saimrathi
07-11 10:13 PM
I think there is a concern here.. please dont undermine it.. after all if we can remember what happened at the Indian Consulate (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/02/02/MNGHNNTLI81.DTL) It can happen anywhere....
Sensitive data dumped at recycling center
Indian Consulate tossed visa applications from business, political figures at S.F. facility
David Lazarus
Friday, February 2, 2007
Thousands of visa applications and other sensitive documents, including paperwork submitted by top executives and political figures, sat for more than a month in the open yard of a San Francisco recycling center after they were dumped there by the city's Indian Consulate.
The documents, which security experts say represented a potential treasure trove for identity thieves or terrorists, finally were hauled away Wednesday after The Chronicle inspected the site and questioned officials at the consulate and the recycling facility.
Among the papers were visa applications submitted by Byron Pollitt, chief financial officer of San Francisco's Gap Inc., and Anne Gust, wife of California Attorney General Jerry Brown.
"It's shocking and totally unacceptable," Brown said when asked about the incident.
Information on the documents includes applicants' names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, professions, employers, passport numbers and photos. Accompanying letters detail people's travel plans and reasons for visiting India.
"As we see it, the documents are not confidential," said B.S. Prakash, the consul general. "We would see something as confidential if it has a Social Security number or a credit card number, not a passport number."
But security experts say it wouldn't be hard to obtain someone's Social Security number using the information available in the consular documents. They also point out that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers used false passports, which wouldn't be hard to obtain using data and photos from the documents.
"This is absolutely sensitive information," said Charles Cresson Wood, a Sausalito information-security consultant. "It needs to be safeguarded."
Pratik Sircar, deputy consul general for the Indian Consulate, said the office on Arguello Boulevard processes visa applications and other paperwork for 14 Western states.
"We have a shortage of space," he said. "We keep this material for a year, and then we have to destroy it."
However, the consulate didn't destroy the documents. Instead, it hired a hauling company in December to cart the boxes to the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council recycling center near Golden Gate Park on Frederick Street.
The open-air facility is accessible to the public seven days a week. Anyone can walk through the gate and poke around.
"We thought it was their job to shred the material as soon as they got it," Sircar said.
Andy Pugni, general manager of the recycling center, responded that he doesn't know where the consulate got this idea.
"We take in paper, put it in large containers and ship it off for recycling," he said. "That's all we do. We don't shred."
Pugni added: "We assume anyone who brings stuff over here will be smart enough to destroy any sensitive materials. I wouldn't bring any of my own materials here."
Alerted by The Chronicle to the presence of confidential documents in a corner of the recycling yard -- many of the white boxes were clearly marked "visa applications" -- Pugni had a truck brought in to haul the papers to an East Bay company that will boil them down and recycle them as blank pages.
All that remained in the yard Thursday were remnants of the boxes.
But a sampling of documents obtained by The Chronicle indicate that the boxes contained confidential paperwork for virtually everyone in California and other Western states who applied for visas to travel to India between 2002 and 2005.
They also contained thousands of documents submitted by Indian citizens and people of Indian background residing in the region.
"It's hard to believe that this is how confidential information is treated," said San Francisco resident Farah Champsi, who was born in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, and requested copies of her birth certificate in 2005.
Her application ended up at the recycling center. "This is terrible," Champsi said.
Visa applications were submitted by current and former executives of many of the region's leading employers, including AT&T Wireless Inc., Oracle Corp., Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Williams-Sonoma Inc.
The documents illustrate the extent to which major U.S. companies have established operations in India or rely on India for key services.
A letter from Gap's then-CEO Paul Pressler accompanying the visa application for Pollitt says the company's CFO was heading to India for several days in April 2004 "for the purpose of visiting Gap Inc.'s sites and vendor facilities."
After the application surfaced this week, Pollitt said he found it "both astonishing and alarming to learn that basic safeguards were apparently not in place to ensure the privacy of my personal information.
"As a past victim of identity theft, I am painfully aware of how important it is to ensure personal information is well protected," he said.
Another Bay Area exec whose privacy was jeopardized is Rob Haragan, co-founder of NetDevices Inc., a Los Altos company that specializes in network security. Much of NetDevices' research is conducted at a facility in Bangalore.
Haragan, a former executive at Cisco Systems Inc., applied for a visa to travel to India in 2004. He estimates that he's since been to the country more than a dozen times.
He said he was surprised to learn that his application spent weeks at a recycling center.
"The consulate absolutely needs to correct this," Haragan said. "It's a breach of trust."
Brian Biega oversees storage of internal paperwork at Redwood City software giant Oracle, so he knows a thing or two about the proper handling of confidential documents. He, too, applied for a visa to visit India in 2004, and his application also ended up at the recycling center.
Biega didn't hesitate when asked how Oracle's famously truculent CEO Larry Ellison would react if boxes of sensitive information were left at a recycling center. "I'm sure I'd lose my job," he replied.
At the Indian Consulate, Consul General Prakash said there may be a cultural dimension to the level of outrage related to the incident among Western visa applicants.
"In India, I would not be alarmed," he said. "We have grown up giving such information in many, many places. We would not be so worried if someone had our passport number."
Deputy Consul General Sircar said that in other countries, Indian officials are able to go to the roofs of their offices and burn documents they're no longer able to store.
"In America, you cannot do that," he said.
Sircar said the consulate would find some other way to deal with its excess paperwork in the future.
Pugni at the recycling center said that shortly after he had the documents carted away, a representative of the consulate arrived at the facility.
"He apologized for everything," Pugni said. "Then he said he was on his way to Best Buy to pick up a shredder."
David Lazarus' column appears on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He also can be heard on Saturdays, 4 to 7 p.m., on KGO Radio. Send tips or feedback to dlazarus@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/02/MNGHNNTLI81.DTL
Sensitive data dumped at recycling center
Indian Consulate tossed visa applications from business, political figures at S.F. facility
David Lazarus
Friday, February 2, 2007
Thousands of visa applications and other sensitive documents, including paperwork submitted by top executives and political figures, sat for more than a month in the open yard of a San Francisco recycling center after they were dumped there by the city's Indian Consulate.
The documents, which security experts say represented a potential treasure trove for identity thieves or terrorists, finally were hauled away Wednesday after The Chronicle inspected the site and questioned officials at the consulate and the recycling facility.
Among the papers were visa applications submitted by Byron Pollitt, chief financial officer of San Francisco's Gap Inc., and Anne Gust, wife of California Attorney General Jerry Brown.
"It's shocking and totally unacceptable," Brown said when asked about the incident.
Information on the documents includes applicants' names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, professions, employers, passport numbers and photos. Accompanying letters detail people's travel plans and reasons for visiting India.
"As we see it, the documents are not confidential," said B.S. Prakash, the consul general. "We would see something as confidential if it has a Social Security number or a credit card number, not a passport number."
But security experts say it wouldn't be hard to obtain someone's Social Security number using the information available in the consular documents. They also point out that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers used false passports, which wouldn't be hard to obtain using data and photos from the documents.
"This is absolutely sensitive information," said Charles Cresson Wood, a Sausalito information-security consultant. "It needs to be safeguarded."
Pratik Sircar, deputy consul general for the Indian Consulate, said the office on Arguello Boulevard processes visa applications and other paperwork for 14 Western states.
"We have a shortage of space," he said. "We keep this material for a year, and then we have to destroy it."
However, the consulate didn't destroy the documents. Instead, it hired a hauling company in December to cart the boxes to the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council recycling center near Golden Gate Park on Frederick Street.
The open-air facility is accessible to the public seven days a week. Anyone can walk through the gate and poke around.
"We thought it was their job to shred the material as soon as they got it," Sircar said.
Andy Pugni, general manager of the recycling center, responded that he doesn't know where the consulate got this idea.
"We take in paper, put it in large containers and ship it off for recycling," he said. "That's all we do. We don't shred."
Pugni added: "We assume anyone who brings stuff over here will be smart enough to destroy any sensitive materials. I wouldn't bring any of my own materials here."
Alerted by The Chronicle to the presence of confidential documents in a corner of the recycling yard -- many of the white boxes were clearly marked "visa applications" -- Pugni had a truck brought in to haul the papers to an East Bay company that will boil them down and recycle them as blank pages.
All that remained in the yard Thursday were remnants of the boxes.
But a sampling of documents obtained by The Chronicle indicate that the boxes contained confidential paperwork for virtually everyone in California and other Western states who applied for visas to travel to India between 2002 and 2005.
They also contained thousands of documents submitted by Indian citizens and people of Indian background residing in the region.
"It's hard to believe that this is how confidential information is treated," said San Francisco resident Farah Champsi, who was born in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, and requested copies of her birth certificate in 2005.
Her application ended up at the recycling center. "This is terrible," Champsi said.
Visa applications were submitted by current and former executives of many of the region's leading employers, including AT&T Wireless Inc., Oracle Corp., Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Williams-Sonoma Inc.
The documents illustrate the extent to which major U.S. companies have established operations in India or rely on India for key services.
A letter from Gap's then-CEO Paul Pressler accompanying the visa application for Pollitt says the company's CFO was heading to India for several days in April 2004 "for the purpose of visiting Gap Inc.'s sites and vendor facilities."
After the application surfaced this week, Pollitt said he found it "both astonishing and alarming to learn that basic safeguards were apparently not in place to ensure the privacy of my personal information.
"As a past victim of identity theft, I am painfully aware of how important it is to ensure personal information is well protected," he said.
Another Bay Area exec whose privacy was jeopardized is Rob Haragan, co-founder of NetDevices Inc., a Los Altos company that specializes in network security. Much of NetDevices' research is conducted at a facility in Bangalore.
Haragan, a former executive at Cisco Systems Inc., applied for a visa to travel to India in 2004. He estimates that he's since been to the country more than a dozen times.
He said he was surprised to learn that his application spent weeks at a recycling center.
"The consulate absolutely needs to correct this," Haragan said. "It's a breach of trust."
Brian Biega oversees storage of internal paperwork at Redwood City software giant Oracle, so he knows a thing or two about the proper handling of confidential documents. He, too, applied for a visa to visit India in 2004, and his application also ended up at the recycling center.
Biega didn't hesitate when asked how Oracle's famously truculent CEO Larry Ellison would react if boxes of sensitive information were left at a recycling center. "I'm sure I'd lose my job," he replied.
At the Indian Consulate, Consul General Prakash said there may be a cultural dimension to the level of outrage related to the incident among Western visa applicants.
"In India, I would not be alarmed," he said. "We have grown up giving such information in many, many places. We would not be so worried if someone had our passport number."
Deputy Consul General Sircar said that in other countries, Indian officials are able to go to the roofs of their offices and burn documents they're no longer able to store.
"In America, you cannot do that," he said.
Sircar said the consulate would find some other way to deal with its excess paperwork in the future.
Pugni at the recycling center said that shortly after he had the documents carted away, a representative of the consulate arrived at the facility.
"He apologized for everything," Pugni said. "Then he said he was on his way to Best Buy to pick up a shredder."
David Lazarus' column appears on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He also can be heard on Saturdays, 4 to 7 p.m., on KGO Radio. Send tips or feedback to dlazarus@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/02/MNGHNNTLI81.DTL
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gcwait2007
02-29 01:38 PM
if you have EAD and 140 is approved (And 180 passed since 485filed), then why are you worried about H1 status ?
am I missing something here ..I let my H1 expire and am using EAD now.
I had another question - if one has EAD and 140 is approved (and 180 days passed and a person does not hav H1) - then how long can that person stay unemployed ? please reply if you know ..Thanks !!
I read in some other thread. I believe that you can be unemployed till you get I-485 approval. If I-485 is not yet approved, then you become out of status and in the case of no fall back upon, one needs to leave the country within 180 days.
am I missing something here ..I let my H1 expire and am using EAD now.
I had another question - if one has EAD and 140 is approved (and 180 days passed and a person does not hav H1) - then how long can that person stay unemployed ? please reply if you know ..Thanks !!
I read in some other thread. I believe that you can be unemployed till you get I-485 approval. If I-485 is not yet approved, then you become out of status and in the case of no fall back upon, one needs to leave the country within 180 days.
abhijitp
11-20 06:21 PM
I have updated my details
Please don't take this personally. I am not a core team member, and I have nothing against your idea!
However, your IV profile is still incomplete (no name, no phone number), please take a moment to update it.
On that note, please also join the North California state chapter (please find link in my signature) once you update your profile.
Thanks!
Please don't take this personally. I am not a core team member, and I have nothing against your idea!
However, your IV profile is still incomplete (no name, no phone number), please take a moment to update it.
On that note, please also join the North California state chapter (please find link in my signature) once you update your profile.
Thanks!
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niklshah
12-04 07:32 PM
i would be happy if every one has same playing field.. i am a pharmacist and for pharmacist they need Pharm D to get license which is equivalent to Ph.d. in US and we are still in EB3 and i think every one will agree that demand of pharmacist is much more than any other field...
more...
americandesi
11-20 07:05 PM
My plan is making the following
Movie - A full length feature with characters that represent our life (includes H1 to GC process) in US with humor
Documentary - A professional documentary on our issues like H1 quota problems, GC backlog processing etc.
As most Americans are not aware of employment based GC, I think a professional documentary makes more sense than a full length movie. (I wonder why Michael Moore didn't attempt this before :rolleyes:)
Portraying the GC limbo of skilled immigrants to Americans on a full length comedy movie would be like explaining Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity” in cartoon to a bunch of ditsy blondes. Infact, a few movie critics who might have vaguely understood the movie would comment like "Two thumbs up for an honest, emotional, funny and deeply moving portrait of ILLEGAL immigration” :)
Movie - A full length feature with characters that represent our life (includes H1 to GC process) in US with humor
Documentary - A professional documentary on our issues like H1 quota problems, GC backlog processing etc.
As most Americans are not aware of employment based GC, I think a professional documentary makes more sense than a full length movie. (I wonder why Michael Moore didn't attempt this before :rolleyes:)
Portraying the GC limbo of skilled immigrants to Americans on a full length comedy movie would be like explaining Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity” in cartoon to a bunch of ditsy blondes. Infact, a few movie critics who might have vaguely understood the movie would comment like "Two thumbs up for an honest, emotional, funny and deeply moving portrait of ILLEGAL immigration” :)
rsdang
07-16 09:31 AM
What is Ron basing his prediction on... I am not sure the trend says so... Can anyone please share his logic?
more...
krishna.ahd
03-08 10:01 AM
When I was hired last spring, I was not told about GC retrogression by my employer. I beleive they should have explained in graphic detail and if they done so I would not have left a good job and my home in Canada to move to an American nightmare.
I recently discovered that I have at least a 5 year wait as an EB-3. My teenage daughter will be too old to get a green card as a dependent and my wife is seriously depressed about not being allowed to work.
How many other people are as P-Oed as I am and is there a class action suit here?
Sorry to hear you didnt get the correct picture before joing the American Dream. Read information on IV Home page more about retro. IV team is working on these issues and hopefully you may get the GC sooner than 5 years.
I recently discovered that I have at least a 5 year wait as an EB-3. My teenage daughter will be too old to get a green card as a dependent and my wife is seriously depressed about not being allowed to work.
How many other people are as P-Oed as I am and is there a class action suit here?
Sorry to hear you didnt get the correct picture before joing the American Dream. Read information on IV Home page more about retro. IV team is working on these issues and hopefully you may get the GC sooner than 5 years.
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h1b_forever
06-04 09:46 AM
There are always going to be people who can not see other people succeed.
Anyday EB2 wait times are always going to be better than EB3, so if anybody has a chance to port they should. It does not make sense to rot in EB3.
If only my employer was so helpful.
Why are you jealous. Seems like he is qualified for EB-2 and applied it.
Buddy, I am in the same situation with an American company for which I am working since 2002. I applied in EB-3 (at that time per the job requirements). Company is ready to promote me but I am not accepting due to my EB-3. They decided to file labor for the future job which comes under EB-2. They filed it and waiting for approval.Once I get labor and 140, yes I will use EB-2 and take the promotion. How is this become an abuse, can you expalin? In my view if you get an offer for the future job in EB-2 category and not use that opportunity then that is called abusing yourself not the law.
What's wrong there other than making some people jealous.
Anyday EB2 wait times are always going to be better than EB3, so if anybody has a chance to port they should. It does not make sense to rot in EB3.
If only my employer was so helpful.
Why are you jealous. Seems like he is qualified for EB-2 and applied it.
Buddy, I am in the same situation with an American company for which I am working since 2002. I applied in EB-3 (at that time per the job requirements). Company is ready to promote me but I am not accepting due to my EB-3. They decided to file labor for the future job which comes under EB-2. They filed it and waiting for approval.Once I get labor and 140, yes I will use EB-2 and take the promotion. How is this become an abuse, can you expalin? In my view if you get an offer for the future job in EB-2 category and not use that opportunity then that is called abusing yourself not the law.
What's wrong there other than making some people jealous.
more...
abhijitp
07-05 08:52 PM
Use the template and email reporters.
Emailed about 200 media contacts using this template, slightly personalizing it.
Emailed about 200 media contacts using this template, slightly personalizing it.
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JazzByTheBay
12-19 04:09 PM
Prompted me to take some action... proof that such posts are indeed useful. :)
Called USCIS and opened a service request:
- over 30 days (July 2 filer), no biometric appointment for self and spouse
- Alien (A) number different on I-140 and I-485 for primary applicant (me)
- Got a referral number, call back if you don't hear from us within 45 days.
Customer Service rep could not provide any information about name check, etc. (Said IO will be able to provide that if they contact you... ).
jazz
Called USCIS and opened a service request:
- over 30 days (July 2 filer), no biometric appointment for self and spouse
- Alien (A) number different on I-140 and I-485 for primary applicant (me)
- Got a referral number, call back if you don't hear from us within 45 days.
Customer Service rep could not provide any information about name check, etc. (Said IO will be able to provide that if they contact you... ).
jazz
more...
sw33t
05-01 04:30 PM
Yes. The malicious code did not download any virus or inject any virus in anyone's system. All it did was to redirect the user via a popup to a malicious website. Antivirus scanners pick this up as a virus alert, but it is not. It is more of an annoyance than a virus attack.
I honestly cannot vouch for the millions of hackers and script kiddies out there that this won't happen but use a good Anti-virus scanner especially if you have kids at home.
Winner,
Yes I am the lazy blog owner who hasn't updated the site in a while.
:)
I honestly cannot vouch for the millions of hackers and script kiddies out there that this won't happen but use a good Anti-virus scanner especially if you have kids at home.
Winner,
Yes I am the lazy blog owner who hasn't updated the site in a while.
:)
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qesehmk
05-11 04:54 PM
Below is data of PD from last four years for EB2-I - only for Jun, Jul & Aug.
Except July Fiasco , I don't see dates ever moving forward in July VB; but they do move in August VB.
Has anything changed in spillover laws in last 1 year - which will explain this no movement in July but in August?
Jun 06 : 01JAN03 | July 06 : 01JAN03 | August 06 : U ---> No change in July. Aug backward
Jun 07 : 01APR04 | July 07 : C | August 07 : U ---> July Fiasco
Jun 08 : 01APR04 | July 08 : 01APR04 | August 08 : 01JUN06 ---> No change in July. Aug forward
Jun 09 : 01JAN00 | July 09 : 01JAN00 | August 09 : 01OCT03 ---> No change in July. Aug forward
Jun 10 : 01FEB05 | July 10 : ?????? | August 10 : ???? ---> Do your really expect forward movement in July?
Thanks.
Except July Fiasco , I don't see dates ever moving forward in July VB; but they do move in August VB.
Has anything changed in spillover laws in last 1 year - which will explain this no movement in July but in August?
Jun 06 : 01JAN03 | July 06 : 01JAN03 | August 06 : U ---> No change in July. Aug backward
Jun 07 : 01APR04 | July 07 : C | August 07 : U ---> July Fiasco
Jun 08 : 01APR04 | July 08 : 01APR04 | August 08 : 01JUN06 ---> No change in July. Aug forward
Jun 09 : 01JAN00 | July 09 : 01JAN00 | August 09 : 01OCT03 ---> No change in July. Aug forward
Jun 10 : 01FEB05 | July 10 : ?????? | August 10 : ???? ---> Do your really expect forward movement in July?
Thanks.
more...
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rcr_bulk
07-17 03:14 PM
Processing time URL changed to https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplay.do
I think they are updating the site. Look and fee has changed.
I think they are updating the site. Look and fee has changed.
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piyu7444
08-23 11:22 PM
I will provide all info. related to EB1 very soon. Who so ever is interested please send me your questions.......
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Marphad
04-03 11:02 AM
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24795
Thanks for contacting IV with your SOS.
An IV core member is going to be helping you to fix this with USCIS. Let us know if you need help. He already tried contacting you yesterday.
As IV grows maybe this is a help IV can extend to all its donor members and help them if they get in such extreme distress situations. This is one of the ideas we are thinking for our members in the donor group.
I appreciate your response even if the guy is not a donor. Great job.
Thanks for contacting IV with your SOS.
An IV core member is going to be helping you to fix this with USCIS. Let us know if you need help. He already tried contacting you yesterday.
As IV grows maybe this is a help IV can extend to all its donor members and help them if they get in such extreme distress situations. This is one of the ideas we are thinking for our members in the donor group.
I appreciate your response even if the guy is not a donor. Great job.
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learning01
05-26 01:26 PM
We have limited time and we have to achieve a lot. Our time and efforts should be utilized in a much better way, don't you agree? I appreciate your posting of your links. And what is your point? Include as a small comment or note at the top. It is easy for any one to 'google' conference, immigration and bill to come up with a few thousand good and relevant link. If I post a good number of them, one would definitely be lost.
Posting links should serve a purpose here. The primary purpose is achieving IV goals. A smaller purpose could be to see what the other side is saying, but my suggestion is to ignore them in general.
I went to both the links; one of the I understand is a Libertarian organization and the other radical left. As anyone can see, they don't represent the views of mainstream America. So, it is a waste of time and effort and above all a distraction here. That's my advice.
check these :
Posting links should serve a purpose here. The primary purpose is achieving IV goals. A smaller purpose could be to see what the other side is saying, but my suggestion is to ignore them in general.
I went to both the links; one of the I understand is a Libertarian organization and the other radical left. As anyone can see, they don't represent the views of mainstream America. So, it is a waste of time and effort and above all a distraction here. That's my advice.
check these :
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Devils_Advocate
05-26 11:37 PM
LOL, nice post.:D
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abd
05-24 01:07 PM
Jsut sent the fax. Thanks for your hardwork. We need to have to ammendment in bill.
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ivar
06-28 01:29 PM
Thanks everyone for all the information you guys provided. I successfully ported my Priority date.
bekugc
05-15 10:47 AM
apahilaj;
dont worry , you are correct.
for NJ people, EAD renewal mail has to be sent to Mesquite texas as per the latest EAD renewal instructions.
YOU sent it to the right place...
thanks
dont worry , you are correct.
for NJ people, EAD renewal mail has to be sent to Mesquite texas as per the latest EAD renewal instructions.
YOU sent it to the right place...
thanks
gccovet
04-23 01:19 PM
appealing/motion to reopen doesn't allow you to stay in USA.
If employer revokes 140 then no basis for getting h-1b extensions.
Can H1 be extended on basis that I-485 filled and pending for more then 1 year?
GCCovet
If employer revokes 140 then no basis for getting h-1b extensions.
Can H1 be extended on basis that I-485 filled and pending for more then 1 year?
GCCovet