Endless Wait

This blog is about LEGAL immigrants and the challenges they face. But our close cousins - illegal immigrants have challenges, that many believe are even harder. But the debate about immigration reform is almost entirely about them, and it’s heating up. I don’t carry very many opinions on illegal immigration, because, honestly, I am not one and I don’t know enough to make judgement calls. I do see both sides of the debate though - and this email that I received today picqued my interest. What do you think? Is Jose Illegal really LUCKY or is the author of this email missing something important?

JOE LEGAL VS. JOSE ILLEGAL
You have two families: “Joe Legal” and “Jose Illegal”. Both families
have two parents, two children, and live in California .
Joe Legal works in construction, has a Social Security Number and makes
$25.00 per hour with taxes deducted.
Jose Illegal also works in construction, has NO Social Security Number,
and gets paid $15.00 cash “under the table”.
Ready? Now pay attention…
Joe Legal: $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week, or
$52,000.00 per year. Now take 30% away for state and federal tax; Joe
Legal now has $31,231.00.
Jose Illegal: $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600 per week, or
$31,200 per year. Jose Illegal pays no taxes. Jose Illegal now has
$31,200.
Joe Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his
family at $600 per month, or $7,200 per year. Joe Legal now has $24,031.
Jose Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and
local clinics at a cost of $0.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.
Joe Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or
welfare. Joe Legal pays $500 per month for food, or $6,000 per year. Joe Legal
now has $18,031.
Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps and
welfare. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.
Joe Legal pays rent of $1,200 per month, or $14,400 per year.
Joe Legal now has $9,631.
Jose Illegal receives a $500 per month federal rent subsidy. Jose
Illegal pays out that $500 per month, or $6,000 per year. Jose
Illegal still has $ 31,200.
Joe Legal pays $200 per month, or $2,400 per year for auto insurance
Joe Legal now has $7,231.00.
Jose Illegal says, “We don’t need no stinkin’ insurance!” and he still
has $31,200.
Joe Legal has to make his $7,231 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc.
Jose Illegal has to make his $31,200 stretch to pay utilities,
gasoline, and what he sends out of the country every month.
Joe Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after
work.
Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family.
Joe Legal’s and Jose Illegal’s children both attend the same school.
Joe Legal pays for his children’s lunches while Jose Illegal’s children
get a government sponsored lunch. Jose Illegal’s children also have an
after school ESL program.
Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire
services, but Joe paid for them and Jose did not pay.

Do you get it, now?

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I wrote a post a couple of days ago about Free 15-minute consultations with top immigration attorneys. At that point, I wasn’t if such a service would be useful. I thought it would, but then who knew, right?

Well, thanks for all that took us up on the offer. Three spots for July are already taken. Ema, Madhu and Karthik have been contacted and their consultations are being scheduled. Ema, Madhu, Karthik - please leave us a note on how it went.

In the meantime, I did not want to wait any further to introduce this as a regular feature of Endlesswait.com so I added this new page today - FREE IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY PHONE CONSULTATION. This page has more details.

One more spot for July is still left. Please reply with a comment on this page to use this opportunity.

I am honestly SUPER excited to be able to offer a useful service to you guys. Please share this with your friends that might be able to use it. It’s totally free and really, the blog or the attorneys don’t make any money from it. This blog is about immigrants helping each other and some kind attorneys have agreed to help us out as well.

Thanks to Alpa for reporting this interesting news to us from reputed immigration law site shusterman.com. We’ll see whether their prediction turns out to be true or if this was just a rumor. If this is true, EB-2 India cutoff date will extend into 2006! That’s quite an advance and was unexpected to happen until October 2010 at least.

Go to http://www.shusterman.com/ and look at the news ticker in the middle of the page. Make sure you have java enabled in your  browser as this news ticker uses java to render.

This is a piecemeal act that includes all of the stuff that CIR would have for skilled legal immigrants. This includes provisions to reduce the visa backlog, H1-B reform and F1 student visa reform.

SKILL ACT of 2010

I’ve stopped getting too excited about just introductions of new bills. It all depends on how it’s received and whether it gathers any momentum. I’ll be watching for that and will update here as soon as I have more information. Please comment if you know more…

As part of writing on endlesswait.com, and during my own immigration journey, I’ve become connected with some really good immigration attorneys. And recently, it occurred to me that I could set something up to benefit you guys from this connection.

Two attorneys that I can personal attest to, since I’ve followed both for a while now, have agreed to do two FREE 15-minute consultations for you guys - Endlesswait.com users. I am starting with one - Shah Peerally at http://peerallylaw.com. He is based out of California and will do 2 consultations for us.

It’s absolutely free for you and neither the attorney or me get any monetary compensation for doing this. But it’s only 15 minutes so go really prepared with a specific question. If you need more time, they’ll let you know and will usually set up another subsequent consultation.

Over the years, I’ve had immigration-related questions and wouldn’t be sure if I wanted to spend $100 for a consultation yet. This kind of service would’ve helped me and that’s what I am hoping it can do for you. If you are interested, just leave a comment below and let me know what times work best for you. We’ll continue the conversation via email and I’ll set something up with the attorney. It will be on a FIRST-COME-FIRST-SERVED basis.

This is the first time, so I am not sure how the response will be. If this works well, I certainly hope to bring more attorneys into the loop which should be easy since I know a few personally. If you have any feedback about this, I’d appreciate that as well.

Disclaimer: Needless to say, but please be respectful of the attorney’s time, just because this is free doesn’t mean the attorney’s time is not valuable and I really do want it to be 15 minutes only. Also, this does not include any free email follow ups or such. Everything beyond the 15 minute consultation is between you and the attorney. Endlesswait.com or I don’t take any responsibility for consultation that is provided to you during the 15 minutes. Also, the attorneys have specifically asked me to include that the consultation will not constitute legal advice since the duration is limited. Use it as additional information and guidance on your specific situation.

****** UPDATE: ONE SPOT IS TAKEN. Congratulations Ema!

****** UPDATE: SECOND SPOT IS TAKEN. Congratulations Madhu!

Attorney Matthew Oh agreed to do 2 consultations as well!

****** UPDATE: THIRD SPOT IS TAKEN. Congratulations Karthik!

****** UPDATE: FOURTH (AND LAST) SPOT IS TAKEN. Congratulations Ankur!

I am working on getting more attorneys lined up. Please check back for update and continue to post comments if you’d like to be considered, since it’s on a first come first served basis. I cannot guarantee any more spots at this time though, but it’s likely I’ll get something going in the short term..

I don’t really trust that he’s going to actually get CIR done in 2010. No chance in my opinion. But I do think it shows that Mexican Leaders and the Hispanic Caucus is putting pressure on him to address it. We’re watching, Mr. Obama.

Continue to write to your congressmen - write every week if needed. CIR can change your lives and your childrens’ lives (even if they aren’t even born yet). Fight for it…

Obama says Energy Bill is priority this summer.

Not good for CIR. My heart goes out to those affected by the oil spill, but also to the ~15 million immigrants (3-4 million legal) whose lives are affected every day that the CIR is pushed back further.
July 2010 builletin brought some good news regarding date moves. Check it out. EB2 India made a significant move. Several countries and categories made some move, which is good. For the vast majority, that’s EB3 and Other category, as well as family based immigrants, CIR is still our only hope.

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******* DID YOU CALL YOUR SENATOR?? COMMENT AND LET US KNOW IF YOU DID . PLEASE DO CALL (instructions below) - TO THE LEGAL IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY, YOUR CALL IS LIKE A BLOOD DONATION - WE NEED IT FOR SURVIVAL! **********

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Several reliable immigration sites and blogs, including one of my favorites, the immigration-law.com breaking news, had declared the CIR dead, though I still had high hopes that something would happen in 2010. It was widely believed that financial reform and climate change reform has put the CIR in the backburner. ALL THAT HAS CHANGED NOW!!

After the strict anti-immigrant law passed in Arizona last week which caused major debate and discomfort to some (which I don’t get - Illiegal immigration MUST BE curbed and hiring illegals needs to be stopped too, so why the big fuzz over the law), and some strong actions by pro-immigrant Senate Democrats to keep the CIR alive, it has made its way to the Senate!! The CIR Bill was introduced in the Senate on April 29th - here’s the draft.

Several sources have done a great job at ploughing through the bill to make it easier to understand. Here’s a direct copy-paste from immigration-law.com website for your reference.

NOTE: IMMIGRATION VOICE IS HOLDING A MASSIVE PHONE CAMPAIGN TO CONTACT SENATORS AND TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR SITUATION AND YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE CIR.

Immigration Voice Phone Campaign

I don’t always love everything that the Immigration Voice does (and I have NOTHING to do with them) but this one is a GREAT idea. I called and I think you should all call. TOGETHER, we can make a difference.

I will be writing a regular update on the CIR on this blog. This is something that affects me and many family/friends and endless waiters closely. Tell me about your thoughts on this,..

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04/29/2010: Senate Democrat CIR Proposal: L-1 Reform Part

• • Limit L-1 numbers for employers hiring 50 or more workers
  • Limit of L-1B of client-site services to one-year visa only, with waiver in the discretion of DHS
  • Changes in:
    • New Office L-1 requirements
    • Wage rates and work condition requirements
    • Employer penalty
    • Reenforced DHS authority to investigate noncompliance employers

04/29/2010: Senate Democrat CIR Proposal: H-1B Reform Part

• • Changes in H-1B application requirements:
    • Revise wage determination requirements
    • Require Internet posting
    • Lengthen US worker “displacement” protection period
    • Require current H-1B dependent employer restrictions to all H-1B employers
    • Prohibition of advertisement requiring H-1B nonimmigrants
    • Limit H-1B numbers for employers hiring 50 or more workers
  • DOL enforcement authrity:
    • Investigation for frauds
    • H-1B compliance audits

04/29/2010: Senate Democrat CIR Proposal: Employment-Based “Immigration”

• • Elimination of per country limit (cap) for employment-based immigration categories
  • Recapture of unused visa numbers
  • Immediate Green Card available for U.S. STEM Advance Degree holders with job offered in the STEM fields
  • Dual Intent of foreign students entering the country to study STEM

04/29/2010: Senate Democrat CIR Proposal: Legalization of 10.8 Million Illegal Aliens

• Initial Threshold requirements:
  • Currently in the U.S.
  • No criminal record of federal or state felony or three or more misdemeanors
  • No history of participation in persecution of others
  • Not inadmissible under 212(a) of Immigration & Nationality Act in certain categories including national security or criminal grounds
  • Currently “not” in an authorized immigrant or nonimmigrant status (only illegal aliens are eligible)
  • Entered the U.S. without inspection (EWI) “after” the date of “introduction of this bill.” In other words, EWIs are eligible inasmuch as they entered before the bill is introduced.
• Step I mandatory legalization application process:
  • Come out of closet, register, and go through biometrics, name checks, security checks.
• Step II Reside and Travel on interim Lawful Prosepctive Immigrant (LPI) status for 8 years (Back of the Line Provision)
• Step III Apply for Green Card (I-485) and meet the following requirements for eligibility:
  • Pass Basic Citizenship Skill test
  • Pass English Language Skill test
  • Proof of “continuous” residence since registration
  • Pass terrorism, criminal history, and other security and name checks
  • Proof of payment of all federal income taxes, fees, civil penalties
  • Proof of compliance with Registration for Selective Services for certain age applicants.
• Step IV Following-to-Join Immigrant Spouse and Children Abroad
  • Once LPR is granted through the foregoing steps, his or her spouse and children overseas will be eligible for application for immigrant visas.

04/29/2010: Senate Democrat CIR Proposal: Legalization of Illegal Aliens

• Three programs:
  • Legalization of 10.8 million aliens currently in the U.S. with no legal status
  • DREAM Act for youngsters
  • AgJOBS Act for farm workers and adjustment of status
• We will see the first program in details.

04/29/2010: Senate Democrat CIR Proposal: Family-Based Immigration Program Reform

• • Recapture of unused visa numbers
  • Backlog elimination within 8 years
  • Spouses and children of LPR considered “immediate relatives” and not subject to immigrant visa quota just like spouses and children of USC under the present system
  • Change per country family immigration limit from current 7% to 10% of total admissions
  • Immigrant benefits for widows and orphants of USC
  • Permanent partners (gays) of USC or LPR eligible for green card just like those spouses of USC or LPR
  • Exempt of children of Filipino WW II veterans from immigrant numerical limitation
  • Certain special protections for children and people with humanitarian considerations
  • Reform to stepchildren and adoptive children programs

04/29/2010: Senate Democrat CIR Proposal: Other Employment-Based Visa Program Reforms

• • New visas to promote property ownership by foreign nationals for enhancement of housing marked
  • Eliminate sunset date and make permanent R-1 religious worker program
  • Eliminate sunset date and make permanent Conrad 30 J-1 for international medical graduates
  • H-1B and J-1 program reform for international medical graduates to make easily obtainerable and to allow easier path to green card down the road
  • E-3 visa which is currently available for Australian will be extended to Ntionals of Ireland
  • Fashion models visa shifted from current H-1B visa to O or P visa
  • Nurse and physical therapist shortage alleviation program
  • Technical change to EB-5 investor program

Obama sounds like a hardened politician. The remark about wanting to BEGIN the CIR in 2010 means he obviously doesn’t want to pass it this year before the elections in November. He wants to do it next year and that can be a disaster if the Democrats don’t continue to keep a significant majority at the Congress like they do now.

Dear Mr. Obama, please don’t play games with us! Man up and either go for it or back out! What’s the point of BEGINNING in 2010? We’ve seen it begun and fail in 2006 and 2007. We’ve seen it begin in 2008 and 2009. We’ve waited 10 years for a green card. If your kids went through that, you wouldn’t talk about beginning in 2010, you’d want it done!

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The recent draft CIR bill that the Senate Democrats introduced includes some VERY VERY helpful clauses for STEM graduates from US Universities. I wrote about that last week and someone asked me - what the heck is STEM.

It’s simply Science Technology Engineering Math. These are the areas where US has shown a demonstrated shortage of highly skilled workforce. Has nothing to do with Stem Cell research, even though that might come under Science.

So is your degree STEM? Here’s an answer.

So STEM grads, keep your fingers crossed, and, if you were planning to leave a STEM related job for another, this may not be the best time, wait a year if you can, unless you don’t care about eco-friendly cards…ok, no time for humor..green cards…