign student tuition fee in full for 10 years. The first 6 years in several degrees and then back home and then come to US again for professional doctorate degree in 4 years. Originally I find employer to file me the H-1B visa but the quota for Master degree or above is full and then I back home until now. I am sure someone has similar situations to me!!
From other forum, someone said that it is extremely difficult to legalize the illegal aliens due to recent huge economic recession. But if each illegal aliens give non-refundable $5000 immigration entry fee to the country, the country will have about $60 billion fixed income. Then I immediately have thought about if our international students who have stayed in US for 5 years or above give more immigration entry fee to the country, the country will have tremendous cash flow into the economy and may help the economic crisis. I have previously replied to somebody and the link is as below:
This thread is located at:
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=23955&goto=newpost
Do you think my thought is stupid and unreasonable??? If someone thinks a better idea/thought, please correct my idea. Anyway, good luck to everyone on the immigration issue because this topic is very tough due to recent economic recession!!
Have a nice day!! Thanks a lot!!
I will come to your quesiton, but let me ask the other guys who just responded, a question.
Sunx_2004, Sarala, and ALL
Thanks for the compliments, I'm happy but we will be thrilled if apart from compliments, if you've said that you have just written to change.gov or to atleast one or two reps. Just spend a $10 on postage stamps. Dont think the reps dont read our letters.
If you want a green from me, in your reply, please reply with atleast that you have posted this on change.gov, under Agenda--> Immigration--> Submit your ideas. OK? after really doing it.
when two of you do, it will make 4 others do.. then 16.., read my other thread by searching "Chain reaction".. that too went down the drain..
Now to this post.. Ofcors how can I not include you in this.One of the last points clearly says to give a greencard to anyone who graduates here. Now its upto them to let in quality students., I support filters at entry level into schools or jobs, not to those who have spent 5-10 years here..
My point is 5 years in US legally and 10 years in US legally. No matter if you went to school, or were on H1 from day one.
Also I am sure you have good # of friends in situation like you are in. Pass this message to them also to write and also about IV.
But dont wait for anyone to come and help you out. Create a snowball affect which gathers mass as it rolls.
dresses Brad Paisley and his wife,
as_rudra
01-22 08:19 AM
I have verified that with my attorney. The officer should not have asked you to enter on AP. You could have entered on H1 or AP and it was up to you. This is a good example of the fact that some immigration officers do not know the rules well. If your H1 is still good, you can leave and re-enter showing H1 and you should be fine.
G
Thats correct. I came back from India yesterday and i used H1 but my wife used her AP to enter at the POE.
G
Thats correct. I came back from India yesterday and i used H1 but my wife used her AP to enter at the POE.
more...
makeup His wife and aby were not in
qasleuth
11-20 07:34 PM
Kumar1, You have a reputation of "beyond repute" on this forum and one of the leaders who people expect to lead us. Is this the ethical/moral standard you live by ? Disgustingly shameful. And are you one of those people who throw empty cups in a trash can over here but chuck it onto the streets when you go back to your home country ? I bet you are. You rent and have no idea about what you are talking about yet doling out useless/dangerous suggestions.
Paujabi77, I will not get into moral/ethical dialog with you (inspite of your comments like "i will sell it after couple of years and make money")
Actually you should consider yourself in the same group as these so called stupid people, cannot exclude yourself as a smart person just because you did not take an ARM. Any decent website/article/source of info will tell you that you cannot buy a house if you are planning on staying for less than 2 years.
"well it is not my bad decision that has brought down the whole market but the banks and stupid people who took loan"
Here is some real advice:
Letting your bank forclose on you or filing for bankruptcy is not a decision you take lightly asking people on the forum for advice. Your credit score can go down by as much as 300 points affecting you financially over the next few years which you perhaps have not really thought about. Just because you have existing loans (like credit cards) on a low rate does not mean they are 'locked'. Banks can hike the rates periodically based on your current score often to as high as 32 %. This is not pennies but can be hundreds of dollars in interest. Ever got harsh calls from collectors ? Ever got evicted from your place of residence ? Ever got denied when you try to rent ? Try living only on cash for a few weeks and see how it feels without credit. I have not gone through any of those thankfully but have seen and heard horror stories. Consult a professional or do research on your own before making a decision.
You are not the only one who thinks this way! Do you want to stuck with your house...paying 600k mortgage for 300k worth house? It is stupid people like you who would, I won't!
Those who are walking away are smart. Banks are stupid to finance 100%. If you go bankrupt, govt won't bail you out. If banks go belly up, govt would give 750 billion!
Keep your emotions checked. Do not talk like you haven't returned anything in Wat Mart if you found same item 25 cents cheaper somewhere else.
Paujabi77, I will not get into moral/ethical dialog with you (inspite of your comments like "i will sell it after couple of years and make money")
Actually you should consider yourself in the same group as these so called stupid people, cannot exclude yourself as a smart person just because you did not take an ARM. Any decent website/article/source of info will tell you that you cannot buy a house if you are planning on staying for less than 2 years.
"well it is not my bad decision that has brought down the whole market but the banks and stupid people who took loan"
Here is some real advice:
Letting your bank forclose on you or filing for bankruptcy is not a decision you take lightly asking people on the forum for advice. Your credit score can go down by as much as 300 points affecting you financially over the next few years which you perhaps have not really thought about. Just because you have existing loans (like credit cards) on a low rate does not mean they are 'locked'. Banks can hike the rates periodically based on your current score often to as high as 32 %. This is not pennies but can be hundreds of dollars in interest. Ever got harsh calls from collectors ? Ever got evicted from your place of residence ? Ever got denied when you try to rent ? Try living only on cash for a few weeks and see how it feels without credit. I have not gone through any of those thankfully but have seen and heard horror stories. Consult a professional or do research on your own before making a decision.
You are not the only one who thinks this way! Do you want to stuck with your house...paying 600k mortgage for 300k worth house? It is stupid people like you who would, I won't!
Those who are walking away are smart. Banks are stupid to finance 100%. If you go bankrupt, govt won't bail you out. If banks go belly up, govt would give 750 billion!
Keep your emotions checked. Do not talk like you haven't returned anything in Wat Mart if you found same item 25 cents cheaper somewhere else.
girlfriend Country singer Brad Paisley
gk_2000
04-01 01:30 AM
Sathesh,
According to the below websites, seems it is the Immigrant's Final application and processing fee(and seems like your immigrant visa has been approved by USCIS*** according to OVERVIEW OF IMMIGRANT CONSULAR PROCESSING (http://www.americanlaw.com/consul_iv.html)
"In April of 1994, DOS opened the NVC, a permanent immigrant visa processing facility in Portsmouth, NH. NVC processes all approved immigrant petitions that it receives from USCIS. NVC will retain the petitions until the cases are ready for adjudication by a consular officer abroad. When an applicant's case is about to become current, the petition is forwarded to the appropriate U.S. embassy or consulate overseas. " ***
***from OVERVIEW OF IMMIGRANT CONSULAR PROCESSING (http://www.americanlaw.com/consul_iv.html)
http://amsterdam.usconsulate.gov/iv_fees.hml
July 2007 --- about to become current? Sounds like music, AR Rehman's music
According to the below websites, seems it is the Immigrant's Final application and processing fee(and seems like your immigrant visa has been approved by USCIS*** according to OVERVIEW OF IMMIGRANT CONSULAR PROCESSING (http://www.americanlaw.com/consul_iv.html)
"In April of 1994, DOS opened the NVC, a permanent immigrant visa processing facility in Portsmouth, NH. NVC processes all approved immigrant petitions that it receives from USCIS. NVC will retain the petitions until the cases are ready for adjudication by a consular officer abroad. When an applicant's case is about to become current, the petition is forwarded to the appropriate U.S. embassy or consulate overseas. " ***
***from OVERVIEW OF IMMIGRANT CONSULAR PROCESSING (http://www.americanlaw.com/consul_iv.html)
http://amsterdam.usconsulate.gov/iv_fees.hml
July 2007 --- about to become current? Sounds like music, AR Rehman's music
hairstyles The inner workings of Brad
DallasBlue
09-13 03:00 PM
Caught in a Bureaucratic Black Hole
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 10 September 2007
Applicants seeking US citizenship languish for years as the FBI conducts cumbersome records checks. Lawsuits are a result.
Seeking to become a U.S. citizen, Biljana Petrovic filed her application, completed her interview and passed her civics test.
More than three years later, she is still waiting to be naturalized - held up by an FBI name-check process that has been criticized as slow, inefficient and a danger to national security.
Petrovic, a stay-at-home mother in Los Altos, Calif., who has no criminal record, has sued the federal government to try to speed up the process. She said it's as if her application has slipped into a "black hole."
"It's complete frustration," said Petrovic, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia and is a naturalized Canadian citizen. "It's not like I am applying to enter the country. I have been here for 19 years."
Nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of Aug. 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years.
Applicants for permanent residency or citizenship have lost jobs, missed out on student loans and in-state tuition, and been unable to vote or bring relatives into the country. The delays have prompted scores of lawsuits around the country.
Already this fiscal year, more than 4,100 suits have been filed against the citizenship and immigration agency, compared with 2,650 last year and about 680 in 2005. The mandamus suits ask federal judges to compel immigration officials to adjudicate the cases. The majority of the cases were prompted by delays in checking names, spokesman Chris Bentley said.
"There is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd," said Ranjana Natarajan, an ACLU staff attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit in Southern California last year on behalf of applicants waiting for their names to be checked. "People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
In addition to the bureaucratic nightmare that the lengthy delays present, attorneys and government officials say there is a far more serious concern: They could be allowing potential terrorists to stay in the country.
Fallout From 9/11
The backlog began after 9/11, when Citizenship and Immigration Services officials reassessed their procedures and learned that the FBI checks were not as thorough as they had believed. So "out of an abundance of caution," the agency resubmitted 2.7 million names in 2002 to be checked further, Bentley said.
Rather than simply determining if the applicants were subjects of FBI investigations, the bureau checked to see if their names showed up in any FBI files, including being listed as witnesses or victims. About 90% of the names did not appear in the agency's records, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said.
But for the 10% who were listed, authorities carefully reviewed the files to look for any "derogatory" information, Carter said. Because many documents aren't electronic and are in the bureau's 265 offices nationwide, that process can take months, if not years.
"It is not a check of your name," said Chuck Roth, director of litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, which also filed a class-action suit. "It is a file review of anywhere your name happens to appear. It has just created a giant bureaucratic mess."
Although many of those stuck in the backlog are from predominantly Muslim countries, there are also people from Russia, China, India and elsewhere. They include government employees and Iraq war veterans. Many have been in the U.S. legally for decades.
In one case decided in Washington, D.C., recently, a federal judge wrote that a Chinese man's four-year wait for permanent residency was unreasonable and ordered the government to decide on the application within three months. Petrovic, who has two U.S.-born teenagers, doesn't know what delayed her application. The only explanation she can think of is that her name is common in her native country.
She and her husband, Ihab Abu-Hakima, also a Canadian citizen, applied for citizenship in April 2003 and had their interviews in February 2004. Her husband was sworn in that summer, while her application continued to languish. She checked the mail daily.
When she still didn't hear anything, Petrovic contacted immigration officials, who told her that the FBI had her file and that it was still active. She also contacted her representative and her senator, whose offices asked Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the application. She filed a Freedom of Information Act request for her FBI file, which simply showed that she had never been arrested.
"I have a feeling that the system has broken down," she said.
Joining a Different Group
In August, Petrovic joined an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in Northern California against the federal government. She is waiting to become a U.S. citizen so she can sponsor her elderly parents, who live in Canada and visit often.
"Every time they leave, I feel bad," she said. "This is their life here, more than there."
The problem extends beyond the disruption of personal lives.
In his yearly report to Congress in June, immigration services ombudsman Prakash wrote that the policy on checking names "may increase the risk to national security by extending the time a potential criminal or terrorist remains in the country." questioned the overall value of the process, writing that it was the "single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits."
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged the threat, last month announcing plans to work with the FBI to address the backlog and reduce delays. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reassess the way name checks are done and earmark $6 million toward streamlining the process, Bentley said.
Though 99% of the agency's name checks are completed within six months, Bentley said, the lengthy delays for some applicants is "unacceptable."
"That requires a lot of patience on the part of an applicant because they have to wait sometimes multiple years," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, no benefit will be approved until that name check comes back clear. Security checks have produced information about sex crimes, drug trafficking and individuals with known links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Carter, the FBI spokesman, said he understands that applicants waiting for answers are anxious, but he said the process is complicated and involves dozens of agencies and databases - and, in some cases, foreign governments.
"The FBI's No. 1 priority remains to protect the United States from terrorist attack," Carter said. "To that end, we must ensure the proper balance between security and efficiency."
In addition to clearing the backlog and processing the 27,000 new name checks it receives each week from immigration officials, the FBI is trying to accelerate the process by making more documents electronic. It is also adding more staff and moving resources to a new records facility in Virginia, Carter said.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said the government needs to make sure that it carefully checks every application. And working with foreign governments is inevitably going to slow the process down, he said.
"We correctly have much more stringent standards for immigration," he said. "I am not really sure that there is any way to do this kind of deep background check efficiently."
But attorneys said that because of the inefficiency, the program isn't serving its purpose.
"Let's say this guy is a terrorist or a criminal," Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said. "Why wouldn't the FBI rush the case?"
Mervyn Sam, a South African native who got a green card in 1998, has been waiting more than four years for the FBI to complete his name check. Sam said his career has been affected by the delay. He lives in Anaheim and is a project manager at a software company but cannot work on certain government projects because he is not a U.S. citizen. He has sued the federal government.
"I am not sure what the hiccup is on my end," he said. "It is very, very frustrating."
Shusterman, whose office is representing Sam, said applicants waste their time by contacting the immigration services agency, the FBI or their legislators.
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court," he said.
--------
anna.gorman@latimes.com
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 10 September 2007
Applicants seeking US citizenship languish for years as the FBI conducts cumbersome records checks. Lawsuits are a result.
Seeking to become a U.S. citizen, Biljana Petrovic filed her application, completed her interview and passed her civics test.
More than three years later, she is still waiting to be naturalized - held up by an FBI name-check process that has been criticized as slow, inefficient and a danger to national security.
Petrovic, a stay-at-home mother in Los Altos, Calif., who has no criminal record, has sued the federal government to try to speed up the process. She said it's as if her application has slipped into a "black hole."
"It's complete frustration," said Petrovic, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia and is a naturalized Canadian citizen. "It's not like I am applying to enter the country. I have been here for 19 years."
Nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of Aug. 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years.
Applicants for permanent residency or citizenship have lost jobs, missed out on student loans and in-state tuition, and been unable to vote or bring relatives into the country. The delays have prompted scores of lawsuits around the country.
Already this fiscal year, more than 4,100 suits have been filed against the citizenship and immigration agency, compared with 2,650 last year and about 680 in 2005. The mandamus suits ask federal judges to compel immigration officials to adjudicate the cases. The majority of the cases were prompted by delays in checking names, spokesman Chris Bentley said.
"There is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd," said Ranjana Natarajan, an ACLU staff attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit in Southern California last year on behalf of applicants waiting for their names to be checked. "People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
In addition to the bureaucratic nightmare that the lengthy delays present, attorneys and government officials say there is a far more serious concern: They could be allowing potential terrorists to stay in the country.
Fallout From 9/11
The backlog began after 9/11, when Citizenship and Immigration Services officials reassessed their procedures and learned that the FBI checks were not as thorough as they had believed. So "out of an abundance of caution," the agency resubmitted 2.7 million names in 2002 to be checked further, Bentley said.
Rather than simply determining if the applicants were subjects of FBI investigations, the bureau checked to see if their names showed up in any FBI files, including being listed as witnesses or victims. About 90% of the names did not appear in the agency's records, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said.
But for the 10% who were listed, authorities carefully reviewed the files to look for any "derogatory" information, Carter said. Because many documents aren't electronic and are in the bureau's 265 offices nationwide, that process can take months, if not years.
"It is not a check of your name," said Chuck Roth, director of litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, which also filed a class-action suit. "It is a file review of anywhere your name happens to appear. It has just created a giant bureaucratic mess."
Although many of those stuck in the backlog are from predominantly Muslim countries, there are also people from Russia, China, India and elsewhere. They include government employees and Iraq war veterans. Many have been in the U.S. legally for decades.
In one case decided in Washington, D.C., recently, a federal judge wrote that a Chinese man's four-year wait for permanent residency was unreasonable and ordered the government to decide on the application within three months. Petrovic, who has two U.S.-born teenagers, doesn't know what delayed her application. The only explanation she can think of is that her name is common in her native country.
She and her husband, Ihab Abu-Hakima, also a Canadian citizen, applied for citizenship in April 2003 and had their interviews in February 2004. Her husband was sworn in that summer, while her application continued to languish. She checked the mail daily.
When she still didn't hear anything, Petrovic contacted immigration officials, who told her that the FBI had her file and that it was still active. She also contacted her representative and her senator, whose offices asked Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the application. She filed a Freedom of Information Act request for her FBI file, which simply showed that she had never been arrested.
"I have a feeling that the system has broken down," she said.
Joining a Different Group
In August, Petrovic joined an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in Northern California against the federal government. She is waiting to become a U.S. citizen so she can sponsor her elderly parents, who live in Canada and visit often.
"Every time they leave, I feel bad," she said. "This is their life here, more than there."
The problem extends beyond the disruption of personal lives.
In his yearly report to Congress in June, immigration services ombudsman Prakash wrote that the policy on checking names "may increase the risk to national security by extending the time a potential criminal or terrorist remains in the country." questioned the overall value of the process, writing that it was the "single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits."
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged the threat, last month announcing plans to work with the FBI to address the backlog and reduce delays. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reassess the way name checks are done and earmark $6 million toward streamlining the process, Bentley said.
Though 99% of the agency's name checks are completed within six months, Bentley said, the lengthy delays for some applicants is "unacceptable."
"That requires a lot of patience on the part of an applicant because they have to wait sometimes multiple years," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, no benefit will be approved until that name check comes back clear. Security checks have produced information about sex crimes, drug trafficking and individuals with known links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Carter, the FBI spokesman, said he understands that applicants waiting for answers are anxious, but he said the process is complicated and involves dozens of agencies and databases - and, in some cases, foreign governments.
"The FBI's No. 1 priority remains to protect the United States from terrorist attack," Carter said. "To that end, we must ensure the proper balance between security and efficiency."
In addition to clearing the backlog and processing the 27,000 new name checks it receives each week from immigration officials, the FBI is trying to accelerate the process by making more documents electronic. It is also adding more staff and moving resources to a new records facility in Virginia, Carter said.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said the government needs to make sure that it carefully checks every application. And working with foreign governments is inevitably going to slow the process down, he said.
"We correctly have much more stringent standards for immigration," he said. "I am not really sure that there is any way to do this kind of deep background check efficiently."
But attorneys said that because of the inefficiency, the program isn't serving its purpose.
"Let's say this guy is a terrorist or a criminal," Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said. "Why wouldn't the FBI rush the case?"
Mervyn Sam, a South African native who got a green card in 1998, has been waiting more than four years for the FBI to complete his name check. Sam said his career has been affected by the delay. He lives in Anaheim and is a project manager at a software company but cannot work on certain government projects because he is not a U.S. citizen. He has sued the federal government.
"I am not sure what the hiccup is on my end," he said. "It is very, very frustrating."
Shusterman, whose office is representing Sam, said applicants waste their time by contacting the immigration services agency, the FBI or their legislators.
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court," he said.
--------
anna.gorman@latimes.com
cableman
05-09 11:12 PM
Hi there,
Another question, i got my I140 approved from Texas center although filed at NSC (premium processing). Will my I485 apps also be handled by Texas or they are independent?
Thanks
I got this from :http://www.usvisahelp.com/filingtips2.html
"Note that an employment-based I-485 application that is filed concurrently with an I-140 immigrant petition must also be filed at the Nebraska Service Center, since all I-140 petitions are now filed at Nebraska. However, an I-485 application filed to accompany a currently pending I-140 petition would be filed either at Nebraska or Texas, depending upon which service center issued the receipt notice for the I-140."
According to this, I guess your I-485 should be handled by Taxas service center. But don't take this as the final answer. Check with your lawyer to make sure.
Another question, i got my I140 approved from Texas center although filed at NSC (premium processing). Will my I485 apps also be handled by Texas or they are independent?
Thanks
I got this from :http://www.usvisahelp.com/filingtips2.html
"Note that an employment-based I-485 application that is filed concurrently with an I-140 immigrant petition must also be filed at the Nebraska Service Center, since all I-140 petitions are now filed at Nebraska. However, an I-485 application filed to accompany a currently pending I-140 petition would be filed either at Nebraska or Texas, depending upon which service center issued the receipt notice for the I-140."
According to this, I guess your I-485 should be handled by Taxas service center. But don't take this as the final answer. Check with your lawyer to make sure.
intbuz
08-19 02:37 PM
Yes. Indeed you are approved..Congrats.
thanks Anil
thanks Anil
0 comments:
Post a Comment