h1techSlave
12-08 10:03 AM
Pinto, I strongly support your idea.
I guess many have given up and many are just trying to hang on to their jobs ..but don't give up ..just think about the peace of mind that a GC gives ..no more headaches from lawyers, USCIS, RFE's, employers, DL etc ..at the very least comment on this idea but before you dismiss it come up with a better idea (it is very stupid of people who just criticize but don't come up with alternative ideas).
----------------
what if all immigrants and members were to call their local realtors - show interest in buying a house and once the realtor is interested ..tell her / him that you are postponing your home buying decision since the green card has got delayed ..and maybe ask him / her to tell the NAR (national realtor agency) to speak about speeding green cards to legal immigrants who are already here ??
...if people are motivated then maybe we can do media campaign too ..
------
the above idea does not need any money / members can do it from the comfort of their homes ..please comment and either support this or come up with better idea ..Thanks in advance !!!
(if the idea sounds good ..then all members can spread the word in their community - i.e. temples, churches, local potlucks, subdivision, apartment, AMWAY meetings etc etc ..at the very least IV membership will increase)
I guess many have given up and many are just trying to hang on to their jobs ..but don't give up ..just think about the peace of mind that a GC gives ..no more headaches from lawyers, USCIS, RFE's, employers, DL etc ..at the very least comment on this idea but before you dismiss it come up with a better idea (it is very stupid of people who just criticize but don't come up with alternative ideas).
----------------
what if all immigrants and members were to call their local realtors - show interest in buying a house and once the realtor is interested ..tell her / him that you are postponing your home buying decision since the green card has got delayed ..and maybe ask him / her to tell the NAR (national realtor agency) to speak about speeding green cards to legal immigrants who are already here ??
...if people are motivated then maybe we can do media campaign too ..
------
the above idea does not need any money / members can do it from the comfort of their homes ..please comment and either support this or come up with better idea ..Thanks in advance !!!
(if the idea sounds good ..then all members can spread the word in their community - i.e. temples, churches, local potlucks, subdivision, apartment, AMWAY meetings etc etc ..at the very least IV membership will increase)
wallpaper Top 10 Funny Quotes in
krishmunn
07-27 02:21 PM
Nobody is misguiding anyone. Talk to your lawyer and find out. Amway doesn't offer you employment.
What you get is 1099-MISC the same you get for your stocks and investments. Talk to your lawyer and find out.
So you think Murthy folks are wrong ? BTW, attorney Khanna also says the same.
You should first learn that there are different type of 1099. The one you get for Stocks and Investment include 1099-B, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV. Your Amway bosees will not inform you about these as they want your money.
If you lawyer has said that you are OK with this unauthorized business I suggest -- change your lawyer.
What you get is 1099-MISC the same you get for your stocks and investments. Talk to your lawyer and find out.
So you think Murthy folks are wrong ? BTW, attorney Khanna also says the same.
You should first learn that there are different type of 1099. The one you get for Stocks and Investment include 1099-B, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV. Your Amway bosees will not inform you about these as they want your money.
If you lawyer has said that you are OK with this unauthorized business I suggest -- change your lawyer.
GC_ki_daud
07-29 04:17 PM
I have
EB2 140 Approved Feb 2006
EB3 140 approved June 2004
My Lawyer says that when they filed my 485 in July 2007, they sent both 140 petitions. IS THAT POSSIBLE ?
Now that the dates got current in Aug 2008 bulletin , I asked them to proceed further so that my case could be adjudicated.
They suggested me to wait and see since ,now, my original EB2 is current anyways.
My question is, Is there any way to find out which category (EB2 OR EB3)will USCIS consider my 485 case to be ?
Should I request lawyer to send a petiton now or wait ? PLease suggest a course of action
EB2 140 Approved Feb 2006
EB3 140 approved June 2004
My Lawyer says that when they filed my 485 in July 2007, they sent both 140 petitions. IS THAT POSSIBLE ?
Now that the dates got current in Aug 2008 bulletin , I asked them to proceed further so that my case could be adjudicated.
They suggested me to wait and see since ,now, my original EB2 is current anyways.
My question is, Is there any way to find out which category (EB2 OR EB3)will USCIS consider my 485 case to be ?
Should I request lawyer to send a petiton now or wait ? PLease suggest a course of action
2011 Funny Football | UK Football
BMS1
06-26 02:22 PM
There is possibility that retrogression begins in August. The USCIS maail department will acept only those cases the clerk could manually enter into the system by July 31st and then send all those applications back which he could not enter manually
IV Roumor thread - lets give the 'Best roumour of the day' award to the most convincing roumor .....
:D :D :D :D
Probably that is not true. There is something called receipted date (Not RD or Receipt Date). When the applications are received, the mail office affixes a date stamp on applications which is the receipted date. The receipted date should fall on a day where Visa dates must be current. I sent my I485 to reach VSC on Sept 30, 2005 (Retrogression started on Oct 1st, 2005). My RD was somewhere second week of Oct. My son's application was returned for missing check (apparently they lost it) where I noticed the date stamp of Sept 30, 2005 and wrote back to them that it was their mistake. And finally they accepted my son's I485 with an RD of Nov 2005.
IV Roumor thread - lets give the 'Best roumour of the day' award to the most convincing roumor .....
:D :D :D :D
Probably that is not true. There is something called receipted date (Not RD or Receipt Date). When the applications are received, the mail office affixes a date stamp on applications which is the receipted date. The receipted date should fall on a day where Visa dates must be current. I sent my I485 to reach VSC on Sept 30, 2005 (Retrogression started on Oct 1st, 2005). My RD was somewhere second week of Oct. My son's application was returned for missing check (apparently they lost it) where I noticed the date stamp of Sept 30, 2005 and wrote back to them that it was their mistake. And finally they accepted my son's I485 with an RD of Nov 2005.
more...
a.j.2048
03-27 01:04 PM
I suspect there will be better leaders from the generation born after 1947. The next rung of leadership like Mayawati, Modi, Nitish Kumar, Shivraj Chauhan are all born after independence.
NKR
02-15 06:34 PM
probably true but because most of them are on H4 which means someone else in their family is H1.
what will they do at home anyway?. wouldn't it be better if they be allowed to work than force them to go and study?
what will they do at home anyway?. wouldn't it be better if they be allowed to work than force them to go and study?
more...
abhijitp
02-12 06:36 PM
No matter which side you are on, the quota system sucks. Period.
1) Once you start receiving benefits out of being born in a particular country/ race/ sex/ religion, a notion of "entitlement" quickly builds up within you. This adversely affects your ability to perform, for you just don't have to work hard enough!
2) If you are punished for being born in a particular country/ race/ sex/ religion, you have no incentive to perform, as you won't get what you deserve no matter how hard you work!
How about this... during every Olympics, most number of Gold Medals are won by Americans. Now imagine a rule that prevents more than 7% of all Gold Medals going to people born in any one country. How does that sound?
I will myself hate it if athletes from India (who haven't won anything in the Olympics till date) started winning gold medals simply because other countries cannot receive more than 7%!
Of course, removing country caps will face opposition, but it should still happen, just because it is the right thing!
1) Once you start receiving benefits out of being born in a particular country/ race/ sex/ religion, a notion of "entitlement" quickly builds up within you. This adversely affects your ability to perform, for you just don't have to work hard enough!
2) If you are punished for being born in a particular country/ race/ sex/ religion, you have no incentive to perform, as you won't get what you deserve no matter how hard you work!
How about this... during every Olympics, most number of Gold Medals are won by Americans. Now imagine a rule that prevents more than 7% of all Gold Medals going to people born in any one country. How does that sound?
I will myself hate it if athletes from India (who haven't won anything in the Olympics till date) started winning gold medals simply because other countries cannot receive more than 7%!
Of course, removing country caps will face opposition, but it should still happen, just because it is the right thing!
2010 Albert Kenyani Inima : Favourite project management quotes
desighee
06-15 12:30 PM
dilip
With the level/kind of arguments that you are putting in your posts, I don't think you will be able to complete your MBA or will not survive working as a MBA. So, my suggestion is: save that 100,000 that you are planing to burn doing MBA. Use it for some other purpose.
You are not able to compete with the unskilled people even though you have more than 10 years experience, how you are going to compete with MBA's that graduate from top schools from USA and India with your phony accent. Dont waste your 100,000, use it for your child's education or maybe donate part of it to IV and someone from IV might help you in getting a JOB.
your arguments are stupid man.
Dilip has put fwd everything in a great perspective.
I think you should think about your plans of settling down in the US.To me your chances of survival are quite gloomy considering you don't have aptitude for basic reading comprehension(take GRE to assess your skills)if you go past a score of 400 I would be surprised
With the level/kind of arguments that you are putting in your posts, I don't think you will be able to complete your MBA or will not survive working as a MBA. So, my suggestion is: save that 100,000 that you are planing to burn doing MBA. Use it for some other purpose.
You are not able to compete with the unskilled people even though you have more than 10 years experience, how you are going to compete with MBA's that graduate from top schools from USA and India with your phony accent. Dont waste your 100,000, use it for your child's education or maybe donate part of it to IV and someone from IV might help you in getting a JOB.
your arguments are stupid man.
Dilip has put fwd everything in a great perspective.
I think you should think about your plans of settling down in the US.To me your chances of survival are quite gloomy considering you don't have aptitude for basic reading comprehension(take GRE to assess your skills)if you go past a score of 400 I would be surprised
more...
snathan
01-14 10:59 AM
I understand. But it's true. I have many friends and these body shoppers don't pay for their medical insurance and all of my friends have a tough time - even Kforce etc doesn't pay if you're a contractor directly hired by them. Infosys, TCS pays and provides all kinds of benefits for people on H1, I don't know what ppl are against companies that have good business practice.
Deloitte, Accenture, IBM brings ppl from other countries on L1 - why balme Infosys, TCS.
Check what they are paying. I know a company which charges $110-$130 ph to the client and payes around $30K for the employee in L1. Is it good business practice...? Not only desi consulting cos...these a$$ also the reason we are in this mess today. Just imagine when the antis comes to know that 30K pa salary....
Deloitte, Accenture, IBM brings ppl from other countries on L1 - why balme Infosys, TCS.
Check what they are paying. I know a company which charges $110-$130 ph to the client and payes around $30K for the employee in L1. Is it good business practice...? Not only desi consulting cos...these a$$ also the reason we are in this mess today. Just imagine when the antis comes to know that 30K pa salary....
hair funny football photo 3
fairman
08-18 11:25 PM
And which part of india are you from?
Secret.
Secret.
more...
grupak
12-13 11:25 AM
Discrimination in employment based on nationality is not allowed. However, can we extend the argument to the employment based immigration? We can always choose to take that promotion though we will lose our place in the queue.
Leaving the question of fairness aside, under the current legal framework my guess is we do not have a case.
Leaving the question of fairness aside, under the current legal framework my guess is we do not have a case.
hot funny moments and quotes
samay
07-28 04:12 PM
Question for Lawyer or Senior Members of Forum:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I myself is currently in H1B and my wife on H4. We both have EAD and AP which we�re never activated since we had our H1 and H4 and my wife has not started working.
She should be starting work very soon and hence we would like to renew her EAD and AP. Also as part of her new job she needs to travel oustide US. So the question I had is whether she can travel outside US on her currenty valid AP with the application for renewal of AP/EAD in processing with USCIS.
Thank You All for Your Help
/COLOR]
Regards,
Josh
[COLOR="Blue"]
Yes -so long as the AP is still valid.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I myself is currently in H1B and my wife on H4. We both have EAD and AP which we�re never activated since we had our H1 and H4 and my wife has not started working.
She should be starting work very soon and hence we would like to renew her EAD and AP. Also as part of her new job she needs to travel oustide US. So the question I had is whether she can travel outside US on her currenty valid AP with the application for renewal of AP/EAD in processing with USCIS.
Thank You All for Your Help
/COLOR]
Regards,
Josh
[COLOR="Blue"]
Yes -so long as the AP is still valid.
more...
house powered by smf football tips
poorslumdog
05-03 01:50 AM
Did you ever heard about a frog in well story!:rolleyes:
JaiHind
Yes...you singala racist.
JaiHind
Yes...you singala racist.
tattoo Funny Football.wmv
akred
02-16 12:10 PM
Fraud and corruption is prevalent everywhere incuding India and a prepondernece of the bodyshops are nothing but a factory of producing overnight "IT Talents". Accept this is as one of the problem of this retrogression.
No one is going to fall for or accept this type of torn shirt, open fly argument. Retrogression is caused by insufficient GC numbers and worsened for some countries due to the country caps. The fact that there is corruption in India or any of the other random reasons you are trotting out in no way mitigates the fact that people are being forced to wait after fulfilling all of the qualifying criteria set forth by the US government.
No one is going to fall for or accept this type of torn shirt, open fly argument. Retrogression is caused by insufficient GC numbers and worsened for some countries due to the country caps. The fact that there is corruption in India or any of the other random reasons you are trotting out in no way mitigates the fact that people are being forced to wait after fulfilling all of the qualifying criteria set forth by the US government.
more...
pictures This Is Not How Football Was
acecupid
07-17 11:21 AM
It is a "permanent" policy. There was no change in the law. USCIS was interpreting the law incorrectly. Now they have corrected themselves with the congressional input. This will not change.
There could of course be a new law and then things might change.
The was no change in law and still there was a change in interpretation based on the current state of EB2, so this interpretation will change once some other category needs spill overs. The is no law which states spill over should be horizonal or vertical or diagonal :) It merely says that DOS can decide how the spill overs should flow.
There could of course be a new law and then things might change.
The was no change in law and still there was a change in interpretation based on the current state of EB2, so this interpretation will change once some other category needs spill overs. The is no law which states spill over should be horizonal or vertical or diagonal :) It merely says that DOS can decide how the spill overs should flow.
dresses Funny Football | UK Football
blueyonder
05-03 01:26 AM
[QUOTE=newtoearth;338494]Dear dreamworld I am an Indian (period)
I am who wants to see my fellow indians and country free from trrorism Either Islamic or Tamil or any other kind...
"I am Indian (Period)" this what all Srilankans posting in Indian or Public forum say.
Second ... Why do you call Tamil as terrorist, we do not have Tamil terrorism in India .... you have gotten everything wrong in your head .... we all are talking about Srilankan Tamil civilians not the LTTE. You better get it straight we are only talking about the humanitarian crisis faced by the Srilankan Tamils if you get it mixed up its your problem.
Pls refrain from posting any hate message about Tamils in this forum.
I am who wants to see my fellow indians and country free from trrorism Either Islamic or Tamil or any other kind...
"I am Indian (Period)" this what all Srilankans posting in Indian or Public forum say.
Second ... Why do you call Tamil as terrorist, we do not have Tamil terrorism in India .... you have gotten everything wrong in your head .... we all are talking about Srilankan Tamil civilians not the LTTE. You better get it straight we are only talking about the humanitarian crisis faced by the Srilankan Tamils if you get it mixed up its your problem.
Pls refrain from posting any hate message about Tamils in this forum.
more...
makeup few great football quotes
Caliber
09-04 12:11 PM
It is a shame for IV.
You have 352 posts and not one dollar contribution. Are you talking about shame on IV?
You have 352 posts and not one dollar contribution. Are you talking about shame on IV?
girlfriend Funny Football Dive By Bryan
gbof
09-15 01:22 PM
Doing it in the lat quarter could cuase visa wastage especially this year where it is anticiapted that there will be lot of spill over numbers.
Now, with vast majority (if not almost all) of 07 petitions pre-adjudicated and waiting for visa #s for approvals, it is hard for uscis to wait up-to-end-of-the-year for spill over. Current economy only suggest fewer GC applicants in 09 and 2010
Now, with vast majority (if not almost all) of 07 petitions pre-adjudicated and waiting for visa #s for approvals, it is hard for uscis to wait up-to-end-of-the-year for spill over. Current economy only suggest fewer GC applicants in 09 and 2010
hairstyles football up field quotes cake
vdlrao
07-24 09:12 PM
EB2 India will move very fast till 01 JAN 06 as because based on June 2007 bulletin, just before the july fiasco,( http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3236.html ) the PD for China is 01 JAN 06. That means in EB2 Category except India and China every other country is current. So till India reaches 01 JAN 06 PD in EB2, all the spill overs will be moved to only EB2 India(based on the priority of oldest priority date). By the time India EB2 reaches 01 JAN 06, China PD in EB2 will move further from 01 JAN 06 by using its 7% quota. So Inidia PD for EB2 again moves fast till that changed China PD using the spill overs. After that India and China will share the spill overs based on the PD priority. All this happens if and only if the USCIS works effectively and uses all the available visa numbers for the present fiscal year. My prediction for EB2 India PD is, it touches 2005 /even cross few months in 2005 by the end of this year if USCIS works effectively.
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4285&highlight=vdlrao&page=99
See the post that I have posted about EB2 India movement on 06-09-2008.
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4285&highlight=vdlrao&page=99
See the post that I have posted about EB2 India movement on 06-09-2008.
swo
07-12 09:29 PM
I have to tell you, I read this report in the paper when it was on the front page. While it may be true that some people are always impacted, those that have applied for Canadian PR after living in the states have been successful and had results in less than 2 years from beginning to end, and without the shadow of being employed by a given employer hanging over them.
No, sorry. It's just not typical. The Canadian "Backlog" does not even BEGIN to compare to the broken, extended, in-status, out-of-status, this form, that form, this queue, priority date, receipt date, labor cert workflow that is the US immigration system.
Reading this article you would think the Canadian system was a disaster. And yet, the amazing thing is, nowhere was there a mention of EXISTING problems with the US system. Just a criticism of the point system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/washington/27points.html?ex=1184385600&en=d3301beecf778d15&ei=5070
June 27, 2007
Canada’s Policy on Immigrants Brings Backlog
By CHRISTOPHER MASON and JULIA PRESTON
TORONTO, June 26 — With an advanced degree in business management from a university in India and impeccable English, Salman Kureishy is precisely the type of foreigner that Canada’s merit-based immigration system was designed to attract.
Yet eight years went by from the time Mr. Kureishy passed his first Canadian immigration test until he moved from India to Canada. Then he had to endure nine months of bureaucratic delays before landing a job in his field in March.
Mr. Kureishy’s experience — and that of Canada’s immigration system — offers a cautionary tale for the United States. Mr. Kureishy came to this country under a system Canada pioneered in the 1960s that favors highly skilled foreigners, by assigning points for education and work experience and accepting those who earn high scores.
A similar point system for the United States is proposed in the immigration bill that bounced back to life on Tuesday, when the Senate reversed a previous stand and brought the bill back to the floor. The vote did not guarantee passage of the bill, which calls for the biggest changes in immigration law in more than 20 years.
The point system has helped Canada compete with the United States and other Western powers for highly educated workers, the most coveted immigrants in high-tech and other cutting-edge industries. But in recent years, immigration lawyers and labor market analysts say, the Canadian system has become an immovable beast, with a backlog of more than 800,000 applications and waits of four years or more.
The system’s bias toward the educated has left some industries crying out for skilled blue-collar workers, especially in western Canada where Alberta’s busy oil fields have generated an economic boom. Studies by the Alberta government show the province could be short by as many as 100,000 workers over the next decade.
In response, some Canadian employers are sidestepping the point system and relying instead on a program initiated in 1998 that allows provincial governments to hand-pick some immigrant workers, and on temporary foreign-worker permits.
“The points system is so inflexible,” said Herman Van Reekum, an immigration consultant in Calgary who helps Alberta employers find workers. “We need low-skill workers and trades workers here, and those people have no hope under the points system.”
Canada accepts about 250,000 immigrants each year, more than doubling the per-capita rate of immigration in the United States, census figures from both countries show. Nearly two-thirds of Canada’s population growth comes from immigrants, according to the 2006 census, compared with the United States, where about 43 percent of the population growth comes from immigration. Approximately half of Canada’s immigrants come through the point system.
Under Canada’s system, 67 points on a 100-point test is a passing score. In addition to education and work experience, aspiring immigrants earn high points for their command of languages and for being between 21 and 49 years old. In the United States, the Senate bill would grant higher points for advanced education, English proficiency and skills in technology and other fields that are in demand. Lower points would be given for the family ties that have been the basic stepping stones of the American immigration system for four decades.
Part of the backlog in Canada can be traced to a provision in the Canadian system that allows highly skilled foreigners to apply to immigrate even if they do not have a job offer. Similarly, the Senate bill would not require merit system applicants to have job offers in the United States, although it would grant additional points to those who do.
Without an employment requirement, Canada has been deluged with applications. In testimony in May before an immigration subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives, Howard Greenberg, an immigration lawyer in Toronto, compared the Canadian system to a bathtub with an open faucet and a clogged drain. “It is not surprising that Canada’s bathtub is overflowing,” Mr. Greenberg said.
Since applications are not screened first by employers, the government bears the burden and cost of assessing them. The system is often slow to evaluate the foreign education credentials and work experience of new immigrants and to direct them toward employers who need their skills, said Jeffrey Reitz, professor of immigration studies at the University of Toronto.
The problem has been acute in regulated professions like medicine, where a professional organization, the Medical Council of Canada, reviews foreign credentials of new immigrants. The group has had difficulty assessing how a degree earned in China or India stacks up against a similar degree from a university in Canada or the United States. Frustrated by delays, some doctors and other highly trained immigrants take jobs outside their fields just to make ends meet.
The sheer size of the Canadian point system, the complexity of its rules and its backlogs make it slow to adjust to shifts in the labor market, like the oil boom in Alberta.
“I am a university professor, and I can barely figure out the points system,” said Don J. DeVoretz, an economics professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia who studies immigration systems. “Lawyers have books that are three feet thick explaining the system.”
The rush to develop the oil fields in northern Alberta has attracted oil companies from around the world, unleashing a surge of construction. Contractors say that often the only thing holding them back is a shortage of qualified workers.
Scott Burns, president of Burnco Rock Products in Calgary, a construction materials company with about 1,000 employees, said he had been able to meet his labor needs only by using temporary work permits. Mr. Burns hired 39 Filipinos for jobs in his concrete plants and plans to hire more. He said that many of the temporary workers had critically needed skills, but that they had no hope of immigrating permanently under the federal point system.
“The system is very much broken,” Mr. Burns said.
Mr. Kureishy, the immigrant from India, said he was drawn to Canada late in his career by its open society and what appeared to be strong interest in his professional abilities. But even though he waited eight years to immigrate, the equivalent of a doctoral degree in human resources development that he earned from Xavier Labor Relations Institute in India was not evaluated in Canada until he arrived here. During his first six months, Canadian employers had no formal comparison of his credentials to guide them.
Eventually, Mr. Kureishy, 55, found full-time work in his field, as a program manager assisting foreign professionals at Ryerson University in Toronto. “It was a long process, but I look at myself as fairly resilient,” Mr. Kureishy said.
He criticized Canada as providing little support to immigrants after they arrived.
“If you advertised for professors and one comes over and is driving a taxi,” he said, “that’s a problem.”
Christopher Mason reported from Toronto, and Julia Preston from New York.
No, sorry. It's just not typical. The Canadian "Backlog" does not even BEGIN to compare to the broken, extended, in-status, out-of-status, this form, that form, this queue, priority date, receipt date, labor cert workflow that is the US immigration system.
Reading this article you would think the Canadian system was a disaster. And yet, the amazing thing is, nowhere was there a mention of EXISTING problems with the US system. Just a criticism of the point system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/washington/27points.html?ex=1184385600&en=d3301beecf778d15&ei=5070
June 27, 2007
Canada’s Policy on Immigrants Brings Backlog
By CHRISTOPHER MASON and JULIA PRESTON
TORONTO, June 26 — With an advanced degree in business management from a university in India and impeccable English, Salman Kureishy is precisely the type of foreigner that Canada’s merit-based immigration system was designed to attract.
Yet eight years went by from the time Mr. Kureishy passed his first Canadian immigration test until he moved from India to Canada. Then he had to endure nine months of bureaucratic delays before landing a job in his field in March.
Mr. Kureishy’s experience — and that of Canada’s immigration system — offers a cautionary tale for the United States. Mr. Kureishy came to this country under a system Canada pioneered in the 1960s that favors highly skilled foreigners, by assigning points for education and work experience and accepting those who earn high scores.
A similar point system for the United States is proposed in the immigration bill that bounced back to life on Tuesday, when the Senate reversed a previous stand and brought the bill back to the floor. The vote did not guarantee passage of the bill, which calls for the biggest changes in immigration law in more than 20 years.
The point system has helped Canada compete with the United States and other Western powers for highly educated workers, the most coveted immigrants in high-tech and other cutting-edge industries. But in recent years, immigration lawyers and labor market analysts say, the Canadian system has become an immovable beast, with a backlog of more than 800,000 applications and waits of four years or more.
The system’s bias toward the educated has left some industries crying out for skilled blue-collar workers, especially in western Canada where Alberta’s busy oil fields have generated an economic boom. Studies by the Alberta government show the province could be short by as many as 100,000 workers over the next decade.
In response, some Canadian employers are sidestepping the point system and relying instead on a program initiated in 1998 that allows provincial governments to hand-pick some immigrant workers, and on temporary foreign-worker permits.
“The points system is so inflexible,” said Herman Van Reekum, an immigration consultant in Calgary who helps Alberta employers find workers. “We need low-skill workers and trades workers here, and those people have no hope under the points system.”
Canada accepts about 250,000 immigrants each year, more than doubling the per-capita rate of immigration in the United States, census figures from both countries show. Nearly two-thirds of Canada’s population growth comes from immigrants, according to the 2006 census, compared with the United States, where about 43 percent of the population growth comes from immigration. Approximately half of Canada’s immigrants come through the point system.
Under Canada’s system, 67 points on a 100-point test is a passing score. In addition to education and work experience, aspiring immigrants earn high points for their command of languages and for being between 21 and 49 years old. In the United States, the Senate bill would grant higher points for advanced education, English proficiency and skills in technology and other fields that are in demand. Lower points would be given for the family ties that have been the basic stepping stones of the American immigration system for four decades.
Part of the backlog in Canada can be traced to a provision in the Canadian system that allows highly skilled foreigners to apply to immigrate even if they do not have a job offer. Similarly, the Senate bill would not require merit system applicants to have job offers in the United States, although it would grant additional points to those who do.
Without an employment requirement, Canada has been deluged with applications. In testimony in May before an immigration subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives, Howard Greenberg, an immigration lawyer in Toronto, compared the Canadian system to a bathtub with an open faucet and a clogged drain. “It is not surprising that Canada’s bathtub is overflowing,” Mr. Greenberg said.
Since applications are not screened first by employers, the government bears the burden and cost of assessing them. The system is often slow to evaluate the foreign education credentials and work experience of new immigrants and to direct them toward employers who need their skills, said Jeffrey Reitz, professor of immigration studies at the University of Toronto.
The problem has been acute in regulated professions like medicine, where a professional organization, the Medical Council of Canada, reviews foreign credentials of new immigrants. The group has had difficulty assessing how a degree earned in China or India stacks up against a similar degree from a university in Canada or the United States. Frustrated by delays, some doctors and other highly trained immigrants take jobs outside their fields just to make ends meet.
The sheer size of the Canadian point system, the complexity of its rules and its backlogs make it slow to adjust to shifts in the labor market, like the oil boom in Alberta.
“I am a university professor, and I can barely figure out the points system,” said Don J. DeVoretz, an economics professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia who studies immigration systems. “Lawyers have books that are three feet thick explaining the system.”
The rush to develop the oil fields in northern Alberta has attracted oil companies from around the world, unleashing a surge of construction. Contractors say that often the only thing holding them back is a shortage of qualified workers.
Scott Burns, president of Burnco Rock Products in Calgary, a construction materials company with about 1,000 employees, said he had been able to meet his labor needs only by using temporary work permits. Mr. Burns hired 39 Filipinos for jobs in his concrete plants and plans to hire more. He said that many of the temporary workers had critically needed skills, but that they had no hope of immigrating permanently under the federal point system.
“The system is very much broken,” Mr. Burns said.
Mr. Kureishy, the immigrant from India, said he was drawn to Canada late in his career by its open society and what appeared to be strong interest in his professional abilities. But even though he waited eight years to immigrate, the equivalent of a doctoral degree in human resources development that he earned from Xavier Labor Relations Institute in India was not evaluated in Canada until he arrived here. During his first six months, Canadian employers had no formal comparison of his credentials to guide them.
Eventually, Mr. Kureishy, 55, found full-time work in his field, as a program manager assisting foreign professionals at Ryerson University in Toronto. “It was a long process, but I look at myself as fairly resilient,” Mr. Kureishy said.
He criticized Canada as providing little support to immigrants after they arrived.
“If you advertised for professors and one comes over and is driving a taxi,” he said, “that’s a problem.”
Christopher Mason reported from Toronto, and Julia Preston from New York.
siddhu98
08-17 10:12 AM
EB2 India - PD June 2006
Currently on H1B and have I797 - I-94 until Oct 2010.
Visa Stamp Expired June 2006.
EAD approved for me and wife. My wife is using EAD.
---------------------------------------
Family went to India last year June and returned to US on July 2007 before we applied I485 on Aug 2007.
Both my wife and son came on H4. Since my son�s passport is expiring Jan 2009, I94 is given only until Jan 2009 at the POE, though he has H4 Visa stamped until OCT 2010.
Upon arrival we applied I-485 on Aug 2007. Also I131 AP applied for my wife and son on Mar 2008 and approved on Apr 2008.
Now, I am applying his passport renewal. My questions are,
1. Since his I94 is expiring Jan 2009, do we need to go out of the country and come back OR validate his I94 here itself.
2. If he has to go out of the country, can we use H4 visa stamp and get I94 until 2010 or use AP.
3. If we can validate the I94 here, what is the procedure?
Thank you for addressing our questions/concerns.
Currently on H1B and have I797 - I-94 until Oct 2010.
Visa Stamp Expired June 2006.
EAD approved for me and wife. My wife is using EAD.
---------------------------------------
Family went to India last year June and returned to US on July 2007 before we applied I485 on Aug 2007.
Both my wife and son came on H4. Since my son�s passport is expiring Jan 2009, I94 is given only until Jan 2009 at the POE, though he has H4 Visa stamped until OCT 2010.
Upon arrival we applied I-485 on Aug 2007. Also I131 AP applied for my wife and son on Mar 2008 and approved on Apr 2008.
Now, I am applying his passport renewal. My questions are,
1. Since his I94 is expiring Jan 2009, do we need to go out of the country and come back OR validate his I94 here itself.
2. If he has to go out of the country, can we use H4 visa stamp and get I94 until 2010 or use AP.
3. If we can validate the I94 here, what is the procedure?
Thank you for addressing our questions/concerns.
No comments:
Post a Comment