another one
07-13 08:27 AM
The point of the thread is that many people now think that cost of american dream is greater than the opportunity, and the balance is tilting in favor of other countries. Everyone makes their own assessment. No point in getting personal about it. Just a suggestion..using phrases like "suck blood out your body" will just reduce the effect of your argument.
And Do you (canadian wanna be) have any clue that to get respected salary and position you will be forced by illiterate Canadians to have "Professional Engineering Certificates"... It will suck blood out of your body for 5 years... So just do not read "Greener Side" of Canadian Immigration... I know it may not be applicable to all but more or less most of will have to face the same music in their careers. My all Canadian friends and relatives want to be Americans.. Only some of them practically could proceed for that.. After some stage of life it becomes hard to move families.. That is the reason they are facing now to take decision and simultaneously do not want to live in Canada anymore.. If you have 101 fever it will take 1 month to have Doctor's appointment... GST.. Higher taxes.. statistically there are chances "Most of members of this forum - Canadian Wanna Be" will have less promotions and/or increments in salary eventhough they will find themselves most skilled wherever they will work. Top posts would be the dream for most of you guys unless you start your own business.. if you understand what I am trying to tell... In USA it is not that way.... Having said this I can not say that everybody will experience the same what I am trying to portray but most fo them will.
And Do you (canadian wanna be) have any clue that to get respected salary and position you will be forced by illiterate Canadians to have "Professional Engineering Certificates"... It will suck blood out of your body for 5 years... So just do not read "Greener Side" of Canadian Immigration... I know it may not be applicable to all but more or less most of will have to face the same music in their careers. My all Canadian friends and relatives want to be Americans.. Only some of them practically could proceed for that.. After some stage of life it becomes hard to move families.. That is the reason they are facing now to take decision and simultaneously do not want to live in Canada anymore.. If you have 101 fever it will take 1 month to have Doctor's appointment... GST.. Higher taxes.. statistically there are chances "Most of members of this forum - Canadian Wanna Be" will have less promotions and/or increments in salary eventhough they will find themselves most skilled wherever they will work. Top posts would be the dream for most of you guys unless you start your own business.. if you understand what I am trying to tell... In USA it is not that way.... Having said this I can not say that everybody will experience the same what I am trying to portray but most fo them will.
wallpaper Terrell Owens Twitter Timeline
jkays94
05-11 09:57 AM
E3 visa is not enough reason to move to Australia.If ultimate decision is to come back to US ,then Canada is a better choice.
Lot of couples are there who are both on H1-B visa here, their GC plight is also same
The company I work for has an office in Sydney, Australia and recently opened one in Toronto but it is not fully operational. In such a case E3 might work better than Canada PR since it takes 3 years to get Canadian citizenship and 2 years to get Australian citizenship and one could potentially retain the US job if one manages to strike an arrangement with their employer. Also this option might work better for those whose home country is close to Australia (eg Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand etc). Also note the benefit of the E-3 is that one's spouse can work without restrictions and it is indefinitely renewable while the TN's spouse is not allowed to work. They both have pros and cons. Geographically and culture wise (ie way of life) Canada makes for an easier transition back to the US. Personally I have applied for the Canadian PR for the reasons you cite.
Edit: Note that it now takes 4 years to become an Australian Citizen per ZCool below. Thanks nozerd and ZCool.
Lot of couples are there who are both on H1-B visa here, their GC plight is also same
The company I work for has an office in Sydney, Australia and recently opened one in Toronto but it is not fully operational. In such a case E3 might work better than Canada PR since it takes 3 years to get Canadian citizenship and 2 years to get Australian citizenship and one could potentially retain the US job if one manages to strike an arrangement with their employer. Also this option might work better for those whose home country is close to Australia (eg Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand etc). Also note the benefit of the E-3 is that one's spouse can work without restrictions and it is indefinitely renewable while the TN's spouse is not allowed to work. They both have pros and cons. Geographically and culture wise (ie way of life) Canada makes for an easier transition back to the US. Personally I have applied for the Canadian PR for the reasons you cite.
Edit: Note that it now takes 4 years to become an Australian Citizen per ZCool below. Thanks nozerd and ZCool.
tikka
07-03 09:35 PM
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?p=98755#post98755
Immigration Voice encourages all members to help AILF/AILA's potential lawsuit by joining them as plaintiffs and contribute funds to Immigration Voice. We will actively help AILF or other organizations in this lawsuit to force USCIS/DOS to compensate for :
1. Financial and other damages caused due to manipulation of Visa bulletins out of order.
2. Violation of federal regulations and precedents.
A victory in such a potential lawsuit could in effect may either force USCIS to accept the 485 petitions in July and accept the ones it may deny/return in July.
The outcome of lawsuit cannot be guaranteed but USCIS and DOS are certainly facing a tough fight from us as well as from AILA and like minded organizations.
Please contribute funds as Immigration Voice would need funds to finance an expensive lawsuit against USCIS/DOS should it decide to actively participate in a class action lawsuit.
Immigration Voice encourages all members to help AILF/AILA's potential lawsuit by joining them as plaintiffs and contribute funds to Immigration Voice. We will actively help AILF or other organizations in this lawsuit to force USCIS/DOS to compensate for :
1. Financial and other damages caused due to manipulation of Visa bulletins out of order.
2. Violation of federal regulations and precedents.
A victory in such a potential lawsuit could in effect may either force USCIS to accept the 485 petitions in July and accept the ones it may deny/return in July.
The outcome of lawsuit cannot be guaranteed but USCIS and DOS are certainly facing a tough fight from us as well as from AILA and like minded organizations.
Please contribute funds as Immigration Voice would need funds to finance an expensive lawsuit against USCIS/DOS should it decide to actively participate in a class action lawsuit.
2011 Terrell Owens with his
snathan
01-21 06:27 PM
I got the below email from multiple friends. I don't know what is the source, who wrote this analysis because there is no links. I did NOT mean to spread the fear. Just sharing the contents unaltered.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
However, this is how many could read RECENT (Jan 8, 2010) actions / announcement by USCIS towards Consulting companies, which engages or merely places their employees at the client sites for various projects.
� No new H1B application will be approved, as per the new guidelines provided USCIS on Jan 08, 2010 memorandum � for 3rd Party Consulting company.
� No new H1B extension/stamping will be approved, as per the new guidelines provided USCIS on Jan 08, 2010 memorandum � for 3rd Party Consulting company.
� If an employee has H1B approved or extension approved, and if he/she comes back to US from a vacation or from an emergency, he/she would be deported back to his/her home country from the Port of Entry (PoE) � for 3rd Party Consulting company.
Why?
Because of 2 recent events:
1) USCIS gave new memorandum (which is now guidelines for USCIS professionals working on the H1B petitions/extensions) on Jan 08th, 2010. (Attached the PDF file for the memorandum).
2) Recently (Jan 2010) several H1B Employees were sent back (in some forum, its mentioned � all of them) to their home country from Newark, NJ and JFK, NY Port of Entry � these were the H1B employees, who went to spend Christmas/New Year vacation to their home countries.
What does the memorandum mention, specifically, about 3rd Party Consulting companies?
Link to the memorandum (PDF attached) � http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2010/H1B%20Employer-Employee%20Memo010810.pdf
Employer-Employee Relationship:
As per the memorandum, some previous H1B Law defines, the definition of an �US Employer�. Somewhere in that definition (Page 2 of memo), it mentions the word �Employer-Employee relationship�. Till now, it seems that there was no clear guidance on what kind of relationship was considered having Employer-Employee relationship. So, it was being, probably, interpreted independently or ambiguously. Now, on Jan 8th, 2010, USCIS has published this memorandum for TRAINING USCIS OFFICIALS about understanding, Employer-Employee relationship. The memorandum seems to have been prepared with a clear understanding about it, along with the specific EXAMPLES.
Memorandum has given few specific examples, which would QUALIFY for having Employer-Employee relationship, on Page 4-5 of the Memo � including the nature of the job/business. On Page 5-6, memorandum gives few specific examples, which would NOT QUALIFY for having Employer-Employee relationship. Third Party Placement / �Job-Shop� (better version of �Body-shop�, probably) is NOT QUALIFIED for meeting Employer-Employee Relationships � meaning, 3rd Party placement (which most of the small consulting companies do) doesn�t meet H1B requirement, as defined by the law � meaning for this job, the new H1B or Extension or Stamping petitions CANNOT be approved!! Period !!
This is how memorandum has identified 3rd Party Placements and in Bold letters, why it disqualifies for the H1B petitions (comments are in Red):
�The petitioner is a computer consulting company (which is what all small consulting do). The petitioner has contract with numerous outside companies in which it supplies these companies with employee to fulfill specific staffing needs. The specific positions are not outlined in the contract between the petitioner and the third-party company but are staffed on an as-needed basis (this is nothing but, Service Agreement between the petitioner and the mid-vendor!). The beneficiary is a computer analyst (which is what many small consulting company�s employee are). The beneficiary has been assigned to work for the third-party company to fill a core position to maintain the third-party company�s payroll (this nothing but, Mid-Vendor�s or so-called Prime-Vendor�s or Consulting Partner�s Revenue). Once placed at the client company, the beneficiary reports to a manager who works for the third-party company (as it happens, when Consulting partner hires employee as a contractor). The beneficiary does not report to the petitioner for work assignments, and all work assignments are determined by the third-party company (petitioner just runs pay-rolls!). The petitioner does not control how the beneficiary will complete daily tasks, and no propriety information of the petitioner is used by the beneficiary to complete any work assignments (petitioner just runs pay-rolls!). The beneficiary�s end-product, the payroll (payroll of mid-vendor/prime vendor/consulting partner), is not in any way related to the petitioner�s line of business, which is computer consulting. The beneficiary�s progress reviews are completed by the client company, not the petitioner (petitioner just runs pay-rolls!). [Petitioner Has No Right to Control; No Exercise of Control].�
Right to Control:
Supreme Court has stated the definition of Employer-Employee Relationship (Page 3 of Memo), and there it was mentioned to have �Right to Control� over the work of the employee by the employer. From the entire memo, it sounds that Right control is well-established, ONLY WHEN, at least one supervisor from the petitioner�s company works with the beneficiary at the end-client site, and supervises beneficiary�s day-to-day work. So, big Consulting companies such as Wipro, Infosys, Accenture, Deloitte etc. will be good, as they would meet �Right to Control� and that way, they will satisfy H1B requirement by law, and their petitions for similar 3rd party consulting work, will be APPROVED, but not in case of, small consulting companies!! This is because, big consulting companies such as Accenture � have their entire or partial team � along with managers etc. � working at the same client site, where the beneficiary would be working, so they could supervise their work and so exercise control over their work etc., but that cannot be the case with the small consulting � because, their actual business has been, so far, to place employees and run pay-roll � not to get the client projects!
Why one could think that there are slim chances for this memorandum to get reversed in favor of small consulting companies?
This memorandum took care of big consulting companies such as Wipro, Infosys, Cognizant, Accenture etc. � meaning, these companies and their employees are NOT impacted. They can travel freely to-and-fro their home country etc. Since, big companies are not impacted, there will not be any big lobbying or oppositions to this memorandum, per say!! There don�t seem to be a platform for small consulting companies to gather and lobby, plus most the small consulting may not get involved, with fear of exposing themselves more to other issues!! So, it might be east to assume that this memorandum is permanent and not temporary. The recent deportation also indicates that the changes like this memorandum is for serious, not just the warning!
How this memorandum relates to the recent deportation events from NY and NJ airports?
There seems to be an anticipated link between these 2 events � Memorandum and recent Deportations � kind of an indication about the current level of government scrutiny and seriousness of the H1B program. Hence, there have been advices by others that � each employer and employee should operate by strictly following the H1B program requirements.
Link to Murthy.com front page posting about this � MurthyDotCom : NewsFlash! Note to H1Bs Traveling to U.S., Working for Consulting Companies (http://www.murthy.com/nflash/nf_h1conc.html)
What one could predict as happening sooner (trend)?
� Since, it seems big consulting companies (having their own consulting projects)/full-time end-clients and their beneficiaries are not impacted with these changes � there could be trend � employee moving from small companies to big companies for a better shelter for full-time positions � especially, when small consulting company�s immediate preventions / actions to this memo cannot ensure safety.
� Big consulting companies could buy small consulting companies or small consulting companies could sell their companies to big consulting companies (having their own consulting projects), to save their employee�s future/transition etc.
Good Luck my Friends....!!
Everyone knows what the impact would be...no one coming up with the solutions or ready to fight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
However, this is how many could read RECENT (Jan 8, 2010) actions / announcement by USCIS towards Consulting companies, which engages or merely places their employees at the client sites for various projects.
� No new H1B application will be approved, as per the new guidelines provided USCIS on Jan 08, 2010 memorandum � for 3rd Party Consulting company.
� No new H1B extension/stamping will be approved, as per the new guidelines provided USCIS on Jan 08, 2010 memorandum � for 3rd Party Consulting company.
� If an employee has H1B approved or extension approved, and if he/she comes back to US from a vacation or from an emergency, he/she would be deported back to his/her home country from the Port of Entry (PoE) � for 3rd Party Consulting company.
Why?
Because of 2 recent events:
1) USCIS gave new memorandum (which is now guidelines for USCIS professionals working on the H1B petitions/extensions) on Jan 08th, 2010. (Attached the PDF file for the memorandum).
2) Recently (Jan 2010) several H1B Employees were sent back (in some forum, its mentioned � all of them) to their home country from Newark, NJ and JFK, NY Port of Entry � these were the H1B employees, who went to spend Christmas/New Year vacation to their home countries.
What does the memorandum mention, specifically, about 3rd Party Consulting companies?
Link to the memorandum (PDF attached) � http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2010/H1B%20Employer-Employee%20Memo010810.pdf
Employer-Employee Relationship:
As per the memorandum, some previous H1B Law defines, the definition of an �US Employer�. Somewhere in that definition (Page 2 of memo), it mentions the word �Employer-Employee relationship�. Till now, it seems that there was no clear guidance on what kind of relationship was considered having Employer-Employee relationship. So, it was being, probably, interpreted independently or ambiguously. Now, on Jan 8th, 2010, USCIS has published this memorandum for TRAINING USCIS OFFICIALS about understanding, Employer-Employee relationship. The memorandum seems to have been prepared with a clear understanding about it, along with the specific EXAMPLES.
Memorandum has given few specific examples, which would QUALIFY for having Employer-Employee relationship, on Page 4-5 of the Memo � including the nature of the job/business. On Page 5-6, memorandum gives few specific examples, which would NOT QUALIFY for having Employer-Employee relationship. Third Party Placement / �Job-Shop� (better version of �Body-shop�, probably) is NOT QUALIFIED for meeting Employer-Employee Relationships � meaning, 3rd Party placement (which most of the small consulting companies do) doesn�t meet H1B requirement, as defined by the law � meaning for this job, the new H1B or Extension or Stamping petitions CANNOT be approved!! Period !!
This is how memorandum has identified 3rd Party Placements and in Bold letters, why it disqualifies for the H1B petitions (comments are in Red):
�The petitioner is a computer consulting company (which is what all small consulting do). The petitioner has contract with numerous outside companies in which it supplies these companies with employee to fulfill specific staffing needs. The specific positions are not outlined in the contract between the petitioner and the third-party company but are staffed on an as-needed basis (this is nothing but, Service Agreement between the petitioner and the mid-vendor!). The beneficiary is a computer analyst (which is what many small consulting company�s employee are). The beneficiary has been assigned to work for the third-party company to fill a core position to maintain the third-party company�s payroll (this nothing but, Mid-Vendor�s or so-called Prime-Vendor�s or Consulting Partner�s Revenue). Once placed at the client company, the beneficiary reports to a manager who works for the third-party company (as it happens, when Consulting partner hires employee as a contractor). The beneficiary does not report to the petitioner for work assignments, and all work assignments are determined by the third-party company (petitioner just runs pay-rolls!). The petitioner does not control how the beneficiary will complete daily tasks, and no propriety information of the petitioner is used by the beneficiary to complete any work assignments (petitioner just runs pay-rolls!). The beneficiary�s end-product, the payroll (payroll of mid-vendor/prime vendor/consulting partner), is not in any way related to the petitioner�s line of business, which is computer consulting. The beneficiary�s progress reviews are completed by the client company, not the petitioner (petitioner just runs pay-rolls!). [Petitioner Has No Right to Control; No Exercise of Control].�
Right to Control:
Supreme Court has stated the definition of Employer-Employee Relationship (Page 3 of Memo), and there it was mentioned to have �Right to Control� over the work of the employee by the employer. From the entire memo, it sounds that Right control is well-established, ONLY WHEN, at least one supervisor from the petitioner�s company works with the beneficiary at the end-client site, and supervises beneficiary�s day-to-day work. So, big Consulting companies such as Wipro, Infosys, Accenture, Deloitte etc. will be good, as they would meet �Right to Control� and that way, they will satisfy H1B requirement by law, and their petitions for similar 3rd party consulting work, will be APPROVED, but not in case of, small consulting companies!! This is because, big consulting companies such as Accenture � have their entire or partial team � along with managers etc. � working at the same client site, where the beneficiary would be working, so they could supervise their work and so exercise control over their work etc., but that cannot be the case with the small consulting � because, their actual business has been, so far, to place employees and run pay-roll � not to get the client projects!
Why one could think that there are slim chances for this memorandum to get reversed in favor of small consulting companies?
This memorandum took care of big consulting companies such as Wipro, Infosys, Cognizant, Accenture etc. � meaning, these companies and their employees are NOT impacted. They can travel freely to-and-fro their home country etc. Since, big companies are not impacted, there will not be any big lobbying or oppositions to this memorandum, per say!! There don�t seem to be a platform for small consulting companies to gather and lobby, plus most the small consulting may not get involved, with fear of exposing themselves more to other issues!! So, it might be east to assume that this memorandum is permanent and not temporary. The recent deportation also indicates that the changes like this memorandum is for serious, not just the warning!
How this memorandum relates to the recent deportation events from NY and NJ airports?
There seems to be an anticipated link between these 2 events � Memorandum and recent Deportations � kind of an indication about the current level of government scrutiny and seriousness of the H1B program. Hence, there have been advices by others that � each employer and employee should operate by strictly following the H1B program requirements.
Link to Murthy.com front page posting about this � MurthyDotCom : NewsFlash! Note to H1Bs Traveling to U.S., Working for Consulting Companies (http://www.murthy.com/nflash/nf_h1conc.html)
What one could predict as happening sooner (trend)?
� Since, it seems big consulting companies (having their own consulting projects)/full-time end-clients and their beneficiaries are not impacted with these changes � there could be trend � employee moving from small companies to big companies for a better shelter for full-time positions � especially, when small consulting company�s immediate preventions / actions to this memo cannot ensure safety.
� Big consulting companies could buy small consulting companies or small consulting companies could sell their companies to big consulting companies (having their own consulting projects), to save their employee�s future/transition etc.
Good Luck my Friends....!!
Everyone knows what the impact would be...no one coming up with the solutions or ready to fight.
more...
ardnahc
07-21 05:56 PM
I concur with all the folks in this forum here.
This reminded me of one of my experiences with Amway guys. This dude comes to me in a mall and started off with his usual "Amway - styled" conversation and finally said that he owns a site similar to amazon.com. That is when I realized and stopped him right there and said "We already have amazon.com, why do you want to open a new one?" he was dumb-founded for a sec then he pretended to attend a phone call and stepped away.
This reminded me of one of my experiences with Amway guys. This dude comes to me in a mall and started off with his usual "Amway - styled" conversation and finally said that he owns a site similar to amazon.com. That is when I realized and stopped him right there and said "We already have amazon.com, why do you want to open a new one?" he was dumb-founded for a sec then he pretended to attend a phone call and stepped away.
paskal
07-17 12:58 PM
Is it accurate to say that new way of allocating spill over visas effectively acheive same effect as eliminiating country limits?
this is not correct. ROW continues to get preference.
what has changed is that for a while USCIS chose to interpret the law in a way that gave EB2 GC numbers (the law mandated 28.6%) to EB3 ROW rather than spill them over the EB2 I/C. now they have corrected that and EB2 numbers (which include any spillover from EB1) are first used in EB2 ie category numbers are given priority.
so the bonus advantage that EB3 ROW got for 1-2 years has been withdrawn. however with EB3 retrogressed and with EB2 I/C retrogressed, EB3 ROW continues to get all EB3 numbers except the 7% each for the retrogressed nation states.
i would also like to know where the 20K number is coming from if anyone has a source please share it.
this is not correct. ROW continues to get preference.
what has changed is that for a while USCIS chose to interpret the law in a way that gave EB2 GC numbers (the law mandated 28.6%) to EB3 ROW rather than spill them over the EB2 I/C. now they have corrected that and EB2 numbers (which include any spillover from EB1) are first used in EB2 ie category numbers are given priority.
so the bonus advantage that EB3 ROW got for 1-2 years has been withdrawn. however with EB3 retrogressed and with EB2 I/C retrogressed, EB3 ROW continues to get all EB3 numbers except the 7% each for the retrogressed nation states.
i would also like to know where the 20K number is coming from if anyone has a source please share it.
more...
garybanz
12-14 05:32 PM
Guys,
I think we have spent enough time discussing this, please respond to this post if you are willing to share the cost of taking this discussion to a top Constitutional attorney. (just the cost of initial discussion...not the actual case)
Also if some one can point me in the right direction on finding the right attorney for this question then I'll really appreciate it.
Thanks.
I think we have spent enough time discussing this, please respond to this post if you are willing to share the cost of taking this discussion to a top Constitutional attorney. (just the cost of initial discussion...not the actual case)
Also if some one can point me in the right direction on finding the right attorney for this question then I'll really appreciate it.
Thanks.
2010 Terrell Owens had his lowest
rsharma
09-24 11:16 AM
Emailed All
:rolleyes: Whatever works :rolleyes:
matt_kelly@specter.senate.gov, <lisa_owings@specter.senate.gov BOUNCED
I think we should send a copies of these mails to the various Housing Agents and other Housing related agencies.
I thibk they also can use their lobbies to work for this proposal as this would be helpful to their business too.
:rolleyes: Whatever works :rolleyes:
matt_kelly@specter.senate.gov, <lisa_owings@specter.senate.gov BOUNCED
I think we should send a copies of these mails to the various Housing Agents and other Housing related agencies.
I thibk they also can use their lobbies to work for this proposal as this would be helpful to their business too.
more...
sankap
07-13 11:18 AM
Here's an article that appeared in Outlook (India) magazine 8 years ago. Apparently, the situation hasn't changed much since then:
http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fname=international1&fodname=19990125&sid=1
Canada...The Grass Isn't Greener
Outlook: Jan 25, 1999
It's a dream gone sour. Thousands of Indian immigrants who land up in Canada are, more often than not, greeted with unemployment, racism, culture shocks...
SOHAILA CHARNALIA
"I didn't come here to be a chowkidar. I came here believing it to be a land of opportunity; a country that has never known the nepotism, the corruption, the shortages of India. I find I have only substituted one country for another... certainly not one set of values for another, as I hoped. " For Dr Gurdial Singh Dhillon, who was made to believe his qualifications would land him a good job fast, Canada was a real disappointment. When he did find work, it was that of a security guard. This, when the United Nations has declared Canada the best country to live in.
Some 200,000 people migrate to Canada every year, a majority from Asia. Hong Kong heads the list, followed by India, China, Taiwan and the Philippines. According to the Citizenship & Immigration Canada report, 21,249 Indians migrated to Canada in 1996 alone. (The high commission in Delhi, however, put the figure at 17,682). For many of them, especially those who are qualified professionals, dreams die fast. The life they face is never quite as rosy as made out by money-raking immigration lawyers.
Is the UN report the only reason for the increase in Indian applications for immigration? That, and the fact that it is easier to get entry into Canada than any other western country, says a Delhi-based immigration lawyer. Also, the fastest way of getting immigration to the US is through Canada.
Dhillon's disappointment is echoed by others. "I should have done my own homework before I applied", rues Aparna Shirodhkar, an architect from Mumbai, working as a saleswoman in a department store. "My husband is unemployed. I am the sole earner for a family of four. Sometimes I feel like running back". For Raheela Wasim, who's gone from being a schoolteacher in India to a telemarketer here, the experience was very discouraging, very disheartening. "I started losing confidence in myself. I felt I was not capable of the job market here".
Jobs are the sore point with Indian immigrants. The irony is, they are often more qualified than their Canadian peers, yet they end up with either no work, or with entry-level jobs that have no future. "I was not told that you require a Canadian degree to get a job here", says Paramjeet Parmar, a postgraduate in biochemistry from Bombay University. Parmar works as a telemarketer, which has turned her from an elite professional to an unskilled, daily wage labourer. Ditto Opinder Khosla, a mechanical engineer from India, who has ended up as a salesman. "I found it difficult to even get an interview call", he says. The Canadian authorities are non-committal about the social and economic devaluation that the country imposes on immigrants.
"You can't come thinking you can just walk in and get a job in your profession", says Isabel Basset, minister of citizenship, culture and recreation, responsible for handling immigrants' woes in Canada's largest province, Ontario. But she admits that the licensing bodies regulating the professions need to be more accepting of people trained elsewhere.
That effort could only come from the government, argues Demetrius Oriopolis, co-author of Access, a government-commissioned report on assessing qualifications of newcomers, a 10-year-old report whose recommendations have still to be implemented. The report suggests certain rules of equivalence should be made binding on the regulatory bodies, which are exclusionist by nature.
But Basset won't even hear of making the regulatory bodies accountable: "We believe in private enterprise with a minimum of government checks. Besides, she argues, the exercise would cost millions of dollars".
Needless to say, the organisations are gleeful. Only professional bodies have the ability to determine what constitutes competence in a particular profession, was the cold response of the spokesperson for the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, an institution that's responsible for the unemployment as well as under-employment of hundreds of qualified chartered accountants from India. They do not grant licences for professional practice, because Indian qualifications are not acceptable.
"What kind of society are we creating? Is it a new form of slavery?" asks an irate Bhausaheb Ubale, Canada's former human rights commissioner. Qualified immigrants work as drivers, guards. If this isn't job discrimination, what is? Dr Ubale lobbied intensely before Indians were accepted in the media. They now hold jobs as reporters and anchors, he says, but a lot more has to be done.
While skilled men may not be able to find jobs, their less qualified wives find it easier because they accept whatever comes their way. In several cases, the wives earn and support their husbands who are busy upgrading themselves, by studying for a Canadian degree. The working wife sometimes slogs away at three jobs. Sumitra starts at 7 am at her first job, teaching immigrants English; her second job as telemarketer starts at 4 pm. She gets back home around 8 pm, after which she begins selling cosmetics and household goods door to door. Till midnight. Sumitra supports three students, her husband and two school-going children.
The other problems Indians face here are the high taxes, high mortgage payments for new homes and the sort of hidebound laws that the benign anarchy back home hardly prepares them for. "You can't run a red light, you can't escape from a hit-and-run site even if you are just the witness, you can't smoke in public. Too many rules, so different from home", says Harminder Singh.
Two 'Indian' practices that do exist here, however, cause immigrants the maximum trouble. They are sifarish baazi (nepotism) and mufat ka kaam (free work). The Canadians, of course, have given them sophisticated terminologies, the former is referred to as 'networking' and the latter, 'volunteerism'. In a country where you are never encouraged to 'drop in' to meet someone, where the fax, the computer or the phone is used to complete most transactions, a job-seeking immigrant often has the phone put down on him. Polite but firm secretaries block access, unless the caller can drop a magic name that can help him gain entry. It takes at least a year for even the most enterprising immigrant to get to know somebody who can help him, before he can get a job at all.
'Networking' goes hand in hand with 'volunteerism'. Many immigrants put in a year of free service before they are given the job. Most writers and anchors of Asian origin are given only part-time jobs, paid by assignment and with no fringe benefits. The company insists on the word 'freelance' on their business cards, to make it clear they have not been hired by the company, and hence can't demand higher pay or any benefits. They can, and often are, fired at will.
Perhaps the greatest problem in Canada is the one that is least articulated--racism. According to a diversity report on Toronto (said to be the most ethnically diverse city in the world), the year 2000 will see its minority becoming its majority that is, 54 per cent of Toronto's population by the end of the millennium will be non-Whites. Keeping that in mind, it warned, if the discrimination against them in education, employment, income and housing, or incidents of hate are not addressed, it will lead to a growing sense of frustration.
"All our problems exist because of racism", sums up Anita Ferrao, who works in a firm. Anita has worked for them for three years and has got neither promotion nor raise. "As an Indian immigrant, you can never reach the top. They'll see to that. It's better to bring in some money here and start a business. It's the only way you'll do well here and be respected. "
But then if life is so tough here, why do people give up everything back home and come? The answer is the rosy picture of North America, inculcated right from childhood. Everything 'American' is considered superior. Better food, better homes, better life.
Each potential immigrant pays at least Rs 2 lakh chasing that dream. Multiply that by the thousands of Indians admitted each year, and further, by the number of immigrants accepted from all over the world, and you hit upon the most lucrative business today in Canada. According to a leading White immigration lawyer here, who prefers to remain anonymous, his own fee is 8,000 Canadian dollars, which comes to Rs 2,38,000. The government levies extra charges.
What do immigration lawyers advice potential immigrants? "Do your homework, before deciding to go ahead with your application. Arm yourself with facts about Canada. And when you do apply, stick to the truth yourself. You won't be in for unpleasant surprises, then. The rest is up to one's initiative and optimism." Indians need that, says one lawyer, as many of them fall into depression: the changes are just too much. But, he clarifies, Canada is the best. Where else will you find a land of opportunity, that still cares about its people? That's what the Indians come looking for. And haven't discovered yet.
http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fname=international1&fodname=19990125&sid=1
Canada...The Grass Isn't Greener
Outlook: Jan 25, 1999
It's a dream gone sour. Thousands of Indian immigrants who land up in Canada are, more often than not, greeted with unemployment, racism, culture shocks...
SOHAILA CHARNALIA
"I didn't come here to be a chowkidar. I came here believing it to be a land of opportunity; a country that has never known the nepotism, the corruption, the shortages of India. I find I have only substituted one country for another... certainly not one set of values for another, as I hoped. " For Dr Gurdial Singh Dhillon, who was made to believe his qualifications would land him a good job fast, Canada was a real disappointment. When he did find work, it was that of a security guard. This, when the United Nations has declared Canada the best country to live in.
Some 200,000 people migrate to Canada every year, a majority from Asia. Hong Kong heads the list, followed by India, China, Taiwan and the Philippines. According to the Citizenship & Immigration Canada report, 21,249 Indians migrated to Canada in 1996 alone. (The high commission in Delhi, however, put the figure at 17,682). For many of them, especially those who are qualified professionals, dreams die fast. The life they face is never quite as rosy as made out by money-raking immigration lawyers.
Is the UN report the only reason for the increase in Indian applications for immigration? That, and the fact that it is easier to get entry into Canada than any other western country, says a Delhi-based immigration lawyer. Also, the fastest way of getting immigration to the US is through Canada.
Dhillon's disappointment is echoed by others. "I should have done my own homework before I applied", rues Aparna Shirodhkar, an architect from Mumbai, working as a saleswoman in a department store. "My husband is unemployed. I am the sole earner for a family of four. Sometimes I feel like running back". For Raheela Wasim, who's gone from being a schoolteacher in India to a telemarketer here, the experience was very discouraging, very disheartening. "I started losing confidence in myself. I felt I was not capable of the job market here".
Jobs are the sore point with Indian immigrants. The irony is, they are often more qualified than their Canadian peers, yet they end up with either no work, or with entry-level jobs that have no future. "I was not told that you require a Canadian degree to get a job here", says Paramjeet Parmar, a postgraduate in biochemistry from Bombay University. Parmar works as a telemarketer, which has turned her from an elite professional to an unskilled, daily wage labourer. Ditto Opinder Khosla, a mechanical engineer from India, who has ended up as a salesman. "I found it difficult to even get an interview call", he says. The Canadian authorities are non-committal about the social and economic devaluation that the country imposes on immigrants.
"You can't come thinking you can just walk in and get a job in your profession", says Isabel Basset, minister of citizenship, culture and recreation, responsible for handling immigrants' woes in Canada's largest province, Ontario. But she admits that the licensing bodies regulating the professions need to be more accepting of people trained elsewhere.
That effort could only come from the government, argues Demetrius Oriopolis, co-author of Access, a government-commissioned report on assessing qualifications of newcomers, a 10-year-old report whose recommendations have still to be implemented. The report suggests certain rules of equivalence should be made binding on the regulatory bodies, which are exclusionist by nature.
But Basset won't even hear of making the regulatory bodies accountable: "We believe in private enterprise with a minimum of government checks. Besides, she argues, the exercise would cost millions of dollars".
Needless to say, the organisations are gleeful. Only professional bodies have the ability to determine what constitutes competence in a particular profession, was the cold response of the spokesperson for the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, an institution that's responsible for the unemployment as well as under-employment of hundreds of qualified chartered accountants from India. They do not grant licences for professional practice, because Indian qualifications are not acceptable.
"What kind of society are we creating? Is it a new form of slavery?" asks an irate Bhausaheb Ubale, Canada's former human rights commissioner. Qualified immigrants work as drivers, guards. If this isn't job discrimination, what is? Dr Ubale lobbied intensely before Indians were accepted in the media. They now hold jobs as reporters and anchors, he says, but a lot more has to be done.
While skilled men may not be able to find jobs, their less qualified wives find it easier because they accept whatever comes their way. In several cases, the wives earn and support their husbands who are busy upgrading themselves, by studying for a Canadian degree. The working wife sometimes slogs away at three jobs. Sumitra starts at 7 am at her first job, teaching immigrants English; her second job as telemarketer starts at 4 pm. She gets back home around 8 pm, after which she begins selling cosmetics and household goods door to door. Till midnight. Sumitra supports three students, her husband and two school-going children.
The other problems Indians face here are the high taxes, high mortgage payments for new homes and the sort of hidebound laws that the benign anarchy back home hardly prepares them for. "You can't run a red light, you can't escape from a hit-and-run site even if you are just the witness, you can't smoke in public. Too many rules, so different from home", says Harminder Singh.
Two 'Indian' practices that do exist here, however, cause immigrants the maximum trouble. They are sifarish baazi (nepotism) and mufat ka kaam (free work). The Canadians, of course, have given them sophisticated terminologies, the former is referred to as 'networking' and the latter, 'volunteerism'. In a country where you are never encouraged to 'drop in' to meet someone, where the fax, the computer or the phone is used to complete most transactions, a job-seeking immigrant often has the phone put down on him. Polite but firm secretaries block access, unless the caller can drop a magic name that can help him gain entry. It takes at least a year for even the most enterprising immigrant to get to know somebody who can help him, before he can get a job at all.
'Networking' goes hand in hand with 'volunteerism'. Many immigrants put in a year of free service before they are given the job. Most writers and anchors of Asian origin are given only part-time jobs, paid by assignment and with no fringe benefits. The company insists on the word 'freelance' on their business cards, to make it clear they have not been hired by the company, and hence can't demand higher pay or any benefits. They can, and often are, fired at will.
Perhaps the greatest problem in Canada is the one that is least articulated--racism. According to a diversity report on Toronto (said to be the most ethnically diverse city in the world), the year 2000 will see its minority becoming its majority that is, 54 per cent of Toronto's population by the end of the millennium will be non-Whites. Keeping that in mind, it warned, if the discrimination against them in education, employment, income and housing, or incidents of hate are not addressed, it will lead to a growing sense of frustration.
"All our problems exist because of racism", sums up Anita Ferrao, who works in a firm. Anita has worked for them for three years and has got neither promotion nor raise. "As an Indian immigrant, you can never reach the top. They'll see to that. It's better to bring in some money here and start a business. It's the only way you'll do well here and be respected. "
But then if life is so tough here, why do people give up everything back home and come? The answer is the rosy picture of North America, inculcated right from childhood. Everything 'American' is considered superior. Better food, better homes, better life.
Each potential immigrant pays at least Rs 2 lakh chasing that dream. Multiply that by the thousands of Indians admitted each year, and further, by the number of immigrants accepted from all over the world, and you hit upon the most lucrative business today in Canada. According to a leading White immigration lawyer here, who prefers to remain anonymous, his own fee is 8,000 Canadian dollars, which comes to Rs 2,38,000. The government levies extra charges.
What do immigration lawyers advice potential immigrants? "Do your homework, before deciding to go ahead with your application. Arm yourself with facts about Canada. And when you do apply, stick to the truth yourself. You won't be in for unpleasant surprises, then. The rest is up to one's initiative and optimism." Indians need that, says one lawyer, as many of them fall into depression: the changes are just too much. But, he clarifies, Canada is the best. Where else will you find a land of opportunity, that still cares about its people? That's what the Indians come looking for. And haven't discovered yet.
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saturnring11
07-22 04:21 PM
While we are all sharing about our Amway solicitation experiences, let me share what I've seen in the last few years.
Background: In the last 6 years, I've been approached over 2 dozen times in the Bay Area. Things got so bad that the same guys have approached me more than 3 times in some cases before realizing that they've already talked to me before.
Incident #1:
A guy approached me while I was at the mall saying "hi" and striking up a conversation. During our short chat, this 20-something desi guy proceeds to tell me that he is the CIO of Fox News. At which time I pull out my iPhone and look him up using my LinkedIn app under the guise of adding him to my network. Turns out he is an engineer at a local company which he covers up by being embarassed and saying "I haven't updated my profile." I joke about how he moved up in his career so quickly - he then makes an excuse and walks away. I never hear from him again. Another reason to love technology!
Incident #2:
I get approached while shopping at the local GAP store. Being a veteran of this form of solicitation, I respond by saying that I work for the San Jose Mercury News and that we are doing a story on Multi-Level Marketing schemes. I ask him if he knows anyone who would be willing to chat on the record. This guys says "Nope, don't know anyone" and walks away. I never see him again...
Incident #3:
I am at the Nike store and get approached by this guy asking me if I work at Google (I do not). I tell him "Nope" and walk away before he can ask me another question. I have been approached by this same guy 2 more times at other stores (within 6 months) asking me similar questions. The 3rd time, I tell him - "We've spoken before - No, I don't work at Google, No, I'm not from Delhi and No, I'm not interested in what you are selling." He is stunned and walks away with his tail between his legs :)
Incident #4:
The local Fry's is a popular hang out for Amway-types. I learned the hard way because I made my first mistakes here. Both guys that struck up a good conversation with me turned out to be Amway types. After the 2nd phone call, I tell them that if they call me again, I will report them to the authorities and Fry's for illegal solicitation and harassment.
This stops both people in their tracks. I never see them at Fry's again!
Bottom-line: Hold your ground, use technology and don't be afraid to kick them around a little bit. Saying "No" is golden!
Background: In the last 6 years, I've been approached over 2 dozen times in the Bay Area. Things got so bad that the same guys have approached me more than 3 times in some cases before realizing that they've already talked to me before.
Incident #1:
A guy approached me while I was at the mall saying "hi" and striking up a conversation. During our short chat, this 20-something desi guy proceeds to tell me that he is the CIO of Fox News. At which time I pull out my iPhone and look him up using my LinkedIn app under the guise of adding him to my network. Turns out he is an engineer at a local company which he covers up by being embarassed and saying "I haven't updated my profile." I joke about how he moved up in his career so quickly - he then makes an excuse and walks away. I never hear from him again. Another reason to love technology!
Incident #2:
I get approached while shopping at the local GAP store. Being a veteran of this form of solicitation, I respond by saying that I work for the San Jose Mercury News and that we are doing a story on Multi-Level Marketing schemes. I ask him if he knows anyone who would be willing to chat on the record. This guys says "Nope, don't know anyone" and walks away. I never see him again...
Incident #3:
I am at the Nike store and get approached by this guy asking me if I work at Google (I do not). I tell him "Nope" and walk away before he can ask me another question. I have been approached by this same guy 2 more times at other stores (within 6 months) asking me similar questions. The 3rd time, I tell him - "We've spoken before - No, I don't work at Google, No, I'm not from Delhi and No, I'm not interested in what you are selling." He is stunned and walks away with his tail between his legs :)
Incident #4:
The local Fry's is a popular hang out for Amway-types. I learned the hard way because I made my first mistakes here. Both guys that struck up a good conversation with me turned out to be Amway types. After the 2nd phone call, I tell them that if they call me again, I will report them to the authorities and Fry's for illegal solicitation and harassment.
This stops both people in their tracks. I never see them at Fry's again!
Bottom-line: Hold your ground, use technology and don't be afraid to kick them around a little bit. Saying "No" is golden!
more...
at0474
12-14 03:55 PM
Good summary but let me also add the observation that eliminating the per country quota alone will not bring the desired benefit unless the following are also implemneted
1) Increase of the total EB quota
2) Exclude dependents from the quota
3) Re-capture unused visas from past years.
--Improve processing time to consume full quota allotted per fiscal year. If the cases are processed at snail pace, increasing quota to half a million visa doesn't mean squat to anybody. It will fall into another cycle of "waste visas & recapture visas"
1) Increase of the total EB quota
2) Exclude dependents from the quota
3) Re-capture unused visas from past years.
--Improve processing time to consume full quota allotted per fiscal year. If the cases are processed at snail pace, increasing quota to half a million visa doesn't mean squat to anybody. It will fall into another cycle of "waste visas & recapture visas"
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navin80
07-21 10:31 AM
Company A applied for labor(EB2) in Dec2006. It was approved.
My I140 was filed in March 2007 and approved on Jan 10 2008.
I did not file for I485 in August last year.
I had changed companies in April 2007.Presenly I am on Company B payroll.
Now, If I move back to Company A, would I be able to apply for my I485 when the date opens.
The online status for I140 says, Approved.
I am in good terms with both the employers.
If I move to company A; at the time of applying I485, do I need to have paystubs from Company A?
Please help. Thanks.
My I140 was filed in March 2007 and approved on Jan 10 2008.
I did not file for I485 in August last year.
I had changed companies in April 2007.Presenly I am on Company B payroll.
Now, If I move back to Company A, would I be able to apply for my I485 when the date opens.
The online status for I140 says, Approved.
I am in good terms with both the employers.
If I move to company A; at the time of applying I485, do I need to have paystubs from Company A?
Please help. Thanks.
more...
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sankap
07-12 11:14 AM
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/washington/27points.html?ex=1184385600&en=d3301beecf778d15&ei=5070
June 27, 2007
Canada�s Policy on Immigrants Brings Backlog
By CHRISTOPHER MASON and JULIA PRESTON
TORONTO, June 26 � With an advanced degree in business management from a university in India and impeccable English, Salman Kureishy is precisely the type of foreigner that Canada�s merit-based immigration system was designed to attract.
Yet eight years went by from the time Mr. Kureishy passed his first Canadian immigration test until he moved from India to Canada. Then he had to endure nine months of bureaucratic delays before landing a job in his field in March.
Mr. Kureishy�s experience � and that of Canada�s immigration system � offers a cautionary tale for the United States. Mr. Kureishy came to this country under a system Canada pioneered in the 1960s that favors highly skilled foreigners, by assigning points for education and work experience and accepting those who earn high scores.
A similar point system for the United States is proposed in the immigration bill that bounced back to life on Tuesday, when the Senate reversed a previous stand and brought the bill back to the floor. The vote did not guarantee passage of the bill, which calls for the biggest changes in immigration law in more than 20 years.
The point system has helped Canada compete with the United States and other Western powers for highly educated workers, the most coveted immigrants in high-tech and other cutting-edge industries. But in recent years, immigration lawyers and labor market analysts say, the Canadian system has become an immovable beast, with a backlog of more than 800,000 applications and waits of four years or more.
The system�s bias toward the educated has left some industries crying out for skilled blue-collar workers, especially in western Canada where Alberta�s busy oil fields have generated an economic boom. Studies by the Alberta government show the province could be short by as many as 100,000 workers over the next decade.
In response, some Canadian employers are sidestepping the point system and relying instead on a program initiated in 1998 that allows provincial governments to hand-pick some immigrant workers, and on temporary foreign-worker permits.
�The points system is so inflexible,� said Herman Van Reekum, an immigration consultant in Calgary who helps Alberta employers find workers. �We need low-skill workers and trades workers here, and those people have no hope under the points system.�
Canada accepts about 250,000 immigrants each year, more than doubling the per-capita rate of immigration in the United States, census figures from both countries show. Nearly two-thirds of Canada�s population growth comes from immigrants, according to the 2006 census, compared with the United States, where about 43 percent of the population growth comes from immigration. Approximately half of Canada�s immigrants come through the point system.
Under Canada�s system, 67 points on a 100-point test is a passing score. In addition to education and work experience, aspiring immigrants earn high points for their command of languages and for being between 21 and 49 years old. In the United States, the Senate bill would grant higher points for advanced education, English proficiency and skills in technology and other fields that are in demand. Lower points would be given for the family ties that have been the basic stepping stones of the American immigration system for four decades.
Part of the backlog in Canada can be traced to a provision in the Canadian system that allows highly skilled foreigners to apply to immigrate even if they do not have a job offer. Similarly, the Senate bill would not require merit system applicants to have job offers in the United States, although it would grant additional points to those who do.
Without an employment requirement, Canada has been deluged with applications. In testimony in May before an immigration subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives, Howard Greenberg, an immigration lawyer in Toronto, compared the Canadian system to a bathtub with an open faucet and a clogged drain. �It is not surprising that Canada�s bathtub is overflowing,� Mr. Greenberg said.
Since applications are not screened first by employers, the government bears the burden and cost of assessing them. The system is often slow to evaluate the foreign education credentials and work experience of new immigrants and to direct them toward employers who need their skills, said Jeffrey Reitz, professor of immigration studies at the University of Toronto.
The problem has been acute in regulated professions like medicine, where a professional organization, the Medical Council of Canada, reviews foreign credentials of new immigrants. The group has had difficulty assessing how a degree earned in China or India stacks up against a similar degree from a university in Canada or the United States. Frustrated by delays, some doctors and other highly trained immigrants take jobs outside their fields just to make ends meet.
The sheer size of the Canadian point system, the complexity of its rules and its backlogs make it slow to adjust to shifts in the labor market, like the oil boom in Alberta.
�I am a university professor, and I can barely figure out the points system,� said Don J. DeVoretz, an economics professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia who studies immigration systems. �Lawyers have books that are three feet thick explaining the system.�
The rush to develop the oil fields in northern Alberta has attracted oil companies from around the world, unleashing a surge of construction. Contractors say that often the only thing holding them back is a shortage of qualified workers.
Scott Burns, president of Burnco Rock Products in Calgary, a construction materials company with about 1,000 employees, said he had been able to meet his labor needs only by using temporary work permits. Mr. Burns hired 39 Filipinos for jobs in his concrete plants and plans to hire more. He said that many of the temporary workers had critically needed skills, but that they had no hope of immigrating permanently under the federal point system.
�The system is very much broken,� Mr. Burns said.
Mr. Kureishy, the immigrant from India, said he was drawn to Canada late in his career by its open society and what appeared to be strong interest in his professional abilities. But even though he waited eight years to immigrate, the equivalent of a doctoral degree in human resources development that he earned from Xavier Labor Relations Institute in India was not evaluated in Canada until he arrived here. During his first six months, Canadian employers had no formal comparison of his credentials to guide them.
Eventually, Mr. Kureishy, 55, found full-time work in his field, as a program manager assisting foreign professionals at Ryerson University in Toronto. �It was a long process, but I look at myself as fairly resilient,� Mr. Kureishy said.
He criticized Canada as providing little support to immigrants after they arrived.
�If you advertised for professors and one comes over and is driving a taxi,� he said, �that�s a problem.�
Christopher Mason reported from Toronto, and Julia Preston from New York.
June 27, 2007
Canada�s Policy on Immigrants Brings Backlog
By CHRISTOPHER MASON and JULIA PRESTON
TORONTO, June 26 � With an advanced degree in business management from a university in India and impeccable English, Salman Kureishy is precisely the type of foreigner that Canada�s merit-based immigration system was designed to attract.
Yet eight years went by from the time Mr. Kureishy passed his first Canadian immigration test until he moved from India to Canada. Then he had to endure nine months of bureaucratic delays before landing a job in his field in March.
Mr. Kureishy�s experience � and that of Canada�s immigration system � offers a cautionary tale for the United States. Mr. Kureishy came to this country under a system Canada pioneered in the 1960s that favors highly skilled foreigners, by assigning points for education and work experience and accepting those who earn high scores.
A similar point system for the United States is proposed in the immigration bill that bounced back to life on Tuesday, when the Senate reversed a previous stand and brought the bill back to the floor. The vote did not guarantee passage of the bill, which calls for the biggest changes in immigration law in more than 20 years.
The point system has helped Canada compete with the United States and other Western powers for highly educated workers, the most coveted immigrants in high-tech and other cutting-edge industries. But in recent years, immigration lawyers and labor market analysts say, the Canadian system has become an immovable beast, with a backlog of more than 800,000 applications and waits of four years or more.
The system�s bias toward the educated has left some industries crying out for skilled blue-collar workers, especially in western Canada where Alberta�s busy oil fields have generated an economic boom. Studies by the Alberta government show the province could be short by as many as 100,000 workers over the next decade.
In response, some Canadian employers are sidestepping the point system and relying instead on a program initiated in 1998 that allows provincial governments to hand-pick some immigrant workers, and on temporary foreign-worker permits.
�The points system is so inflexible,� said Herman Van Reekum, an immigration consultant in Calgary who helps Alberta employers find workers. �We need low-skill workers and trades workers here, and those people have no hope under the points system.�
Canada accepts about 250,000 immigrants each year, more than doubling the per-capita rate of immigration in the United States, census figures from both countries show. Nearly two-thirds of Canada�s population growth comes from immigrants, according to the 2006 census, compared with the United States, where about 43 percent of the population growth comes from immigration. Approximately half of Canada�s immigrants come through the point system.
Under Canada�s system, 67 points on a 100-point test is a passing score. In addition to education and work experience, aspiring immigrants earn high points for their command of languages and for being between 21 and 49 years old. In the United States, the Senate bill would grant higher points for advanced education, English proficiency and skills in technology and other fields that are in demand. Lower points would be given for the family ties that have been the basic stepping stones of the American immigration system for four decades.
Part of the backlog in Canada can be traced to a provision in the Canadian system that allows highly skilled foreigners to apply to immigrate even if they do not have a job offer. Similarly, the Senate bill would not require merit system applicants to have job offers in the United States, although it would grant additional points to those who do.
Without an employment requirement, Canada has been deluged with applications. In testimony in May before an immigration subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives, Howard Greenberg, an immigration lawyer in Toronto, compared the Canadian system to a bathtub with an open faucet and a clogged drain. �It is not surprising that Canada�s bathtub is overflowing,� Mr. Greenberg said.
Since applications are not screened first by employers, the government bears the burden and cost of assessing them. The system is often slow to evaluate the foreign education credentials and work experience of new immigrants and to direct them toward employers who need their skills, said Jeffrey Reitz, professor of immigration studies at the University of Toronto.
The problem has been acute in regulated professions like medicine, where a professional organization, the Medical Council of Canada, reviews foreign credentials of new immigrants. The group has had difficulty assessing how a degree earned in China or India stacks up against a similar degree from a university in Canada or the United States. Frustrated by delays, some doctors and other highly trained immigrants take jobs outside their fields just to make ends meet.
The sheer size of the Canadian point system, the complexity of its rules and its backlogs make it slow to adjust to shifts in the labor market, like the oil boom in Alberta.
�I am a university professor, and I can barely figure out the points system,� said Don J. DeVoretz, an economics professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia who studies immigration systems. �Lawyers have books that are three feet thick explaining the system.�
The rush to develop the oil fields in northern Alberta has attracted oil companies from around the world, unleashing a surge of construction. Contractors say that often the only thing holding them back is a shortage of qualified workers.
Scott Burns, president of Burnco Rock Products in Calgary, a construction materials company with about 1,000 employees, said he had been able to meet his labor needs only by using temporary work permits. Mr. Burns hired 39 Filipinos for jobs in his concrete plants and plans to hire more. He said that many of the temporary workers had critically needed skills, but that they had no hope of immigrating permanently under the federal point system.
�The system is very much broken,� Mr. Burns said.
Mr. Kureishy, the immigrant from India, said he was drawn to Canada late in his career by its open society and what appeared to be strong interest in his professional abilities. But even though he waited eight years to immigrate, the equivalent of a doctoral degree in human resources development that he earned from Xavier Labor Relations Institute in India was not evaluated in Canada until he arrived here. During his first six months, Canadian employers had no formal comparison of his credentials to guide them.
Eventually, Mr. Kureishy, 55, found full-time work in his field, as a program manager assisting foreign professionals at Ryerson University in Toronto. �It was a long process, but I look at myself as fairly resilient,� Mr. Kureishy said.
He criticized Canada as providing little support to immigrants after they arrived.
�If you advertised for professors and one comes over and is driving a taxi,� he said, �that�s a problem.�
Christopher Mason reported from Toronto, and Julia Preston from New York.
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hpandey
05-01 04:59 PM
Who told you this...do you know the history and are you sure the tamils are not opressed by the SL govt. Read the history before you make the comments.
By the way I am not supporting the LTTE. Here the question is should Indian govt support the civilions or not. Given a chance the SL govt wants to wipe out the entire tamil community. Do not think it will not happen to you/us here tomorrow.
And who told you that they are being opressed - have you been to Sri Lanka and if yes which places did you visit to see the Tamils being opressed .
The terrorists who come to fight in J&K from Pak say they are fighting because Indian Army and govt is opressing the Muslims . Is that true also ?
Seriously I don't care - my personal opinion that in this particular case it is none of our ( India's ) business to meddle in Sri Lankan affairs when they are on the verge of getting rid of a menace they have . Terrorism is not a solution of anything . Only peaceful times can bring happiness and prosperity.
By the way I am not supporting the LTTE. Here the question is should Indian govt support the civilions or not. Given a chance the SL govt wants to wipe out the entire tamil community. Do not think it will not happen to you/us here tomorrow.
And who told you that they are being opressed - have you been to Sri Lanka and if yes which places did you visit to see the Tamils being opressed .
The terrorists who come to fight in J&K from Pak say they are fighting because Indian Army and govt is opressing the Muslims . Is that true also ?
Seriously I don't care - my personal opinion that in this particular case it is none of our ( India's ) business to meddle in Sri Lankan affairs when they are on the verge of getting rid of a menace they have . Terrorism is not a solution of anything . Only peaceful times can bring happiness and prosperity.
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at0474
12-14 05:41 PM
What if only few countries ONLY can supply the required skilled labor sufficiently and no other countries countries can?
Then the numbers get distributed among those few countries that produces required skilled labor. To some extent, I thought this is already happening!!:rolleyes:
Then the numbers get distributed among those few countries that produces required skilled labor. To some extent, I thought this is already happening!!:rolleyes:
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sumagiri
07-23 12:27 PM
Guys,
I think we have talked and analyzed enough about how many visas available for August and September and pretty much arrived at conclusion that at the minimum 20K visas available. (Thanks to vdlrao).
Now we should talk about capability of USCIS and its processing speed? What is the normal approval rate with USCIS's regular processing. Also we heard that USCIS recruited many people, Do we suppose to see any improvement in processing. Do we think all the 20K visas will be used within 2 months?
If USCIS is going to approve only 5K visas over next 2 months, there is no point in talking how many visas left.
Thanks
GCWhru,
I went back and verified if there were calculations on how we got that 20K. I couldn't find one. Please point me to the source, if there is one.
As of now, All the mathematical and statistical estimations were on total EB2 usage and spill over for this year. Not on how many visas are left over or used up. Not all the spill over is left for these two months. Some or most of that spill over is already used up.
I think 20k was some guess based on number of labor filings from April 2004 to June 2006. The EB2 date move is based on USICS/DOS estimation on how many are documentarily qualified. It is important to remember that not every one with priority date before June 2006 are documentarily qualified. Some are still waiting for I-140 approval and some of them had RFEs.
Thanks
I think we have talked and analyzed enough about how many visas available for August and September and pretty much arrived at conclusion that at the minimum 20K visas available. (Thanks to vdlrao).
Now we should talk about capability of USCIS and its processing speed? What is the normal approval rate with USCIS's regular processing. Also we heard that USCIS recruited many people, Do we suppose to see any improvement in processing. Do we think all the 20K visas will be used within 2 months?
If USCIS is going to approve only 5K visas over next 2 months, there is no point in talking how many visas left.
Thanks
GCWhru,
I went back and verified if there were calculations on how we got that 20K. I couldn't find one. Please point me to the source, if there is one.
As of now, All the mathematical and statistical estimations were on total EB2 usage and spill over for this year. Not on how many visas are left over or used up. Not all the spill over is left for these two months. Some or most of that spill over is already used up.
I think 20k was some guess based on number of labor filings from April 2004 to June 2006. The EB2 date move is based on USICS/DOS estimation on how many are documentarily qualified. It is important to remember that not every one with priority date before June 2006 are documentarily qualified. Some are still waiting for I-140 approval and some of them had RFEs.
Thanks
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ramus
07-04 09:03 AM
Thanks..
Could you look at the following report and try to find email of the reporter and let him/her know what happened with us.
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=68312&cat=Today's+Most+Popular+Stories&more=/news/newspopular.asp
Thanks..
We need multipal people working on different action items.. Lets spend our holiday doing something for us/IV.
also sent it to the drudge report...if he picks it up other talk show hots will pick it up too.
Could you look at the following report and try to find email of the reporter and let him/her know what happened with us.
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=68312&cat=Today's+Most+Popular+Stories&more=/news/newspopular.asp
Thanks..
We need multipal people working on different action items.. Lets spend our holiday doing something for us/IV.
also sent it to the drudge report...if he picks it up other talk show hots will pick it up too.
girlfriend Terrell Owens Host Samuel L.
at0474
12-14 03:47 PM
BTW , Where is the fourth pillar? :)
--LOL!! Seems like tripod otherwise!
--LOL!! Seems like tripod otherwise!
hairstyles Terrell Owens Twitter Timeline
Aah_GC
08-16 12:17 AM
Yes, ofcourse he is a demon. There are hundereds of thousands of people are dying without food. Not everyone is taking the arms and killing innocent people. He is a fanatic. He deserves nothing less than death. He should be cut into pieces and should be a lesson for other terrorist.
Poverty is the reality of our subcontinent, the reason Kasab took arms was out of ignorance not due to deliberate fundamentalism, even if latter were true, it is all desperation. The thousands of hungry dying people you point out might just take up arms if they had a choice to beat poverty.
How bright were we when we were 20 year olds? I am in no way supporting Kasab, he will meet his end eventually. But we need to open our minds to the root causes of terrorism, when we do that we have an opportunity to leave our children with a better world. Cutting someone into pieces won't fetch you much, that is no different from Taliban's approach of stoning infidel women, singers and anti-shariats.
Poverty is the reality of our subcontinent, the reason Kasab took arms was out of ignorance not due to deliberate fundamentalism, even if latter were true, it is all desperation. The thousands of hungry dying people you point out might just take up arms if they had a choice to beat poverty.
How bright were we when we were 20 year olds? I am in no way supporting Kasab, he will meet his end eventually. But we need to open our minds to the root causes of terrorism, when we do that we have an opportunity to leave our children with a better world. Cutting someone into pieces won't fetch you much, that is no different from Taliban's approach of stoning infidel women, singers and anti-shariats.
greatguy
01-24 10:07 AM
I think, it is too light a sentence for the crook
sbabunle
11-12 01:31 AM
Having said all these, let me ask you something?
How many of you wrote to Dept. Of Labor to stop Labor
substitution when they put a comment period for the proposed
removal of Labor Sub?
Everybody knows that the system is broken. The whole point
is what are we doing to fix it? This is a foriegn land. So we have to
work thrice of 4 times harder to change the system in place. Are we
doing that?
How many of you wrote to Dept. Of Labor to stop Labor
substitution when they put a comment period for the proposed
removal of Labor Sub?
Everybody knows that the system is broken. The whole point
is what are we doing to fix it? This is a foriegn land. So we have to
work thrice of 4 times harder to change the system in place. Are we
doing that?
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