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Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Old Sep 16th 2005, 4:52 pm
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Default Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Hi everyone... please proof read and tell me what you think.. I have gotten together with some folks on an immigration forum and we are trying to get a template letter together that I volunteered to write, to send to Kennedy & McCain and various other pro immigration senators... Please let me know what you think - all constructive critisism appreciated!!!


September 16, 2005


Senator Lamar Alexander






Dear Senator Alexander

I have written to you before and worked with your office on some immigration issues, and my employer has discussed the same with Ms. Stephanie Chivers.

I am writing to bring to your attention urgently, a very time sensitive matter, and hopefully that of other Senators and Members of Congress, of the shocking situation which has occurred due the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin for 2005 (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bu...tin_2631.html).

The government and Department of Labor implemented the PERM Labor Certification system in May this year to address the issue of the several years backlog in this particular area for employment based visas for highly skilled and professional workers and it would seem at first glance that the system worked for many. U.S. employers together with the foreign workers carried out months, if not years of preparatory work to be able to comply with the many regulations imposed. Your office already intervened for me personally, when the Department of Labor lost my paperwork and we had to re-file. Because we had such tight deadlines to work with, your office were able to have them give us a response quickly and we were granted labor certification on August 15.

Once you have a labor certification, you must file for I-1485 for adjustment of status to permanent resident and to do that there must be a current category to file under, EB1, EB2 or EB3. EB3 was current until July this year, and all indications given to immigration attorneys by the Dept. of State were that they would remain current until the end of the year, and then possibly retrogress. However, the announcement this week has shown retrogression back to 2001 for the United Kingdom (and all other countries) and even worse situations for residents of India and China.

Basically, this means that for the majority of people who have a labor certification, and spent years and thousands of dollars, that the document is rendered useless. It makes one wonder why the system was implemented if, after it is utilized by those who need it, at great personal and financial cost – they are able to proceed no further.

I for one, have lost everything. Because I was told I could file for EB3 on October 1, 2005 and had a labor certification from the Dept of Labor, I went ahead and sold my home in the U.K., purchased a vehicle here, made long term plans, and as I had written about previously, there are severe medical implications in my case too.

But, I am not alone – there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of people in a similar situation to me.

We are people mostly from the United Kingdom, the United States’ strongest ally, other countries in Europe, and India and China too, who are skilled workers that pay taxes and have been law abiding residents – and all we ever wanted to do was comply with the law and become citizens of, and contribute to Society in this country we love, and had hoped to spend the rest of our lives in.

The main reason I am writing is not to complain without offering hope of a solution, of which there are two:

· a similar situation in the past was addressed by the government by “recapturing� unused visa numbers from other categories and passing it to the needy ones.
· Allow a temporary solution for those who would go out of status because of this new backlog – at present they will allow the filing of the I-140 but not the I-485 which is the document that allows continued work authorization.

President Bush appointed a new Director of the USCIS last week, his name is Emilio T. Gonzalez and I cannot find any contact information for him and would be most appreciative if there is any way to bring this to his attention.

I have no idea what it would take to make such a decision, or pass such a Bill, but I wanted to bring this to your attention and beg of you, if there is anything at all that you can do to remedy this situation, that you please help us. Attorneys are expecting the numbers to go back to a more normal or current state by the time of the next bulletin (at the end of the year I believe) but that, unfortunately is going to be too late for many, whose status expires before the end of the year, and it would seem a very cruel state of affairs where people have lost their one chance of citizenship after years of work, because of a few months delay/backlog

It is probably too late for me, as my visa expires on October 12, 2005, but it may not be too late to help others who have a little more time than me.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,





LESLEY ANN REID


cc. Senator McCain, Senator Kennedy, President G.W. Bush, Senator Frist

Last edited by Lesley1020; Sep 16th 2005 at 5:08 pm.
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:07 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by Lesley1020

cc. Senator McCain, Senator Kennedy, President G.W. Bush, Senator Frist
well there's a waste of four 37 cents stamps if ever I saw.
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:13 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by Manc
well there's a waste of four 37 cents stamps if ever I saw.
LMAO. You got everyone in my office laughing at that one!
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:13 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by Manc
well there's a waste of four 37 cents stamps if ever I saw.
You callous git!!.

Last edited by CarlM; Sep 16th 2005 at 5:17 pm.
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:16 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by Lesley1020
I am writing to bring to your attention urgently, a very time sensitive matter, and hopefully that of other Senators and Members of Congress, of the shocking situation which has occurred due the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin for 2005 (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2631.html).

This paragraph doesn't make much sense. Maybe reword it: "I am writing as a matter of some urgency to bring to your attention, and hopefully that of other Senators and Members of Congress, the shocking situation..."

I also wonder whether it is right to say you are "bringing it to their attention" - after all, surely it's their job to know about it already?

The government and Department of Labor implemented the PERM Labor Certification system in May this year to address the issue of the several years backlog in this particular area for employment based visas for highly skilled and professional workers and it would seem at first glance that the system worked for many. U.S. employers together with the foreign workers carried out months, if not years of preparatory work to be able to comply with the many regulations imposed. Your office already intervened for me personally, when the Department of Labor lost my paperwork and we had to re-file. Because we had such tight deadlines to work with, your office was able to have them give us a response quickly and we were granted labor certification on August 15.

Once you have a labor certification, you must file for I-1485 for adjustment of status to permanent resident and to do that there must be a current category to file under, EB1, EB2 or EB3. EB3 was current until July this year, and all indications given to immigration attorneys by the Dept. of State were that they would remain current until the end of the year, and then possibly retrogress. However, the announcement this week has shown retrogression back to 2001 for the United Kingdom (and all other countries) and even worse situations for residents of India and China. This final sentence is a bit strange as well. Rather than saying "and even worse situations..." I would change it to "While citizens of India and China are being put into an even worse situation".

Basically, this means that for the majority of people who have a labor certification, and have spent many years and thousands of dollars achieving this, (that <- unnecessary word - delete) the document is rendered useless. It makes one wonder why the system was implemented if, after it is utilized by those who need it, at great personal and financial cost, (comma not hyphen) they are able to proceed no further.

I for one, have lost everything. Because I was told I could file for EB3 on October 1, 2005 and had a labor certification from the Dept of Labor, I went ahead and sold my home in the U.K., purchased a vehicle here and made long term plans to remain in the US. As I have previously written, there are also severe medical implications in my case.

But (unnecessary comma) I am not alone – there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of people in a situation similar to my own.

We are people mostly from the United Kingdom, the United States’ strongest ally (I would personally get rid of this bit about strongest ally. It almost seems like you're playing on that to get special favours) and other countries in Europe as well as India and China : skilled workers who pay taxes and have been law abiding residents – and all we ever wanted to do was comply with the law and become citizens of, and contribute to, the society of this country we love (delete unnecessary comma) and had hoped to spend the rest of our lives in.

The main reason I am writing is not to complain without offering hope of a solution, of which I believe there are two:

· a similar situation in the past was addressed by the government by “recapturing� unused visa numbers from other categories and passing them to the needy ones.
· Allow a temporary solution for those who would go out of status because of this new backlog – at present they will allow the filing of the I-140 but not the I-485 which is the document that allows continued work authorization.

President Bush appointed a new Director of the USCIS last week. His name is Emilio T. Gonzalez but I cannot find any contact information for him and would be most appreciative if you could find a way of bringing this to his attention.

I have no idea what it would take to make such a decision, or pass such a Bill, but I wanted to bring this to your attention and beg of you, (does this not sound a little too desperate. You're supposed to be an outraged almost-citizen, not a desperate almost-illegal!) if there is anything at all that you can do to remedy this situation, that you please help us. Attorneys are expecting the numbers to go back to a more normal or current state by the time of the next bulletin (at the end of the year I believe) but that, unfortunately is going to be too late for many (delete unnecessary comma) whose status expires before the end of the year, and it would seem a very cruel state of affairs for people to lose their one chance of citizenship, after years of work, as a result of a few months delay/backlog.

It is probably too late for me, as my visa expires on October 12, 2005, but it may not be too late to help others who have a little more time than me.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,





LESLEY ANN REID


cc. Senator McCain, Senator Kennedy, President G.W. Bush, Senator Frist
Hope this helps.

All the best
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:31 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by CarlM
You callous git!!.
callous, yes, realistic? probably yes
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:35 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by BritGuyTN
callous, yes, realistic? probably yes
Oh i agree! I got half way thru reading that mess and bailed out.
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:39 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

I thought PERM started in March not May.
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:46 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by Lesley1020
LMAO. You got everyone in my office laughing at that one!

Lesley - I know this will come across as maybe a bit blunt - please don't take it that way

what is worth being essentially homeless (unless you are moving in with your boyfriend) and spending at least $20k on tution and living expenses over the next couple of years?

I'm not sure if you are aware but a 2yr associates degree is fairly pointless and worth less than a 4 yr bachelors in underwater basket weaving, i mean - if you are going to go the education route then funds permitting, just do a 4 year degree which will benefit you at the end of it

you say that you have nothing to go back to in the UK - but surely you have friends?

look at the opportunity cost as well as the immediate cost.

you could be in the UK, earning at least reasonable money, if not good money as opposed to doing some crappy minimum wage for the next year for 20 hours a week - all the while having to pay for this dubious 'privilege'

if you have funds from the UK why not purchse a duplex - I'm sure you can get one for under $100k and rent out one side to give you some income?
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:46 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by CarlM
Oh i agree! I got half way thru reading that mess and bailed out.
OK guys it was the first draft and I tried to include points that people emailing me wanted to make, did it in about 5 mins flat... going back to the start!....

And unrealistic it may be and it may never be read but if no-one tries no one will ever listen.
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:50 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by Lesley1020
OK guys it was the first draft and I tried to include points that people emailing me wanted to make, did it in about 5 mins flat... going back to the start!....

And unrealistic it may be and it may never be read but if no-one tries no one will ever listen.
I think you are showing a great deal of courage and determination, traits lacking in a lot of people nowadays
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 5:54 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by BritGuyTN

I'm not sure if you are aware but a 2yr associates degree is fairly pointless and worth less than a 4 yr bachelors in underwater basket weaving
Damn

Gruff B.Ubw Hon.

Last edited by gruffbrown; Sep 16th 2005 at 6:00 pm.
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 6:00 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by BritGuyTN
Lesley - I know this will come across as maybe a bit blunt - please don't take it that way

what is worth being essentially homeless (unless you are moving in with your boyfriend) and spending at least $20k on tution and living expenses over the next couple of years?

I'm not sure if you are aware but a 2yr associates degree is fairly pointless and worth less than a 4 yr bachelors in underwater basket weaving, i mean - if you are going to go the education route then funds permitting, just do a 4 year degree which will benefit you at the end of it

you say that you have nothing to go back to in the UK - but surely you have friends?

look at the opportunity cost as well as the immediate cost.

you could be in the UK, earning at least reasonable money, if not good money as opposed to doing some crappy minimum wage for the next year for 20 hours a week - all the while having to pay for this dubious 'privilege'

if you have funds from the UK why not purchse a duplex - I'm sure you can get one for under $100k and rent out one side to give you some income?
I work for a Community College, and i am just plain crying my eyes out now!
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 6:02 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

[QUOTE=BritGuyTN]Lesley - I know this will come across as maybe a bit blunt - please don't take it that way

QUOTE]

Not at all, I see how it probably looks - crazy, stupid? Yea, all of those possibly.

I know the Associates Degree is worth nothing, but I can transfer it to a 4 year degree at U of M at a later date if I wanted to. All I am trying to do is buy some time here, the LC is good indefinitely, and if it buys me another year on the meds that are holding things at bay then for me, its worth it
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Old Sep 16th 2005, 6:08 pm
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Default Re: Need Help!! Please proof read ...

Originally Posted by Lesley1020
OK guys it was the first draft and I tried to include points that people emailing me wanted to make, did it in about 5 mins flat... going back to the start!....

And unrealistic it may be and it may never be read but if no-one tries no one will ever listen.
(Oh soddit she read my reply!).

"Its just easier to not make any effort, and youll never be disappointed"
CarlM2005
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