illusions
08-31 11:57 AM
well I wouldn't classify any company as good or bad, i've only gone to one company and have been with them since 05 and have no issues so far. They have provided me with everything that i needed and have so far been very professional.
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to write company specific information on the forum, so I'll refrain from that. But if you like any specifics you can drop me a PM. Heres what my company offers:
* NO Contracts / Bond what-so-ever.
* I get to choose my own rates (if i get my own contract that is, and i have so far)
* There is a 60:40 ratio. 60 i keep and 40 they keep. - Before taxes of course.(You might think this is high, but it's worthwhile cos i get no headaches)
* I get PPO Blue Cross Blue Shield Medical coverage for me and my wife.
* Upto $1000 in dental coverage in a year, reimbursed.
* Direct contact with the lawyer and i can pay him directly any immigration related fees, or opt to take a fraction off my paycheck. (Hence i know the actual cost and i know they are not charging any overhead costs)
* Direct deposit guaranteed at the end of the month even though they haven't received the payment as yet.
* I can leave them when ever i want, no questions asked nothing.
* If you are with them and you get your spouse in, they will offer up to 80:20 ratio and same benefits.
CONS:
====
* No training, in any related fields.
* You have to find your own contract (although they have affiliations with head hunters who would help in getting u a contract)
* Haven't ever spoken about on-bench pay... but i figure they will pay min for a month if need be.
At first i thought the ratio was too high and was looking to switch, and at the same time my wife was getting her H1B. A company NJ offered her a ratio of 70:30 and min benefits, plus a 1 year contract of which if breached would cost us 20K.
After she got her H1B and $2,500 in legal fees, they changed their minds, and was willing to pay only a fixed pay of 55K. I waited till she finished her training, and said screw you, gave em the finger.
She's now working with my company, and making 97K with a 80:20 ratio. Almost 20K more than me! lol.:eek:
In a nutshell i would watch out for the following no matter which company you choose.
* Make sure you cover all grounds with them 1st.
* Get everything in writing before anything. (In my case the first time it worked out fine, cos 60:40 was a high ratio but they offered all the benefits and no hassle.)
* Make sure you have access to the lawyer directly.
* Always go for a ratio basis, the more you are billed the more you earn, and it motivates you.
Good Luck.
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to write company specific information on the forum, so I'll refrain from that. But if you like any specifics you can drop me a PM. Heres what my company offers:
* NO Contracts / Bond what-so-ever.
* I get to choose my own rates (if i get my own contract that is, and i have so far)
* There is a 60:40 ratio. 60 i keep and 40 they keep. - Before taxes of course.(You might think this is high, but it's worthwhile cos i get no headaches)
* I get PPO Blue Cross Blue Shield Medical coverage for me and my wife.
* Upto $1000 in dental coverage in a year, reimbursed.
* Direct contact with the lawyer and i can pay him directly any immigration related fees, or opt to take a fraction off my paycheck. (Hence i know the actual cost and i know they are not charging any overhead costs)
* Direct deposit guaranteed at the end of the month even though they haven't received the payment as yet.
* I can leave them when ever i want, no questions asked nothing.
* If you are with them and you get your spouse in, they will offer up to 80:20 ratio and same benefits.
CONS:
====
* No training, in any related fields.
* You have to find your own contract (although they have affiliations with head hunters who would help in getting u a contract)
* Haven't ever spoken about on-bench pay... but i figure they will pay min for a month if need be.
At first i thought the ratio was too high and was looking to switch, and at the same time my wife was getting her H1B. A company NJ offered her a ratio of 70:30 and min benefits, plus a 1 year contract of which if breached would cost us 20K.
After she got her H1B and $2,500 in legal fees, they changed their minds, and was willing to pay only a fixed pay of 55K. I waited till she finished her training, and said screw you, gave em the finger.
She's now working with my company, and making 97K with a 80:20 ratio. Almost 20K more than me! lol.:eek:
In a nutshell i would watch out for the following no matter which company you choose.
* Make sure you cover all grounds with them 1st.
* Get everything in writing before anything. (In my case the first time it worked out fine, cos 60:40 was a high ratio but they offered all the benefits and no hassle.)
* Make sure you have access to the lawyer directly.
* Always go for a ratio basis, the more you are billed the more you earn, and it motivates you.
Good Luck.
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gauravsh
03-28 03:49 PM
Thanks !!
superdude
07-20 02:17 AM
Since we had filed 140 recently. we got e-approval with notice saying actual notice will follow in mail.
Has anyone ever filed with e-approval email printout as initial evidence ?
Thanks
All that you need is 140 recepit notice to file for 485 if you do not have the approval notice. e-notice should be fine.Please talk to your attorney.
Has anyone ever filed with e-approval email printout as initial evidence ?
Thanks
All that you need is 140 recepit notice to file for 485 if you do not have the approval notice. e-notice should be fine.Please talk to your attorney.
2011 Sick Puppies Wallpaper Image
kart2007
05-25 11:26 PM
Does anyone have recent experience with the Chicago office of Consulate of India for passport renewal. How long does it take? 2 weeks, 3 weeks, more than 3 weeks.
I went there in 2005 for renewing my friends passport. UPS lost his passport and VISA in transit. We were very pleased with the process.
We went to the office in downtown, reached at about 9 am. They were pretty quick to take the required documents and within 1 hr everything was done and we left the place.
Came back at 3:30 pm to collect the passport. Visa was stamped correctly. They made us wait for 1.5 hrs and called our name. We took the passport and drove back.
Let me know if you have any questions.
I went there in 2005 for renewing my friends passport. UPS lost his passport and VISA in transit. We were very pleased with the process.
We went to the office in downtown, reached at about 9 am. They were pretty quick to take the required documents and within 1 hr everything was done and we left the place.
Came back at 3:30 pm to collect the passport. Visa was stamped correctly. They made us wait for 1.5 hrs and called our name. We took the passport and drove back.
Let me know if you have any questions.
more...
Legal_In_A_Limbo
04-28 11:43 AM
The thing is it is kind of strange that they are working on Sundays to reopen cases.
I hope things work out for good for everyone.
I hope things work out for good for everyone.
EndlessWait
12-07 03:09 PM
databases for CSC and NSC are aligned and then notices are sent automatically. Unless that happens one has to wait to get the FP notice.
its so weird, Oh USCIS have mercy on us. go IV
its so weird, Oh USCIS have mercy on us. go IV
more...
geniousatwork
09-01 03:49 PM
Congratulations !!! GOOD LUCK to all the people awaiting approval notice.
2010 Tags: sick wallpapers,computer
kirupa
03-28 03:42 AM
I just had a response back from the MSDN boards that I need to hit test to find out which UI Element is being clicked. I will explore this route and will hopefully find an answer to post here.
In the event handler for the UI element you click, simply do a cast such as "sender as UIElement". That will give you a reference to the element you are trying to find.
:thumb:
In the event handler for the UI element you click, simply do a cast such as "sender as UIElement". That will give you a reference to the element you are trying to find.
:thumb:
more...
ksrk
02-13 04:36 AM
Dilip,
In all your comments, you said nothing of your PD or EB category or your country of birth for that matter. It is difficult for anyone to quell your anxiety without that information. Check with your (or any) immigration attorney for a more substantial answer.
The bottom line is that a visa number should be available when it comes time to adjudicate your case, meaning that your PD should be current at the time the officer picks up your case AND a visa number available for him/her to assign to you (and your dependents, if you have any).
Else, the I-485 processing date means nothing, as has been stated by other members earlier. Yes, retrogression sucks!
In all your comments, you said nothing of your PD or EB category or your country of birth for that matter. It is difficult for anyone to quell your anxiety without that information. Check with your (or any) immigration attorney for a more substantial answer.
The bottom line is that a visa number should be available when it comes time to adjudicate your case, meaning that your PD should be current at the time the officer picks up your case AND a visa number available for him/her to assign to you (and your dependents, if you have any).
Else, the I-485 processing date means nothing, as has been stated by other members earlier. Yes, retrogression sucks!
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sdudeja
11-15 01:55 PM
Hi
I am a teacher on H1B. I am here with a company GTRR. If you are a math, science or special education teacher you can get job easily. The company site is gtrr.net.
I am a teacher on H1B. I am here with a company GTRR. If you are a math, science or special education teacher you can get job easily. The company site is gtrr.net.
more...
chosenone52
10-02 06:09 PM
So am still little confused... Should I go this route... The reason is the company who is willing to do my GC is doing also in good faith. But with the economy the way it shapes up... they are not sure, but as a good faith they did agree to start my GC process. Well I will be bearing the lawyer expenses...they would manage the mandatory fees. So they have very little to loose.
What do you guys suggest! I have heard many people who work with company A and GC is done by Company B ... ( Correct me if I am wrong here)
Appreciated
What do you guys suggest! I have heard many people who work with company A and GC is done by Company B ... ( Correct me if I am wrong here)
Appreciated
hot Iphone Wallpapers
ramidiskr
01-09 04:19 PM
I am in similar situation,
But my wife will not be having a valid visa while returning and she will not have her AP before leaving US.?
I would mail the AP once it is approved and can she come back with AP?
I would be maintaining my H-1 status all the way through......
Please advise!!!
But my wife will not be having a valid visa while returning and she will not have her AP before leaving US.?
I would mail the AP once it is approved and can she come back with AP?
I would be maintaining my H-1 status all the way through......
Please advise!!!
more...
house sick wallpapers
GKBest
07-14 01:45 PM
I too am surprised to see Philippines being on top of the GC Allocation when in fact only a few are applying for skilled categories in comparison to India and China. What you said about the Schedule A (nurses) now made sense.
tattoo Sick Robot (wds) - injection,
panky72
06-05 09:31 PM
Hi,
I Applied H1b 8th Year Extension on Jan 9th. Still waiting Anybody has this kind of situation? my Case number Starts with WAC
I Applied my H1b extn on Jan 9th , and i went to India on 18th Jan and came back on 18th Feb using my AP is this could be cause for the delay.
Please share your experiences and ideas
Thank You,
Raj.
I applied for H1b 6th yr extension on march 15th and I got approval notice on may 22nd. I also applied at CSC.
I Applied H1b 8th Year Extension on Jan 9th. Still waiting Anybody has this kind of situation? my Case number Starts with WAC
I Applied my H1b extn on Jan 9th , and i went to India on 18th Jan and came back on 18th Feb using my AP is this could be cause for the delay.
Please share your experiences and ideas
Thank You,
Raj.
I applied for H1b 6th yr extension on march 15th and I got approval notice on may 22nd. I also applied at CSC.
more...
pictures Sick Wallpapers
rawmuk7
03-18 04:21 PM
If you really need help on this kind of case. Talk to Shah Peerally in Fremont, a good attorney.510-798-2742. He is accessible and good.
Thx.
Thx.
dresses The Bling Wallpaper by ~Sick-
rsrikant
10-31 03:43 PM
hey guys,
i apply at tsc on aug 3rd. transferred to vsc.
ead card production ordered 10/22
ead card received 10/27
no email received for approval notice
FP received from tsc 10/29.
i apply at tsc on aug 3rd. transferred to vsc.
ead card production ordered 10/22
ead card received 10/27
no email received for approval notice
FP received from tsc 10/29.
more...
makeup Some pretty sick wallpapers
needhelp!
10-19 10:39 PM
bump
girlfriend sick Wallpaper
hopelessGC
04-28 12:02 PM
I found this information (probably posted before already), which could explain a little more about USCIS "pre-adjudication" procedures. It definitely provides a glimmer of hope and peace for those stuck in retrogression.
Please follow this link: http://www.visanow.com/VisaNowVoice/1108_Voice.html
I am posting information form this article that might interest the readers:
The DOS has now provided some clarification of the procedures that are to be completed by the adjudicating officer once a Form I-485 application has been �finalized,� meaning that all required processing and security checks have cleared. The adjudicating officer submits a �request for visa authorization� using the Immigrant Visa Allocation and Management System Web (IVAMSWEB) system. This system verifies whether the applicant�s priority date is within the applicable cutoff date for that month�s Visa Bulletin. The case is then assigned one of three statuses:
1. Authorized: the underlying priority date has been confirmed as current and the I-485 application should be immediately approved;
2. Duplicate: the A number associated with the application has already been authorized; or
3. Pending Demand: the priority date is not current, i.e., not within the cutoff date printed in that month�s bulletin.
Due to the retrogression of priority dates subsequent to the creation of the vast I-485 backlog, a great number of cases within that backlog are in Pending Demand status. More will be placed in that category once all required pre-adjudication processing has been completed.
According to the DOS, a Pending Demand case will be automatically authorized for an immigrant visa number once the underlying priority date has become current. The entire category is screened twice each month for visa number availability. If the priority date for a case is later found to be current, an immigrant visa number will be authorized for that case.
Based on the information quoted above, if your I-485 application is in "Pending Demand" status, then it is will be automatically authorized once a visa number is available for your priority date :D
Please follow this link: http://www.visanow.com/VisaNowVoice/1108_Voice.html
I am posting information form this article that might interest the readers:
The DOS has now provided some clarification of the procedures that are to be completed by the adjudicating officer once a Form I-485 application has been �finalized,� meaning that all required processing and security checks have cleared. The adjudicating officer submits a �request for visa authorization� using the Immigrant Visa Allocation and Management System Web (IVAMSWEB) system. This system verifies whether the applicant�s priority date is within the applicable cutoff date for that month�s Visa Bulletin. The case is then assigned one of three statuses:
1. Authorized: the underlying priority date has been confirmed as current and the I-485 application should be immediately approved;
2. Duplicate: the A number associated with the application has already been authorized; or
3. Pending Demand: the priority date is not current, i.e., not within the cutoff date printed in that month�s bulletin.
Due to the retrogression of priority dates subsequent to the creation of the vast I-485 backlog, a great number of cases within that backlog are in Pending Demand status. More will be placed in that category once all required pre-adjudication processing has been completed.
According to the DOS, a Pending Demand case will be automatically authorized for an immigrant visa number once the underlying priority date has become current. The entire category is screened twice each month for visa number availability. If the priority date for a case is later found to be current, an immigrant visa number will be authorized for that case.
Based on the information quoted above, if your I-485 application is in "Pending Demand" status, then it is will be automatically authorized once a visa number is available for your priority date :D
hairstyles Sick Wallpapers - by Mickka
garamchai2go
12-19 08:13 AM
Hi All,
Me and my wife are traveling to India. We are going for visa re-stamping (consular processing).
Based on the information provided below, can you provide lists of forms/docs that we're supposed to carry with us when we visit the consulate for stamping?
THANKS IN ADVANCE!
- Amit
My visa:
- I entered on H1B. Then I had to change employer so visa was transfered (And they extended it for another 2.5years). So now I have a H1B visa which is valid till June 2009, and passport with expired H1B stamp.
- With the new employer - I've an approved PERM. I140 is pending. I485 is filed. EAD received. Do I need to take approval notices and/or receipt notices of any/all of these stages?
My Wife's visa:
- she entered on H4. Now she has a H1B visa which is valid up 2010, and passport with expired H4 stamp.
Is she required to take approval notices and/or receipt notices of i485.. or my PERM or i140?
Rather than taking inputs from forum members on the documents required, I recommend go to Consulate website or vfs website to find the list of documents. Ex: http://chennai.usconsulate.gov/work_visas_h_l.html
Yes, carry all your AOS related documents. Please note that, you cannot expect passport immediately after stamping. This is due to extra PIMS clearance introduced recently. In my case, my passport with visa stamp reached me only after 10 business days. So please have that extra buffer in your travel schedule.
After going through the nervousness of waiting for passport I felt it would have been better if I did not go to stamping in first place. Just travelled on AP would have been wise decision.
Me and my wife are traveling to India. We are going for visa re-stamping (consular processing).
Based on the information provided below, can you provide lists of forms/docs that we're supposed to carry with us when we visit the consulate for stamping?
THANKS IN ADVANCE!
- Amit
My visa:
- I entered on H1B. Then I had to change employer so visa was transfered (And they extended it for another 2.5years). So now I have a H1B visa which is valid till June 2009, and passport with expired H1B stamp.
- With the new employer - I've an approved PERM. I140 is pending. I485 is filed. EAD received. Do I need to take approval notices and/or receipt notices of any/all of these stages?
My Wife's visa:
- she entered on H4. Now she has a H1B visa which is valid up 2010, and passport with expired H4 stamp.
Is she required to take approval notices and/or receipt notices of i485.. or my PERM or i140?
Rather than taking inputs from forum members on the documents required, I recommend go to Consulate website or vfs website to find the list of documents. Ex: http://chennai.usconsulate.gov/work_visas_h_l.html
Yes, carry all your AOS related documents. Please note that, you cannot expect passport immediately after stamping. This is due to extra PIMS clearance introduced recently. In my case, my passport with visa stamp reached me only after 10 business days. So please have that extra buffer in your travel schedule.
After going through the nervousness of waiting for passport I felt it would have been better if I did not go to stamping in first place. Just travelled on AP would have been wise decision.
gcnotfiledyet
09-02 04:12 PM
This guy is so curious to know what item and from which store ?
Let him know your answer.
And you thought he would not understand my english? smartypants:)
Let him know your answer.
And you thought he would not understand my english? smartypants:)
devang77
07-06 09:49 PM
Interesting Article....
Washington (CNN) -- We're getting to the point where even good news comes wrapped in bad news.
Good news: Despite the terrible June job numbers (125,000 jobs lost as the Census finished its work), one sector continues to gain -- manufacturing.
Factories added 9,000 workers in June, for a total of 136,000 hires since December 2009.
So that's something, yes?
Maybe not. Despite millions of unemployed, despite 2 million job losses in manufacturing between the end of 2007 and the end of 2009, factory employers apparently cannot find the workers they need. Here's what the New York Times reported Friday:
"The problem, the companies say, is a mismatch between the kind of skilled workers needed and the ranks of the unemployed.
"During the recession, domestic manufacturers appear to have accelerated the long-term move toward greater automation, laying off more of their lowest-skilled workers and replacing them with cheaper labor abroad.
"Now they are looking to hire people who can operate sophisticated computerized machinery, follow complex blueprints and demonstrate higher math proficiency than was previously required of the typical assembly line worker."
It may sound like manufacturers are being too fussy. But they face a real problem.
As manufacturing work gets more taxing, manufacturers are looking at a work force that is actually becoming less literate and less skilled.
In 2007, ETS -- the people who run the country's standardized tests -- compiled a battery of scores of basic literacy conducted over the previous 15 years and arrived at a startling warning: On present trends, the country's average score on basic literacy tests will drop by 5 percent by 2030 as compared to 1992.
That's a disturbing headline. Behind the headline is even worse news.
Not everybody's scores are dropping. In fact, ETS estimates that the percentage of Americans who can read at the very highest levels will actually rise slightly by 2030 as compared to 1992 -- a special national "thank you" to all those parents who read to their kids at bedtime!
But that small rise at the top is overbalanced by a collapse of literacy at the bottom.
In 1992, 17 percent of Americans scored at the very lowest literacy level. On present trends, 27 percent of Americans will score at the very lowest level in 2030.
What's driving the deterioration? An immigration policy that favors the unskilled. Immigrants to Canada and Australia typically arrive with very high skills, including English-language competence. But the United States has taken a different course. Since 2000, the United States has received some 10 million migrants, approximately half of them illegal.
Migrants to the United States arrive with much less formal schooling than migrants to Canada and Australia and very poor English-language skills. More than 80 percent of Hispanic adult migrants to the United States score below what ETS deems a minimum level of literacy necessary for success in the U.S. labor market.
Let's put this in concrete terms. Imagine a migrant to the United States. He's hard-working, strong, energetic, determined to get ahead. He speaks almost zero English, and can barely read or write even in Spanish. He completed his last year of formal schooling at age 13 and has been working with his hands ever since.
He's an impressive, even admirable human being. Maybe he reminds some Americans of their grandfather. And had he arrived in this country in 1920, there would have been many, many jobs for him to do that would have paid him a living wage, enabling him to better himself over time -- backbreaking jobs, but jobs that did not pay too much less than what a fully literate English-speaking worker could earn.
During the debt-happy 2000s, that same worker might earn a living assembling houses or landscaping hotels and resorts. But with the Great Recession, the bottom has fallen out of his world. And even when the recession ends, we're not going to be building houses like we used to, or spending money on vacations either.
We may hope that over time the children and grandchildren of America's immigrants of the 1990s and 2000s will do better than their parents and grandparents. For now, the indicators are not good: American-born Hispanics drop out of high school at very high rates.
Over time, yes, they'll probably catch up -- by the 2060s, they'll probably be doing fine.
But over the intervening half century, we are going to face a big problem. We talk a lot about retraining workers, but we don't really know how to do it very well -- particularly workers who cannot read fluently. Our schools are not doing a brilliant job training the native-born less advantaged: even now, a half-century into the civil rights era, still one-third of black Americans read at the lowest level of literacy.
Just as we made bad decisions about physical capital in the 2000s -- overinvesting in houses, underinvesting in airports, roads, trains, and bridges -- so we also made fateful decisions about our human capital: accepting too many unskilled workers from Latin America, too few highly skilled workers from China and India.
We have been operating a human capital policy for the world of 1910, not 2010. And now the Great Recession is exposing the true costs of this malinvestment in human capital. It has wiped away the jobs that less-skilled immigrants can do, that offered them a livelihood and a future. Who knows when or if such jobs will return? Meanwhile the immigrants fitted for success in the 21st century economy were locating in Canada and Australia.
Americans do not believe in problems that cannot be quickly or easily solved. They place their faith in education and re-education. They do not like to remember that it took two and three generations for their own families to acquire the skills necessary to succeed in a technological society. They hate to imagine that their country might be less affluent, more unequal, and less globally competitive in the future because of decisions they are making now. Yet all these things are true.
We cannot predict in advance which skills precisely will be needed by the U.S. economy of a decade hence. Nor should we try, for we'll certainly guess wrong. What we can know is this: Immigrants who arrive with language and math skills, with professional or graduate degrees, will adapt better to whatever the future economy throws at them.
Even more important, their children are much more likely to find a secure footing in the ultratechnological economy of the mid-21st century. And by reducing the flow of very unskilled foreign workers into the United States, we will tighten labor supply in ways that will induce U.S. employers to recruit, train and retain the less-skilled native born, especially African-Americans -- the group hit hardest by the Great Recession of 2008-2010.
In the short term, we need policies to fight the recession. We need monetary stimulus, a cheaper dollar, and lower taxes. But none of these policies can fix the skills mismatch that occurs when an advanced industrial economy must find work for people who cannot read very well, and whose children are not reading much better.
The United States needs a human capital policy that emphasizes skilled immigration and halts unskilled immigration. It needed that policy 15 years ago, but it's not too late to start now.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum.
Why good jobs are going unfilled - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/06/frum.skills.mismatch/index.html?hpt=C2)
Washington (CNN) -- We're getting to the point where even good news comes wrapped in bad news.
Good news: Despite the terrible June job numbers (125,000 jobs lost as the Census finished its work), one sector continues to gain -- manufacturing.
Factories added 9,000 workers in June, for a total of 136,000 hires since December 2009.
So that's something, yes?
Maybe not. Despite millions of unemployed, despite 2 million job losses in manufacturing between the end of 2007 and the end of 2009, factory employers apparently cannot find the workers they need. Here's what the New York Times reported Friday:
"The problem, the companies say, is a mismatch between the kind of skilled workers needed and the ranks of the unemployed.
"During the recession, domestic manufacturers appear to have accelerated the long-term move toward greater automation, laying off more of their lowest-skilled workers and replacing them with cheaper labor abroad.
"Now they are looking to hire people who can operate sophisticated computerized machinery, follow complex blueprints and demonstrate higher math proficiency than was previously required of the typical assembly line worker."
It may sound like manufacturers are being too fussy. But they face a real problem.
As manufacturing work gets more taxing, manufacturers are looking at a work force that is actually becoming less literate and less skilled.
In 2007, ETS -- the people who run the country's standardized tests -- compiled a battery of scores of basic literacy conducted over the previous 15 years and arrived at a startling warning: On present trends, the country's average score on basic literacy tests will drop by 5 percent by 2030 as compared to 1992.
That's a disturbing headline. Behind the headline is even worse news.
Not everybody's scores are dropping. In fact, ETS estimates that the percentage of Americans who can read at the very highest levels will actually rise slightly by 2030 as compared to 1992 -- a special national "thank you" to all those parents who read to their kids at bedtime!
But that small rise at the top is overbalanced by a collapse of literacy at the bottom.
In 1992, 17 percent of Americans scored at the very lowest literacy level. On present trends, 27 percent of Americans will score at the very lowest level in 2030.
What's driving the deterioration? An immigration policy that favors the unskilled. Immigrants to Canada and Australia typically arrive with very high skills, including English-language competence. But the United States has taken a different course. Since 2000, the United States has received some 10 million migrants, approximately half of them illegal.
Migrants to the United States arrive with much less formal schooling than migrants to Canada and Australia and very poor English-language skills. More than 80 percent of Hispanic adult migrants to the United States score below what ETS deems a minimum level of literacy necessary for success in the U.S. labor market.
Let's put this in concrete terms. Imagine a migrant to the United States. He's hard-working, strong, energetic, determined to get ahead. He speaks almost zero English, and can barely read or write even in Spanish. He completed his last year of formal schooling at age 13 and has been working with his hands ever since.
He's an impressive, even admirable human being. Maybe he reminds some Americans of their grandfather. And had he arrived in this country in 1920, there would have been many, many jobs for him to do that would have paid him a living wage, enabling him to better himself over time -- backbreaking jobs, but jobs that did not pay too much less than what a fully literate English-speaking worker could earn.
During the debt-happy 2000s, that same worker might earn a living assembling houses or landscaping hotels and resorts. But with the Great Recession, the bottom has fallen out of his world. And even when the recession ends, we're not going to be building houses like we used to, or spending money on vacations either.
We may hope that over time the children and grandchildren of America's immigrants of the 1990s and 2000s will do better than their parents and grandparents. For now, the indicators are not good: American-born Hispanics drop out of high school at very high rates.
Over time, yes, they'll probably catch up -- by the 2060s, they'll probably be doing fine.
But over the intervening half century, we are going to face a big problem. We talk a lot about retraining workers, but we don't really know how to do it very well -- particularly workers who cannot read fluently. Our schools are not doing a brilliant job training the native-born less advantaged: even now, a half-century into the civil rights era, still one-third of black Americans read at the lowest level of literacy.
Just as we made bad decisions about physical capital in the 2000s -- overinvesting in houses, underinvesting in airports, roads, trains, and bridges -- so we also made fateful decisions about our human capital: accepting too many unskilled workers from Latin America, too few highly skilled workers from China and India.
We have been operating a human capital policy for the world of 1910, not 2010. And now the Great Recession is exposing the true costs of this malinvestment in human capital. It has wiped away the jobs that less-skilled immigrants can do, that offered them a livelihood and a future. Who knows when or if such jobs will return? Meanwhile the immigrants fitted for success in the 21st century economy were locating in Canada and Australia.
Americans do not believe in problems that cannot be quickly or easily solved. They place their faith in education and re-education. They do not like to remember that it took two and three generations for their own families to acquire the skills necessary to succeed in a technological society. They hate to imagine that their country might be less affluent, more unequal, and less globally competitive in the future because of decisions they are making now. Yet all these things are true.
We cannot predict in advance which skills precisely will be needed by the U.S. economy of a decade hence. Nor should we try, for we'll certainly guess wrong. What we can know is this: Immigrants who arrive with language and math skills, with professional or graduate degrees, will adapt better to whatever the future economy throws at them.
Even more important, their children are much more likely to find a secure footing in the ultratechnological economy of the mid-21st century. And by reducing the flow of very unskilled foreign workers into the United States, we will tighten labor supply in ways that will induce U.S. employers to recruit, train and retain the less-skilled native born, especially African-Americans -- the group hit hardest by the Great Recession of 2008-2010.
In the short term, we need policies to fight the recession. We need monetary stimulus, a cheaper dollar, and lower taxes. But none of these policies can fix the skills mismatch that occurs when an advanced industrial economy must find work for people who cannot read very well, and whose children are not reading much better.
The United States needs a human capital policy that emphasizes skilled immigration and halts unskilled immigration. It needed that policy 15 years ago, but it's not too late to start now.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum.
Why good jobs are going unfilled - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/06/frum.skills.mismatch/index.html?hpt=C2)
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