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non US and Green card
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hey all,

those who are not US citizens here...
does $12,000 for labor certif. + gc of attorney's fees
look correct to you?

if not what does?
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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hell you dont need that

come to California, we'll give you a drivers license, free medical and education for your children, and even pay for your education, WE LOVE TO PAY TAXES HERE, OH WE LOVE IT SO MUCH !!!!!!!!!!

Please Gray, please Booz Crusta-monte ... oh please tax me some more.

$10 Billion more in taxes you need? Oh OK, who do I make the check out to?

Osama? Al Quada? No problem. Come on down. No ID? No problem.

Come one, come all, get your free California drivers license.

Buy a gun, take flying lessons, attend Grossmont college (San Diego) ... we welcome all terrorists, after all, this is the land of opportunity ... right?

[not directed at you Frenchy, just had to vent]
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Re: non US and Green card [TimeTrial.org] [ In reply to ]
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France has already paid for my education and now I apply it here...so at least that's one french doing the right thing for you :-)
I was hoping that with a PhD in Comp.sci. it wouldn't be a major pain in the butt to get a GC...
how wrong was I!
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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$ 12000??? Does that include a Colnago, Full campy with Zipp 909???

I believe my attorney charges $ 1500. That price may have been reduced because she had already done the work for my H1B visa, but in any case, $ 12000 sounds like incredibly expensive. Is that some kind of express procedure?
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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OK, despite the WAR thing and the bad ju-ju there, my 3 top French likes: Corima wheels, the Tour, and Camembert
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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I don't practice immigration law - but that sounds a tad bit high to me. Sure teh quote wasn't in Francs :)

Seriously, a friend of mine who is also a member in my tri club here who specializes in immigration. Let me see what she has to say. I'll let you know.

Alan
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Francois,

$1200!!!

I spend $700 and did 99.9% of it myself. The only
thing this money was good for was forcing me to
deal with it (or it would have been a total waste).


Thierry
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Re: non US and Green card [SFTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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in Francs, that'd be quite cheap actually :-)

ok, so I got my answer. I did a quick search on the web and in most cases we get something like $4000
including labor certif and gc.

maybe I should ask if the $12,000 include free entry in any IM for the next 5 years...
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Francois,

My green card costed about $6000 in legal fees, this is 7 years ago and was paid by my company. Took only 10 months to get it.

- Lionel
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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$4000 is nearer the mark but it depends on the case. I wouldn't think anymore than $6000 though.
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Francois, you seriously need to consider California if this lame @$$ Bill becomes law on January 1, 2004. You may as well benefit from it. I'm all for you going about it all legally, but I'd like to see more people like you benefit from this insane, piece of (expletive) legislation.

BTW - illegals are already trying to get CDLs at DMVs throughout California. DMV says remember to study your CA drivers pamphlet as you WILL be tested. Yes, it's available in Spanish.


Sean
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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OK - here's the word from my friend Helena (and I consider her an expert). She says that she believes $12K is too high, although you may have unique facts or circumstances that she doesn't know about. She says her firm would charge around half of that or maybe around $7,000. She also mentioned that in addition to the l.c. and g.c. that you would need a temporary work authorization and that isn't included (although she points out that most employers pay for that). Hope that helps.
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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12g's seems pretty high. I'd say 3-5g's in attorney fees + INS filing fees might be a little more reasonable. Assuming there aren't any special circumstances. There is a pretty good book called "How To Get A Green Card" by Lewis & Madlansacay (see NOLO.com if you would like to purchase) Its no substitute for an immigration attorney but will help to explain the process.
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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julieanne needed permanent residency and i did it myself for $0. of course i'm a professional asshole, i job at which i excel. plus i'm charming when it suits my purposes, and neither of those abilities works unless you've got the other in your back pocket, ready to pull out at the right moment.

the killer app, in my case, was going through the INS liaison inside the office of my congressman. i don't know why this worked, that is, i don't know what about me made this person want to help me, but that's what it took.

not that there wasn't some hand-wringing, etc., and it took a year or two altogether, but it got done.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: non US and Green card [Kevin Gingras] [ In reply to ]
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I haven't seen that book - but Nolo Press puts out great "how to" books for various legal matters (so good, as I recall, the State of Texas charged Nolo Press with causing the practicising law without a license by N.P.'s selling of its books!). So, I'd second that recommendation.
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Re: non US and Green card [SFTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks all for the tips...I don't see any reason why my case would be more expensive (apart that I am french :-) however, I can cook really good crepes and this should allow me to get a green card for free I believe!)
I am not sure whether I will try the DIY thing or get a lawyer. However with work interesting major us gov. org. I may be able to gt the right letters.
Generally US comp. pay for GC but not state universities.

I'll check KG's recommended book too...
of course as noone put it there, I do put a disclaimer here for all of you that none of this was legal advice and I cannot sue anyone here if I don't get it :-))

BTW, what's the deal with California?? what's that bill? not that I am planning to use it. I did follow the law in France, I'll do the same here (although I do not think non pasteurized milk cheeses are bad)
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Hey Francois,

Perhaps the governments would allow a transfer....you to California, me to France.

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: non US and Green card [ironclm] [ In reply to ]
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OK Cathy,

call George, I call Jacques :-)

although I am afraid that university prof. salaries may not be high enough for California!
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The deal in California (as I see it) [ In reply to ]
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The deal here in California with Senate Bill SB60 is that people who are here ILLEGALLY can get a California Drivers License by showing minimal personal documentation. It doesn't give anyone automatic citizenship, but it does give people who have broken the law by coming into this country illegally a benefit that used to be reserved for legal US citizens. Illegals had this benefit until '94, but was changed in '94.

One of the central issues is that when applying for the CA drivers license, applicants are offered the opportunity to register to vote (Motor Voter). It's illegal in CA to vote or register to vote unless you're a US citizen, but the CA Democratic Party has legitimized this in the hopes that the newly registered illegal immigrant drivers will register to vote, illegally, as a Democrat and vote, illegally, for the Democratic Party candidate in the future. With 3-4 million illegal aliens in California, that's a lot of new (illegal) voters for very little work.

You're probably asking how can the CA Registrar of Voters let these people vote? It's funny, but voter residency is checked via snail mail. With their new CA drivers license, these illegals can now rent, for cash, a mail box. Their still illegal, but they get to vote, illegally. Also, the CA Registrar of Voters CANNOT use CA DMV information to check if the newly registered voters are legal. Only if the snail-mailed post cards come back "Return to Sender, Address Unknown" will the illegally registered voters be removed. By then the election is over and the Democrats win the election...by 3-4 million illegal votes.

I'm biased as I'm against SB60 because it it legitimizes scofflaws, but get more info here from The Sacramento (CA) Bee at http://www.sacbee.com/...63502p-8307303c.html


Sean
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Let me know if you want to get an estimate from my lawyer.
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Someone wants to take you for a ride. It has been a very long time, but my wife got hers in '87 for about $600.
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Re: The deal in California (as I see it) [haystack] [ In reply to ]
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Not sure this is true.

A driving licence is neither a work permit nor proof of voting rights. A green card allows you to reside permanently and work but also does not allow voting.

To vote you must be a US citizen. If you have a green card you must be here 5 years before you can apply for citizenship and hence vote.

Furthermore, 90% of the illegals would have to get a federal tax id and/or show utility bills, thereby becoming 'official'. I can't see that happening in a hurry. None of the illegals I know have ever paid tax.
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Re: The deal in California (as I see it) [BLACKSHEEP] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
In the 2000 presidential election, ineligible persons in Florida cast more than 2,000 illegal votes. The outcome of the presidential election in that state was determined by 537 votes.
This from (SOURCE: Dr. Larry Sabato, University of Virginia Center for Governmental Studies, before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, June 27, 2001)

You bring up a very interesting point. If the illegals need a tax ID to get a CDL and they get paid less than minumum wage for, say, picking vegetables in Salinas, CA, how will the employers be able continue to illegally pay less than a minimum wage to undocumented workers? Could the IRS and Bush led US Government have remained surprisingly silent on this issue that seems to be a colossal threat to US security because it will generate an incredible backlash against the Democratic Party once these newly licensed illegals and employers start to be prosecuted to pay State and Federal income taxes and/or back taxes?

I don't know how this will shake out, but I do know that it has made politics an interesting subject to me and many other Californians. If you're a Californian and this doesn't have you thinking, your either brain dead or incredibly busy with other worries (like my wife).


Sean
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Re: non US and Green card [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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Francois,

With a PhD and a University Professorship you should be able to apply for a green card through the outstanding researcher category, sidestepping the labor certification part of the application altogether. This is a much more expeditious process (six months instead of a couple of years), so it should cost much less.

What intrigues me though in this discussion is Slowman's story about obtaining a green card for another individual: I was under the impression that someone needs to sponsor you for a green card (and show that no US citizen can do the same job that you can, etc.), so how can a friend simply apply for you? Was this a case of getting the right people to pull the right strings?

By the way, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm in a similar situation as you are Francois, although in my case the company pays the lawyers and I deal with them (and yes, I am in California, but, alas, I'm not here illegaly and I do not speak Spanish).

John
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Ok there are various ways of doing this as I [ In reply to ]
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got mine in may last year.

We did the reduction in labor route which is supposedly faster, where prior to dealing with the INS you advertise the vacancy, do the department of labor cert, then as part of the reduction in paperwork send the whole lot off to the INS at once instead of the tooing and froing.

Now it depends what INS office you go through once you are at the I-485 stage but Nebraska is at 360 days, or it was when I went through there and some regions are at way more.

So regardless of how other stages of the process are handled the final processing stage today is over a year regardless of category.

I think our cost was over 5k but I didnt pay for it so I could not tell you.

I think with marriages I'd have been willing to figure it out myself as you are not looking for a substitute or an American that could do the job for you :) but in the case of a work related GC you need to be careful that you post the job in relevant places and show responses as to why they can not fill the role to the extent that it will satisfy the INS, to little and they will regret it and to many good responses and they will want to know why they are not qualified for the role.

The role of an attorney in a job related application is that they know the game and there are a lot of hurdles in work application, way more than a H-1 or L-1 visa and it takes forever.

If you want a run down on this drop me a line.

A
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