Blog entries

Proposed EB-6 Startup Visa is a No-Brainer

swilson@101freeway.com — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:51:41 +0100

Last week, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the “StartUp Visa Act of 2010”, designed to attract wealthy immigrant investors to the United States.

If passed, the law will create a new visa category called the EB-6 Visa for foreign national entrepreneurs that builds on the existing EB-5 category. EB-5 visas are for aliens that directly invest a minimum of $1M and create at least 10 jobs. According to Richard Lugar:

"Our country should strive to attRead More...

Compromising on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

swilson@101freeway.com — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:45:56 +0100

America cannot let comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) go the way of health care reform.

Unlike health care, there are relatively few special interests whose profits depend on immigration reform failing. Although this does not mean the end of ideological rhetoric (particularly from conservatives), it could mean less fear-based television advertising geared to misinform gullible Americans. But I see relative lack of corporate unity against immigration reform as an opportunity for a trRead More...

Coal-state Dems oppose global-warming rules

RuthBauman@mailinator.com — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:56:56 +0100

According to: essay writing service - Eight Democratic senators from industrial states are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate pollution blamed for global warming.

In a letter written by Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the lawmakers said the agency lacks the power to restrict greenhouse gases. Their opposition could pose a blow to the Obama administration's anti-pollution efforts.

The letter was signed by Democrats Mark Begich of Alaska, RoberRead More...

Rate Your Green Card Lottery Service

swilson@101freeway.com — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:37:06 +0100

As luck would have it, I ran into a Chilean named Enrique Arroyo this past week here in Albuquerque's One-Up lounge. When I mentioned that I co-authored "Win the Green Card Lottery", I got an earful.

Enrique entered the diversity visa lottery (DV-2011) in October 2009 using a paid lottery service -- one he randomly picked via a Google search for "green card lottery". Unfortunately, he paid them several hundred dollars via credit card for a 5-year "VIP service" after he received a tRead More...

Complete Text of Sarah Palin’s Tea Party Convention Keynote Address

swilson@101freeway.com — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:42:25 +0100

Since our last article on Sarah Palin her apparent popularity has continued to escalate. She has been given a job as a Fox News contributor and was paid $100,000 to be the keynote speaker at the recent Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

Why should we care about Palin? Well, anyone who purports to be a populist possible Presidential candidate needs to be thoroughly vetted for his or her views. And in this case, we want to know exactly how she feels on comprehensive immigration reforRead More...

Is Comprehensive Immigration Reform Dead in 2010?

swilson@101freeway.com — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:40:08 +0100

I didn't hear much in Obama's State of the Union message to encourage those hoping for comprehensive immigration reform in 2010. In fact, Obama devoted only these 38 words to immigration:

"… And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system to secure our borders and enforce our laws and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation."

The administration, bruised and battered from the ongoing health care refRead More...

Calls to End the Diversity Visa “Green Card” Lottery are Premature - Part II

swilson@101freeway.com — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:36:55 +0100

In my last op-ed I discussed one of several recent articles that portray the annual diversity visa lottery in a negative light, and wrongly associate green card lottery winners as welfare recipients, with fraud and terrorism, or take jobs away from Americans. This part will debunk these myths and offer a possible solution to the jobs issue.

First, everyone supports planned changes to visa screening procedures. This will likely include increased cooperation between countries, sRead More...

Calls to End the Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery are Premature

swilson@101freeway.com — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:38:44 +0100

I was disappointed by a recent article by Fox News entitled, “Thousands from Terror-Sponsoring Nations Entering U.S. on Diversity Visas”. Writer Joseph Abrams recommendation to terminate this popular program following the hysteria over the foiled Christmas bomber plot represents the kind of knee jerk reaction that advances the views of nativists and others that seek to block comprehensive immigration reform.

The specific details of the diversity visa (green card) lottery areRead More...

A View from Kenya on Global Warming

swilson@101freeway.com — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:08:48 +0100

As the meeting ended in Copenhagen, we in Kenya are assured by our prime minister that something must be done. Here, we have people planting trees and conserving the environment. Non-governmental organizations and the European Union are very willing to conserve the environments by providing funds.

What is the Proposed Prevent Unauthorized Migration (PUM) Visa?

swilson@101freeway.com — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:20:29 +0100

The “Prevent Unauthorized Migration" (PUM) visa is a newly proposed visa outlined in Sections 317 and 318 of H.R. 4321 -- the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP) bill, sponsored by Congressman Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois. For a summary of CIR ASAP please see here. The complete text is available on our immigration reports page.

If enacted, the PUM visa will provide 100,000 visas annually to natives from countrRead More...

CAP Proposal Links H-1B Visas with Demand

swilson@101freeway.com — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:47:27 +0100

As you may know, H-1B visas are a type of non-immigrant temporary visa given to foreign workers in “specialty occupations” including: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (a.k.a. the “STEM” fields). Currently, the maximum number is set at 65,000 visas each fiscal year -- or 85,000 if you also count those reserved for individuals with advanced degrees.

In past years, available numbers were filled within the first week. For example, the cap was reRead More...

Global Warming

swilson@myusai.org — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:04:47 +0100

I was glad to see the Climate Talks in Copenhagen propose a system to preserve rainforests. This is a very positive step that may also help improve the economies of impoverished third world countries with substantial forests. I know this has very little to do with immigration. But does it?

If you believe in global warming; sorry--"believe" not a good term--"accept the science of" is better. If you accept the science then you should accept in inevitability of climate chanRead More...

Obligations of Democracy and Joe Lieberman

swilson@101freeway.com — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:14:40 +0100

In my last article I discussed how denying health care coverage to the poor undocumented will end up costing all of us more in premiums. But today Joe Lieberman positioned himself to be the most important person left standing in the historic national debate on health care reform by threatening to derail the entire bill and kill much needed Medicare reform necessary to control costs.

Because of this remarkable stunt many believe he was unduly influenced by the insurance businesRead More...

Whence Health Care for the Undocumented?

swilson@101freeway.com — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:31:50 +0100

In my last article, I explained how Republicans, by uniformly blocking health care reform, end up in the ethically challenged position of supporting the right to life of fetuses over the right to survival of poorer fellow American citizens without health insurance. But what about the health of the undocumented?

Although we in no way support illegal immigration, common sense suggests we figure out how to manage the health of those already here. The House version of the proposed health caRead More...

Republicans Fall From Their Moral Tightrope

swilson@101freeway.com — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:36 +0100

Whether you are an immigrant to the United States or not, you will be affected by the outcome of the current Senate debate over health care reform. In our last commentary on this subject, we described how Republicans, backed by Fox News, shamelessly misinform gullible Americans based on partisan ideology and ratings, not facts. But today, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released an analysis confirming the right is indeed wrong (again).

Here’s what they found: 1) Read More...

Odds of a Green Card Lottery Winner Actually Getting a Green Card - Part II

swilson@101freeway.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:21:52 +0100

In our last article on the green card lottery we discussed the overall chances of winning based on the number of entrants and the number of random selectees. Today we discuss region to region differences and relate this to the monthly Visa Bulletins published by the U.S. Department of State.

Visas are distributed on a regional basis unequally, with those regions sending fewer immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years receiving more diversity visas. Logically, different countrieRead More...

Sarah Palin's Immigration Policy

swilson@101freeway.com — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:55:46 +0100

Since the presidential election is over and U.S. voters rejected the tired Republican platform that devastated America’s economy and wrecked American’s reputation abroad, former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s views on immigration would seem moot. However, with her apparent popularity spiking alongside her “Going Rogue” book tour, Democrats and Republicans alike are giving her a second look.

Palin was generally perceived as grossly Read More...

The United States Association of Immigrants at myUSAi.org ads Facebook Connectivity

swilson@101freeway.com — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:54:40 +0100

Last week the United States Association of Immigrants at myUSAi.org announced secure Facebook Connect technology allowing users to import their existing Facebook identity for easy access by millions of existing Facebook members worldwide.

As the first social networking site for immigrants and potential immigrants to the USA, myUSAi members can create their own groups, upload photos, and download free forms directly from Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of State. TRead More...

Lou Dobbs Resigns from CNN

swilson@101freeway.com — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:53:37 +0100

I didn't expect a follow up to last week's commentary on Lou Dobbs until we were surprised by his abrupt resignation Wednesday from CNN.

Lou Dobbs seemed to relish criticism from his controversial remarks on immigration reform and especially illegal immigrants. His ongoing rants supporting widely discredited and completely false "urban legends", such as spread of 7000 cases of leprosy by illegal aliens, the so-called NAFTA superhighway, and a so-called illegal immigrant "crime wave" demRead More...

Odds of a Green Card Lottery Winner Actually Getting a Green Card

swilson@101freeway.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:18:17 +0100

Many DV lottery sites estimate the chances of winning the lottery based on the overall chances of getting selected. These odds are dependent on the number of entrants and other factors. For DV-2011, we previously estimated that approximately 17 million will register for the calendar year 2009 lottery from eligible countries.

If accurate, then the overall chances of receiving a winning letter from the U.S. State Department are 100,000 in 17 million, or 0.6 percent (one in 170). HoweRead More...