I'm in the
@KCStar
today making the case for green card applicants to fund Arrowhead renovations instead of taxpayers. A globally famous team like the Chiefs should explore doing this! It has been done before for other professional stadiums.
Mass layoffs are normal. Being laid off is normal. Only having 60 days to find another job is abnormal. Biden should extend this grace period to 180 days. He should issue a rule for notice and comment *now*.
Thousands of visa holders in the US can't visit their families because they can't get an appointment to re-submit their documents for visa revalidation. Here's how things are going.
Top left: Green card petition for family. Top right: Temporary visa petition for entrepreneur with “extraordinary ability.” Bottom left: Green card petition for semiconductor engineer. Bottom right: Petition for an investor green card.
Let’s streamline our immigration system.
H1Bs who get laid off should get far more than 60 calendar days to find another employer. The US economy is always creating and destroying new jobs. H1Bs should be able to look for new jobs for however long that their savings allow for.
- USCIS is on pace to throw away 150,000 green cards because it’s not processing them in time.
- The State Department’s green card backlog will drop to pre-COVID levels in over 4 years at its current processing rate.
- Naturalization documents are trapped in a random cave.
@dggoldst
That veterans have higher suicide rates because of PTSD. But if you control for the fact that veterans are disproportionately white and male, veteran suicide rate matches the general population.
Pretty incredible that 60 minutes did a segment featuring Paul Erlich, the Population Bomb, and fears of the sixth mass extinction occuring in the next few decades--and interviewed zero people who pushed back against the narrative.
They say age is just a number. That seems true for this lively 99-year-old who became a
#NewUSCitizen
in our Orlando office. Daibai is from India and was excited to take the Oath of Allegiance. She's pictured with her daughter and our officer who swore her in. Congrats Daibai!
My column in
@USATODAY
. Spouses of highly guest workers are at risk of losing work authorization. If the U.S. wants to attract and retain the worlds "best and brightest" let's start by treating them and their families with human dignity.
#SaveH4EAD
There are Indian immigrants who came to America at a far younger age and spent far more time in America than Sharma. Had Sharma come through the employment based green card line, he may have been somebody who would've needed the EAGLE Act in order to stay in America.
This is from a robotics engineer. He had to leave the US during COVID and waited 8 months for USCIS to transfer his case to a consulate. Then he learned he would be waiting over a year for a consulate interview. He is now on track to becoming a permanent resident in Germany.
The
#DiversityVisaLottery
is an awesome program, and it's such a shame that people see it as a convenient political punching bag. Here's a short thread on why the diversity visa helps make America great.
For tens of thousands of prospective
#immigrants
, a lifelong dream came true when they won the 2020
#DiversityVisa
lottery.
But now, their opportunity has vanished before their eyes.
Here’s why 👇 in my latest for
@WBUR
and
@NPR
.
Every single year, thousands of legal immigrants raised here as children have to claw their way through years of endless bureaucracy to avoid getting out of the country when they turn 21. Many still get kicked out eventually. Read more here
@BulwarkOnline
.
It’s actually really absurd and jaded that a Democratic president has once again overtly decided to make unlawful presence a requirement for being eligible for administrative relief. People who complied with all the terms and conditions of their visas are still forced to self
I'm not exaggerating when I say that Improve The Dream, a youth led group with zero funding and no full time staff, is America's most effective immigration advocacy group.
As Dr. Swati Vijay Kulkarni returns to India from her position as Consul General in Atlanta (
@CGI_Atlanta
) I wanted to give a quick tribute to her and our amazing Indian-American community in Georgia, who are great patriots, upstanding citizens, and good friends.
Real talk: I love Trump’s comments favoring skilled immigration, but personnel is policy. The people Trump picked to run USCIS did make skilled immigration harder with unnecessary red tape. His admin clogged the bureaucratic engine of our immigration system. 🧵
.
@realDonaldTrump
on granting automatic Green Cards to college graduates:
"... What I want to do and what I will do is, you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a Green Card to be able to stay in this country."
"And that
WOW. I have to admit that I didn’t predict things escalating this quickly. Lankford may have been able to get the GOP the harshest changes to immigration laws in decades after Dems seemed poised to cave—and now he may be excommunicated for it.
Backlogs at
@USCIS
led to the waste of over 66k green cards and forced thousands of our friends and neighbors out of work. So
@AFPfoundation
is suing USCIS for not releasing the results of its red tape reduction initiative, the Known Employer program.
Human being are not fungible. Any analogy that compares immigrants to a commodity is not just a terrible analogy, it is dehumanizing.
There is an ongoing
#BorderCrisis
. The way to end it is to set reasonable limits and to strictly enforce those limits.
Indians on H-1B visas are educated, smart, and hardworking. They’ve already added enormously to the US. They can do so much more with the freedom that American born workers take for granted - freedom that comes from lawful permanent residence.
It seems like people forgot, but the migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard backfired. The FL gov’t misled the migrants, telling them they were flying to Boston and could receive federal benefits. The false info made them eligible for crime victim visas.
The language treadmill on immigration is getting out of hand. Bills that help legal immigrants are now "amnesty." Relief for legal immigrants that doesn't increase green cards is now "chain migration."
It’s not “fast tracking,” it’s ensuring that people from India don’t have to wait decades in line with they get green cards. These people have been in the US for years working on H1B visas, subject to restrictive requirements that will hurt them during the pandemic.
Indians who apply for an EB-2 and EB-3 visa face 89 years worth of green card backlogs. About 58,000 of our foreign trained physicians are from India--a good 6% of our physician workforce.
More than 200,000 petitions for Indians in the EB-2 and EB-3 skilled worker categories would expire due to the death of the worker if they could find a way to stay in line for the 89 year-wait that they are facing.
You know who files patents at higher rates than anyone else? Educated, skilled immigrants. Which category of (legal) immigrants is now least welcome to stay in America? Educated immigrants.
Canada is poaching H-1Bs by offering work permits. The US could counteract that easily by offering them work permits too, which the USCIS memo from 2015 allows.
The political problem with immigration policy boils down to a sentence David Neal once said. “It takes 5 minutes to explain, but 30 seconds to lie about.”
In 2012, USCIS guessed that people in 2010 would be getting their green cards. Now it is 2023, and USCIS is estimating that people in 2011 will be getting them. When people ask “why are they applying if there is a backlog?” The answer is often this.
The harsh, unnerving reality of those in the
#GreenCardBacklog
in all but 2 pictures:
Following is a picture of the Feb 2012 immigrant visa bulletin for the employment-based (EB) categories. For Indians in the second preference category (EB-2)- advanced degree holders…
The US consulate in India is doing international students a grave disservice if it isn’t clearly explaining what the realities and limitations are for Indians who seek US employment opportunities after graduation.
Applying for a U.S. student visa this year? As you gear up for your U.S. student visa journey, I've got my Google hat on to guide you through the top-searched visa questions. To all the bright minds applying this year and those planning to
#StudyInTheUS
, remember: You've got
The Democrats never attempted to see if the green card recapture provisions from the reconciliation bill would satisfy the parliamentarian’s advice. They decided that if legalizations failed, then everything else immigration related should fail. Truly a slap in the face.
Green card recapture is not just about the big tech employers. It is also very much about physicians and healthcare professionals working on the frontlines treating COVID patients, as well as researchers, entrepreneurs and others.
Why doesn't the US-India caucus focus on immigration issues? Pretty nuts given so much that needs fixing. The green card backlogs, consular offices, aging out, etc.
Athulya Rajakumar was brought here 20 years ago at the age of 4 and is a recent graduate of
@UTAustin
.
She testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year.
Without a change, she will be forced to self deport next month.
Being with loved ones during weddings, funerals, childbirth, & illness are universal experiences. An enriching life entails being fully engaged with these moments. Foreign workers often can't because of the administrative burdens we impose on them.
The EAGLE Act doesn't do anything to increase green cards or incentivize use of temporary work visas. It does zero to increase the number of foreign workers in the US and yet restrictionists are actively mischaracterizing it as though it does.
DHS and DOS should consider making the priority dates in the visa bulletin current at the beginning of each fiscal year. This allows all green cards to be used, allows people to switch employers, and protects people from aging out.
Glad to receive a Congressional delegation from US, including co-chairs of India Caucus in the House of Representatives, Rep.
@RoKhanna
and Rep.
@michaelgwaltz
.
Strong bipartisan support from the US Congress is instrumental in further elevating India-US Comprehensive Global
EAGLE Act is being marked up tomorrow. Here's a sheet that some people have put together documenting those who died in the green card backlog and links to Gofundmes to help support survived dependents, memorial funds, and funeral expenses.
Many H-4 holders can't use this EAD 6 month extension because they need a valid I-94. They can't obtain a valid I-94 because they need a valid visa. They can't obtain a valid visa because they can't get a dropbox appointment.
This is really sad. And there's a lot of blame to go around. Immigration Voice was toxic. And Heritage and the Congressional Black Caucus were slandering a bill they knew nothing about.
Not long ago, eliminating the per country caps used to be one of the most promising reforms.
Refugees paid $63 billion more in taxes than they received in benefits at all levels of government from 2005-2014. This came from the Trump Administration’s own study, which it tried to suppress after discovering the results. Glad the NYT leaked it.
.
@realDonaldTrump
has set the cap on refugees to the lowest level ever. I would set the cap for tax-funded refugees and those we can bring and support here using voluntary funding at 0.
But I would stop the wars and the meddling that creates the refugees in the first place.
One annoying feature about the U.S. immigration system is that people who were lucky enough to get in through a family member will praise themselves for doing it the right way, yet they thumb their noses at people who just want to work but don't have a family connection.
@hamandcheese
Some of the most notorious food hobbyists are apparently so called “non-tasters.” They are the 1/4 of the population that eat adventurously because their taste buds aren’t very receptive.
Indians have been America's most economically successful major immigrant group in recent years. Yet Trump may still roll out policies that target Indian workers: L-1s (25%), OPT (50%), H-1Bs (75%), & H-4 spouses (100%). Why push away entrepreneurial, successful future Americans?
.
@StateDept
needs t re-issue visas inside the US again. It suspended the practice in 2004 because US facilities weren't suited to collect biometrics yet (a new requirement following 9/11). It's been 18 years and USCIS now collects thousands each year.
The EAGLE Act prevents kids from aging out in the green card backlog. It also allows backlogged workers to switch employers more easily. That's why I think the bill is largely a net good. It evenly distributes the backlog and slightly reduces the pain of being backlogged.
@SpeakSamuel
Are you the one who gets to have the conversations with families that their kids aged out? For the retirees who will die before they get visas? Should I patch you in for those?
Jamie Herrera Beutler and her husband saved their baby who was born without kidneys. The disease had a 100% morality rate. They saved their daughter through experimental saline injections then put her on dialysis until she was big enough for dad’s kidney.
With 0 funding, 0 paid staff, and 0 paid lobbying,
@ImproveTheDream
spearheaded one of the most bipartisan immigration bills introduced in both chambers this year. Every single sponsor of their bill was earned through patience, persistence, professionalism, and kindness.
Canada is providing the bureaucratic relief for H-1Bs workers that the US never gave. These folks make an avg of $120k annually and have stayed here for 10 yrs. The US won’t remove the red tape that allows them to switch jobs, travel freely, and stay united with their kids.
Honored to be quoted by
@Fiona_Harrigan
in
@reason
. To live, work, and travel, H-1B workers are forced to juggle various documents and resubmit them to different agencies. As the delays get worse, skilled workers are being poached by Canada.
@brad_polumbo
The fact that they consume it may very well be a reason why they want it banned. They'd appreciate anything that makes it harder for them to obtain.
I'm glad
@Heritage
deleted this tweet, but I'm discouraged that they had the audacity to tweet it in the first place. We are in a horrible space where orgs are even calling relief for legal immigrants "amnesty." It's now a reflexive word for anything that helps immigrants.
Top left: Green card petition for family. Top right: Temporary visa petition for entrepreneur with “extraordinary ability.” Bottom left: Green card petition for semiconductor engineer. Bottom right: Petition for an investor green card.
Let’s streamline our immigration system.
We need a grassroots immigrant movement that focuses on USCIS accountability. TPS holders and backlogged Indians all have common interest in making sure that the agency is functioning.
An organization representing American tech workers has to solicit Twitter for somebody skilled in Linux Security. You’d think that they wouldn’t need to do that if they were actually representing a broad base of capable yet underemployed tech workers.
There are backlogged workers waiting for their green cards who have been living in the U.S. for far longer than Sharma has lived here. Sharma is trying to kick these people out.
H-1B workers are more costly to hire than U.S. workers of the same experience level, field of expertise, and education. Than earn higher salaries and employers need to pay USCIS fees. Americans aren’t getting laid off in favor of H-1Bs.
NumbersUSA is no longer concerned about Numbers, given that the EAGLE Act doesn't add to immigration. They just want to oppose things because demonizing every immigration bill is a fundraising opportunity to them.
"Congress is using an immigration ploy to lock Americans out of a growing part of the labor market," says Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations
@NumbersUSA
.
Many of these H-1B workers dealing with broken agency websites and mismanagement should be hired by the US government to rebuild the immigration system’s technological infrastructure.
That’s not how it works at all, Vivek. They don’t get an “instant work visa.” They wait 180 days with a pending humanitarian case and then are able work until their case is decided.
It’s nuts to believe backlogged green card applicants have it worse than asylum seekers.
This is the utter stupidity of US immigration: highly educated and skilled legal immigrants have to wait for decades to get permanent residence, while anyone who walks or swims across the border gets an instant work visa and legal status.
Every election Democrats promise an immigration reform or a legal pathway for DACA recipients. Democrats have the majority in the house, senate, & presidency. The Hispanic community has only received empty promises, inflation, and a higher cost of living!
#WalkAway
#LEXIT
The migration of people also means the migration of their experiences. A more diverse pool of immigrants means more diverse experiences and ways of seeing the world.
@profzeke
mentions an Italian doctor treating celiac patients. Italy has high rates of this disease. When the doctor came to the US, he was puzzled that few Americans had the disease. He ran analyses and found that Americans just weren't being diagnosed.
The
#DiversityVisaLottery
indirectly selects through merit because of its educational requirements and the combined application, travel, and interview costs. As such, diversity immigrants are better educated and have lower unemployment than Americans and other immigrants.
@chiproytx
@HouseGOP
It would be helpful to use a different graph. You're insinuating that the numbers of legal immigrants are bad. If that is what you're saying, please spell out that argument so we know your position. But legal immigration and the border crisis are different issues.
This spurs innovation through a concept called "recombination," where people bring experiences from all over the world into one place. Old ideas are fused to create new ideas. Knowledge from one country gets diffused to other countries.
This is just reflexively opposing immigration bills for the sake of opposing them. It doesn’t increase the green card supply, it just changes which immigrants they got to. Tucker just wanted an excuse to yell. This shows that nativism is more about grift than about economics.
Tucker Carlson Calling Out
@SenMikeLee
& Senate GOP For America Last Bill S. 386
"Let's say you would like ur kids to graduate from college w/ all the debt they have & get a high paying job in tech. Much less likely now. That job is going to go to someone from another country."
“Illegal Immigration” is “Human Infrastructure”?! 🤦♂️
Chairman Nadler just used “Human Infrastructure” to describe the amnesty for illegal immigrants in this $107 billion budget bill in our Judiciary committee.
Muhil has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, but her future in this country is uncertain because of our broken immigration laws.
“If I left the country, I don’t know when I’d be able to come back.”
Her story is just one example and a reminder that
#ImmigrationFuelsGrowth
.
Nativists' only rational reason for opposing EAGLE Act is to flex their muscles and ability to mobilize against something. The bill was a net neutral to their agenda. The opposition was extreme compared to what the actual contents of the bill were. That's what is so alarming.
Jeremy also found that the Diversity Lottery's role in selecting immigrants from underrepresented countries increases the likelihood of their home country contacts applying for H1Bs, further diversifying our high skilled immigration pool.
Our immigration system can make it nearly impossible for skilled visa holders to visit family back home, even during emergencies. And they often get separated from the kids they brought with them once they turn 21 and their status lapses. That’s why folks move to Canada.
As long as the visa holders have jobs in the United States then their visas are good. They’re ours. They belong to us. And if they lose those jobs, then, sure go to Canada, no sweat off our backs. Point is that wouldn’t be the brain drain problem the twitter man is talking about
.
@kevincramer
and
@Hickenlooper
have introduced the EAGLE Act, which already passed both chambers. The bill eliminates the 7% per country caps that force Indians to wait decades. The bill also makes it easier for backlogged people to switch employers.
In his analysis of the
#DiversityVisa
@JeremyLNeufeld
cites research showing that even when a city's share of immigrants is constant, cities with a more diverse immigrant population have higher wages and employment growth.
With the green card backlog lasting decades for Indian employees, what situation does that put employers in that their workers are going to be retired or deceased by the time they get their green card?
One of the really unnoticed harms of the green card backlog is that it leaves a trail of bureaucratic clutter that further gunks up the system. Rather than being issued a green card, Indians wait forever on H1Bs, renewing their advanced parole and work permits.
Without that doctor, countless Americans with celiac disease would be undiagnosed. Without recombination, we'd have fewer inventions and worse national security. Our art would also be more boring.
While Canada is luring fresh talent, the US can't even retain the foreign-born individuals it raised and educated. 87% of them specialize in STEM and they represented 83% of finalists in the leading science competition for US high school students.
False. The bill closes a loophole that forces children of legal immigrants to leave the country when they turn 21—even though they’ve been waiting legally in the green card line with their parents. Read the text.👇
Young Nat Cons don’t want to do the unglamorous charitable work that civil society is built on. They just want to live in DC and fantasize about regime change that will never come. They’re attracted to America in the abstract and failing to nourish the America that already exists
Members of the backlogged community are some of the biggest and most vocal immigration experts in the country. Reporters need to reach out to them more. They are a wealth of shocking information.
#Immigration
skeptics want to suspend the
#H1B
program. I cite research on how H-1B workers increase a firm's speed at creating new products by 17%. This boost to innovation helps companies develop therapies and improve patient treatment in ICUs.
If we had private refugee resettlement, so many normal Americans would feel empowered that they could do their part to help mitigate the suffering of an international crisis. Private sponsorship converts ordinary people from foreign policy bystanders to foreign policy actors.
Paul Erlich's predictions about mass famine have been thoroughly discredited. His book is the founding document behind today's anti-immigrant movement. It's crazy that they gave him such a platform and offered little pushback despite his predictions never coming true.
The
#DiversityVisaLottery
is an awesome program, and it's such a shame that people see it as a convenient political punching bag. Here's a short thread on why the diversity visa helps make America great.
If you oppose this provision, it means you support keeping people here on H-1Bs instead. This is not a “giveaway” to big tech because it allows H-1B workers to leave their employers and even work a different profession.
Incredibly,
@congressmanraja
is celebrating a provision that provides unlimited green cards for
#bigtech
to use importing cheaper foreign labor to displace American jobs & reduce American wages. Will
@POTUS
and every congressional Dem sell out American workers to please Big Tech?
Here is an ad that is currently being run in Utah (TV and online) for Utah residents, explaining who stood by the people in the backlog during their time of need -