Robert Kumar
03-28 02:47 PM
But then again - there are lot of rules that doesn't make sense. I feel that it is better to spend energy to get them amended..
if you could make a difference then take your pick from ....
a) ban EB3-Eb2 porting
b) or EB1 abuse
c) or eliminate country quota
d) or recapture the visa
e) or don't count dependents in EB category.
f) or abuse by body shop consutling firms
g) or Automatic GC or citizen after x years........
h) ..... list goes on..
.. if all could be done @ same time - it would be perfect..
i)And Make spilloover distributed equally among all the categories below it. Please add this also.
j) Move all EB3 waiters automatically into EB2 if they are waiting for more than 6 years with priority date retained.
if you could make a difference then take your pick from ....
a) ban EB3-Eb2 porting
b) or EB1 abuse
c) or eliminate country quota
d) or recapture the visa
e) or don't count dependents in EB category.
f) or abuse by body shop consutling firms
g) or Automatic GC or citizen after x years........
h) ..... list goes on..
.. if all could be done @ same time - it would be perfect..
i)And Make spilloover distributed equally among all the categories below it. Please add this also.
j) Move all EB3 waiters automatically into EB2 if they are waiting for more than 6 years with priority date retained.
wallpaper Osama bin Laden is dead,
vejella
12-10 12:28 PM
I understand Logic life vehement opinion . I have seen so many guys around me , who want to do nothing unless they are complied to ...Thos people so called educated have no idea of what they have to go through in future to get the final gC . I feel that its time to make this site as paid site .Just like anti immigrant group , we should make this site Searchable /able to post the messages and get expertise opinion ,just for the people who volenteer and /or contribute ...
With the free riders coming on this site , the only things thats going to increase is website hits not the contributions.
We can put a poll to take common consesus.
Just my 2 cents..
With the free riders coming on this site , the only things thats going to increase is website hits not the contributions.
We can put a poll to take common consesus.
Just my 2 cents..
gaggu
10-02 07:29 PM
I filed my 485 in July 11th and have received the 485 receipts. There is a possibility that I might get laid off before Jan 11 (180 days). My H1 B expires Nov 2008.
Questions
1. Can I stay legally in US if I get laid off in Oct 07 ?
2. How can I proceed with my Green Card process ?
I think this might be a repeat question, but would still like to get your thoughts.
Gagan
Questions
1. Can I stay legally in US if I get laid off in Oct 07 ?
2. How can I proceed with my Green Card process ?
I think this might be a repeat question, but would still like to get your thoughts.
Gagan
2011 osama bin laden dead or alive.
venkygct
09-04 04:50 PM
Please check your PM and email. I have sent the details
Thanks
--Venky
I would love to attend the rally. However my financial condition at this time does not permit me. I could have booked a ticket on my credit card but all my cards are max out!
You want to know why I am in this financial deep hole? Well, I have two sons in college and paying out of state tuition, that is over $17,000 per semester for both of them.
My wife on H4 could not work until now that she has an EAD. It is retrogression that I should blame and I would love to do all in my power to obtain relief or bring the issue to the attention of the American public.
In my own way I have contributed to IV both in cash and in kind. I have told me story in countless media interviews. I only wish I could do more for IV financially but alas I am not able to do that at this time.
I would be in the rally in spirit....only I wish I could attend in person.
Thanks
--Venky
I would love to attend the rally. However my financial condition at this time does not permit me. I could have booked a ticket on my credit card but all my cards are max out!
You want to know why I am in this financial deep hole? Well, I have two sons in college and paying out of state tuition, that is over $17,000 per semester for both of them.
My wife on H4 could not work until now that she has an EAD. It is retrogression that I should blame and I would love to do all in my power to obtain relief or bring the issue to the attention of the American public.
In my own way I have contributed to IV both in cash and in kind. I have told me story in countless media interviews. I only wish I could do more for IV financially but alas I am not able to do that at this time.
I would be in the rally in spirit....only I wish I could attend in person.
more...
rexjamla
04-17 08:15 AM
I filed my labor twice with Fragomen and got rejected in 2001 and 2002.
Just for H1B visa extension they took more than 9 months. Although they have all my papers for months. Eventually, I had to leave my employer for good.
Stay away from them if you have choice.
Just for H1B visa extension they took more than 9 months. Although they have all my papers for months. Eventually, I had to leave my employer for good.
Stay away from them if you have choice.
optimist578
04-10 02:08 PM
Does anybody know how long an H1B visa can remain valid (including grace period) after a layoff ? What I know, is an H1B technically becomes invalid the day you stop rendering your services to your employer. The firm's lawyer suggested me to file for B1/B2 visitors visa to avoid going out-of-status.
If I do that, can I transfer my H1B visa (from B1B2) once I get a job? Or will I have to struggle against some quota?
Can anybody suggest a good lawyer in New York City or near Hoboken, NJ who can help we with all this? I tried contacting Cyrus Mehta, but he seems to be booked for another week.
Btw, thanks for the overwhelming response to my request for resources to find a job. While I am evaluating my options, please keep me in consideration for any openings that you see.
Thanks.
If I do that, can I transfer my H1B visa (from B1B2) once I get a job? Or will I have to struggle against some quota?
Can anybody suggest a good lawyer in New York City or near Hoboken, NJ who can help we with all this? I tried contacting Cyrus Mehta, but he seems to be booked for another week.
Btw, thanks for the overwhelming response to my request for resources to find a job. While I am evaluating my options, please keep me in consideration for any openings that you see.
Thanks.
more...
dish
07-05 05:56 PM
com 'on. H4 process is known as Dependent Visa. Let H4 prove the Credentials and Get H1 ..........
Yeah , For sure we all knew H4 is a dependant visa.
So we are denied work permit but we are not denied the freedom to ask or even lobby for changes in the Law.
But we didn't know that we are going to go through a painful process called Labor Certification which in our case is pending for more than 1675
days........
If all went well an H4 Spouse, who decides to get married to an H1B, would have faced an average of three year break in her career before she recieves her EAD. Now due to the huge backlog in Labor cert and the next awaiting Retrogression We are facing huge gaps of 7 to 10 yrs, which is almost unrecoverable, So IV Core pls understand and consider our issues as Real.
And getiing an H1 in fields other than Software is tough, but that does not mean that the person is incapable. An electrical engineer who had worked for 4 years previously in india in a well reputed firm was unable to get an H1b.
A Request to moderator : Please moderate posts which contain deregatory comments and words towards H4 Spouses.
Thanks
Yeah , For sure we all knew H4 is a dependant visa.
So we are denied work permit but we are not denied the freedom to ask or even lobby for changes in the Law.
But we didn't know that we are going to go through a painful process called Labor Certification which in our case is pending for more than 1675
days........
If all went well an H4 Spouse, who decides to get married to an H1B, would have faced an average of three year break in her career before she recieves her EAD. Now due to the huge backlog in Labor cert and the next awaiting Retrogression We are facing huge gaps of 7 to 10 yrs, which is almost unrecoverable, So IV Core pls understand and consider our issues as Real.
And getiing an H1 in fields other than Software is tough, but that does not mean that the person is incapable. An electrical engineer who had worked for 4 years previously in india in a well reputed firm was unable to get an H1b.
A Request to moderator : Please moderate posts which contain deregatory comments and words towards H4 Spouses.
Thanks
2010 Osama-Bin-Laden-ALive-Daughter
techbuyer77
06-12 03:42 PM
Please help!!!!!!
I just filed i-485. My pD is Jan 2004
i-140 has been previoulsy approved. I was laid off but my original employer agreed to give me evl, but with the way the economy is going they are not doing well.
I have another employer which I am working now with.
How likely is to get an approval (or an rfe for paystubs?) before 180 days.
I am eb3 row
Thanks, I am very depressed it took too long I guess and the economy changed and now the whole future of my family is pending
I just filed i-485. My pD is Jan 2004
i-140 has been previoulsy approved. I was laid off but my original employer agreed to give me evl, but with the way the economy is going they are not doing well.
I have another employer which I am working now with.
How likely is to get an approval (or an rfe for paystubs?) before 180 days.
I am eb3 row
Thanks, I am very depressed it took too long I guess and the economy changed and now the whole future of my family is pending
more...
achu
05-21 01:02 PM
freedom on its way...
thanks papu.
achu.
thanks papu.
achu.
hair osama bin laden dead or alive.
venkygct
06-10 02:18 PM
EB2 (India) - 01OCT05
EB3 (India) - 22NOV01
EB3 (India) - 22NOV01
more...
qvadis
03-21 04:48 AM
Allow me to emphasize a different section of the text:
Snips from Nov 05 Bulletin (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2712.html)
The AC21 removed the per-country limit in any calendar quarter in which overall applicant demand for Employment-based visa numbers is less than the total of such numbers available.
>> As per my understanding, When there are no per country limits, It can be assigned to any one with oldest PD. Not that it is working like that with USCIS. As I said, before in my previous post, we can imagine these visa numbers tagged with the category name beside them. <<
The way I read this is that this particular AC21 rule only applies if there are no cut-off dates in any category (for that calendar quarter). This is clearly not the case in this bulletin, where the cut-off date for EB3 is set to July '05. Hence, the new interpretation seems different.
During FY due to anticipated heavy demand, the AC21 provisions are not expected to apply ...] This will mean an Employment per-country limit for FY-2006 of approximately 10,650.
To illustrate the effect of the reduced per-county limitation during FY-2006 on the oversubscribed countries, it should be noted that during FY-2005 India used approximately 47,175 Employment numbers.
>> I have spoken with an attorney and he expressed above similar opinion where we might not have noticed how numbers were overflowing and NOT overflowing to demand or lack of demand. Either way, This is not a panacea for the problem at hand as there is no clarity what so ever in either procedures. <<
Maybe I'm misreading above statement, but it sounds to me that because of higher demand (of ROW), AC21 wouldn't apply anymore, and instead of 47k in '05, India had only received 10k in '06.
Note that I think the immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. By changing their interpretation, they are only taking away visas from one group and give it to another group. I can certainly see why people who are affected by this would be biased. No harm intended.
Snips from Nov 05 Bulletin (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2712.html)
The AC21 removed the per-country limit in any calendar quarter in which overall applicant demand for Employment-based visa numbers is less than the total of such numbers available.
>> As per my understanding, When there are no per country limits, It can be assigned to any one with oldest PD. Not that it is working like that with USCIS. As I said, before in my previous post, we can imagine these visa numbers tagged with the category name beside them. <<
The way I read this is that this particular AC21 rule only applies if there are no cut-off dates in any category (for that calendar quarter). This is clearly not the case in this bulletin, where the cut-off date for EB3 is set to July '05. Hence, the new interpretation seems different.
During FY due to anticipated heavy demand, the AC21 provisions are not expected to apply ...] This will mean an Employment per-country limit for FY-2006 of approximately 10,650.
To illustrate the effect of the reduced per-county limitation during FY-2006 on the oversubscribed countries, it should be noted that during FY-2005 India used approximately 47,175 Employment numbers.
>> I have spoken with an attorney and he expressed above similar opinion where we might not have noticed how numbers were overflowing and NOT overflowing to demand or lack of demand. Either way, This is not a panacea for the problem at hand as there is no clarity what so ever in either procedures. <<
Maybe I'm misreading above statement, but it sounds to me that because of higher demand (of ROW), AC21 wouldn't apply anymore, and instead of 47k in '05, India had only received 10k in '06.
Note that I think the immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. By changing their interpretation, they are only taking away visas from one group and give it to another group. I can certainly see why people who are affected by this would be biased. No harm intended.
hot Bush wanted him dead or alive
eb3_nepa
06-25 05:22 PM
Actually you are partly right. Only those who had paid the revised higher fee last year are eligible to get renewals for free. All those who had paid the regular fee (July filers) pay for renewal everytime
Yes and ALL July 2nd Filers HAVE to pay the EAD and AP fees over and over again. Coz everyone that benefitted from the July 2nd drama was not granted the multiple ead renewal free deal. I am VERY sure about that.
Yes and ALL July 2nd Filers HAVE to pay the EAD and AP fees over and over again. Coz everyone that benefitted from the July 2nd drama was not granted the multiple ead renewal free deal. I am VERY sure about that.
more...
house Bin Laden “dead or alive.
Madhuri
05-17 04:54 PM
Done.
tattoo alive,laden dead,osama bin
pitha
02-10 08:31 AM
As the saying goes “the proof is in the pudding" anybody can give statements but it is the results that matter. What results has compete america achieved, they are just giving lip service. Contrast them with the health industry lobby which has achieved results year after year. Compete america ultimate goal is more h1b which they will achieve one way or the other.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying compete america is bad, I am just saying there focus is on H1b and not as much on EB relief. If they face a hypothetical situation where they can get either H1 or EB, they would gladly choose h1, that’s the bottom line. Its better to have somebody like compete america rather than nobody, but we need a corporate lobby whose main focus is eb relief.
And there is an important lesson to be learned from the health industry lobby. They just did not say they want CIR or skil and then went back when both cir and skil failed. They started chipping away at individual items like 50000 visas for Schedule A last year and 90000 this year from unused\recaptured visas. We should also be asking for our individual line item, 485 measure. This is how a war is won, one battle at a time. It is unrealistic to have an "all or nothing" attitude that people opposing 485 measure have. If the health industry lobby had such "all or nothing" attitude they would not have got the 50000 visas last year nor would they have been trying to get the 90000 this year. Hope we learn from them.
I am not sure about the statement "There is no corporate support for EB reform.....". Check this link http://www.competeamerica.org/. They seem to have the same agenda as ours (i.e., IV's). Is IV aware (or in collaboration) with them?
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying compete america is bad, I am just saying there focus is on H1b and not as much on EB relief. If they face a hypothetical situation where they can get either H1 or EB, they would gladly choose h1, that’s the bottom line. Its better to have somebody like compete america rather than nobody, but we need a corporate lobby whose main focus is eb relief.
And there is an important lesson to be learned from the health industry lobby. They just did not say they want CIR or skil and then went back when both cir and skil failed. They started chipping away at individual items like 50000 visas for Schedule A last year and 90000 this year from unused\recaptured visas. We should also be asking for our individual line item, 485 measure. This is how a war is won, one battle at a time. It is unrealistic to have an "all or nothing" attitude that people opposing 485 measure have. If the health industry lobby had such "all or nothing" attitude they would not have got the 50000 visas last year nor would they have been trying to get the 90000 this year. Hope we learn from them.
I am not sure about the statement "There is no corporate support for EB reform.....". Check this link http://www.competeamerica.org/. They seem to have the same agenda as ours (i.e., IV's). Is IV aware (or in collaboration) with them?
more...
pictures usama bin laden Wanted Dead or
gulute
05-19 03:30 PM
That was real quick!
Thanks
Thanks
dresses Osama Bin Laden dead or alive?
h1techSlave
09-20 04:12 PM
..from any single state, afaik (perhaps with the exception of NJ, don't have the exact numbers - but in stark contrast to many other states... ).
Also note, the attendance at short notice for the SJ rally was phenomenal.
Let's just say Californians are more motivated and active then many from the DC area, and you can expect an even larger crowd the next time around, with better planning and more time imo.
jazz
One reason for the poor performance from DC area folks is that a GC does not open many avenues for folks in DC area. You could change from a 70K job to 90K job, may be. In Silicon Valley there are many more opportunities. You are talking about a change from 80K to may be starting a million $$ company.
Also note, the attendance at short notice for the SJ rally was phenomenal.
Let's just say Californians are more motivated and active then many from the DC area, and you can expect an even larger crowd the next time around, with better planning and more time imo.
jazz
One reason for the poor performance from DC area folks is that a GC does not open many avenues for folks in DC area. You could change from a 70K job to 90K job, may be. In Silicon Valley there are many more opportunities. You are talking about a change from 80K to may be starting a million $$ company.
more...
makeup osama bin laden dead or alive.
swamy
11-17 09:38 AM
Patience my friend - iv is a disparate group of people some of whom like you are hungry for action and others who are busy caught up in stuff. Getting to organize a group is tough in the best of times and given the current environment when they are in the line of fire of congressmen backed by hordes of hate-mongers and anti-immigrants masquerading as public-policy specialists and grassroot actvists with a friendly media filled with reporters who are ambivalent about immigration themselves, you can't expect a group to form overnight to tap your energy and skills! Why don't you do some research meanwhile - I have been trying to find out something about the director of a group called cis which wields enormous - or ginormous is more appropriate- influence on the current debate and I cant find anything about him beyond where he went to school! granted he is not a politician so we're not entitled to personal details and i'm least interested in it but for someone actively influencing public policy and discourse with millions of lives on the line, so very little is known about them. Once again, dont expect people to be courteous and receptive to courtesy overnight.
girlfriend Osama Bin Laden dead killed
smehta1
06-13 07:41 PM
Spouse and I are still going through labor (PD 04!) thanks to backlogged centers but am so happy for all of you who are able to file.
Thats wonderful news!!!! Thank you to all active and core members of IV...every little bit helps :)
Thats wonderful news!!!! Thank you to all active and core members of IV...every little bit helps :)
hairstyles ≈πˆ Wanted DEad or Alive ˆπ≈
sujith1
04-10 03:27 PM
Please PM me if you are interested in the Identity Management consulting arena based off Dallas/VA/Seattle
485Mbe4001
08-21 07:30 PM
An article of getting PIO card from India :)
www.outlookindia.com | The Papers Are In Order (http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?261306)
I am a Person of Indian Origin. I have a slate-grey passport-like document issued by the Indian government that says so. But I�m not really. I was not born or brought up here, and I do not have a single direct ancestor who, as far as I know, ever lived in India. I have become the proud possessor of a Persons of Indian Origin card because I am married to an Indian citizen.
I had lived in India, on and off, for ten years�and had been married to an Indian citizen for even longer.
Two men were seated at the edge of the sofa, looking more nervous than me. Shireen was questioning them.
Previously, my visas were renewed every six months. We now wanted to stay in India indefinitely and make our home in Delhi. I would have preferred dual citizenship�but that wasn�t, and still isn�t, available. PIO would be second best. But the actual card was not easy to come by. It involved a total of 17 visits to three separate ministries and five different offices. It took up at least four full days of my life. I was interviewed twice, the second time at home with my wife, Shireen. The first time was at the offices of the Foreigners Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, in an unventilated, very public room brimming with non-Indians from every continent. I reached the head of the queue after two hours of eavesdropping on other people�s immigration problems. I was asked, among other more prosaic questions, to explain why I had married an Indian woman (�Love,� I said, monosyllabically), and then, with a leer and a twinkle, whether I had had many Indian girlfriends. �N-no�, I stuttered. My hesitant response did not reflect either uncertainty or mendacity on my part, but my surprise and my growing irritation with the questioner. The interview ended abruptly. He wrote �Refer for further enquiry� on my residence permit and said I would receive a home visit. �We need to be sure that marriages to Indian citizens are genuine.�
Several weeks later, one Friday afternoon around 5 pm, I received a phone call as I was pottering around the streets of central Delhi.
�He wanted a bribe, you idiot,� my friend said. �You�ll never get your card now; he�d have been happy with Rs 100.�
The investigators from the Home Ministry would be at my home at 5.30. As I rushed home, images of Mr and Mrs, a television programme of my UK childhood, flashed through my mind. A gormless husband would be placed in a soundproof booth, while his bright-as-a-button wife would stand on the stage. She would be asked semi-intimate questions about their life together: what was the first present she gave him when they were ? What colour nightclothes was she wearing yesterday? And so on. The husband was then released from the booth, and would invariably get the answers wrong, to his embarrassment and everyone else�s amusement. It was gentle viewing�a mild celebration of female omniscience and male autism. But now I was going to take part in a real-life version of Mr and Mrs, and my precious PIO card, and perhaps my right to stay in India, would depend on it. And, suddenly I could not, for the life of me, remember the colour of Shireen�s toothbrush, or the name of her favourite Hindi movie, or her shoe size. Fifteen years of marriage had been erased from my memory. I was sweating with nerves by the time I reached home.
Two men were seated on the edge of the sofa, looking even more nervous than me, untouched glasses of water in front of them. Shireen was questioning them about their professional qualifications�which were not very extensive. I gave her a self-conscious kiss on the cheek and sat down. At that point, our children burst in, a dancing duet of carefree excitement.
�What are these children?� asked the chief investigator.
�They�re ours.� Shireen responded with a slight chill in her voice.
�Children of both of you? They are very old.�
�Yes, both of us. They�re twelve and eleven.�
�How do you have children if you are just married?� I had not prepared for this baffling line of questioning�and was later reprimanded for just sitting there with my mouth open. Shireen, meanwhile, delivered a crushing blow.
�Ridiculous (sotto voce).... This is all totally ridiculous (out loud).... We�ve been married for fifteen years.�
I nodded eagerly.
The two men looked at each other, aghast, and then started scrabbling through the cardboard file they had brought with them. It became clear that they normally interviewed newly-married couples.
�Can we see your marriage certificate?� I showed it to them and was asked for a copy. I printed out a copy of the certificate, which was downloaded on my computer. They then got up and left�abruptly ending my brief cameo on Mr and Mrs�having promised a decision within two weeks.
The following evening, a Saturday, our cook, Pan Singh, said one of the men who had come yesterday was at the gate, asking for a lifafa, the Hindi word for envelope. I asked him to invite the man in. Pan Singh returned, a little sheepish, saying the man refused to come in, but just wanted a lifafa�with our marriage certificate. And so, slightly puzzled, I printed out another copy.
Later, I told a friend this story. �He wanted a bribe, you idiot. A lifafa is what you put the bribe in. You�ll never get your PIO card now, and he�d have been perfectly happy with 100 rupees.�
Three weeks later I went to the Foreigners� Regional Registration Office to hear the good news, and the bad. �Your application for a PIO has successfully passed the enquiry stage,� the official informed me without looking up. �But unfortunately, Mr Miller, all your documentation has gone astray and you will need to resubmit.� I looked heavenwards and brought my hand down rather heavily on the table. �I�m sorry. We�re not computerised yet, and some of our agents are a little careless.� It may have been my imagination, but I�m sure I detected the trace of a wink in her left eye. �Probably best to apply next time you�re in London,� she told me cheerfully. I walked away presuming, but unable to prove, that my papers had been deliberately lost.
I took her advice. Three weeks after putting in my application to the Indian High Commission in London (no interview necessary), I had my precious PIO card�together with a 15-year visa, the right to buy property in India, and, to my amusement, the ability to join the diplomats� queue at immigration at Delhi airport. This is of no practical use, because I still have to wait just as long for my luggage, but I do get childishly gleeful as I saunter past the first-class passengers.
www.outlookindia.com | The Papers Are In Order (http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?261306)
I am a Person of Indian Origin. I have a slate-grey passport-like document issued by the Indian government that says so. But I�m not really. I was not born or brought up here, and I do not have a single direct ancestor who, as far as I know, ever lived in India. I have become the proud possessor of a Persons of Indian Origin card because I am married to an Indian citizen.
I had lived in India, on and off, for ten years�and had been married to an Indian citizen for even longer.
Two men were seated at the edge of the sofa, looking more nervous than me. Shireen was questioning them.
Previously, my visas were renewed every six months. We now wanted to stay in India indefinitely and make our home in Delhi. I would have preferred dual citizenship�but that wasn�t, and still isn�t, available. PIO would be second best. But the actual card was not easy to come by. It involved a total of 17 visits to three separate ministries and five different offices. It took up at least four full days of my life. I was interviewed twice, the second time at home with my wife, Shireen. The first time was at the offices of the Foreigners Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, in an unventilated, very public room brimming with non-Indians from every continent. I reached the head of the queue after two hours of eavesdropping on other people�s immigration problems. I was asked, among other more prosaic questions, to explain why I had married an Indian woman (�Love,� I said, monosyllabically), and then, with a leer and a twinkle, whether I had had many Indian girlfriends. �N-no�, I stuttered. My hesitant response did not reflect either uncertainty or mendacity on my part, but my surprise and my growing irritation with the questioner. The interview ended abruptly. He wrote �Refer for further enquiry� on my residence permit and said I would receive a home visit. �We need to be sure that marriages to Indian citizens are genuine.�
Several weeks later, one Friday afternoon around 5 pm, I received a phone call as I was pottering around the streets of central Delhi.
�He wanted a bribe, you idiot,� my friend said. �You�ll never get your card now; he�d have been happy with Rs 100.�
The investigators from the Home Ministry would be at my home at 5.30. As I rushed home, images of Mr and Mrs, a television programme of my UK childhood, flashed through my mind. A gormless husband would be placed in a soundproof booth, while his bright-as-a-button wife would stand on the stage. She would be asked semi-intimate questions about their life together: what was the first present she gave him when they were ? What colour nightclothes was she wearing yesterday? And so on. The husband was then released from the booth, and would invariably get the answers wrong, to his embarrassment and everyone else�s amusement. It was gentle viewing�a mild celebration of female omniscience and male autism. But now I was going to take part in a real-life version of Mr and Mrs, and my precious PIO card, and perhaps my right to stay in India, would depend on it. And, suddenly I could not, for the life of me, remember the colour of Shireen�s toothbrush, or the name of her favourite Hindi movie, or her shoe size. Fifteen years of marriage had been erased from my memory. I was sweating with nerves by the time I reached home.
Two men were seated on the edge of the sofa, looking even more nervous than me, untouched glasses of water in front of them. Shireen was questioning them about their professional qualifications�which were not very extensive. I gave her a self-conscious kiss on the cheek and sat down. At that point, our children burst in, a dancing duet of carefree excitement.
�What are these children?� asked the chief investigator.
�They�re ours.� Shireen responded with a slight chill in her voice.
�Children of both of you? They are very old.�
�Yes, both of us. They�re twelve and eleven.�
�How do you have children if you are just married?� I had not prepared for this baffling line of questioning�and was later reprimanded for just sitting there with my mouth open. Shireen, meanwhile, delivered a crushing blow.
�Ridiculous (sotto voce).... This is all totally ridiculous (out loud).... We�ve been married for fifteen years.�
I nodded eagerly.
The two men looked at each other, aghast, and then started scrabbling through the cardboard file they had brought with them. It became clear that they normally interviewed newly-married couples.
�Can we see your marriage certificate?� I showed it to them and was asked for a copy. I printed out a copy of the certificate, which was downloaded on my computer. They then got up and left�abruptly ending my brief cameo on Mr and Mrs�having promised a decision within two weeks.
The following evening, a Saturday, our cook, Pan Singh, said one of the men who had come yesterday was at the gate, asking for a lifafa, the Hindi word for envelope. I asked him to invite the man in. Pan Singh returned, a little sheepish, saying the man refused to come in, but just wanted a lifafa�with our marriage certificate. And so, slightly puzzled, I printed out another copy.
Later, I told a friend this story. �He wanted a bribe, you idiot. A lifafa is what you put the bribe in. You�ll never get your PIO card now, and he�d have been perfectly happy with 100 rupees.�
Three weeks later I went to the Foreigners� Regional Registration Office to hear the good news, and the bad. �Your application for a PIO has successfully passed the enquiry stage,� the official informed me without looking up. �But unfortunately, Mr Miller, all your documentation has gone astray and you will need to resubmit.� I looked heavenwards and brought my hand down rather heavily on the table. �I�m sorry. We�re not computerised yet, and some of our agents are a little careless.� It may have been my imagination, but I�m sure I detected the trace of a wink in her left eye. �Probably best to apply next time you�re in London,� she told me cheerfully. I walked away presuming, but unable to prove, that my papers had been deliberately lost.
I took her advice. Three weeks after putting in my application to the Indian High Commission in London (no interview necessary), I had my precious PIO card�together with a 15-year visa, the right to buy property in India, and, to my amusement, the ability to join the diplomats� queue at immigration at Delhi airport. This is of no practical use, because I still have to wait just as long for my luggage, but I do get childishly gleeful as I saunter past the first-class passengers.
santb1975
04-25 08:15 PM
Great Initiative..Let's do it again..We reached our target in 8 days on our last funding drive. Let's do it again
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