PHANI_TAVVALA
10-07 02:40 PM
"Americans living abroad, there is a 90,000 foreign earned income exclusion which means that you can make up to $90,000 abroad and exempt it from your income for US tax purposes". Google it. Very few here can expect to make $90,000/year in India. The article is for ultrarich.
wallpaper faye valentine redhead.
UNFLUX
06-12 10:15 AM
mlk - please don't take this the wrong way, but I didn't know you had skills like that! It's probably just because I haven't seen a lot of your work. Great work from both of you but I am really impressed with mlk's last volley. Great job on that one, I love the look and feel. Nice typo too. :thumb:
ArunAntonio
04-25 05:51 PM
Go home and get some rest.
Most of us are like Gollum..we got the ring..(LC and I-140) and seem to
rot without getting GC..our lifes and age in the US have been
artificialy increased by the ring..not sure where the ring is going to take us..we
have a Gandalf(Lobbying Firm)..to guide Frido(Aman Kapor) and Samwise Gamji(Logic Life)..
to get rid of the ring status and get a life and GC status on middle earth.
Please strenghten the Fellowship with the contributions...the ORC's are
getting stronger!.Gimli(Papu) heh..heh...heh has already joined the fellowship.
While Souron(You know who? our Friend on CNN) manufactures ORC's..you know
who's going to win!
Give High Five to Fellowship with your Dollar Bills!
Ho! Ho! Ho!..this Chirstmas with Green Cards...!
Most of us are like Gollum..we got the ring..(LC and I-140) and seem to
rot without getting GC..our lifes and age in the US have been
artificialy increased by the ring..not sure where the ring is going to take us..we
have a Gandalf(Lobbying Firm)..to guide Frido(Aman Kapor) and Samwise Gamji(Logic Life)..
to get rid of the ring status and get a life and GC status on middle earth.
Please strenghten the Fellowship with the contributions...the ORC's are
getting stronger!.Gimli(Papu) heh..heh...heh has already joined the fellowship.
While Souron(You know who? our Friend on CNN) manufactures ORC's..you know
who's going to win!
Give High Five to Fellowship with your Dollar Bills!
Ho! Ho! Ho!..this Chirstmas with Green Cards...!
2011 faye valentine redhead. faye
ramus
08-21 02:09 PM
I sent you PM yesterday.. please check and send me your info..
Thanks.
I am from Charlotte NC too....
Thanks.
I am from Charlotte NC too....
more...
hopefulgc
08-28 08:01 PM
well 2004/2003 were also invited but only a few people from 2006/2005 got laid (got GC) :D:D:D
How come only 2006 and 2005 EB2 India PD applicants were invited to the party?.
How come only 2006 and 2005 EB2 India PD applicants were invited to the party?.
HRPRO
02-14 04:23 PM
Nothing to Pardon here. You are still very very decent in your language compared to what I think about my employer(but here I will say he is an evil :) ). This happens to all of us. Every quarter they change the policy and none of it increases the amount in your pay cheque. My employer gives me BS about insurance increase saying, company had not earned much in last year and insurance company suffered a lot due to couple of employees had kids... well yeah, so did you give me a bonus when company was doing good and you guys were enjoying, then why now ? You talk about salary increase and they say you can leave the company, at the stage when you have your 140 approved and you are in your 5th / 6th year.
Mine is another desi employer based in Texas and they have policies that I object. I dont care whether they win or loose.
Prince,
I agree with you but not completely. I am still waiting for my approval and used to work for a Desi Firm too. Are we being treated poorly? Absolutely, we are, I couldnt agree more. I now work for a Non Desi employers. The treatment I get is almost similar.Our expectations from the Desi Employers are more as we look to them to relate with us better, which is why we complain about them more.
Moreover why blame them when we dont have to be employed by them. if we dont like it, we can definitely go elsewhere, no one is stopping us. Atleast they are the only ones who are ready to even support us. They may not have policies and procedures like the Fortune 500 but are the Fortune 500 willing to employ us, atleast not all of us. We do need this instrument (desi employers) to get ashore, if not all of us at least some of us.
So lets not be too harsh on them.
Mine is another desi employer based in Texas and they have policies that I object. I dont care whether they win or loose.
Prince,
I agree with you but not completely. I am still waiting for my approval and used to work for a Desi Firm too. Are we being treated poorly? Absolutely, we are, I couldnt agree more. I now work for a Non Desi employers. The treatment I get is almost similar.Our expectations from the Desi Employers are more as we look to them to relate with us better, which is why we complain about them more.
Moreover why blame them when we dont have to be employed by them. if we dont like it, we can definitely go elsewhere, no one is stopping us. Atleast they are the only ones who are ready to even support us. They may not have policies and procedures like the Fortune 500 but are the Fortune 500 willing to employ us, atleast not all of us. We do need this instrument (desi employers) to get ashore, if not all of us at least some of us.
So lets not be too harsh on them.
more...
lincoln
01-19 10:31 AM
I am also thinking of complaining, but need opinion from you guys.
My case is as follows.
A desi company fiiled for my RIR labor in March 2005 and I paid the lawyer's fee for that application. That time I was not working for that company and planned to join that company in Sept 2005. In the meantime the same company screwed up the things with my husband's H1 transfer....the sub-story of this is: My husband came to US on H4 visa in Spet 2000. That was the worst time to find an employer to sponcer his H1. Finally we got somebody to sponcer his H1 in 2002 for a civil engineering firm. I was in Boston/Maine i.e. in NorthEast and he was in Hawaii.....two farthest ends of US. In the meantime we tried to find him a job on main land and I also tried to find a job in Hawaii with no success. We also had our Canadian PR done in these years. So finally we talked with this Desi company I mentioned for H1 transfer since we had trust in this company....I had my labor filed with them and was thinking of transferring my H1 in a few months. So accordingly we sent all the necessary documents for H1 transfer and this company started marketting him he was interviewing etc....all regular stuff. One month after submitting the documents we came to know that this company has never filed for H1 transfer and it was a big shock to us. Now there was no time to find another company for H1 transfer since you have to file the transfer within 30 days. So needless to say he converted again on H4 and I decided not to transfer my H1 with this company.
So now is it possible to compain about this company that they asked me to pay the lawyer fees for LC? I have a proof of check I sent to lawyer.
Here is a regulation that you could use/refer in your complain to DOL or sue that deceptive employer:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/06-1248.pdf
My case is as follows.
A desi company fiiled for my RIR labor in March 2005 and I paid the lawyer's fee for that application. That time I was not working for that company and planned to join that company in Sept 2005. In the meantime the same company screwed up the things with my husband's H1 transfer....the sub-story of this is: My husband came to US on H4 visa in Spet 2000. That was the worst time to find an employer to sponcer his H1. Finally we got somebody to sponcer his H1 in 2002 for a civil engineering firm. I was in Boston/Maine i.e. in NorthEast and he was in Hawaii.....two farthest ends of US. In the meantime we tried to find him a job on main land and I also tried to find a job in Hawaii with no success. We also had our Canadian PR done in these years. So finally we talked with this Desi company I mentioned for H1 transfer since we had trust in this company....I had my labor filed with them and was thinking of transferring my H1 in a few months. So accordingly we sent all the necessary documents for H1 transfer and this company started marketting him he was interviewing etc....all regular stuff. One month after submitting the documents we came to know that this company has never filed for H1 transfer and it was a big shock to us. Now there was no time to find another company for H1 transfer since you have to file the transfer within 30 days. So needless to say he converted again on H4 and I decided not to transfer my H1 with this company.
So now is it possible to compain about this company that they asked me to pay the lawyer fees for LC? I have a proof of check I sent to lawyer.
Here is a regulation that you could use/refer in your complain to DOL or sue that deceptive employer:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/06-1248.pdf
2010 faye valentine gauntlet. faye valentine hentai. faye valentine hentai.
pappu
03-19 03:12 PM
IV is aware of the issue and will take up the issue through our lobbyists with USCIS and other appropriate levels.
Please do not create action items without consulting us. We are already working on several issues with various offices.
Please do not create action items without consulting us. We are already working on several issues with various offices.
more...
meridiani.planum
07-20 01:39 PM
Can you clarify the difference between case scenario 3 and 4. It looks like there is no need of filing multiple 485 petition if one has already filed and pending.
There is way by which one can "Interfile" using the spouse approved I-140 as stated in scenario 4.
people did multiple filings for different reasons.. interfiling is easier if one application is already in the system, you have receipts, A# and all that.
However we had cases where PD became current for both spouses in the same month (like July last year) and there was no time to file one app, see how it goes, then based on PDs decide to interfile or not. Also in cases where both spouses had I-140 pending and some risk of denial in both, it made sense to file 2 485s, so even if one I-140 gets denied, there is still atleast one AOS set still pending.
USCIS has a memo about interfiling, and its a known, accepted form of doing things. There is no regulation about multiple 485s. USCIS in an AILA teleconf mentioned that they discourage applicants frmo having 2 485s pending. However since there is no real regulation or law in place preventing multiple filings aggressive lawyers go ahead with it (Rajiv Khanna is one). The very conservative lawyers (Murthy, Fragomen) steer clear to avoid any potential complication. At this point its hard to say who is right, but I dont know of any case that got into a big mess because of 2 filings (the worst I have heard is when EAD or AP comes its sometimes hard to tell which 485 they based it on, but if both remain pending thats also not an issue).
Interfiling across spouses (scenario 4) is also a big of a gray area. Many lawyers (including mine) say it can be done, some say it cant be done, others have taken different stances at different points in time (if you see their chatlogs etc over the course of last 3-4 years).
There is way by which one can "Interfile" using the spouse approved I-140 as stated in scenario 4.
people did multiple filings for different reasons.. interfiling is easier if one application is already in the system, you have receipts, A# and all that.
However we had cases where PD became current for both spouses in the same month (like July last year) and there was no time to file one app, see how it goes, then based on PDs decide to interfile or not. Also in cases where both spouses had I-140 pending and some risk of denial in both, it made sense to file 2 485s, so even if one I-140 gets denied, there is still atleast one AOS set still pending.
USCIS has a memo about interfiling, and its a known, accepted form of doing things. There is no regulation about multiple 485s. USCIS in an AILA teleconf mentioned that they discourage applicants frmo having 2 485s pending. However since there is no real regulation or law in place preventing multiple filings aggressive lawyers go ahead with it (Rajiv Khanna is one). The very conservative lawyers (Murthy, Fragomen) steer clear to avoid any potential complication. At this point its hard to say who is right, but I dont know of any case that got into a big mess because of 2 filings (the worst I have heard is when EAD or AP comes its sometimes hard to tell which 485 they based it on, but if both remain pending thats also not an issue).
Interfiling across spouses (scenario 4) is also a big of a gray area. Many lawyers (including mine) say it can be done, some say it cant be done, others have taken different stances at different points in time (if you see their chatlogs etc over the course of last 3-4 years).
hair not least Faye Valentine
wins
04-14 12:49 PM
The7zen, the F1 status is gone, but the VISA is still valid. Hence applying for new I-20 with new admissions and on same previous student VISA.
more...
jonty_11
07-16 01:35 PM
best thing u can do while your PD is current is................
....................................
.................................
................
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.....
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.........wait for it to retrogress again OR help Iv in its action items... Get working...contribute....
....................................
.................................
................
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.....
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.........wait for it to retrogress again OR help Iv in its action items... Get working...contribute....
hot hairstyles 2010 IMG_7169 - Faye Valentine faye valentine gauntlet. faye
sheela
07-25 09:34 PM
Thanks... This info will be helpful to most of us...
If your case gets transferred to NBC (national benefit center)... you might (MIGHT, 50% chances or so) get interview...
If its still at NSC/TSC/. I hope no interview :-)
I now believe so. My little daughter's AOS was transferred from TSC to NSC on 6/25. My wife followed it last week and IO told it has been sent back to TSC after additional processing and you should get approval in 60 days as the PD is current. So NO intervie for her.
If your case gets transferred to NBC (national benefit center)... you might (MIGHT, 50% chances or so) get interview...
If its still at NSC/TSC/. I hope no interview :-)
I now believe so. My little daughter's AOS was transferred from TSC to NSC on 6/25. My wife followed it last week and IO told it has been sent back to TSC after additional processing and you should get approval in 60 days as the PD is current. So NO intervie for her.
more...
house faye valentine pov. Faye Valentine Pov. Faye Valentine Pov. prady16
smuggymba
10-20 01:52 PM
I have never seen a travel agent offer a price which is lower than what's on the airline website.
tattoo Naked Gun 33 1/3,
glus
01-03 07:24 AM
hi,
This is my recent experience. I am a citizen of Poland so I don't need a visa to Bahamas. I left Charleston, SC on 12/27 and came back on H-1B on 1/1/2011. They did not take my I94 when leaving and when I came back there was only one question, "Are you still on H-1B?", I said yes and they let me in without any issues at all.
This is my recent experience. I am a citizen of Poland so I don't need a visa to Bahamas. I left Charleston, SC on 12/27 and came back on H-1B on 1/1/2011. They did not take my I94 when leaving and when I came back there was only one question, "Are you still on H-1B?", I said yes and they let me in without any issues at all.
more...
pictures faye valentine video. faye
robertkennedy44
03-21 04:44 PM
Hi!
I'm a US citizen, a senior consultant who often works as a 1-person company (S-Corp).
My brilliant girlfriend from Bangalore, who works as a IT Project Manager, is arriving (on a 10-year B1 [business visa]) March 27 to stay here (NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) and build a future with me.
QUESTIONS:
Is the B1 any use in getting an H1-B?
What's the best way for her to get an H1-B? Apply immediately to NJ firms when she arrives on March 27?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
I'm a US citizen, a senior consultant who often works as a 1-person company (S-Corp).
My brilliant girlfriend from Bangalore, who works as a IT Project Manager, is arriving (on a 10-year B1 [business visa]) March 27 to stay here (NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) and build a future with me.
QUESTIONS:
Is the B1 any use in getting an H1-B?
What's the best way for her to get an H1-B? Apply immediately to NJ firms when she arrives on March 27?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
dresses naked? Faye Valentine
arnet
08-15 09:54 PM
call your bank customer service to check what exactly is written on back of check, they will tell you. i know it wont be clear if you see it in online. after that call USCIS customer service to know the reason. but you dont have much time now, check with your attroney if possible ask them to check with USCIS and resend the papers for the rejected applicant before aug 18. send it overnight.
We have filled I-485 for Me my wife and my daughter, we have received Receipt for me and my wife but still waiting for my daughter.. now I can see from my bank account that her check has been cased but based on the receipt number from back of the check USCIS website says your case has rejected because of improper filling.
Please advice what should I do.. as I have still tomorrow to file again. If I decide to file what documents should I send.
Help would be really appreciated.
We have filled I-485 for Me my wife and my daughter, we have received Receipt for me and my wife but still waiting for my daughter.. now I can see from my bank account that her check has been cased but based on the receipt number from back of the check USCIS website says your case has rejected because of improper filling.
Please advice what should I do.. as I have still tomorrow to file again. If I decide to file what documents should I send.
Help would be really appreciated.
more...
makeup faye valentine video. makeup
nj_jcarter
05-07 11:14 PM
thats really awesome. I'm a huge star wars fan so anything related makes me happy.
girlfriend faye valentine 2010
gaz
12-23 06:15 PM
I see the point you were making:
The OP has not filed for I-485 yet, so what is the grounds for approving a new 3 year H-1B petition with a different employer?
Question for those who got an extension approved based on the approved I-140
- Did you have a I-485 pending at the time of filing for a new H-1B?
- If not, then what did you write in the cover letter ;) ?
Read the post by natrajs
http://www1.immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?p=151761
3 yr Extension is Possible on this conditions according to my attorney
1) I 140 Approved and I 485 not filed because of PD is not current.
or
2) I 140 Approved and I 485 filed and PD is not current
it appears an attorney was consulted and the outcome is favorable for the original poster.
edit:
also see
http://www..com/discussion-forums/i140/253103191/last-page/?u=3150154011#post-3618814601
for post about the Rajiv Khanna consult. You should be ok.
looks like many people are in the same situation...Good luck all.
The OP has not filed for I-485 yet, so what is the grounds for approving a new 3 year H-1B petition with a different employer?
Question for those who got an extension approved based on the approved I-140
- Did you have a I-485 pending at the time of filing for a new H-1B?
- If not, then what did you write in the cover letter ;) ?
Read the post by natrajs
http://www1.immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?p=151761
3 yr Extension is Possible on this conditions according to my attorney
1) I 140 Approved and I 485 not filed because of PD is not current.
or
2) I 140 Approved and I 485 filed and PD is not current
it appears an attorney was consulted and the outcome is favorable for the original poster.
edit:
also see
http://www..com/discussion-forums/i140/253103191/last-page/?u=3150154011#post-3618814601
for post about the Rajiv Khanna consult. You should be ok.
looks like many people are in the same situation...Good luck all.
hairstyles faye valentine pov. BB Heart as Faye Valentine. BB Heart as Faye Valentine.
USDream2Dust
09-30 11:16 PM
I got your point. I need to have a job offer in case If I get RFE for EVL.
I know it's bit risky but would have to find a job in holiday season. Tough as it may sound, I would likely hit a job.
I know it's bit risky but would have to find a job in holiday season. Tough as it may sound, I would likely hit a job.
Tito_ortiz
11-17 01:20 PM
Cool.
Tito,
I like your idea of youtube and humor. Along the lines, please view this video. it is funny and there is no persons face shown. Could be a good idea if people have things to say humorously but are reluctant to reveal who they are about Our EB retrogression problem.
A while back IV was wanting people who can feature in documentary. So I believe they have a couple people who are good at film making.
We should definitely try that route.
IV core, please share your thoughts.
Watch this video. it is funny and anonymous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOqXlbWf9Io
Tito,
I like your idea of youtube and humor. Along the lines, please view this video. it is funny and there is no persons face shown. Could be a good idea if people have things to say humorously but are reluctant to reveal who they are about Our EB retrogression problem.
A while back IV was wanting people who can feature in documentary. So I believe they have a couple people who are good at film making.
We should definitely try that route.
IV core, please share your thoughts.
Watch this video. it is funny and anonymous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOqXlbWf9Io
gc28262
07-03 08:30 AM
washingtonpost.com (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/02/AR2010070204359.html?hpid=opinionsbox1)
By Jeb Bush and Robert D. Putnam
Saturday, July 3, 2010
On our national birthday, and amid an angry debate about immigration, Americans should reflect on the lessons of our shared immigrant past. We must recall that the challenges facing our nation today were felt as far back as the Founders' time. Immigrant assimilation has always been slow and contentious, with progress measured not in years but in decades. Yet there are steps communities and government should take to form a more cohesive, successful union.
Consider what one leader wrote in 1753: "Few of their children in the country learn English. The signs in our streets have inscriptions in both languages. . . . Unless the stream of their importation could be turned . . . they will soon so outnumber us that we will not preserve our language, and even our government will become precarious." Thus Ben Franklin referred to German Americans, still the largest ethnic group in America (http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf). A century later, Midwestern cities such as Cincinnati and St. Louis were mostly German-speaking. So worried were their native-born neighbors that Iowa outlawed speaking German in public and even in private conversation.
Proponents and opponents of immigration agree on one thing: Learning English is crucial to success and assimilation. Yet learning a language as an adult is hard, so first-generation immigrants often use their native tongue. Historically, English has dominated by the second or third generation in all immigrant groups. Most recent immigrants recognize that they need to learn English, and about 90 percent of the second generation speak English (http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/82.pdf), according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Research by sociologists Claude Fischer and Michael Hout published in 2008 suggests that English acquisition among immigrants today is faster than in previous waves.
Residential integration of immigrants is even more gradual. Half a century ago, sociologist Stanley Lieberson showed that most immigrants lived in segregated enclaves, "Little Italy" or "Chinatown," for several generations. This segregation reflected discrimination by natives and the natural desire of "strangers in a strange land" to live among familiar faces with familiar customs. Only with suburbanization, encouraged by government policy in the 1950s and 1960s, did the children and grandchildren of the immigrants of the 1890s and 1900s exit those enclaves. That many of today's immigrants live in ethnic enclaves is thus entirely normal and reflects no ominous aim to separate themselves from the wider American community
Immigrant intermarriage, then and now, also demonstrates steady progress over generations. In the 1960s, more than half a century after Italian immigration peaked, about 40 percent of second-generation Italians married non-Italians. This pattern characterizes today's immigrants: 39 percent of U.S.-born Latinos marry non-Latinos, according to the Pew Research Center. (http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/pdf/755-marrying-out.pdf)Intermarriage among second-generation Asian Americans is even more common. Today's immigrants are, on average, assimilating socially even more rapidly than earlier waves.
One important difference, however, that separates immigration then and now: We native-born Americans are doing less than our great-grandparents did to welcome immigrants.
A century ago, religious, civic and business groups and government provided classes in English and citizenship. Historian Thomas P. Vadasz found that in Bethlehem, Pa., a thriving town of about 20,000, roughly two-thirds of whom were immigrants, the biggest employer, Bethlehem Steel, and the local YMCA offered free English instruction to thousands of immigrants in the early 20th century, even paying them to take classes. Today, immigrants face long waiting lists for English classes, even ones they pay for.
Why is this important? A legal immigration system is the not-so-secret edge in a competitive, interconnected world economy. Immigrants enhance our ability to grow and prosper in the dynamic global marketplace. We will need every possible advantage to expand our economy amid its fiscal challenges. Moreover, the aging of our population places a premium on young, productive workers, many of whom must come from immigration.
To improve their integration into our American community, we should:
-- Provide low-cost English classes, in cooperation with local civic and religious groups, where immigrants build personal ties with co-ethnics and native-born Americans. These connections foster assimilation and help newcomers navigate our complex institutions.
-- Invest in public education, including civics education and higher education. During the first half of the 20th century, schools were critical to preparing children of immigrants for success and fostering a shared national identity.
-- Assist communities experiencing rapid increases in immigration, which is traumatic for those arriving here and for receiving communities. Schools and hospitals bear disproportionate costs of immigration, while the economic and fiscal benefits from immigration accrue nationally.
Assimilation does not mean immigrants shed ethnic identities. Our national experience with hyphenated identities shows that good Americans can retain a strong sense of ethnic identity.
We've lived our national motto, "E Pluribus Unum" ("Out of Many, One"), better than any other country. But we ought not to airbrush our ancestors' difficulties in assimilation, nor fail to match our forebears' efforts to help integrate immigrants. Government, churches, libraries, civic organizations and businesses must cooperate to address this challenge, as they did a century ago.
Jeb Bush was governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Robert D. Putnam is the Malkin professor of public policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
By Jeb Bush and Robert D. Putnam
Saturday, July 3, 2010
On our national birthday, and amid an angry debate about immigration, Americans should reflect on the lessons of our shared immigrant past. We must recall that the challenges facing our nation today were felt as far back as the Founders' time. Immigrant assimilation has always been slow and contentious, with progress measured not in years but in decades. Yet there are steps communities and government should take to form a more cohesive, successful union.
Consider what one leader wrote in 1753: "Few of their children in the country learn English. The signs in our streets have inscriptions in both languages. . . . Unless the stream of their importation could be turned . . . they will soon so outnumber us that we will not preserve our language, and even our government will become precarious." Thus Ben Franklin referred to German Americans, still the largest ethnic group in America (http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf). A century later, Midwestern cities such as Cincinnati and St. Louis were mostly German-speaking. So worried were their native-born neighbors that Iowa outlawed speaking German in public and even in private conversation.
Proponents and opponents of immigration agree on one thing: Learning English is crucial to success and assimilation. Yet learning a language as an adult is hard, so first-generation immigrants often use their native tongue. Historically, English has dominated by the second or third generation in all immigrant groups. Most recent immigrants recognize that they need to learn English, and about 90 percent of the second generation speak English (http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/82.pdf), according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Research by sociologists Claude Fischer and Michael Hout published in 2008 suggests that English acquisition among immigrants today is faster than in previous waves.
Residential integration of immigrants is even more gradual. Half a century ago, sociologist Stanley Lieberson showed that most immigrants lived in segregated enclaves, "Little Italy" or "Chinatown," for several generations. This segregation reflected discrimination by natives and the natural desire of "strangers in a strange land" to live among familiar faces with familiar customs. Only with suburbanization, encouraged by government policy in the 1950s and 1960s, did the children and grandchildren of the immigrants of the 1890s and 1900s exit those enclaves. That many of today's immigrants live in ethnic enclaves is thus entirely normal and reflects no ominous aim to separate themselves from the wider American community
Immigrant intermarriage, then and now, also demonstrates steady progress over generations. In the 1960s, more than half a century after Italian immigration peaked, about 40 percent of second-generation Italians married non-Italians. This pattern characterizes today's immigrants: 39 percent of U.S.-born Latinos marry non-Latinos, according to the Pew Research Center. (http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/pdf/755-marrying-out.pdf)Intermarriage among second-generation Asian Americans is even more common. Today's immigrants are, on average, assimilating socially even more rapidly than earlier waves.
One important difference, however, that separates immigration then and now: We native-born Americans are doing less than our great-grandparents did to welcome immigrants.
A century ago, religious, civic and business groups and government provided classes in English and citizenship. Historian Thomas P. Vadasz found that in Bethlehem, Pa., a thriving town of about 20,000, roughly two-thirds of whom were immigrants, the biggest employer, Bethlehem Steel, and the local YMCA offered free English instruction to thousands of immigrants in the early 20th century, even paying them to take classes. Today, immigrants face long waiting lists for English classes, even ones they pay for.
Why is this important? A legal immigration system is the not-so-secret edge in a competitive, interconnected world economy. Immigrants enhance our ability to grow and prosper in the dynamic global marketplace. We will need every possible advantage to expand our economy amid its fiscal challenges. Moreover, the aging of our population places a premium on young, productive workers, many of whom must come from immigration.
To improve their integration into our American community, we should:
-- Provide low-cost English classes, in cooperation with local civic and religious groups, where immigrants build personal ties with co-ethnics and native-born Americans. These connections foster assimilation and help newcomers navigate our complex institutions.
-- Invest in public education, including civics education and higher education. During the first half of the 20th century, schools were critical to preparing children of immigrants for success and fostering a shared national identity.
-- Assist communities experiencing rapid increases in immigration, which is traumatic for those arriving here and for receiving communities. Schools and hospitals bear disproportionate costs of immigration, while the economic and fiscal benefits from immigration accrue nationally.
Assimilation does not mean immigrants shed ethnic identities. Our national experience with hyphenated identities shows that good Americans can retain a strong sense of ethnic identity.
We've lived our national motto, "E Pluribus Unum" ("Out of Many, One"), better than any other country. But we ought not to airbrush our ancestors' difficulties in assimilation, nor fail to match our forebears' efforts to help integrate immigrants. Government, churches, libraries, civic organizations and businesses must cooperate to address this challenge, as they did a century ago.
Jeb Bush was governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Robert D. Putnam is the Malkin professor of public policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
