Lesley1020

Comprehensive Immigration Reform: What You Can Do

<<Please visit link below for article>>
www.immigrationforum.org

scrubbedexpat099

So do you agree with the above or disagree?

I have always wondered what would be the number of work/immigrant visa's required to curtail illegal immigration.

Obviously millions pa but what is the demand?

Lesley1020

For the most part, I agree, as I think any of us would, that something needs to be done.

Much as it irks me that illegals from certain countries have gotten amnesty (several USCs have pointed out to me that they view this as discrimination against other countries.. go figure) - I see the point that it is nor practical, or possible to deport 11 million people, and that they figure they can collect tax dollars if they make them legal.

I wonder often how many illegals there are from European countries, when I talked about various options with my attorney, they more or less told me that they doubted anyone would come knocking on my door to deport me... but who wants to live their life like that you would think? Seems, that many do. With SEVIS in place for F1 and J1 visa holders, it would seem to me that they would track down illegals in those categories much more easily, but I know of several people who are, and continued working AND filed tax returns and still haven't been questioned!!!

So, you can look at the amnesty in the past, the fact that overstays are forgiven if you marry a USC and you can see why desperate people clutch at straws in the hope of one of these situations occurring, or just that no one will ever come and find them.

It would seem to me to make much more sense to allow more visas in employment categories for one, and I believe that the family sponsored visa category waiting times are just plain ridiculous.

As everyone knows, the whole system is just a complete and utter joke, and I just don't think it can do any harm to write to local representatives, senators, congress people - because until enough people shout loud enough - who is ever going to listen? Will they pay any attention? Perhaps not, but there is no harm in trying.

My boss, together with our parent company, is talking with a Senator here in TN, and asking what they can do to help and who they can write to. They have contacted local and national news networks and I am quite sure now know much more than they ever wanted to about how much inefficiency goes on at the USCIS.

This Senator, Lamar Alexander, was the one who got my PERM approved so fast after they lost the original papers, and one of his top aides was who my boss has been talking to, she actually made a phone call to the USCIS to discuss this and of course told me that there was nothing that could be done. However, she then went on to tell my boss that she was going to make more calls and see if there were any other options. Of course, there are none, and I know this, but if it highlights how ridiculous the whole system is to at least one more Senator, then its a tiny step forward in my view.

The main thing she was concerned about was how much money has been spent on implementing PERM, which has been rendered virtually useless for a high amount of those who have been certified.

Ultimately, in my mind, I thought none of these people would be remotely interested in helping me - I can't vote for them - but I have to say they have helped as much as they can to this point. Within 1 hour of faxing them they were on the phone to me!

Someone on the Murthy forum made a very good point - and I believe they are creating a template letter - to the Senators who are lobbying for immigration reform - to ask if they can give some kind of temporary solution to those who can't file I-485s because of the retrogression by transferring the unused visa numbers from other categories.

Anyway, I am rambling now - glad I got that off my chest! LOL.

TouristTrap

I know at least a half a dozen folk whose cases were desperate and have been helped by their senatorial staff.

It is a huge joke. A close friend's dad was dying in hospital a while back, cancer which came upon him suddenly, and his one son got turned down for an emergency visa, because all his brothers and sisters are living here. He is in his 40's and visited the States at least once or twice a year, from the time he was a teen, until a few years ago, when he got married (dad was a visiting prof. at university here, and would bring the family with him and take a vacation after his work was done).

The senator intervened, but they only gave him a one week visa! He had to leave the country a few days before his father passed away, which I think was absolutely disgusting. He hadn't seen his father for years. That is the kind of thing that goes on.

Lesley1020

Words fail me on that one.

Englishmum

What gets me is that apparently Great Britain is the closest ally of the USA on the 'War on Terror'.

Odd that only those born in Northern Ireland can enter the Green Card diversity lottery and those of us born in mainland Britain are excluded .....I heard that was something to do with pressure from Senator Edward Kennedy and I'm sure that was (from his perspective) mainly because in his eyes they're Irish and not British.....