This just in - Obama to tackle CIR over next few months

[Jaime]

:DThis just in - Looks promising> Let's support and contribute!

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/031909dnnatimmigration.49d34c0b.html

[validIV]

Looks promising indeed. Can't wait to hear the outcome.

[gauravsh]

thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hsingh82]

Do you guys think its really going to help EB community?

[Green.Tech]

It may give us a chance to tag on our provisions to this? If we are lucky, may be lost visa numbers will be recaptured (like they did in late nineties, early 2000) in a push to get GC's to all legal folks before taking on this huge push for the illegals.

Yeah, wishful thinking, I know :)

[sri1309]

Very good post!!!.

Shall we now take a nap and wake up after 4 months to have our greencards delivered to our doors, now that they are saying 1-2 months.
THIS IS THE TIME TO DO things. We must have our case on the table when the topic opens up.
IV core, do you still think we must wait, while the president himself is speaking immigration.
Lets act very fast now and make sure we are heard even before they open anything to anyone else.. We need a BIG action item on this and we are ready to contribute money if needed. Please help,.

All,
Lets start writing.. I'll now wake up my thread. Loha garam hai..

[poorslumdog]

I am not sure how this is going to help us....They are all talking about illegals. Should we all become illegals to get GC soon

[gcnotfiledyet]

I don't know where the newspaper got 1-2months. Obama just dodged the question of when he was going to do it with his witty reply. Whatever he mentioned has nothing new but rhetoric speech. I would not get any hopes up with that speech. He is going to Mexico to discuss violence and how to protect US from that violence. It has nothing to do with immigration. He is dodging the ball. Nobody wants to deal with immigration right now.

[24fps]

No one is going to touch immigration as long as unemployment is where it is, no amount of political clout will ever get that one through right now, trust me

[gvenkat]

The problem with the Legal immigration is apart from EB3-India everyone else is current or their dates are retrogessed for 3-4 years, which is fair.

we EB3 are a very low subset that got affected by this retrogression. Worst in my case i have a master's degree but employer won't file in EB2 category.

The only hope for us is some kind of mass rule that eliminates this log. Nothing else is going to help us. I'm pretty sure they know about EB3-I and they dont care. End of story.

let's not worry and have fun :D:D:D

[saketkapur]

maybe all of us can become illegals when the time comes.......:rolleyes:

we have to inform to USCIS at every step and dodge all sorts of legal interpretations at the whims of ignorant IOs and POEs and keep getting screwed......:mad:

[breddy2000]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_economy

COSTA MESA, Calif. – In Washington, President Barack Obama is the ultimate insider, hosting White House parties to woo lawmakers and diplomats. Elsewhere, he increasingly plays the embattled and populist crusader, helping average Americans fight entrenched interests on Capitol Hill and Wall Street.

On Wednesday, Obama donned that cloak in Southern California, where he said the weather and conversations are much nicer than in Washington. The conversation was more one-sided, to be sure, as he stood before 1,300 frequently cheering people, 2,500 miles from the Capitol's shadow.

He defended his ambitious plan to overhaul health care, energy, education, taxes and spending policies in the coming months, against unnamed forces aligned against him.

"I know some folks in Washington and on Wall Street are saying we should focus on only one problem at a time: 'our problem,'" Obama said. "But that's just not the way it works."

"You don't get to choose between paying your mortgage bills or your medical bills," he told the crowd in a hot auditorium. The government, too, must tackle multiple challenges at once, he said.

Obama spoke for 21 minutes, then took eight questions. The first: Will he seek re-election in 2012?

"If I could get done what I think needs to get done in four years, even if it meant that I was only president for four years, I would rather be a good president — to take on the tough issues for four years — than a mediocre president for eight years," Obama said.

There were other whiffs of self-sacrifice. Referring to the uproar over bonuses paid to executives of the largely nationalized AIG insurance company, Obama said: "I know Washington's all in a tizzy, and everybody's pointing fingers at each other and saying, 'It's their fault, the Democrats' fault, the Republicans' fault.' Listen, I'll take responsibility. I'm the president."

In the same breath, he said, "We didn't draft these contracts." But he added, "It is appropriate when you're in charge to make sure that stuff doesn't happen like this."

Obama tried to head off questions about AIG by saying he understood taxpayers' anger. And he tried to broaden the issue, which has vexed his young administration.

"These bonuses, outrageous as they are, are a symptom of a much larger problem," he said. It's "a culture where people made enormous sums of money taking irresponsible risks that have now put the entire economy at risk."

In fact, no one asked Obama about AIG. The questions focused on jobs, schools, unions' rights and other issues that are easier for him to handle.

One little curve ball came, however, on a topic Obama rarely mentions on his own: immigration. Before a crowd that seemed divided on the emotional, politically dangerous issue, Obama said he still supports "comprehensive immigration reform."

The nation must find a way, he said, to strengthen its borders while also giving about 12 million illegal immigrants a path to possible citizenship.

"People who have been here for a long time and put down roots," he said, should have "a mechanism over time to get out of the shadows" and achieve legal status, including citizenship.

They would have to learn English, pay a significant fine and "go to the back of the line" of those applying for legal entry, he said.
Former President George W. Bush backed a similar immigration program. But it died in Congress amid heavy criticisms, especially from those saying too many illegal immigrants have been allowed to enter the country.

Obama visited the Los Angeles area Wednesday to promote his $787 billion economic stimulus and to tape an appearance Thursday on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

[bugmenot]

I saw that broadcast live, all Obama did was give rhetoric about Immigration reform, didnt mention anything about Legal immigration and did'nt even come close to talking about implementing it or trying to implement it anytime soon. No one on capital hill has the political clout to get CIR through anytime this year, its way too volatile.

[jchan]

Two signs made me pessimistic about the coming CIR:

1. The crowd is "heavily emotionally divided by the immigration issue", which means fewer congressmen are willing to take the risk supporting CIR

2. In the other article, Obama met with "hispanic congressmen" only, which implies legal immigrants is not on the agenda for that meeting. And history has showed again and again that those congressmen will try their best to lay roadblocks for us...

Compared to piecemeal approach, CIR will wreak havoc of the immigration system, it's not likely a good thing for many of us who have been waiting for such a long time.

[newuser]

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D970PRTG0.htm

[anai]

If there's going to be a CIR, we should reach for some citizenship ideas --- something along the lines of starting the 5-year clock at the time of I-485 filing (instead of at I-485 approval). Or any other idea that will push citizenship. There's been several threads/efforts (thanks to Saralayar and others) on IV regarding this; this idea must not be left out when we put together our wish list for the next CIR.

I am sure many at IV have more convincing stories than ours. But I'd like to share our story, out of the frustration of the indefinite wait. I've been in the US for 14 years and my wife for 9. Between the 2 of us, we have 4 US graduate degrees (and about 5 pounds of visa related paperwork, all the way back to the first day). We own our home and our child was born here. This is the only country where we have worked. And over the years we have made a whole bunch of great friends here. We are thankful for all these opportunities. And it sure would be great to formalize our bond with the US sooner rather than at some indefinite point in the future.

[go_guy123]

No one is going to touch immigration as long as unemployment is where it is, no amount of political clout will ever get that one through right now, trust me

Yery true. 2010 is an election year. I doubt democratic party will touch immigration in an
election year especially when unemployment is high.

[suriajay12]

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D970PRTG0.htm

Good,. he says ""They would have to learn English, pay a significant fine and "go to the back of the line" of those applying for legal entry, he said.

He does recognize there is a legal entry line.

[skakodker]

...has to be attractive to someone.

While I do agree that immigration reform is unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon, I do believe there's significant political upside (potentially) for the party that progresses the matter.

"...hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

[pointlesswait]

Obama cant/wont do anything abt immigration..

when u are in Cali....every politician will have to address the Spanish vote bank..and thats what he did..

if he has the same proposal as Bush..its a non starter..who will pay a fine...go out of the country ..get stamped and then stand in line for eternity...now these ppl make more money than some legals...

dont have high hopes..we must stick to what plans we had ...

[gc_on_demand]

Obama cant/wont do anything abt immigration..

when u are in Cali....every politician will have to address the Spanish vote bank..and thats what he did..

if he has the same proposal as Bush..its a non starter..who will pay a fine...go out of the country ..get stamped and then stand in line for eternity...now these ppl make more money than some legals...

dont have high hopes..we must stick to what plans we had ...

I agree ... and CIR is bad because if USCIS cannot handle 500- 600k pending AOS how can they handle 12 million apps...

[pappu]

Good,. he says ""They would have to learn English, pay a significant fine and "go to the back of the line" of those applying for legal entry, he said.

He does recognize there is a legal entry line.

Is there going to be a country cap for them?

No.

So why country caps for legal immigrants?

CIR maybe an opportunity for us to remove country caps. Let us see if this is just a speech or there will be some action. They have not been able to clear the economy mess yet and AIG episode has exposed their mismanagement. Healthcare reform is also talked about a lot by the do-it-all president. Let us see...

[pappu]

I agree ... and CIR is bad because if USCIS cannot handle 500- 600k pending AOS how can they handle 12 million apps...

Oh yes they can handle so many applications.

Do you remember 50 or so thousand approvals in the end of June 2007?

If they can churn out so many approvals and work on weekends in June 07, then handling this workload is also possible.

[abracadabra102]

No one is going to touch immigration as long as unemployment is where it is, no amount of political clout will ever get that one through right now, trust me

+1

The major contributor to EB backlog is USCIS's inability to process 140,000 VISA'a a year. They processed around 80,000-90,000 on average and lost around 600,000 over the last 10 years. If CIR happens by some miracle, it's only going to get worse for EB crowd. Imagine adding another 10 million to the GC queue. We all know how efficient USCIS is. It is wishful thinking that CIR is somehow going to benefit EB community. President Obama should first concentrate on reforming USCIS before tackling any major immigration reform.

[ganguteli]

+1

The major contributor to EB backlog is USCIS's inability to process 140,000 VISA'a a year. They processed around 80,000-90,000 on average and lost around 600,000 over the last 10 years. If CIR happens by some miracle, it's only going to get worse for EB crowd. Imagine adding another 10 million to the GC queue. We all know how efficient USCIS is. It is wishful thinking that CIR is somehow going to benefit EB community. President Obama should first concentrate on reforming USCIS before tackling any major immigration reform.

What is the incentive for the government to reform USCIS?

I see none. On the contrary the more backlogs are, the more money USCIS makes from applications, Lawyers make more money, and employers are also happy that they can retain employees for many years withour raise or promotions.

So you tell me why should USCIS be reformed? If anyone would have wanted reform we would seen other big and powerful organizations doing something about it. I never saw any post on IV asking these big organizations what they have done.

Nobody will reform CIS just because we, a bunch of members on IV want to get their greencards. Realistically speaking that it not convincing enough. On the other hand we should see how many of us really want USCIS to be reformed? I bet very few when asked to contribute. So why will the whole system change for just a few folks. The system works just fine as all entities except some immigrants are happy with it and have not protested much against it in past 10s of years. If immigrants want to change it, then all of us will need to protest and also get greencard holders and citizens to join us.

Else, where is the problem?

[hpandey]

The last CIR that came was so much against us Legal folk that I dread if it comes in the same manner it would be very bad for legal immigration. I don't support it in that manner. We have been here for years .. some people more than 10 years ( which includes me ) . We have grown roots just like the illegal folks and they come before us. That is not acceptable .

If a CIR comes which grants amnesty to all illegals but puts great restrictions on Legal high skilled immigrants then I think IV should oppose it.

[The7zen]

Obama cant/wont do anything abt immigration..

when u are in Cali....every politician will have to address the Spanish vote bank..and thats what he did..

if he has the same proposal as Bush..its a non starter..who will pay a fine...go out of the country ..get stamped and then stand in line for eternity...now these ppl make more money than some legals...

dont have high hopes..we must stick to what plans we had ...

I 100% agree with that statement..

Lets stick to the our plans, and please contribute to FOIA Funding...

[gcformeornot]

donors on this thread. Please contribute to our cause.

[deepikak]

http://www.idletechie.com/index.php/2009031995/CAPAC-requests-to-stop-immigration-raids.html

[leoindiano]

When last time CIR came for voting? then senator Obama Voted Yey or Nay?

Clinton voted Nay. if i remember correctly....Obama may have opted out....

[sri1309]

Lets be +ve and put our efforts.

[RajahRajah]

The problem with immigration reform as Richard Nixon once said is "there's not a a vote in it." Immigrants who are not citizens can't vote and those who are, are more concerned with bringing their relatives over. Politically speaking the EB category has no friends.

[go_guy123]

The problem with immigration reform as Richard Nixon once said is "there's not a a vote in it." Immigrants who are not citizens can't vote and those who are, are more concerned with bringing their relatives over. Politically speaking the EB category has no friends.

Very true. This sums up the reason for no EB reform. It was on this realization I called it quits. I wish I had done that earlier and
not wasted so many years (atleast 5 years) of my life.

[msgrewal81]

As per 2006 and 2007 CIRs, only illegal immigrants get green card easy. Legals like us - it will become even more difficult. read the text of previous CIRs and new CIR will not be different. Below is the text, it clearly excludes legals from legalization. Hope I would have been daring enough to be illegal. Definately, illegals are the vote banks and they get all the attention.
TEXT:

SEC. 245B. ACCESS TO EARNED ADJUSTMENT.

`(a) Adjustment of Status-

`(1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 244(h) of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, an alien who satisfies the following requirements:

`(A) APPLICATION- The alien shall file an application establishing eligibility for adjustment of status and pay the fine required under subsection (m) and any additional amounts owed under that subsection.

`(B) CONTINUOUS PHYSICAL PRESENCE-

`(i) IN GENERAL- The alien shall establish that the alien--

`(I) was physically present in the United States on or before the date that is 5 years before April 5, 2006;

`(II) was not legally present in the United States on April 5, 2006, under any classification set forth in section 101(a)(15); and

`(III) did not depart from the United States during the 5-year period ending on April 5, 2006, except for brief, casual, and innocent departures.

`(ii) LEGALLY PRESENT- For purposes of this subparagraph, an alien who has violated any conditions of his or her visa shall be considered not to be legally present in the United States.



..................So, legals dont earn legalization. In other parts of bill, legal immigrants have to go thru even more rigrous LC processes but illegals have to do nothing. So, all those excited about Obama and CIR, cool down.

[ganguteli]

As per 2006 and 2007 CIRs, only illegal immigrants get green card easy. Legals like us - it will become even more difficult. read the text of previous CIRs and new CIR will not be different. Below is the text, it clearly excludes legals from legalization. Hope I would have been daring enough to be illegal. Definately, illegals are the vote banks and they get all the attention.
TEXT:

SEC. 245B. ACCESS TO EARNED ADJUSTMENT.

`(a) Adjustment of Status-

`(1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 244(h) of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, an alien who satisfies the following requirements:

`(A) APPLICATION- The alien shall file an application establishing eligibility for adjustment of status and pay the fine required under subsection (m) and any additional amounts owed under that subsection.

`(B) CONTINUOUS PHYSICAL PRESENCE-

`(i) IN GENERAL- The alien shall establish that the alien--

`(I) was physically present in the United States on or before the date that is 5 years before April 5, 2006;

`(II) was not legally present in the United States on April 5, 2006, under any classification set forth in section 101(a)(15); and

`(III) did not depart from the United States during the 5-year period ending on April 5, 2006, except for brief, casual, and innocent departures.

`(ii) LEGALLY PRESENT- For purposes of this subparagraph, an alien who has violated any conditions of his or her visa shall be considered not to be legally present in the United States.



..................So, legals dont earn legalization. In other parts of bill, legal immigrants have to go thru even more rigrous LC processes but illegals have to do nothing. So, all those excited about Obama and CIR, cool down.
Legals do not need to be legalized. They are already legal. Legals need to be permanentized. (I like this new word)

You have not read the entire bill and fully understood it. You are just picking up a small portion and making judgment.

[senthil1]

It is going to be difficult for CIR this year mainly because of economy. Even if they try they will put more restrictions such that even pro-immigration community will reject CIR. For illegals they want all of illegals to be legalized with a GC within 5 to 10 year period without disturbing chain migration and also they want more temporary Visa for Low tech workers.

In the case of legal community Grassley and Sanders may try to put restrictions on H1b and limited increase in GC. For that most Pro legal immigration community including IV may oppose the bill.

But if Economy improves and if there is demand for labor then immigration community will have a good bargaining power in case of CIR(both legal and illegal).

We will wait and see what happens.

Legals do not need to be legalized. They are already legal. Legals need to be permanentized. (I like this new word)

You have not read the entire bill and fully understood it. You are just picking up a small portion and making judgment.

[suriajay12]

As per 2006 and 2007 CIRs, only illegal immigrants get green card easy. Legals like us - it will become even more difficult. read the text of previous CIRs and new CIR will not be different. Below is the text, it clearly excludes legals from legalization. Hope I would have been daring enough to be illegal. Definately, illegals are the vote banks and they get all the attention.
TEXT:

SEC. 245B. ACCESS TO EARNED ADJUSTMENT.

`(a) Adjustment of Status-

`(1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 244(h) of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, an alien who satisfies the following requirements:

`(A) APPLICATION- The alien shall file an application establishing eligibility for adjustment of status and pay the fine required under subsection (m) and any additional amounts owed under that subsection.

`(B) CONTINUOUS PHYSICAL PRESENCE-

`(i) IN GENERAL- The alien shall establish that the alien--

`(I) was physically present in the United States on or before the date that is 5 years before April 5, 2006;

`(II) was not legally present in the United States on April 5, 2006, under any classification set forth in section 101(a)(15); and

`(III) did not depart from the United States during the 5-year period ending on April 5, 2006, except for brief, casual, and innocent departures.

`(ii) LEGALLY PRESENT- For purposes of this subparagraph, an alien who has violated any conditions of his or her visa shall be considered not to be legally present in the United States.



..................So, legals dont earn legalization. In other parts of bill, legal immigrants have to go thru even more rigrous LC processes but illegals have to do nothing. So, all those excited about Obama and CIR, cool down.

Grewal,
Thanks for the info. Can you please give me the link once again on this. I did read twice when I first got it, but dont remember the line you bolded regarding "Not legal on that date".

[Green.Tech]

Another article documenting the obstacles for CIR in this economy:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/032309dnwashimmigration_.3d69c34.html