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This is just for the purpose of getting updated or informed and do note that nothing is absolute and in fact things are very fluid or volatile when it comes to immigration matters.

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http://texascivilrightsreview.org/phpnuke/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=792

Update on DREAM ACT...

Senate temporarily sidelines immigration legalization bill

Democrats vow to pass measure aiding 1 million youths

By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The prospects for immediate Senate action on the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants, disappeared Wednesday amid Republican opposition.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pledged that senators would vote on the the measure, which is strongly opposed by anti-illegal immigration groups, before the Senate finishes its work for the year in mid-November.

"All who care about this matter should know that we will move to proceed to this matter before we leave here," he said.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., had sought to attach the DREAM Act to the defense authorization bill. But Reid announced Wednesday night that Democrats were shelving the effort because of difficulties getting past legislative roadblocks.

"Unfortunately, some Republicans are opposed to this proposal and are unwilling to let us move forward on this bill," Reid said.

'Issue doesn't stop here'

Durbin and immigrant rights advocates were dismayed by the setback but vowed to find other means to pass the legislation, which they have sought since 2001.

"There is no question that this issue doesn't stop here," said Cecilia Muñoz, senior vice president of the National Council of La Raza. "The longer we wait, the more talented young people we close the door of opportunity to."

The bill — officially the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act — would allow illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. before the age of 16, and who have lived here at least five years, to receive conditional legal status if they have graduated from high school and have a clean record. After six years, they could become permanent legal residents if they serve in the U.S. military for at least two years or complete at least two years of college. As with most green card holders, they could apply for citizenship after five years.

The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimates that slightly more than 1 million high school graduates and children still in class could gain legal status under the legislation.

60 votes needed

With conservatives being barraged with calls, faxes and e-mails from anti-illegal immigration groups that view the DREAM Act as amnesty, some Republicans who supported the measure in the past have been reluctant to do so now. Durbin needed 60 votes to surmount an expected filibuster.

Some Senate Republicans, including Texans Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, objected to the measure being brought up on a defense bill.

"Putting extraneous things on this bill isn't helpful," Hutchison said.

Other Republicans aren't ready to revisit a debate that imploded in June when the Senate scuttled an overhaul endorsed by the White House that would have given most illegal immigrants a chance for legal status.

"People, I think, want to let the immigration thing cool off a bit before we jump back in," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican who helped derail the comprehensive immigration bill.

Josh Bernstein, federal policy director for the National Immigration Law Center, predicted DREAM Act supporters eventually will prevail.

"The politics is right and the commitment is there," Bernstein said. "We're not giving up."

SOURCE: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5168101.html

I would not be too worried about this news since the DREAM Act is actually for children of illegal immigrants and you can read from the comments of the said article on why it could never be passed.

Sen.Cornyn had submitted an amendment (SA 2143) in July to the Department of Defense Authorization bill. This includes the re-capture of visas for EB petitions on Schedule A. The bill is in the senate now but it seems unlikely that the amendment would be pursued.

Sen.Cornyn had submitted an amendment (SA 2143) in July to the Department of Defense Authorization bill. This includes the re-capture of visas for EB petitions on Schedule A. The bill is in the senate now but it seems unlikely that the amendment would be pursued.

The recaptured visas have already been used, this is where the visas came from for those that received their green cards over the past few weeks. There are also 300,000 I-485 petitions that were accepted last month and no visas available for those.

These bills that get submitted, just are not going to make things change at all. I would not even look at them, have not seen any get approved in quite sometime. And remember that the unions are much stronger, you are never going to see blanket approval of any of these bills.

And the Dept of Defense Bill is having issues of its own to begin with, this bill added only makes it harder for that to pass.

The recaptured visas have already been used, this is where the visas came from for those that received their green cards over the past few weeks. There are also 300,000 I-485 petitions that were accepted last month and no visas available for those.

These bills that get submitted, just are not going to make things change at all. I would not even look at them, have not seen any get approved in quite sometime. And remember that the unions are much stronger, you are never going to see blanket approval of any of these bills.

And the Dept of Defense Bill is having issues of its own to begin with, this bill added only makes it harder for that to pass.

Suzzane what aree you trying to say, that there will be no more special legistlation to give nurses green cards outside of the EB-3 category?

Right now, there is no other way. And do not expect special legislation to change things.

Take a minute and look at it from the other side:

1. The US has always had a limit on the number of green cards per year. This has not changed, nor will it change for one profession.

2. Country of birth is what the US government goes by, not where the nurse is currently a citizen of, or where they are currently living; but what was on your birth certificate, and only that.

3. If you are from a country that does not have a large number applying for the green card, then you have an easier chance of possibly getting the green card.

4. The US only grants 140,000 green cards per year for the entire world that are employer driven. That includes nurses, as well as many other professionals.

5. The recapped visas were just used to grant the green card to those that had been waiting for sometime, and those that got in under the wire last October 31 for the AOS, if they got approved.

6. The USCIS weas just forced to accept more than 300,000 visas last month for those that wanted to go thru the AOS procedure when there were not any visas available. They are going to be quite tight on those that actually get approved, but the issue is that those have to be absorbed into the system as well.

7. On average, it takes about two years to get everything done, from starting the licensing process to actually arriving in the US and ready to begin work. There is an expense involved with that to bring in the foreign nurse, and it is coming from somewhere. There are many that believe that the same money can be spent to educate Americans for the jobs in the same two year period. And they do have a benefit: language and culture issues are usually not an issue here. And jobs are there for Americans. Twenty years ago, the salaries for nurses were terrible, I got $8.49 per hour when I started to work as an RN. Salaries have gone up significantly; so many want to go into the field now, and an American should get preference over foreign nurses. Same thing that happens in other countries, their citizens get preference. We are seeing the same thing in the UK now, as well as the European Union.

It has come down to timing more than anything else.

8. There are states here that are actually paying tuition for those to be trained as nurses; that have been laid off from other fields. You train the person and then they have job security for life. The same amount of time and you have an American grown and trained nurse in the equal amount of time in most cases.

9. There is no longer a guarantee that a foreign nurse that trains in the US will be able to remain in the US and get a green card anymore.

10. Things are changing, and the nursing unions are getting stronger. The US is not going to increase the number of visas per year, and do not expect any temporary visas to be accepted. Most facilities do not want to see temporary nurses again, like they did with the H1-B visas, way too much paperwork for them. And the unions will not permit it any longer. If a facility is under union rules, then the employer must also get the approval of the union before employing the nurse, even with the green card. And they do not want temporary workers.

I am sure that this is not what many wish to here, but this is what is actually happening in the US right now, not the pink pictures that agencies are painting as they wish to get people to sign on the dotted line so they can sell the nurse to the highest bidder.

Suzanne, do you know where I can see the statistics on how many visa are available, used and how far the retrogression goes for each country?

Suzanne, do you know where I can see the statistics on how many visa are available, used and how far the retrogression goes for each country?

The US State Dept has the actual numbers, you can try their website. Right now, all countries are under the retrogression, you can see the dates that are current in the October Visa Bulletin. No new visas have been made available at this time in that bulletin.

Visas are normally released each fiscal year, and that would be this October 1, however, as you can see, there are none that are being made available. There were over 300,000 petitions for the I-485 last month that need to fit into the equation as well, and there were no visas available when those were accepted in the first place. There are only 140,000 per year for all under the EB-3 category. And no country gets more than 10,000; that would be for Philippines, China, and India. Smaller countries get smaller allotments.

I checked http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3800.html but it doesn't give any specific numbers or countries other than a few of those mentioned.

Hi,

Just a month before, I have paid visa fee to NVC and choice of agent form given. Re DS230, according to my employer, that was given very b4. I have received a mail from my employer saying my file has been forwarded a lot at NVC and hopefully it will forward to embassy in Oct. Now, Is their any chance that I will be included in this Oct visa allocation..? Any predictions pls..........

Also, I have down loaded a set of DS 230 form in case if they ask it again, to have it ready. Will they accept email/fax copy of DS 230 incase if they ask me to re submit DS 230 again.....?

My PD is Oct 2006.

Thanks

Hi,

Just a month before, I have paid visa fee to NVC and choice of agent form given. Re DS230, according to my employer, that was given very b4. I have received a mail from my employer saying my file has been forwarded a lot at NVC and hopefully it will forward to embassy in Oct. Now, Is their any chance that I will be included in this Oct visa allocation..? Any predictions pls..........

Also, I have down loaded a set of DS 230 form in case if they ask it again, to have it ready. Will they accept email/fax copy of DS 230 incase if they ask me to re submit DS 230 again.....?

My PD is Oct 2006.

Thanks

Need to wait untill your PD becomes current. Since Above PD is not current for EB#3 October for any country, seems no possibility for October visa allocation to you. Stay tuned for November bulletin, if at all something!

I checked http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3800.html but it doesn't give any specific numbers or countries other than a few of those mentioned.

Please kindly check again. It is said there that there is no more than 10,000 visas allocated.

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