
SAP
04-07 03:36 PM
Folks,
can i invoke a AC21 on future gc..I did not work for this company, i am tired of my current company, they have exploited me and my personality is changing and i forgotten to live life, want to port and move on to a new company ? is AC21 on future GC consider legal or fraud.?
Future GC labor PD : Dec 2002
Category: EB3.
I140 : approved 2004
I485: RFE on expired medicals; new medicals submitted.
EAD/AP : so far five renewals( though i did not use EAD i did use AP for travel)
Will a letter from the future GC compnay stating the position is no longer availablle due to this enormous amount of time suffice ?
your postive comments and if you have been in this situation pls tell me how you managed.
Thanks
SAP
can i invoke a AC21 on future gc..I did not work for this company, i am tired of my current company, they have exploited me and my personality is changing and i forgotten to live life, want to port and move on to a new company ? is AC21 on future GC consider legal or fraud.?
Future GC labor PD : Dec 2002
Category: EB3.
I140 : approved 2004
I485: RFE on expired medicals; new medicals submitted.
EAD/AP : so far five renewals( though i did not use EAD i did use AP for travel)
Will a letter from the future GC compnay stating the position is no longer availablle due to this enormous amount of time suffice ?
your postive comments and if you have been in this situation pls tell me how you managed.
Thanks
SAP

sdeshpan
06-24 06:18 PM
Remember you are bonded labor if you are on H1B or Work Permit. They will use you & your illegal brothers every election year and this is one of those years ..... everything is chatter until something heppens.
Don't get your hopes high.... just get your head down and work for them.
and what's the point of posting this twice...10 minutes apart? Those who will, will take your point! :)
Don't get your hopes high.... just get your head down and work for them.
and what's the point of posting this twice...10 minutes apart? Those who will, will take your point! :)

sam_hoosier
05-07 03:58 PM
I am suspecting it will not be favorable at all
Stop scaring people :) We have absolutely no way of knowing what the new regulations would be.
Stop scaring people :) We have absolutely no way of knowing what the new regulations would be.

number30
03-28 04:14 PM
Where did you send it? Tax returns with ITIN Requests will go to different address.
more...

Kitiara
06-14 08:01 AM
Well, poll is over, and Soul wins with 29 votes. :)
Normally this calls for some kind of congratulations, but in the light of how truly awful that site is, I'm not sure.... :)
You're a very bad man. :) :beam:
Well done all. :)
Normally this calls for some kind of congratulations, but in the light of how truly awful that site is, I'm not sure.... :)
You're a very bad man. :) :beam:
Well done all. :)

nmdial
04-21 01:48 PM
Welcome to H city! SugarLand and Katy have very good neighborhoods with lots of desis. A lot depends upon where your office located. Cost of living is in Houston is low compared to LA, NY. Homes are "affordable". But property taxes are high (average is above 3%). Food, gas and misc. services are cheap. Insurance and utility costs are high though. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Thanks.
Thanks.
more...

ivvm
03-24 04:20 PM
Mark, This was indeed excellent!

kevinkris
11-17 02:12 PM
Since you applied for H1 extension it means that you are out of parolee status
and on H1 again.
Get visa stamping next time when you go for home country and come on H1 instead of using AP.
Use AP only if GC is approved when you are outside of country..
I think it's little risk if AP is approved and you are outside of country and wants to use it. They prohibit sending AP on postal mail.
All,
Any help in answering my queries is appreciated.
Thanks
and on H1 again.
Get visa stamping next time when you go for home country and come on H1 instead of using AP.
Use AP only if GC is approved when you are outside of country..
I think it's little risk if AP is approved and you are outside of country and wants to use it. They prohibit sending AP on postal mail.
All,
Any help in answering my queries is appreciated.
Thanks
more...

Jeff Wheeler
11-27 04:04 AM
I find that Silverlight and related .NET stuff works extremely well cross-platform. Apps like Banshee (http://banshee-project.org/) are cross-platform (really, not like Flash and AIR which suck on Linux and Mac) and work wonderfully on every platform (alright, bad example: there’s not a Windows port at the moment, because of the underlying audio libraries, but it’s all C# stuff).
Mono is implementing a really nice open-source version of Silverlight (I forget its name), and Silverlight works great on Mac.
Mono is implementing a really nice open-source version of Silverlight (I forget its name), and Silverlight works great on Mac.

mugwump
11-30 12:24 PM
I have also applied for the canadian PR 1.5 months ago. Yesterday I got a letter from canadian consulate to sit for IELTS as I am clamming 16 points on language skill with supporting documents. Now, I do not want to sit for IELTS..is there any way out? Do you guys know any small consulting firm in canada who can give me a HRSDC approved job offer? I will not mind to work for them for a year if I get my PR (it's better then waiting for GC for another 10 years)...
I had sent my application 3 months ago w/o IELTS and had given myself 16 points. I did write a paragraph explaining that throughout my schooling in India the medium of instruction was english and i have an American bachelors degree and have been working here.
Last month I got a letter from Buffalo asking me to submit results of IELTS exam that substantiates my assesment of 16 points. It also said that if i did not submit IELTS results they will evaluate and assess points on their own.
I am planning to take the exam, since i am border line with 70 points and can not afford to loose points. But if you have say 80-85 points, you may not take it and let them assess you whatever they want, may be 8 or even less points and you could still qualify.
I had sent my application 3 months ago w/o IELTS and had given myself 16 points. I did write a paragraph explaining that throughout my schooling in India the medium of instruction was english and i have an American bachelors degree and have been working here.
Last month I got a letter from Buffalo asking me to submit results of IELTS exam that substantiates my assesment of 16 points. It also said that if i did not submit IELTS results they will evaluate and assess points on their own.
I am planning to take the exam, since i am border line with 70 points and can not afford to loose points. But if you have say 80-85 points, you may not take it and let them assess you whatever they want, may be 8 or even less points and you could still qualify.
more...

phillyag
07-20 02:09 PM
As my employer wants it - only apply 90 days prior to H1 expiration.
This situation can lead me into limbo state. EAD pending and H1 expired !
What would happen then ?
This situation can lead me into limbo state. EAD pending and H1 expired !
What would happen then ?

Friend
02-18 10:21 PM
Unfortunately, we won't be able to do anything in your wife's matter. The people you are referring to as the ones whose cases got accepted are the ones with bounced checks. There is a difference between the manner in which USCIS treats cases with bounced checks and cases where checks are missing, are in an incorrect amount, there is a mismatch between words and figures in the check, check is not dated, check is not signed, etc.
In the first category, there is prima fascie evidecne that the check is in the proper amount, check is dated, signed, made payable to the proper authority. In those cases, the USCIS considers bounced checks as a matter for collection. The reason that there is a difference is that in the first case, the properly signed check IS NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENT AND COMPLETELY VALID UNDER LAW.
In your case, the check was deficient because it put the party (the USCIS/Government) on notice of a defect. A party to whom a defective negotiable instrument is given with notice of the defect does not become a HOLDER IN DUE COURSE (VERY IMPORTANT UNDER THE LAW ). IN OTHER WORDS, THE CHECK LOSES ITS POWER OF NEGOTIABILITY UNDER LAW. Even if the Check is deficient that it does not affect its negotiability ( for example, check is not dated, or the check only contains the amount in words), the party to whom it is presented is under no liability to accept the check. For these reasons, THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR WIFE'S MATTER AND THE EXAMPLES YOU PROVIDE.
For this reason, I advised you to wait until the PD for your category become current again.
In the first category, there is prima fascie evidecne that the check is in the proper amount, check is dated, signed, made payable to the proper authority. In those cases, the USCIS considers bounced checks as a matter for collection. The reason that there is a difference is that in the first case, the properly signed check IS NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENT AND COMPLETELY VALID UNDER LAW.
In your case, the check was deficient because it put the party (the USCIS/Government) on notice of a defect. A party to whom a defective negotiable instrument is given with notice of the defect does not become a HOLDER IN DUE COURSE (VERY IMPORTANT UNDER THE LAW ). IN OTHER WORDS, THE CHECK LOSES ITS POWER OF NEGOTIABILITY UNDER LAW. Even if the Check is deficient that it does not affect its negotiability ( for example, check is not dated, or the check only contains the amount in words), the party to whom it is presented is under no liability to accept the check. For these reasons, THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR WIFE'S MATTER AND THE EXAMPLES YOU PROVIDE.
For this reason, I advised you to wait until the PD for your category become current again.
more...

newuser
08-17 09:58 AM
PA dmv sucks..dont worry ...try next day or evening in the same time form diffrent officer...they are some time stupid and they don't know what they are talking..
Take all necessary documents try more times..some officers gives some dont..becuase some of my friend has same issue..they got it...from diffrent officers...dont worry
I agree with what gcganapati said. Some of folks in these centre's have no idea about these docments. I had mine renewed twice before. First time, I did renew online and they sent a receipt that I took to the DMV center, no problem at all.
Second time, as we want to change the address, they started asking all the documents like 485 receipt notice, EAD, proof of address. It took half hour for them to check in their system (God knows what they are checking) and issued the license.
If its very urgent, try other DMV center's or pay the fee online and take the receipt and get the license renewed at the DMV center.
Take all necessary documents try more times..some officers gives some dont..becuase some of my friend has same issue..they got it...from diffrent officers...dont worry
I agree with what gcganapati said. Some of folks in these centre's have no idea about these docments. I had mine renewed twice before. First time, I did renew online and they sent a receipt that I took to the DMV center, no problem at all.
Second time, as we want to change the address, they started asking all the documents like 485 receipt notice, EAD, proof of address. It took half hour for them to check in their system (God knows what they are checking) and issued the license.
If its very urgent, try other DMV center's or pay the fee online and take the receipt and get the license renewed at the DMV center.

zCool
04-03 03:35 PM
See below for answers:
Hi there,
this is going to be a bit complicated but I'd appreciate any thoughts (or even just the advice to go get a/which lawyer for this one)....
Anyway, I am on an H1B right now but am going to switch jobs. My understanding is that once the new petition is filed I can start working for the second employer. I also would like to travel home during this time... So, here are my questions:
- Can you work for 2 employers at the same time while making the switch?
-- Simple words. NO. If you want to be on the payroll of 2 full-time employers at the same time, unless otherwise it is mentioned so in LCA it's illegal.
That does not stop you from holding approved H1b Petitions from 2 (or for that matter more than 2) employers at the same time. But you can only work for 1 employer.
- How long does it take to file a petition (can i/my new employer do that myself)? If no, any advice on which lawyer to pick??? Anybody heard of Visa PRO?
-- It should take less than 3 days. If an attorney has previously worked with your employer and has their records on the file etc. then maybe less. A lot of h1b and LCA application documentation involves writing big statements and letters related to employer's business, their need for your speciality skills etc. First time applications for any new employer-attorney pair will take couple of days to prepare these docs.
Good part is you can apply and get receipt in couple of weeks (Earlier if you apply in Premium) and then you are allowed to work for new employer.
- Is traveling to my home country OK while filing the petition or is it better to wait until I come back?
-- It it better to wait. Coz any travel outside can get you stranded if something goes wrong. but if you MUST travel then postpone change of employer till you come back. Meaning you can apply for h1 from new employer but do not join them, Continue working for your current employer. Go visit india, come back , join your current employer and then after 1 paycheck at least give notice and work for new employer. Hopefulyl by then your transfer would have come thro' there by reducing your risk of joining them before h1 approval and then RFE or denial creating issues for you.
Thanks a lot!
BTW, as queries go.. this one wasn't complicated :) Relax!
Hi there,
this is going to be a bit complicated but I'd appreciate any thoughts (or even just the advice to go get a/which lawyer for this one)....
Anyway, I am on an H1B right now but am going to switch jobs. My understanding is that once the new petition is filed I can start working for the second employer. I also would like to travel home during this time... So, here are my questions:
- Can you work for 2 employers at the same time while making the switch?
-- Simple words. NO. If you want to be on the payroll of 2 full-time employers at the same time, unless otherwise it is mentioned so in LCA it's illegal.
That does not stop you from holding approved H1b Petitions from 2 (or for that matter more than 2) employers at the same time. But you can only work for 1 employer.
- How long does it take to file a petition (can i/my new employer do that myself)? If no, any advice on which lawyer to pick??? Anybody heard of Visa PRO?
-- It should take less than 3 days. If an attorney has previously worked with your employer and has their records on the file etc. then maybe less. A lot of h1b and LCA application documentation involves writing big statements and letters related to employer's business, their need for your speciality skills etc. First time applications for any new employer-attorney pair will take couple of days to prepare these docs.
Good part is you can apply and get receipt in couple of weeks (Earlier if you apply in Premium) and then you are allowed to work for new employer.
- Is traveling to my home country OK while filing the petition or is it better to wait until I come back?
-- It it better to wait. Coz any travel outside can get you stranded if something goes wrong. but if you MUST travel then postpone change of employer till you come back. Meaning you can apply for h1 from new employer but do not join them, Continue working for your current employer. Go visit india, come back , join your current employer and then after 1 paycheck at least give notice and work for new employer. Hopefulyl by then your transfer would have come thro' there by reducing your risk of joining them before h1 approval and then RFE or denial creating issues for you.
Thanks a lot!
BTW, as queries go.. this one wasn't complicated :) Relax!
more...

Mount Soche
09-23 12:07 PM
I am a July 17th filer and my attorney received my receipts for EAD, AP and AOS on September 18th. The attorney says I should get my copy of the receipts but I haven't received anything as of today (September 23rd). Lawyer gave me receipt numbers and will send me a copy but I don't think it is necessary to have the originals.

CrazyWorld
08-04 05:42 PM
I don't have A# on my approved I-140.
My I-140 got approved in Jun 06.
May be they started adding A#'s after Jun 06 OR they include A#'s only for concurrent filers.
India EB2; PD - Nov 05
I-140 - Filed Mar '06; Approved Jun '06
I-485 - Reached NSC July 26'07;
My I-140 got approved in Jun 06.
May be they started adding A#'s after Jun 06 OR they include A#'s only for concurrent filers.
India EB2; PD - Nov 05
I-140 - Filed Mar '06; Approved Jun '06
I-485 - Reached NSC July 26'07;
more...

gc_check
07-12 05:51 AM
Our lawyer Company has decided to file the AOS application in July
I work for a big 5 Software company & our lawyer Littler Global had taken a stand on July that they will not file our AOS application after the June VB was revoked/amended on July 2nd.
Surprisingly , today we have received a mail from them that that keeping in view our best interest they have decided to file our AOS case in July regardless of CIS receipting them.
Wanted to share this information as it may be helpful for you folks too ...
Vivek
Looks like most of the Attorney's who told, they will not file after the July 2nd revision of VB, are now planning to file anyway. Think the decission could have influenced after the Tuesday's Aila Conf. Call. My Attorney finally gave updates that they would have all the 485's completed and ready to go while monitoring the situation and action of AILA/USCIS and will file if is of the best interest to the applicant. Also, the reason they are holding back now is also, what if, USCIS neither receipts nor rejects the applications and hold them and argue they cannot take an action as the cases are subject to litigation.... then it could be even worse.... Any thoughts on this...Folks share your communication with your attorney's if any details worth sharing.
I work for a big 5 Software company & our lawyer Littler Global had taken a stand on July that they will not file our AOS application after the June VB was revoked/amended on July 2nd.
Surprisingly , today we have received a mail from them that that keeping in view our best interest they have decided to file our AOS case in July regardless of CIS receipting them.
Wanted to share this information as it may be helpful for you folks too ...
Vivek
Looks like most of the Attorney's who told, they will not file after the July 2nd revision of VB, are now planning to file anyway. Think the decission could have influenced after the Tuesday's Aila Conf. Call. My Attorney finally gave updates that they would have all the 485's completed and ready to go while monitoring the situation and action of AILA/USCIS and will file if is of the best interest to the applicant. Also, the reason they are holding back now is also, what if, USCIS neither receipts nor rejects the applications and hold them and argue they cannot take an action as the cases are subject to litigation.... then it could be even worse.... Any thoughts on this...Folks share your communication with your attorney's if any details worth sharing.

ABC of GC
06-08 06:30 AM
Its not abt H1-B abuse, its abt the way it was brought up. Instead of looking into his own house (USCIS and DOL) Sen.Durbin held Indian companies responsible and almost started bashing them. Little did he anticipate that they will come back in this way.
H1-B abuse is a different issue. Sen. Durbin should have looked into rulemaking part of the game than bashing players of the game.
When the US was instrumental in doing WTO negotiations during late 90's (BTW-your's truely grew up during that period witnessing this through newspaper articles - was an exact reversal of roles played by India and US then)they never realized that globalizing markets would lead to globalizing labor market also. Now, IT has become a virtual industry with a pretty much open labor market. Professionals making Rs.50000 ($1200) are competing with those making $5000 a month. US politicians made a classic judgement error in 90's. Now, protectionist measures are being brought in by the very same people who championed globalization for a decade.
The letter puts things in perspective for sen. Durbin. It seems to carry a veiled warning about backlash of these protectionist measures on the US companies doing business in India. Starting from McDonalds,subway,coke (now even Walmart) to Ford, GM, IBM, Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, Abott, J&J, JP Morgan, Bank of America and many more have huge business interests in India. The size of Indian market totals upto atleast 0.8 billion human individuals with need for housing, auto, computers, electronics, healthcare, finance, consumer products etc. Losing an inch of it can make an international co. nervous.
As far as Indian consumers go they now have options- British, German, Japanese, French and now even the Indian companies.
Durbin tried to scare a cat, unfortunately for him it turned out to be a big wild cat- aTiger.
Well Said
H1-B abuse is a different issue. Sen. Durbin should have looked into rulemaking part of the game than bashing players of the game.
When the US was instrumental in doing WTO negotiations during late 90's (BTW-your's truely grew up during that period witnessing this through newspaper articles - was an exact reversal of roles played by India and US then)they never realized that globalizing markets would lead to globalizing labor market also. Now, IT has become a virtual industry with a pretty much open labor market. Professionals making Rs.50000 ($1200) are competing with those making $5000 a month. US politicians made a classic judgement error in 90's. Now, protectionist measures are being brought in by the very same people who championed globalization for a decade.
The letter puts things in perspective for sen. Durbin. It seems to carry a veiled warning about backlash of these protectionist measures on the US companies doing business in India. Starting from McDonalds,subway,coke (now even Walmart) to Ford, GM, IBM, Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, Abott, J&J, JP Morgan, Bank of America and many more have huge business interests in India. The size of Indian market totals upto atleast 0.8 billion human individuals with need for housing, auto, computers, electronics, healthcare, finance, consumer products etc. Losing an inch of it can make an international co. nervous.
As far as Indian consumers go they now have options- British, German, Japanese, French and now even the Indian companies.
Durbin tried to scare a cat, unfortunately for him it turned out to be a big wild cat- aTiger.
Well Said

willgetgc2005
02-14 05:19 PM
Berkeleybee
On a similar note, please see what the President had to say yesterday. These are softer issues, but will help us.
Pls see the link.
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/feb/14nri.htm
NRI picks top US tech award for Motorola
Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC | February 14, 2006
Padmasree Warrior, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Motorola, and the driving force behind the company's recent growth and innovative successes, accepted the 2004 National Medal of Technology Award from President George W Bush on behalf of her company at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on February 13.
Warrior is also responsible for the success of Motorola Labs, the global software group and emerging early-stage businesses of the company. Her operational responsibilities include leading a global team of 4,600 technologists, prioritising technology programmes, creating value from intellectual property, guiding creative research from innovation through early-stage commercialisation, and influencing standards and roadmaps.
She also serves as a technology advisor to the office of the chairman and to the board's technology and design steering committee.
The prestigious National Medal of Technology annual award recognised Motorola for its outstanding contributions to America's technological innovation and competitiveness.
Established in 1980 by an Act of US Congress, this is the highest honour awarded by the President to America's leading innovators.
Ed Zander, Motorola chairman and chief executive officer, said, "All of us at Motorola are honoured to receive the National Medal of Technology from the President."
"This award belongs not only to the talented employees of today but to the several generations of Motorolans who built our heritage of innovation. Given this heritage, we strongly support the President's plan to keep America the world's most competitive and innovative nation," he added.
Warrior has been with Motorla since 1994 and is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (from where she received her bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering). She then obtained her master of science degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University.
"We applaud the Administration for proposing increased investments in R&D, in particular for the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) at Commerce and the National Science Foundation," said Warrior.
"From convergence to mobile Internet to nanotechnology, we must educate, excite and inspire our nation's children about science, technology, engineering and mathematics," she said.
In an interview with rediff.com, immediately after accepting the award, Warrior said, "It's a great honour, I feel really humbled, and I feel very happy for all of our engineers worldwide, because the award is really theirs."
She said being in the company of several other leading scientists and technologists who were also awarded the National Medical of Science and the National Medal of Technology Award, "who made these great breakthroughs in the fields of science and technology was very inspiring to me to be amongst of the company of these people."
Warrior said while giving her the medal at the awards ceremony and also preceding the ceremony "he (President Bush) talked quite a lot to me and asked me if I was from India and I said, 'Yes, I came to the US on a student visa to go to graduate school and then stayed here.' And he said 'we need more people like you. We need more talented people from around the world to come and contribute and help our economy grow and build our innovative strengths to be competitive.'"
She said Bush had also told her that he was looking forward to his visit to India. "He said, 'I am going to India in a couple of weeks and I'll be meeting once again with my good friend, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.'"Bush in his remarks before presenting the National Medals of Science and Technology, declared, "It is a honour to be in the company of so many bright and distinguished Americans. Each of our honorees has been blessed with talent, and each has used their talent to the fullest."
"The work we honour today has improved the lives of people everywhere. It has helped to move our economy forward and it has helped to make sure that America is the leader of innovation in our world. The medals are our nation's way of expressing gratitude to gifted and visionary citizens."
Bush said that these annual awards "are the highest award a President can bestow for astounding achievement in science and technology. They recognise work that has helped expand the horizons of human knowledge. The National Medal of Science honors those whose research has enhanced our understanding of life and the world around us. And the National Medal of Technology recognises innovators whose work keeps America on the cutting edge with discoveries that change the way we live."
On a similar note, please see what the President had to say yesterday. These are softer issues, but will help us.
Pls see the link.
http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/feb/14nri.htm
NRI picks top US tech award for Motorola
Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC | February 14, 2006
Padmasree Warrior, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Motorola, and the driving force behind the company's recent growth and innovative successes, accepted the 2004 National Medal of Technology Award from President George W Bush on behalf of her company at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on February 13.
Warrior is also responsible for the success of Motorola Labs, the global software group and emerging early-stage businesses of the company. Her operational responsibilities include leading a global team of 4,600 technologists, prioritising technology programmes, creating value from intellectual property, guiding creative research from innovation through early-stage commercialisation, and influencing standards and roadmaps.
She also serves as a technology advisor to the office of the chairman and to the board's technology and design steering committee.
The prestigious National Medal of Technology annual award recognised Motorola for its outstanding contributions to America's technological innovation and competitiveness.
Established in 1980 by an Act of US Congress, this is the highest honour awarded by the President to America's leading innovators.
Ed Zander, Motorola chairman and chief executive officer, said, "All of us at Motorola are honoured to receive the National Medal of Technology from the President."
"This award belongs not only to the talented employees of today but to the several generations of Motorolans who built our heritage of innovation. Given this heritage, we strongly support the President's plan to keep America the world's most competitive and innovative nation," he added.
Warrior has been with Motorla since 1994 and is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (from where she received her bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering). She then obtained her master of science degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University.
"We applaud the Administration for proposing increased investments in R&D, in particular for the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) at Commerce and the National Science Foundation," said Warrior.
"From convergence to mobile Internet to nanotechnology, we must educate, excite and inspire our nation's children about science, technology, engineering and mathematics," she said.
In an interview with rediff.com, immediately after accepting the award, Warrior said, "It's a great honour, I feel really humbled, and I feel very happy for all of our engineers worldwide, because the award is really theirs."
She said being in the company of several other leading scientists and technologists who were also awarded the National Medical of Science and the National Medal of Technology Award, "who made these great breakthroughs in the fields of science and technology was very inspiring to me to be amongst of the company of these people."
Warrior said while giving her the medal at the awards ceremony and also preceding the ceremony "he (President Bush) talked quite a lot to me and asked me if I was from India and I said, 'Yes, I came to the US on a student visa to go to graduate school and then stayed here.' And he said 'we need more people like you. We need more talented people from around the world to come and contribute and help our economy grow and build our innovative strengths to be competitive.'"
She said Bush had also told her that he was looking forward to his visit to India. "He said, 'I am going to India in a couple of weeks and I'll be meeting once again with my good friend, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.'"Bush in his remarks before presenting the National Medals of Science and Technology, declared, "It is a honour to be in the company of so many bright and distinguished Americans. Each of our honorees has been blessed with talent, and each has used their talent to the fullest."
"The work we honour today has improved the lives of people everywhere. It has helped to move our economy forward and it has helped to make sure that America is the leader of innovation in our world. The medals are our nation's way of expressing gratitude to gifted and visionary citizens."
Bush said that these annual awards "are the highest award a President can bestow for astounding achievement in science and technology. They recognise work that has helped expand the horizons of human knowledge. The National Medal of Science honors those whose research has enhanced our understanding of life and the world around us. And the National Medal of Technology recognises innovators whose work keeps America on the cutting edge with discoveries that change the way we live."
carbon
09-19 12:46 PM
Looks like the article is coming straight out of NumberUSA's mouth!
manderson
09-19 08:06 AM
If you were to set out to design a story that would inflame populist rage, it might involve immigrants from poor countries, living in the United States without permission to work, hiring powerful Washington lobbyists to press their case. In late April, The Washington Post reported just such a development. The immigrants in question were highly skilled � the programmers and doctors and investment analysts that American business seeks out through so-called H-1B visas, and who are eligible for tens of thousands of "green cards," or permanent work permits, each year. But bureaucracy and an affirmative-action-style system of national-origin quotas have created a mess. India and China account for almost 40 percent of the world's population, yet neither can claim much more than 7 percent of the green cards. Hence a half-million-person backlog and a new political pressure group, which calls itself Immigration Voice.
The group's efforts will be a test of the commonly expressed view that Americans are not opposed to immigration, only to illegal immigration. Immigration Voice represents the kind of immigrants whose economic contributions are obvious. It is not a coincidence that the land of the H-1B is also the land of the iPod. Such immigrants are not "cutting in line" � they're petitioning for pre-job documentation, not for post-job amnesty. And people who have undergone 18 years of schooling to learn how to manipulate advanced technology come pre-Americanized, in a way that agricultural workers may not.
But Immigration Voice could still wind up crying in the wilderness. As the Boston College political scientist Peter Skerry has noted, many of the things that bug people about undocumented workers are also true of documented ones. Legal immigrants, too, increase crowding, compete for jobs and government services and create an atmosphere of transience and disruption. Indeed, it may be harder for foreign-born engineers to win the same grip on the sympathies of native-born Americans that undocumented farm laborers and political refugees have. Skilled immigrants can't be understood through the usual paradigms of victimhood.
The economists Philip Martin, Manolo Abella and Christiane Kuptsch noted in a recent book, "As a general rule, the more difficult it is to migrate from one country to another, the higher the percentage of professionals among the migrants from that country." Often this means that the more "backward" the country, the more "sophisticated" the immigrants it supplies. Sixty percent of the Egyptians, Ghanaians and South Africans in the U.S. � and 75 percent of Indians � have more than 13 years of schooling. Their home countries are not educational powerhouses, yet as individuals, they are more highly educated than a great many of the Americans they live among. (This poses an interesting problem for Immigration Voice, which polices its Web forums for condescending remarks toward manual laborers.)
So how are we supposed to address the special needs of this class of migrant? For the most part, we don't. The differences between skilled and unskilled immigrants are important, but that doesn't mean that they are always readily comprehensible either to politicians or to public opinion. When high-skilled immigrants who are already like us show themselves willing to become even more so, jumping every hoop to join us on a legal footing, it dissolves a lot of resistance. But it doesn't dissolve everything. It doesn't dissolve our sense that people like them are different and potentially even threatening.
If we consider our own internal migration of recent decades, this will not surprise us. You would have expected that big movements of people between states � particularly from the North to the Sun Belt and from Pacific Coast cities to Rocky Mountain towns � would cause increasing uniformity and unanimity. But that didn't happen. Instead, this big migration has coincided with the much harped-on polarization between "red" and "blue" America.
Georgians take up jobs on Wall Street and New Englanders unload their U-Hauls in Texas. The sky doesn't fall � but neither do cultural or political tensions between respective regions of the country. Consider the diatribes that followed the last election, in which "red" America stood accused of everything from ignorance and bloodlust to knee-jerk conformity. Or consider North Carolina. As the state filled up with new arrivals from such liberal states as New York and New Jersey, political pundits predicted the demise of its longtime ultraconservative senator Jesse Helms. But Helms won elections until he retired in 2002, largely because many of those transplants voted for him enthusiastically. The sort of Yankees who moved to North Carolina had little trouble adopting the political outlook of their new neighbors. But you didn't notice North Carolinians begging for more of them.
While Immigration Voice looks like an immigrant movement that Americans can rally behind, its prospects are mixed. A recent measure sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania to nearly double the number of H-1B visas was passed through committee, then killed and then revived. The fate of skilled immigrants hinges on public opinion, and that is hard to gauge. Even an employer delighted to sponsor an H-1B immigrant for a green card might have no particular political commitment to defending the program, or to wringing inefficiencies out of it. The arrival of skilled individuals arguably makes America a more American place. But not necessarily a more welcoming one. Christopher Caldwell is a contributing writer for the magazine.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company. Reprinted from The New York Times Magazine of Sunday, May 6, 2006.
The group's efforts will be a test of the commonly expressed view that Americans are not opposed to immigration, only to illegal immigration. Immigration Voice represents the kind of immigrants whose economic contributions are obvious. It is not a coincidence that the land of the H-1B is also the land of the iPod. Such immigrants are not "cutting in line" � they're petitioning for pre-job documentation, not for post-job amnesty. And people who have undergone 18 years of schooling to learn how to manipulate advanced technology come pre-Americanized, in a way that agricultural workers may not.
But Immigration Voice could still wind up crying in the wilderness. As the Boston College political scientist Peter Skerry has noted, many of the things that bug people about undocumented workers are also true of documented ones. Legal immigrants, too, increase crowding, compete for jobs and government services and create an atmosphere of transience and disruption. Indeed, it may be harder for foreign-born engineers to win the same grip on the sympathies of native-born Americans that undocumented farm laborers and political refugees have. Skilled immigrants can't be understood through the usual paradigms of victimhood.
The economists Philip Martin, Manolo Abella and Christiane Kuptsch noted in a recent book, "As a general rule, the more difficult it is to migrate from one country to another, the higher the percentage of professionals among the migrants from that country." Often this means that the more "backward" the country, the more "sophisticated" the immigrants it supplies. Sixty percent of the Egyptians, Ghanaians and South Africans in the U.S. � and 75 percent of Indians � have more than 13 years of schooling. Their home countries are not educational powerhouses, yet as individuals, they are more highly educated than a great many of the Americans they live among. (This poses an interesting problem for Immigration Voice, which polices its Web forums for condescending remarks toward manual laborers.)
So how are we supposed to address the special needs of this class of migrant? For the most part, we don't. The differences between skilled and unskilled immigrants are important, but that doesn't mean that they are always readily comprehensible either to politicians or to public opinion. When high-skilled immigrants who are already like us show themselves willing to become even more so, jumping every hoop to join us on a legal footing, it dissolves a lot of resistance. But it doesn't dissolve everything. It doesn't dissolve our sense that people like them are different and potentially even threatening.
If we consider our own internal migration of recent decades, this will not surprise us. You would have expected that big movements of people between states � particularly from the North to the Sun Belt and from Pacific Coast cities to Rocky Mountain towns � would cause increasing uniformity and unanimity. But that didn't happen. Instead, this big migration has coincided with the much harped-on polarization between "red" and "blue" America.
Georgians take up jobs on Wall Street and New Englanders unload their U-Hauls in Texas. The sky doesn't fall � but neither do cultural or political tensions between respective regions of the country. Consider the diatribes that followed the last election, in which "red" America stood accused of everything from ignorance and bloodlust to knee-jerk conformity. Or consider North Carolina. As the state filled up with new arrivals from such liberal states as New York and New Jersey, political pundits predicted the demise of its longtime ultraconservative senator Jesse Helms. But Helms won elections until he retired in 2002, largely because many of those transplants voted for him enthusiastically. The sort of Yankees who moved to North Carolina had little trouble adopting the political outlook of their new neighbors. But you didn't notice North Carolinians begging for more of them.
While Immigration Voice looks like an immigrant movement that Americans can rally behind, its prospects are mixed. A recent measure sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania to nearly double the number of H-1B visas was passed through committee, then killed and then revived. The fate of skilled immigrants hinges on public opinion, and that is hard to gauge. Even an employer delighted to sponsor an H-1B immigrant for a green card might have no particular political commitment to defending the program, or to wringing inefficiencies out of it. The arrival of skilled individuals arguably makes America a more American place. But not necessarily a more welcoming one. Christopher Caldwell is a contributing writer for the magazine.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company. Reprinted from The New York Times Magazine of Sunday, May 6, 2006.
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