The Rise of Expectation

I recently visited India, and as everybody knows was amazed by the optimism of the young Indian Professionals. They work hard, six days a week, and speak of India overtaking the world. Yet I cannot but feel that this exuberance is overblown, perhaps created by Indian media. The young middle class Indians feel they are at par with America. Yet here are the things that my Western eyes found are hindrances to its growth.

Population and Poverty---- The Young Indian Professional is completely blind to the millions of people barely subsisting on the "other side of the track." In Mumbai, there were blind children begging for a morsel of food from a fat middle aged women holding some fried pakoras. She promptly got into her car and her husband nearly ran over the little girl. Yes, I know that beggar kids are a business in Mumbai, and you can avoid them; but do you have to be mean? The haves simply do not even recognize the existence of the have nots. I would vote any day for China's one child policy.

Traffic---- Everyone gets a car, no one builds roads. The traffic jam situation is horrible. So are the dirty roads. Strangely India is more kind to their stray animals than people. Cows, dogs, monkeys, people just live, eat, defecate on the roads creating health hazards galore.

Expectations---- India has money. Yet the conditions are so bad. We in the US would complain bitterly and not accept these conditions and thus they would not happen. yet people in India take this lying down. Whatever money India has is enough to build roads, feed people, etc. But it is being stolen by corrupt politicians and their innumerable 'meetings". I was in Kolkata for 4 days. In one of those days there was a massive rally in the center of the town, paralyzing the traffic in the City. There was no elections coming up. I was told they have this situation at least every 15 days. Yet the corrupt politician get away with almost everything fueled by money from rich business people. Unless this is stopped, India will never achieve first world status.

As someone once said, "china is rising because of their Government, India is rising despite their Government." If this is the price of democracy, to hell with it. Self Government cannot be condoned for Corrupt Government.

For more information contact Houston Immigration Lawyer or Houston Immigration Attorney, Annie Banerjee

Can't we all get along?

Its a New Year- a time for a new better beginning. And with the Republicans winning most states, there will be plenty of anti immigration related bills in at least 6 or more states, following the lead of Arizona. The Republicans feel that since the federal Government won't do anything, it will be left up to the states to enact and enforce tough new immigration laws. The laws range from denying illegals right to public colleges to denying birthright citizenship to children of illegal immigrants.

It is not in anyone's interest to enact these punitive laws. The Republicans will loose the support of certain business interests. A coalition of business groups, including certain Chamber of Commerce is opposed to enacting punitive measures because certain businesses will not be able to find workers. US Citizens don't work in such jobs as poultry or construction--- hard jobs--- when they can collect food stamps, etc and survive on that. The increasing Hispanic population, which will be a major voting block in the future will also be opposed to punitive anti immigration measures.

Thus it is time for the feds, and Mr. Obama to enact a comprehensive Immigration bill. And by Comprehensive I mean both legal (mostly business immigration) and illegal immigration. Unlike the health care bill, this time the House controlled by Republicans will not bow down to an entirely Democratic agenda.

President Obama showed that he can be flexible and concede to some Republican demands. The Republicans want to better business immigration, while the democrats care about illegal people. Hopefully now that the house is Republican, and the Senate Democratic, we will be able to reach a happy median.

For more information contact Houston Immigration Lawyer or Houston Immigration Attorney, Annie Banerjee

Thanksgiving

I wonder if this Thanksgiving, somewhere a little child in Mexico will have food because his father works very hard, day in day out as an illegal worker here

I wonder if somewhere in India a dying father will get medical treatment because his son is working at an H-1B job, staying far longer than other US workers, and after work going home and saving the money

I wonder if somewhere in US, a first generation parent will be offering thanks because her child got into the ivy league in early decision

I wonder if somewhere in the US, a wife of an immigrant soldier will heave a sigh of relief that her husband is still alive trying to defend this country

I wonder if somewhere in the US, a foreign student will graciously pick at his turkey, when his friends invite him to Thanksgiving dinner, even though the meat does not appeal to his taste buds

I wonder how many families will infuse their turkey with masala, vodka, chorizo, or dashi


To all the hard working people of this country, Thank You

For more information contact Houston Immigration Lawyer or Houston Immigration Attorney, Annie Banerjee

Request for Evidence in Immigration Cases

Generally in an Immigration Petition, the burden of proof is on the applicant or the Petitioner. The petition is filed usually with the forms, supporting letters/briefs and copies of documents to prove the elements of law. Unless there is some evidence in the petition that prima facie negates the elements of the law in a case, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) cannot deny the petition without due process. Thus they issue "request for Evidence" or RFEs. Although RFEs are supposed to give the applicant due process rights to prove their cases, the CIS Officers use it for anything and everything, and the RFEs vary in intelligent quotient with the IQs of the officers. Here are some weird reasons for the RFEs:

Officers need more time

Some Officers use it for additional time, and give a template with an exhaustive list of things way beyond what would be normally necessary for the petition. They know that the applicant will take time gathering all these thousands of documents and meanwhile its not the officer's fault that the petition has not been adjudicated

Officers are Either Stupid or Lazy or Both

These are the DUH RFEs. I have been asked by the Texas Service Center to prove that Breast Cancer research is National vs Local in scope for a National Interest Waiver Case. Does Dallas have those little pink ribbons for Susan Komen Foundation every October? An Immigration Attorney friend of mine was asked, "whats the difference between Cylon and Sri Lanka?"

Officers are Plain Lazy

There are ample instances where if the petition is little thick, the officers will simply ask for documents that are already in the original petition.

Officers have not met their denial quota

I don't know if there is such a quota, but some RFEs are so lengthy, you can tell that the officer is fishing for any reason to deny the case.

Currently the standards for RFEs vary enormously. However the CIS is looking into standardizing RFEs, if that is they can be standardized. But standardizing RFEs is just one equation, inputting common sense into the officers are easier said that done.

For more information contact Houston Immigration Lawyer or Houston Immigration Attorney, Annie Banerjee

When life, liberty and property goes by Government mistake

The purpose of modern democratic Government is to look at the welfare of the Public. It is not to hang people, it is not to deport people, it is to protect people. Yes, the Government should enforce the law, but they do not have the right to restrict the life and liberty of innocent people. Yet very often that's what happens.

Recently, the Innocence project of New York uncovered that a man executed in Texas in 2000 by a proof of a single strand of hair was a mistake. The hair did not match DNA evidence. The New Yorker Magazine last summer also uncovered how a Texas man was put to death for a fire that killed his children, a fire he did not set. Not only did he loose his children, but he also lost his life falsely at the hands of the Government.

Similarly TRAC came out with a report that of all the persons that ICE seeks to deport, the judges have found 33% were wrongly held. Many people born here cannot speak the language, and are assumed to be illegal. If ICE is doing such a poor job, I shudder to think what Arizona will do.

Yet when the country was founded, it was founded to ensure that the Citizen's life liberty and property were protected. The founding fathers guaranteed that in our Constitution. Yet more and more we are moving away from a benevolent state to one were laws are enforced sometimes unfairly.

For more information contact Houston Immigration Lawyer or Houston Immigration Attorney, Annie Banerjee

Elections and Immigration

The elections are over, and voters have chosen overwhelmingly Republican candidates. Steve King would probably become the next chairman of the House committee on Immigration.

He is fervently anti immigrant. He believes that illegal immigrants are all terrorists, and that they have killed more Americans than Iraq and Afganistan combined. He hates Muslims. And yes, he loves the Arizona Immigration Act. A model Republican.

Will he change? Will he attempt any Comprehensive Immigration Reform? That all depends on what the voting climate is, about a year from now. If the Republicans maintain their "just say no" policy, voters may get frustrated. Also if the economy improves, the general public may want to have immigration reforms. Then he will certainly change colors.


For more information contact Houston Immigration Lawyer or Houston Immigration Attorney, Annie Banerjee

The Image Program

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a program called IMAGE (ICE mutual Agreement between Government and Employers.) The program is designed to prevent employers from hiring illegal workers.

It is a voluntary program whereby the employers participate in E verify and Social Security Verification Service and train their personnel in "Image Best Practices."

There is a report out that two Houston Area businesses joined IMAGE. One is a Maintainance and Costruction Company which does exclusively federal Government services, and the other is a staffing agency which provides high level jobs. Obviosuly both these businesses cannot hire illegal workers. So its easy for them to sign on.

But the businesses that cannot find workers--- restaurants, poultry, general construction, etc, will not sign on. They prefer to have American workers, but those workers dont work hard, and charge too much.

If there were no jobs in the US for the illegal people, they would not be here. But there is. They do the jobs that American people would rather collect welfare than do.

For more information contact Houston Immigration Lawyer or Houston Immigration Attorney, Annie Banerjee