IamWithImmiVoice
06-17 09:00 PM
Contributed 100 dollars. Hopefully everyone here contributes and we meet our goals..
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glosrfc
01-01 06:42 PM
Is it just an AS 3.0 competition? Otherwise all of us lowly and impoverished AS 2.0 users will have to sit this one out.
vinabath
03-24 03:14 PM
list of some of the threads created by "vinabath" - how many do you see meaningful???
Thread / Thread Starter Last Post Replies Views Forum
No more LC substitution, No more delays in 140. What a relief
vinabath Today 02:55 PM
what would you do if you get GC tomorrow? ( 1 2 3 4 )
vinabath Today 02:37 PM
What does the dots in my profile mean?
vinabath Today 02:00 PM
Tips to get your GC in a YEAR ( 1 2 3 4 )
vinabath Yesterday 03:38 AM
by vinabath 0 445 Retrogression, priority dates and Visa bulletins
Poll: How many will be happy if..... ( 1 2 )
by vinabath 21 1,922 Priority dates transfers and Post 140-approval options
H4-H1 stamping in chennai- Visa renewal??
by vinabath 45 4,405 Retrogression, priority dates and Visa bulletins
BIG JOKE on us by USCIS. Story of the Century.
vinabath 07-02-2007 04:00 PM
by vinabath 14 1,037 Retrogression, priority dates and Visa bulletins
Medical Report Delayed by Six months
vinabath 06-15-2007 01:38 PM
by franklin 8 653 Medical exams and related issues
Y1 Visa - Lets make USA as Dubai
vinabath 05-18-2007 10:44 AM
by vinabath 0 468 Retrogression, priority dates and Visa bulletins
EB2 India - Feb 23 2003. Is it possible this year??
I am exposed now.
Thread / Thread Starter Last Post Replies Views Forum
No more LC substitution, No more delays in 140. What a relief
vinabath Today 02:55 PM
what would you do if you get GC tomorrow? ( 1 2 3 4 )
vinabath Today 02:37 PM
What does the dots in my profile mean?
vinabath Today 02:00 PM
Tips to get your GC in a YEAR ( 1 2 3 4 )
vinabath Yesterday 03:38 AM
by vinabath 0 445 Retrogression, priority dates and Visa bulletins
Poll: How many will be happy if..... ( 1 2 )
by vinabath 21 1,922 Priority dates transfers and Post 140-approval options
H4-H1 stamping in chennai- Visa renewal??
by vinabath 45 4,405 Retrogression, priority dates and Visa bulletins
BIG JOKE on us by USCIS. Story of the Century.
vinabath 07-02-2007 04:00 PM
by vinabath 14 1,037 Retrogression, priority dates and Visa bulletins
Medical Report Delayed by Six months
vinabath 06-15-2007 01:38 PM
by franklin 8 653 Medical exams and related issues
Y1 Visa - Lets make USA as Dubai
vinabath 05-18-2007 10:44 AM
by vinabath 0 468 Retrogression, priority dates and Visa bulletins
EB2 India - Feb 23 2003. Is it possible this year??
I am exposed now.
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ashkam
06-25 11:35 AM
The question is, did you earn any money at all in 2007? The information you provided is a bit vague, in one place you say you received paychecks till December 15 2007, in another place you say you did not get paid in 2007. It is simple really, if you did not earn any money in 2007, then you do not have to add your W2 to your tax returns. If you did earn money in 2007, then the company has to supply you with a W2.
Of course, not earning any money in 2007, while keeping you okay with respect to the IRS, might get you in trouble with the USCIS.
Of course, not earning any money in 2007, while keeping you okay with respect to the IRS, might get you in trouble with the USCIS.
more...
tinamatthew
07-20 09:37 PM
Hi,
I am planning to change my residence after 2 months. By that time my AOS would be applied. Will it be a problem if I change my residence (different city but same state) after AOS is applied?
:confused:
Signed up for 50$ recurring
Of course you can move, just make sure you send in AR-11within 10 days of moving. The lawyer has a good point though. I changed my address using AR-11 (because lawyer put wrong town and zip!!!) informed USCIS, they wrote back to say it had been done and kept sending receipts to the wrong address, which was none existent!! Check out the link below
"all non-U.S. citizens who move within the United States and its territories must submit a Form AR-11 within 10 days after completing the change of address"
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9d686c854523d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCR D&vgnextchannel=54519c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1 RCRD
I am planning to change my residence after 2 months. By that time my AOS would be applied. Will it be a problem if I change my residence (different city but same state) after AOS is applied?
:confused:
Signed up for 50$ recurring
Of course you can move, just make sure you send in AR-11within 10 days of moving. The lawyer has a good point though. I changed my address using AR-11 (because lawyer put wrong town and zip!!!) informed USCIS, they wrote back to say it had been done and kept sending receipts to the wrong address, which was none existent!! Check out the link below
"all non-U.S. citizens who move within the United States and its territories must submit a Form AR-11 within 10 days after completing the change of address"
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9d686c854523d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCR D&vgnextchannel=54519c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1 RCRD
go_guy123
04-18 07:38 AM
This is a cherry picked writeup to some extent. But ofcourse there is competetion from other parts of the world.
"The EIU's analysis also weighed the quality of a nation's technology infrastructure, measuring the number of PCs per 100 people, market spending on IT hardware per 100 people, the availability of secure Internet servers per 100,000 people, and the percentage of the population with high-speed Internet access. Switzerland, ranked 11th overall, outscored the U.S. on IT infrastructure, which accounted for 20% of a country's score. The study also assessed the openness of a country's economy and the quality of government leadership on technology issues.
"
Countries in Europe are small countrries with far less population so these statistics are not exactly comparable.
"The U.S. also lags countries including Canada, Singapore, Britain, and Norway in support for IT development, which accounted for 15% of the overall score. This category covers such things as e-government initiatives, government spending on IT hardware, and access to financing.
"
US lags Canada....this statement is a joke. Canada is a vey low tech country. Close to 50% of the economy is due to mining etc Canada is a classic banana republic.
"The EIU's analysis also weighed the quality of a nation's technology infrastructure, measuring the number of PCs per 100 people, market spending on IT hardware per 100 people, the availability of secure Internet servers per 100,000 people, and the percentage of the population with high-speed Internet access. Switzerland, ranked 11th overall, outscored the U.S. on IT infrastructure, which accounted for 20% of a country's score. The study also assessed the openness of a country's economy and the quality of government leadership on technology issues.
"
Countries in Europe are small countrries with far less population so these statistics are not exactly comparable.
"The U.S. also lags countries including Canada, Singapore, Britain, and Norway in support for IT development, which accounted for 15% of the overall score. This category covers such things as e-government initiatives, government spending on IT hardware, and access to financing.
"
US lags Canada....this statement is a joke. Canada is a vey low tech country. Close to 50% of the economy is due to mining etc Canada is a classic banana republic.
more...
gsc999
01-08 10:29 AM
Heights of stupidity , does the child play with toys or its parents, why do they care about legality of parents !!
----
Albaman & gcseeker:
I am not an expert on this issue but per my understanding Contract law states that minors can't enter into a "valid" contract except for "necessities." Therefore, the need of their guardian's status. Also, these babies will get the $25K bond money when they become adults. I haven't read the Ts&Cs but am pretty sure about that
----
Albaman & gcseeker:
I am not an expert on this issue but per my understanding Contract law states that minors can't enter into a "valid" contract except for "necessities." Therefore, the need of their guardian's status. Also, these babies will get the $25K bond money when they become adults. I haven't read the Ts&Cs but am pretty sure about that
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jeffrey930
10-02 01:30 AM
found out today my EAD status finally changed to card production i'm so happy...i hope everyone get theres EAD soon, i know the wait is a pain in the @##... How many days you guys think before i get my card on hand? thanks for any reply..
EB3------NEBRASKA ( LIN-***-*** *****)
RD: I-485,I-765,I-140------July 27,2007
ND: September 4,2007
FP:October 11,2007
AED: Card Production Ordered---- October 1, 2007
EB3------NEBRASKA ( LIN-***-*** *****)
RD: I-485,I-765,I-140------July 27,2007
ND: September 4,2007
FP:October 11,2007
AED: Card Production Ordered---- October 1, 2007
more...
immi_2006
10-09 10:47 AM
Which document to produce for people on EAD and AP?
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fromnaija
08-31 01:22 PM
I filed AOS during July 07 fiasco. It has been more than 15 months since the first fingerprint but I have not yet received 2nd fingerprint notice. I noticed a SLUD in May/09 but no notice. Anybody else out there who filed in July but don't have second fingerprint notice yet?
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, please read my earlier posts on re-using finger prints through the BSS (Biometrics Storage System) implemented a while back by USCIS. Only a small number of applicants will get a second FP notice. See the below for more information:
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/forum5-all-other-green-card-issues/23795-2nd-finger-printing-notice-anyone.html#post318744
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, please read my earlier posts on re-using finger prints through the BSS (Biometrics Storage System) implemented a while back by USCIS. Only a small number of applicants will get a second FP notice. See the below for more information:
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/forum5-all-other-green-card-issues/23795-2nd-finger-printing-notice-anyone.html#post318744
more...
eb3retro
06-04 07:25 AM
dude..have some patience, people will respond. you dont need to open multiple threads for the same question..
I applied for H1-B visa on April 2007 and the petition was approved from October 2007 to 26Th of September 2010 but when I came to USA consulate office to get the visa it became pending putting under administrative processing. It took almost 3 years to get the reconfirmation and last week I received the visa.
The visa issuing date is 27Th May and the expiry date is 24Th August but there is another date in bottom right part of it as PED : 26 September 2010 which is my petition's expiry date.
Now I am planning to move to USA for a long term stay so that I am selling my stuff, renting my house,.. and I just got confused by considering this date.Does this mean my visa will be expire on September and my H1 visa is just for some months? In this case does this mean I have lost 3 years of the total 6 years of the H1 visa? or the the officer issuing the visa on I-94 form in the ports of entry can issue the visa for 3 years as a normal H1-B visa?
I have arranged with my employer to start the job on 10Th of July and I will enter USA on 8Th, so up to 26Th of September which is the PED date will be less than 3 months and if the white I-94 card that will be in my passport should correspond with the expiration of the petition, the total of my work duration, will be less than 3 months which really doesn't make sense at all but as it seems that's it!
It seems now the only way is to apply for H1-b extension. So there will be these questions:
1- how will be the process and how much are the fees?
2- How long does it take?
3- Do I have to go back to my home country to get the new stamp for extension?
4- Is there any way to renew it in USA ?
5- Is 2.5 months of work enough to apply for extension? or I have to come sooner if it is really necessary.
6- In my first interview on 2007 they got all the original documents from me and never return them back to me. should I ask for duplication?
7- Is there anything else that my employer and I should know and consider?
I have to know the answers to these questions, first to arrange with employer and to see if they are interested and also to decide about our stuff, jobs, properties,... in my home country before entring the USA, otherwise it can be the loose of everything for us.
Please help me
I applied for H1-B visa on April 2007 and the petition was approved from October 2007 to 26Th of September 2010 but when I came to USA consulate office to get the visa it became pending putting under administrative processing. It took almost 3 years to get the reconfirmation and last week I received the visa.
The visa issuing date is 27Th May and the expiry date is 24Th August but there is another date in bottom right part of it as PED : 26 September 2010 which is my petition's expiry date.
Now I am planning to move to USA for a long term stay so that I am selling my stuff, renting my house,.. and I just got confused by considering this date.Does this mean my visa will be expire on September and my H1 visa is just for some months? In this case does this mean I have lost 3 years of the total 6 years of the H1 visa? or the the officer issuing the visa on I-94 form in the ports of entry can issue the visa for 3 years as a normal H1-B visa?
I have arranged with my employer to start the job on 10Th of July and I will enter USA on 8Th, so up to 26Th of September which is the PED date will be less than 3 months and if the white I-94 card that will be in my passport should correspond with the expiration of the petition, the total of my work duration, will be less than 3 months which really doesn't make sense at all but as it seems that's it!
It seems now the only way is to apply for H1-b extension. So there will be these questions:
1- how will be the process and how much are the fees?
2- How long does it take?
3- Do I have to go back to my home country to get the new stamp for extension?
4- Is there any way to renew it in USA ?
5- Is 2.5 months of work enough to apply for extension? or I have to come sooner if it is really necessary.
6- In my first interview on 2007 they got all the original documents from me and never return them back to me. should I ask for duplication?
7- Is there anything else that my employer and I should know and consider?
I have to know the answers to these questions, first to arrange with employer and to see if they are interested and also to decide about our stuff, jobs, properties,... in my home country before entring the USA, otherwise it can be the loose of everything for us.
Please help me
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Berkeleybee
05-11 09:16 PM
Amit's call starts at 13:00 minute of the program if you want to skip and listen directly to his message.
I'd encourage people to listen to the whole program it is overall good -- Jennifer Ludden also talks about the frustration of waiting and losing one's edge while we wait.
I'd encourage people to listen to the whole program it is overall good -- Jennifer Ludden also talks about the frustration of waiting and losing one's edge while we wait.
more...
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whiteStallion
10-17 03:46 PM
Thanks Surabhi......So does my assumption correct in terms of the percent tax an employer pays which is between 8 to 12% depending on the state he is operating which inlcudes all the components you mentioned except the payroll company fee(i,e ADP or intuit or etc)? The reason I ask this is b'coz I am also planning to work on W2.
Widely known as payroll tax is actually FICA tax (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Insurance_Contributions_Act_tax) 6.2 % of federal and 1.5% of medicare...together coming close to 8%. I'm not aware of any state component above this 8%...
But do consider your desi employer needs to carry a liability insurance of 1 million, otherwise most established vendors and clients won't work with him...He needs to pay premium on that depending on how many consultant are working....
So practically, claim as they may, NO consultancy firm can pay you 90% of your billing and still do business profitably.... They are hiding something behind their numbers...
If you are getting 85% of the billing and your consultancy is paying your payroll taxes and you are paying your medical insurance premium, consider that as a very good deal...
Widely known as payroll tax is actually FICA tax (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Insurance_Contributions_Act_tax) 6.2 % of federal and 1.5% of medicare...together coming close to 8%. I'm not aware of any state component above this 8%...
But do consider your desi employer needs to carry a liability insurance of 1 million, otherwise most established vendors and clients won't work with him...He needs to pay premium on that depending on how many consultant are working....
So practically, claim as they may, NO consultancy firm can pay you 90% of your billing and still do business profitably.... They are hiding something behind their numbers...
If you are getting 85% of the billing and your consultancy is paying your payroll taxes and you are paying your medical insurance premium, consider that as a very good deal...
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vandanaverdia
09-09 03:45 PM
Please spare some time & thought & decide to be in DC at the rally.
more...
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SGP
03-25 03:02 PM
Congratulations on your freedom.
Folks,
I would like to share my success story of getting my I-485 application approved with a revoked/withdrawn I-140. We received our Green Cards and Welcome Letters in the mail yesterday. If you go through my profile, you should be able to get most of the information, but here it is anyway:
1] Company A applied for my LC followed by the I-140 application. We never got a chance to file I-485.
2] After I quite company A, they withdrew my I-140 application.
3] Company B started the process again with my labor application, followed by my new I-140 application. We didn't capture the older PD at this stage, but the A# was the same as the old one.
4] When we sent in our I-485 application, we included a letter describing that we would like to retain the older PD (we sent them a snippet of page 27 of the Field Adjudicator's Manual - Yates memo). In the interest of being transparent, we mentioned that the earlier I-140 was withdrawn by the previous employer. After an unrelated RFE, our case was finally approved last Friday (03/18).
I am sharing this information so that others who are stuck in a similar situation can use this as a datapoint in their struggle against the USCIS. I wish you all the very best in your Green Card journey.
Folks,
I would like to share my success story of getting my I-485 application approved with a revoked/withdrawn I-140. We received our Green Cards and Welcome Letters in the mail yesterday. If you go through my profile, you should be able to get most of the information, but here it is anyway:
1] Company A applied for my LC followed by the I-140 application. We never got a chance to file I-485.
2] After I quite company A, they withdrew my I-140 application.
3] Company B started the process again with my labor application, followed by my new I-140 application. We didn't capture the older PD at this stage, but the A# was the same as the old one.
4] When we sent in our I-485 application, we included a letter describing that we would like to retain the older PD (we sent them a snippet of page 27 of the Field Adjudicator's Manual - Yates memo). In the interest of being transparent, we mentioned that the earlier I-140 was withdrawn by the previous employer. After an unrelated RFE, our case was finally approved last Friday (03/18).
I am sharing this information so that others who are stuck in a similar situation can use this as a datapoint in their struggle against the USCIS. I wish you all the very best in your Green Card journey.
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MeraNaamJoker
09-17 10:35 AM
It is my request only!!! Can you please stop replying in 'Red' color? It is really annoying.
Imagine if everyone uses bold font:mad:
Every one has there own style. Since the answer was for a very important topic and I knew the answer to it. I did want it to catch attention. Hence did it like that.
Imagine if everyone uses bold font:mad:
Every one has there own style. Since the answer was for a very important topic and I knew the answer to it. I did want it to catch attention. Hence did it like that.
more...
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brb2
03-26 08:58 PM
The worst thing about TOI is that they routinely censor out on-line posts which are critical of their article/opinion. Since then I have stopped posting anything on TOI. On-line editors seem to be control freaks.
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alterego
02-11 06:07 PM
A good article supporting a sensible plan.
One minor correction however.
"Suppose half of these persons wish to purchase a home. If they were permitted to make a 20 percent down payment on a private home (and the average cost of a home in the U.S. today is approximately $200,000), this would result in a net financial gain of $1.6 billion immediately for American banks, not to mention improving the dismal real estate market in many areas of the country."
The figure quoted as 1.6 billion actually comes out to 16 Billion dollars if you do the math explained.
One minor correction however.
"Suppose half of these persons wish to purchase a home. If they were permitted to make a 20 percent down payment on a private home (and the average cost of a home in the U.S. today is approximately $200,000), this would result in a net financial gain of $1.6 billion immediately for American banks, not to mention improving the dismal real estate market in many areas of the country."
The figure quoted as 1.6 billion actually comes out to 16 Billion dollars if you do the math explained.
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dsneyog
11-30 10:54 PM
Sorry I have no advise as I am filing my AP tomorrow for the first time. However it scares me that it's been over 3 months that USCIS received your application. I am sending out mine tomorrow and need to get it it by late February. Wondering if I should mention in my covering letter about expediting it. I am also planning to include prepaid envelope.
Hope someone here can answer your question.
Hope someone here can answer your question.
sobers
02-09 08:58 AM
Discussion about challenges in America�s immigration policies tends to focus on the millions of illegal immigrants. But the more pressing immigration problem facing the US today, writes Intel chairman Craig Barrett, is the dearth of high-skilled immigrants required to keep the US economy competitive. Due to tighter visa policies and a growth in opportunities elsewhere in the world, foreign students majoring in science and engineering at US universities are no longer staying to work after graduation in the large numbers that they once did. With the poor quality of science and math education at the primary and secondary levels in the US, the country cannot afford to lose any highly-skilled immigrants, particularly in key, technology-related disciplines. Along with across-the-board improvements in education, the US needs to find a way to attract enough new workers so that companies like Intel do not have to set up shop elsewhere.
----------------------------------
America Should Open Its Doors Wide to Foreign Talent
Craig Barrett
The Financial Times, 1 February 2006
America is experiencing a profound immigration crisis but it is not about the 11m illegal immigrants currently exciting the press and politicians in Washington. The real crisis is that the US is closing its doors to immigrants with degrees in science, maths and engineering � the �best and brightest� from around the world who flock to the country for its educational and employment opportunities. These foreign-born knowledge workers are critically important to maintaining America�s technological competitiveness.
This is not a new issue; the US has been partially dependent on foreign scientists and engineers to establish and maintain its technological leadership for several decades. After the second world war, an influx of German engineers bolstered our efforts in aviation and space research. During the 1960s and 1970s, a brain drain from western Europe supplemented our own production of talent. In the 1980s and 1990s, our ranks of scientists and engineers were swelled by Asian immigrants who came to study in our universities, then stayed to pursue professional careers.
The US simply does not produce enough home-grown graduates in engineering and the hard sciences to meet our needs. Even during the high-tech revolution of the past two decades, when demand for employees with technical degrees was exploding, the number of students majoring in engineering in the US declined. Currently more than half the graduate students in engineering in the US are foreign born � until now, many of them have stayed on to seek employment. But this trend is changing rapidly.
Because of security concerns and improved education in their own counties, it is increasingly difficult to get foreign students into our universities. Those who do complete their studies in the US are returning home in ever greater numbers because of visa issues or enhanced professional opportunities there. So while Congress debates how to stem the flood of illegal immigrants across our southern border, it is actually our policies on highly skilled immigration that may most negatively affect the American economy.
The US does have a specified process for granting admission or permanent residency to foreign engineers and scientists. The H1-B visa programme sets a cap � currently at 65,000 � on the number of foreigners allowed to enter and work each year. But the programme is oversubscribed because the cap is insufficient to meet the demands of the knowledge-based US economy.
The system does not grant automatic entry to all foreign students who study engineering and science at US universities. I have often said, only half in jest, that we should staple a green card to the diploma of every foreign student who graduates from an advanced technical degree programme here.
At a time when we need more science and technology professionals, it makes no sense to invite foreign students to study at our universities, educate them partially at taxpayer expense and then tell them to go home and take the jobs those talents will create home with them.
The current situation can only be described as a classic example of the law of unintended consequences. We need experienced and talented workers if our economy is to thrive. We have an immigration problem that remains intractable and, in an attempt to appear tough on illegal immigration, we over-control the employment-based legal immigration system. As a consequence, we keep many of the potentially most productive immigrants out of the country. If we had purposefully set out to design a system that would hobble our ability to be competitive, we could hardly do better than what we have today. Certainly in the post 9/11 world, security must always be a foremost concern. But that concern should not prevent us from having access to the highly skilled workers we need.
Meanwhile, when it comes to training a skilled, home-grown workforce, the US is rapidly being left in the dust.
A full half of China�s college graduates earn degrees in engineering, compared with only 5 per cent in the US. Even South Korea, with one-sixth the population of the US, graduates about the same number of engineers as American universities do. Part of this is due to the poor quality of our primary and secondary education, where US students typically fare poorly compared with their international counterparts in maths and science.
In a global, knowledge-based economy, businesses will naturally gravitate to locations with a ready supply of knowledge-based workers. Intel is a US-based company and we are proud of the fact that we have hired almost 10,000 new US employees in the past four years. But the hard economic fact is that if we cannot find or attract the workers we need here, the company � like every other business � will go where the talent is located.
We in the US have only two real choices: we can stand on the sidelines while countries such as India, China, and others dominate the game � and accept the consequent decline in our standard of living. Or we can decide to compete.
Deciding to compete means reforming the appalling state of primary and secondary education, where low expectations have become institutionalised, and urgently expanding science education in colleges and universities � much as we did in the 1950s after the Soviet launch of Sputnik gave our nation a needed wake-up call.
As a member of the National Academies Committee assigned by Congress to investigate this issue and propose solutions, I and the other members recommended that the government create 25,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate scholarships, each of $20,000 (�11,300), in technical fields, especially those determined to be in areas of urgent �national need�. Other recommendations included a tax credit for employers who make continuing education available for scientists and engineers, so that our workforce can keep pace with the rapid advance of scientific discovery, and a sustained national commitment to basic research.
But we all realised that even an effective national effort in this area would not produce results quickly enough. That is why deciding to compete also means opening doors wider to foreigners with the kind of technical knowledge our businesses need. At a minimum the US should vastly increase the number of permanent visas for highly educated foreigners, streamline the process for those already working here and allow foreign students in the hard sciences and engineering to move directly to permanent resident status. Any country that wants to remain competitive has to start competing for the best minds in the world. Without that we may be unable to maintain economic leadership in the 21st century.
----------------------------------
America Should Open Its Doors Wide to Foreign Talent
Craig Barrett
The Financial Times, 1 February 2006
America is experiencing a profound immigration crisis but it is not about the 11m illegal immigrants currently exciting the press and politicians in Washington. The real crisis is that the US is closing its doors to immigrants with degrees in science, maths and engineering � the �best and brightest� from around the world who flock to the country for its educational and employment opportunities. These foreign-born knowledge workers are critically important to maintaining America�s technological competitiveness.
This is not a new issue; the US has been partially dependent on foreign scientists and engineers to establish and maintain its technological leadership for several decades. After the second world war, an influx of German engineers bolstered our efforts in aviation and space research. During the 1960s and 1970s, a brain drain from western Europe supplemented our own production of talent. In the 1980s and 1990s, our ranks of scientists and engineers were swelled by Asian immigrants who came to study in our universities, then stayed to pursue professional careers.
The US simply does not produce enough home-grown graduates in engineering and the hard sciences to meet our needs. Even during the high-tech revolution of the past two decades, when demand for employees with technical degrees was exploding, the number of students majoring in engineering in the US declined. Currently more than half the graduate students in engineering in the US are foreign born � until now, many of them have stayed on to seek employment. But this trend is changing rapidly.
Because of security concerns and improved education in their own counties, it is increasingly difficult to get foreign students into our universities. Those who do complete their studies in the US are returning home in ever greater numbers because of visa issues or enhanced professional opportunities there. So while Congress debates how to stem the flood of illegal immigrants across our southern border, it is actually our policies on highly skilled immigration that may most negatively affect the American economy.
The US does have a specified process for granting admission or permanent residency to foreign engineers and scientists. The H1-B visa programme sets a cap � currently at 65,000 � on the number of foreigners allowed to enter and work each year. But the programme is oversubscribed because the cap is insufficient to meet the demands of the knowledge-based US economy.
The system does not grant automatic entry to all foreign students who study engineering and science at US universities. I have often said, only half in jest, that we should staple a green card to the diploma of every foreign student who graduates from an advanced technical degree programme here.
At a time when we need more science and technology professionals, it makes no sense to invite foreign students to study at our universities, educate them partially at taxpayer expense and then tell them to go home and take the jobs those talents will create home with them.
The current situation can only be described as a classic example of the law of unintended consequences. We need experienced and talented workers if our economy is to thrive. We have an immigration problem that remains intractable and, in an attempt to appear tough on illegal immigration, we over-control the employment-based legal immigration system. As a consequence, we keep many of the potentially most productive immigrants out of the country. If we had purposefully set out to design a system that would hobble our ability to be competitive, we could hardly do better than what we have today. Certainly in the post 9/11 world, security must always be a foremost concern. But that concern should not prevent us from having access to the highly skilled workers we need.
Meanwhile, when it comes to training a skilled, home-grown workforce, the US is rapidly being left in the dust.
A full half of China�s college graduates earn degrees in engineering, compared with only 5 per cent in the US. Even South Korea, with one-sixth the population of the US, graduates about the same number of engineers as American universities do. Part of this is due to the poor quality of our primary and secondary education, where US students typically fare poorly compared with their international counterparts in maths and science.
In a global, knowledge-based economy, businesses will naturally gravitate to locations with a ready supply of knowledge-based workers. Intel is a US-based company and we are proud of the fact that we have hired almost 10,000 new US employees in the past four years. But the hard economic fact is that if we cannot find or attract the workers we need here, the company � like every other business � will go where the talent is located.
We in the US have only two real choices: we can stand on the sidelines while countries such as India, China, and others dominate the game � and accept the consequent decline in our standard of living. Or we can decide to compete.
Deciding to compete means reforming the appalling state of primary and secondary education, where low expectations have become institutionalised, and urgently expanding science education in colleges and universities � much as we did in the 1950s after the Soviet launch of Sputnik gave our nation a needed wake-up call.
As a member of the National Academies Committee assigned by Congress to investigate this issue and propose solutions, I and the other members recommended that the government create 25,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate scholarships, each of $20,000 (�11,300), in technical fields, especially those determined to be in areas of urgent �national need�. Other recommendations included a tax credit for employers who make continuing education available for scientists and engineers, so that our workforce can keep pace with the rapid advance of scientific discovery, and a sustained national commitment to basic research.
But we all realised that even an effective national effort in this area would not produce results quickly enough. That is why deciding to compete also means opening doors wider to foreigners with the kind of technical knowledge our businesses need. At a minimum the US should vastly increase the number of permanent visas for highly educated foreigners, streamline the process for those already working here and allow foreign students in the hard sciences and engineering to move directly to permanent resident status. Any country that wants to remain competitive has to start competing for the best minds in the world. Without that we may be unable to maintain economic leadership in the 21st century.
Libra
08-10 11:52 AM
I wonder how people will come up with such questions, i never even thought about it. And i dont think it's a problem. It's just my opinion per my experience.
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