{"id":1241,"date":"2012-12-07T05:27:15","date_gmt":"2012-12-07T05:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peerallylaw.com\/content\/view\/?page_id=1241"},"modified":"2021-04-20T02:21:17","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T10:21:17","slug":"open-letter-to-president-obama-and-members-of-congress","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.peerallylaw.com\/en\/content\/view\/607","title":{"rendered":"Open Letter to President Obama and Members of Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear President Obama and Honorable Members of Congress,<\/h2>\n

Over the course of the last few years I\u2019ve noticed an increasing trend with respect to US immigration practices. Scores of guest workers hoping to secure H1B visas have gone through the numerous steps involving legal immigration to the US, only to be denied through the 221(g). These 221(g) often given without cause, save for those with application errors or requiring extra paperwork. Resubmitting applications and obtaining extra paperwork is not without hassle however is quite understandable. What makes less sense is when guest worker candidates are issued 221(g) rejections with the ambiguous, indeterminable determination their claims require \u201cadministrative processing.\u201d Candidates are rendered utterly helpless to advance their claims and thrust into a virtual bureaucratic purgatory that is neither up nor down. Not to sound too dramatic, but for some of these candidates immigrating to the US to work on a temporary basis literally translate to feeding a family or starving \u2013 truly a matter of life or death. Others have American spouses and children and are separated from them for indefinite periods, faced with the options of asking their loved ones to surrender by expatriation that which all Americans hold dear and fight to protect, citizenship in the greatest nation on Earth, or accept the fact they may never reunite with their loved ones again.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Differences in Congress with regards to ideologies withstanding, immigration reform is something this country has had on its agenda since the 18th<\/sup> century. More contemporarily we have debated reform and tactics to achieve a truly fair process towards legal immigration with little to no progress. Recently in President Obama\u2019s State of the Union<\/em> address the topic of immigration reform was mentioned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
“Let\u2019s also remember that hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: the fact that they aren\u2019t yet American citizens. Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
That doesn\u2019t make any sense\u2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u201cBut if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let\u2019s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You see, an economy built to last is one where we encourage the talent and ingenuity of every person in this country. That means women should earn equal pay for equal work. It means we should support everyone who\u2019s willing to work, and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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President Barack Obama (State of the Union Address, 2012)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

And the year before:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\u201c[T]onight, let’s agree to make that effort. And let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people who could be staffing our research labs or starting a new business, who could be further enriching this nation.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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President Barack Obama (State of the Union Address, 2011)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

And before that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
[W]e should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system \u2013 to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nations.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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President Barack Obama (State of the Union Address, 2010)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This is by no means intended to be an assault on our Democratic President. In fact his predecessor, Republican George W. Bush said the following on immigration reform:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cAmerica’s immigration system is outdated, unsuited to the needs of our economy and to the values of our country. We should not be content with laws that punish hardworking people and deny businesses willing workers and invite chaos at our border. It is time for an immigration policy that permits temporary guest workers to fill jobs Americans will not take, that rejects amnesty, that tells us who is entering and leaving our country, and that closes the border to drug dealers and terrorists.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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George W. Bush (State of the Union, 2005)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The statements above, made by the two most recent leaders of the free world, bring the present legal immigration process and lack of reform into serious question. There are many reasons why the current spike in 221(g) denials seems immoderate. Understandably the high unemployment rate in US has indirectly shed a negative light on all types of visas that could displace US workers by bringing foreign workers into the US. However this is not necessarily applicable in most cases where 221(g) rejections are being issued. Most immigrants attempting to become guest workers in the US for temporary periods are highly skilled, and come to the US with at least a bachelors degree or higher. These are persons of extraordinary ability. Guest workers bring with them new thoughts and energy. With the current skills vacuum we\u2019re experiencing in the US in fields such as science and technology, granting temporary work visas to foreigners possessing the skills and education necessary to fill these vacuums makes a lot of sense. Not only do these guest workers pay taxes, thereby contributing to our instable economy, they bring with them knowledge and training that could go far in expanding industries like engineering, technology, medicine and other sciences. Some of these potential workers acquired their scholarship from US universities, only to be sent back then denied guest visas, thereby taking these skills to their native countries.<\/p>\n

It is no secret that science, engineering, medicine, technology, energy and related fields will be the ones America will rely on and turn to in order to remain the best of the best; the very precedent of all competing nations. America has already lost so much manufacturing, and now it\u2019s losing the lead in science. Until the US fills the skills vacuum, through years of progressive education reform, it seems not merely sensible, but vital for the US to welcome the brightest the world has to offer. If the US continues the trend of significantly reducing the amount of foreigners granted temporary work visas at a rate drastically faster than the rate in which it ensures its own citizens are properly educated and trained to fill these positions, the US will certainly lose its edge, as it has in the auto industry. Already we are seeing a great deal of American firms and organizations relocating and operating overseas, where skill and individuals to staff them are abundant. Highly skilled Americans, I\u2019m sure, would generally favor granting H1Bs to immigrants and have the opportunity to compete here as opposed to overseas where they cannot. The US cannot afford to wait for the education gap to fill in while other nations who have had the opposite problem, high education with little opportunities, become hubs for twentieth century innovation. Whereas the former statement may have sounded absurd at any time prior, it is now increasingly becoming a genuine concern as the US becomes less the \u201cLand of Opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something I have yet failed to mention, deliberately \u2013 as I have attempted to quell my propensity to overemphasize and overreact, is the unavoidable correlation of the sharp increase in 221(g) rejections and the common origin of the most oft-dismissed. A recent audit of USCIS immigration policies by the National Foundation for American Policy has found a sharp rise in the number of denials issued to petitioners of Indian origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cCountry specific data on new L-1B petitions indicate USCIS is more likely to deny a petition from an Indian-born professional than nationals of other countries. The denial rate for Indian-born applicants for these petitions rose from 2.8 percent in FY2008 to 22.5 percent in FY2009. The denial rate remained high for new Indian L-1B petitions in FY2010 at 10.5 percent, well above its historic levels, and rose to 13.4 percent in FY2011.\u201cIt is believed that denials at USCIS or at consulates, particularly involving Indian nationals, share the common attribute of new (unwritten) arbitrary standards that go beyond the statute and regulations.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u201cConcern that L-1B petitions for Indians have been singled out might be alleviated if the data showed other countries have experienced similar increases in the rates of denial for L-1B petitions with US Citizenship and Immigration Services. However, the data show that while other foreign nationals experienced an increase in denial rates for new L-1B petitions starting in FY2009, those denial rate increases were far lower than for Indian nationals. L-1 visa issuance declined at US posts in Indian FY2011 but rose overall in the rest of the world.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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National Foundation for American Policy<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Oftentimes these denials are issued at consulates, and as such are made at the determination of one person, one lacking oversight or accountability. With the growing tide of openly xenophobic tendencies in the US, it is not far-reaching to consider a good percentage of these consular dismissals to be further expressions of hatred and contempt toward those foreign-born, in this case those whose origins are from the Indian subcontinent.<\/p>\n

Today we are living in a nation in which one of the most damning condemnations of our president throughout his candidacy was that he was secretly a Muslim. Worse yet, is that the President was made to address this accusation again and again, disavowing any possible ties to anything Islamic. Just days ago a Republican frontrunner for president cited Obama\u2019s \u201cradical Islamic policies.\u201d Clearly, the US has lost an integral part of its own origin. With the exception of our indigenous brothers and sisters, we are a land made up entirely of immigrants \u2013 entirely. At one time, just generations ago, everyone was a foreigner, with their own cultural practices, customs and traditions. If we are selectively denying Indians guest worker visas, in the face of what they stand to contribute to our nation, then we have indeed not only forgotten the very foundation of our nation, but have hearkened back to the ugliest of times and practices in our nation\u2019s history. There was a time where the majority American citizenry was stirred to anger over what they deemed the \u201cyellow peril.\u201d Despite the fact that without them we would not have completed the transcontinental railroad system, such sweeping intolerance led to actual legislation barring Chinese immigration for a decade. The Chinese Exclusion Act, to date, has been the only US law ever to prevent immigration and naturalization on the basis of race. There is probably little chance of this type of legislation passing in this day and time, although such a bill would be redundant given our new, unwritten arbitrary standards in which the USCIS and consulates are using to deny petitions from the Indian subcontinent.<\/p>\n

One of the things we as Americans often boast about, as we should, is that we are a forward-moving nation; a progressive nation that is the beacon of freedom, equality and opportunity \u2013 but are we? Are we still that nation scores upon scores of immigrants, of new Americans, wept openly at the very glimpse of Lady Liberty? Does she still mean it when she says, with torch in hand and silent lips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Are we still that golden door? Who will hold that torch if not her, if not us?<\/p>\n

Presently, there is an online petition<\/a>to be signed by employers and employees who support a fair resolution to what many conclude are “Unfair” denials of these visas. This petition is gathering many signatures and will be submitted to the Members of Congress and the Obama Administration by the Shah Peerally Law Group PC<\/em>. The law group is advocating for fair legal immigration policies.<\/p>\n