National Committee on Immigration News Release No 9
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> National * Committee * on * Immigration <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
News Release #9509
Saturday, August 19, 1995
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The National Committee on Immigration is a coalition of Chinese Students,
Scholars & Professionals who work against the anti-immigration bill HR1915
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1. Update on Upcoming Lobby Days to Defend Immigration.................65
2. NJ CSS Meet US Representative to express their concerns on HR1915...25
3. Letters to editors..................................................40
4. Some basic facts about HR1915 (II).................................200
5. Who is John Bryant? What does Bryant's Amendment mean? .............23
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1. Update on Upcoming Lobby Days to Defend Immigration.................65
From: Lowell Sachs and Angela Kelley, National Immigration Forum
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT!
Sweeping restrictionist legislation(HR 2202, formerly HR 1915) is
likely to be marked up by the House full Judiciary Committee by the
middle of September. Once the bill gets reported out of committee there
is a strong possibility that it will move rapidly to the floor for a vote
by the full House. In the Senate, Alan Simpson (R-WY) is planning on
adding a legal immigration bill to his enforcement bill, S. 269, in the
very near future. The bipartisan support for immigration reform in both
the House and the Senate will make it extremely difficult to stop this
legislation once it heads for a vote.
THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW!
You can make your voices heard by coming to join us in Washington,
D.C. on September 11th and 12th for "Lobby Days to Defend Immigration"--a
massive, national lobbying effort. Many Forum friends and members are
joining forces to bring people to D.C. and deliver our message to the
nation's policymakers. Among the supporters of Lobby Days are: American
Immigration Lawyers Association, Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Services
of America, Church World Service, Organization of Chinese Americans,
United States Catholic Conference/Migration and Refugee Services,
National Council of La Raza, Rick Swartz and Associates, Catholic
Charities USA, Council of Jewish Federations, Mexican American Legal
Defense & Education Fund, and others. Following is a flyer with detailed
information on Lobby Days which you can use in your efforts to reach out
to local members. A quick update on scheduling and logistics for Lobby
Days appears below. More details, such as the exact locations of
briefings and other information, will be forthcoming as they develop.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: Monday, September 11th
9:00 - 10:30 am BRIEFING (Covers lobbying tips, a review of advocacy
materials, and a role-playing session)
12:00 - 1:00 pm PRESS BRIEFING (Tentative)
5:00 - 6:00 pm DEBRIEFING (A chance for advocates and participants to
regroup)
Tuesday, September 12th
9:00 - 10:30 am BRIEFING (For those who did not attend the briefing on
Monday)
5:00 - 6:00 pm DEBRIEFING (Provide opportunity to get together and share
information)
KEY POINTS FOR LOBBY DAYS:
Logistical
* Participants will be responsible for arranging their own visits on the
Hill.
* The first visits participants schedule with their Senator or
Representative should take place no later than 11:30 am.
Media
* Groups should be contacting their LOCAL MEDIA to let them know about
their plans to travel to D.C. for Lobby Days.
The Forum will be producing generic press advisories which can be adapted
for use with lical media.
Materials
* An advocacy packet on HR 2202 entitled "House Immigration Legislation
1995: Information and Analysis" will be available along with practical
information for getting around the D.C. area.
Promotion
* Participants should bring new citizens, immigrants and refugees with
them to D.C. to act as spokespeople and to help put a human face on the
issue. People should begin doing outreach to local groups now to get this
word out.
________________________________________________________________________
2201 Street, NE #220 Washington, DC 20002-4362
202-544-0004 . Fax: 202-544-1905
Posted by Xue Haipei, D.C.
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2. NJ CSS Meet US Representative to express their concerns on HR1915...25
On Aug. 17, Hu Sen from Princeton, me and Xu Yang from Rutgers, took part
in a town meeting which Congressman Frank Pallone sponsored at the County
Hall of South River NJ. We learned from Congressman Pallone's office
that he is going to have a town meeting on Aug. 16 to meet with people
in that town to discuss about the environmental problems. We thought it
is a chance to meet the congressman and put some influence on him on the
HR 1915 bill. Before the meeting, we prepared a letter to the congressman in
the name of Rutgers Chinese Students and Scholars Association and
Princeton Chinese Students and Scholars, expressing our concerns
on the bill. We didn't get the chance to bring up the issue to the congressman
until the end of the meeting. When we talked with him about that bill,
surprisingly he is pretty concious about the detail, except that he is
not aware of the fact that the bill also cuts significantly on high skill
immigrants. We brought up couple of details to him. Later he promised to
look into the detail of the bill, and expressing that he does not encourage
cutting on high-skilled worker.
We can say that this is a pretty sucessful trip. It's not that hard to
get access to those congressmen. We need to find out what they are doing,
and try to bring up our opinion to them. If people bring up the issue
many times to them, like this time Indian people also talked to him about
that previously, they will seriously think about it, and we may have more
chance to win the game.
Jun Cao, Co-ordinator of CSSA at Rutgers.
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3. Letters to editors...................................................40
I am shocked to learn the new changes (Bryant's laid-off Amendment) added to
the anti-immigration bill HR1915, now as it is called, HR2202. Everyone knows
how difficult it is already now, to apply employment-based immigration through
third preference (there are two years backlog right now). One must, as the
current Immigration Law requirs, to prove that
1) the applicant's ability is NOT higher than what the position requirs;
2) the wage of the applicant is NOT lower than the market wage an American
worker would take for that position;
3) after serious public advertisment, the employer could not find a suitable
American worker to fill in that position.
Now, one MORE string is to be attached - the wage should be 10% more, while
the applicant is waiting for a visa, and only God knows how long does it
take (maybe 10 years after all?). If HR2202 is finally enacted, then, bye bye
the employment-based immigrations!
I hereby urge all of our fellow students and scholars, to be moblized, under
the leadership of National Committee on Immigration, in co-operation with
ALL other organizations, to BLOCK the passage of this bill!
Thanks for the great effort made by National Committee on Immigration,
Association for Chinese Community Affairs (the successor of very impressive
CBS-IC led by Mi Mi Sr.), and other organizations. It is really our task of
every individual at the grassroot level, to make lobby efforts. Please keep
on your good work, the whole community is looking upon you!
A CSS resder, Anne He
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Thanks for your information about the anti-immigration bill HR2202. This
anti-immigration bill targets not only Chinese immigrants, but Vietnamese
as well. I would suggest your organization to reach out more, not only
Asians, but also Latinos, and ALL of the groups in the country. It is the
time we MUST speak up.
Thanks for your efforts, and please keep us informed.
Kim Ngugen
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4. Some basic facts about HR1915 (II)...............................200
By Luo Ning
As shown in the following discussion, the family-sponsored
immigration is under more severe attack from HR1915.
I. Facts on Family-Sponsored Immigration
FAMILY IMMIGRATION is how U.S. citizens and legal permanent
residents bring family members from other countries to live
permanently in the U.S. Citizens may bring their spouses,
unmarried children, parents (if the citizen is over 21 years),
married children, and brothers and sisters (if the citizen is over
21 years). Lawful permanent residents (LPRs) may bring their
spouses and unmarried minor and adult children. To begin the
process, the citizen or LPR must file a petition with the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, seeking an "immigrant
visa" for the family member.
FAMILY MEMBERS ELIGIBLE FOR SPONSORSHIP
CITIZENS may sponsor: LPRs may sponsor:
spouses spouses
unmarried children unmarried children
parents
married children
brothers and sisters
The INS divides the family members eligible for sponsorship into
two tiers:
1) those who are "immediate relatives" of U.S. citizens and
receive an unlimited number of visas each year, and
2) the rest, who fall into the "family preference system" which
places an annual maximum limit of 226,000 visas issued to these
relatives.
HR1915 now puts a cap of 330,000/year on the OVERALL NUMBER of
the family-sponsored immigration. In comparison,
the current number of immigration of the "immediate relatives" of
U.S. citizens is about 235,000 annually in recent years, that puts
the total family-sponsored immigration to 461,000 per year.
FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRANTS ENTER AS EITHER
IMMEDIATE RELATIVES OF U.S. CITIZENS,
OR THROUGH THE FAMILY PREFERENCE SYSTEM
Immediate relatives are the:
spouses
unmarried minor children
and parents
of U.S. citizens
who receive an unlimited number of visas each year
(approximately 235,000 have been issued annually in recent yeas)
HR1915 splits it into two categories:
(1) Spouses and minor children of US citizens (no direct limit)
(2) "Qualified" parents of US citizens
(the "qualification":
(i) if a majority of the sons and daughters of the parents are in the
United States; and
(ii) the parents meet the insurance requirements
"at least comparable to coverage provided under the medicare
program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act" and
"at least comparable to such coverage provided under the medicaid program
under title XIX of such Act for the State in which either the alien intends
to reside or in which the petitioner (on behalf of the alien under section
204(a)(1)) resides, throughout the period the alien is residing in
the United States")
The Family Preference System allows in:
unmarried and married adult children
and brothers and sisters
of U.S. citizens
and
spouses
and unmarried minor and adult children
of LPRs
(these relatives are eligible for a maximum of 226,000 visas each
year)
Under the FAMILY PREFERENCE SYSTEM, visas are distributed among
four different categories (called "preferences"), with the first
receiving top priority.
THE CURRENT FAMILY PREFERENCE SYSTEM AND PROPOSED CHANGES BY HR1915
U.S. SPONSOR RELATIONSHIP PREFERENCE # VISA ALLOCATION HR1915
U.S. Citizen unmarried 1st Pref. 23,400 visas/year, E*
adult children plus any visas left
(21 yrs or older) from the 4th Pref.
LPR spouses and 2nd A Pref. 87,900 visas/year Cut to
minor children 85,000
LPR unmarried 2nd B Pref. 26,300 visas/year E*
adult children
(21 yrs or older)
U.S. Citizen married adult 3rd Pref. 23,400 visas/year E*
children plus any left over
from the 1st and 2nd
Preferences
U.S. Citizen brothers 4th Pref. 65,000 visas/year E*
and sisters plus any left over
from the previous
Preferences
The second preference has two categories that provide a total of
114,200 visas per year, plus any left over from the first
preference.
* All four categories: 1, 2B, 3 and 4, are ELIMINATED altogether
by HR1915.
Since HR1915 proposes "no direct numerical limit on admission of
spouses and children of United States citizens", the world quota
of 330,000 will presumably satisfy this category first, with
the other two remaining categories (the spouses and children of legal
permanent residents and "qualified" parents of US citizens) use
the remaining quota. Since HR1915 puts a quota of 85,000 on
the the spouses and children of legal permanent residents,
it seems that the "immediate relatives" of U.S. citizens will
still have a little room (330,000 - 85,000 = 245,000) left over
above the current annual level of 235,000.
U,S. law also limits the number of visas that may be issued to any
one country in a year. This "per-country ceiling" (about
25,600 visas) represents the total number of family preference and
employment-based visas that may be issued.
When Visas Are Not Available: The law requires that preference
visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order the petitions
are filed. When there are more applicants applying for visas in a
preference category than there are visas available, the preference
category is considered "over-subscribed." Applicants must then
wait until a visa becomes available before they can immigrate to
the United States. Currently, there are delays in all the
preference categories. The length of the delays varies in each
category. For example, the wait for a third preference visa at
this time is two years, and almost ten years for a fourth
preference visa. This means that a brother or sister of a citizen
whose petition was filed in 1984 is only now getting the visa.
Similarly, a person applying today for a fourth preference visa
can expect to wait until the year 2004. In most cases, family
members must wait outside the United States until a visa is
available, and thus remain separated from their families.
II. Comments
(1) The little room left for the spouses and minor children of
US citizens will soon disappear as the overall immigration increases
naturally, and then they will start to take the employment-based
immigration quota. A few years down the road, a backlog may appear
after the "allowance" from the employment-based immigration is used up.
(2) Many parents of US citizens will not be able to come to join their
children in the US because they are not "qualified".
(3) The adult children of both US citizens and LPRs (Legal Permanent
Residents) will not be allowed to join their parents in the US.
(4) Brothers and sisters of US citizens will not be allowed to immigrate.
(5) About half of the current family-sponsored immigrants are from
Asian Pacific countries. Therefore they are the ones to be hurt
the most in reality. Although nowhere on paper it is written that
the HR1915 is based on racial consideration, the fact is that the
Asian Pacific American community in the US is the main victim of
this legislation.
It must be viewed within the historical perspective:
Due to the exclusion legislations against Asian immigrants (starting
with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882), the Asian immigration was
severely strangled for over half a century, during which large numbers
of Europeans immigrated to the US. The door of America was essentially
closed to the Asian immigrants until 1965. The Asian American community
has not been completely recuperated from the damage of the exclusion
period yet, now come another round of restrictions.
While the history of slavery of the African-Americans is well-known
and the necessity to right that wrong done in the past has been
well-recognized, little has been known about the racialist and inhumane
treatment toward Chinese and other Asian immigrants, who built the
railroads and made the California the foremost important agriculture
in the US, among many other great contributions to this country.
Right now, Asian Pacific American community happens to be the window of
this nation to the most dynamic and prosperous region in the world
--- the Pacifi Rim. It is a vital link of this nation to the economic
prosperity of the 21st century.
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5. Who is John Bryant? What does Bryant's Amendment mean? .............23
From: Jan Pederson, American Immigration Lawyers Association
John Bryant is a Democrat from Dallas who thinks there should be no foreign
workers on US soil.-- This guy is very dangerous and needs to hear from
H-1b employers, etc.
The new restriction on H-1B, as it is known now as the Bryant Amendment, has
made it even more unattractive to employers. Actualy the movement led by John
Bryant is to abolish H-1B altogether! How to interpret the message?
*No more green cards for aliens of extraordinary ability..
*No more green cards for "outstanding professors and researchers".
*No more green cards for "national interest" workers.
*No green cards for professionals with less than five years experience.
*No green cards for skilled workers with less than seven years experience.
Only you netters can stop the anti-immigrant railroad. Drop everything
and act now!!! Please remember that every letter and phone call to a
Congressman or Senator counts!
(edited and Posted by Association for Chinese Community Affairs)
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More info about HR 1915: ftp at superprism.net:/pub/acca
www at http://superprism.net:/~acca/
gopher://cnd.cnd.org/11/English-Menu/InfoBase/HR1915
Further inquiries or inputs send to hr1915@math.luc.edu
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Editor of this issue: Yi Yan
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with "sub" or "unsub" in the "Subject:" field, from your individual or local
network redistribution account. You may also send your local redistribution
address to hr1915@math.luc.edu. Committee on Immigration needs everyone of
your support to protect our community and rights.
ACCA's HR1915 infor-center through anonymous ftp at superprism.net:/pub/acca
or www at http://www.superprism.net:/~acca.
Also, please visit our CBS-IC infor-center, ftp superprism.net:/pub/cbs-ic
or http://www.superprism.net:/~cbs-ic.
National Chair of ACCA, Mr. Lin Huang (A.K.A. Mi Mi Sr.)
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In Germany, they came first for the Communists and I didn't speak up because
I wasn't a Communist; then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a Jew; then they came for the Trade-Unionists and I didn't
speak up because I wasn't a Trade-Unionist; then they came for the Catholics
and I didn't speak up because I am a Protestant; then they came for me, and
by that time no-one was left to speak up. --- Martin Niemoller ---
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