I always warn my mother not to bring pickles when visiting here from the des. [Here's why] (tip Runa via email)

A suspicious piece of luggage that the Columbus Bomb Squad detonated Tuesday night at Port Columbus International Airport turned out to be a canister filled with pickled mangoes.
You see Indians are much more conscientious about recycling. So when we are done with a jar of baby food, instead of tossing into the garbage, we recycle. We use it as a container for pickles. Apparently, TSA authorities find such recycling …

Is the great American H1B1 dream dead?

I don’t know how this escaped my notice .As of July 2008, the USCIS has revised list of vaccines required for applicants seeking to adjust status to become legal permanent residents. For those of us who have gone through the process earlier, its not out of the norm to be asked to produce vaccination records or to undergo a TB test. But tucked away in the list of mandatory vaccinations for immigrant women wanting to adjust their status is this one: Human papillomavirus.As far as I know , the only …

A Senator from a state not exactly among the top when it comes to the number of H1B visa holders, is quickly becoming H1B holders enemy numero uno, Sen. Charles Grassley.
When Microsoft announced layoffs for the first time in it’s history, Grassley couldn’t resist chiming in with his expertise on H1B visas (or lack thereof) and demanded that they layoff H1B visa holders before US citizens. [Read Steve Ballmer's response to Grassley] (Sidhu via email)
Agreeing with Ballmer’s reasoning was CEO of the popular networking site for professionals, Reid Hoffman of …

I’ve been meaning to blog about the rising in protectionism on display here in the US. In the meanwhile, here’s the other end of the spectrum. [PTI] (tip Sidhu via email)
Terming as “discriminatory” the US move to bar firms receiving government bailout from hiring Indian and other foreign workers through the skilled worker visa (H1-B) programme, the VHP today threatened to boycott goods of US-based MNCs in the country.
Not to be content with foot in mouth, they insert other foot in mouth also.
“If Green Card holding Americans-Indians think they are …

You can now enlist in the US military. [NYT] (tip Karthik via email)
Uncle Sam(ir) wants you
Fighting a war on two fronts and faced with a growing need for manpower, the US military is now reaching out to immigrants on temporary visas like the F1.
So who qualifies for this program?
the new effort, for the first time since the Vietnam War, will open the armed forces to temporary immigrants if they have lived in the United States for a minimum of two years, according to military officials familiar with the plan.
The upside …

Breakthrough, a human rights media org, sends us this story of a gay HIV+ South Asian immigrant and the harsh struggles he experienced while in detention.

Traveling between US and Canada with your personal or office notebook computer? Think again. Homeland Security has issued broad and sweeping powers to border security agents empowering them to seize travelers’ laptops and other electronic devices without suspicion of any wrongdoing for an unspecified period of time. It is unclear at this stage if this also extends to immigration checkpoints within the country at airports (JFK, Atlanta, for instance) but certainly seems like a possibility. [Reuters]

Immigration, business and economics work in weird ways. Point in case, Alberta (in Canada for the geographically challenged) is trying to woo H1B holders, while the US immigration policy makers are doing their best to cut down on the number of H1Bs. [Philly.com] [via]
Alberta is wooing H1B holders with cheesy shots of its picturesque downtownimg: via Philly.com
On one hand, Alberta seems to have a lot to offer in terms of quality of life, infrastructure and employment opportunities.
An oil boom. A robust economy. Universal health care – free next year.
….
There’s more. …

Premium processing for some I140s
Potential good news for those who’re labor certified but approaching the end of their 6 year quota for H1B visas. Starting today (June 16th 2008), USCIS has announced plans for premium processing for I140 (permanent work permit). [USCIS]
The I140 will be processed within 15 days for a fee of $1000.
Desis held in immigration scam
7 desis in NJ linked with an IT company have been held on charges of running an immigration scam. [ET]
New Jersey-based Nilesh Dasondi has been charged with using his CyGate Software and Consulting …

Trivia question: What does a nerdy pot bellied software engineer from India have in common with a lithe nubile hottie from Eastern Europe who walks the ramps of NYC?
A: Both are here on a H1B visa. [Information Week]
Apparently it’s not just software engineers who’re “stealing American jobs”. Shame on you, oh 5 foot 11 busty blond Victoria’s Secret catwalker.

The recent USCIS decision to extend OPTs from 12 months to 29 months is being challenged in court by the anti-H1B lobby. [ComputerWorld]

At their wits end, faced with the fiasco that is the H1B visa quota and the subsequent random lottery, employers and immigration attorneys are trying to come up with creative alternatives. One of these includes the H3 visa, which has a separate quota and will allow the applicant enter the US as a trainee instead of full time employee. [PRWeb]

Remember the great H1b gold rush from last year? The number of applicants exceeded the allocated quota in less than 48 hours after the USCIS started taking applications. [Über Desi story from 2007]
This year is no different. [NYT]
USCIS had the proverbial application window open for 5 days and received nearly twice the number of applications (163,000) compared to open spots (85,000). 65,000 visas go to foreign workers currently outside the nation and 20,000 to first time applicants currently in the US, namely students on F1 visas.
Meanwhile, some politicians backed by …

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the ridiculously short OPT timeline for students on a F1 visa from 12 months to 29 months. [link] [Press Release] (Sai -> Karthik via email)
“This rule will enable businesses to attract and retain highly skilled foreign workers, giving U.S. companies a competitive advantage in the world economy,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “By extending the training period by an additional 17 months to students who are employed by businesses enrolled in E-Verify, we are further ensuring a legal workforce in the U.S. …

I often refer to myself and my fellow FOBs* as “first generation” invariably leading to emails and passing remarks from friends and acquaintances questioning the validity of the term “first generation“. The other side of the aisle invariably argues that first generation refers to the first generation of children of immigrants. This is my opinion on who is a “first generation” immigrant and who isn’t and I partially use Wikipedia since I’ve not been able to find any solid references in either side of the argument.
There seems to be consensus …

Several film industry personnel in South India are on the US blacklist after a visa scam was unearthed. The scam was simple and effective, people were paying movie industry contacts money so they could pretend to work on a movie in the US, entered the US on a temporary visa and stayed on illegally. To the movie aficionados, Flora Shiny, was supposedly one of those busted in this scam. [link]

There was plenty of windex, fo shizzle.
It all started with an innocuous looking envelope in the mail from USCIS. In the envelope was a place and a time and a not so veiled threat to “be there or else …”. There comes a time in every immigrant’s life in the US and A, when they’re fingerprinted. There are two ways of looking at this:
1. “Oh cool! I will soon be getting permanent resident card, more popularly known as the green card. Even though it says permanent it’s only good for …

Stuck with a piece of paper, my worst night mare right now is getting pulled over and being asked for my drivers license. The piece of paper is my temporary drivers license and I have two of those.
Every person hates the DMV, the long lines, the incoherent procedures and the underpaid over worked staff are just the tip of the iceberg for non-immigrants. We have to carry our entire life’s worth of documents in our back pack every time we visit these offices to do any business.
Curious Cat, pointed us …

People of Indian origin living in Kenya, mostly Gujaratis, are feeling the effects of the ethnic violence sweeping the nation after last week’s election results were announced, but are largely safe. [link]

People of Indian origin hard hit by riots in Kenyaimg: via CNN-IBN

The violence in Kenya seems to read like it was right out of an Indian newspaper. Supporters of the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, are upset over the victory of President, Mwai Kibaki, because they believe he was cheated of victory and have gone on a rioting spree. It …