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Topic: Suing USCIS? Think Again
I must first indicate to all readers that I am only stating my opinion on this issue as layman. I am no attorney and do not claim to be one. Anything I say herein is opinion based on my own experience and facts gathered from various sources. I do not intend this to be seen an attack or bashing of any particular person, group, or country folk. So please bear with me.
The latest visa bulletin has caused lots of heartache for most of us waiting in line for approval of our pending AOS applications. Most of the agony hits our Indian friends in particular who are in the EB2 category and whose visa category has become temporarily unavailable (U) as of February 1st. Many folks have raised their concern and made their feelings known in this forum. Some have gone to the extent of calling for a movement to sue USCIS because they see the USCIS’ per category per country quota as a biased and discriminatory policy. What irks me most about the folks calling for such a movement are not so much as the fact that they are doing so, but the level of arrogance and outright belligerence shown by some of them in convincing everyone else of their plight is unimaginable to say the least.
As fellow a being sharing the same dream of becoming permanent residents and eventually becoming American citizens, I share your pain and agony no doubt. I would love to see that the pain and agony as it may exist, is minimal and short-lived nonetheless.
USCIS, by law, has a quota or limit on the number of people who can be granted permanent residence (green card) status in any given year. This quota is based on: a) the employment category (EB1, EB2, etc) and b) per country limits so that every country, no matter how large or small, is given the same percentage (7%) of the worldwide quota – annual available visa. As such, folks from countries like China and India with larger populations are subject to longer wait times because their quotas are quickly filled. The concept behind the per country quota is that citizens of one particular country should not take up more than a certain percentage of the overall available slots in a particular category. The country to which a foreign national is assigned for quota purposes is determined by their country of birth rather than by their country of citizenship. However, in some cases, one may be "cross-charged" to another country such as to a spouse's country of birth.
It is important to note that the immigrant quota system has no impact on an employer initiating the labor certification process or the Immigrant Petition process. Both of these stages can run their course regardless of the state of the immigrant quota system, and any backlogs/retrogression. However, both Adjustment of Status filing and final adjudication of the AOS is affected by the quota system.
With these facts in mind, one may ask what is there to gain in suing USCIS for discrimination against nationals of a particular country. In my humble opinion, the per category per country quota system is set to thwart discrimination in the first place – discrimination against folks from countries with smaller populations who would otherwise never get a chance, or will take ages to get a chance to apply for employment based permanent residence – because the worldwide quota would be gobbled up by mainly Chinese and Indian nationals in no time. So it baffles a rational mind to think that the system as it is, is discriminatory. I have seen and heard some flimsy or rather arrogant arguments advanced by folks affected by retrogression. Some claim it is unfair that USCIS is punishing them for “producing so many smart and intelligent” folks who are needed by American companies. Or that Darwin’s law of survival of the fittest cannot be reversed so USCIS must budge. That others take no time to get approval while Indians and Chinese have to wait for ages (this must have been the most absurd in that the writer forgot that the “others” he referred to includes “Indians and Chinese whose PD are current!).
My point in so many words is that the movement to make the USCIS process more meaningful, productive, and beneficial must not be highjacked by arrogance and belligerence as manifested by some folks. I admire and support all those who want a better process. However, the movement has to take a better dimension such as demanding for an increase in the worldwide quota. We stand a better chance of achieving the goal of increasing the annual amount of visas if we expend our resources and effort towards that goal than the hogwash of an excuse for suing USCIS for discrimination based on its policy.
The best part is that it is not going to be an Indian or Chinese only movement!
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Aug 0147 , my 2 cents ( i am no expert )
Everyone seems to be talking about views about changes , but no one talks about Approach considering the fact the we spent enough time in thinking only so far.
- so far , as a layman who just happened to apply for GC , i havent seen any movement apart from ' immigration voice ' about bringing any changes to USCIS policies.
- I am not well aware of ' AILA ' or any other
I admire everyones patience in writing pages and pages of views , but dont you think we need an approach to fulfil what everyone is taking about ? Otherwise , it would be 10 different movements by 10 different groups.
there are sayings like " 10 heads are better than one " or " too many cooks spoil the food '. My only intention in adding comments to this thread is to give some food for thought about the approach.
- do we want to join immigration voice ?
- do we need to create another movement with our agenda ?
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Here is a direct quote from the
"These are cases that are languishing, sometimes for years, due to delays in FBI name checks or other background checks. (Such cases should not be confused with those that cannot be approved due to the unavailability of immigrant visa numbers.)"
Congress has been given wide discretion over immigration policy and legislation. Suing the USCIS on grounds of discrimination would be a pointless waste of energy. If you're stuck in namecheck, that's an entirely different story, as the article seems to indicate above.
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"Mandamus Law Suits" is what you said.....not DISCRIMINATION....sorry pal.
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The question is "Per country Quota relevant now"? With Globilization and market forces dictating the countries economy now days and with USA being the mecca of free market and capitalisim it really bogs my mind about this absurd quota system. There is a diversity quota of 50,000 for those countries that are underrepresented already.Why can't they implement Quota for 50 % (70,000)of the GC cards and have the remaining 70,000 as open. Or better why can't the unused cards at the end of the fiscal year be given to retrogressed countries instead of wasting it??
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One voice can be heard. Bu thousands voices will be heard much more. I think combining efforts with IV and rallying together would be much more effective. My 2 cents.
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Pammya has a good point. These are employment based categories and there are diversity based GC anyway. So why quotas for employment based GCs?? Also, if quota is absolutely needed for some reason, political or otherwise, USCIS should look at historical trends for smaller countries ie. How many visas did they use the previous years and make the quota allocation based on trend analysis. They end reallocating unused GCs to Indians and Chinese any ways.......
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And it dont think we will win if we sue USCIS because they are following the law...
And as many have said GC is a privilege and not a right...
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They end reallocating unused GCs to Indians and Chinese any ways.......
So, wouldn't it benefit both worlds (Indo-China, etc. & ROW) to advocate for a larger pool instead? That is the gist of my argument in so many words. Thx! |
Dude,
Who is suing USCIS to get country quota eliminated? Your post is total BS.
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I agree with you 100% Aug1407!
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I not think any body is suing to eliminate country quotas... People may be suing to get their NC expiated which I think is a genuine case of hardship no matter if a GC is a right or not....
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Mandumus law suits are different. People have every right to file a mandumus law suits.
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Very well said Aug1407. I totally agree with you.
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I am with you on that as mentioned in my previous post...
I was referrring to suing USCIS regarding quotas...
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Got it. Agree on that one. Still, I think current situation with retrogression can be challenged in court.
8 USC 1153 (e)
(e) Order of consideration
(1) Immigrant visas made available under subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in behalf of each such immigrant is filed with the Attorney General (or in the case of special immigrants under section 1101 (a)(27)(D) of this title, with the Secretary of State) as provided in section 1154 (a) of this title.
Clearly the USCIS did not follow it as many folks who were waiting in June 07 are still waiting. All categories were current in July, now EB2 India is not available, it means the USCIS processed some applications ahead of others.
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I absolutely have no idea wasting time in exchanging all these ideas when no one has any intention to do anything... boring thread
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becomin:
My intention is not to create another movement. What I'm saying is that others are talking about a movement to initiate an anti-discrimination law suit against USCIS in TRACKITT. I see that as a futile effort. So, we should rather join efforts and resources to existing movements, like immigrationvoice - as you mentioned - to advocate for increased annual allocations instead. Yes the more heads the better, however, we must be mindful of the arrogant and belligerent tendencies that could be detriment to the overall goal. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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I just have one question, what happens to the visas that are not utilized by a country?
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Verma:
Someone mentioned they are allocated to other categories by rolling them over the fiscal year end, but then I read somewhere also that as it is now, they are forfeited. I'm not sure what happens to those. I hope someone in the know can clarify. Either way, more visas will help everyone nonetheless.
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How about ending the DV Lottery program and using that 50,000 for EB applicants? Most of those who win the lottery had no specific plans in the US, they just came to "try their luck". I know many of them who came and then returned back home quickly after experiencing that just living here does not mean much and it does not rain 100 dollar bills here. Some of the in fact never came here. Now that is a real waste of visa numbers.
I am ROW and I'd rather not elaborate how I would distribute these 50000 visas as either way one party would like, the other dislike my opinion.
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