Bills, Rules & Politics

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Originally Posted by qesehmk

How many H1B are hired to replace existing H1B? It almost never happens. 0.1% perhaps? So asking to stop issuing H1B to protect existing H1Bs is disingenuous.

Secondly he raises the 60 day window to let the base know that that's what's possible. But then he doesn't ask for a provision that says if an H1B is laid off due to COVID suspend such deportation.

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True. But what I was implying was that there seems to be an implicit acceptance on H1s that are already here. I also feel its reflected in a relatively sluggish attempt to rescind H4 EADs for example (including yesterday's DHS court filing). While I say that its not suddenly the administration has become welcoming. I think it probably more so because of they know the limits of the executive power as well as the power of certain business lobbies who happen to be their allies. The short answer is its complex!

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Originally Posted by qesehmk

That's wolf in sheep's clothing for you. You can believe his argument to your own detriment. :)

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There was an implicit sarcasm in my original quote btw...it was subtle ;)

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Originally Posted by Zenzone

True. But what I was implying was that there seems to be an implicit acceptance on H1s that are already here. I also feel its reflected in a relatively sluggish attempt to rescind H4 EADs for example (including yesterday's DHS court filing). While I say that its not suddenly the administration has become welcoming. I think it probably more so because of they know the limits of the executive power as well as the power of certain business lobbies who happen to be their allies. The short answer is its complex!

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Zen - you don't need to guess it. I am telling you - if this administration doesn't touch something it's because the H1B sponsors must be dead against it. But the utlimate goal of miller and co is to stop brown immigration. Period.

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Originally Posted by Zenzone

There was an implicit sarcasm in my original quote btw...it was subtle ;)

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I guess I am being dense :)

As said in the bill,
"This proposal would simply reallocate a limited number of unused visas from prior years for doctors and nurses who are qualified to help in our fight against COVID-19.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-a...ts-11588935603

H1B at risk in next EO. I wonder how renewals will be handled.

On other related news of no importance, Katie Miller, wife of Stephen Miller had tested positive for COVID. Lets pray for everyone's safety.

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Miller's positive diagnosis for Covid-19 puts the potential threat of the infection squarely into the president’s inner circle. Miller serves as the vice president’s top spokesperson, traveling with him frequently and attending meetings by his side. She is also married to another top White House aide and senior adviser, Stephen Miller, who writes the majority of Trump’s speeches and spends copious amounts of time around the president, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

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I am relatively confident that they will not touch H1Bs who are already in USA in this round of EO. After they burned their hand going full bore in Muslim ban, Miller & admin are careful to take Brown immigration ban only one step at a time. They will try to keep their voting base happy at the same time not doing wholesale disruption to the business and companies. Let's wait and see.

It is only a matter of time, before everyone gets affected in some way. Hopefully political winds will change before that.

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First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

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IMO, the original EO banning CP Green Cards for 60 days will definitely get extended. There is too much of chatter and news related to banning new immigration. Also, WaPO + UMD poll said there is a 60% poll approval of Trump's EO banning CP's. The president has authority and tools to use for pandemic situation. I believe the admin is smartly using this authority.

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Originally Posted by qesehmk

Zen - you don't need to guess it. I am telling you - if this administration doesn't touch something it's because the H1B sponsors must be dead against it. But the utlimate goal of miller and co is to stop brown immigration. Period.



I guess I am being dense :)

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I agree 100% with you

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Originally Posted by abcx13

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-a...ts-11588935603

H1B at risk in next EO. I wonder how renewals will be handled.

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My paid subscription to WSJ expired some time back! So wats the crux here.

My $0.02.

- Record unemployment is temporary and self-inflicted.
- The sectors where massive layoffs have taken place are simply insufficient to meet the demand in technology, where H1B skilled workers fill the gap. These two are non-overlapping sets.
- H1Bs are not going away anywhere. Anything close to a drastic action here would inflict absolutely enormous and massive pain on most large IT organizations (ours included) and further throw the economy into complete chaos.
- Stephen Miller is a nut job and crackpot who doesn't live in reality. On one hand, I understand massive misuse of H1Bs is harmful to Americans in the long term. However on the other hand, certain skills that H1Bs bridge are impossible to find anywhere else. Unfortunately, too often, I have personally seen examples where kids of friends (and even family) just dropped computer science because it was "too hard and taxing". When I need to hire someone with solid JAVA programming skills, that person invariably comes from some college in India/China. You can't fix it. You can't force American kids to do the heavy lifting required to become a competent coder. If America ends H1B, India and China will swoop in and within 10 to 20 years, America will end being the economic superpower (if it's not going there already). Been in the industry too long at all levels now, and I can discern this reality impartially.

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Originally Posted by sportsfan33

My $0.02.

- Record unemployment is temporary and self-inflicted.
- The sectors where massive layoffs have taken place are simply insufficient to meet the demand in technology, where H1B skilled workers fill the gap. These two are non-overlapping sets.
- H1Bs are not going away anywhere. Anything close to a drastic action here would inflict absolutely enormous and massive pain on most large IT organizations (ours included) and further throw the economy into complete chaos.
- Stephen Miller is a nut job and crackpot who doesn't live in reality. On one hand, I understand massive misuse of H1Bs is harmful to Americans in the long term. However on the other hand, certain skills that H1Bs bridge are impossible to find anywhere else. Unfortunately, too often, I have personally seen examples where kids of friends (and even family) just dropped computer science because it was "too hard and taxing". When I need to hire someone with solid JAVA programming skills, that person invariably comes from some college in India/China. You can't fix it. You can't force American kids to do the heavy lifting required to become a competent coder. If America ends H1B, India and China will swoop in and within 10 to 20 years, America will end being the economic superpower (if it's not going there already). Been in the industry too long at all levels now, and I can discern this reality impartially.

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Couldn't agree with you more. Also, there is rhetoric (especially during the election year) and there is actual action. Usually you promise a mountain and deliver a mole. Regardless, many top shops will simply off-shore and move large swaths of H1Bs there to continue support them. There is simply deep entrenchment of specific institutional knowledge that can't be taught through academia. I can't imagine running my shop without these pipelines of workforce. I do work for a large (top 10) by market cap enterprise. These large caps make up for a powerful lobby at the end of the day regardless of industry and I strongly think they still can influence policy implementation.

From the new House bill on Covid response:
ROLLOVER OF UNUSED VISAS: (A) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal years 2021 and 2022, the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants under subsection (c) of section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151), the worldwide level of employment-based immigrants under subsection (d) of such section, and the worldwide level of diversity immigrants under subsection (e) of such section shall each be increased by the number computed under subparagraph (B) with respect to each of such worldwide levels.

Essentially: No rollover of unused FB numbers into EB next year. Unused FB numbers add to FB numbers next year.

This is just my quick read of a 1700+ page document. Let lawyers come up with a more credible version.

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Originally Posted by imdeng

From the new House bill on Covid response:
ROLLOVER OF UNUSED VISAS: (A) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal years 2021 and 2022, the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants under subsection (c) of section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151), the worldwide level of employment-based immigrants under subsection (d) of such section, and the worldwide level of diversity immigrants under subsection (e) of such section shall each be increased by the number computed under subparagraph (B) with respect to each of such worldwide levels.

Essentially: No rollover of unused FB numbers into EB next year. Unused FB numbers add to FB numbers next year.

This is just my quick read of a 1700+ page document. Let lawyers come up with a more credible version.

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This bill is going nowhere. If you read other provisions, there are many more giveaways for visas and also it increases the # of GCs for healthcare workers. Its a GOP non-starter among many things. This is largely posturing by Dems. to please the base. If it were to pass this will be changed substantially in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by imdeng

From the new House bill on Covid response:
ROLLOVER OF UNUSED VISAS: (A) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal years 2021 and 2022, the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants under subsection (c) of section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151), the worldwide level of employment-based immigrants under subsection (d) of such section, and the worldwide level of diversity immigrants under subsection (e) of such section shall each be increased by the number computed under subparagraph (B) with respect to each of such worldwide levels.

Essentially: No rollover of unused FB numbers into EB next year. Unused FB numbers add to FB numbers next year.

This is just my quick read of a 1700+ page document. Let lawyers come up with a more credible version.

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Hi imdeng - can you please post the link? I couldn't find it.

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Originally Posted by qesehmk

Hi imdeng - can you please post the link? I couldn't find it.

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https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek...16hr6800ih.pdf

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Originally Posted by Zenzone

https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek...16hr6800ih.pdf

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Thank you.

This is the new house bill proposed by democrats. This is stimulus 2.0 if I am not wrong. Immigration is part of this. Here are key provisions ...
I will keep on adding more as I read...

1) It allows immigrants to NOT be considered out of status (even if they otherwise would have been) by a total of Period of Emergency declared by Department of Health + 90 days + 60 days grace. Effectively allowing all immigrants to stay in the US 5 months after the COVID emergency officially ends.
2) It also allows authorities to further extend status or work authorizations by 90 days 1 year after such emergency ends or enactment of this bill (whichever is later). In simple words work authorizations may be extended at the discretion of the DHS secretary by at least upto 15 months since this bill comes into effect.
3) Any unused visas from 2020 and 2021 won't fall across from EB to FB or FB to EB. Instead they will fall within the same category (i.e. EB or FB) and then distributed in proportion to all sub categories within.
4) Naturalization ceremonies may be conducted using remote tech i.e. virtual conferences.
5) Any person engaged in critical infrastructure and his/her employer are protected from legal action. The person is deemed authorized for employment.
6) Expedited Green card processing for essential workers particularly for doctors. (However no word on visa availability)
7) To be completed..

http://www.visalaw.com/siskind-summa...ll-heroes-act/

This is a House Covid-19 bill which includes provisions for GCs for healthcare personnel but it is a bit different than the Senate bill. Here is Siskind's tweet summary:
https://twitter.com/gsiskind/status/1260295468648738816

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Originally Posted by Turbulent_Dragonfly

http://www.visalaw.com/siskind-summa...ll-heroes-act/

This is a House Covid-19 bill which includes provisions for GCs for healthcare personnel but it is a bit different than the Senate bill. Here is Siskind's tweet summary:
https://twitter.com/gsiskind/status/1260295468648738816

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Its a lot different. Especially immigration related provisions.

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Originally Posted by Zenzone

Its a lot different. Especially immigration related provisions.

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This bill also has provisions to roll over unused FB visas for the next 2 years and NOT spill over to EB. This is exactly the opposite of T executive action but you can see the priorities of the Ds.

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Originally Posted by NJMavarick

This bill also has provisions to roll over unused FB visas for the next 2 years and NOT spill over to EB. This is exactly the opposite of T executive action but you can see the priorities of the Ds.

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This was bound to happen. Unfortunately, it seems to be part of the bigger strategy to cease all immigration.

The sooner the US realizes that a one-size fits all visa program for EB immigration is bogus, the better. Today it's a medical pandemic, in the future it could be AI gone amok requiring engineers to intervene :). It should not take a crisis to make common sense policies, but that's where we are because of partisan politics for decades on both sides of the aisle.

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Originally Posted by qesehmk

Thank you.

This is the new house bill proposed by democrats. This is stimulus 2.0 if I am not wrong. Immigration is part of this. Here are key provisions ...
I will keep on adding more as I read...

1) It allows immigrants to NOT be considered out of status (even if they otherwise would have been) by a total of Period of Emergency declared by Department of Health + 90 days + 60 days grace. Effectively allowing all immigrants to stay in the US 5 months after the COVID emergency officially ends.
2) It also allows authorities to further extend status or work authorizations by 90 days 1 year after such emergency ends or enactment of this bill (whichever is later). In simple words work authorizations may be extended at the discretion of the DHS secretary by at least upto 15 months since this bill comes into effect.
3) Any unused visas from 2021 won't fall across from EB to FB or FB to EB. Instead they will fall within the same category (i.e. EB or FB) and then distributed in proportion to all sub categories within.
4) Naturalization ceremonies may be conducted using remote tech i.e. virtual conferences.
5) Any person engaged in critical infrastructure and his/her employer are protected from legal action. The person is deemed authorized for employment.
6) Expedited Green card processing for essential workers particularly for doctors. (However no word on visa availability)

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This confuses me. Is the rollover policy for unused visas from fiscal year 2020 or 2021 on wards?

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Originally Posted by amarrecherla

This confuses me. Is the rollover policy for unused visas from fiscal year 2020 or 2021 on wards?

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Good question. It applies to any fallacross from 2020 and 2021 into 2021 and 2022 respectively.

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Originally Posted by Zenzone

Agree with you 100%. I also think its possible that Dems want a hook into GOP from further trying to curtail family immigration which is D's target rich pool for base expansion. Nevertheless, since immigration is not a prime focus of this bill, these provisions could be completely left out in the compromise for being addressed in a later bill just focused on immigration. For example, remember DACA ruling by Supreme Court could be out anytime this summer. There are simply more immigration chips to fall in near term that make it ripe for a full carve out from this bill.

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Immigration has become such a contentious issue that neither the Rs and Ds have the courage to address it! I think any immigration related changes will only happen via EO which will align with the Trumps administration policy of reducing immigration. No one wants to cave in.Until DACA gets invalidated by SCOTUS it will be status quo.

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Originally Posted by qesehmk

Dems are pursuing an agenda which in my opinion has strong economic merit overall but certainly has no hope of passing the senate.

Immigration is relatively minor piece of the whole bill and has excellent provisions except the fallacross rule change for 2021/22.

The fall across rule change proposal is without a compelling argument for it. I sense a hint of animosity over Durbin name calling by IV.

In my judgement dems are generally more pro all kinds of immigration. And while this bill has almost zero chance of passing, it at least highlighted how much EB-I has alienated democrats. But in politics it is never too late to start building goodwill. For what is is worth, it is a good idea to write to whoever is writing this bill and try to influence them to drop fall across change.

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I do not think it would be fair to say that EBI has alienated the Ds. It was Durbin who opposed removal of the country cap. He drew first blood in-spite of his colleagues who belonged to the same part having sponsored the bill both in the House and Senate. Let us not forget that the bill was passed in the house where the Ds are a majority. Regardless, the I-140 EAD was also watered down during OBAMA administration.

I think at the moment, the Ds are for all immigration but DACA, FB and the undocumented take a priority over us backlogged legal folks.