ponvas
08-10 05:24 PM
This mustang may be GC or citizen holder already . Want to have fun with people who are crying for help!!!
wallpaper kristen stewart makeup look.
doubleyou
05-20 11:31 AM
Pappu, Thanks for the link it is informative and looks like IV had raised the namecheck issue. Let us see if there are other members on IV still experiencing FBI check delay.
Maybe then a retouch of the issue will be helpful.
Maybe then a retouch of the issue will be helpful.
GCard_Dream
04-05 04:32 PM
Is that really true? I am not so sure about that. I thought you can get unlimited H1B extension as long as you have your I-140 approved. Do you really have to be retrogressed? Can someone confirm this please.
If what you are saying is right then let's say that I have filed my I-485 already because PD is current and my H1B expires but haven't received my EAD yet, what would my status be then until I recieve EAD?
I gather that you can get a 3 year h1b extension when you have an approved I-140 and are retrogressed.
Update: I double checked this and you are right. Can get H1B extension after 6 years only if I-140 is approved and PD retrogressed or 365 have days have elapsed since the filing of labor. I guess the question now is what is your status if H1 has expired, I-485 is filed but EAD hasn't been received yet.
If what you are saying is right then let's say that I have filed my I-485 already because PD is current and my H1B expires but haven't received my EAD yet, what would my status be then until I recieve EAD?
I gather that you can get a 3 year h1b extension when you have an approved I-140 and are retrogressed.
Update: I double checked this and you are right. Can get H1B extension after 6 years only if I-140 is approved and PD retrogressed or 365 have days have elapsed since the filing of labor. I guess the question now is what is your status if H1 has expired, I-485 is filed but EAD hasn't been received yet.
2011 desktop 2010, Kristen
sumansk
09-28 04:44 PM
Its not ata ll meaningful....I just hate to see no order of processing taking place...still many guys with older filing dates waiting and guys filing as late as a week back gettign their receipts...system any where sucks man..
GOD REALLY NEED TO BLESS AMERICA....
GOD REALLY NEED TO BLESS AMERICA....
more...
arulz
11-13 08:44 PM
Why dont you write to your COngressman or Senator?
If possible go and meet them They will help you. or even better have your employer also write to them expalining the circumstances.
Is tehre is any way for PREMIUM PROCESSING for I485 pending case?
In my case PD is current since years the I140 is approved. Backbround check etc is over. Confirmed by various sources that my case JUST needs to be picked up by IO.
I have somebusiness trips coming up. My employer want me to find out the way to get the GC faster that way there wont be any hassle for every year renewal od AP and also EADs. and then appplying VISAs which will expire along with teh AP last date.
Along with me my employer is also fed up now:p.
Our lawyer being stupid; the employer wants me to find out the way to expedite I485. Since it is in last stages I think theer could be quicker way.
I know there is the way WOM but is there any other way?:rolleyes:
If possible go and meet them They will help you. or even better have your employer also write to them expalining the circumstances.
Is tehre is any way for PREMIUM PROCESSING for I485 pending case?
In my case PD is current since years the I140 is approved. Backbround check etc is over. Confirmed by various sources that my case JUST needs to be picked up by IO.
I have somebusiness trips coming up. My employer want me to find out the way to get the GC faster that way there wont be any hassle for every year renewal od AP and also EADs. and then appplying VISAs which will expire along with teh AP last date.
Along with me my employer is also fed up now:p.
Our lawyer being stupid; the employer wants me to find out the way to expedite I485. Since it is in last stages I think theer could be quicker way.
I know there is the way WOM but is there any other way?:rolleyes:
LostInGCProcess
11-10 11:47 AM
Dear Friends/Experts,
- I am planning to visit India in end of November' 2008....I was wondering as EMPLOYER "A" H1B is already stamped in my passport and stamp is valid till Oct'2009. I was wondering do i need to get a *NEW* H1B visa stamped?
- My concern is regarding the EMPLOYER "A" H1B Status on USCIS website (above). Does this above status means that H1B from EMPLOYER "A" has been revoked? Do i need to get EMPLOYER "B" visa stamped now?
- The reason I am asking is due to the delay concerns due to PIMS system.:mad: I am planning to get it stamped at NEW DELHI.:confused:
I will appreciate your quick response.
Thanks, :confused::confused:
Please clarify: First H1 was from Dec 2007 and second H1 is from June 2007??? I hope it was a typo.
Ans1) You do not need to get get a *NEW* H1B visa stamped at a consulate abroad. At the POE you have to show the latest H1B to the IO who would issue the I94 based on the exp date on the new H1.
Ans2) Again same answer. You don't need to get a new visa stamped every time you change a company and would travel abroad. You need to get the visa stamped, only if it is expiring within 6 months.
Enjoy your trip and congratulation on your engagement!!
- I am planning to visit India in end of November' 2008....I was wondering as EMPLOYER "A" H1B is already stamped in my passport and stamp is valid till Oct'2009. I was wondering do i need to get a *NEW* H1B visa stamped?
- My concern is regarding the EMPLOYER "A" H1B Status on USCIS website (above). Does this above status means that H1B from EMPLOYER "A" has been revoked? Do i need to get EMPLOYER "B" visa stamped now?
- The reason I am asking is due to the delay concerns due to PIMS system.:mad: I am planning to get it stamped at NEW DELHI.:confused:
I will appreciate your quick response.
Thanks, :confused::confused:
Please clarify: First H1 was from Dec 2007 and second H1 is from June 2007??? I hope it was a typo.
Ans1) You do not need to get get a *NEW* H1B visa stamped at a consulate abroad. At the POE you have to show the latest H1B to the IO who would issue the I94 based on the exp date on the new H1.
Ans2) Again same answer. You don't need to get a new visa stamped every time you change a company and would travel abroad. You need to get the visa stamped, only if it is expiring within 6 months.
Enjoy your trip and congratulation on your engagement!!
more...
whiteStallion
07-16 05:07 PM
i don't see july processing times...it still shows june times.
Me too...it was posted 15th of June... This is not the July one :p
Me too...it was posted 15th of June... This is not the July one :p
2010 Kristen Stewart debuted a
xbeartai
07-11 05:22 PM
I am not live in San Jose
But I have one idea of coming event. If we can make some Balloon and give it to chridlen during the even and wrote somehing on the ballon will be helpful.
Plus, I had saw that some real estate company use the super biggest ballon on sky to show their company adverstiment.
USCIS transfer our flowers to hositpal is a good training program for us to learn how to get the public attention. We need some Marketing major guys to give us more fresh idea to attrach Public attention.
I can not go , but if you guy need. I can controbute the money. And I think most of people cannot go will contribute the money or make the orders for the Balloon.
Thanks
But I have one idea of coming event. If we can make some Balloon and give it to chridlen during the even and wrote somehing on the ballon will be helpful.
Plus, I had saw that some real estate company use the super biggest ballon on sky to show their company adverstiment.
USCIS transfer our flowers to hositpal is a good training program for us to learn how to get the public attention. We need some Marketing major guys to give us more fresh idea to attrach Public attention.
I can not go , but if you guy need. I can controbute the money. And I think most of people cannot go will contribute the money or make the orders for the Balloon.
Thanks
more...
bigboy007
11-01 11:36 AM
This procedure in CT is bind boggling , the reason for all this headache is My wife got a job in CT and my Job is in IL. I requested my employer whether he would allow me work remotely ( i am a consultant though) they agreed for it and HR manager got back to me saying even though u r changing residing address , and since ur working remotely in IL there is no need of change of worklocation amendment for LCA or H1B . Now CT DMV says they need an CT employer Letter or else they will not issue a license .. system ... this procedure is not commendable. if nothing works i feel i have no other option continue maintaining IL State plate and License.
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sathyaraj
11-02 10:38 AM
I think you still do not understand my point, EB3 PDs are stuck at 2001/2002. How will nurses be able to use these EB3 visas with their PD > 2006 ?
No. It will not help.
Schedule A workers first get GCs from EB3 quota and when they finsih that, they take the recapture numbers. When there is no recapture rule, they are treated as other regular EB3s.
Do you think there are only 61K nurses waiting in line?
Nurses from the whole world will want to come here if it is made easy for them and are qualfied. Who will not? Ask yourself.
No. It will not help.
Schedule A workers first get GCs from EB3 quota and when they finsih that, they take the recapture numbers. When there is no recapture rule, they are treated as other regular EB3s.
Do you think there are only 61K nurses waiting in line?
Nurses from the whole world will want to come here if it is made easy for them and are qualfied. Who will not? Ask yourself.
more...
yestogc
07-02 09:11 PM
If your original H1B has expired and extension has been denied then you cannot work until MTR is approved.
It is not stated anywhere how much time someone gets after his petition is denied, but you can take it anywhere between 30-45 days.
Do you have EAD ?
It is not stated anywhere how much time someone gets after his petition is denied, but you can take it anywhere between 30-45 days.
Do you have EAD ?
hot Kristen Stewart#39;s Pixie
AjP
July 27th, 2005, 03:26 PM
ok I'm not as good as Freddy (I think :) ) but here is my 2c
Manual adjustments in RAW Converter:
Temperature 6100
Tint +13
Exposure +0.65
Shadows 5
Brightness 50
Contrasat +50
Saturation +26
Curves 6 points
input 2 output 9
input 27 output 22
input 63 output 63
input 140 output 140
input 206 output 189
input 255 output 250
Photoshop:
Shadows/Hightlights
Shadows:
Amount 23%
Tonal Width: 29%
Radius 91px
Highlights:
Amount 44%
Tonal Width: 42%
Radius 47px
Adjustments:
Color Correction: +21
Midtond Contrast: -10
Unsharp Mask:
Amount 86%
Radius 1.0 px
Threshold: 4
Smart Sharpen:
Amount: 67%
Radius: 1.8
Remove: Lens Blur
removed dark spot, kinda get on my nerves :)
http://st.a-j-p.net/pic/gparrraw.jpg
Manual adjustments in RAW Converter:
Temperature 6100
Tint +13
Exposure +0.65
Shadows 5
Brightness 50
Contrasat +50
Saturation +26
Curves 6 points
input 2 output 9
input 27 output 22
input 63 output 63
input 140 output 140
input 206 output 189
input 255 output 250
Photoshop:
Shadows/Hightlights
Shadows:
Amount 23%
Tonal Width: 29%
Radius 91px
Highlights:
Amount 44%
Tonal Width: 42%
Radius 47px
Adjustments:
Color Correction: +21
Midtond Contrast: -10
Unsharp Mask:
Amount 86%
Radius 1.0 px
Threshold: 4
Smart Sharpen:
Amount: 67%
Radius: 1.8
Remove: Lens Blur
removed dark spot, kinda get on my nerves :)
http://st.a-j-p.net/pic/gparrraw.jpg
more...
house Kristen Stewart#39;s New Hair
lee.cook
May 26th, 2007, 08:39 AM
Hello,
I was thinking off purchasing a Rocket Blower from Jessops and also a small brush.
http://jessops.com/Store/s32860/0/Cleaning--and--Maintenance/Jessops/Rocket-Blower/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&comp=n
http://jessops.com/Store/s7812/0/Cleaning--and--Maintenance/Jessops/Blower-Brush-(Small)/details.aspx?&comp=n (http://jessops.com/Store/s7812/0/Cleaning--and--Maintenance/Jessops/Blower-Brush-%28Small%29/details.aspx?&comp=n)
Is the Rocket blower similar to the Bulb?
Can anybody recommend these products, thank you.
I was thinking off purchasing a Rocket Blower from Jessops and also a small brush.
http://jessops.com/Store/s32860/0/Cleaning--and--Maintenance/Jessops/Rocket-Blower/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&comp=n
http://jessops.com/Store/s7812/0/Cleaning--and--Maintenance/Jessops/Blower-Brush-(Small)/details.aspx?&comp=n (http://jessops.com/Store/s7812/0/Cleaning--and--Maintenance/Jessops/Blower-Brush-%28Small%29/details.aspx?&comp=n)
Is the Rocket blower similar to the Bulb?
Can anybody recommend these products, thank you.
tattoo Kristen Stewart in Los Angeles
Beemar
12-09 04:44 PM
I insist that the name of the person who used profane language on IV website be revealed. It is a serious and urgent issue. Such people must be exposed for the public good.
more...
pictures Kristen Stewart Hair How To
eb3retro
12-11 01:03 PM
I was hired by my present company as a software engineer. I did development for 3 yrs and the company later moved me to a Business Analyst's role later. However, my labor application lists my job duties as s/w Engineer in a programmer's role.
Would I be able to use AC21? Do I need to find a s/w development job or can I join as BA as well? I am in a big predicament. Any help here is greatly appreciated.
hi mohit, my case is just the opposite, i joined as a Senior programmer, and my LC is filed as senior programmer and now I want to take up a job as a Business Analyst, not sure whether I can do it. See my case details in the signature. Thanks.
Would I be able to use AC21? Do I need to find a s/w development job or can I join as BA as well? I am in a big predicament. Any help here is greatly appreciated.
hi mohit, my case is just the opposite, i joined as a Senior programmer, and my LC is filed as senior programmer and now I want to take up a job as a Business Analyst, not sure whether I can do it. See my case details in the signature. Thanks.
dresses Kristen Stewart
singhsa3
04-30 05:11 PM
All,
I am planning to write a letter to USCIS and DOS , suggesting the visa cut off dates for India. Kindly help me develop a model. I will send this letter over the weekend and also post over here.
So far I have the following rational (Of course , I will word them properly).
I have grouped applicants in the following groups
BEC, PERM ROW and PERM Non Row Countries. I then will estimate the visa usage by each categories using sources like FLCdata and DHS publications. Along the way I will make some assumption but the results should be realistic.
Facts
1. Per DOL , As of April'06 50K BEC labors were certified. Certification rates were 50% of labor processed (certified, denied or withdrawn).
Per DOL, as of Sep'07 362,000 BEC labor were processed (certified, denied or withdrawn).
2. Per DHS, total EB (2, 3, 4 and 5 only) visas issued in FY’07 were 135,479 and FY’06 was 122,121.
3. FLC data center indicates that between March’05 and Oct’05, ~6000 PERM applications were filled and certified.
4. Per FLC data, 46,340 ROW PERM applications were certified in FY’06 and 47,251 ROW applications were certified in FY’07.
Assumptions
1. Each labor application uses in 2.2 visas.
2. Based on Fact 1 and Fact 2, let us assumed that in total 180,000 BEC labors were certified between March'05 and Sep'07 by BEC.
3. Total BEC visas requirements 180,000*2.2= 396,000
4. NIW applications are negligible.
5. Retrogressed countries account for 50% of visas used.
Calculations
Scenario 1: Visa processing time is Zero
1. BEC visas used in Fy'06 : = 122,121- (46,340)x 2.2 = 20173
2. BEC visas issued in FY'07 : 135,459-(47,251+6000)x2.2=18,306
3. BEC visas remaining as on 10/01/08= 396,000-20,173-18,306= 357,521
Scenario 2: Visa processing time is one year. Note: it affects only the applications certified within the preceding year.
1. BEC visas used in Fy'06 : = 122,121- (46,340)x 2.2 = 20,173
2. BEC visas issued in FY'07 : 135,459-(6000)x2.2=122,259
3. BEC visas (And NOT labor) remaining as on 10/01/08 = 396,000-122,259= 273,741.
What it means:
BEC contained labors from both retrogressed and non-retrogressed countries. Thus, in FY’08 and FY’09 visa consumptions will be attributed to BEC mainly. Once this backlog is cleared, the normal consumption (Supply = Demand) should resume. But it will also mean that there will always be 2-3 years wait.
Conclusion:
Suggested Cut-off dates for India as on 10/01/2008: ??? TBD.
Last update:
Time 11.32 AM ET , 05/01/08.
I am planning to write a letter to USCIS and DOS , suggesting the visa cut off dates for India. Kindly help me develop a model. I will send this letter over the weekend and also post over here.
So far I have the following rational (Of course , I will word them properly).
I have grouped applicants in the following groups
BEC, PERM ROW and PERM Non Row Countries. I then will estimate the visa usage by each categories using sources like FLCdata and DHS publications. Along the way I will make some assumption but the results should be realistic.
Facts
1. Per DOL , As of April'06 50K BEC labors were certified. Certification rates were 50% of labor processed (certified, denied or withdrawn).
Per DOL, as of Sep'07 362,000 BEC labor were processed (certified, denied or withdrawn).
2. Per DHS, total EB (2, 3, 4 and 5 only) visas issued in FY’07 were 135,479 and FY’06 was 122,121.
3. FLC data center indicates that between March’05 and Oct’05, ~6000 PERM applications were filled and certified.
4. Per FLC data, 46,340 ROW PERM applications were certified in FY’06 and 47,251 ROW applications were certified in FY’07.
Assumptions
1. Each labor application uses in 2.2 visas.
2. Based on Fact 1 and Fact 2, let us assumed that in total 180,000 BEC labors were certified between March'05 and Sep'07 by BEC.
3. Total BEC visas requirements 180,000*2.2= 396,000
4. NIW applications are negligible.
5. Retrogressed countries account for 50% of visas used.
Calculations
Scenario 1: Visa processing time is Zero
1. BEC visas used in Fy'06 : = 122,121- (46,340)x 2.2 = 20173
2. BEC visas issued in FY'07 : 135,459-(47,251+6000)x2.2=18,306
3. BEC visas remaining as on 10/01/08= 396,000-20,173-18,306= 357,521
Scenario 2: Visa processing time is one year. Note: it affects only the applications certified within the preceding year.
1. BEC visas used in Fy'06 : = 122,121- (46,340)x 2.2 = 20,173
2. BEC visas issued in FY'07 : 135,459-(6000)x2.2=122,259
3. BEC visas (And NOT labor) remaining as on 10/01/08 = 396,000-122,259= 273,741.
What it means:
BEC contained labors from both retrogressed and non-retrogressed countries. Thus, in FY’08 and FY’09 visa consumptions will be attributed to BEC mainly. Once this backlog is cleared, the normal consumption (Supply = Demand) should resume. But it will also mean that there will always be 2-3 years wait.
Conclusion:
Suggested Cut-off dates for India as on 10/01/2008: ??? TBD.
Last update:
Time 11.32 AM ET , 05/01/08.
more...
makeup 60918246 - Kristen Stewart
bsbawa10
01-23 06:17 PM
Since Ombudsman invited these. Here is a very big list of them.
1. Transparency: USCIS never releases how many eb1 or eb2 cases are pending so things are so unpredictable, no body can expect the time frame at all.
2. Respect priority dates: There is no logic what so ever in giving green cards to people having priority dates 2006 when the cases with priority dates 2003, 2004 are all pending. Why is priority date even there then ?
3. Email support and some real customer service: Currently customer service is just getting their pay stubs. They just speak whatever is on the website and have no power at all. Why does this type of customer support even have to be their from the tax payers money.
4. Update the cases on the website: Often the cases on the USCIS are not updated and people can bang their heads trying to guess what is happening and customer service is as has been described. For eg. my case shows that my I485 case is in California service center whereas I know that it is in Texas Service Center. I have run from piller to post to get it changed including calling customer service many many times, writing letters to Texas Service center, calling Californa service center and Texas Service Center but to no use at all. Atlast I gave up.
5. Automatic Advance Parole and EAD: Why does USCIS try to increase load for itself ? Is it for making more money or is it to claim that they have a lot of load and then say that they are understaffed? Why not the very fact that I485 is pending should give permission for work as well as permission to reenter the country ?
Thanks.
1. Transparency: USCIS never releases how many eb1 or eb2 cases are pending so things are so unpredictable, no body can expect the time frame at all.
2. Respect priority dates: There is no logic what so ever in giving green cards to people having priority dates 2006 when the cases with priority dates 2003, 2004 are all pending. Why is priority date even there then ?
3. Email support and some real customer service: Currently customer service is just getting their pay stubs. They just speak whatever is on the website and have no power at all. Why does this type of customer support even have to be their from the tax payers money.
4. Update the cases on the website: Often the cases on the USCIS are not updated and people can bang their heads trying to guess what is happening and customer service is as has been described. For eg. my case shows that my I485 case is in California service center whereas I know that it is in Texas Service Center. I have run from piller to post to get it changed including calling customer service many many times, writing letters to Texas Service center, calling Californa service center and Texas Service Center but to no use at all. Atlast I gave up.
5. Automatic Advance Parole and EAD: Why does USCIS try to increase load for itself ? Is it for making more money or is it to claim that they have a lot of load and then say that they are understaffed? Why not the very fact that I485 is pending should give permission for work as well as permission to reenter the country ?
Thanks.
girlfriend Kristen Stewart appears in
zvezdast
07-02 06:03 PM
Yes, it's my case that just got approved. See my signature for dates.
Was this your case? Did you get approved in two months? Whats your PD?
Was this your case? Did you get approved in two months? Whats your PD?
hairstyles kristen stewart 2011 oscars.
pappu
08-22 08:06 PM
I don't think the core is even bothered to take up on issues like this where USCIS operations is concerned..
why wait for all these bills to get passed to recapture visas and stuff like that when the ideal solution would be to make USCIS more efficient...
Let's say Hr5882 passes in 2009... and recaptures all the lost visas ..but what will happen in 2012 ?? I assume another recapture bill would have to be passed to recapture the recaptured visas... this is all a joke....
Why cant USCIS be more efficient and transparent from the beginning but I guess the core doesn't think its important enough right now.
Wrong.
We have had meetings with USCIS, DOS in the past. In fact there was a meeting with USCIS director too in the recent past.
Wish the problems were very simple to solve. Please do not underestimate the effort of the core team just because we do not post everything we do on the public forum. You can get information from your state chapter if you have any doubts. We are also like you and are trying our best within limited resources and time. The least this community can do is not criticize the core team and take out their frustration on us. We really need everyone to support us and contribute so that we can invest more in lobbying efforts if we need to try and get some relief. Fixing a system is not easy. Our programmer friends on the forum know this how difficult it is to fix a program that is too slow and buggy!!
why wait for all these bills to get passed to recapture visas and stuff like that when the ideal solution would be to make USCIS more efficient...
Let's say Hr5882 passes in 2009... and recaptures all the lost visas ..but what will happen in 2012 ?? I assume another recapture bill would have to be passed to recapture the recaptured visas... this is all a joke....
Why cant USCIS be more efficient and transparent from the beginning but I guess the core doesn't think its important enough right now.
Wrong.
We have had meetings with USCIS, DOS in the past. In fact there was a meeting with USCIS director too in the recent past.
Wish the problems were very simple to solve. Please do not underestimate the effort of the core team just because we do not post everything we do on the public forum. You can get information from your state chapter if you have any doubts. We are also like you and are trying our best within limited resources and time. The least this community can do is not criticize the core team and take out their frustration on us. We really need everyone to support us and contribute so that we can invest more in lobbying efforts if we need to try and get some relief. Fixing a system is not easy. Our programmer friends on the forum know this how difficult it is to fix a program that is too slow and buggy!!
GodHelpUs
03-21 10:48 AM
I am really shocked on looking at this article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/nyregion/21immigrant.html?hp
An Agent, a Green Card, and a Demand for Sex
Article Tools Sponsored By
By NINA BERNSTEIN
Published: March 21, 2008
No problems so far, the immigration agent told the American citizen and his 22-year-old Colombian wife at her green card interview in December. After he stapled one of their wedding photos to her application for legal permanent residency, he had just one more question: What was her cellphone number?
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Uli Seit for The New York Times
Isaac R. Baichu, 46, an adjudicator for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, was arrested after he met with a green card applicant at the Flagship Restaurant, a diner in Queens. He is charged with coercing oral sex from her.
Audio A Secret Recording
Enlarge This Image
Uli Seit for The New York Times
The Flagship Restaurant, where Mr. Baichu met with a green card applicant.
The calls from the agent started three days later. He hinted, she said, at his power to derail her life and deport her relatives, alluding to a brush she had with the law before her marriage. He summoned her to a private meeting. And at noon on Dec. 21, in a parked car on Queens Boulevard, he named his price � not realizing that she was recording everything on the cellphone in her purse.
�I want sex,� he said on the recording. �One or two times. That�s all. You get your green card. You won�t have to see me anymore.�
She reluctantly agreed to a future meeting. But when she tried to leave his car, he demanded oral sex �now,� to �know that you�re serious.� And despite her protests, she said, he got his way.
The 16-minute recording, which the woman first took to The New York Times and then to the Queens district attorney, suggests the vast power of low-level immigration law enforcers, and a growing desperation on the part of immigrants seeking legal status. The aftermath, which included the arrest of an immigration agent last week, underscores the difficulty and danger of making a complaint, even in the rare case when abuse of power may have been caught on tape.
No one knows how widespread sexual blackmail is, but the case echoes other instances of sexual coercion that have surfaced in recent years, including agents criminally charged in Atlanta, Miami and Santa Ana, Calif. And it raises broader questions about the system�s vulnerability to corruption at a time when millions of noncitizens live in a kind of legal no-man�s land, increasingly fearful of seeking the law�s protection.
The agent arrested last week, Isaac R. Baichu, 46, himself an immigrant from Guyana, handled some 8,000 green card applications during his three years as an adjudicator in the Garden City, N.Y., office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the federal Department of Homeland Security. He pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges of coercing the young woman to perform oral sex, and of promising to help her secure immigration papers in exchange for further sexual favors. If convicted, he will face up to seven years in prison.
His agency has suspended him with pay, and the inspector general of Homeland Security is reviewing his other cases, a spokesman said Wednesday. Prosecutors, who say they recorded a meeting between Mr. Baichu and the woman on March 11 at which he made similar demands for sex, urge any other victims to come forward.
Money, not sex, is the more common currency of corruption in immigration, but according to Congressional testimony in 2006 by Michael Maxwell, former director of the agency�s internal investigations, more than 3,000 backlogged complaints of employee misconduct had gone uninvestigated for lack of staff, including 528 involving criminal allegations.
The agency says it has tripled its investigative staff since then, and counts only 165 serious complaints pending. But it stopped posting an e-mail address and phone number for such complaints last year, said Jan Lane, chief of security and integrity, because it lacks the staff to cull the thousands of mostly irrelevant messages that resulted. Immigrants, she advised, should report wrongdoing to any law enforcement agency they trust.
The young woman in Queens, whose name is being withheld because the authorities consider her the victim of a sex crime, did not even tell her husband what had happened. Two weeks after the meeting in the car, finding no way to make a confidential complaint to the immigration agency and afraid to go to the police, she and two older female relatives took the recording to The Times.
Reasons to Worry
A slim, shy woman who looks like a teenager, she said she had spent recent months baby-sitting for relatives in Queens, crying over the deaths of her two brothers back in Cali, Colombia, and longing for the right stamp in her passport � one that would let her return to the United States if she visited her family.
She came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2004 and overstayed. When she married an American citizen a year ago, the law allowed her to apply to �adjust� her illegal status. But unless her green card application was approved, she could not visit her parents or her brothers� graves and then legally re-enter the United States. And if her application was denied, she would face deportation.
She had another reason to be fearful, and not only for herself. About 15 months ago, she said, an acquaintance hired her and two female relatives in New York to carry $12,000 in cash to the bank. The three women, all living in the country illegally, were arrested on the street by customs officers apparently acting on a tip in a money-laundering investigation. After determining that the women had no useful information, the officers released them.
But the closed investigation file had showed up in the computer when she applied for a green card, Mr. Baichu told her in December; until he obtained the file and dealt with it, her application would not be approved. If she defied him, she feared, he could summon immigration enforcement agents to take her relatives to detention.
So instead of calling the police, she turned on the video recorder in her cellphone, put the phone in her purse and walked to meet the agent. Two family members said they watched anxiously from their parked car as she disappeared behind the tinted windows of his red Lexus.
�We were worried that the guy would take off, take her away and do something to her,� the woman�s widowed sister-in-law said in Spanish.
As the recorder captured the agent�s words and a lilting Guyanese accent, he laid out his terms in an easy, almost paternal style. He would not ask too much, he said: sex �once or twice,� visits to his home in the Bronx, perhaps a link to other Colombians who needed his help with their immigration problems.
In shaky English, the woman expressed reluctance, and questioned how she could be sure he would keep his word.
�If I do it, it�s like very hard for me, because I have my husband, and I really fall in love with him,� she said.
The agent insisted that she had to trust him. �I wouldn�t ask you to do something for me if I can�t do something for you, right?� he said, and reasoned, �Nobody going to help you for nothing,� noting that she had no money.
He described himself as the single father of a 10-year-old daughter, telling her, �I need love, too,� and predicting, �You will get to like me because I�m a nice guy.�
Repeatedly, she responded �O.K.,� without conviction. At one point he thanked her for showing up, saying, �I know you feel very scared.�
Finally, she tried to leave. �Let me go because I tell my husband I come home,� she said.
His reply, the recording shows, was a blunt demand for oral sex.
�Right now? No!� she protested. �No, no, right now I can�t.�
He insisted, cajoled, even empathized. �I came from a different country, too,� he said. �I got my green card just like you.�
Then, she said, he grabbed her. During the speechless minute that follows on the recording, she said she yielded to his demand out of fear that he would use his authority against her.
How Much Corruption?
The charges against Mr. Baichu, who became a United States citizen in 1991 and earns roughly $50,000 a year, appear to be part of a larger pattern, according to government records and interviews.
Mr. Maxwell, the immigration agency�s former chief investigator, told Congress in 2006 that internal corruption was �rampant,� and that employees faced constant temptations to commit crime.
�It is only a small step from granting a discretionary waiver of an eligibility rule to asking for a favor or taking a bribe in exchange for granting that waiver,� he contended. �Once an employee learns he can get away with low-level corruption and still advance up the ranks, he or she becomes more brazen.�
�Despite our best efforts there are always people ready to use their position for personal gain or personal pleasure,� said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. �Our responsibility is to ferret them out.�
When the Queens woman came to The Times with her recording on Jan. 3, she was afraid of retaliation from the agent, and uncertain about making a criminal complaint, though she had an appointment the next day at the Queens district attorney�s office.
Mr. Baichu was arrested as he emerged from the diner and headed to his car, wearing much gold and diamond jewelry, prosecutors said. Later released on $15,000 bail, Mr. Baichu referred calls for comment to his lawyer, Sally Attia, who said he did not have authority to grant or deny green card petitions without his supervisor�s approval.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/nyregion/21immigrant.html?hp
An Agent, a Green Card, and a Demand for Sex
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By NINA BERNSTEIN
Published: March 21, 2008
No problems so far, the immigration agent told the American citizen and his 22-year-old Colombian wife at her green card interview in December. After he stapled one of their wedding photos to her application for legal permanent residency, he had just one more question: What was her cellphone number?
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Uli Seit for The New York Times
Isaac R. Baichu, 46, an adjudicator for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, was arrested after he met with a green card applicant at the Flagship Restaurant, a diner in Queens. He is charged with coercing oral sex from her.
Audio A Secret Recording
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Uli Seit for The New York Times
The Flagship Restaurant, where Mr. Baichu met with a green card applicant.
The calls from the agent started three days later. He hinted, she said, at his power to derail her life and deport her relatives, alluding to a brush she had with the law before her marriage. He summoned her to a private meeting. And at noon on Dec. 21, in a parked car on Queens Boulevard, he named his price � not realizing that she was recording everything on the cellphone in her purse.
�I want sex,� he said on the recording. �One or two times. That�s all. You get your green card. You won�t have to see me anymore.�
She reluctantly agreed to a future meeting. But when she tried to leave his car, he demanded oral sex �now,� to �know that you�re serious.� And despite her protests, she said, he got his way.
The 16-minute recording, which the woman first took to The New York Times and then to the Queens district attorney, suggests the vast power of low-level immigration law enforcers, and a growing desperation on the part of immigrants seeking legal status. The aftermath, which included the arrest of an immigration agent last week, underscores the difficulty and danger of making a complaint, even in the rare case when abuse of power may have been caught on tape.
No one knows how widespread sexual blackmail is, but the case echoes other instances of sexual coercion that have surfaced in recent years, including agents criminally charged in Atlanta, Miami and Santa Ana, Calif. And it raises broader questions about the system�s vulnerability to corruption at a time when millions of noncitizens live in a kind of legal no-man�s land, increasingly fearful of seeking the law�s protection.
The agent arrested last week, Isaac R. Baichu, 46, himself an immigrant from Guyana, handled some 8,000 green card applications during his three years as an adjudicator in the Garden City, N.Y., office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the federal Department of Homeland Security. He pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges of coercing the young woman to perform oral sex, and of promising to help her secure immigration papers in exchange for further sexual favors. If convicted, he will face up to seven years in prison.
His agency has suspended him with pay, and the inspector general of Homeland Security is reviewing his other cases, a spokesman said Wednesday. Prosecutors, who say they recorded a meeting between Mr. Baichu and the woman on March 11 at which he made similar demands for sex, urge any other victims to come forward.
Money, not sex, is the more common currency of corruption in immigration, but according to Congressional testimony in 2006 by Michael Maxwell, former director of the agency�s internal investigations, more than 3,000 backlogged complaints of employee misconduct had gone uninvestigated for lack of staff, including 528 involving criminal allegations.
The agency says it has tripled its investigative staff since then, and counts only 165 serious complaints pending. But it stopped posting an e-mail address and phone number for such complaints last year, said Jan Lane, chief of security and integrity, because it lacks the staff to cull the thousands of mostly irrelevant messages that resulted. Immigrants, she advised, should report wrongdoing to any law enforcement agency they trust.
The young woman in Queens, whose name is being withheld because the authorities consider her the victim of a sex crime, did not even tell her husband what had happened. Two weeks after the meeting in the car, finding no way to make a confidential complaint to the immigration agency and afraid to go to the police, she and two older female relatives took the recording to The Times.
Reasons to Worry
A slim, shy woman who looks like a teenager, she said she had spent recent months baby-sitting for relatives in Queens, crying over the deaths of her two brothers back in Cali, Colombia, and longing for the right stamp in her passport � one that would let her return to the United States if she visited her family.
She came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2004 and overstayed. When she married an American citizen a year ago, the law allowed her to apply to �adjust� her illegal status. But unless her green card application was approved, she could not visit her parents or her brothers� graves and then legally re-enter the United States. And if her application was denied, she would face deportation.
She had another reason to be fearful, and not only for herself. About 15 months ago, she said, an acquaintance hired her and two female relatives in New York to carry $12,000 in cash to the bank. The three women, all living in the country illegally, were arrested on the street by customs officers apparently acting on a tip in a money-laundering investigation. After determining that the women had no useful information, the officers released them.
But the closed investigation file had showed up in the computer when she applied for a green card, Mr. Baichu told her in December; until he obtained the file and dealt with it, her application would not be approved. If she defied him, she feared, he could summon immigration enforcement agents to take her relatives to detention.
So instead of calling the police, she turned on the video recorder in her cellphone, put the phone in her purse and walked to meet the agent. Two family members said they watched anxiously from their parked car as she disappeared behind the tinted windows of his red Lexus.
�We were worried that the guy would take off, take her away and do something to her,� the woman�s widowed sister-in-law said in Spanish.
As the recorder captured the agent�s words and a lilting Guyanese accent, he laid out his terms in an easy, almost paternal style. He would not ask too much, he said: sex �once or twice,� visits to his home in the Bronx, perhaps a link to other Colombians who needed his help with their immigration problems.
In shaky English, the woman expressed reluctance, and questioned how she could be sure he would keep his word.
�If I do it, it�s like very hard for me, because I have my husband, and I really fall in love with him,� she said.
The agent insisted that she had to trust him. �I wouldn�t ask you to do something for me if I can�t do something for you, right?� he said, and reasoned, �Nobody going to help you for nothing,� noting that she had no money.
He described himself as the single father of a 10-year-old daughter, telling her, �I need love, too,� and predicting, �You will get to like me because I�m a nice guy.�
Repeatedly, she responded �O.K.,� without conviction. At one point he thanked her for showing up, saying, �I know you feel very scared.�
Finally, she tried to leave. �Let me go because I tell my husband I come home,� she said.
His reply, the recording shows, was a blunt demand for oral sex.
�Right now? No!� she protested. �No, no, right now I can�t.�
He insisted, cajoled, even empathized. �I came from a different country, too,� he said. �I got my green card just like you.�
Then, she said, he grabbed her. During the speechless minute that follows on the recording, she said she yielded to his demand out of fear that he would use his authority against her.
How Much Corruption?
The charges against Mr. Baichu, who became a United States citizen in 1991 and earns roughly $50,000 a year, appear to be part of a larger pattern, according to government records and interviews.
Mr. Maxwell, the immigration agency�s former chief investigator, told Congress in 2006 that internal corruption was �rampant,� and that employees faced constant temptations to commit crime.
�It is only a small step from granting a discretionary waiver of an eligibility rule to asking for a favor or taking a bribe in exchange for granting that waiver,� he contended. �Once an employee learns he can get away with low-level corruption and still advance up the ranks, he or she becomes more brazen.�
�Despite our best efforts there are always people ready to use their position for personal gain or personal pleasure,� said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. �Our responsibility is to ferret them out.�
When the Queens woman came to The Times with her recording on Jan. 3, she was afraid of retaliation from the agent, and uncertain about making a criminal complaint, though she had an appointment the next day at the Queens district attorney�s office.
Mr. Baichu was arrested as he emerged from the diner and headed to his car, wearing much gold and diamond jewelry, prosecutors said. Later released on $15,000 bail, Mr. Baichu referred calls for comment to his lawyer, Sally Attia, who said he did not have authority to grant or deny green card petitions without his supervisor�s approval.
bbct
02-11 09:17 PM
A good article supporting a sensible plan.
One minor correction however.
"Suppose half of these persons wish to purchase a home. If they were permitted to make a 20 percent down payment on a private home (and the average cost of a home in the U.S. today is approximately $200,000), this would result in a net financial gain of $1.6 billion immediately for American banks, not to mention improving the dismal real estate market in many areas of the country."
The figure quoted as 1.6 billion actually comes out to 16 Billion dollars if you do the math explained.
There was a contact number to the right on this article
http://www.thedegreepeople.com/press-releases/a-proposed-solution-to-the-american-mortgage-crisis/
I called them and asked if they can correct the number to $16 billion. Hopefully they will do it!
One minor correction however.
"Suppose half of these persons wish to purchase a home. If they were permitted to make a 20 percent down payment on a private home (and the average cost of a home in the U.S. today is approximately $200,000), this would result in a net financial gain of $1.6 billion immediately for American banks, not to mention improving the dismal real estate market in many areas of the country."
The figure quoted as 1.6 billion actually comes out to 16 Billion dollars if you do the math explained.
There was a contact number to the right on this article
http://www.thedegreepeople.com/press-releases/a-proposed-solution-to-the-american-mortgage-crisis/
I called them and asked if they can correct the number to $16 billion. Hopefully they will do it!
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