yagw
12-14 07:59 PM
Got red with following comments:
"reputation" ?? lol this is a website, and these are forum ID's , they dont represent anything tangible or personal, please work on the real issues and leave the green/reds for school kids to fight over, thanks
If green/reds are for kids, why the f*** you use it moron. If you have guts come out and say it in the thread. Otherwise, get the f*** outa here.
"reputation" ?? lol this is a website, and these are forum ID's , they dont represent anything tangible or personal, please work on the real issues and leave the green/reds for school kids to fight over, thanks
If green/reds are for kids, why the f*** you use it moron. If you have guts come out and say it in the thread. Otherwise, get the f*** outa here.
wallpaper wallpaper Print Dove Tattoos
ronhira
04-28 10:31 AM
we r coming to a full circle here..... over 90% americans also supported & practiced slavery back in 1786...... the declaration of independence was agreed by all americans and it said - "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.... but over 90% americans supported slavery which wasthe biggest mockery of what everyone believed..... it just proves that just becoz majority of the people support something doesn't make it right or doesn't make it just.... in the end this nation had to go in for a civil war between the north & the south to end slavery.....
fast forward.... the current immigration debate is no different...... this country ought to have learned from the experience of the civil war..... for all the men, women and children who died in the civil war.... this country & this world provides for abundance of resources for everyone..... we can all cohabit this planet and live happily.... some people just don't want too..... the real question is...... will these facist forces stop with the undocumented or will they next try to squash another group who don't look like them..... my guess is that after they take care of the undocumented..... we r next.... its the generation old question that was asked during 2nd world war.... will the nazi forces of hitler stop within europe or will they next attack the US or soviet etc.... we all know the answer to that question.... and hence the 2nd world war.... the debate for the undocumented is of the same kind.... do we stop the negative fascist forces right here or will they be allowed to expand their wings.... i know the final outcome..... its just a matter of time.....
now u can throw out all the bull arguing that these are "illegal" people or they crossed the border etc.... these r the same sort of arguments presented for slavery or for mistreating women or immigrant groups, who were treated as slaves back then.... these negative fascist forces said the exact same things against abolishing slavery or giving equal rights to women, african americans and different immigrant groups..... u may think u are on the right side of this debate but u have no freaking clue that above human law there is another law... and that greater law supersedes every other human law.... every action in contradiction to the greater law will eventually lose.... wait & watch.... its just a matter of time....
60% of Americans support getting tough on illegals. Currently the US is the only country in the world, which puts the priorities of illegals above those of Citizens and legal people within its borders. Both Mexico and India (just to pick to countries) have very tough laws against visa over-stay, presence with out visa etc.
Nationally, 60% Favor Letting Local Police Stop and Verify Immigration Status - Rasmussen Reports� (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/nationally_60_favor_letting_local_police_stop_and_ verify_immigration_status)
fast forward.... the current immigration debate is no different...... this country ought to have learned from the experience of the civil war..... for all the men, women and children who died in the civil war.... this country & this world provides for abundance of resources for everyone..... we can all cohabit this planet and live happily.... some people just don't want too..... the real question is...... will these facist forces stop with the undocumented or will they next try to squash another group who don't look like them..... my guess is that after they take care of the undocumented..... we r next.... its the generation old question that was asked during 2nd world war.... will the nazi forces of hitler stop within europe or will they next attack the US or soviet etc.... we all know the answer to that question.... and hence the 2nd world war.... the debate for the undocumented is of the same kind.... do we stop the negative fascist forces right here or will they be allowed to expand their wings.... i know the final outcome..... its just a matter of time.....
now u can throw out all the bull arguing that these are "illegal" people or they crossed the border etc.... these r the same sort of arguments presented for slavery or for mistreating women or immigrant groups, who were treated as slaves back then.... these negative fascist forces said the exact same things against abolishing slavery or giving equal rights to women, african americans and different immigrant groups..... u may think u are on the right side of this debate but u have no freaking clue that above human law there is another law... and that greater law supersedes every other human law.... every action in contradiction to the greater law will eventually lose.... wait & watch.... its just a matter of time....
60% of Americans support getting tough on illegals. Currently the US is the only country in the world, which puts the priorities of illegals above those of Citizens and legal people within its borders. Both Mexico and India (just to pick to countries) have very tough laws against visa over-stay, presence with out visa etc.
Nationally, 60% Favor Letting Local Police Stop and Verify Immigration Status - Rasmussen Reports� (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/nationally_60_favor_letting_local_police_stop_and_ verify_immigration_status)
mbartosik
11-04 12:09 PM
It sounds like the UK is planning on increasing the points required for residence. I see nothing wrong with regulating the points required for residence based on needs of the country. Here it is done my H1B quota, but they forgot to change the EB GC quota too, and that's much of our aim here. In the UK it is done by points. Of course increasing the points will mean that average wage by those of non-British origin will go up. I'm quite sure that we on H1B have above average wage in US too.
In the UK things are further complicated because of migration within the EU to the UK both legal and illegal.
Anyway, this is interesting, but what's happening in the UK is of academic interest only. As far as I'm aware there is not a 12 year wait in the UK for an "indefinite leave to stay" stamp in passport (equiv of GC), and there is not a country quota.
If we don't work with IV, then Lou Dobbs will be saying that "immigrants are being paid more", and then in the next breath, "immigrants are under cutting US citizens". Hang on, I think that I've heard him say both of these things already!
That's why we need to act now, before we are kicked out for both earning more and under cutting!
In the UK things are further complicated because of migration within the EU to the UK both legal and illegal.
Anyway, this is interesting, but what's happening in the UK is of academic interest only. As far as I'm aware there is not a 12 year wait in the UK for an "indefinite leave to stay" stamp in passport (equiv of GC), and there is not a country quota.
If we don't work with IV, then Lou Dobbs will be saying that "immigrants are being paid more", and then in the next breath, "immigrants are under cutting US citizens". Hang on, I think that I've heard him say both of these things already!
That's why we need to act now, before we are kicked out for both earning more and under cutting!
2011 Ink,Black Tattoos, Dove,
puntubabu
03-07 10:17 PM
Dark Child has no votes, someones gotta vote for him, hes got a really good layout.
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gk_2000
01-26 07:09 PM
Well done team IV! BTW has IV already published this email to newspapers? IIRC a free site like PRNEWSWIRE will also help :-)
PR Newswire is AWESOME!
PR Newswire is AWESOME!
braindrain
09-02 11:45 PM
I am planning to sponsor visitors visa for my parents and and based on the available documentation I need to submit my birth certificate as part of the required docs.
My parents name in the their passport is not exactly the same as in my birth certificate. The last name is good and the issue is with the first and middle names not being exactly the same. Will this be an issue when they go for VISA. Should I get the names corrected in my parents passport before applying for VISA.
If we need to correct the names in the passport in India, does anyone have an idea of the process and how long it might take.
Any advice/help is greatly appreciated.
My parents name in the their passport is not exactly the same as in my birth certificate. The last name is good and the issue is with the first and middle names not being exactly the same. Will this be an issue when they go for VISA. Should I get the names corrected in my parents passport before applying for VISA.
If we need to correct the names in the passport in India, does anyone have an idea of the process and how long it might take.
Any advice/help is greatly appreciated.
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maheshf
07-31 12:10 PM
FYI: Last year, my wife (Dependent) got her EAD before mine was approved. Like i said, if u start looking for trends (and something that makes sense) the way USCIS works, u will most likely be disappointed.
They just work randomly---there are so many June/July EAD filers who got their EADs approved in 3-4 weeks time frame, and then there are May filers (like me) who've just started seeing some approvals and some are still waiting with applications pending over 90 days.
You are right...It's random..just received �Card Production� notification for my wife as well..
They just work randomly---there are so many June/July EAD filers who got their EADs approved in 3-4 weeks time frame, and then there are May filers (like me) who've just started seeing some approvals and some are still waiting with applications pending over 90 days.
You are right...It's random..just received �Card Production� notification for my wife as well..
2010 dove tattoos; peace dove
andy garcia
02-23 11:05 AM
Here is e.g. for 2002 again this excludes schedule A here is the breakdown for india
EB1 - 3K
EB2 - 21K
EB3 - 17.5K
EB4 - 0.3K
EB5 - 0
EB Total - 41K
Am I missing something?
You are missing this:
The large number of LPRs in the EB in 2005 was primarily due to the AC21 Act of 2000, which recaptured 130,107 unused EB visa numbers from 1999 and 2000 to be made available to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd preference EB immigrants once the annual limit had been reached. Approximately 94,000 of those recaptured visa numbers were used in 2005. None of these visas were used in 2006. In addition, the REAL ID Act of 2005 recaptured 50,000 unused EB visas, 5,125 of which were used in 2005. In 2006, 33,341 of these visas were used, exceeding the 2006 employment preference limit of 143,949. The majority of the visa numbers recaptured by the REAL ID Act were issued to individuals whose country of origin was the Philippines (57 percent) or India (22 percent).
EB1 - 3K
EB2 - 21K
EB3 - 17.5K
EB4 - 0.3K
EB5 - 0
EB Total - 41K
Am I missing something?
You are missing this:
The large number of LPRs in the EB in 2005 was primarily due to the AC21 Act of 2000, which recaptured 130,107 unused EB visa numbers from 1999 and 2000 to be made available to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd preference EB immigrants once the annual limit had been reached. Approximately 94,000 of those recaptured visa numbers were used in 2005. None of these visas were used in 2006. In addition, the REAL ID Act of 2005 recaptured 50,000 unused EB visas, 5,125 of which were used in 2005. In 2006, 33,341 of these visas were used, exceeding the 2006 employment preference limit of 143,949. The majority of the visa numbers recaptured by the REAL ID Act were issued to individuals whose country of origin was the Philippines (57 percent) or India (22 percent).
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raysaikat
05-31 12:18 AM
Thanks a lot, Raysaikat.
I appreciate the response.Here are a few of my immidiate thoughts....
1)I have been unemployed for a little over 180 days now.The key question is what is the penalty for remaining in the country for doing so?
This is the year when most people actually did NOT get jobs...I am guessing there are a lot of people in my position.
There are two things: (i) out of status, (ii) unlawful presence. Unlawful presence is a narrower concept (a subset of out of status) with severe consequences: a person who has been unlawfully present for 180 days to 365 days is barred for 3 years from reentering; a person who has been unlawfully present for more than 1 year is barred from reentering for 10 years.
It is a complicated matter to determine if your "out of status" days have become "unlawfully present" days. I am not qualified to make that judgment: you need to ask an immigration lawyer, or your school's International Student's Office. I suspect that you are merely out of status and not yet unlawfully present:
In this document, "out of status" is defined as what I am referring to as "unlawful presence".
212(a)(9)(b) Out of Status Penalty Law: This section of law provides [snip]
* For purposes of this provision of the law only, a person who has violated the terms of their status, but who has not remained in the US past their fixed status expiration date as shown on their papers will not be considered to be “out of status” unless and until a government agency has officially informed them that they are “out of status.” In other word, it is possible for to be “out of status” for purposes of filing an extension or change of status in the US, but not be “out of status” for purposes of this penalty provision of the law.
[snip...]
It is not clear to me what should be regarded as the "fixed status expiration date" in your case. In the best case, that is the time your 12 month OPT expires and from that time you will start to accrue unlawfully present days. In the worst case, that is the time when your 90 days of OPT period expired, which means that you have already accumulated more than 180 days of unlawful presence and you will be barred from reentering US for 3 years.
Again, if you need to know this, please consult an immigration lawyer. Your school's international students' office should also be able to help you. But in my experience, they are not able to deal with complex situations and usually gives too conservative an answer that will save their behind should there be any complications. Once one staff of my school's ISSO asked me to apply for CPT for working in the UK! Thankfully the actual advisor was more knowledgeable. However, the advisors are not immigration lawyers.
2)How does USCIS actually track who is employed and who is not?
They may have multiple methods if they actually launch an investigation, but usually they will check their records the next time you apply for a VISA, inside or outside US. E.g., if you want to apply for H1-B, you will have to show that you are not out of status.
3)If I were to catch the next flight back home (India), will I face problems while leaving the US/or entering India?
Nope. You can merrily exit US. Entering home country of course is in the jurisdiction of the authority of your home country. Assuming you are an Indian citizen, they cannot prevent you from entering.
I.e., you will have no problem at all.
4)Can I get a letter from a firm/company stating that I was doing an unpaid internship with them?(which will be counted towards the employment period)Are there any repurcursions for the company?
Any thoughts/opinions wouldbe most appreciated.
Thanks!
My only suggestion is not to walk the path of doing fraudulent activities for staying in the US. If that means going back to India, please do so. Perhaps you will have an equally bright career in India.
I appreciate the response.Here are a few of my immidiate thoughts....
1)I have been unemployed for a little over 180 days now.The key question is what is the penalty for remaining in the country for doing so?
This is the year when most people actually did NOT get jobs...I am guessing there are a lot of people in my position.
There are two things: (i) out of status, (ii) unlawful presence. Unlawful presence is a narrower concept (a subset of out of status) with severe consequences: a person who has been unlawfully present for 180 days to 365 days is barred for 3 years from reentering; a person who has been unlawfully present for more than 1 year is barred from reentering for 10 years.
It is a complicated matter to determine if your "out of status" days have become "unlawfully present" days. I am not qualified to make that judgment: you need to ask an immigration lawyer, or your school's International Student's Office. I suspect that you are merely out of status and not yet unlawfully present:
In this document, "out of status" is defined as what I am referring to as "unlawful presence".
212(a)(9)(b) Out of Status Penalty Law: This section of law provides [snip]
* For purposes of this provision of the law only, a person who has violated the terms of their status, but who has not remained in the US past their fixed status expiration date as shown on their papers will not be considered to be “out of status” unless and until a government agency has officially informed them that they are “out of status.” In other word, it is possible for to be “out of status” for purposes of filing an extension or change of status in the US, but not be “out of status” for purposes of this penalty provision of the law.
[snip...]
It is not clear to me what should be regarded as the "fixed status expiration date" in your case. In the best case, that is the time your 12 month OPT expires and from that time you will start to accrue unlawfully present days. In the worst case, that is the time when your 90 days of OPT period expired, which means that you have already accumulated more than 180 days of unlawful presence and you will be barred from reentering US for 3 years.
Again, if you need to know this, please consult an immigration lawyer. Your school's international students' office should also be able to help you. But in my experience, they are not able to deal with complex situations and usually gives too conservative an answer that will save their behind should there be any complications. Once one staff of my school's ISSO asked me to apply for CPT for working in the UK! Thankfully the actual advisor was more knowledgeable. However, the advisors are not immigration lawyers.
2)How does USCIS actually track who is employed and who is not?
They may have multiple methods if they actually launch an investigation, but usually they will check their records the next time you apply for a VISA, inside or outside US. E.g., if you want to apply for H1-B, you will have to show that you are not out of status.
3)If I were to catch the next flight back home (India), will I face problems while leaving the US/or entering India?
Nope. You can merrily exit US. Entering home country of course is in the jurisdiction of the authority of your home country. Assuming you are an Indian citizen, they cannot prevent you from entering.
I.e., you will have no problem at all.
4)Can I get a letter from a firm/company stating that I was doing an unpaid internship with them?(which will be counted towards the employment period)Are there any repurcursions for the company?
Any thoughts/opinions wouldbe most appreciated.
Thanks!
My only suggestion is not to walk the path of doing fraudulent activities for staying in the US. If that means going back to India, please do so. Perhaps you will have an equally bright career in India.
hair Tattoos, Cross, Doves,
va_dude
08-31 11:51 AM
I think there's a whole lot of people who haven't received a notice for the second round of FP and there is a group who have received it too.
My attorney also suggested that uscis is working on reusing the initial FP. Not sure if there's any truth to this.
My attorney also suggested that uscis is working on reusing the initial FP. Not sure if there's any truth to this.
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eb2dec2005
10-28 10:33 AM
I applied for the renewal of my expired AP on Oct 12 which was received on Oct 14th.But neither the checks are cashes nor any reciept notice received.
Is there anybody else in the same boat,Btw, the service center is NSC.
Is there anybody else in the same boat,Btw, the service center is NSC.
hot small tattoos of doves.
punjabi
10-09 04:20 PM
I would suggest you to consult an attorney! If you talk to a different IO, he might listen to you. People in USCIS are confused from this confusion of July 2 event.
An attorney might help. Or if this is only a money-issue, I would simply go ahead and "donate" USCIS with higher fee. At least the application will be accepted.
Good Luck.
An attorney might help. Or if this is only a money-issue, I would simply go ahead and "donate" USCIS with higher fee. At least the application will be accepted.
Good Luck.
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house tattoos of doves. small
GCNirvana007
10-05 11:11 PM
that was hilarious GCN007...BTW my wife got approved to finally....
Years ago or should I say ages ago not even in the US of A but at Heathrow at the American Airlines counter (that time I was a student for MS) the lady was going thru my I-20 and was asking for additional documents et al...so I had this bunch of documents in my folder...and her eyes landed on my degree certificate...she asked me you have a degree from IIT and you couldn't get a job still ? that's why you are going for your MS....i was like well I wanted to do research....why not in India? I was like this is not even USA and this is my 2nd visit to USA (after the Christmas break in the 2nd year)....why are they asking so many questions and this is pre-9/11.....
I was like why is she harassing me....Do you have intentions of staying back in the USA after you finish your MS....I said no I plan to do my PhD in the UK...She gave me a ugly look and stamped my passport and let me go....
SoP
Thanks and great news on your wife's approval bud.
Years ago or should I say ages ago not even in the US of A but at Heathrow at the American Airlines counter (that time I was a student for MS) the lady was going thru my I-20 and was asking for additional documents et al...so I had this bunch of documents in my folder...and her eyes landed on my degree certificate...she asked me you have a degree from IIT and you couldn't get a job still ? that's why you are going for your MS....i was like well I wanted to do research....why not in India? I was like this is not even USA and this is my 2nd visit to USA (after the Christmas break in the 2nd year)....why are they asking so many questions and this is pre-9/11.....
I was like why is she harassing me....Do you have intentions of staying back in the USA after you finish your MS....I said no I plan to do my PhD in the UK...She gave me a ugly look and stamped my passport and let me go....
SoP
Thanks and great news on your wife's approval bud.
tattoo Tattoos, Color, Doves,
gsc999
07-11 02:54 PM
People who want to volunteer:
Please PM Franklin or/and me your e-mail address and phone number so that we can share the phone list. There are 380 numbers to call. So if e'one takes 50
we need seven members.
Please PM Franklin or/and me your e-mail address and phone number so that we can share the phone list. There are 380 numbers to call. So if e'one takes 50
we need seven members.
more...
pictures Tattoos, Clouds, Doves,
purgan
11-11 10:32 AM
Randell,
Congratulations on getting the attention of the Times, and your tireless efforts in spreading word of the broken legal immigration system.
===
New York Times
Immigration, a Love Story
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/fashion/12green.html
WHEN Kenneth Harrell Jr., an Assemblies of God minister in South Carolina, invited Gricelda Molina to join his Spanish ministry in 2000, it didn’t take him long to realize he had found the woman he had been waiting for. On the telephone and during romantic strolls they talked about their goals, their commitment to God and how many children each would like to have. Six months flew by, and he asked her to marry him.
“She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, very gentle, very sincere,” Mr. Harrell said. But Ms. Molina, a factory worker, was also an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, who had crossed into the United States twice, having once been deported. Mr. Harrell, the pastor of Airport Assembly of God church in West Columbia, said he was not too concerned. “Whatever came, we would walk through this path together,” he said.
Mr. Harrell and Ms. Molina, both 35, married in 2001, in a large wedding attended by family from both sides and blessed by pastors in English and Spanish. But the Harrells no longer live together, not because of divorce, but because Mrs. Harrell, now the mother of two sons and four months pregnant with their third child, has been deported. She had applied for legal residency, or a green card, with her new husband as her sponsor, Mr. Harrell said, but she was sent back to Honduras 20 months ago because of her illegal entries and told she would have to wait 10 years to try again.
“Illegals are pouring over the border,” said Mr. Harrell, who has visited his family five times. “We meet them, we fall in love with them, we marry them. And then the government tears your family apart, and they take no responsibility for letting them in, in the first place.”
Falling in love and marching toward marriage is not always easy, but a particular brand of heartache and hardship can await when one of the partners is in this country illegally. The uncertainty of such a union has only been heightened by the national debate over illegal immigration. Whether the new Democratic leadership in Congress will help people like the Harrells remains to be seen.
It is hard to quantify how many people find themselves in Mr. Harrell’s situation, but with stepped-up enforcement in recent years, deportations have increased, and so have fears of losing a loved one in that way. (There were 168,310 removals in 2005, compared with 108,000 in 2000, immigration officials said.)
And that is only one byproduct of love between two people with such uneven places in society, immigration lawyers say. Many relationships strain under the financial burden of hiring lawyers for what can turn into years of visiting government offices, producing pictures, tax records and other evidence of a legitimate marriage in the quest for legalization. And while instances of immigrants faking love for a green card are in the minority, according to immigration officials, some couples feel pressure to marry before they are ready, hoping that marriage will prevent a loved one’s deportation.
Raul Godinez, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, said: “I ask people, ‘How much do you love this person? Because immigration is going to test your marriage.’ If you don’t feel it’s going to be a strong marriage, I wouldn’t do it.”
Many people may still believe that obtaining legal status through marriage is easy, because of periodic reports of marriage scams. In a three-year investigation called Operation Newlywed Game, immigration and customs enforcement agents caught more than 40 suspects in California for allegedly orchestrating sham marriages between hundreds of Chinese or Vietnamese nationals and United States citizens. But such fraud occurs in only a minority of cases, federal officials said.
In reality, immigration lawyers said, marrying a citizen does not automatically entitle the spouse to a green card and is only the first step in a long bureaucratic journey. The lawyers noted that changes in the law in the last five years have made this legalization path increasingly difficult, one worth choosing only if true love is at stake. (Other routes include sponsorship by immediate family members or an employer.)
The Harrells said they had no idea how difficult it could be and were shocked when Mrs. Harrell’s application for permanent residence was turned down, leaving them only 12 days to prepare for her departure. In that time, Mr. Harrell said, they decided that the children, now 4 and 3, would go with her. So Mr. Harrell obtained passports for them, and the church held a farewell service.
“It was very traumatic,” he said. “Our whole world was crashing around us.”
In Yoro, in north central Honduras, where Mrs. Harrell and the children live with her parents, she said the older boy constantly asks for his father, begging, “Let’s go to my papa’s house.” She has coped with her own dejection, too. “I know how much work he has over there,” she said by telephone. “He needs his wife.”
But even in the best of circumstances, when an immigrant enters the country legally, couples may have to rearrange their lives and defer their dreams.
Paola Emery, a jewelry designer, and her husband, Randall Emery, a computer consultant in Philadelphia, said they delayed having children and buying a house for the nearly four years it took the government to complete a background check for Mrs. Emery, who had entered the country from Colombia with a tourist visa and applied for permanent residency after they married in 2002.
Mrs. Emery, 27, said lawyers advised them it was not wise for her to risk trouble by visiting her close-knit family in Colombia and then trying to re-enter this country. She said she was absent through weddings, illnesses and even the kidnapping and rescue of an uncle.
“I felt like I was in jail,” Mrs. Emery said.
Officials with the Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department say that delays lasting years are rare, but some immigration lawyers say they see clients who wait three to four years for security clearance. Mrs. Emery and her husband, 34, sued Homeland Security over the delays, and she was finally cleared last May. By then Mr. Emery had helped form American Families United, a group of citizens who have sponsored immediate family members for immigration, and which advocates immigration-law change to keep families together. Immigration Services officials say they are not out to impede love or immigration. Nearly 260,000 spouses of citizens received permanent residency through marriage last year, out of 1.1 million people who became permanent residents, according to the Immigration Services office. “The goal is to give people who are eligible the benefit,” said Marie T. Sebrechts, its spokeswoman in Southern California. She said the agency does not comment on individual cases.
When a legal immigrant is sponsored by an American spouse, she said, the green card can be obtained in as little as six months. But with complications like an illegal entry, laws are not that benevolent, Ms. Sebrechts said. In those cases, the immigrant usually must return to the home country and wait 3 to 10 years to apply for residency, though waivers are sometimes granted.
Such obstacles are far from the minds of couples when they meet. And for some, so is the idea to question whether the beloved feels equally in love with them.
Sharyn T. Sooho, a divorce lawyer and a founder of divorcenet.com, a Web site for divorcing couples, said she has represented American spouses who realized too late that the person they married was more interested in a green card than in living happily ever after. “They feel conflicted, used and abused,” she said. “It’s a quick marriage, and suddenly the person who was so sweet is turning into a nightmare.”
But more often, said Carlina Tapia-Ruano, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, couples marry before they are ready because “there’s fear that if you don’t do this, somebody is going to get deported.”
Krystal Rivera, 18, a college student in Los Angeles, and her boyfriend fall into this group. Ms. Rivera is set on marrying in April 2008, even as she worries that it may put too much pressure on the relationship.
“I never wanted to follow the Hispanic ritual of getting married early,” said Ms. Rivera, a native of Los Angeles whose parents emigrated from Mexico.
She said she fell in love at 13 with a Mexican-born boy who sang in the church choir with her. “He started poking me, and I said ‘Stop it!’ ” she remembered.
Ms. Rivera is still in love with the boy, now 19, who was brought into the country illegally by his mother when he was 12. He goes to college and wants to become a teacher, while she hopes to become a doctor.
But for those plans to work, Ms. Rivera said, she needs to help him legalize his status. She said she has witnessed his frustration as he dealt with employers who didn’t pay what they owed him or struggled to find better jobs than his current one as a line cook. Because of his illegal status, he is unable to get a driver’s license or visit the brothers he left in Mexico. “We want to be normal,” Ms. Rivera said.
The Harrells, too, have decided to take charge. After months of exploring how to reunite the family and spending thousands of dollars on lawyers, Mr. Harrell has decided to leave his small congregation, sell his house and join his wife in Honduras. He will be a missionary for his church for a fraction of the $40,000 a year he makes as a minister.
Congratulations on getting the attention of the Times, and your tireless efforts in spreading word of the broken legal immigration system.
===
New York Times
Immigration, a Love Story
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/fashion/12green.html
WHEN Kenneth Harrell Jr., an Assemblies of God minister in South Carolina, invited Gricelda Molina to join his Spanish ministry in 2000, it didn’t take him long to realize he had found the woman he had been waiting for. On the telephone and during romantic strolls they talked about their goals, their commitment to God and how many children each would like to have. Six months flew by, and he asked her to marry him.
“She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, very gentle, very sincere,” Mr. Harrell said. But Ms. Molina, a factory worker, was also an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, who had crossed into the United States twice, having once been deported. Mr. Harrell, the pastor of Airport Assembly of God church in West Columbia, said he was not too concerned. “Whatever came, we would walk through this path together,” he said.
Mr. Harrell and Ms. Molina, both 35, married in 2001, in a large wedding attended by family from both sides and blessed by pastors in English and Spanish. But the Harrells no longer live together, not because of divorce, but because Mrs. Harrell, now the mother of two sons and four months pregnant with their third child, has been deported. She had applied for legal residency, or a green card, with her new husband as her sponsor, Mr. Harrell said, but she was sent back to Honduras 20 months ago because of her illegal entries and told she would have to wait 10 years to try again.
“Illegals are pouring over the border,” said Mr. Harrell, who has visited his family five times. “We meet them, we fall in love with them, we marry them. And then the government tears your family apart, and they take no responsibility for letting them in, in the first place.”
Falling in love and marching toward marriage is not always easy, but a particular brand of heartache and hardship can await when one of the partners is in this country illegally. The uncertainty of such a union has only been heightened by the national debate over illegal immigration. Whether the new Democratic leadership in Congress will help people like the Harrells remains to be seen.
It is hard to quantify how many people find themselves in Mr. Harrell’s situation, but with stepped-up enforcement in recent years, deportations have increased, and so have fears of losing a loved one in that way. (There were 168,310 removals in 2005, compared with 108,000 in 2000, immigration officials said.)
And that is only one byproduct of love between two people with such uneven places in society, immigration lawyers say. Many relationships strain under the financial burden of hiring lawyers for what can turn into years of visiting government offices, producing pictures, tax records and other evidence of a legitimate marriage in the quest for legalization. And while instances of immigrants faking love for a green card are in the minority, according to immigration officials, some couples feel pressure to marry before they are ready, hoping that marriage will prevent a loved one’s deportation.
Raul Godinez, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, said: “I ask people, ‘How much do you love this person? Because immigration is going to test your marriage.’ If you don’t feel it’s going to be a strong marriage, I wouldn’t do it.”
Many people may still believe that obtaining legal status through marriage is easy, because of periodic reports of marriage scams. In a three-year investigation called Operation Newlywed Game, immigration and customs enforcement agents caught more than 40 suspects in California for allegedly orchestrating sham marriages between hundreds of Chinese or Vietnamese nationals and United States citizens. But such fraud occurs in only a minority of cases, federal officials said.
In reality, immigration lawyers said, marrying a citizen does not automatically entitle the spouse to a green card and is only the first step in a long bureaucratic journey. The lawyers noted that changes in the law in the last five years have made this legalization path increasingly difficult, one worth choosing only if true love is at stake. (Other routes include sponsorship by immediate family members or an employer.)
The Harrells said they had no idea how difficult it could be and were shocked when Mrs. Harrell’s application for permanent residence was turned down, leaving them only 12 days to prepare for her departure. In that time, Mr. Harrell said, they decided that the children, now 4 and 3, would go with her. So Mr. Harrell obtained passports for them, and the church held a farewell service.
“It was very traumatic,” he said. “Our whole world was crashing around us.”
In Yoro, in north central Honduras, where Mrs. Harrell and the children live with her parents, she said the older boy constantly asks for his father, begging, “Let’s go to my papa’s house.” She has coped with her own dejection, too. “I know how much work he has over there,” she said by telephone. “He needs his wife.”
But even in the best of circumstances, when an immigrant enters the country legally, couples may have to rearrange their lives and defer their dreams.
Paola Emery, a jewelry designer, and her husband, Randall Emery, a computer consultant in Philadelphia, said they delayed having children and buying a house for the nearly four years it took the government to complete a background check for Mrs. Emery, who had entered the country from Colombia with a tourist visa and applied for permanent residency after they married in 2002.
Mrs. Emery, 27, said lawyers advised them it was not wise for her to risk trouble by visiting her close-knit family in Colombia and then trying to re-enter this country. She said she was absent through weddings, illnesses and even the kidnapping and rescue of an uncle.
“I felt like I was in jail,” Mrs. Emery said.
Officials with the Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department say that delays lasting years are rare, but some immigration lawyers say they see clients who wait three to four years for security clearance. Mrs. Emery and her husband, 34, sued Homeland Security over the delays, and she was finally cleared last May. By then Mr. Emery had helped form American Families United, a group of citizens who have sponsored immediate family members for immigration, and which advocates immigration-law change to keep families together. Immigration Services officials say they are not out to impede love or immigration. Nearly 260,000 spouses of citizens received permanent residency through marriage last year, out of 1.1 million people who became permanent residents, according to the Immigration Services office. “The goal is to give people who are eligible the benefit,” said Marie T. Sebrechts, its spokeswoman in Southern California. She said the agency does not comment on individual cases.
When a legal immigrant is sponsored by an American spouse, she said, the green card can be obtained in as little as six months. But with complications like an illegal entry, laws are not that benevolent, Ms. Sebrechts said. In those cases, the immigrant usually must return to the home country and wait 3 to 10 years to apply for residency, though waivers are sometimes granted.
Such obstacles are far from the minds of couples when they meet. And for some, so is the idea to question whether the beloved feels equally in love with them.
Sharyn T. Sooho, a divorce lawyer and a founder of divorcenet.com, a Web site for divorcing couples, said she has represented American spouses who realized too late that the person they married was more interested in a green card than in living happily ever after. “They feel conflicted, used and abused,” she said. “It’s a quick marriage, and suddenly the person who was so sweet is turning into a nightmare.”
But more often, said Carlina Tapia-Ruano, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, couples marry before they are ready because “there’s fear that if you don’t do this, somebody is going to get deported.”
Krystal Rivera, 18, a college student in Los Angeles, and her boyfriend fall into this group. Ms. Rivera is set on marrying in April 2008, even as she worries that it may put too much pressure on the relationship.
“I never wanted to follow the Hispanic ritual of getting married early,” said Ms. Rivera, a native of Los Angeles whose parents emigrated from Mexico.
She said she fell in love at 13 with a Mexican-born boy who sang in the church choir with her. “He started poking me, and I said ‘Stop it!’ ” she remembered.
Ms. Rivera is still in love with the boy, now 19, who was brought into the country illegally by his mother when he was 12. He goes to college and wants to become a teacher, while she hopes to become a doctor.
But for those plans to work, Ms. Rivera said, she needs to help him legalize his status. She said she has witnessed his frustration as he dealt with employers who didn’t pay what they owed him or struggled to find better jobs than his current one as a line cook. Because of his illegal status, he is unable to get a driver’s license or visit the brothers he left in Mexico. “We want to be normal,” Ms. Rivera said.
The Harrells, too, have decided to take charge. After months of exploring how to reunite the family and spending thousands of dollars on lawyers, Mr. Harrell has decided to leave his small congregation, sell his house and join his wife in Honduras. He will be a missionary for his church for a fraction of the $40,000 a year he makes as a minister.
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meridiani.planum
12-19 12:45 AM
There's a quite a misconception that if h1 is canceled, it cannot be extended. It's nothing like that. Your friend can file for visa transfer (pay extra for premium processing) and get it in two weeks.
The only time you have to file a new H1 is when you leave US and remain outside for a year. Otherwise an transfer is all you need. This misconception is very widespread. Rajiv Khanna was at pains to try to exterminate this in one of his tele-conferences.
Anyhow, at this point, your friend should be talking to an attorney instead of having you make a post at this forum.
seconding this post. the H1 is still valid. It can be extended. The only two potential troubles are:
1. its been quite some time since your friend was last in status (Sept) so USCIS will liekly issue an RFE (do the transfer in premium processing) and will approve the H1 but not the updated status (you will get an I797 without an I94 at the bottom). If that happens your friend will need to leave the US and return (any border, need not go to home country) to activate teh H1.
2. if your friend stays out of status for >6 months it can impact his eligibility for greencard down the line.
The only time you have to file a new H1 is when you leave US and remain outside for a year. Otherwise an transfer is all you need. This misconception is very widespread. Rajiv Khanna was at pains to try to exterminate this in one of his tele-conferences.
Anyhow, at this point, your friend should be talking to an attorney instead of having you make a post at this forum.
seconding this post. the H1 is still valid. It can be extended. The only two potential troubles are:
1. its been quite some time since your friend was last in status (Sept) so USCIS will liekly issue an RFE (do the transfer in premium processing) and will approve the H1 but not the updated status (you will get an I797 without an I94 at the bottom). If that happens your friend will need to leave the US and return (any border, need not go to home country) to activate teh H1.
2. if your friend stays out of status for >6 months it can impact his eligibility for greencard down the line.
more...
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aj_jadeja
02-07 08:56 PM
Here is some more info
I am traveling from
From GSP ( Greenville Spartanburg) to Ahmedabad
or from ATLANTA to Ahmedabad
thanks
my opinion what ever route u go u will have minimum 2 stops . IF u take direct flights like ny/chicago to delhi then u will have to fly from delhi to ahd.
what ever route u fly cost will be from $1300 to $1500
so my take would be this.
Atlanta - LA - singapore - ahmedabad (via singapore airlines).
no transist visa needed
service and food/drinks of singapore airline just superb.
singapore airport is also superb. nice entertainment area / food court. btw it has desi fast food place so you can enjoy good food there too.
last thing singapore to ahd direct flight :)
aj
I am traveling from
From GSP ( Greenville Spartanburg) to Ahmedabad
or from ATLANTA to Ahmedabad
thanks
my opinion what ever route u go u will have minimum 2 stops . IF u take direct flights like ny/chicago to delhi then u will have to fly from delhi to ahd.
what ever route u fly cost will be from $1300 to $1500
so my take would be this.
Atlanta - LA - singapore - ahmedabad (via singapore airlines).
no transist visa needed
service and food/drinks of singapore airline just superb.
singapore airport is also superb. nice entertainment area / food court. btw it has desi fast food place so you can enjoy good food there too.
last thing singapore to ahd direct flight :)
aj
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prom2
10-30 09:58 PM
People might mistake this as a thread for people who filed on June 7th, simply because there are other threads out there for people who filed in specific date ranges. I believe you meant June 2007 in your title, right?
Oh, I understand. You are right.
Oh, I understand. You are right.
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rbalaji5
02-09 04:12 PM
Hi Bojja,
Do I need a canadian visa to go to Canada.?.
Thnx.
Do I need a canadian visa to go to Canada.?.
Thnx.
caond
05-07 05:41 AM
I am holding J-1 student visa (academic training) from 8/2007 and will be expired on 7/31/2010, sponsor by U of Colorado. I am working as a postdoc for a project funded by NIH until 2013 at VCU. My advisor want to change my visa category from J-1 student to J-1 scholar, sponsor by VCU, to continue the project.
According to an international advisor at VCU where I am applying J-1 scholar, I cannot change from J-1 student to J-1 scholar due to 12-month bar:
[Time spent in the United States in any J status (including J-2 status) during the 12-month period preceding the prospective professor or research scholar's program begin date may affect the alien's eligibility for participation as a Professor or Research Scholar.
22 C.F.R. � 62.20(d)(2) establishes what is referred to as the "12-month bar." The general proposition of the 12-month bar is that an alien is not eligible to begin an exchange program as a Professor or Research Scholar based on a DS-2019 issued "to begin a new program" if he or she was physically present in any J status (including J-2 status) for "all or part of" the "twelve month period immediately preceding the date of program commencement set forth on his or her Form DS-2019." ]
But according to an international advisor at University of Colorado (my current sponsor for J1 student) that the 12-month bar is not applicable for me due to exception:
[(A) J-1 transfers. The 12 month bar is not applicable to those who will begin a program by transferring to a new program sponsor under the transfer procedures of 22 C.F.R. � 62.42 ;
22 C.F.R. � 62.20(d)(2)(i) ]
Who is right? What should I do? :confused:
I appreciate any help !!!
According to an international advisor at VCU where I am applying J-1 scholar, I cannot change from J-1 student to J-1 scholar due to 12-month bar:
[Time spent in the United States in any J status (including J-2 status) during the 12-month period preceding the prospective professor or research scholar's program begin date may affect the alien's eligibility for participation as a Professor or Research Scholar.
22 C.F.R. � 62.20(d)(2) establishes what is referred to as the "12-month bar." The general proposition of the 12-month bar is that an alien is not eligible to begin an exchange program as a Professor or Research Scholar based on a DS-2019 issued "to begin a new program" if he or she was physically present in any J status (including J-2 status) for "all or part of" the "twelve month period immediately preceding the date of program commencement set forth on his or her Form DS-2019." ]
But according to an international advisor at University of Colorado (my current sponsor for J1 student) that the 12-month bar is not applicable for me due to exception:
[(A) J-1 transfers. The 12 month bar is not applicable to those who will begin a program by transferring to a new program sponsor under the transfer procedures of 22 C.F.R. � 62.42 ;
22 C.F.R. � 62.20(d)(2)(i) ]
Who is right? What should I do? :confused:
I appreciate any help !!!
vxg
09-10 03:46 PM
I'm in the same boat. Got my CPO mail 2 hrs after filing an SR last week, but still waiting for my better half to get the approval. I had filed a separate SR for her and it returned with a standard "will get back in 60 days" response. Oh well, after waiting many years I can wait a few more days...
On a brighter side since your wife is derivative on your case even without GC she can work on EAD and can work any job no AC21 or what is written as job responsibilities in labor cert hassle. Though it is still some financial pain to renew EAD and AP. Good luck.
On a brighter side since your wife is derivative on your case even without GC she can work on EAD and can work any job no AC21 or what is written as job responsibilities in labor cert hassle. Though it is still some financial pain to renew EAD and AP. Good luck.
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