Fighting Green Card Injustice With Green Kindness

Gandhigiri.jpg

Many of you commented or left news tips about the plan to give flowers to USCIS director Emilio Gonzalez, as a form of peaceful protest against the ridiculously unfair green card debacle. Approximately two hundred bouquets were sent. WaPo covers Gandhigiri:

They did it because that’s what Gandhi would have done.
Yesterday, their bouquets of purple roses, pink lilies and yellow daisies, which cost about $40 each and which were sent from all over the country, piled up on the immigration office’s loading dock at 20 Massachusetts Ave. NW, addressed to Gonzalez and stacked in columns taller than people.
The agency forwarded them to soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
“We know the reason behind it and understand the symbolism. We donated them in the same spirit in which they were provided to us,” said an agency official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lawsuit over the matter filed by an advocacy group.

Background, for any who missed it:

Green card applicants were given hope on June 12, when the State Department posted a bulletin offering H1B visa holders who had been stuck in a bureaucratic logjam an opportunity to take that last step needed to apply for permanent residency.
Thousands of engineers, doctors and other educated foreigners began a mad scramble to file their applications before the July 2 deadline.
Vacations were canceled, and lawyers were called in. Elderly parents in far-flung corners of the world stood in line for hours to get copies of birth certificates and immunization records.
Then, on the day of the deadline, the State Department retracted the bulletin. The USCIS, which processes the applications, said it had already met its 140,000-person annual quota for employee-sponsored applicants.

The most infuriating aspect of it all– people who are here illegally are now standing in the same virtual line for a limited and precious commodity. I can totally understand the pain; you do the right thing, follow the rules and then someone cuts in front of you– and you’re S.O.L. It happened when I tried to buy Pixies tickets a few years ago and that stung. I can’t imagine the anguish over this, which is 100x more important.

“Only someone with the saddest mind can do this,” said Ashish Mundada, 31, an information technology consultant who works in New York City. Mundada had persuaded his wife to cancel a trip back to India for a sister’s wedding to take advantage of what seemed like a brief window of opportunity. Mundada, like many other protesters, said he did not want any favors, just that his application be fairly considered.

Such beautiful kindness and grace:

They do not hold hard feelings against Gonzalez. “I’d like to thank him for the job that he does. I know it’s a thankless job,” Tekkedil said. “I just hope that he could understand our plight as well.”

Such sadness and anxiety:

Their uncertain status makes them fearful of notice. Anand Sharma, 35, a chip design engineer from Longmont, Colo., said she drives well under the speed limit on highways. “We are so scared. We just want to stay here.”
But they are weary of how their lives have been frozen in time. They must retain the same job title and income they had when they began the application process, which can last for eight years.

I don’t mind if the flowers achieve the goal, but I hope something does. This isn’t right.

84 thoughts on “Fighting Green Card Injustice With Green Kindness

  1. Neale – it’s not perfect there too. It’s a tradeoff, one has to put it in perspective is all I am saying. But when life does become hell here due to say immigration woes, interrupted electricity may be a better alternative but a lot of people don’t even consider the option. Goins back is not even an alternative considered, its blasphemy.

  2. From someone who has been through the process, it boils down to $$$ and an easy way out of competition for everything. Not sure how many of the commenters have applied for admissions to colleges/jobs in India over the past ten years. It is cut-throat. If one can make it out here, lifestyle is peaceful, you actually have a personal life and money in the bank. Yes, you can save in India but from personal experience not as much. I have worked in Desh for 5 yrs before I moved here. Not much is different with the work culture but I find quality of life here that I don’t find back home. I miss the people but you win some, you lose some. I did wait six yrs to get my GC, I can empathize with the anxiety, the frustration that people who sent flowers to USCIS face. It is like being between the devil and deep sea. It all evens out in the end.

  3. Here is the thing, at least something was done! these SOBs can just go on and do what they want, thats BS. The media should latch onto this.

  4. Tambram – you rented a tuxedo to meet with an immigration officer?

    In my torturous dealings over the last few years with Indian officials, I have always found that the best-dressed males in positions of authority were the least helpful, competent or accountable individuals. They invariably pass the buck, think themselves too uppity to perform the least service for you, have tea served to them constantly, take frequent breaks, lack any customer service skills or simple diplomacy, and frankly, exhibit a mental lethargy and vacancy that astounds me.

    If you can’t treat black people/women/people who aren’t dressed as well as you as equals, then please go back to India. At least you know that the incompetent well-dressed men serving you will be, in your estimation, worthy of you and your silly tuxedo.

  5. We can rant and rave about the good things in US and bad things in India and vice versa. Bottom line, It comes to the individual who makes the decision. I have seen people who uprooted the whole family and replanted them selves in India. How ever most of the people chose to stay in the US for a multitude of reasons. There are good things in both countries and any one has to pick one. What matters to the individual/family most influences his/her/their decision.

  6. Why want to come to the US?

    One thing I think of about India though is that it is so polluted and therefore you have the opportunity to lead a healthier life here.

    One way to answer the question, “why want to come to the US” is why did our parents want to come? For my father it was opportunity and a ton of a lot more money w/o the corruption.

    If you can’t treat black people/women/people who aren’t dressed as well as you as equals, then please go back to India.

    Why don’t they go back now? They have beautiful property there and I think they sometimes consider going back. But I’ve heard my mom say, that she just couldn’t deal with all the corruption and the trouble it takes to do something simple and it’s too hot. Well, I don’t think Tambram explicitly said that…but something about the tone of his comment, made me think the same thing.

  7. Tambram, re: your response to Neale. Wow – you’re a work of art. A potential poster child for the anti-immigrant movement. There’s this funny thing about the States, my friend. People worry more about whether a person can do a job, not if they have two chins.

  8. Sorry my post is messed up – I hope this makes it more clear:

    Why want to come to the US?

    One thing I think of about India though is that it is so polluted and therefore you have the opportunity to lead a healthier life here.

    One way to answer the question, “why want to come to the US” is why did our parents want to come? For my father it was opportunity and a ton of a lot more money w/o the corruption.

    Why don’t they go back now? They have beautiful property there and I think they sometimes consider going back. But I’ve heard my mom say, that she just couldn’t deal with all the corruption and the trouble it takes to do something simple and it’s too hot.

    If you can’t treat black people/women/people who aren’t dressed as well as you as equals, then please go back to India.

    Well, I don’t think Tambram explicitly said that…but something about the tone of his comment, made me think the same thing.

  9. Dai Rahul I was that exact person la. I was sitting at home & got the approval notice. btw your green card itself doesn’t show up. You get an approval notice in mail, it gives you enough time ( atleast 2 weeks ) to present yourself before immig officer to claim your gc. In that 2 weeks, if you are a fob with the usual connections, you can move mountains. I called a pal running his chota calif startup, asked him to put me on his payroll retrogressively 3 months so no suspicion aroused by immig, “paid” my wages for those 3 months to him, he then “paid” them back to me via legal paystub, which I then took to the interview.

    Yes. People like you did shady things to get Immigration benefits. People following the rules got shafted because of guys like you. Great! You are suited well to greasing palms, connections culture of India. You should have stayed there. Hope you get royally screwed not by

    a hot lily-white lady with flaming blond tresses in a teeny miniskirt, cumpleat Heidi Klum clone,

    but by

    an obese black woman with double chin

    in the near future.

  10. Tambram. Thanks for calling my BS. Now I know all of us who follow the law are idiots and you are the smartest one, who plays the system!

    Some of the people who filed for labor are stuck in it for years and they cant go anywhere else unless they are ready to start again with the new priority date, which basically means leaving your spot and going at the end of the queue. There are a few more valid points to counter your argument,but I am loath to give it you because afterall you know how to curse and when you have such a gift then who needs facts and logic and arguments!

    I envy you! and thats my last word to you on this.

  11. Now everyone knows Tambram did not do everything as the USCIS would want him to do. But I still think immigrating to US was his right and he got it. Its like stealing from a thief. Neither the system nor Tambram is perfect.

  12. 59, Ha ha ha you crack me up! junta is completely vela.

    thank god i got my green card, i thought i have the freedom to write i met 1 black person today if i did in fact meet 1 black person. Back in desh, if I met a dark lady who looks like Tun Tun, I will have to say, I have just met Aishwarya Rai! Otherwise they will lynch me. Here in USA atleast I thought I can be honest. No more. Ok I will do complete rewrite. My immig, she was a hot black woman with no chin, like that Halli Barry. No no let me play it totally safe. Ok here goes. She was a colorless woman, totally transparent, like one big block of ice. Because I don’t see color. Infact I don’t even see sex. So I’m not sure if it was a she or a he. It. Yes, that is right. My immig, It was a machine like the ATM machine. It was a black machine but it had one white button. I pushed that white button and it gave me one green card. I marvelled at the colorful American Technology and fell at its feet. It blessed me with numerous human children red yellow blue violet purple. They are running amuck in my pink kitchen bathing in my orange juice and playing catch with my green pepper. Happy ?

  13. I suspect it is either Tamil Brahman or the place Tambaram in Madras.

  14. But I still think immigrating to US was his right

    I don’t think anyone has a right to a GC just a privilege to apply for it.

    Its like stealing from a thief.

    He is stealing not from a ‘thief’ but from someone who is following rules.

  15. I could never hate a southie ; )

    You know what they say, bess. Once you go south… you’re too darn close to the Mexico border.

  16. Since the thread deals with GC and going back to India – Lets say you are well educated Indian male, have got a good job and working in USA. Now this being a modern era/generation you probably don’t want to marry a homemaker/housewife like your mother/grandmother was and moreover Indian females, being the new age/liberated woman, doesn’t want to be a homemaker. Now if that couple decide to go back to India how easy it is for both of them to get a satisfying job in the same city in India ? ( maybe SM should blog about the two-body problem (i.e long distance relationship) in US and also in India amongst desi couples in this new age )

  17. Flowers are silly — better to send some hijras to tempt Gonzalez.. Loosen him up with some fine Desi weed first….

  18. Now if that couple decide to go back to India how easy it is for both of them to get a satisfying job in the same city in India ?

    There are a few considerations here. If the wifey is someone who came from India post marriage and has a good degree by Indian standards and the dude does not have the GC, she probably has a much much better chance of finding a good job in India. If the guy has a green card and the wife has a good degree (i.e. a professional job oriented degree, we are not thinking fine arts or social sciences), I would rate the chances more or less equal. 3rd case, the liberated woman has a background similar to the guy, again if the dude can find a job the lady can too.

    Interestingly, no one has yet brought up the topic of returning because you want to add to the Indian growth, economy or something along the lines of nationalism for the place where one grew up.

  19. “Interestingly, no one has yet brought up the topic of returning because you want to add to the Indian growth, economy or something along the lines of nationalism for the place where one grew up.”

    As far as desis my age(20-25) are concerned, patriotism has been noticeably on the low… and materialism has been on an amazing high. Add to that the glorification of the west, and everyone is just waiting for their chance to leave. Frustration among the youth in India ranges from the corruption of the system to the conservativeness of society… to probably the most important, the competition. To get a seat at an IIM, you need to be in the top 98-99 percentile in your CAT exams, otherwise you end up with an MBA at a B-school, that is, if you even want to take it.

    At that point, one starts looking for an easier way to further his education/career, and that’s where the west comes into play… and frankly, once one gets used to the comforts of life here, and gets into the process of F1/H1B/GC, its rare that one chooses to go back due to patriotism.

  20. Tambram, your post #15 makes no sense. I just don’t get why you think you fd company A. Most of these companies agree to do you green card processing only after you work with them for 2 years. Then it’s a certain amount of time before the stage when you can leave the company (few months to a year). Let’s say a total of three years. So, for a mere 8000 bucks, they were able to lock you into being their employee for 3 years. During that time, they don’t even have to pay you a competitive salary (just needs to be a legal amount). No amount of money can buy them this sort of bonded labor from an American for three years. So, you’re the one what got fd by company A.

    And oh, nowadays, it’s very common for companies to say “hey, why do you need a GC now? You can work for 6 years on an H1-B. We can think about GC as you near that time limit.” Beautiful.

  21. I wonder if the goras are getting antsy about losing the America that created from a wilderness into a first world society to the browns of india and mexico. The next few years will be interesting…..

  22. Going back… Why would anyone with marketable skills and even a modicum of cultural roots not want to go back. India is in the middle of perhaps the biggest economic and cultural boom that any of us will see in our lifetimes.

    If money is your passion, there are more opportunities to make real money than one would ever see in New York or London. If its entrepreneurship, the untapped opportunities are immense. If development is your passion, you can be an agent in an unprecedented transformation. If its cultural vibrancy, you could be part of the development of a uniquely Indian post-modern culture.

    The more time I spend back in India, the more I realize that is where the action really is. Its really a no brainer.

  23. What does this dumb and sappy move have to do with Gandhi? Gandhi struck hard at the economic arteries of the British Raj. He was a total pain in the ass, hated by conservatives, lampooned in the right wing press. His actions cost mill workers in England their jobs, among other things. He wasn’t a silly, sentimental, purposeless creature as this flower-gesture would imply.

    Thank you – unless we can make the immigration issue hit the U.S. in the economic jugular, we will never really see true justice in this matter

  24. To all those people who have been shafted by the INS – come over to Australia. You can become a citizen in 3 years. Then you can apply for a special category work visa (mostly unfilled) to work in the USA.

    USA is great but at some point you have to say is it worth being jerked around. I decided not to be desperate.

    Sending flowers is not Satyagraha. A fast unto death is real Satyagraha. Will a fast unto death work in the USA? Yes, but how many men / women are willing to fast unto death. But it also needs to be co-ordinated with a media campaign. It needs just two or three persons to die before the mess gets fixed. Guilt is a very powerful weapon and works nearly everytime (not with the Nazis and Afrikaners!!)

    Immigration is political and needs to be dealt with politically.

  25. melbourne desi, if you keep making these open invitations, John Howard is going to put you on a boat and push you to Indonesia.

  26. To all those people who have been shafted by the INS – come over to Australia. You can become a citizen in 3 years. Then you can apply for a special category work visa (mostly unfilled) to work in the USA.

    or New Zealand. My uncle managed to facilitate the citizenship process with a few bucks under the table, and my aunt, managed to retain her citizen’s right to full and free healthcare despite living abroad for 8 years. That’s magic!

  27. Not Indonesia – most likely Nauru.

    We need more desis here so that we can consitute a voting bloc and I can stand for election 😉

    Oz is as big as continental USA excluding Alaska. Lots of wide open space with a booming economy. Plus , we have public healthcare 🙂 And my pet theme – no affirmative action.

    Like civilised nations we play the greatest game 🙂 This year India plays Oz in the boxing day test match – yippeeee!!!!

    On a serious note, immigration has been the highest in over a century. The govt is quite bullish on inviting skilled people over.

    If you apply from USA, time to get a green card is less than 1 year.

  28. While I do not approve of Ghandi, his tactics sometimes work, even in these times. Only good can come frome this.