gimme Green!!
07-02 08:37 AM
I am surprised that two of the biggest immigration law firms in the DC area have not been mentioned.
Wonder why?
Wonder why?
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tonyHK12
03-28 09:07 PM
I recommend you man up and get a bit civil, so we can all at least look good.
I was referring to your clandestine negative comment.
I was referring to your clandestine negative comment.
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rajsand
09-20 11:33 AM
Another rally simultaneously in many states will have good effect provided we have min 500 numbers in individual states.
And yes since we had the DC rally on a weekday (for a geniune reason)
it would be better to make this one a weekend rally just to push things and keep the momentum going. Sure a weekend will fetch 10* more crowd than on a weekday. Sunday would be much preferred as the next day is a working day and things will hot up..!
It can be one rally per neighbouring states.. eg > tristates -- NJ, NY & PA can have one rally . MD , DC & VA can have one ..
Seems like a good thought..
And yes since we had the DC rally on a weekday (for a geniune reason)
it would be better to make this one a weekend rally just to push things and keep the momentum going. Sure a weekend will fetch 10* more crowd than on a weekday. Sunday would be much preferred as the next day is a working day and things will hot up..!
It can be one rally per neighbouring states.. eg > tristates -- NJ, NY & PA can have one rally . MD , DC & VA can have one ..
Seems like a good thought..
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dummgelauft
05-30 05:30 AM
There is something with the french language it self. All the people who speak french as their native language, tend to be a$$holes, of varying degrees. This true of the french people and the francophone Quebec people inCanada and the French speaking Swiss. I say, stop flying AF, screw them. It is they who need us, not the other way round
more...
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pbojja
02-09 10:21 PM
Is there anyway we can work on reporting fraud desi consulting companies to the USCIS so the fraud EB applications can be cleaned up from the system? That may help in clearing up the backlog. Believe it or not, many fraud desi firms have sponsored people in EB-2 successfully. I have worked with many such IT 'professionals' who can't speak a word of English and hardly have any idea what's going around them. I am serious here, this should be considered and evaluated. No offence meant to anyone but those who have had a wonderful educational background and don't work for desi 'firms' ought not to worry since this doesn't target them at all. I am just tired of fellow country men/women who have diminished our country's image, especially in the IT industry and am trying to think of solutions in addition to what we already have on IV's agenda.
So what do they really do at work ? do nothing and get the pay check ? no wonder banks need big loans from government
So what do they really do at work ? do nothing and get the pay check ? no wonder banks need big loans from government
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zbd
06-13 10:59 PM
But I still have not make a decission how to apply, CP or AOS ?
My 140 was indicating that I was going thru CP but I will have re-think since date might come back and retrogress.
What it your thoughts GURU's ?
My 140 was indicating that I was going thru CP but I will have re-think since date might come back and retrogress.
What it your thoughts GURU's ?
more...
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smuggymba
07-22 11:43 AM
I speak Hindi and have 8-9 friends from south india..telegu, tamil and kannadiga........we have been hanging out for years now and we haven't faced any problems....2-3 ppl in our group don't know hindi well and they try to learn it.
I have learned a few telugu and tamil words........I find calling the attitude of hindi ppl rude is a bad omen. If you don't like hindi, why do u like british language english.
I'm surprised when ppl say they hate hindi (which many indians speak) but talk to the foreign clients in their language with a smirk on their face. Take it easy friends. Cool down.
I have learned a few telugu and tamil words........I find calling the attitude of hindi ppl rude is a bad omen. If you don't like hindi, why do u like british language english.
I'm surprised when ppl say they hate hindi (which many indians speak) but talk to the foreign clients in their language with a smirk on their face. Take it easy friends. Cool down.
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ss2005
08-21 08:51 AM
Hi,
I had invoked AC21 and informed usc thru my old attorney.
Now Frago...is filing my EAD,AP extensions and asking me to file G28 for AP and EAD only.
They agreed to keep 485 G28 as is so that old attorney will take care of it.
Do you see any issues here?
I had invoked AC21 and informed usc thru my old attorney.
Now Frago...is filing my EAD,AP extensions and asking me to file G28 for AP and EAD only.
They agreed to keep 485 G28 as is so that old attorney will take care of it.
Do you see any issues here?
more...
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Chiwere
05-14 09:10 AM
Just confirmed from IRS website I would not be getting the stimulus payment as wife is on ITIN. Missed out on the July stampede last year to get rid of the abominal H4. Looks like groups like FAIR have to engaged head on if any benefits to immigrants(any variety) are to be realized.
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santb1975
04-28 12:23 AM
Just when I thought we are done for the day. Thanks a lot. you get us to 3886
Just sent $100 via PayPal. Glad to help out.
thanks
Just sent $100 via PayPal. Glad to help out.
thanks
more...
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Michael chertoff
03-27 08:30 AM
You are right in acknowledging that you may be wrong. Where you may be wrong? Maybe your "opinion" that EB2 should be given GC first before a single EB3 is entertained. Maybe the first-come-first-served argument is the valid one after all.
How does "my" argument make sense? I say, ok, give priority to EB2, but only within the same year. So, last years' EB3 has to be allocated first, before this year's EB2/EB3 are considered. And for this year, dont process EB3's unless EB2's for this year are done
But, do you realize, all our opinions are moot? Come back to reality, and we immigrant community as a whole, get to ask only ONE wish. Using your wisdom, what should that one wish be? Ikken Hissatsu. Kill with one blow.
Ok sir.. I lose you won.. keep porting.
How does "my" argument make sense? I say, ok, give priority to EB2, but only within the same year. So, last years' EB3 has to be allocated first, before this year's EB2/EB3 are considered. And for this year, dont process EB3's unless EB2's for this year are done
But, do you realize, all our opinions are moot? Come back to reality, and we immigrant community as a whole, get to ask only ONE wish. Using your wisdom, what should that one wish be? Ikken Hissatsu. Kill with one blow.
Ok sir.. I lose you won.. keep porting.
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Green.Tech
04-10 11:18 AM
Iam sorry to say that i could not navigate to certain forum postings and IV did not communicate that these are not availabe for Non - Donors.... Why this caste system?
"I am not blaming the Core at all, they are doing whateven they can given the limited resources, time and influence they have. But, what I am blaming, is the the "holier than thou" attitude which is adopted when distinguishing between those that are the exalted DONORS and those that aren't "
I am so sorry that IV did not inform you about Donor forum. I will check with IV on why you were not notified earlier. This is clearly unacceptable. IV core should give up their jobs and should start going door to door to inform everyone about IV's goals, strategies and changes to policies.
In the mean time, please go through this:
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24315&highlight=donor
"I am not blaming the Core at all, they are doing whateven they can given the limited resources, time and influence they have. But, what I am blaming, is the the "holier than thou" attitude which is adopted when distinguishing between those that are the exalted DONORS and those that aren't "
I am so sorry that IV did not inform you about Donor forum. I will check with IV on why you were not notified earlier. This is clearly unacceptable. IV core should give up their jobs and should start going door to door to inform everyone about IV's goals, strategies and changes to policies.
In the mean time, please go through this:
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24315&highlight=donor
more...
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knnmbd
07-06 01:05 PM
Good one :-)
:p
Well it would be easier to work with Oracle, Microsoft etc and get their support and provide your support to them.
Get support from whom? The same corporations that want to outsource jobs to low cost countries AND also lobby for H1B increase, again to keep wages low and all this to increase their bottom line. We need to re think our strategy and get it straight as to who is on our side and who is not.
:p
Well it would be easier to work with Oracle, Microsoft etc and get their support and provide your support to them.
Get support from whom? The same corporations that want to outsource jobs to low cost countries AND also lobby for H1B increase, again to keep wages low and all this to increase their bottom line. We need to re think our strategy and get it straight as to who is on our side and who is not.
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delhiguy79
07-23 11:40 AM
did any one try to get RN by calling USCIS ???
more...
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snathan
07-22 02:50 PM
Look at the unity in our diversity...for a moment while reading some of the comments I forgot I was in the US and looking at an supposedly elite forum...Bravo!! Keep it up Indians (Tamilians, Gujaratis, Marathis, Bengalis, Biharis, etc..)
One more thing, if you are upset with a person who misbehaved with you (in this case, rudely told you he didn't know any language other than Hindi), then logic tells me I should be upset with that person and not the reason (in this case, language) itself.
I belong to a Hindi speaking part of India, and I have lived in Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. I've had people tell me very rudely to talk in the native languages of these areas and I've tried, sometimes successfully and sometimes, not so much. The rudeness of a few members of the community never led me to form a general opinion. I've very close friends from all over India.
It is my opinion that one should try to learn the local language. It bodes well for everybody and makes life easier. As matured people that we are, I think this is a very trivial issue to fight among ourselves or get emotional.
I never knew Hindi is a local language in US:D Moreover I dont have anything against Hindi or any other language. Its the personal experience with people on more than one occasion.
One more thing, if you are upset with a person who misbehaved with you (in this case, rudely told you he didn't know any language other than Hindi), then logic tells me I should be upset with that person and not the reason (in this case, language) itself.
I belong to a Hindi speaking part of India, and I have lived in Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. I've had people tell me very rudely to talk in the native languages of these areas and I've tried, sometimes successfully and sometimes, not so much. The rudeness of a few members of the community never led me to form a general opinion. I've very close friends from all over India.
It is my opinion that one should try to learn the local language. It bodes well for everybody and makes life easier. As matured people that we are, I think this is a very trivial issue to fight among ourselves or get emotional.
I never knew Hindi is a local language in US:D Moreover I dont have anything against Hindi or any other language. Its the personal experience with people on more than one occasion.
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jkays94
07-21 08:26 PM
AILA now feels defeated because they could not show themselves as the protector of this community. If you see the lawsuit text by AILF, it clearly asks for money for lawyer fees, but does not asks for moeny for Medical exam and mental agony. So if you are going to trust your lawyers to help you, then good luck.
By the way, your Indian lawyer I dont know the name, sued DOL once and lost.
IV alone did not win the battle alone, it took the concerted efforts of IV and other organizations including AILA and the threat of the AILF lawsuit to get DOS and USCIS to relent and reverse their decision.
It obvious you misunderstood the purpose of the AILF lawsuit. Why file a lawsuit seeking injunctive relief to allow plaintiffs to file and at the same time demand reimbursement of medical fees and compensation for mental agony (I doubt if there were any plaintiffs put on anti-depressants or therapy in those two weeks as a result of the decision). You can't have your cake and eat it, you either win the case to enable filing, or you sue for damages incurred as a result of the decision but then you have to forget about contesting the ability to file, I'm sure any sane individual will be glad to choose the former and in this case thats what the lawsuit reflects. If you have ever read any class action lawsuit, the lawyers always ask for costs of the suit, this is normal even in non class action lawsuits, the loosing party pays the prevailing party's costs!
In the prior lawsuit that was lost, it is clear that Rajiv said recently that such cases against the executive branch of government need to filed in other federal court circuits other than the DC one where it is likely they will not be inclined to frown when deciding against the executive. For the record, his lawsuit was not against the DOL.
By the way, your Indian lawyer I dont know the name, sued DOL once and lost.
IV alone did not win the battle alone, it took the concerted efforts of IV and other organizations including AILA and the threat of the AILF lawsuit to get DOS and USCIS to relent and reverse their decision.
It obvious you misunderstood the purpose of the AILF lawsuit. Why file a lawsuit seeking injunctive relief to allow plaintiffs to file and at the same time demand reimbursement of medical fees and compensation for mental agony (I doubt if there were any plaintiffs put on anti-depressants or therapy in those two weeks as a result of the decision). You can't have your cake and eat it, you either win the case to enable filing, or you sue for damages incurred as a result of the decision but then you have to forget about contesting the ability to file, I'm sure any sane individual will be glad to choose the former and in this case thats what the lawsuit reflects. If you have ever read any class action lawsuit, the lawyers always ask for costs of the suit, this is normal even in non class action lawsuits, the loosing party pays the prevailing party's costs!
In the prior lawsuit that was lost, it is clear that Rajiv said recently that such cases against the executive branch of government need to filed in other federal court circuits other than the DC one where it is likely they will not be inclined to frown when deciding against the executive. For the record, his lawsuit was not against the DOL.
more...
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iptel
07-17 11:35 PM
Few months back I was frustrated and was seriously considering going back to India. Until I had to visit Denver for some work last week (where I use to work before). I met one of my freind who is from India and after listening to his story I decided may be it worth waiting for GC. He never wanted to stay in US (not because of GC retrogression but for other reason) and on advise from his coworker he applied for GC. He got his GC in one and half year (wow !! great isnt it). Now look at the life style he is living beautiful house by the lake with view of mountains kids going to good school. He comes home for lunch, work is just couple of miles from home. Huge shopping malls at stone throw distance. Now he thank his ex-coworker for his advise as he and his family is living a wonderful life.
Its just matter of time. Lets look at the glass half filled rather than half empty few months back it was total darkness atleast now we have bills passed by Senate which incorporates IV goals (kudos to IV core and all members). All we can do is try as we did before. Lets renew our fight with full vigor we are half way through. Once it passes HR we are done. I urge all members to participate on Sunday's conference and plan new strategy.
Its just matter of time. Lets look at the glass half filled rather than half empty few months back it was total darkness atleast now we have bills passed by Senate which incorporates IV goals (kudos to IV core and all members). All we can do is try as we did before. Lets renew our fight with full vigor we are half way through. Once it passes HR we are done. I urge all members to participate on Sunday's conference and plan new strategy.
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JazzByTheBay
12-10 07:32 PM
Not to take away from the spirit of your posting, but just to set the record straight - it was Immigrants Support Network.
cheers!
jazz
People feel as if they have achieved something big after getting an EAD. EAD is not a visa and EAD status is not a valid status. You in fact lose your h1b valid status once you invoke AC21.
I have personally seen people change their attitudes as if they have achieved a gold medal in Olympics and talk big about "'Fingerp[rinting", about AC21, as if they have written the AC21 law. Does anyone know how AC21 came into picture on the first hand? There was an advocacy group called "Immigrant Social Network" that was behind the AC21. Prior to that, EB rules were extremely stringent with no portability.
Everyone browses this website, gains knowledge and behaves as if he/she is an immigration expert and has achieved something big.
We have been cajoling people. To what extent?
Words cannot describe the amount of effort "needhelp" has been putting in. She still continues to be the same and claims that her morale will never go down and her commitment levels have increased. All the cowards, and so called smart asses - try to learn some good lessons from people like her.
Life is not all about shopping at Macys, talking about fingerprinting, and watching TV, and spending hours on phones talking about how dealstobuy is different from buy.com or not about how CVS pharma sells the same item for less rate than rite aid. Life is not all about "sitting here doing nothing and talking about how different countries are rising and why one MUST not care for his own good"
IV is a volunteer organization and every member is equally responsible member. If you try to elude, and act smart - it only reflects your dirty character.
If you are here, do something. Yes, atleast something that you feel you can do. Please do not cheat those who are working extremely hard for your cause.
cheers!
jazz
People feel as if they have achieved something big after getting an EAD. EAD is not a visa and EAD status is not a valid status. You in fact lose your h1b valid status once you invoke AC21.
I have personally seen people change their attitudes as if they have achieved a gold medal in Olympics and talk big about "'Fingerp[rinting", about AC21, as if they have written the AC21 law. Does anyone know how AC21 came into picture on the first hand? There was an advocacy group called "Immigrant Social Network" that was behind the AC21. Prior to that, EB rules were extremely stringent with no portability.
Everyone browses this website, gains knowledge and behaves as if he/she is an immigration expert and has achieved something big.
We have been cajoling people. To what extent?
Words cannot describe the amount of effort "needhelp" has been putting in. She still continues to be the same and claims that her morale will never go down and her commitment levels have increased. All the cowards, and so called smart asses - try to learn some good lessons from people like her.
Life is not all about shopping at Macys, talking about fingerprinting, and watching TV, and spending hours on phones talking about how dealstobuy is different from buy.com or not about how CVS pharma sells the same item for less rate than rite aid. Life is not all about "sitting here doing nothing and talking about how different countries are rising and why one MUST not care for his own good"
IV is a volunteer organization and every member is equally responsible member. If you try to elude, and act smart - it only reflects your dirty character.
If you are here, do something. Yes, atleast something that you feel you can do. Please do not cheat those who are working extremely hard for your cause.
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walking_dude
10-08 12:03 PM
As far as IV core/leadership is concerned, IV has standard "Talking Points" which were given to volunteers for "Meet the law-makers" event during DC Rally. Also there is a decent FAQ and guide on Lawmaker meetings. You can try to arrange a weekend conference call with IV core ( paskal or pappu) too. Chintu25 (sam) has experience in this matter (he setup the last call)
Here's something from my end, to get the discussion started so that we have some concrete agenda for 10/20. It would also help participants to come ready with their ideas. It's also something we can do from our end, instead of waiting for leadership to come to our rescue!
1) Introductions - each member introduces himself/herself briefly, describes his/her GC journey, his/her concerns, expectations from IV and what could make them active participants in the grassroots movements, how can they contribute to IV in membership drive, meet the press, meet the lawmakers, funding etc.
Idea is to comeup with a SWAT anaylis. Identify our collective strengths, challenges and areas for improvement.
Here are somethings that can be planned
a) If someone has good media contacts, he/she can setup meetings with news reporter, others with compelling stories like 6-7 years wait after applying GC, children aging out etc. can volunteer to talk on behalf of IV.
b) If someone has contact with Senators, Congressmen etc. they can be pivotal in setting up meetings. A person with strong communication skills and marketing skills can volunteer to present the facts and sell our case in the meetings. It's very important that whoever presents our case does it effectively as our case needs a hardsell
c) Guys who volunteer/have contacts at temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras, schools, colleges, libraries etc. can pull strings to get us space in the announcement boards. Others can print out the material and actually go and post those flyers at the designated places.
.... and so on. By sharing work we can share the burden and achieve more than what's possible acting individually. It's important that we know each other to comeup with such ideas for collaboration
2) Publicity Campaign/Membership Drive - I need not stress the importance of these. Here's something we need to do at the meetings
a) Divide the areas between members. This will avoid duplication, redundancy [ two members posting at the same grocery store etc.].
Somebody please get a MI map! We will mark area for each member to cover. We will know which areas are well-served and under-served. Volunteers from Well-served areas can adopt some of the nearby under-served areas. Or we call give a holler here say - " we need someone from Armada"
b) Set concrete weekly/monthly targets for each member like I will do 5 groceries which are ABC,XYZ, ... next weekend. As each volunteer meets the target, he/she reports to the publicity campaign co-ordinator (yes, we need a co-ordinator too!). Data is compiled and presented month-end ( yahoo groups, teleconferencing) so we know if we met our self-targets - how much's done, how much remains to be done, why some targets were missed, lessons learnt, how to avoid next time etc.
3) Real Grassroots campaign - Lawmaker meetings need not only target Congressmen/women. Remember, the letter Gov. Schwarnegger and 13 others wrote to US Congress? Governors and local politicians can influence too.
We can target local politicians - state senators, Governor etc. We can try to persuade them to write letters to Congressmen/women supporting our cause. Congressmen/women do depend on these local politicians to win the elections. If they write letters it will carry more wait than our letters, they also may be easier to persuade with our contacts than top-tier politicians like Senators. Instead of concentrating at the top, we can try the 'bottom up' approach in-addition to 'Meet Congressmen' campaigns.
Some plans can be drawnup during the meeting. Again we need to set targets, monitor and analyze progress, come up with corrective action etc.
4) Funding Drive - Show me the money :)
We'll need to come out with a Contribution/Financial plan.
a) How each one of us contributing/plans to contribute to IV annually? We need to tally the figures to come up with State-level contributions which should be communicated with the IV core.
b) Financial targets/commitments need to be setup at IV national and state chaper levels. We cannot totally depend on IV core to run ads in local papers for e.g. If it takes $1000 for e.g. it may not be possible for one or two persons (the so-called leaders) to bear the whole burden, however if we can share it like $100 x 10 or $50 x 20 it help further our cause. TRANSPARENCY at local-level is a must to gain members confidence. So we need to budget, execute, spend and report the spending ( amongst contributors only, others please excuse)
c) It will also help setup the level-of-support that the State chapter, IV core can provide to members. In case help at USCIS HQ level, Ombudsman-level etc. are needed in his/her case a non-contributing member cannot expect the same service as a member contributing his/her mite to the campaigns.
The contributions need not only be financial. If someone's unable to contribute significantly financially, they should make it up by volunteering for other activity.
5) Identify the local Leadership Team - Since we are all volunteers here with full-time jobs, it's impossible for one person to handle the co-ordination, monitoring, reporting (to members and core) activities. A leadership team needs to be identified to share the burden.
Leaders need to understand that they are the public face of IV in Michigan. It's expected they take a lead in all local activities, and will be speaking to media, co-ordinating between IV core and chapter members. They need to be open to phone calls, and in a position to answer member queries on a timely fashion (otherwise members will lose faith in the local chapter and the movement will die)
Leadership team will publish a monthly action plan, targets, results of last month etc. complementing with IV national-level action items and plans.
6) Localized talking points to Senators - Since our Democratic Senators keep countering our cause with issues such as Workers (read American Workers protection) and Amnesty, we need to come up with solutions based on previous experience.
In addition to IV talking points, we can also talk about -
1) Protecting Workers by removing job-restrictions on Employer, Job-level, salary-level etc. to GC applicants. How this will help American workers too.
2) Impact of GC applicants immigrating to Windsor (Canada) on Michigan economy. Loss of state taxes, losses to grocery stores, electronic stores causing loss of jobs etc.
3) Michigan is facing a labor-crisis as most young people in MI are moving to greener pastures in search of better opportunities. This has resulted in jobs moving out of Michigan, reluctance of new businesses to enter MI etc. due to non-availabilty of local resources ( We can show some press reports to prove our point)
Only way to counter labor-attrition is to attract and retain Immigrant workers. Immigrant workers will only relocate and work in MI, if MI is perceived as an Immigrant-friendly state. Senators office can take the lead in positioning MI as an attractive destination for Immigrant labor. If successful this campaign can reverse job loss and reinvigorate Michigan economy.
I've posted my ideas to get the discussion started. Others, please share your ideas too.
....
Now lets start on the game plan.
We would need some help from our leaders here..... what are the crucial topics that shall be discussed, and who are the people in state that we should target?
I think, calling our senetors and possibly arranging a meeting with them would be on our top of the list. But lets meet and discuss first to decide what points shall be covered, and what shall be avoided....etc...
Here's something from my end, to get the discussion started so that we have some concrete agenda for 10/20. It would also help participants to come ready with their ideas. It's also something we can do from our end, instead of waiting for leadership to come to our rescue!
1) Introductions - each member introduces himself/herself briefly, describes his/her GC journey, his/her concerns, expectations from IV and what could make them active participants in the grassroots movements, how can they contribute to IV in membership drive, meet the press, meet the lawmakers, funding etc.
Idea is to comeup with a SWAT anaylis. Identify our collective strengths, challenges and areas for improvement.
Here are somethings that can be planned
a) If someone has good media contacts, he/she can setup meetings with news reporter, others with compelling stories like 6-7 years wait after applying GC, children aging out etc. can volunteer to talk on behalf of IV.
b) If someone has contact with Senators, Congressmen etc. they can be pivotal in setting up meetings. A person with strong communication skills and marketing skills can volunteer to present the facts and sell our case in the meetings. It's very important that whoever presents our case does it effectively as our case needs a hardsell
c) Guys who volunteer/have contacts at temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras, schools, colleges, libraries etc. can pull strings to get us space in the announcement boards. Others can print out the material and actually go and post those flyers at the designated places.
.... and so on. By sharing work we can share the burden and achieve more than what's possible acting individually. It's important that we know each other to comeup with such ideas for collaboration
2) Publicity Campaign/Membership Drive - I need not stress the importance of these. Here's something we need to do at the meetings
a) Divide the areas between members. This will avoid duplication, redundancy [ two members posting at the same grocery store etc.].
Somebody please get a MI map! We will mark area for each member to cover. We will know which areas are well-served and under-served. Volunteers from Well-served areas can adopt some of the nearby under-served areas. Or we call give a holler here say - " we need someone from Armada"
b) Set concrete weekly/monthly targets for each member like I will do 5 groceries which are ABC,XYZ, ... next weekend. As each volunteer meets the target, he/she reports to the publicity campaign co-ordinator (yes, we need a co-ordinator too!). Data is compiled and presented month-end ( yahoo groups, teleconferencing) so we know if we met our self-targets - how much's done, how much remains to be done, why some targets were missed, lessons learnt, how to avoid next time etc.
3) Real Grassroots campaign - Lawmaker meetings need not only target Congressmen/women. Remember, the letter Gov. Schwarnegger and 13 others wrote to US Congress? Governors and local politicians can influence too.
We can target local politicians - state senators, Governor etc. We can try to persuade them to write letters to Congressmen/women supporting our cause. Congressmen/women do depend on these local politicians to win the elections. If they write letters it will carry more wait than our letters, they also may be easier to persuade with our contacts than top-tier politicians like Senators. Instead of concentrating at the top, we can try the 'bottom up' approach in-addition to 'Meet Congressmen' campaigns.
Some plans can be drawnup during the meeting. Again we need to set targets, monitor and analyze progress, come up with corrective action etc.
4) Funding Drive - Show me the money :)
We'll need to come out with a Contribution/Financial plan.
a) How each one of us contributing/plans to contribute to IV annually? We need to tally the figures to come up with State-level contributions which should be communicated with the IV core.
b) Financial targets/commitments need to be setup at IV national and state chaper levels. We cannot totally depend on IV core to run ads in local papers for e.g. If it takes $1000 for e.g. it may not be possible for one or two persons (the so-called leaders) to bear the whole burden, however if we can share it like $100 x 10 or $50 x 20 it help further our cause. TRANSPARENCY at local-level is a must to gain members confidence. So we need to budget, execute, spend and report the spending ( amongst contributors only, others please excuse)
c) It will also help setup the level-of-support that the State chapter, IV core can provide to members. In case help at USCIS HQ level, Ombudsman-level etc. are needed in his/her case a non-contributing member cannot expect the same service as a member contributing his/her mite to the campaigns.
The contributions need not only be financial. If someone's unable to contribute significantly financially, they should make it up by volunteering for other activity.
5) Identify the local Leadership Team - Since we are all volunteers here with full-time jobs, it's impossible for one person to handle the co-ordination, monitoring, reporting (to members and core) activities. A leadership team needs to be identified to share the burden.
Leaders need to understand that they are the public face of IV in Michigan. It's expected they take a lead in all local activities, and will be speaking to media, co-ordinating between IV core and chapter members. They need to be open to phone calls, and in a position to answer member queries on a timely fashion (otherwise members will lose faith in the local chapter and the movement will die)
Leadership team will publish a monthly action plan, targets, results of last month etc. complementing with IV national-level action items and plans.
6) Localized talking points to Senators - Since our Democratic Senators keep countering our cause with issues such as Workers (read American Workers protection) and Amnesty, we need to come up with solutions based on previous experience.
In addition to IV talking points, we can also talk about -
1) Protecting Workers by removing job-restrictions on Employer, Job-level, salary-level etc. to GC applicants. How this will help American workers too.
2) Impact of GC applicants immigrating to Windsor (Canada) on Michigan economy. Loss of state taxes, losses to grocery stores, electronic stores causing loss of jobs etc.
3) Michigan is facing a labor-crisis as most young people in MI are moving to greener pastures in search of better opportunities. This has resulted in jobs moving out of Michigan, reluctance of new businesses to enter MI etc. due to non-availabilty of local resources ( We can show some press reports to prove our point)
Only way to counter labor-attrition is to attract and retain Immigrant workers. Immigrant workers will only relocate and work in MI, if MI is perceived as an Immigrant-friendly state. Senators office can take the lead in positioning MI as an attractive destination for Immigrant labor. If successful this campaign can reverse job loss and reinvigorate Michigan economy.
I've posted my ideas to get the discussion started. Others, please share your ideas too.
....
Now lets start on the game plan.
We would need some help from our leaders here..... what are the crucial topics that shall be discussed, and who are the people in state that we should target?
I think, calling our senetors and possibly arranging a meeting with them would be on our top of the list. But lets meet and discuss first to decide what points shall be covered, and what shall be avoided....etc...
bugmenot
06-08 06:10 PM
Bush is going back to the Capitol hill next week to push for immigration reform. He is hell bent on signing a CIR bill no matter what and Kennedy and durbin know that this there best chance to give amnesty to illegals and screew us Legals EB so this bill is going to be introduced and will pass for sure
yup both kennedy and kyl have said its gonna happen real soon
yup both kennedy and kyl have said its gonna happen real soon
dagabaaj
02-13 01:30 PM
mind your language.....i just wanted to get an update...there was a big momentum built around passing the i-485 provision and now we are postponing it till CIR....We are also changing lobbying firm....These are two significant changes. First, the initial promise made to members is not being delivered upon and second, we are changing a firm that we have utilized for a year. Are there some problems going on? May be, the firm ditched us.....Look, all these are questions going thru my head....That's why I posted the question....I am bold enuff to ask the questions, rather than sit back and blindly believe whatever is fed to me.....I do not own IV and I don't want to either....
Just a legitimate question amidst all the changes.....
whoa!!!...its getting hot in here....lets all wait for the World cup to finish...maybe India will win and whole scenario will change!!!...just kidding...
Viva...you have raised some valid questions...and understand that you got the answers...lets all have a dedicated goal....Core team please let us know if any...I mean it...any help is required....
Just a legitimate question amidst all the changes.....
whoa!!!...its getting hot in here....lets all wait for the World cup to finish...maybe India will win and whole scenario will change!!!...just kidding...
Viva...you have raised some valid questions...and understand that you got the answers...lets all have a dedicated goal....Core team please let us know if any...I mean it...any help is required....
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