hmehta
09-12 07:20 PM
Yes, you can take "Leave without pay" - you will not be out of status. Even if you are not getting paid you still are on company payroll.
As someone suggested earlier, if a woman on H1-B is pregnant, she can surely take maternity leave without going out of status.
As someone suggested earlier, if a woman on H1-B is pregnant, she can surely take maternity leave without going out of status.
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maverick13
04-19 07:18 PM
My H1B was filed with job title "RF Engineer" which comes under "Electrical Engineering" in 2004. My first 3-year term on H1 expires this year end and employer needs to file for renewal for next 3-year term.
My LC as well as 140 were applied and are approved for the position of "Electronics Engineer" which is my current position.
Essentially Electronics Engineer position is a superset of RF Engineer/Electrical Engineer positions, job duties are pretty much the same.
So now when I apply for my H1B renewal/extension does employer have to write the current position (Electronics engr) or the position on which H1B was filed first (RF engr)?
Any inputs appeciated...
My LC as well as 140 were applied and are approved for the position of "Electronics Engineer" which is my current position.
Essentially Electronics Engineer position is a superset of RF Engineer/Electrical Engineer positions, job duties are pretty much the same.
So now when I apply for my H1B renewal/extension does employer have to write the current position (Electronics engr) or the position on which H1B was filed first (RF engr)?
Any inputs appeciated...
sunofeast_gc
07-25 11:12 PM
I just received a confirmation email that I485 of my wife got approved just a couple of days back. But I myself have not received anything. Its kind of weird because she was my dependent and I was the primary applicant.
Can somebody please suggest if they have seen something like this before ?Do I need to do anything ?
What is ur Priority Date and when you filled ur I-485?
Can somebody please suggest if they have seen something like this before ?Do I need to do anything ?
What is ur Priority Date and when you filled ur I-485?
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abracadabra
01-16 04:44 PM
According to my attorney it is always best to be on H1 if the new employer is willing to do and invoke AC 21
more...
kishdam
02-07 02:22 PM
Such agreement is not against the law. GC is for your benefit, not employer's.
So technically employer may ask you to reimburse I-485 filing fees (including attorney fees). Permanent residency is I-485 approval. What is the exact language? May be you can avoid paying you can just switch to another employer?
Thanks for all the responses. Yes, I am planning to move before my I-485 is approved (with current retrogession my EB2 PD of 05 may need another 3-4 years to get current unless there is a change in the rules). Infact I am changing jobs next month. What I am worried about is when I give notice my current employer will sure bring up this agreement and might ask me to repay. I will try to convince/negotiate in my own way and try to settle amicably. But if does not happen I am worried about what the employer can do with this agreement - since the exact wording in the agreement says that I have to stay at the employer for 2 years after the approval of permanent residence application. I am trying to find the legal definitionof "approval of permanent residency application" - my interpretation is approval of I485. I will try to reason that my "permanent residency" application is not yet approved and will try to repay some reasonable amount. Hope it works.
For others wondering why I am worried so much - the agreement simply says that all expenses incurred including fees, lawyer charges, other administrative/misc expenses. It worded so vaguely (I know I shoud not have signed) they can throw any bill at me.
So technically employer may ask you to reimburse I-485 filing fees (including attorney fees). Permanent residency is I-485 approval. What is the exact language? May be you can avoid paying you can just switch to another employer?
Thanks for all the responses. Yes, I am planning to move before my I-485 is approved (with current retrogession my EB2 PD of 05 may need another 3-4 years to get current unless there is a change in the rules). Infact I am changing jobs next month. What I am worried about is when I give notice my current employer will sure bring up this agreement and might ask me to repay. I will try to convince/negotiate in my own way and try to settle amicably. But if does not happen I am worried about what the employer can do with this agreement - since the exact wording in the agreement says that I have to stay at the employer for 2 years after the approval of permanent residence application. I am trying to find the legal definitionof "approval of permanent residency application" - my interpretation is approval of I485. I will try to reason that my "permanent residency" application is not yet approved and will try to repay some reasonable amount. Hope it works.
For others wondering why I am worried so much - the agreement simply says that all expenses incurred including fees, lawyer charges, other administrative/misc expenses. It worded so vaguely (I know I shoud not have signed) they can throw any bill at me.
Harivinder
04-12 02:40 PM
Hi Friends and Administrators,
I have a suggestion. I am sure the administrators here have much better ideas than mine but I would request administrators to please read this suggestion with an open mind. It might be useful for the community.
I am sure we have enough members working for big companies like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Intel etc. The past experiences tell us that congress listens to these companies more than us even if we are making a valid point on the legal immigration issues. The irony here is that these companied care for H1 visa expansion not green card quota expansion. These big companies do not realize the benefit of green card quota expansion to them.
Let me prove how. A large proportion of the immigration community is working for small companies as consultants. Their immigration status makes changing jobs very difficult. Now I am sure if the people stuck in GC process get there GC thousands of people will not be forced to work for consultant companies and will look for permanent jobs. And these big companies are sitting on the top of the most desired companies to work for. These thousands of consultants will be more than happy to work for these big companies after they get there GC.
My point here is that if we can have these Companies speak for us, our voices can be heard by congress.
How this can be done: If immigrants working for these companies as consultants or permanent can start a chain of email and send a signed copy with hundred of signatures to the management, management might think of putting these points across to congress.
The contents of this email should be simple and achievable. Like
1. Recapture of unused Visas.
2. Get rid of the country quota. (This one is difficult but very beneficial).
3. Except US graduates form quota. (This one is controversial in IV community, but if US graduates are out of the quota every one is benefited. US graduates will be benefited more, but others will be benefited because there will be less number of people to share the quota. I mention this one because this point can get big support for the universities also, and I am sure congress does not ignore a voice coming form the universities.
About increasing the quota it is difficult and will not help much if the country quota is still exists.
If the email submitted to the management contain thousands of signatures from immigrants working for here company and people who support these immigrants in the company management and people like Bill Gates might talk to the congress to hemp us.
May be it is 2 cents suggestion but I would like the administrators to think out it with a open mind.
Thanks,
I have a suggestion. I am sure the administrators here have much better ideas than mine but I would request administrators to please read this suggestion with an open mind. It might be useful for the community.
I am sure we have enough members working for big companies like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Intel etc. The past experiences tell us that congress listens to these companies more than us even if we are making a valid point on the legal immigration issues. The irony here is that these companied care for H1 visa expansion not green card quota expansion. These big companies do not realize the benefit of green card quota expansion to them.
Let me prove how. A large proportion of the immigration community is working for small companies as consultants. Their immigration status makes changing jobs very difficult. Now I am sure if the people stuck in GC process get there GC thousands of people will not be forced to work for consultant companies and will look for permanent jobs. And these big companies are sitting on the top of the most desired companies to work for. These thousands of consultants will be more than happy to work for these big companies after they get there GC.
My point here is that if we can have these Companies speak for us, our voices can be heard by congress.
How this can be done: If immigrants working for these companies as consultants or permanent can start a chain of email and send a signed copy with hundred of signatures to the management, management might think of putting these points across to congress.
The contents of this email should be simple and achievable. Like
1. Recapture of unused Visas.
2. Get rid of the country quota. (This one is difficult but very beneficial).
3. Except US graduates form quota. (This one is controversial in IV community, but if US graduates are out of the quota every one is benefited. US graduates will be benefited more, but others will be benefited because there will be less number of people to share the quota. I mention this one because this point can get big support for the universities also, and I am sure congress does not ignore a voice coming form the universities.
About increasing the quota it is difficult and will not help much if the country quota is still exists.
If the email submitted to the management contain thousands of signatures from immigrants working for here company and people who support these immigrants in the company management and people like Bill Gates might talk to the congress to hemp us.
May be it is 2 cents suggestion but I would like the administrators to think out it with a open mind.
Thanks,
more...
antihero
11-26 12:53 PM
Hi Guys,
I am an EB category GC applicant. I am living in US on AOS pending status and working on EAD. I don't have any other legal status in US. My previous H1 expired long back. I also changed my company after filing I-485.
I am thinking of visiting India now. I will be carrying my I-485 receipt and my AP for this travel. My question is, can I face any difficulty while boarding a flight in India since I do not have any valid visa stamp for US in my passport? If I remember well the immigration counter in India also verifies a person's visa before letting him/her proceed on the journey.
Also, can anybody foresee any problems while reentering at the US immigration checkpoint in such a case?
Can somebody who traveled outside US on just I-485 receipt and AP share their experience with me?
I am an EB category GC applicant. I am living in US on AOS pending status and working on EAD. I don't have any other legal status in US. My previous H1 expired long back. I also changed my company after filing I-485.
I am thinking of visiting India now. I will be carrying my I-485 receipt and my AP for this travel. My question is, can I face any difficulty while boarding a flight in India since I do not have any valid visa stamp for US in my passport? If I remember well the immigration counter in India also verifies a person's visa before letting him/her proceed on the journey.
Also, can anybody foresee any problems while reentering at the US immigration checkpoint in such a case?
Can somebody who traveled outside US on just I-485 receipt and AP share their experience with me?
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chanduv23
09-14 02:21 PM
We are employee of employers - not chained slaves of employers.
They can pay me less , they can scare me of revoking 140 , they can make me sign fictitious bonds for getting future employment letter BUT they can not take away my basic civil rights as a human being. As long as you professionally inform that will be taking day off for personal reasons - they are NOT supposed to ask what is that reason. You can tell the later unofficially that you attending Rally for peacefully supporting a good cause.
As long as you are scared - they will play dirty tricks on you
But if you are brave - they wont do it
They can pay me less , they can scare me of revoking 140 , they can make me sign fictitious bonds for getting future employment letter BUT they can not take away my basic civil rights as a human being. As long as you professionally inform that will be taking day off for personal reasons - they are NOT supposed to ask what is that reason. You can tell the later unofficially that you attending Rally for peacefully supporting a good cause.
As long as you are scared - they will play dirty tricks on you
But if you are brave - they wont do it
more...
hydubadi
07-23 08:41 PM
Hello,
I already opened a thread on this. does any one has answer for this.
I am in a process of getting name change for my wife on pending I485. This is because her first name is given as 'FNU' by USCIS on the I485 file, EAD and A.P. As she did not have first name in passport.
We recently got her name change on passport by adding my(husbands name) as SURNAME. Now we want to refelect this change on EAD and 485.
For this amendment my lawyer is charging $400.
I want to know, if we can do this amendment on our own and avoid lawyer. Do any one on this forum know how to deal with this situation. Please let me know.
Your answers are highly appriciated.
Thanks,
hydubadi
I already opened a thread on this. does any one has answer for this.
I am in a process of getting name change for my wife on pending I485. This is because her first name is given as 'FNU' by USCIS on the I485 file, EAD and A.P. As she did not have first name in passport.
We recently got her name change on passport by adding my(husbands name) as SURNAME. Now we want to refelect this change on EAD and 485.
For this amendment my lawyer is charging $400.
I want to know, if we can do this amendment on our own and avoid lawyer. Do any one on this forum know how to deal with this situation. Please let me know.
Your answers are highly appriciated.
Thanks,
hydubadi
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harsh
07-08 11:07 PM
Gave it 5 stars. Good job. Hope CNN picks your video.
more...
sam_hoosier
06-06 05:29 PM
Yes, you should be able to use AC21 to change employment (subject to the AC21 restrictions).
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Jaime
02-02 12:47 AM
Guys:
Have you read the most recent update by Shusterman? He links to H.R. 264 "Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)" Read Title V, Section 501:
TITLE V--LEGALIZATION FOR LONG-TERM RESIDENTS
SEC. 501. EARNED ACCESS TO LEGALIZATION.
(a) In General- Chapter 5 of title II (8 U.S.C. 1255 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 245A the following:
`ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS ON THE BASIS OF EARNED ACCESS TO LEGALIZATION
`Sec. 245B. (a) In General- The Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the status of an alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien--
`(1) was physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding the date on which this provision was enacted and has maintained continuous physical presence since then;
`(2) has at all times been a person of good moral character;
`(3) has never been convicted of a criminal offense in the United States;
`(4) in the case of an alien who is 18 years of age or older, but who is not over the age of 65, has successfully completed a course on reading, writing, and speaking words in ordinary usage in the English language, unless unable to do so on account of physical or developmental disability or mental impairment;
`(5) in the case of an alien 18 years of age or older, has accepted the values and cultural life of the United States; and
`(6) in the case of an alien 18 years of age or older, has performed at least 40 hours of community service.
`(b) Treatment of Brief, Casual, and Innocent Absences- An alien shall not be considered to have failed to maintain a continuous presence in the United States for purposes of subsection (a)(1) by virtue of brief, casual, and innocent absences from the United States.
`(c) Admissible as Immigrant-
`(1) IN GENERAL- The alien shall establish that the alien is admissible to the United States as immigrant, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2).
`(2) EXCEPTIONS- The provisions of paragraphs (5), (6)(A), (6)(B), (6)(C), (6)(F), (6)(G), (7)(A), (9)(B), and (9)(C)(i)(I) of section 212(a) shall not apply in the determination of an alien's admissibility under this section.
`(d) Security and Law Enforcement Clearances- The alien, if over 15 years of age, shall submit fingerprints in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Such fingerprints shall be submitted to relevant Federal agencies to be checked against existing databases for information relating to criminal, national security, or other law enforcement actions that would render the alien ineligible for adjustment of status under this section. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a process for challenging the accuracy of matches that result in a finding of ineligibility for adjustment of status.
`(e) Inapplicability of Numerical Limitations- When an alien is granted lawful permanent resident status under this subsection, the number of immigrant visas authorized to be issued under any provision of this Act shall not be reduced. The numerical limitations of sections 201 and 202 shall not apply to adjustment of status under this section.
`(f) Termination of Proceedings- The Secretary of Homeland Security may terminate removal proceedings without prejudice pending the outcome of an alien's application for adjustment of status under this section on the basis of a prima facie showing of eligibility for relief under this section.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of contents is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 245A the following:
`Sec. 245B. Adjustment of status on the basis of earned access to legalization.'.
ntroduced in the House by Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
Link
http://shusterman.com/cgi-bin/ex-link.pl?thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.264.IH:
http://shusterman.com/cgi-bin/ex-link.pl?thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.264.IH:
Gurus, any comments? Wouldn't this be great??
Also, a bill introduced by Harry Reid seems to have legal employment immigration fixes, that is: "Stronger Economy, Stronger Borders Act of 2009" (S.9) introduced in the Senate by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) along with a dozen co- sponsors.
Any thoughts???
Have you read the most recent update by Shusterman? He links to H.R. 264 "Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)" Read Title V, Section 501:
TITLE V--LEGALIZATION FOR LONG-TERM RESIDENTS
SEC. 501. EARNED ACCESS TO LEGALIZATION.
(a) In General- Chapter 5 of title II (8 U.S.C. 1255 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 245A the following:
`ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS ON THE BASIS OF EARNED ACCESS TO LEGALIZATION
`Sec. 245B. (a) In General- The Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the status of an alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien--
`(1) was physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding the date on which this provision was enacted and has maintained continuous physical presence since then;
`(2) has at all times been a person of good moral character;
`(3) has never been convicted of a criminal offense in the United States;
`(4) in the case of an alien who is 18 years of age or older, but who is not over the age of 65, has successfully completed a course on reading, writing, and speaking words in ordinary usage in the English language, unless unable to do so on account of physical or developmental disability or mental impairment;
`(5) in the case of an alien 18 years of age or older, has accepted the values and cultural life of the United States; and
`(6) in the case of an alien 18 years of age or older, has performed at least 40 hours of community service.
`(b) Treatment of Brief, Casual, and Innocent Absences- An alien shall not be considered to have failed to maintain a continuous presence in the United States for purposes of subsection (a)(1) by virtue of brief, casual, and innocent absences from the United States.
`(c) Admissible as Immigrant-
`(1) IN GENERAL- The alien shall establish that the alien is admissible to the United States as immigrant, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2).
`(2) EXCEPTIONS- The provisions of paragraphs (5), (6)(A), (6)(B), (6)(C), (6)(F), (6)(G), (7)(A), (9)(B), and (9)(C)(i)(I) of section 212(a) shall not apply in the determination of an alien's admissibility under this section.
`(d) Security and Law Enforcement Clearances- The alien, if over 15 years of age, shall submit fingerprints in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Such fingerprints shall be submitted to relevant Federal agencies to be checked against existing databases for information relating to criminal, national security, or other law enforcement actions that would render the alien ineligible for adjustment of status under this section. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a process for challenging the accuracy of matches that result in a finding of ineligibility for adjustment of status.
`(e) Inapplicability of Numerical Limitations- When an alien is granted lawful permanent resident status under this subsection, the number of immigrant visas authorized to be issued under any provision of this Act shall not be reduced. The numerical limitations of sections 201 and 202 shall not apply to adjustment of status under this section.
`(f) Termination of Proceedings- The Secretary of Homeland Security may terminate removal proceedings without prejudice pending the outcome of an alien's application for adjustment of status under this section on the basis of a prima facie showing of eligibility for relief under this section.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of contents is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 245A the following:
`Sec. 245B. Adjustment of status on the basis of earned access to legalization.'.
ntroduced in the House by Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
Link
http://shusterman.com/cgi-bin/ex-link.pl?thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.264.IH:
http://shusterman.com/cgi-bin/ex-link.pl?thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.264.IH:
Gurus, any comments? Wouldn't this be great??
Also, a bill introduced by Harry Reid seems to have legal employment immigration fixes, that is: "Stronger Economy, Stronger Borders Act of 2009" (S.9) introduced in the Senate by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) along with a dozen co- sponsors.
Any thoughts???
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alkg
08-13 08:41 PM
see the paragraph in bold letters.................
Greenspan Sees Bottom
In Housing, Criticizes Bailout
August 14, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Alan Greenspan usually surrounds his opinions with caveats and convoluted clauses. But ask his view of the government's response to problems confronting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and he offers one word: "Bad."
In a conversation this week, the former Federal Reserve chairman also said he expects that U.S. house prices, a key factor in the outlook for the economy and financial markets, will begin to stabilize in the first half of next year.
"Home prices in the U.S. are likely to start to stabilize or touch bottom sometime in the first half of 2009," he said in an interview. Tracing a jagged curve with his finger on a tabletop to underscore the difficulty in pinpointing the precise trough, he cautioned that even at a bottom, "prices could continue to drift lower through 2009 and beyond."
A long-time student of housing markets, Mr. Greenspan now works out of a well-windowed, oval-shaped office that is evidence of his fascination with the housing market. His desk, couch, coffee table and conference table are strewn with print-outs of spreadsheets and multicolored charts of housing starts, foreclosures and population trends siphoned from government and trade association sources.
An end to the decline in house prices, he explained, matters not only to American homeowners but is "a necessary condition for an end to the current global financial crisis" he said.
"Stable home prices will clarify the level of equity in homes, the ultimate collateral support for much of the financial world's mortgage-backed securities. We won't really know the market value of the asset side of the banking system's balance sheet -- and hence banks' capital -- until then."
At 82 years old, Mr. Greenspan remains sharp and his fascination with the workings of the economy undiminished. But his star no longer shines as brightly as it did when he retired from the Fed in January 2006.
Mr. Greenspan has been criticized for contributing to today's woes by keeping interest rates too low too long and by regulating too lightly. He has been aggressively defending his record -- in interviews, in op-ed pieces and in a new chapter in his recent book, included in the paperback version to be published next month. Mr. Greenspan attributes the rise in house prices to a historically unusual period in which world markets pushed interest rates down and even sophisticated investors misjudged the risks they were taking.
His views remain widely watched, however. Mr. Greenspan's housing forecast rests on two pillars of data. One is the supply of vacant, single-family homes for sale, both newly completed homes and existing homes owned by investors and lenders. He sees that "excess supply" -- roughly 800,000 units above normal -- diminishing soon. The other is a comparison of the current price of houses -- he prefers the quarterly S&P Case Shiller National Home Price Index because it includes both urban and rural areas -- with the government's estimate of what it costs to rent a single-family house. As other economists do, Mr. Greenspan essentially seeks to gauge when it is rational to own a house and when it is rational to sell the house, invest the money elsewhere and rent an identical house next door.
"It's the imbalance of supply and demand which causes prices to go down, but it's ultimately the valuation process of the use of the commodity...which tells you where the bottom is," Mr. Greenspan said, recalling his days trading copper a half century ago. "For example, the grain markets can have a huge excess of corn or wheat, but the price never goes to zero. It'll stabilize at some level of prices where people are willing to hold the excess inventory. We have little history, but the same thing is surely true in housing as well. We will get to the point where there will be willing holders of vacant single-family dwellings, and that will no longer act to depress the price level."
The collapse in home prices, of course, is a major threat to the stability of Fannie and Freddie. At the Fed, Mr. Greenspan warned for years that the two mortgage giants' business model threatened the nation's financial stability. He acknowledges that a government backstop for the shareholder-owned, government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, was unavoidable. Not only are they crucial to the ailing mortgage market now, but the Fed-financed takeover of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. also made government backing of Fannie and Freddie debt "inevitable," he said. "There's no credible argument for bailing out Bear Stearns and not the GSEs."
His quarrel is with the approach the Bush administration sold to Congress. "They should have wiped out the shareholders, nationalized the institutions with legislation that they are to be reconstituted -- with necessary taxpayer support to make them financially viable -- as five or 10 individual privately held units," which the government would eventually auction off to private investors, he said.
Instead, Congress granted Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson temporary authority to use an unlimited amount of taxpayer money to lend to or invest in the companies. In response to the Greenspan critique, Mr. Paulson's spokeswoman, Michele Davis, said, "This legislation accomplished two important goals -- providing confidence in the immediate term as these institutions play a critical role in weathering the housing correction, and putting in place a new regulator with all the authorities necessary to address systemic risk posed by the GSEs."
But a similar critique has been raised by several other prominent observers. "If they are too big to fail, make them smaller," former Nixon Treasury Secretary George Shultz said. Some say the Paulson approach, even if the government never spends a nickel, entrenches current management and offers shareholders the upside if the government's reassurance allows the companies to weather the current storm. The Treasury hasn't said what conditions it would impose if it offers Fannie and Freddie taxpayer money.
Fear that financial markets would react poorly if the U.S. government nationalized the companies and assumed their approximately $5 trillion debt is unfounded, Mr. Greenspan said. "The law that stipulates that GSEs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government is disbelieved. The market believes the government guarantee is there. Foreigners believe the guarantee is there. The only fiscal change is for someone to change the bookkeeping."
In the past, to be sure, Mr. Greenspan's crystal ball has been cloudy. He didn't foresee the sharp national decline in home prices. Recently released transcripts of Fed meetings do record him warning in November 2002: "It's hard to escape the conclusion that at some point our extraordinary housing boom...cannot continue indefinitely into the future."
Publicly, he was more reassuring. "While local economies may experience significant speculative price imbalances, a national severe price distortion seems most unlikely in the United States, given its size and diversity," he said in October 2004. Eight months later, he said if home prices did decline, that "likely would not have substantial macroeconomic implications." And in a speech in October 2006, nine months after leaving the Fed, he told an audience that, though housing prices were likely to be lower than the year before, "I think the worst of this may well be over." Housing prices, by his preferred gauge, have fallen nearly 19% since then. He says he was referring not to prices but to the downward drag on economic growth from weakening housing construction.
Mr. Greenspan urges the government to avoid tax or other policies that increase the construction of new homes because that would delay the much-desired day when home prices find a bottom.
He did offer one suggestion: "The most effective initiative, though politically difficult, would be a major expansion in quotas for skilled immigrants," he said. The only sustainable way to increase demand for vacant houses is to spur the formation of new households. Admitting more skilled immigrants, who tend to earn enough to buy homes, would accomplish that while paying other dividends to the U.S. economy.
He estimates the number of new households in the U.S. currently is increasing at an annual rate of about 800,000, of whom about one third are immigrants. "Perhaps 150,000 of those are loosely classified as skilled," he said. "A double or tripling of this number would markedly accelerate the absorption of unsold housing inventory for sale -- and hence help stabilize prices."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121865515167837815.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
Greenspan Sees Bottom
In Housing, Criticizes Bailout
August 14, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Alan Greenspan usually surrounds his opinions with caveats and convoluted clauses. But ask his view of the government's response to problems confronting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and he offers one word: "Bad."
In a conversation this week, the former Federal Reserve chairman also said he expects that U.S. house prices, a key factor in the outlook for the economy and financial markets, will begin to stabilize in the first half of next year.
"Home prices in the U.S. are likely to start to stabilize or touch bottom sometime in the first half of 2009," he said in an interview. Tracing a jagged curve with his finger on a tabletop to underscore the difficulty in pinpointing the precise trough, he cautioned that even at a bottom, "prices could continue to drift lower through 2009 and beyond."
A long-time student of housing markets, Mr. Greenspan now works out of a well-windowed, oval-shaped office that is evidence of his fascination with the housing market. His desk, couch, coffee table and conference table are strewn with print-outs of spreadsheets and multicolored charts of housing starts, foreclosures and population trends siphoned from government and trade association sources.
An end to the decline in house prices, he explained, matters not only to American homeowners but is "a necessary condition for an end to the current global financial crisis" he said.
"Stable home prices will clarify the level of equity in homes, the ultimate collateral support for much of the financial world's mortgage-backed securities. We won't really know the market value of the asset side of the banking system's balance sheet -- and hence banks' capital -- until then."
At 82 years old, Mr. Greenspan remains sharp and his fascination with the workings of the economy undiminished. But his star no longer shines as brightly as it did when he retired from the Fed in January 2006.
Mr. Greenspan has been criticized for contributing to today's woes by keeping interest rates too low too long and by regulating too lightly. He has been aggressively defending his record -- in interviews, in op-ed pieces and in a new chapter in his recent book, included in the paperback version to be published next month. Mr. Greenspan attributes the rise in house prices to a historically unusual period in which world markets pushed interest rates down and even sophisticated investors misjudged the risks they were taking.
His views remain widely watched, however. Mr. Greenspan's housing forecast rests on two pillars of data. One is the supply of vacant, single-family homes for sale, both newly completed homes and existing homes owned by investors and lenders. He sees that "excess supply" -- roughly 800,000 units above normal -- diminishing soon. The other is a comparison of the current price of houses -- he prefers the quarterly S&P Case Shiller National Home Price Index because it includes both urban and rural areas -- with the government's estimate of what it costs to rent a single-family house. As other economists do, Mr. Greenspan essentially seeks to gauge when it is rational to own a house and when it is rational to sell the house, invest the money elsewhere and rent an identical house next door.
"It's the imbalance of supply and demand which causes prices to go down, but it's ultimately the valuation process of the use of the commodity...which tells you where the bottom is," Mr. Greenspan said, recalling his days trading copper a half century ago. "For example, the grain markets can have a huge excess of corn or wheat, but the price never goes to zero. It'll stabilize at some level of prices where people are willing to hold the excess inventory. We have little history, but the same thing is surely true in housing as well. We will get to the point where there will be willing holders of vacant single-family dwellings, and that will no longer act to depress the price level."
The collapse in home prices, of course, is a major threat to the stability of Fannie and Freddie. At the Fed, Mr. Greenspan warned for years that the two mortgage giants' business model threatened the nation's financial stability. He acknowledges that a government backstop for the shareholder-owned, government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, was unavoidable. Not only are they crucial to the ailing mortgage market now, but the Fed-financed takeover of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. also made government backing of Fannie and Freddie debt "inevitable," he said. "There's no credible argument for bailing out Bear Stearns and not the GSEs."
His quarrel is with the approach the Bush administration sold to Congress. "They should have wiped out the shareholders, nationalized the institutions with legislation that they are to be reconstituted -- with necessary taxpayer support to make them financially viable -- as five or 10 individual privately held units," which the government would eventually auction off to private investors, he said.
Instead, Congress granted Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson temporary authority to use an unlimited amount of taxpayer money to lend to or invest in the companies. In response to the Greenspan critique, Mr. Paulson's spokeswoman, Michele Davis, said, "This legislation accomplished two important goals -- providing confidence in the immediate term as these institutions play a critical role in weathering the housing correction, and putting in place a new regulator with all the authorities necessary to address systemic risk posed by the GSEs."
But a similar critique has been raised by several other prominent observers. "If they are too big to fail, make them smaller," former Nixon Treasury Secretary George Shultz said. Some say the Paulson approach, even if the government never spends a nickel, entrenches current management and offers shareholders the upside if the government's reassurance allows the companies to weather the current storm. The Treasury hasn't said what conditions it would impose if it offers Fannie and Freddie taxpayer money.
Fear that financial markets would react poorly if the U.S. government nationalized the companies and assumed their approximately $5 trillion debt is unfounded, Mr. Greenspan said. "The law that stipulates that GSEs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government is disbelieved. The market believes the government guarantee is there. Foreigners believe the guarantee is there. The only fiscal change is for someone to change the bookkeeping."
In the past, to be sure, Mr. Greenspan's crystal ball has been cloudy. He didn't foresee the sharp national decline in home prices. Recently released transcripts of Fed meetings do record him warning in November 2002: "It's hard to escape the conclusion that at some point our extraordinary housing boom...cannot continue indefinitely into the future."
Publicly, he was more reassuring. "While local economies may experience significant speculative price imbalances, a national severe price distortion seems most unlikely in the United States, given its size and diversity," he said in October 2004. Eight months later, he said if home prices did decline, that "likely would not have substantial macroeconomic implications." And in a speech in October 2006, nine months after leaving the Fed, he told an audience that, though housing prices were likely to be lower than the year before, "I think the worst of this may well be over." Housing prices, by his preferred gauge, have fallen nearly 19% since then. He says he was referring not to prices but to the downward drag on economic growth from weakening housing construction.
Mr. Greenspan urges the government to avoid tax or other policies that increase the construction of new homes because that would delay the much-desired day when home prices find a bottom.
He did offer one suggestion: "The most effective initiative, though politically difficult, would be a major expansion in quotas for skilled immigrants," he said. The only sustainable way to increase demand for vacant houses is to spur the formation of new households. Admitting more skilled immigrants, who tend to earn enough to buy homes, would accomplish that while paying other dividends to the U.S. economy.
He estimates the number of new households in the U.S. currently is increasing at an annual rate of about 800,000, of whom about one third are immigrants. "Perhaps 150,000 of those are loosely classified as skilled," he said. "A double or tripling of this number would markedly accelerate the absorption of unsold housing inventory for sale -- and hence help stabilize prices."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121865515167837815.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
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jettu77
10-05 02:15 PM
I am a July 2nd filer, sent my app to NSC and got transferred to TSC , received the receipts on Sept 6th and the notice date is Sept 4th.
I was on phone with NSC customer support and was asking about AP status and the rep was saying that they are currently processing June 17th 07 AP documents and they process by the date the app's get entered into their system.
Rep asked me to wait for 90 days from the notice date for AP status.
I am not sure if this is correct and wanted to see if any one is in the same situation.
I was on phone with NSC customer support and was asking about AP status and the rep was saying that they are currently processing June 17th 07 AP documents and they process by the date the app's get entered into their system.
Rep asked me to wait for 90 days from the notice date for AP status.
I am not sure if this is correct and wanted to see if any one is in the same situation.
more...
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mundada
11-08 12:56 PM
Hi everyone,
I am trying to reschedule my H1B appointment as my contact in mumbai failed to deliver the DS-156 and DS-157 to the consulate in time (5 business days prior). However, I can't book a new one till the old one is cancelled and the system won't let me cancel 5 business days or less before the current appointment. Does anyone know what to do? It must have happened to someone before? I really need to get back to the US in 10 days.
Thanks!!
It happened to my parents. They did not know that they had to drop the packet 5 days before the schedule date. While reading on the website, I found out that they need to drop the packet 5 days before. They then dropped the packet at the embassy 3 days before appointment day. On the appointment day, the visa officer rejected the application after asking one question "why you want to go to the USA?". The reason was a standard line -- not enough evidence that you will come back.
I am not sure about the reason of rejection but I think it has to do with not dropping the packet on time.
I am trying to reschedule my H1B appointment as my contact in mumbai failed to deliver the DS-156 and DS-157 to the consulate in time (5 business days prior). However, I can't book a new one till the old one is cancelled and the system won't let me cancel 5 business days or less before the current appointment. Does anyone know what to do? It must have happened to someone before? I really need to get back to the US in 10 days.
Thanks!!
It happened to my parents. They did not know that they had to drop the packet 5 days before the schedule date. While reading on the website, I found out that they need to drop the packet 5 days before. They then dropped the packet at the embassy 3 days before appointment day. On the appointment day, the visa officer rejected the application after asking one question "why you want to go to the USA?". The reason was a standard line -- not enough evidence that you will come back.
I am not sure about the reason of rejection but I think it has to do with not dropping the packet on time.
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prioritydate
03-27 09:58 PM
It will not be a problem at all. I know a person who was without a job for 9 months during that time period and still got his green card, so I would assume that you are safe. You should be worried about this at all. This is just my opinion. The final outcome depends upon the person who is approving the case.
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rameshvaid
05-26 04:59 PM
I was in the same situation last month. I live in minnesota had 485 receipt from july 2007, EAD for myself but no EAD for wife, so i wished the 485 will do. DMV said the same crap that since 485 has no expiration date, they only accept 485 that is not older than 6 months old (with the wild assumption that any 485 is approved or denied within 6 months). I got infopass appointment with USCIS, got letter that my case is still pending, and they laughed in DMV saying they know my case is still pending, they have some kind of access to USCIS database. After a lot of arguing and going up to managers in DMV, they agreed to give me and wife 6 months driving license and told me you have to find another immigration document next time (meaning apply for EAD for urself and wife)
Sorry if this does not help you much.
My son and wife too had EAD's expiring in Aug, 2010.. Had no option but to get the DL for three months and applied for another renewal of EAD's.. What a crap..$ after $.. Did the letter from USCIS you got after infopass help or not??
Sorry if this does not help you much.
My son and wife too had EAD's expiring in Aug, 2010.. Had no option but to get the DL for three months and applied for another renewal of EAD's.. What a crap..$ after $.. Did the letter from USCIS you got after infopass help or not??
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jazzy2
05-25 08:47 AM
Hi all
called Sen. Lindsey Graham
and Sen. John Macain
Both the numbers had an option on leaving a message or opinion on a legislation.
So i left a message ....
should i also speak to the staff??
jazzy2...
washington dc
called Sen. Lindsey Graham
and Sen. John Macain
Both the numbers had an option on leaving a message or opinion on a legislation.
So i left a message ....
should i also speak to the staff??
jazzy2...
washington dc
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h1b_tristate
07-27 08:02 PM
Hi everyone,
I have a question on changing jobs. I am on my second H1b and my h1 expires in a little over a year. I have a possible offer for a job and would like to change. My question is if i DO change jobs right now, can i still apply for my PERM and will i be eligible for further h1b extentions?
A friend mentioned to me that your labour needs to be applied for atleast one whole year (even if it has been approved in PERM), to be able to apply for any kind of H1 extentions.
Can someone on here please tell me what the law is on H1B extentions and how it works exactly in a case like mine.
Thanks
I have a question on changing jobs. I am on my second H1b and my h1 expires in a little over a year. I have a possible offer for a job and would like to change. My question is if i DO change jobs right now, can i still apply for my PERM and will i be eligible for further h1b extentions?
A friend mentioned to me that your labour needs to be applied for atleast one whole year (even if it has been approved in PERM), to be able to apply for any kind of H1 extentions.
Can someone on here please tell me what the law is on H1B extentions and how it works exactly in a case like mine.
Thanks
la_guy
01-29 03:22 PM
does he have the source of this rumour? does vdlrao knows anything about this?
walking_dude
10-19 02:12 PM
When did this happen? Why wasn't such a major policy change communicated on the Home Page?!
Is "Bill Pay" option ever going be re-instated?!!
Is "Bill Pay" option ever going be re-instated?!!
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