Dear Friends,
As we all know that for many years there has been a logjam in the Congress where the critical mass of Members of Congress could not agree to consider piecemeal immigration bills. With the recent Executive Action on Immigration announced by the President in November, that
logjam has been broken. And now there seems to be a critical mass of lawmakers willing to consider piecemeal approach to immigration and they are willing to consider doing bills outside of Comprehensive Immigration bill.
In the 114th Congress starting in January 2015,
Republican leadership is seriously planning to bring up and prioritize high-skilled immigration bills in the House and the Senate. We have waited and prepared for this chance for last 9 years. It's been a long time in the making, 9 years. The stage is now set for the style of immigration bill that we have been waiting for.
We have been preparing for this opportunity for many years. We have done the ground work - we have advocacy infrastructure in place and we have friends with sympathetic ear on the Hill. As a result of our efforts over the years, folks on the Hill have a lot better understanding of our issues and they want to help us.
But as we know all too well from our past experiences, nothing happens by itself. Advocacy effort and policy improvements are all about timing and who makes the best arguments at the right time. In the coming weeks/months, there will be many groups working against increasing EB green cards. Also, most business groups will be focused on increasing H1 visas instead of fixing the backlogs/increasing green cards. Although we are well positioned, there is still a real and significant threat that we may not see green cards in the upcoming bills.
The House is getting ready to bring up SKILLS Visa Act from last year and it will increase (not decrease) green backlogs 10 times from the current level to 10 million legal skilled immigrants. (
See the bill summary)
To make sure that there are sufficient green cards in the upcoming bills in the House and Senate, we are sending out this SOS message asking everyone to do your part.
We ask that you take this as a top priority to step-up NOW and do your share. Here is how you can help and actively participate:
- In February 2015, Immigration Voice is organizing the most significant advocacy event of nine (9) years. This event will be in Washington, D.C. and we plan on having around 350 Congressional meetings with around 100 Immigration Voice members from across the country. Immigration Voice would like to invite you to join this most significant advocacy event in Washington, D.C. on February 8th, 9th and 10th. Please register by clicking here
- To organize such a large scale event, we need your help with contributions for this event. We cannot emphasize enough the importance and urgency of your contributions for the barrage of bills and activity we will encounter in the coming months
We would also like to share with you that for helping us navigate through the upcoming intense activity on high-skilled immigration bills,
Immigration Voice has signed up with one of the largest lobbying firm in Washington. For this, we need to raise significant funds for meaningful advocacy on your behalf. Your contributions will be the most important and most time sensitive investment you will make for advocacy of green cards.
Please carefully weigh-in the sense of urgency and intensity of this message. Again, we look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C. on February 8th, 9th and 10th.
We will WIN!
Aman Kapoor
