Discussion of Bills that remove the Per Country Limits - H.R.3012, H,R. 213

[abcx13]

Not that this means anything but H.R 3012 is among the top-5 bills (#2) on THOMAS

What does Top 5 even mean on THOMAS? I mean how do they rank?

[kuku82]

Can't think of anything other than the # of hits the bill got.....

[gs1968]

Cloture has been filed on S.3412 by Senator Reid today.He was able to do this even before the cloture on Judge Shipp's nomination as the cloture vote on this was vitiated.Unfortunately now only items of unanimous consent can be passed till the cloture on 3412 ripens on Wednesday AM. It is interesting that this Bill was only introduced on July 19th by Senator Reid and has been fast-tracked to this point so quickly. Ironically although this Bill extends the middle class tax cuts for one more year-the cloture is likely to fail as the GOP will oppose it because it increases the deficit and also because the Democrats can claim victory. IF IT FAILS-it is a waste of most of a Senate's work week (remember 3 day weekends!). HR 3012 may pass with unanimous consent yet but if it needs a Floor vote we have to wait till the end of the week when the fate of S.3412 is clear. If by some miracle-this cloture motion succeeds then obviously the rest of the week will be spent on adding amendments/debate etc followed by a cloture on a final vote sometime early next week. Hope this helps but time seems so limited just because cloture is invoked on everything

[nyquant]

Actually, I did read a member's response from a senator and it sounded positive. It was deleted after a few seconds. Let us keep fingers crossed.

Apparently it was the same response was from Sen. McCain 6 months ago. So nothing to be excited I guess. Wonder why ** was all furious about posting it in the forum.

[sp2008]

By the way any one know who is lobbying for this bill. i am wondering if any well known/funded Indian groups involved or not.
Or is it driven generally by silicon valley tech companies? i don't think signing letters or calling senators help a great deal (i am not discouraging it by any means)

[vizcard]

Need to contact Joe Biden (President of the Senate)

[gs1968]

To vizcard

Might actually help! Senator Joe Biden was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1990 which passed the IMMACT 1990 that started the H-1B visa/annual Green card limits/country caps/EB categories/Diversity visa etc. etc. But then Senator Grassley was in that Committee too and this hasn't helped much so far

[chengisk]

By the way any one know who is lobbying for this bill. i am wondering if any well known/funded Indian groups involved or not.
Or is it driven generally by silicon valley tech companies? i don't think signing letters or calling senators help a great deal (i am not discouraging it by any means)

http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/billsum.php?id=128399

[qesehmk]

Thanks chengisk.
It would be a good idea for everybody to read this list. Because those are your friends and you don't want to forget them.
Other than corporations, one particular name is quite interesting - American Jewing Committee. Indians and other immigrants will do well to know their friends and support them when the time comes. Sorry for a bit political speech. But I think it's important that all of us are aware of the political environment around especially when there is significant anti-immigrant sentiment for various reasons.

http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/billsum.php?id=128399

[vishnu]

agreed q - though these lobby lists are both for and against lists...

[chengisk]

True as Vishnu says the list can also include opposing lobbyists. It also does not include some other companies that support (ex. Facebook Inc.). Someone who compiled the list had to actually search (probably obtained thro FOIA) the lobbying disclosure filing with the senate for each company/organization to figure out if they spend anything for this bill. If you click on the number below 'number of reports' and against each organization you may see a gist as well the full filing. It sometimes specifies whether the group supports or opposes. Yes it is interesting that the gist for American Jewish Cmmt, says, "Support for Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011 (S.1857/H.R. 3012)" (Israel being ROW).

[vizcard]

this is a list of those who support the bill. US Chamber of Commerce is on there as well.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3012/money

[chengisk]

That is in fact impressive... more extensive and in-depth than the open secrets. Plus the money trail, especially that of the lawmakers who abstained after that kind of expenditure. But then there is knack behind the abstaining too...

And on top in red it says.. "The easiest way to email your members of congress.......... [Donate Now]"

[bvsamrat]

I am surprised by the negative sentiments expressed by others on the net on issue of HR 3012.

Still the world is topsy-turvey. What Mahatma Gandhi faced did not change a bit. despite modernisation/faster travel/greater communication etc.

Local americans think that it will effect their jobs- On the contrary it is status quo,
140,000 quota is still unchanged!

People from other countries think that Indians/Chinese are being favored in HR3012
On the contrary, with HR3012, Indian/Chinese will be treated equal and same as other nationals
Every immigrant irresptive of race/nationality/caste/ will be treated as equal and follow the Queue.

Why Brazilian/Napalese or any of the other ROW should be favored and placed ahead in the queue?

That is in fact impressive... more extensive and in-depth than the open secrets. Plus the money trail, especially that of the lawmakers who abstained after that kind of expenditure. But then there is knack behind the abstaining too...

And on top in red it says.. "The easiest way to email your members of congress.......... [Donate Now]"

[vizcard]

bvsamrat - I'd like ot make a correction to your post. Brazilian / Nepalese are not placed ahead in the queue. They are in a different queue. The negativity stems from the fear (insert any other sentiment) of being placed in the same queue as us.

[amulchandra]

I know that this is extremely hypothetical question. If the bill passes in the senate this week, I know that it has to go back to house. Is the house also going on recess in August? How does the lame duck session affect the bill's chance to be picked up in the house?

Any take on this.

Thank you

Amul

[vizcard]

I know that this is extremely hypothetical question. If the bill passes in the senate this week, I know that it has to go back to house. Is the house also going on recess in August? How does the lame duck session affect the bill's chance to be picked up in the house?

Any take on this.

Thank you

Amul

Yes. The House is also going on recess in August and most of Sept. You can google the Congress calendar to find out exact dates they are in session.

As far as the second part of your question, I'll say it depends. If the sponsors of the bill are re-elected, nothing will get done. I expect them to try to garner support if there are significant changes to the make up of the House. If they don't then they will try to push for it to go through with the current make up. Going by the overwhelming majority the first go around, I expect getting support won't be an issue but who knows.

Note: The entire second paragraph is guesswork.

[amulchandra]

Yes. The House is also going on recess in August and most of Sept. You can google the Congress calendar to find out exact dates they are in session.

As far as the second part of your question, I'll say it depends. If the sponsors of the bill are re-elected, nothing will get done. I expect them to try to garner support if there are significant changes to the make up of the House. If they don't then they will try to push for it to go through with the current make up. Going by the overwhelming majority the first go around, I expect getting support won't be an issue but who knows.

Note: The entire second paragraph is guesswork.

Thank you vizcard. Hope this passes both the houses during these two weeks and there will be an end to this painful wait.

Amul

[immitime]

some encouragement by Schumer see the third Para ----below link
http://blog.visabureau.com/post/us-i...4-07-2012.aspx
the bill should come to the floor this week or next week

[chengisk]

some encouragement by Schumer see the third Para ----below link
http://blog.visabureau.com/post/us-i...4-07-2012.aspx
the bill should come to the floor this week or next week

That link does not seem convincing enough. Rather it is like someone made up a news that sounds like the bill is passed in the senate. Plus the writer might have problems differentiating the senate and the house. However, when someone posted it on the 'other' forum, it got deleted. <james bond theme music> Now I got to go back to my Miss Marple (I decided to re read all Marples and Poirots after 2 decades since I left school). That will make me feel young again.

[vizcard]

some encouragement by Schumer see the third Para ----below link
http://blog.visabureau.com/post/us-i...4-07-2012.aspx
the bill should come to the floor this week or next week

How did you get this from the article?

[jackbrown_890]

looks like, still no update on the bill from any reliable source.
people from New York,, call Schumer's office in the morning and see what they have to say about the bill..

[jackbrown_890]

http://blogs.ilw.com/nurse_immigrati...-grassley.html
another blog update but more like rumors thn reliable source

[gs1968]

Very disappointing to see the Senate schedule for tomorrow and the Senate Judiciary Committee schedule for Thursday. The fact remains that at this time there is no published Bill for the Senate to vote upon. Senator Grassley's proposed amendments are proposals only so far and there is no published/printed amendments anywhere in the Congressional Record as of this PM. The Senators may have no objection to the amendments but atleast will need to know what they are voting on.HR 3012 being already placed on the Senate calendar can only be amended using Floor amendments after the Bill has been scheduled and this can potentially become an open free-for-all and restricting amendments usually is difficult. The easier option is to take S.1857 (identical language to HR 3012) in the judiciary committee and add the proposed H-1B amendments with the language perfected amongst the Committee members and report it to the Senate as a substitute and vote on it standalone to avoid other amendments.
There may be some obstruction in the Senate at this time to either the 3012 or H-1B provisions because it has almost been 2 weeks since the hold was lifted and if there was unanimous consent,the Bill would have been disposed off by now and sent to the House. Just my opinion and I hope all this drivel will amount to nothing and 3012 will pass easily in Senate

BTW things are also quiet with no audible chatter on the other part of the deal-the Irish E-3 provisions.None of those Bills have been called up either. I hope Sen.Schumer ois not waiting for those Bills to pass before bringing up 3012

[Jonty Rhodes]

Very disappointing to see the Senate schedule for tomorrow and the Senate Judiciary Committee schedule for Thursday. The fact remains that at this time there is no published Bill for the Senate to vote upon. Senator Grassley's proposed amendments are proposals only so far and there is no published/printed amendments anywhere in the Congressional Record as of this PM. The Senators may have no objection to the amendments but atleast will need to know what they are voting on.HR 3012 being already placed on the Senate calendar can only be amended using Floor amendments after the Bill has been scheduled and this can potentially become an open free-for-all and restricting amendments usually is difficult. The easier option is to take S.1857 (identical language to HR 3012) in the judiciary committee and add the proposed H-1B amendments with the language perfected amongst the Committee members and report it to the Senate as a substitute and vote on it standalone to avoid other amendments.
There may be some obstruction in the Senate at this time to either the 3012 or H-1B provisions because it has almost been 2 weeks since the hold was lifted and if there was unanimous consent,the Bill would have been disposed off by now and sent to the House. Just my opinion and I hope all this drivel will amount to nothing and 3012 will pass easily in Senate

BTW things are also quiet with no audible chatter on the other part of the deal-the Irish E-3 provisions.None of those Bills have been called up either. I hope Sen.Schumer ois not waiting for those Bills to pass before bringing up 3012

I agree. It is disappointing to see nothing happening when only little time is left. It seems that we will probably have to wait for lame duck session. The way the US Congress functions and the way any Senator can screw any bill for any reason by putting infinite holds on it, it is not surprising that things come to stand still in Washington all the time. It becomes even worse especially when both chambers of Congresses are extremely divided and partisan i.e. House having Republican majority and Senate having Democratic majority.