ragz4u
01-25 11:53 AM
What is lobbying and is it legal?
As per the definition at Wikipedia, Lobbying is the practice of private advocacy with the goal of influencing a governing body by promoting a point of view that is conducive to an individual's or organization's goals. more information can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying
It is 100% legal and is in fact the preferred way of getting things done by most corporations. Corporations like Microsoft, Dell, Yahoo, Google etc have all used lobbying in the past and in fact I would go as far as saying that every Fortune 1000 firm has used lobbying at one point of time or another. Just search for any company name and the word lobbying on Google and you'll see what we are talking about
What has lobbying got to do with the Immigration Bill?
As we know from part III, Senator Specter will be creating a markup of the Senate Immigration Bill. This may/may not contain the provisions that the immigrant community is looking for.
The differennt bills that are being considered for the markup are McCain Kennedy bill, Cornyn Kyl bill, the Chuck Hagel Bill and a few others
This document by AILA compares the various versions of the bill in different categories http://www.shusterman.com/pdf/immreform106.pdf. This also considers a markup of Senator Specter which is unofficial at the moment. This means that until it gets officially presented to the Judiciary Committee for review, it could change anytime.
This markup already seems to contain the provisions we need, what are we still worried about?
If you have read my post on S.1932, you would know that a bill can be amended at multiple stages.
1) Senator Specter could change his markup, after all he has not come out with an official version. Do not forget that the link above refers to an unofficial version of the markup. As per unconfirmed reports, the Chairman's markup could be out anytime between now and mid-march and a lot of things could change in the mean time
2) Assuming that the markup does contain the provisions that we as immigrants are fighting for, any judiciary committee member can propose an amendment to the bill which could result in a an unwanted change. A case in point is the amendment that Senator Diane Feinstein proposed during S.1932 which reduced the increase in H1B visas from 60,000 to 30,000. Imagine if a senator brings in an amendment that strips off all the provisions for legal immigration!
3) If the bill does not have strong support within the Judiciary committee, it could be voted out and it becomes history
4) Assuming that the bill passes through the above steps, it is presented to the full Senate for a debate and vote. Here too any member of the senate can propose an amendment to the bill and the house votes on it. A case in point is the Byrd Amendment which was introduced by Senate Byrd from Virginia which sought to drop sections 8001 and 8002 from the S.1932. This was defeated by the a margin of 84-15 but remember that if it had enough support, S.1932 would have ended here
5) Once the bill passes with the immigration provisions in the Senate, it is presented to a joint conference committee where a few senators and a few congressmen deliberate on which sections to include int he conference bill from among the House bill and the Senate bill. Remember that the house bill has already been passed (HR.4437) and it does not contain any immigration provisions. The House members could again force the senate representatives to drop the immigration provisions. The S.1932 bill's pro-immigration sections got dropped precisely at this juncture
So as can be seen, there are various stumbling blocks towards achieving a favorable bill.
The only way we can ensure that the pro-immigrant provisions do not get ignored or sacrificed is by lobbying. By lobbying we can ensure that the right folks at the right places can understand our concern and empathize with us.
A lobbying firm can ensure that we send a consistent and effective message to the right people. As mentioned earlier, some of the lobbying firms have ex-Congressmen and ex-Senators on their boards. These folks have a great working relationship with the current senators and congressmen. These lobbyists can not only get our issues be heard by the powers, they can possibly influence them by using some political capital
Why can't we just contact the lawmakers directly and tell them about it? Why spend money for lobbyists?
We can definitely try doing this ourselves. This is a free country and nothing stops us from doing so. Unfortunately the effectiveness of such a method is questionable.
During S.1932 proceedings, many members of this forum contacted their local congressmen and senators and asked for appointments. Many also conveyed their views to the staff and many also faxed their views in. Unfortunately the bill passed without the pro-immigration provisions. The message was not conveyed strongly enough and it was conveyed as individuals and not a group.
It was realized that unless we present our case the way Washington, DC is used to seeing it (by hiring lobbyists), the message will not get through.
Lobbyists have direct access to the actual congressmen and senators while the most we can hope is getting a key staff member's attention.
A lobbyist can influence a house member, while we can only hope that the staff members pass our views to the house member.
We do not know which members are really the ones to target and key decision makers and we might end up concentrating on the wrong house members. A lobbyist can help us identify these key members.
All in all, a lobbyist can help us use our energy in the right way and not end up wasting it doing frivolous things and ultimately help us achieve our dreams
And do not forget that some of the anti-immigration groups like numbersusa already have full time lobbyists working for them in DC. If we are to even put up a decent fight against these very dedicated anti-immigrant forces, we need to get help from a professional lobbying firm
As per the definition at Wikipedia, Lobbying is the practice of private advocacy with the goal of influencing a governing body by promoting a point of view that is conducive to an individual's or organization's goals. more information can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying
It is 100% legal and is in fact the preferred way of getting things done by most corporations. Corporations like Microsoft, Dell, Yahoo, Google etc have all used lobbying in the past and in fact I would go as far as saying that every Fortune 1000 firm has used lobbying at one point of time or another. Just search for any company name and the word lobbying on Google and you'll see what we are talking about
What has lobbying got to do with the Immigration Bill?
As we know from part III, Senator Specter will be creating a markup of the Senate Immigration Bill. This may/may not contain the provisions that the immigrant community is looking for.
The differennt bills that are being considered for the markup are McCain Kennedy bill, Cornyn Kyl bill, the Chuck Hagel Bill and a few others
This document by AILA compares the various versions of the bill in different categories http://www.shusterman.com/pdf/immreform106.pdf. This also considers a markup of Senator Specter which is unofficial at the moment. This means that until it gets officially presented to the Judiciary Committee for review, it could change anytime.
This markup already seems to contain the provisions we need, what are we still worried about?
If you have read my post on S.1932, you would know that a bill can be amended at multiple stages.
1) Senator Specter could change his markup, after all he has not come out with an official version. Do not forget that the link above refers to an unofficial version of the markup. As per unconfirmed reports, the Chairman's markup could be out anytime between now and mid-march and a lot of things could change in the mean time
2) Assuming that the markup does contain the provisions that we as immigrants are fighting for, any judiciary committee member can propose an amendment to the bill which could result in a an unwanted change. A case in point is the amendment that Senator Diane Feinstein proposed during S.1932 which reduced the increase in H1B visas from 60,000 to 30,000. Imagine if a senator brings in an amendment that strips off all the provisions for legal immigration!
3) If the bill does not have strong support within the Judiciary committee, it could be voted out and it becomes history
4) Assuming that the bill passes through the above steps, it is presented to the full Senate for a debate and vote. Here too any member of the senate can propose an amendment to the bill and the house votes on it. A case in point is the Byrd Amendment which was introduced by Senate Byrd from Virginia which sought to drop sections 8001 and 8002 from the S.1932. This was defeated by the a margin of 84-15 but remember that if it had enough support, S.1932 would have ended here
5) Once the bill passes with the immigration provisions in the Senate, it is presented to a joint conference committee where a few senators and a few congressmen deliberate on which sections to include int he conference bill from among the House bill and the Senate bill. Remember that the house bill has already been passed (HR.4437) and it does not contain any immigration provisions. The House members could again force the senate representatives to drop the immigration provisions. The S.1932 bill's pro-immigration sections got dropped precisely at this juncture
So as can be seen, there are various stumbling blocks towards achieving a favorable bill.
The only way we can ensure that the pro-immigrant provisions do not get ignored or sacrificed is by lobbying. By lobbying we can ensure that the right folks at the right places can understand our concern and empathize with us.
A lobbying firm can ensure that we send a consistent and effective message to the right people. As mentioned earlier, some of the lobbying firms have ex-Congressmen and ex-Senators on their boards. These folks have a great working relationship with the current senators and congressmen. These lobbyists can not only get our issues be heard by the powers, they can possibly influence them by using some political capital
Why can't we just contact the lawmakers directly and tell them about it? Why spend money for lobbyists?
We can definitely try doing this ourselves. This is a free country and nothing stops us from doing so. Unfortunately the effectiveness of such a method is questionable.
During S.1932 proceedings, many members of this forum contacted their local congressmen and senators and asked for appointments. Many also conveyed their views to the staff and many also faxed their views in. Unfortunately the bill passed without the pro-immigration provisions. The message was not conveyed strongly enough and it was conveyed as individuals and not a group.
It was realized that unless we present our case the way Washington, DC is used to seeing it (by hiring lobbyists), the message will not get through.
Lobbyists have direct access to the actual congressmen and senators while the most we can hope is getting a key staff member's attention.
A lobbyist can influence a house member, while we can only hope that the staff members pass our views to the house member.
We do not know which members are really the ones to target and key decision makers and we might end up concentrating on the wrong house members. A lobbyist can help us identify these key members.
All in all, a lobbyist can help us use our energy in the right way and not end up wasting it doing frivolous things and ultimately help us achieve our dreams
And do not forget that some of the anti-immigration groups like numbersusa already have full time lobbyists working for them in DC. If we are to even put up a decent fight against these very dedicated anti-immigrant forces, we need to get help from a professional lobbying firm
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ski_dude12
12-02 01:10 AM
This is after the dates were pushed back to 2003. There was no movement for a few months. Hopefully they are starting to process the apps in order now.
Not really. There appears to be no orderly fashion. My PD is June 2007 EB2. I got an RFE on My I 485 in May 2008.
Not really. There appears to be no orderly fashion. My PD is June 2007 EB2. I got an RFE on My I 485 in May 2008.
MatsP
May 18th, 2005, 07:28 AM
I'm having a problem with a Nikon d100 camera taking the necessary pictures for a high dynamic range photo. I need to take 3 pictures in a short ammount of time (which I can do, using the bracket setting) but I need to vary the shutter speed manually in this setting, with a different exposure time for each of the 3 pictures taken in the bracket. Is there any way that I can do this, or any software that will allow me to accomplish this?
Thanks,
Trish
As far as I know, this is exactly how the automatic bracketing mode works. Or at least, on the Canon cameras, that's what it does. Just set that the camera takes a +2, 0 and -2 exposure (I'd suggest using two stops, as you want to make a noticable difference between the shots, otherwise the "extension" of the range will be more or less useless).
However, I'm not entirely sure whether the camera will adjust the shutter speed or aperture, or both. It may well depend on which mode you set the camera to in the first place (Program mode -> change both, Shutter Priority -> change aperture [you set the time, so the camera changes the aperture to match], Apterure Priorty -> Change shutter speed [you set the aperture, the camera adjusts the time to match]).
Alternatively, if you use manual mode (and of course, no automatic bracketing available in manual mode), and set it to the "two stops shorter" time, you should be able to relatively quickly do "two clicks" on the dial that adjusts the time. Then do two clicks more. [of course, two stops is probably more than two clicks, but you get the idea].
--
Mats
Thanks,
Trish
As far as I know, this is exactly how the automatic bracketing mode works. Or at least, on the Canon cameras, that's what it does. Just set that the camera takes a +2, 0 and -2 exposure (I'd suggest using two stops, as you want to make a noticable difference between the shots, otherwise the "extension" of the range will be more or less useless).
However, I'm not entirely sure whether the camera will adjust the shutter speed or aperture, or both. It may well depend on which mode you set the camera to in the first place (Program mode -> change both, Shutter Priority -> change aperture [you set the time, so the camera changes the aperture to match], Apterure Priorty -> Change shutter speed [you set the aperture, the camera adjusts the time to match]).
Alternatively, if you use manual mode (and of course, no automatic bracketing available in manual mode), and set it to the "two stops shorter" time, you should be able to relatively quickly do "two clicks" on the dial that adjusts the time. Then do two clicks more. [of course, two stops is probably more than two clicks, but you get the idea].
--
Mats
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txh1b
08-25 03:32 PM
Depends on what you mean by porting. Do you already have an approved 140 in EB2 or are you going to start from scratch by having the company file for a labor?
If it is the latter, the company as per the law must pay for the labor filing, advertising costs. Anything after that, there is no problem for you to be paying for the GC.
If it is the latter, the company as per the law must pay for the labor filing, advertising costs. Anything after that, there is no problem for you to be paying for the GC.
more...
seaken75
10-31 08:41 PM
Hi all,
Need your help and experience in this!
I received an RFE for my EAD and AP a few days ago. This has to do with me not registering myself during the NSEERS Special Registration. They want to know why i did not register for the NSEERS.
I visited an attorney around March 2003 regarding the Special Registration and was adviced that I dont have to register because my last entry to the U.S. was in January 2003. That was when return for school after going back home for my Christmas holiday. I have been an F-1 student since September 1998.
Reading the NSEERS requirement (http://www.ice.gov/doclib/pi/specialregistration/Call_In_Group4.pdf), my interpretation is that i should be exempted since my last entry to the U.S. is AFTER September 30, 2002. Is my interpretation right or wrong?
Please advice.
Thanks!
Need your help and experience in this!
I received an RFE for my EAD and AP a few days ago. This has to do with me not registering myself during the NSEERS Special Registration. They want to know why i did not register for the NSEERS.
I visited an attorney around March 2003 regarding the Special Registration and was adviced that I dont have to register because my last entry to the U.S. was in January 2003. That was when return for school after going back home for my Christmas holiday. I have been an F-1 student since September 1998.
Reading the NSEERS requirement (http://www.ice.gov/doclib/pi/specialregistration/Call_In_Group4.pdf), my interpretation is that i should be exempted since my last entry to the U.S. is AFTER September 30, 2002. Is my interpretation right or wrong?
Please advice.
Thanks!
sweet_jungle
12-12 12:51 AM
went for infopass for correcting wife's DOB. Officer said it cannot be corrected here. After some protest, he took photocopies of birth certificate and passport and then sent e-mail to service center. Also, enquired about her EAD which is now pending for 110 days. Officer was not able to say why it is pending. just have to wait.
My wife went for her biometrics today and what a surprise, her date of birth on the system was wrong.
She only had DL on her and no passport. So, the ASC staff took her biometrics but refused to correct her DOB, claiming that passport was needed.
So, we called up USCIS and upon description of the problem,were immediately transferred to level 2. Level 2 looked at the cases and confirmed that DOB was wrong on I-485. It was correct in I-765 and I-131. She said that the only way to correct it was to take infopass and present passport and DL.
It is now more or less clear that DOB mismatch has caused her EAD to be stalled for so long.I have already got my EAD.
Moral of the story : take passport for FP, infopass, etc. all the time.
Our EADs and APs were filed separately with I-485 courier receipt. What a mess !!
lets see what happens at infopass.
My wife went for her biometrics today and what a surprise, her date of birth on the system was wrong.
She only had DL on her and no passport. So, the ASC staff took her biometrics but refused to correct her DOB, claiming that passport was needed.
So, we called up USCIS and upon description of the problem,were immediately transferred to level 2. Level 2 looked at the cases and confirmed that DOB was wrong on I-485. It was correct in I-765 and I-131. She said that the only way to correct it was to take infopass and present passport and DL.
It is now more or less clear that DOB mismatch has caused her EAD to be stalled for so long.I have already got my EAD.
Moral of the story : take passport for FP, infopass, etc. all the time.
Our EADs and APs were filed separately with I-485 courier receipt. What a mess !!
lets see what happens at infopass.
more...
mandyharper
November 9th, 2004, 08:07 AM
4/3's?? Hard to say..... It's certainly going to get a following. But it's limited compared to where larger Sensors will go ultimately.. Certainly the E1 is a NICE image machine.
For your $1,000 do you want new or have you considered second hand??
RobI have browsed at two local specialist camera stores but the only digitals were either very old or cost more than I can buy new on line.:(
For your $1,000 do you want new or have you considered second hand??
RobI have browsed at two local specialist camera stores but the only digitals were either very old or cost more than I can buy new on line.:(
2010 robert
desi3933
06-08 11:52 AM
Thanks for opening this thread, I have a question which is not related to IV's core cause but suitable to this thread.
I want to ship my car to India and don't know where to start, I would appreciate if someone could share knowledge/experience.
Thanks in advance.
http://www.shipmyvehicle.com/InternationalVehicleShipping.aspx
There are many other sites for this service.
I want to ship my car to India and don't know where to start, I would appreciate if someone could share knowledge/experience.
Thanks in advance.
http://www.shipmyvehicle.com/InternationalVehicleShipping.aspx
There are many other sites for this service.
more...
needGCcool
08-09 11:08 AM
Augustus,
I think you should first read some of the other threads before randomly posting.
Anybody with July 19th receipt date got their Check encashed? How about Receipt Notice? EB-3 India.
I am worried about checks not being cashed yet. After Aug 17th the window is closed.
I think you should first read some of the other threads before randomly posting.
Anybody with July 19th receipt date got their Check encashed? How about Receipt Notice? EB-3 India.
I am worried about checks not being cashed yet. After Aug 17th the window is closed.
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JazzByTheBay
08-01 08:38 PM
... would be to outsource the mundane clerical work to a more efficient *on-shore* processing firm, and web-enable most services, remove repetitive submission of same documents with every single application, and provide customer access to his/her immigration profile & docs online (so we don't have to carry around the history of our lives on paper.... wherever we move... ).
jazz
It would probably be OK... but as you've rightly guessed, and given the fact that USCIS hasn't really outlined any plans to demonstrate how the extra money will be spent and whether it will guarantee better and faster service measured by a dramatic reduction in processing times, this money is probably going towards enforcement.
It's probably DHS getting the money (not USCIS directly - the checks I wrote were for DHS, iirc).
jazz
jazz
It would probably be OK... but as you've rightly guessed, and given the fact that USCIS hasn't really outlined any plans to demonstrate how the extra money will be spent and whether it will guarantee better and faster service measured by a dramatic reduction in processing times, this money is probably going towards enforcement.
It's probably DHS getting the money (not USCIS directly - the checks I wrote were for DHS, iirc).
jazz
more...
crazyghoda
01-15 11:19 AM
No one cares how you exit. A lesser known fact is that most Mexicans who are here illegally catch a regular commercial flight when they visit their homes in Mexico.
Thanks a lot for your timely reply. I want to know does it matter how we exited US, I mean did anyone see your advance parole while leaving US.
Regards,
Ravi
Thanks a lot for your timely reply. I want to know does it matter how we exited US, I mean did anyone see your advance parole while leaving US.
Regards,
Ravi
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chaks7
12-07 03:19 PM
For filing 485 you need the PD to be current. For Consular Processing (CP), dates need not be current. You indicate that you want your application to be processed with CP option and the Consulate (in this case, Consulate in India) will schedule the interview when you are dates are current. You can check with a lawyer how you can abandon 485 and switch to CP. But make sure you are knowledgeable with the necessary facts/information as CP can be a long wait if you are in EB3-I category. You may lose the benefits of 485 when July 2007 fiasco happened where you were able to file 485 and the dates retrogressed and meanwhile you can still enjoy EAD and AP for travelling. This option will not be there if you choose CP.
more...
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mandyharper
November 9th, 2004, 11:20 AM
Thanks for that, it makes perfect sense - I was leaning towards new anyway as there were no deals to be had.
Thanks
Thanks