I would agree. Unrelated topics. If anything HR3012 will be negatively perceived in this context.Quote:
Originally Posted by gs1968
I would agree. Unrelated topics. If anything HR3012 will be negatively perceived in this context.Quote:
Originally Posted by gs1968
Same story, same rant...
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/GOP...142298295.html
<sigh>
I think i saw the number of pages go up to 59 for this thread. And now its 58? Are the posts being deleted?
I deleted few of my old posts which I found irrelevant now. Good observation :)Quote:
Originally Posted by psychedelicNerd
Some hope still exists
http://irishecho.com/?p=70330
Irish news sites are the least reliable when it comes to E3 or HR 3012. So don't pin our hopes around Irish news sites or E3.Quote:
Originally Posted by lalaji
Yahoo reports there is high political drama on the HR 3012 and irish bill..Interesting to read...
TechNet is planning a major valley fundraiser for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky this spring. A major goal of the event will be pressing the Republican leader to urge Grassley to lift his hold on the Chaffetz bill.
http://news.yahoo.com/gridlocked-203444171.html
Thanks for the excellent link vickywac.Quote:
Originally Posted by vickywac
I am intrigued by these... had not seen these before and am not sure how to validate these from another source. (Am I the only one who hasn't seen these before?)
Note that Grassley had placed a hold on 3012 before the Irish bill came to life. If the first bulleted statement is correct, it means that negotiations have yielded "some" result with him. It also means that the only thing holding the passing of 3012 is the Irish bill(Scott or Schumer).Quote:
...
Trying to determine exactly how the popular Chaffetz proposal got mired in this mess is like chasing an earring down a sink drain. To sum up:
• Grassley says he is willing to lift his hold on H.R. 3012 if Schumer backs off his Irish-visa proposal.
• Schumer says that Democrats aren’t the holdup; it’s actually a Republican, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who shot his mouth off to a bunch of Irish constituents back home, saying that the Irish-visa bill was “about to pop.” Massachusetts—where Brown expects a tough reelection fight—is the hub of the Ireland lobby.
• Brown says he has not placed a hold on the Chaffetz proposal and supports it in principle. But he also wants the Irish-visa bill to pass, and he won’t say whether he would block the Chaffetz bill if the Irish measure doesn’t move with it.
• Grassley, meanwhile, has offered Schumer a chance for an up-or-down vote on the Irish-visa bill, provided the required skill levels get tweaked and the special-visa program has an end date. There’s no word yet on whether Schumer will accept the offer.
...
I'd suggest we not get too engrossed with this piece of information till verified from some other source.
To Vickywac and Manubhai
I agree with you but the earlier part of the article also says quite clearly that Sen.Grassley wants to add H-1B reform agenda to it as this may be the only chance for years.I think the article contradicts itself but we have to wait and see. Harry Reid also wants to attach DREAM legislation according to some weekend reports
I think what is interesting is that there is a lot of behind-the-scenes wrangling going on and I* carries less weight than the tech lobby. There's still hope I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by gs1968
This seems to be the real storyQuote:
Originally Posted by vickywac
Also here http://www.nationaljournal.com/featu...d-out-20120314
To abcx13
The country cap elimination idea has been around for more than 4 years well before ** got involved (since 2008)
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h5921/comments
Ms.Lofgren has been promoting this and visa re-capture since atleast the 110th congress.The only reason this has become contentious is that it made to the floor of the House and passed which the earlier Bills did not
The article in question seems full of contraindications and it is easy to see why other forum members are advising caution in interpreting this. It says that in summary Grassley will lift his hold if Irish provision is dropped whereas nowhere in the article prior to that is such a statement seen.
I also remember reading on immigration-law.com that Sens. Vitter and Sessions had objected to the Irish Bill although I could never find a valid media source
Also a lot of this information/lobbying is from early February and we are already in the 2nd half of march with no progress.Lots of legislation is reactive and in an election year it remains to be seen how much interest there is to negotiating and moving this forward
National Journal article in MSNBC. This is making quite big news in mainstream media.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mitchell-reports/46749576
To vickywac
Thanks for providing us with the link.However this is unlikely to change things much because as we discussed earlier,the dynamics in that story are from early February and much water has flown under the bridge since
I feel that the link below is a bigger story
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74065.html
The battle for control of the senate is going to be very tight in the forthcoming elections and MA is a key race.The Democrats gave Sen.Brown a victory with the STOCK Act 9yet to be conferenced and signed in to law though) and are unlikely to help him again.Even if Sen.Schumer's Bill is passed,Sen.Brown is going to take credit for garnering the Republican votes to pass the Irish E-3.Sen Schumer is not up for re-election till 2016 and has ample time for getting this done. On the other hand,if the Senate does change hands and Sen.Grassley assumes chairmanship of the Sen.Judiciary Committee, it is going to be even more difficult to get anything like this through committee and passed into law.We will wait and see as usual
I just came across this article
http://www.irishcentral.com/story/ne...142910915.html
Again a re-hash of what we know already and whether this changes anything is anybody's guess
03/16/2012: Latest News on Sen. Grassley's Ongoing Negotiaion with Senator Brown for Compromise
CNN updates at 07:18 p.m. (EST) of 03/16/2012 as follows:
Beth Levine, communications director for Grassley said he has now extended an offer to move the Brown bill forward. "An up or down vote on Sen. Brown's Irish visa bill would be acceptable to Sen. Grassley with some modifications dealing with the skill level of those receiving an E3 visa, the current visa program the visas would be allotted from, and the inclusion of a sunset on the program," Levine wrote in an e-mail. "Sen. Grassley's staff is still discussing modifications with the sponsors of the bill."
It sounds that under the ongoing pressure, with the whole Republican party at stake in the Senate, not to mention Sen. Brown's own future, in the November election, they must be actively engazing in negotiation to find a break through at least within the Republican group. They are currently under a tremendous pressure. However, it is not clear whether this ongoing nego includes H.R. 3012. Additionally, it is unclear the compromise within the Senate Republican caucus can be acceptable to the Democrats, particularly Sen. Chuck Schumer. Please stay tuned.
http://www.immigration-law.com/
E3 going on its own is good for HR 3012. I suspect it is E3 that is holding down our bill. If it travels on its own and meets it destiny, HR 3012 will have a clearer path.
What does it mean for HR3012 .... Is it still breathing ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonty Rhodes
Not sure if Scott Brown's bill is tied with HR 3012 or not. There is some real confusion about that. But even if it is not tied, I really do not believe that HR 3012 will have a clear path on its own because Chuck Grassley may again try to introduce his H1B reforms in that since that was the main reason he blocked HR 3012 to begin with. I just don't feel that he will give up so easily on that. Let's see what happens next week in senate. It is going to be a crucial week I feel.Quote:
Originally Posted by gcq
Grassleys' hold was expected right from the day the bill was planned. Steve King in House and Grassley in Senate are two known adversaries for any immigration bill. So this would have been taken care already. We saw what happened in house in relation to Steve King's amendments. Even in senate, rule 14 was invoked on the bill to bypass judiciary committee. The only surprise was the Irish waking up adding their pork E3 to HR 3012. If E3 did not show up, HR 3012 would have progressed more than it is now.
http://http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/senators-push-visa-program-irish-immigrants-critics-call-measure-political-opportunism-article-1.1040788
Its going to be interesting how this is going to play in coming days.Quote:
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) of the Senate Judiciary Committee has a hold on the broader bill, but has offered a vote on just the Irish measure. He and Schumer are negotiating.
So let's see...the White guys get a special provision carved out for them, but the Browns and the Yellows have to wait. Just like the good ol'e days 'eh.Quote:
Originally Posted by vickywac
Here is what one supporter says openly.
EB applicants on other hand are highly educated, come legally and virtully crime free and yet they have to wait 2-10-20 years. This is injustice.Quote:
“Let’s find a place for Irish people like anybody else. The only way to come to America to work at your aunt’s or uncle’s or anywhere else is as undocumented,” said pub owner Ciaran Staunton of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.
Quote:
Originally Posted by abcx13
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Sen...143077985.html
Let us see how this goes. E3 being an amendment to H.R.3012 w/sh-ould also mean placing the bundle for a vote in the senate.
There is still time to write to and nudge the local senators to support the bill.
To Chengisk
Thanks for your comments.However all indications seem to point towards S.2005 from Sen.Brown which does not include 3012 provisions.None of the articles above seem to indicate that 3012 provisions are being negotiated.The last official word from Beth Levine about 3012 seems to be from February 28 unless we can find something more current
http://www.siliconprairienews.com/20...artup-visa-act
Sen Grassley is being tough on the E-3 Bill also in that he is requiring more stringent guidelines for qualification. The E-3 Irish Bill if passed would amend the INA in such a way that specialty occupation as required by the Australians is not necessary.
I feel that the language is worded and placed carefully to avoid specialty occupation consideration. The words in the Bill are "or solely to perform services as an employee who meets the requirements under section 203(c)(2) if the alien is a national of the Republic of Ireland,' after `Australia'." If you refer to the INA Act 101 here
http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/S...0-0-0-101.html
and scroll down to Section E (iii)(21) which is about the middle of the page and add the above clause after Australia then it becomes clear that the specialty occupation is not needed. However some labor attestation still appears to be needed with DHS and DOL but how stringent this will be-I don't know. The H-2 programs have very loose requirements The Republic of Ireland with a population of 6 million does not have a substantial pool of high-skilled immigrants to fill 10,500 visas annually.
I also read that he wants the unused quota of Australian E-3 visas to be used for Irish nationals so as not to increase work visas and also include a sunset date.
After the Republican senators have all these worked out I am not sure if it is even acceptable to the Irish leave alone the Democrats. For this reason, I completely agree with the moderators and other senior forum members that H.R 3012 is actually being hamstrung by the E-3 provisions and has better chances of success on its own merit. It is ironic that a Bill that affects distribution of only 12% of annual LPRs is getting such a difficult time in the Senate.
There are about 8 legislative days left in the Senate before the April Passover/Easter recess and hopefully something positive will happen. Sorry for the long post but it is frustrating that almost 4 months have passed since House passage and there is still no resolution in the senate
No rational thoughts on bills among piliticians and everyday the hope on this is slipping away. Interestign to know that the start up bill is waiting to pass thro the committe and look at the momentum of the irish bill.Quote:
Originally Posted by gs1968
Peace
vickywac
Hi gs1968,
Thanks, despite the pessimistic outlook that you have drawn, I have to agree with you. There is basically no interest among the lawmakers to advance HR3012, nor do they have any incentives despite some tech companies lobbying for it. On the other hand the Irish agenda seems to have suddenly started stirring and that I think is basically because of the likes of Boston Globe ridiculing Sen.Brown. The congress and senate have a bad habit of not passing perfectly individual legislation (which is often termed as piece-meal bills) and so very rarely any bill gets thorough without the added baggage. I think it is now become a wait and see if it will happen event. Thanks again for your views and links.
03/19/2012: Senate Floor to Continue Debates for JOBS Act, H.R.3606
This is the so-called Jumpstart Our Business Starups Act, which the House has already passed. When it comes to the details, there are disagreements between the Republican caucus and the Democratic caucus, but the basic theme of job creation legislation receives attention not only from the Houses in the Congress, but also from the White House, considering its impact on the November national election. We have reported earlier the skeleton of the White House proposal that contained "Per Country Limitation Elimination" in the employment-based immigration statute, which is very much in line with the H.R. 3012. As the H.R. 3012 is trapped with the Irish E-3 visa bill, the immigrant community is closely watching the chances of EB per country limitation removal proposal attached to the JOBS Act legislation through the process of H.R. 3606 amendment in the Senate.
Let's see if I have this straight, so the WH wanted the per country elimination to be put in the Jobs bill as part of HR 3606, but it isn't in there currently. And these guys are hoping that it gets added as an amendment? Fat chance.Quote:
Originally Posted by lalaji
Not sure if this has already been mentioned in this thread, but is there an email I can send to family/friends which gives a brief summary of the bill (and any other relevant bills) and has information on how to support it (links to online petitions/letters to congressmen, etc)? Thanks.
How to support: Meet senators; Call senators; Write to senators; Also follow "action items" that any other group/community suggests, if you wish to, and if their definition and evidence of "supporting" the cause is to your satisfaction.Quote:
Originally Posted by randomax
You can modify the content from this thread to suit your purpose:
http://www.qesehmk.org/forums/showth...orting-HR-3012
Thanks for spreading the word. It DOES make a difference.
I signed the petition and sent letters to senators some time ago, but I think its time to step up the effort and send it to friends across the country
From Irish Echo:
http://irishecho.com/?p=70466
Thanks lalaji. Does Sen. Brown's bill include HR 3012 also? Because what we all keep hearing about this bill is it will provide additional 10,500 visas to Irish nationals every year. There has been no mention of HR 3012 anywhere in any article.Quote:
Originally Posted by lalaji
Finally,after about 4 months since House Passage there is a brief and passing mention of H.R 3012 provisions on the Senate Floor albeit in the context of the broader E-3 Bill! Whether there is a sincere effort or St.Patrick's Day rhetoric is not clear. As Jonty Rhodes mentions above it is also not clear if what is being discussed includes H.R 3012 provisions. Time is running out before the Easter recess and we are still stuck with the JOBS act unfinished.Cloture has been filed on Sen. Menendez Bill for tax breaks for oil companies and this should pretty much consume the rest of this session till next Friday. The E-3 Bill/H.R 3012/S.1857 or whatever version passes will most likely have to pass by unanimous consent with all objections removed and amendments agreed to as most Senators are not going to be keen on having their vote recorded by Roll Call. We have to watch carefully for end of the day proceedings next Thursday/Friday to see if this happens.My guess is most likely not as Sen.Grassley is a tough man to bend and is not going to give up easily.One can only hope for the best! When the Senate returns in the second half of April the momentum on this Bill will be lost considerably
From Asst.Majority leader site
http://durbin.senate.gov/public/inde...e-2204402a89b8
Sen. Durbin's floor reference..Quote:
Originally Posted by gs1968
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/.../~r112Mnoskz::
Interesting that he specifically refers to adding E3 to HR 3012. Also good that he is only taking about legal Irish employment here with no amnesty provisions. Bodes well, but lets wait and see...