Entries from Rajiv's Blog

On Yoga of Action -- Karmayoga
Good, practical advice IMHO

No beggar whom we have helped has ever owed a single cent to us; we owe everything to him, because he has allowed us to exercise our charity on him. It is entirely wrong to think that we have done, or can do, good to the world, or to think that we have helped such and such people. It is a foolish thought, and all foolish thoughts bring misery. We think that we have helped some man and expect him to thank us, and because he does not, unhappiness comes to us. Why should we expect anything in return for what we do? Be grateful to the man you help, think of him as God. Is it not a great privilege to be allowed to worship God by helping our fellow men? If we were really unattached, we should escape all this pain of vain expectation, and could cheerfully do good work in the world. Never will unhappiness or misery come through work done without attachment.
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The greatest weakness often insinuates itself as the greatest good and strength. It is a weakness to think that any one is dependent on me, and that I can do good to another. This belief is the mother of all our attachment, and through this attachment comes all our pain. We must inform our minds that no one in this universe depends upon us; not one beggar depends on our charity; not one soul on our kindness; not one living thing on our help. All are helped on by nature, and will be so helped even though millions of us were not here. The course of nature will not stop for such as you and me; it is, as already pointed out, only a blessed privilege to you and to me that we are allowed, in the way of helping others, to educate ourselves. This is a great lesson to learn in life, and when we have learned it fully, we shall never be unhappy; we can go and mix without harm in society anywhere and everywhere.
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When you give something to a man and expect nothing — do not even expect the man to be grateful — his ingratitude will not tell upon you, because you never expected anything, never thought you had any right to anything in the way of a return. You gave him what he deserved; his own Karma got it for him; your Karma made you the carrier thereof. Why should you be proud of having given away something? You are the porter that carried the money or other kind of gift, and the world deserved it by its own Karma. Where is then the reason for pride in you? There is nothing very great in what you give to the world.

Vivekananda, Swami (2011-02-12). Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (Kindle Locations 1243-1247). . Kindle Edition.

http://www.voanews.com/content/green...a/1662670.html

Beginning 30 April 2013, CBP will roll out electronic version of Form I-94, Arrival Departure Record. We recommended that all visitors print out and keep a paper copy of the Form for their records at all times. There are still important legal issues that remain unsettled, including, the proper training and education of DHS/CBP of its own officers. Note that CBP is an agency within Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Form I-94 is a very important document in that it determines the time and activities permitted during your stay in the USA.

The new I-94 form: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html
DHS explains in this video how to fill out the new I-94 application.
https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/jsp/CaptivateVideo.jsp

CBP has noted as follows:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection today announced that the automation of
Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record is now effective which will streamline the admissions process
for individuals lawfully visiting the United States. Form I-94 provides international visitors evidence
they have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. which is necessary to verify alien registration, immigration status, and employment authorization.

Increasing efficiency and streamlining processes is a critical component of maximizing our
resources at ports of entry,” said Thomas S. Winkowski, acting CBP Commissioner. “In addition
to saving millions of dollars for both CBP and the travel and tourism industry, automating the I-94
and going paperless will save valuable time for both travelers and CBP officers.”

The automation means that affected visitors will no longer need to fill out a paper form when
arriving to the U.S. by air or sea, improving procedures and reducing costs. As part of CBP’s
work to bring advances in technology and automation to the passenger processing environment,
records of admission will now be generated using traveler information already transmitted through
electronic means.

The change will be implemented at air and sea ports beginning April 30 and will include Charlotte-
Douglas International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Las Vegas Airport, Chicago O’Hare,
Miami International Airport and Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport that week, continuing
across the nation through May 21.

Travelers wanting a hard copy or other evidence of admission can access this information online
using the website if they did not receive a hard copy attached to their passport. (Go to http://cbp.gov/i94)

Individuals can print a copy of an I-94 based on the electronically submitted data, including the I-
94 number from the form, to provide as necessary to benefits providers or as evidence of lawful
Admission.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of
Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders
at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist
weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Please visit the Immigration Reform 2013 forum for my latest videos.

My I-140 was filed in February 2004. The National Visa Centre, in its letter dated 24th June 2010, informed that they had completed processing of my petition seeking immigration to the USA and had forwarded it to the American Embassy/Consulate at New Delhi. I was informed that an immigrant visa interview had been scheduled at the US Consulate, New Delhi on the 9th of August, 2010 at 10.45 am.
I reached the US Consulate, Chanakya Puri, New Delhi, (hereinafter Consulate) a little before the scheduled time. I was given a token bearing a number at which the concerned Official of the Consulate would interview me. Once inside the Consulate, the assisting staff promptly verified my token number and advised me to wait for my turn. I was informed that token number and the counter number were being displayed on an electronic screen at the end of the hall. The waiting area had seating arrangement in rows and was very practically furnished. The air conditioning was comfortable, considering that it was sweltering hot outside. While I was waiting for my turn, time seemed to have stopped; it was a long wait. On my number being shown at the relevant window, I appeared before the official and handed over the token given to me at the entrance. At the first instance, I submitted my documents to the Consular Officer. The Official started looking through the documents submitted by me, which in fact gave me time to be at ease. The Consular Official, after going through the documents asked me questions relating to my profession in India. On my responding to the said questions, the official asked me questions relating to the kind of work I was expected to do in the US. The Consular Officer also asked my about why I wanted to immigrate after 20 years of practicing law in India! There were also questions asked about my relationship with the applicant/employer. What was I going to do in the US (what was my role/job profile)? I was asked about my familiarity with preparing websites et al. I answered all the questions honestly and told them that I was not conversant with the technical aspects of a web site; my job would be to provide content for the same. The interview lasted about 45 minutes and throughout the concerned official was very practical and to the point. Finally, I was handed a letter along with an annexure and was politely informed that I would be required to provide the information sought therein before my application could be processed further.
As per letter dated 9th of August, 2010, I was asked to provide the following documents:
a) Original job letter from my US employer.
b) Updated DS 230 part I for myself.
c) Since I was married now, in order to process immigrant VISA for my wife and daughter and son, they needed to come on any working day along with their passports, DS-230 I & II, birth certificate, marriage certificate, two photographs and immigrant visa fee $ 404 or Rs. 19,393/-.
In addition, I was also required to furnish certain documents from the employer as per annexure to the said letter.
I arranged the relevant documents as per letter dated 9th of August, 2010 and approached the US Consulate at New Delhi on the 12th of July 2012, along with my wife and children. I was given a token number and was asked to wait for my turn by the assisting staff at the consulate. The wait was long. My daughter, just about two years old, was restless. The assisting staff observed her and requested us to take her to the play area for kids. It did help, as she got busy with the toys there and with the other kids almost her age. We were amongst the last to be called for interview by the Consular Officer. The wait was tiring considering we had with us a two year old child. The Consular Officer accepted our DS 230’s and thereafter requested my wife and children to wait as he proceeded to interview me. I was asked questions about my employer, the kind of work done by him etc. It appeared that while I was being questioned, the Consular Officer was looking at my employer’s website, as he did say it was impressive. He also asked questions about my work, how it correlated with employment sought by me! I answered the questions to the best of my ability and honestly. The whole process may have lasted about 40-45 minutes.
At the end of the interview, the Consular Officer handed me a letter wherein it was mentioned that I could not be issued a VISA at this time, and I was required to provide:
a) Police clearance from Regional Passport Office for myself and my wife.
b) Medical clearance from an embassy-approved panel physician for my wife and children.
c) Recent job letter from my employer.
I submitted the aforesaid documents along with our passports to the VFS, Nehru Place, New Delhi. The duly stamped Passports, along with a sealed envelope in each immigrant’s name, containing documents were returned to us by courier.
We arrived at Dulles, Washington, DC on December 24th, 2012. On board our flight, we had been given blue forms by the crew, and we were informed that the duly filled forms were to be submitted to the immigration official on arrival at destination. This blue form was basically a declaration to the effect that we were not carrying any food article(s), had not visited a farm within a specified period before our journey, etc.
Upon arrival, we followed the queue for non-US citizens. It was a rather long winding queue and my daughter, who was just about two years and few months, was very restless. The assisting staff was quick to observe my restless daughter and promptly guided us to an immigration counter ahead of other waiting passengers.
At the immigration counter, we handed over our passports, the sealed envelopes received by us from the US Consulate in New Delhi and the blue form given to us on board our flight, to the immigration officer. The Officer examined our passports and documents, one by one, and, on being satisfied, put the immigration stamp on our passports. We were informed that this would serve as our green card, until we actually received one. We were then directed to another counter for finger printing and submission of the sealed envelopes. The blue forms were also stamped and handed over to us.
The counter at one end of the row was meant for immigrants. The officer at this counter once again examined our passports and opened the sealed envelopes. I was asked questions about my job and the nature of duties that I would be required to perform. The officer carefully went through the documents that were in the sealed envelope handed over to him by us. Thereafter, our fingerprints were taken. While we were going through the process, an airport staff approached the officer and wished him Merry Christmas. He handed over a few chocolates to him and then enquired from us about the airline through which we had arrived. When we informed him about our flight details, he enquired about the kind and number of bags we were carrying. When I informed him about our baggage details, he pointed through the glass window, towards the conveyor belts and said that since ours was the only unclaimed baggage so far, he had put our bags together at a particular place. He wished us a Merry Christmas and walked away.
Once the immigration formalities had been completed the Officer looked up, smiled, handed over a chocolate to my daughter and wished us Merry Christmas. We then proceeded to claim our baggage. The airport staff, who had informed us about our baggage at the immigration counter earlier, was standing by our baggage. Once we reached to collect our bags, he wished us Merry Christmas and moved away.
At the exit, we were directed to another counter where we handed over the blue forms to the officer. She asked us specifically that the declaration signed by us was correct. On receiving our answer in the affirmative, our bags were put through the scanner. Once the scan was complete, we were signaled towards the exit.

We have just received our first H-1 quota receipt notice. That indicates the H-1 lottery is concluded.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2014. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption. After today, USCIS will not accept H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2014 cap or the advanced degree exemption.

See Details

Some folks are predicting that H-1 quota may last a lot longer than just April.

Remember also, if there is a lottery, ALL cases received by and including 5 April will be included in the lottery. As the regulation 8 CFR §214.2(h)(8)(ii)(B) states:
If the final receipt date is any of the first five business days on which petitions subject to the applicable numerical limit may be received (i.e., if the numerical limit is reached on any one of the first five business days that filings can be made), USCIS will randomly apply all of the numbers among the petitions received on any of those five business days, conducting the random selection among the petitions subject to the exemption under section 214(g)(5)(C) of the Act first. So, all five days will have "equal dignity."

Premium Processing for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions to Begin April 15, 2013

Released: March 15, 2013

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 cap on Monday, April 1, 2013. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked.

The cap (the numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2014 is 65,000. In addition, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap of 65,000.

Based on feedback from a number of stakeholders, USCIS anticipates that it may receive more petitions than the H-1B cap between April 1, 2013 and April 5, 2013. USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and notify the public of the date on which the numerical limit of the H-1B cap has been met. This date is known as the final receipt date. If USCIS receives more petitions than it can accept, USCIS will use a lottery system to randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit. USCIS will reject petitions that are subject to the cap and are not selected, as well as petitions received after it has the necessary number of petitions needed to meet the cap. The lottery for the H-1B cap was last used in April 2008.

In addition, H-1B cap cases can continue to request premium processing concurrently. Due to the historic premium processing receipt levels, combined with the possibility that the H-1B cap will be met in the first 5 business days of the filing season, USCIS has temporarily adjusted its current premium processing practice. To facilitate the prioritized data entry of cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing, USCIS will begin premium processing for H-1B cap cases on April 15, 2013. For more information on premium processing for FY 2014 cap-subject petitions, please see the USCIS Alert .

H-1B petitioners should follow all statutory and regulatory requirements as they prepare petitions, in order to avoid delays in processing and possible requests for evidence. USCIS has developed detailed information, including an optional checklist to assist in the completion and submission of a FY2014 H-1B petition. The processing worksheet is available on the USCIS website, www.uscis.gov.

U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, including, but not limited to, scientists, engineers, and computer programmers.

For more information on the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program and current Form I-129 processing times, visit the H-1B FY 2014 Cap Season Web page or call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.