ireddy
08-11 02:01 PM
I applied for passport renewal (Chicago consulate) without name change form. In the Online application, I splitted the name as needed (earlier my name was under Given name). The renewal passport was sent to me with the way I entered the name (splitting) without any additional forms or affidavits.
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eldrick
08-16 01:53 PM
Initially, when lawyer sent the documents for signature, they said we should send a $745 dollars check for spouse's form fees. So, my husband asked HR if he's gonna pay for this but HR told him no need they are gonna cover it.
But just yesterday, after my husband got his payslip they deducted 1245 fee. So, my husband complained that he was told that he's not suppose to pay even for spouse's fee.
Because of this complaint, Company sent a letter of apology for wrong information.
My question is , do we really need to pay for this + separate legal fee?
Sorry my details are incomplete in my first post.
Please help. Thanks
But just yesterday, after my husband got his payslip they deducted 1245 fee. So, my husband complained that he was told that he's not suppose to pay even for spouse's fee.
Because of this complaint, Company sent a letter of apology for wrong information.
My question is , do we really need to pay for this + separate legal fee?
Sorry my details are incomplete in my first post.
Please help. Thanks
raysaikat
05-25 03:43 PM
Apply for AP - 350 bucks. If you application is valid - you will get it.
Do this before trying to figure out using more money if your application is active. That may result in raising alarms and ultimately may be bad for your application. No one can penalize you for applying for EAD AP.
Once your husband is back here ask him to reapply for EAD and you send in your application too. If that comes you are all set no need to refile H1B but keep it just in case because of your special case.
All the best!
This is not a good advice. Whether or not the GC application is active (not abandoned) depends on the action taken by the primary applicant. USCIS may have the file as active, and may approve EAD --- that does not mean that the legally the application is not abandoned. If and when USCIS starts working on the application and issues RFE, etc., to clarify status of the applicant at various times, they may decide that the application was abandoned. If the poster worked on the EAD based on the abandoned GC application, then it is likely that USCIS will consider her to be out-of-status from the time she had no basis for EAD, which may mean a long illegal presence, triggering 10 years or permanent ban, etc.
The right thing for the OP to do is to consult an immigration attorney who will be able to determine whether the application may have been abandoned or not.
Do this before trying to figure out using more money if your application is active. That may result in raising alarms and ultimately may be bad for your application. No one can penalize you for applying for EAD AP.
Once your husband is back here ask him to reapply for EAD and you send in your application too. If that comes you are all set no need to refile H1B but keep it just in case because of your special case.
All the best!
This is not a good advice. Whether or not the GC application is active (not abandoned) depends on the action taken by the primary applicant. USCIS may have the file as active, and may approve EAD --- that does not mean that the legally the application is not abandoned. If and when USCIS starts working on the application and issues RFE, etc., to clarify status of the applicant at various times, they may decide that the application was abandoned. If the poster worked on the EAD based on the abandoned GC application, then it is likely that USCIS will consider her to be out-of-status from the time she had no basis for EAD, which may mean a long illegal presence, triggering 10 years or permanent ban, etc.
The right thing for the OP to do is to consult an immigration attorney who will be able to determine whether the application may have been abandoned or not.
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gc28262
07-01 05:55 PM
Here is a good link on non-compete clause. From what I heard, these clauses cannot be enforced in most of the cases.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-compete_agreement
I signed one last week knowing that it does not have much validity.
In doubt check with an attorney.
Hi All,
I had a previous empoyer A > Then a Prefered Vendor B > Then a Client C.
Now I have transferred my H1 to a Preferred Vendor X & Still working on same project with the Client C, but with a different contract all togeather.
Preferred Vendor X > the Client C
Now the issues is , my previous employeer A is harassing me ( Vendor B is having no problems) , asking for money or filing a legal case agaist me,as I have signed a non-compete agreement with them. Can he do so ?? what can be the worst consequences?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-compete_agreement
I signed one last week knowing that it does not have much validity.
In doubt check with an attorney.
Hi All,
I had a previous empoyer A > Then a Prefered Vendor B > Then a Client C.
Now I have transferred my H1 to a Preferred Vendor X & Still working on same project with the Client C, but with a different contract all togeather.
Preferred Vendor X > the Client C
Now the issues is , my previous employeer A is harassing me ( Vendor B is having no problems) , asking for money or filing a legal case agaist me,as I have signed a non-compete agreement with them. Can he do so ?? what can be the worst consequences?
more...
cbpds
08-03 06:27 PM
you missed on one fav diet control idea ---drinking Green tea :)
greencard_fever
01-14 01:43 PM
Enjoy the freedom..congrats!!
more...
dan19
09-12 01:52 PM
Isn't it done before LC filing?
We need to start recruitment process. For this it requires job advertisements for 5 weeks in a row, complete the recruitment process.
We need to start recruitment process. For this it requires job advertisements for 5 weeks in a row, complete the recruitment process.
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chanduv23
08-27 08:38 AM
Hi,
Iam trying to explain my employer that it's ok to hire employees with EAD. For some reason they prefer GC or Citizen only. I referred them to the Discrimination clause on I-9 form. Then they told me about their problems hiring EAD.
1) If the Employee is hired on a valid EAD and later during the course of employment the EAD expired, there is no system in place for them to check back with the employee if (s)he has renewed it in a timely manner.
2) If such an employee that has not renewed their EAD and continued their employment beyond expiration without notifying the employer, the company is worried that they may be legally liable for harboring employees with illegal statuses.
Please help me understand if their concerns are valid and if not what is the remedy.
Working on EAD has never been a problem. But I did hear from some hiring managers that they have concerns about constant renewals and other issues associated like RFE etc.. and thats why they avoid hiring people on EAD - this is like very few people who are misinformed.
Usually some employers ask - have you switched after 180 days of filing 485 just to make sure there is no problem.
Company need not harbor illegal employees, they can do what it takes to keep the employee employed.
Iam trying to explain my employer that it's ok to hire employees with EAD. For some reason they prefer GC or Citizen only. I referred them to the Discrimination clause on I-9 form. Then they told me about their problems hiring EAD.
1) If the Employee is hired on a valid EAD and later during the course of employment the EAD expired, there is no system in place for them to check back with the employee if (s)he has renewed it in a timely manner.
2) If such an employee that has not renewed their EAD and continued their employment beyond expiration without notifying the employer, the company is worried that they may be legally liable for harboring employees with illegal statuses.
Please help me understand if their concerns are valid and if not what is the remedy.
Working on EAD has never been a problem. But I did hear from some hiring managers that they have concerns about constant renewals and other issues associated like RFE etc.. and thats why they avoid hiring people on EAD - this is like very few people who are misinformed.
Usually some employers ask - have you switched after 180 days of filing 485 just to make sure there is no problem.
Company need not harbor illegal employees, they can do what it takes to keep the employee employed.
more...
mantagon
07-16 08:23 AM
You can still work on EAD and maintain your H4 as long as you do not go out of the country. If you go out and enter on AP, then you switch back to AOS, no reporting to USCIS is necessary. But if you can still file I-539 and switch back to H4 again.
But on H4 you can still work on EAD, while maintaining your H4 status.
I would ask everyone , pls be careful while responding to someone's querry. And the person asking should also consult a lawyer. In this case, since I am in the same boat, and the advice came from the lawyer. I just got my spouse H4 extended for another 3 years, the after 6 years extension, while she is working on her EAD.
That does not make sense! Peaople on H4 are not allowed to work, period! Thats how the Visa category is defined. Now, how will one on H4 to work? Enter EAD! So, while EAD allows him/her to work, it changes the Visa status (be it H1 or H4) to AOS. It does not matter if you travel outside or not.
I do not know how you extended your spouse's H4 with the help of the attorney. It is an error on USCIS part, may be because you (or your spouse's employer) have not notified the USCIS about your spouse using the EAD for employment.
But on H4 you can still work on EAD, while maintaining your H4 status.
I would ask everyone , pls be careful while responding to someone's querry. And the person asking should also consult a lawyer. In this case, since I am in the same boat, and the advice came from the lawyer. I just got my spouse H4 extended for another 3 years, the after 6 years extension, while she is working on her EAD.
That does not make sense! Peaople on H4 are not allowed to work, period! Thats how the Visa category is defined. Now, how will one on H4 to work? Enter EAD! So, while EAD allows him/her to work, it changes the Visa status (be it H1 or H4) to AOS. It does not matter if you travel outside or not.
I do not know how you extended your spouse's H4 with the help of the attorney. It is an error on USCIS part, may be because you (or your spouse's employer) have not notified the USCIS about your spouse using the EAD for employment.
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Jerrome
11-30 11:36 AM
What is your PD and nationality. without this information nobody can even GUESS how it happened.
more...
GC_1000Watt
03-23 04:02 PM
Hi Travellertvr! Since your extension came with a new I-94, your problems are solved automatically. There is no need for you to go out of country and come back either. As of now you are a legal resident here period.
Enjoy!!!
Enjoy!!!
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desi3933
06-25 10:41 AM
I though such contracts are illegal in US?....It is employment at will.....that means they can kick you out anytime or you can leave anytime....maybe someone can clarify
This is one of the biggest myths amongst H1 workers in USA.
All depends the terms and wordings of the "Employment agreement". For example, if one is sent for 2 weeks training in, say, .Net 2.0 Technology and its cost is $8000, then agreement could have clause for paying back $8000 to employer if left employment within one year.
There are, of course, other things involved and it is a complex subject. In short, Employment Agreement given enough ammunitions for employer to file at least a civil suit against employee.
Please consult a good lawyer before signing any such contract.
Not a legal advice
-----------------------
desi3933 at gmail.com
This is one of the biggest myths amongst H1 workers in USA.
All depends the terms and wordings of the "Employment agreement". For example, if one is sent for 2 weeks training in, say, .Net 2.0 Technology and its cost is $8000, then agreement could have clause for paying back $8000 to employer if left employment within one year.
There are, of course, other things involved and it is a complex subject. In short, Employment Agreement given enough ammunitions for employer to file at least a civil suit against employee.
Please consult a good lawyer before signing any such contract.
Not a legal advice
-----------------------
desi3933 at gmail.com
more...
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americandesi
04-06 01:31 PM
Refer http://www.murthy.com/pr_thngs.html and search for
"It is also important to understand that the green card approval will be reviewed at the time of the naturalization interview. For employment-based cases, this means inquiries into how long the individual worked for the employer after obtaining the green card. If the period is extremely short, there may be questions about the bona fide nature of the green card process."
As suggested by "Optimystic", any time between 6 to 12 months should be ok.
"It is also important to understand that the green card approval will be reviewed at the time of the naturalization interview. For employment-based cases, this means inquiries into how long the individual worked for the employer after obtaining the green card. If the period is extremely short, there may be questions about the bona fide nature of the green card process."
As suggested by "Optimystic", any time between 6 to 12 months should be ok.
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gg_ny
07-31 09:54 PM
gg_ny/others,
1) My h1 and my wife's h4 are pending extensiosn with CSC. Will her H4 extension adjuducation be affected by her converting to EAD ?
2) gg-ny, can you eloborate on this please?
(have to file new I9 and specify how you could work) . Do you mean she has to file for a new I-94 ? How to go abaout doing it.
Thanks for your responses.
Sendil
Hi,
I am not a lawyer and the disclaimer byothers holds good for me too: please check with a lawyer. This is from what i understand from my experience and a few others' I am familiar with:
1) unless you USE your EAD, H1 or H4 status wouldn't be affected
2) the same for AP. That means, you can get these documents if you are eligible. That means, you are exploiting the dual intent of H visa to the fullest. And the buck stops there.
3) contrary to what is said in a few mails here in this list, if you actually use EAD or AP you become someone waiting for AOS and/or a parolee. Because, EAD is a privelege under AOS process not linked to H process. The same with AP
4)When your status changes(H to EAD) I believe you aer supposed to fill in new I9 form. I haven't had a need to do so until now; i believe the actual implementation of this is not so much enforced by BCIS but it is the
applicant's responsibility to do so, like AR11 or address changes. But I think it is a necessity as if you choose to do a second job, your papers would be on order and in sync with you and your first employer. the basic tenet is you cannot be in two status in a given time
5) if your application is pending (for H1 or H4), and you start using EAD that means, even after adjudication, your H1 or H4 approval becomes void as
it would be providing you a status not needed by you or a status which you have chosen not to maintain. This is nothing to do with dual intent as it ends with filing for the documents; this is acually maintenance of status. Since H to EAD/AP is an one way path, you cannot file H1 and while waiting for the approval, work on EAD- then change status to H1 when you get it. To do so, one has to file new H1 application.
6) while waitnig for H approval, if you take on EAD, the H approval paper is as useless as an outdated visa. You can keep it as a memento ;-)
7) there are two nightmare situations I have heard of: 1) EAD extension is a vicious cycle and you need to be always current on your EAD 2) for some reason, if AOS application suffers then EAD becomes null and void; technically the person can be subjected to deportation. There are legal procedures to avoid or delay this but I can't say anything about it.
Please remember that my experience and understanding is limited compared to many in the list and if you are paying for a lawyer, make him or her work for it.
1) My h1 and my wife's h4 are pending extensiosn with CSC. Will her H4 extension adjuducation be affected by her converting to EAD ?
2) gg-ny, can you eloborate on this please?
(have to file new I9 and specify how you could work) . Do you mean she has to file for a new I-94 ? How to go abaout doing it.
Thanks for your responses.
Sendil
Hi,
I am not a lawyer and the disclaimer byothers holds good for me too: please check with a lawyer. This is from what i understand from my experience and a few others' I am familiar with:
1) unless you USE your EAD, H1 or H4 status wouldn't be affected
2) the same for AP. That means, you can get these documents if you are eligible. That means, you are exploiting the dual intent of H visa to the fullest. And the buck stops there.
3) contrary to what is said in a few mails here in this list, if you actually use EAD or AP you become someone waiting for AOS and/or a parolee. Because, EAD is a privelege under AOS process not linked to H process. The same with AP
4)When your status changes(H to EAD) I believe you aer supposed to fill in new I9 form. I haven't had a need to do so until now; i believe the actual implementation of this is not so much enforced by BCIS but it is the
applicant's responsibility to do so, like AR11 or address changes. But I think it is a necessity as if you choose to do a second job, your papers would be on order and in sync with you and your first employer. the basic tenet is you cannot be in two status in a given time
5) if your application is pending (for H1 or H4), and you start using EAD that means, even after adjudication, your H1 or H4 approval becomes void as
it would be providing you a status not needed by you or a status which you have chosen not to maintain. This is nothing to do with dual intent as it ends with filing for the documents; this is acually maintenance of status. Since H to EAD/AP is an one way path, you cannot file H1 and while waiting for the approval, work on EAD- then change status to H1 when you get it. To do so, one has to file new H1 application.
6) while waitnig for H approval, if you take on EAD, the H approval paper is as useless as an outdated visa. You can keep it as a memento ;-)
7) there are two nightmare situations I have heard of: 1) EAD extension is a vicious cycle and you need to be always current on your EAD 2) for some reason, if AOS application suffers then EAD becomes null and void; technically the person can be subjected to deportation. There are legal procedures to avoid or delay this but I can't say anything about it.
Please remember that my experience and understanding is limited compared to many in the list and if you are paying for a lawyer, make him or her work for it.
more...
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BimmerFAn
06-22 10:10 PM
I don't have a Masters although most people I work with do. I work in Audit/Advisory. One must have at least 150 credits at US University to apply for the position. Most people get their Masters in order to satisfy this requirement. I double majored in Finance and Accounting and am now worried that I shot myself in the foot.
The job requirement states:
Masters or Bachaelor's of Accounting (if 150 credit requirement is met) is required.
The position implies a Master's Degree requirement but will accept BS if, as in my case, one double majored or took on alot of classes.
Like I mentioned earlier, I am from Europe so I am wondering how severe the backlog is. I can't believe the wait can be that long.
The job requirement states:
Masters or Bachaelor's of Accounting (if 150 credit requirement is met) is required.
The position implies a Master's Degree requirement but will accept BS if, as in my case, one double majored or took on alot of classes.
Like I mentioned earlier, I am from Europe so I am wondering how severe the backlog is. I can't believe the wait can be that long.
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GCHope2011
03-23 09:45 AM
smuggymba,
Old I-94 expiration date was January 3, 2010, and new I-94 started from October 18, 2010.
You risk of being barred from entry is very real as you have accumulated more than 180 days of illegal presence in the US.
Your lawyer is right - and although there are some chances that some people are not barred, such info is mostly anecdotal and should not be used as a basis for making definitive plans.
Old I-94 expiration date was January 3, 2010, and new I-94 started from October 18, 2010.
You risk of being barred from entry is very real as you have accumulated more than 180 days of illegal presence in the US.
Your lawyer is right - and although there are some chances that some people are not barred, such info is mostly anecdotal and should not be used as a basis for making definitive plans.
more...
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gc_check
02-21 03:27 PM
Increasing the H1-B limit without increasing EB-GC quota is going to make our situation much worse. People will soon have to wait for 10 years before getting GCs. :eek:
Check below article in Times of India
" Indian IT firms to lobby Bush to increase HI-B quota "
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1423058.cms
Check below article in Times of India
" Indian IT firms to lobby Bush to increase HI-B quota "
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1423058.cms
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meher
12-25 12:35 PM
At present till now based on the talks i had with my employer i donot have any hopes that he will be running the pay stubs.
The pay specified in my LCA is $44000. I have been paid on hourly basis of 43$/hr till now and the pay stubs reflect that. If i go to DOL or go through attorney will i be paid at $44000 or will the previous pay stubs help in getting me the rightful salary.
Sure i will let know the employer name. I am just waiting to have my H1B transfer.
MRD
The pay specified in my LCA is $44000. I have been paid on hourly basis of 43$/hr till now and the pay stubs reflect that. If i go to DOL or go through attorney will i be paid at $44000 or will the previous pay stubs help in getting me the rightful salary.
Sure i will let know the employer name. I am just waiting to have my H1B transfer.
MRD
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alkg
08-13 08:41 PM
see the paragraph in bold letters.................
Greenspan Sees Bottom
In Housing, Criticizes Bailout
August 14, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Alan Greenspan usually surrounds his opinions with caveats and convoluted clauses. But ask his view of the government's response to problems confronting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and he offers one word: "Bad."
In a conversation this week, the former Federal Reserve chairman also said he expects that U.S. house prices, a key factor in the outlook for the economy and financial markets, will begin to stabilize in the first half of next year.
"Home prices in the U.S. are likely to start to stabilize or touch bottom sometime in the first half of 2009," he said in an interview. Tracing a jagged curve with his finger on a tabletop to underscore the difficulty in pinpointing the precise trough, he cautioned that even at a bottom, "prices could continue to drift lower through 2009 and beyond."
A long-time student of housing markets, Mr. Greenspan now works out of a well-windowed, oval-shaped office that is evidence of his fascination with the housing market. His desk, couch, coffee table and conference table are strewn with print-outs of spreadsheets and multicolored charts of housing starts, foreclosures and population trends siphoned from government and trade association sources.
An end to the decline in house prices, he explained, matters not only to American homeowners but is "a necessary condition for an end to the current global financial crisis" he said.
"Stable home prices will clarify the level of equity in homes, the ultimate collateral support for much of the financial world's mortgage-backed securities. We won't really know the market value of the asset side of the banking system's balance sheet -- and hence banks' capital -- until then."
At 82 years old, Mr. Greenspan remains sharp and his fascination with the workings of the economy undiminished. But his star no longer shines as brightly as it did when he retired from the Fed in January 2006.
Mr. Greenspan has been criticized for contributing to today's woes by keeping interest rates too low too long and by regulating too lightly. He has been aggressively defending his record -- in interviews, in op-ed pieces and in a new chapter in his recent book, included in the paperback version to be published next month. Mr. Greenspan attributes the rise in house prices to a historically unusual period in which world markets pushed interest rates down and even sophisticated investors misjudged the risks they were taking.
His views remain widely watched, however. Mr. Greenspan's housing forecast rests on two pillars of data. One is the supply of vacant, single-family homes for sale, both newly completed homes and existing homes owned by investors and lenders. He sees that "excess supply" -- roughly 800,000 units above normal -- diminishing soon. The other is a comparison of the current price of houses -- he prefers the quarterly S&P Case Shiller National Home Price Index because it includes both urban and rural areas -- with the government's estimate of what it costs to rent a single-family house. As other economists do, Mr. Greenspan essentially seeks to gauge when it is rational to own a house and when it is rational to sell the house, invest the money elsewhere and rent an identical house next door.
"It's the imbalance of supply and demand which causes prices to go down, but it's ultimately the valuation process of the use of the commodity...which tells you where the bottom is," Mr. Greenspan said, recalling his days trading copper a half century ago. "For example, the grain markets can have a huge excess of corn or wheat, but the price never goes to zero. It'll stabilize at some level of prices where people are willing to hold the excess inventory. We have little history, but the same thing is surely true in housing as well. We will get to the point where there will be willing holders of vacant single-family dwellings, and that will no longer act to depress the price level."
The collapse in home prices, of course, is a major threat to the stability of Fannie and Freddie. At the Fed, Mr. Greenspan warned for years that the two mortgage giants' business model threatened the nation's financial stability. He acknowledges that a government backstop for the shareholder-owned, government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, was unavoidable. Not only are they crucial to the ailing mortgage market now, but the Fed-financed takeover of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. also made government backing of Fannie and Freddie debt "inevitable," he said. "There's no credible argument for bailing out Bear Stearns and not the GSEs."
His quarrel is with the approach the Bush administration sold to Congress. "They should have wiped out the shareholders, nationalized the institutions with legislation that they are to be reconstituted -- with necessary taxpayer support to make them financially viable -- as five or 10 individual privately held units," which the government would eventually auction off to private investors, he said.
Instead, Congress granted Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson temporary authority to use an unlimited amount of taxpayer money to lend to or invest in the companies. In response to the Greenspan critique, Mr. Paulson's spokeswoman, Michele Davis, said, "This legislation accomplished two important goals -- providing confidence in the immediate term as these institutions play a critical role in weathering the housing correction, and putting in place a new regulator with all the authorities necessary to address systemic risk posed by the GSEs."
But a similar critique has been raised by several other prominent observers. "If they are too big to fail, make them smaller," former Nixon Treasury Secretary George Shultz said. Some say the Paulson approach, even if the government never spends a nickel, entrenches current management and offers shareholders the upside if the government's reassurance allows the companies to weather the current storm. The Treasury hasn't said what conditions it would impose if it offers Fannie and Freddie taxpayer money.
Fear that financial markets would react poorly if the U.S. government nationalized the companies and assumed their approximately $5 trillion debt is unfounded, Mr. Greenspan said. "The law that stipulates that GSEs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government is disbelieved. The market believes the government guarantee is there. Foreigners believe the guarantee is there. The only fiscal change is for someone to change the bookkeeping."
In the past, to be sure, Mr. Greenspan's crystal ball has been cloudy. He didn't foresee the sharp national decline in home prices. Recently released transcripts of Fed meetings do record him warning in November 2002: "It's hard to escape the conclusion that at some point our extraordinary housing boom...cannot continue indefinitely into the future."
Publicly, he was more reassuring. "While local economies may experience significant speculative price imbalances, a national severe price distortion seems most unlikely in the United States, given its size and diversity," he said in October 2004. Eight months later, he said if home prices did decline, that "likely would not have substantial macroeconomic implications." And in a speech in October 2006, nine months after leaving the Fed, he told an audience that, though housing prices were likely to be lower than the year before, "I think the worst of this may well be over." Housing prices, by his preferred gauge, have fallen nearly 19% since then. He says he was referring not to prices but to the downward drag on economic growth from weakening housing construction.
Mr. Greenspan urges the government to avoid tax or other policies that increase the construction of new homes because that would delay the much-desired day when home prices find a bottom.
He did offer one suggestion: "The most effective initiative, though politically difficult, would be a major expansion in quotas for skilled immigrants," he said. The only sustainable way to increase demand for vacant houses is to spur the formation of new households. Admitting more skilled immigrants, who tend to earn enough to buy homes, would accomplish that while paying other dividends to the U.S. economy.
He estimates the number of new households in the U.S. currently is increasing at an annual rate of about 800,000, of whom about one third are immigrants. "Perhaps 150,000 of those are loosely classified as skilled," he said. "A double or tripling of this number would markedly accelerate the absorption of unsold housing inventory for sale -- and hence help stabilize prices."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121865515167837815.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
Greenspan Sees Bottom
In Housing, Criticizes Bailout
August 14, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Alan Greenspan usually surrounds his opinions with caveats and convoluted clauses. But ask his view of the government's response to problems confronting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and he offers one word: "Bad."
In a conversation this week, the former Federal Reserve chairman also said he expects that U.S. house prices, a key factor in the outlook for the economy and financial markets, will begin to stabilize in the first half of next year.
"Home prices in the U.S. are likely to start to stabilize or touch bottom sometime in the first half of 2009," he said in an interview. Tracing a jagged curve with his finger on a tabletop to underscore the difficulty in pinpointing the precise trough, he cautioned that even at a bottom, "prices could continue to drift lower through 2009 and beyond."
A long-time student of housing markets, Mr. Greenspan now works out of a well-windowed, oval-shaped office that is evidence of his fascination with the housing market. His desk, couch, coffee table and conference table are strewn with print-outs of spreadsheets and multicolored charts of housing starts, foreclosures and population trends siphoned from government and trade association sources.
An end to the decline in house prices, he explained, matters not only to American homeowners but is "a necessary condition for an end to the current global financial crisis" he said.
"Stable home prices will clarify the level of equity in homes, the ultimate collateral support for much of the financial world's mortgage-backed securities. We won't really know the market value of the asset side of the banking system's balance sheet -- and hence banks' capital -- until then."
At 82 years old, Mr. Greenspan remains sharp and his fascination with the workings of the economy undiminished. But his star no longer shines as brightly as it did when he retired from the Fed in January 2006.
Mr. Greenspan has been criticized for contributing to today's woes by keeping interest rates too low too long and by regulating too lightly. He has been aggressively defending his record -- in interviews, in op-ed pieces and in a new chapter in his recent book, included in the paperback version to be published next month. Mr. Greenspan attributes the rise in house prices to a historically unusual period in which world markets pushed interest rates down and even sophisticated investors misjudged the risks they were taking.
His views remain widely watched, however. Mr. Greenspan's housing forecast rests on two pillars of data. One is the supply of vacant, single-family homes for sale, both newly completed homes and existing homes owned by investors and lenders. He sees that "excess supply" -- roughly 800,000 units above normal -- diminishing soon. The other is a comparison of the current price of houses -- he prefers the quarterly S&P Case Shiller National Home Price Index because it includes both urban and rural areas -- with the government's estimate of what it costs to rent a single-family house. As other economists do, Mr. Greenspan essentially seeks to gauge when it is rational to own a house and when it is rational to sell the house, invest the money elsewhere and rent an identical house next door.
"It's the imbalance of supply and demand which causes prices to go down, but it's ultimately the valuation process of the use of the commodity...which tells you where the bottom is," Mr. Greenspan said, recalling his days trading copper a half century ago. "For example, the grain markets can have a huge excess of corn or wheat, but the price never goes to zero. It'll stabilize at some level of prices where people are willing to hold the excess inventory. We have little history, but the same thing is surely true in housing as well. We will get to the point where there will be willing holders of vacant single-family dwellings, and that will no longer act to depress the price level."
The collapse in home prices, of course, is a major threat to the stability of Fannie and Freddie. At the Fed, Mr. Greenspan warned for years that the two mortgage giants' business model threatened the nation's financial stability. He acknowledges that a government backstop for the shareholder-owned, government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, was unavoidable. Not only are they crucial to the ailing mortgage market now, but the Fed-financed takeover of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. also made government backing of Fannie and Freddie debt "inevitable," he said. "There's no credible argument for bailing out Bear Stearns and not the GSEs."
His quarrel is with the approach the Bush administration sold to Congress. "They should have wiped out the shareholders, nationalized the institutions with legislation that they are to be reconstituted -- with necessary taxpayer support to make them financially viable -- as five or 10 individual privately held units," which the government would eventually auction off to private investors, he said.
Instead, Congress granted Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson temporary authority to use an unlimited amount of taxpayer money to lend to or invest in the companies. In response to the Greenspan critique, Mr. Paulson's spokeswoman, Michele Davis, said, "This legislation accomplished two important goals -- providing confidence in the immediate term as these institutions play a critical role in weathering the housing correction, and putting in place a new regulator with all the authorities necessary to address systemic risk posed by the GSEs."
But a similar critique has been raised by several other prominent observers. "If they are too big to fail, make them smaller," former Nixon Treasury Secretary George Shultz said. Some say the Paulson approach, even if the government never spends a nickel, entrenches current management and offers shareholders the upside if the government's reassurance allows the companies to weather the current storm. The Treasury hasn't said what conditions it would impose if it offers Fannie and Freddie taxpayer money.
Fear that financial markets would react poorly if the U.S. government nationalized the companies and assumed their approximately $5 trillion debt is unfounded, Mr. Greenspan said. "The law that stipulates that GSEs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government is disbelieved. The market believes the government guarantee is there. Foreigners believe the guarantee is there. The only fiscal change is for someone to change the bookkeeping."
In the past, to be sure, Mr. Greenspan's crystal ball has been cloudy. He didn't foresee the sharp national decline in home prices. Recently released transcripts of Fed meetings do record him warning in November 2002: "It's hard to escape the conclusion that at some point our extraordinary housing boom...cannot continue indefinitely into the future."
Publicly, he was more reassuring. "While local economies may experience significant speculative price imbalances, a national severe price distortion seems most unlikely in the United States, given its size and diversity," he said in October 2004. Eight months later, he said if home prices did decline, that "likely would not have substantial macroeconomic implications." And in a speech in October 2006, nine months after leaving the Fed, he told an audience that, though housing prices were likely to be lower than the year before, "I think the worst of this may well be over." Housing prices, by his preferred gauge, have fallen nearly 19% since then. He says he was referring not to prices but to the downward drag on economic growth from weakening housing construction.
Mr. Greenspan urges the government to avoid tax or other policies that increase the construction of new homes because that would delay the much-desired day when home prices find a bottom.
He did offer one suggestion: "The most effective initiative, though politically difficult, would be a major expansion in quotas for skilled immigrants," he said. The only sustainable way to increase demand for vacant houses is to spur the formation of new households. Admitting more skilled immigrants, who tend to earn enough to buy homes, would accomplish that while paying other dividends to the U.S. economy.
He estimates the number of new households in the U.S. currently is increasing at an annual rate of about 800,000, of whom about one third are immigrants. "Perhaps 150,000 of those are loosely classified as skilled," he said. "A double or tripling of this number would markedly accelerate the absorption of unsold housing inventory for sale -- and hence help stabilize prices."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121865515167837815.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
h_shaik
08-08 04:18 PM
You are correct. There shuld be a job offer from sponsoring company at the time of applying for AOS. I guess the question is what if the person is not working at all ( No pay stubs from any company ). In this case the candidate will be out of status? There might be cases where people might come on bench or not having a project etc...
Can you direct me to the link you just mentioned for pay stub requirment for at least 180 days after filing AOS?
I think the requirement is there should be a job offer at the time of filing of AOS. Here's an extract from a law firm:
" If you are able to file the adjustment of status, there does need to be a valid job offer underlying the case at the time of the filing. You do not have to be working for the employer full time, but there does have to be a valid job offer for the position described in the labor certification".
Can you direct me to the link you just mentioned for pay stub requirment for at least 180 days after filing AOS?
I think the requirement is there should be a job offer at the time of filing of AOS. Here's an extract from a law firm:
" If you are able to file the adjustment of status, there does need to be a valid job offer underlying the case at the time of the filing. You do not have to be working for the employer full time, but there does have to be a valid job offer for the position described in the labor certification".
bkarnik
09-06 05:01 PM
I believe that could be a problem. If your Company is paying you in Canada, but asking you to work in the US I am not sure if your H1 would be valid. Per my limited knowledge, H1 can be sponsored by an employer having a business in the US. I am sure this is an issue that is a clash between the tax laws and the immigration laws. I would request you to submit your question for the next attorney call and hopefully we get an clear answer.
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