Thread: India: Legal immigrants in the US up in arms

Not to mention that 'free speech' it not absolute; it has been defined and redefined and even abridged under certain conditions over the course of time...

True. There are limits on defamatory speech, fraud, and modern laws on stalking that may limit speech, as well as many others.

I do not disagree. But what you are talking about is border line no immigration. That is what i am contesting.

Enough said on the fine prints of the constitution. The matter that is still open - what sort of immigration do you all support.

Hmmm...so what you are saying is because you came here first - you have the right to close the door on people behind you?

What a bogus statement! The answer to your question is yes, if conditions warrant this. Legal immigration is higher today than it's ever been, and given our current population and the trajectory we are on, we have every right to set immigration at a level that is appropriate to balance natural resources, open space and wildlife habitat, housing and urban sprawl, etc., etc. This is up to us, not you.

I don't know where you are from, but will assume India. As far as I know, we had nothing to do with the fact that India now has a population of 1.1 billion. I will also assume that the quality of life there has been impacted. Note, I am not in any way equating quality of life to wealth and comfort, but to open space and a reasonably clean natural environment. Are we obligated to allow this to happen here if we can prevent it by controlling immigration to manageable levels?

[quote]If you want that then you should also erase what the statue of liberty symbolizes and add a disclaimer at the end of the New Colossus – “Limited time offer, subject to availabilityâ€

Thank you for saying that, Kate - it's 100% true. The words associated with the Statue of Liberty are merely poetry, not law. And, from reading the Constitution, the short answer to the question as to whether our sovereign nation can change immigration law is, 'yes.'

Originally Posted by Coto

Hi nntrixie,

Originally Posted by nntrixie

Boy, I am lost here.

I thought H1B workers were temporary workers - I didn't know it was quasi-citizenship. I also didn't know they were allowed to bring their families, close and extended.

We need to rethink this situation, big time.

[b] It's been well documented that the H-1B visa is a NON-immigrant visa, not established as a "path" to green card or to citizenship at all.

It's a 6 year job-destruction visa extendable to 7. There have been some (on their website) who have bragged about getting it extended to 8 years and beyond.
b]

Didn't someone say it was a 'path to citizenship?'

Also, why do they get to bring their families? Isn't that asking for babies to be born here and thus permanent citizenship.

I have heard of the 'Chinese holiday' where people from China deliberately plan their visits to America to coincide with the birth of a baby.

I do remember the programmers being fired and having to train those 'well educated, and well trained' foreign workers.

You know, the fact is, this is a different world, a different country. America has always been a country that changed the laws from time to time when circumstances warranted.

While America does welcome those from the rest of the world, it is not a right to come here - it is a privilege.

Actually, I think our 'baiter' here is probably not at all what he presents to us - but maybe an 'agitator'????

Actually, I think our 'baiter' here is probably not at all what he presents to us - but maybe an 'agitator'????

Apparently, yet he/she comes so poorly armed.

NEWS FLASH



ELLIS ISLAND IS CLOSED

Yes, we are being visited by a number of activists from www.immigrationvoice.org. Their main issue is getting green cards, but a corollary issue is that since we issue so many H-1Bs to Indians, and only have so many immigrant visas, that this leaves them in the lurch between guestworker visa experation and getting the green card.

What a bogus statement! The answer to your question is yes, if conditions warrant this. Legal immigration is higher today than it's ever been, and given our current population and the trajectory we are on, we have every right to set immigration at a level that is appropriate to balance natural resources, open space and wildlife habitat, housing and urban sprawl, etc., etc. This is up to us, not you.

OK. If you want to close the doors to protect your interest - people are going to find other (illegal) ways to enter. Immigration is not going to go away because some quota has reached, back to me rich guy in a poor neighborhood analogy.

Legal immigration was the highest in early part of 1900's not today.

Gee, I wasn't aware that the Statue of Liberty mandates that the US must accept certain quotas of immigrants or everyone who wants to come here.

It is the spirit behind it that I am talking about. It is the same spirit that made the founding father include naturalization in the constitution and authorized the congress to implement rule to govern it.

ELLIS ISLAND IS CLOSED

OK. I respect your opinion. However then you should change the name or your organization to Americans for No Immigration. The fact that you make a statement like this and no one in this American for Legal Immigrant community corrects you does shed some light on the realities here and helps eliminate my confusion on what kind of immigration you really support.

Yes, we are being visited by a number of activists from www.immigrationvoice.org. Their main issue is getting green cards, but a corollary issue is that since we issue so many H-1Bs to Indians, and only have so many immigrant visas, that this leaves them in the lurch between guestworker visa experation and getting the green card.

May be some education on the skilled immigration would help give you and other a better picture.

In a year there are 140, 000 "green cards" which are equally divided among all nations. So China and India get 7% and the same number goes to Somalia and Fiji. The problem with that is since most skilled immigrants coming to this county are from China and India - there is a huge backlog in adjudicating their applications.

An applicant is sponsored by his employer for a permanent residency. That in effect ties an employee to his employer till the time his green card gets approved. This in effect leads to exploitation in some cases by the employer. The longer the backlog the more an H1b worker is exposed to exploitation. Apart from exploitation and H1b worker is also denied any promotions because his green card application is tied to a specific position.

You might say that we should not complain as this is the law and if we do not like it we can always go back. All that is true. However what you all might not realize is that it is this "restriction" placed on us by the government which exposes us to exploitation. So when you say H1b are paid less and take away American jobs because of low wages - you only have the current immigration policies to blame for. If sticking to an employer and having to face huge backlogs is taken out of the equation - most H1b holders would be in the job market like anyone else. And since all you believe that low wages is the only thing that attracts employers to us – it actually helps you all get what you want. No low wages – no more H1b’s.

There is more details to this but this should give you all some insight.