perm
07-01 04:15 PM
Hi
I have a I131 (AP) renewal question. My first original AP was issued on Nov/2007. I understand that it expires in 1 year( I do not have the AP doc right in front of me right now). Also I traveled to Mexico in May 08 using AP and was stamped on AP as paroled until May 2009.
Is there a 120 day rule to file AP renewal (like the one for EAD)? Do I need to file for renewal of AP now (120 day before) or close to May 2009? I have filed for EAD renewal 1 month back and am still waiting for approval, will it cause any problems if I file for renewal while EAD renewal is pending?
I have a I131 (AP) renewal question. My first original AP was issued on Nov/2007. I understand that it expires in 1 year( I do not have the AP doc right in front of me right now). Also I traveled to Mexico in May 08 using AP and was stamped on AP as paroled until May 2009.
Is there a 120 day rule to file AP renewal (like the one for EAD)? Do I need to file for renewal of AP now (120 day before) or close to May 2009? I have filed for EAD renewal 1 month back and am still waiting for approval, will it cause any problems if I file for renewal while EAD renewal is pending?
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singhsa3
09-20 09:29 AM
I fully resonate with gc_chahiye;169769 . People like GooblyWoobly are good for nothing. They have no right to pick on one of our distinguish ,well respected and an active member. The Rally have been quite successful and have made people think about our issue.
Unfortunately, people like GooblyWoobly will also be benefited by the hard work of people like Franklin.
"Those people???". What do you mean by that? These are people who are trying to get permanent residency on their own right, based on the skills they have honed for years. I don't like the condescending tone of your voice. What makes you better?
ok, that really ticks me off. This post is probably going to get me a red splotch, but you should'nt have picked on Franklin:
I think all the work that Franklin did in preparation for the Rally and then at the Rally itself makes it obvious that she is better than most of the IV members (me included) who could not make it to the Rally.
If you dont like the condescending tone of the voice of someone who has worked hard for IVs goals, feel free to stop coming to IV and posting here. Honestly why should someone here care about whether you like the voice or not when the voice speaks the truth?
Look at all the blog posts and pictures of the DC Rally before saying anything against any of the volunteers who worked at the rally. unlike the people who are "trying to get permanent residency on their own right" these dedicated bunch of IV volunteers are trying to get permanent residency soon for all of us. See the photos, the videos of the speeches and then talk.
What Franklin meant by that post (I think) was that IV is much more than a discussion board for reports of who signed whose Fedex package and what was the timestamp of the package. Its very important that we all actively participate in getting IVs goals met. The rally was a big, for-the-first-time event, and still people seem more excited by tracking receipt notices, and the short-sightedness of it all has made many people ticked off. The turnout could easily have been higher (like someone said, see the lines to the doctors office for getting medicals done when the dates were current, and compare that with how many showed up at the rally).
Unfortunately, people like GooblyWoobly will also be benefited by the hard work of people like Franklin.
"Those people???". What do you mean by that? These are people who are trying to get permanent residency on their own right, based on the skills they have honed for years. I don't like the condescending tone of your voice. What makes you better?
ok, that really ticks me off. This post is probably going to get me a red splotch, but you should'nt have picked on Franklin:
I think all the work that Franklin did in preparation for the Rally and then at the Rally itself makes it obvious that she is better than most of the IV members (me included) who could not make it to the Rally.
If you dont like the condescending tone of the voice of someone who has worked hard for IVs goals, feel free to stop coming to IV and posting here. Honestly why should someone here care about whether you like the voice or not when the voice speaks the truth?
Look at all the blog posts and pictures of the DC Rally before saying anything against any of the volunteers who worked at the rally. unlike the people who are "trying to get permanent residency on their own right" these dedicated bunch of IV volunteers are trying to get permanent residency soon for all of us. See the photos, the videos of the speeches and then talk.
What Franklin meant by that post (I think) was that IV is much more than a discussion board for reports of who signed whose Fedex package and what was the timestamp of the package. Its very important that we all actively participate in getting IVs goals met. The rally was a big, for-the-first-time event, and still people seem more excited by tracking receipt notices, and the short-sightedness of it all has made many people ticked off. The turnout could easily have been higher (like someone said, see the lines to the doctors office for getting medicals done when the dates were current, and compare that with how many showed up at the rally).
GCVictim
08-20 10:36 AM
Is there anyone who went out of US with old AP and returned with new (renewed) AP?
Please share your experience.
Thanks.
Please share your experience.
Thanks.
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jkays94
05-02 08:34 PM
Quasi-Pro Bono Lobbying?
Posted by Joseph Schuman
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/04/26/quasi-pro-bono-lobbying/
Posted by Joseph Schuman
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/04/26/quasi-pro-bono-lobbying/
more...
miguy
06-18 03:37 PM
thanks for your replies desi3933........is there any way one one can apply for H4 extension/stamping at the consulate based on the receipt of the H1b extension filing ?
samrat_bhargava_vihari
06-18 11:53 AM
If my priority date is retrogressed at the time of processing my EAD and AP, will USCIS keep the EAD and AP on hold? Or will they process EAD and AP and hold the I485?
no
no
more...
muthiahmerchant
06-28 09:54 AM
Hi desi3933,
My wife got approval notice from 10/01/2006. Her employer is willing to give paystubs from March 2007. Will this put her back in status so that she can file I-485?
We are planning to resign after she file I-485 at July end and apply for COS with 2 paystubs. Will this cause a problem or is it legal?
Could you please advice?
Thanks
I read from a different post that you can file for AOS if you are out of status for less than 180 days. there is a section 245(k) which allows you to do this. I don't know the accuracy of this info.
this is from murthy.com site
Section 245(k) enables a person who is adjusting status in an employment-based category (whether on the basis of a labor certification or in one of the special Green Card categories that does not require a labor certification or job offer) to adjust, even if s/he has been out of status or worked without authorization for less than 180 days. This provision does not require an immigrant petition or labor certification to have been filed on or before any particular date and there is also no penalty fee involved.
My wife got approval notice from 10/01/2006. Her employer is willing to give paystubs from March 2007. Will this put her back in status so that she can file I-485?
We are planning to resign after she file I-485 at July end and apply for COS with 2 paystubs. Will this cause a problem or is it legal?
Could you please advice?
Thanks
I read from a different post that you can file for AOS if you are out of status for less than 180 days. there is a section 245(k) which allows you to do this. I don't know the accuracy of this info.
this is from murthy.com site
Section 245(k) enables a person who is adjusting status in an employment-based category (whether on the basis of a labor certification or in one of the special Green Card categories that does not require a labor certification or job offer) to adjust, even if s/he has been out of status or worked without authorization for less than 180 days. This provision does not require an immigrant petition or labor certification to have been filed on or before any particular date and there is also no penalty fee involved.
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nonimmi
06-25 11:18 AM
In case of efiled AP, will there be any FP as required for efiled EAD?
more...
pd_recapturing
06-21 11:48 AM
Hi,
I am writing this on behalf of a friend whom I helped him in e-filing his EAD& AP Renewal.
I too had the same situation. Before it gave this message, it gave a warning, Middle Name is not entered. Since it was a warning, I ignored it and went to the next screen, but there it gave the same message as you got "are still suggested fields not completed on the following forms".
I veryfied each and every field and tried 3/4 times, but every time the same message, out of frustration, I just some middle initial and submitted, then it worked.
But actually there is no middle name in my name. But the form got submitted with the confirmation.
I called the USCIS and told them about the same problem, they asked to submit a letter asking for correction of the name along with supporting documents. SO I have submitted the same.
Actually I have applied both EAD and AP e-file simultaneously. Both are Renewals.
I have received the receipt for EAD, but not for AP. Also recieved the FP notice for EAD.
I called USCIS again, said about not received the AP receipt notice. They said, they have mailed it. but I said about the middle name problem and said not received yet. They said since I submitted a letter for correcting Name, that will take care of it. For not receving the Receipt notice for AP, they said, they will mail a new one.
Exactly after one month(Whichi is yesterday), I have received the replacement Receipt Notice of AP, but suprisingly the receipt number on this is mentioned the actual Receipt number of the EAD, but clearlt mentioned this application is of Case Type I-131. So I called USCIS again and said about the wrong receipt number, they gave me a confirmation number on the case and said, wait for 45 days and call then if I don;t receive any update on this.
Actually, I dont know how to tackle your issue but I went ahead and certified my 131 efile without putting MI as I dont have it. I am waiting for my receipt now. I think, its an USCIS application issue.
I am writing this on behalf of a friend whom I helped him in e-filing his EAD& AP Renewal.
I too had the same situation. Before it gave this message, it gave a warning, Middle Name is not entered. Since it was a warning, I ignored it and went to the next screen, but there it gave the same message as you got "are still suggested fields not completed on the following forms".
I veryfied each and every field and tried 3/4 times, but every time the same message, out of frustration, I just some middle initial and submitted, then it worked.
But actually there is no middle name in my name. But the form got submitted with the confirmation.
I called the USCIS and told them about the same problem, they asked to submit a letter asking for correction of the name along with supporting documents. SO I have submitted the same.
Actually I have applied both EAD and AP e-file simultaneously. Both are Renewals.
I have received the receipt for EAD, but not for AP. Also recieved the FP notice for EAD.
I called USCIS again, said about not received the AP receipt notice. They said, they have mailed it. but I said about the middle name problem and said not received yet. They said since I submitted a letter for correcting Name, that will take care of it. For not receving the Receipt notice for AP, they said, they will mail a new one.
Exactly after one month(Whichi is yesterday), I have received the replacement Receipt Notice of AP, but suprisingly the receipt number on this is mentioned the actual Receipt number of the EAD, but clearlt mentioned this application is of Case Type I-131. So I called USCIS again and said about the wrong receipt number, they gave me a confirmation number on the case and said, wait for 45 days and call then if I don;t receive any update on this.
Actually, I dont know how to tackle your issue but I went ahead and certified my 131 efile without putting MI as I dont have it. I am waiting for my receipt now. I think, its an USCIS application issue.
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bobyal
08-11 06:13 AM
deleted
more...
cnathani
01-09 08:50 AM
WaldenPond,
I have just contributed using paypal. I really appreciate the efforts you are putting into this. Is there any introductory email that can be sent to prospective members to spur their interest and compel them to come join and contribute?
I would like to send such an email to my contacts. I am sure many people can use that.
Thanks
I have just contributed using paypal. I really appreciate the efforts you are putting into this. Is there any introductory email that can be sent to prospective members to spur their interest and compel them to come join and contribute?
I would like to send such an email to my contacts. I am sure many people can use that.
Thanks
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Macaca
06-16 06:54 AM
Is there any information on what an "easy" case is?
I haven't seen one so far!
It appears, easy case is a subjective decision made by a USCIS worker based on amount of time needed for the case.
It is a job scheduler that schedules the shortest job first with a subjective estimate of the time needed to process the case.
I haven't seen one so far!
It appears, easy case is a subjective decision made by a USCIS worker based on amount of time needed for the case.
It is a job scheduler that schedules the shortest job first with a subjective estimate of the time needed to process the case.
more...
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Macaca
08-13 10:33 PM
Good job Macaca. Just one thing though, it looks like 1M includes all pending AOS and not just EB. Please see http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/cisomb_annualrpt07__June_11_2007_section3b_backlog s.pdf
According to Ombudsman's report,
Pending cases = EB + Family + Refugee + Asylum + ... = Backlogged cases + Unripe cases = 1,275,795 (page 11) + 1,316,740 (Figure 1, page 14) = 2,592,535 (as of March 2007)
I am approximating 1M to be EB based, 1.5M to be family based and 92,535 to be asylum + refugee (which is a lot).
According to Ombudsman's report,
Pending cases = EB + Family + Refugee + Asylum + ... = Backlogged cases + Unripe cases = 1,275,795 (page 11) + 1,316,740 (Figure 1, page 14) = 2,592,535 (as of March 2007)
I am approximating 1M to be EB based, 1.5M to be family based and 92,535 to be asylum + refugee (which is a lot).
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Madhuri
03-22 10:30 AM
My FOIA request status says it's processed on 3/14/2011, can you please let us know how long does it take to get the CD after this?
Yes, I got a CD from USCIS with all my I-140. I requested for copy of I-140 approval notice corresponding to I-140 tracking number SRC.XXXXXXXXXXX. This is the same number I got from my employer for online tracking on USCIS website. It took over 4 months. I submitted this as soon as got approval on my I-140. If you dont have the tracking number, you may try to get your A# from employer or attorney. You can use the same reason that you are changing address or that you need it for visa stamping. I believe they ask for A# in visa interview form.
I have heard that few people got the tracking number using Infopass. Not sure how. I would suggest, that do not delay. Submit the FOIA form with whatever info you have. They might be able to pull your records based on the SSN# or I-94# etc. No harm in trying. I didnt had A#, so I left it blank.
Yes, I got a CD from USCIS with all my I-140. I requested for copy of I-140 approval notice corresponding to I-140 tracking number SRC.XXXXXXXXXXX. This is the same number I got from my employer for online tracking on USCIS website. It took over 4 months. I submitted this as soon as got approval on my I-140. If you dont have the tracking number, you may try to get your A# from employer or attorney. You can use the same reason that you are changing address or that you need it for visa stamping. I believe they ask for A# in visa interview form.
I have heard that few people got the tracking number using Infopass. Not sure how. I would suggest, that do not delay. Submit the FOIA form with whatever info you have. They might be able to pull your records based on the SSN# or I-94# etc. No harm in trying. I didnt had A#, so I left it blank.
more...
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nixstor
10-10 03:28 PM
I hope it does some good to you and makes your PD current/closer so that you dont eat/sleep/drink VB. C mon man... There are other things you can do. Dont get offended by what I am saying. If your PD is closer, I can understand your excitement. But a lot of people are just killing time in forums by working their ass off on predictions and call it comic relief. I hope IV core members stop encouraging this kind of behavior.
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mihird
09-15 07:14 PM
It is a public Forum. It is created for sharing ideas among the members. The success story of mr Reddy will give inspiration to other members to be successful. His information was realy helpful to lot of people.If it helps to anybody ,why do you want to stop this discussion ? If you are not comfortable with this,you don't need to read this thread ! OK ?
It is created to sharing ideas among members - to resolve immigration matters - not to discuss other topics like real estate investments etc. It is okay to quote one's or someone else's progress in financial matters in the context of his/her immigration status, but to make a complete turn and just discuss the specifics of financial investments etc. doesn't have a place on this forum.
My 2 cents..
It is created to sharing ideas among members - to resolve immigration matters - not to discuss other topics like real estate investments etc. It is okay to quote one's or someone else's progress in financial matters in the context of his/her immigration status, but to make a complete turn and just discuss the specifics of financial investments etc. doesn't have a place on this forum.
My 2 cents..
more...
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Asian
09-15 10:30 AM
For those who already received GC, it is trivial. For us who have not received it yet, it is a life or death matter. So please don't play with it. I hate to meet the green card holder who brags as if it were nothing.
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virtual55
04-26 09:40 AM
Good Job Aman, Shilpa and Core Team.
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chanduv23
11-08 10:19 AM
msgs like this help establish the notion that this is an indian website dedicated to indian immigration issues. I didnt see any post wishing happy Eid/ Eid Mubarak nor did I notice last year that anyone wished a Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays, nor do we wish our Chinese friends a Happy Chinese New Year.
Dude - my perspective changed after I started living in New York City. Last week we attended a diwali event and it was just not Indians there but all nationalities were present there and everyone were greeting diwali wishes.
I lived in Bombay for 10 years and we celebrated every festival like Durga Puja, Holi, Christmas, we used to have Ramadan fast break lunches and everything.
Living in a cosmopolitan society, one must celebrate and respect every culture and their festivals. Thats the only way to achieve unity.
Dude - my perspective changed after I started living in New York City. Last week we attended a diwali event and it was just not Indians there but all nationalities were present there and everyone were greeting diwali wishes.
I lived in Bombay for 10 years and we celebrated every festival like Durga Puja, Holi, Christmas, we used to have Ramadan fast break lunches and everything.
Living in a cosmopolitan society, one must celebrate and respect every culture and their festivals. Thats the only way to achieve unity.
hetuweb
10-23 09:36 PM
whats ur pd? eb3 or eb2? which country? ??????
hi eb3retro.
when and where u filed for ur h-1b 7th year extension and when it approved?
i filed on july 12, 2007 to vermont, still waiting for 7th yr, extension approval.
hi eb3retro.
when and where u filed for ur h-1b 7th year extension and when it approved?
i filed on july 12, 2007 to vermont, still waiting for 7th yr, extension approval.
kanta80
04-25 11:00 PM
Here is the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501963.html
Sorry if someone else had already posted it.
Thanks.
Ed to add text in case link gets outdated:
Skilled Immigrants Turn to K Street
High-Tech Workers Awaiting Green Cards Hire Lobbyists, Hit the Hill
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Page D01
On the December day when Congress killed a budget amendment that might have allowed him to become an American a little sooner, Aman Kapoor started a movement.
He did not march through streets, carry signs, wave a flag from here or there. He did not walk off the job or file out of school. The computer programmer simply went online to a message board tracked by thousands of people in his predicament: highly skilled foreigners waiting years for their green cards.
"I think we can do better and really create the impact with organized effort," he wrote. "To achieve this we need a group of individuals who have shown commitment and motivation in this forum."
The next night, a dozen people living across the United States shed their Internet handles -- Kapoor's was "WaldenPond," a nod to his hero, Henry David Thoreau -- and addressed one another by name on a conference call that lasted an hour. Today, just four months later, the organization they dubbed Immigration Voice boasts 3,000 members; a fundraising goal of $200,000; and, most notably, a partnership with a high-powered lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC.
The group's transformation from an insular circle to a politically active movement offers a window into an alternative immigrant campaign being waged as the Senate this week resumes its work on immigration laws.
Most members and all the core organizers of Immigration Voice hail from India, though Chinese membership numbers in the hundreds and is on the rise. Most arrived on an international student visa or a visa known as the H-1B, reserved for highly skilled workers who can stay for up to six years -- unless an employer sponsors their green cards, which grant immigrants permanent residence in the United States and the right to live and work here freely. Over the past decade, the largest numbers of H-1Bs have been awarded to high-technology workers from India and China.
Thus, while the passage of a strict border-security bill introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) mobilized many other immigrants in December, members of this high-tech group had their eye on another: a budget reconciliation bill that, in the Senate version, would have allowed those waiting in line for a green card to proceed even if the quota had been exhausted. The provision was cut in conference committee, stirring many to action and leading to the founding of Immigration Voice.
While hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to get Congress's attention, Immigration Voice took a decidedly different approach. Shortly after the group was established, Kapoor and other volunteers began interviewing lobbyists, relying mostly on Google searches and data from the Center for Public Integrity's Web site.
"If it was not going to be big, it would not be worth the effort," said Kapoor, who works for Florida State University and has traveled to Washington nine times in the past three months. "Most of us have reached that point, having waited for eight or nine years, where individual lives are on hold."
Neither Quinn Gillespie nor Immigration Voice would disclose the amount being paid for the firm's services. Kapoor said it is "less than five figures."
"This is a sympathetic story," said Nick Maduros, a lobbyist for Quinn Gillespie. "For this group, their issues are very technical and are frankly not that controversial, but they have been overshadowed ."
Immigration Voices also enlisted the help of Rick Swartz, who has his own firm and has long been a leading lobbyist for immigration groups. Swartz gathered members of the group at his home one January weekend for a crash course in American politics, teaching them to position themselves as the "new Cubans for the Republicans."
Although their numbers are far smaller -- fewer than 2 million Indians live in the United States, according to the 2000 Census -- the group is among the more affluent immigrant communities. And because their numbers are smaller than those of Hispanics, they are trying to focus on other ways they can exert power -- through their wealth, their positions of influence in the high-tech and business communities, and their alliances with more established advocacy groups such as one for Indian physicians and an Indian political action committee.
While the immigrant marchers' demands have covered a range of issues, including allowing immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship, the members of this association are more narrowly focused: They want Congress to pass measures that would end the years-long wait for a green card. In fact, they warn that efforts to enable millions of illegal immigrants to remain here permanently would result in the same bureaucratic nightmare legal immigrants are now facing.
"If you're going to reform, reform across the board," said Bharati Mandapati, who oversees content for the group, which means she has learned how to word and pitch legislative amendments.
The group has refrained from taking a stand on the fate of the undocumented workers, though it monitors chatter on its Web site to ensure that frustrated high-tech workers don't disparage lower-skilled laborers such as landscapers and restaurant workers. It also has stayed mum on raising the cap on H-1Bs, the visas that made most of their passages possible.
Under a proposal introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the number of employment-based green cards being issued would increase from 140,000 to 290,000. Currently, no one country is supposed to take up more than 7 percent of the allotment, though unused green cards can be redistributed to countries that have already met their quota. That has made possible migrations in excess of 7 percent from nations such as India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Under the proposal, the per-country cap would be increased to a hard and fast 10 percent. Proponents say this would prevent one country from dominating the category and would retain jobs for native-born Americans.
But Mandapati, a California-based economist, argues that the restriction would hurt the United States because the demand for skills changes. "It just so happens that computer technology and certain technical skills are in great demand here and all over the world. It just so happens that there are two countries that have invested a lot of resources in educating people in these fields . . . India and China."
About a half-million immigrants are caught in the green-card backlog, some as they wait for Labor Department approval or because quotas have been exceeded. In that time, they cannot be promoted or given substantial pay increases because that would mean a change in job description and salary. They turn to Web sites to compare their wait times with others, and their Internet handles, such as "stucklabor" and "waiting_labor," exude their frustration.
During meetings on Capitol Hill, Maduros and at least one Immigration Voice representative lay out the group's platform, weaving in the personal stories of members. Shilpa Ghodgaonkar, a Germantown housewife, has become a staple anecdote -- and a frequent visitor on the Hill.
For four years, she and her husband have been waiting for their green cards. Ghodgaonkar's husband arrived on an H-1B visa, and she followed as his dependent, unauthorized to work here. To pass the time, she learned to cook. Then she volunteered as a career counselor in Montgomery County. Last year, she earned her MBA from George Washington University. In December, around the time Kapoor sent out his e-mail plea for mass mobilization, Ghodgaonkar had run out of options.
"I just couldn't keep quiet anymore," Ghodgaonkar said. "I cannot be depressed anymore."
She keeps a spreadsheet that lays out appointment times and the senators' offices she has visited or still plans to: Specter, Frist, Schumer, Brownback, Bingaman, Feinstein, Feingold. Wednesdays bring a weekly call with Quinn Gillespie. And every few nights, there are conference calls among Immigration Voice's core team.
Now the group plans to closely watch the debate resuming in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Earlier this month, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) proposed amendments with all of the group's provisions. Other lawmakers confirm that they are still meeting with the group to hear their concerns.
Immigration Voice leaders say the past few months have focused and politicized Indian immigrants in a way that was not apparent in the past. "There is a very 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' quality" about the current effort, Mandapati said. "It's been a journey, a loss of naivete and getting to know about American politics."
Sorry if someone else had already posted it.
Thanks.
Ed to add text in case link gets outdated:
Skilled Immigrants Turn to K Street
High-Tech Workers Awaiting Green Cards Hire Lobbyists, Hit the Hill
By S. Mitra Kalita
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Page D01
On the December day when Congress killed a budget amendment that might have allowed him to become an American a little sooner, Aman Kapoor started a movement.
He did not march through streets, carry signs, wave a flag from here or there. He did not walk off the job or file out of school. The computer programmer simply went online to a message board tracked by thousands of people in his predicament: highly skilled foreigners waiting years for their green cards.
"I think we can do better and really create the impact with organized effort," he wrote. "To achieve this we need a group of individuals who have shown commitment and motivation in this forum."
The next night, a dozen people living across the United States shed their Internet handles -- Kapoor's was "WaldenPond," a nod to his hero, Henry David Thoreau -- and addressed one another by name on a conference call that lasted an hour. Today, just four months later, the organization they dubbed Immigration Voice boasts 3,000 members; a fundraising goal of $200,000; and, most notably, a partnership with a high-powered lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC.
The group's transformation from an insular circle to a politically active movement offers a window into an alternative immigrant campaign being waged as the Senate this week resumes its work on immigration laws.
Most members and all the core organizers of Immigration Voice hail from India, though Chinese membership numbers in the hundreds and is on the rise. Most arrived on an international student visa or a visa known as the H-1B, reserved for highly skilled workers who can stay for up to six years -- unless an employer sponsors their green cards, which grant immigrants permanent residence in the United States and the right to live and work here freely. Over the past decade, the largest numbers of H-1Bs have been awarded to high-technology workers from India and China.
Thus, while the passage of a strict border-security bill introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) mobilized many other immigrants in December, members of this high-tech group had their eye on another: a budget reconciliation bill that, in the Senate version, would have allowed those waiting in line for a green card to proceed even if the quota had been exhausted. The provision was cut in conference committee, stirring many to action and leading to the founding of Immigration Voice.
While hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to get Congress's attention, Immigration Voice took a decidedly different approach. Shortly after the group was established, Kapoor and other volunteers began interviewing lobbyists, relying mostly on Google searches and data from the Center for Public Integrity's Web site.
"If it was not going to be big, it would not be worth the effort," said Kapoor, who works for Florida State University and has traveled to Washington nine times in the past three months. "Most of us have reached that point, having waited for eight or nine years, where individual lives are on hold."
Neither Quinn Gillespie nor Immigration Voice would disclose the amount being paid for the firm's services. Kapoor said it is "less than five figures."
"This is a sympathetic story," said Nick Maduros, a lobbyist for Quinn Gillespie. "For this group, their issues are very technical and are frankly not that controversial, but they have been overshadowed ."
Immigration Voices also enlisted the help of Rick Swartz, who has his own firm and has long been a leading lobbyist for immigration groups. Swartz gathered members of the group at his home one January weekend for a crash course in American politics, teaching them to position themselves as the "new Cubans for the Republicans."
Although their numbers are far smaller -- fewer than 2 million Indians live in the United States, according to the 2000 Census -- the group is among the more affluent immigrant communities. And because their numbers are smaller than those of Hispanics, they are trying to focus on other ways they can exert power -- through their wealth, their positions of influence in the high-tech and business communities, and their alliances with more established advocacy groups such as one for Indian physicians and an Indian political action committee.
While the immigrant marchers' demands have covered a range of issues, including allowing immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship, the members of this association are more narrowly focused: They want Congress to pass measures that would end the years-long wait for a green card. In fact, they warn that efforts to enable millions of illegal immigrants to remain here permanently would result in the same bureaucratic nightmare legal immigrants are now facing.
"If you're going to reform, reform across the board," said Bharati Mandapati, who oversees content for the group, which means she has learned how to word and pitch legislative amendments.
The group has refrained from taking a stand on the fate of the undocumented workers, though it monitors chatter on its Web site to ensure that frustrated high-tech workers don't disparage lower-skilled laborers such as landscapers and restaurant workers. It also has stayed mum on raising the cap on H-1Bs, the visas that made most of their passages possible.
Under a proposal introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the number of employment-based green cards being issued would increase from 140,000 to 290,000. Currently, no one country is supposed to take up more than 7 percent of the allotment, though unused green cards can be redistributed to countries that have already met their quota. That has made possible migrations in excess of 7 percent from nations such as India, China, Mexico and the Philippines. Under the proposal, the per-country cap would be increased to a hard and fast 10 percent. Proponents say this would prevent one country from dominating the category and would retain jobs for native-born Americans.
But Mandapati, a California-based economist, argues that the restriction would hurt the United States because the demand for skills changes. "It just so happens that computer technology and certain technical skills are in great demand here and all over the world. It just so happens that there are two countries that have invested a lot of resources in educating people in these fields . . . India and China."
About a half-million immigrants are caught in the green-card backlog, some as they wait for Labor Department approval or because quotas have been exceeded. In that time, they cannot be promoted or given substantial pay increases because that would mean a change in job description and salary. They turn to Web sites to compare their wait times with others, and their Internet handles, such as "stucklabor" and "waiting_labor," exude their frustration.
During meetings on Capitol Hill, Maduros and at least one Immigration Voice representative lay out the group's platform, weaving in the personal stories of members. Shilpa Ghodgaonkar, a Germantown housewife, has become a staple anecdote -- and a frequent visitor on the Hill.
For four years, she and her husband have been waiting for their green cards. Ghodgaonkar's husband arrived on an H-1B visa, and she followed as his dependent, unauthorized to work here. To pass the time, she learned to cook. Then she volunteered as a career counselor in Montgomery County. Last year, she earned her MBA from George Washington University. In December, around the time Kapoor sent out his e-mail plea for mass mobilization, Ghodgaonkar had run out of options.
"I just couldn't keep quiet anymore," Ghodgaonkar said. "I cannot be depressed anymore."
She keeps a spreadsheet that lays out appointment times and the senators' offices she has visited or still plans to: Specter, Frist, Schumer, Brownback, Bingaman, Feinstein, Feingold. Wednesdays bring a weekly call with Quinn Gillespie. And every few nights, there are conference calls among Immigration Voice's core team.
Now the group plans to closely watch the debate resuming in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Earlier this month, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) proposed amendments with all of the group's provisions. Other lawmakers confirm that they are still meeting with the group to hear their concerns.
Immigration Voice leaders say the past few months have focused and politicized Indian immigrants in a way that was not apparent in the past. "There is a very 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' quality" about the current effort, Mandapati said. "It's been a journey, a loss of naivete and getting to know about American politics."