poorslumdog
08-23 09:08 PM
I am working as an industrial engineer since 2006. My labor certification approved in 2006 mentioned job title of industrial engineer (SOC Code- 17:2112), My I485 is pending since 2007, I have also kept H1B status alive, six years will expire in dec however current I-797 for H1B is valid till June 2011.
I may get promoted to an engineering manager position in next few weeks. I have few questions related �Promotion while I485 pending issue�.
1. Is the change from engineer to engineering manager allowed? If I guess correctly USCIS will take guidance from SOC codes 17:2112 (ENGINEER) and 11.9041(for manager)
Thanking you in anticipation.
Before someone gives you answer...can you answer this. Why someone should help you or provide any answer to you. In the last two years your post count is 5. So never participated in any drive, help fund raise....first IV need to get ride of selfish &*^%& like you. I wish and request others not to answer you...
I may get promoted to an engineering manager position in next few weeks. I have few questions related �Promotion while I485 pending issue�.
1. Is the change from engineer to engineering manager allowed? If I guess correctly USCIS will take guidance from SOC codes 17:2112 (ENGINEER) and 11.9041(for manager)
Thanking you in anticipation.
Before someone gives you answer...can you answer this. Why someone should help you or provide any answer to you. In the last two years your post count is 5. So never participated in any drive, help fund raise....first IV need to get ride of selfish &*^%& like you. I wish and request others not to answer you...
wallpaper alex pettyfer peeta mellark. Alex Pettyfer in talks to be
GCwaitforever
09-12 08:15 PM
Unpaid vacation is acceptable. Consultants working on hourly basis do not get paid when they do not work. As long as you come on top of prevailing wage rate and the annual salary quoted on the LCA at the end of the year, it does not matter. USCIS understands that you need a vacation too and can not work like a machine throughout the year.
wandmaker
09-18 07:07 AM
I paid the money to my company who has applied for my H1B.
Even I have not yet received receipt number for the H1 application filed on 7-April-2009 by my employer in NJ USA. I was also given fedex tracking number for the application that was sent on 7-April-2009.
I applied for H1B through a NJ based consultancy company for year 2010. I haven't got any receipt number though my employer claims to have fedexed my application on April 6th.
......had nicely and smartly enjoyed everyones money and are free without any problems. Now from last few weeks they are not even replying any emails or phone calls. This clearly indicates that it was very well planned fraud. They should really be sent to jail.
3 x $3,500 = $10,500 is easy money! As long as there are people like you ready to pay for their H1Bs; these companies will continue make money out of you. First, You should stop paying them! Second, file a complaint with USCIS about this company!!
Even I have not yet received receipt number for the H1 application filed on 7-April-2009 by my employer in NJ USA. I was also given fedex tracking number for the application that was sent on 7-April-2009.
I applied for H1B through a NJ based consultancy company for year 2010. I haven't got any receipt number though my employer claims to have fedexed my application on April 6th.
......had nicely and smartly enjoyed everyones money and are free without any problems. Now from last few weeks they are not even replying any emails or phone calls. This clearly indicates that it was very well planned fraud. They should really be sent to jail.
3 x $3,500 = $10,500 is easy money! As long as there are people like you ready to pay for their H1Bs; these companies will continue make money out of you. First, You should stop paying them! Second, file a complaint with USCIS about this company!!
2011 alex pettyfer peeta mellark. ALEX PETTYFER HAS TO BE PEETA
sanju
02-11 10:31 AM
Some people did not notice that you are not illegal immigrant, you are going thru legal process just like everyone else here. US legal system provides a way to reconcile overstay/out of status situation.
Anyway, you cannot use your lottery case as that visa number expired back in 03.
You are right! Some people did not notice that moe is not illegal. But some people did notice the moe is an anti-immigrant disguising someone he is not. moe wanted to hear exactly what you told him. Now he will bash legal immigration saying all legal immigrants are actually illegals. Please try to use your brains, maybe just a couple of times every few years.
.
Anyway, you cannot use your lottery case as that visa number expired back in 03.
You are right! Some people did not notice that moe is not illegal. But some people did notice the moe is an anti-immigrant disguising someone he is not. moe wanted to hear exactly what you told him. Now he will bash legal immigration saying all legal immigrants are actually illegals. Please try to use your brains, maybe just a couple of times every few years.
.
more...
cygent
06-10 07:44 PM
Hi diptam,
Don't forget, if you filed in PERM, your labor might be <365 days.
I'm confused - Everyone who has a 140 is supposed to have a Labor and very likely that will be more than 365 days old. So why do anyone need 140 approval in that sense ?
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19534
Don't forget, if you filed in PERM, your labor might be <365 days.
I'm confused - Everyone who has a 140 is supposed to have a Labor and very likely that will be more than 365 days old. So why do anyone need 140 approval in that sense ?
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19534
Ann Ruben
06-25 06:33 PM
The link below describes where and how to apply for humanitarian parole.
USCIS - Humanitarian Parole (http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/template.PRINT/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=accc3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCR D&vgnextchannel=accc3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60a RCRD)
USCIS - Humanitarian Parole (http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/template.PRINT/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=accc3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCR D&vgnextchannel=accc3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60a RCRD)
more...
kumarc123
01-16 03:13 PM
please Call !
go Iv
We Can Do This Together
go Iv
We Can Do This Together
2010 Alex Pettyfer Peeta Mellark
ossidon
08-06 12:12 PM
Wandmaker, Congratulations!
I am hopeful too since like you my I140 had a LUD on 7/13. I am a Dec 04 EB2 filer and have an Infopass tomorrow to know the 485 status.
I am hopeful too since like you my I140 had a LUD on 7/13. I am a Dec 04 EB2 filer and have an Infopass tomorrow to know the 485 status.
more...
admin
03-28 06:03 PM
I agree that you guys should push for an ammendment that one should be able to file 485 and join the queue and get the derivative benefits once 140 is approved. If we get that alone it is better than nothing.
However let me put it to you guys that without the green card in hand, living in limbo land albeit with some mobility is no fun either. Isn't that sort of what the illegals have now at their own labour level. We will be 2nd class citizens to be discarded at a fire brand politician's whim and fancy.If that wait is many years it will not be good. Further those applying later and later will eventually end up with inordinate waits leaving them the choice of waiting for decades like in some family based categories.
I am only saying this since it was stated that this should be the number one priority. The absolute number one priority for all of us should be to quicken the time to a GREEN CARD.
posmd,
If we're able to make every category current, then this amendment for filing I-485 will be moot. But then again our goals will have to tempered with ground reality. While we're fighting very hard against the hard country limit, there is no guarantee that it will be revoked. In the house-senate conference again, we cannot be sure that all of the exemptions like the ones for Dependents, STEM will not be stripped. So there is a very high chance that priority dates are not going to become current. So with that in mind, we need to make sure that atleast our life during the time that we're waiting for GC is much easier.
However let me put it to you guys that without the green card in hand, living in limbo land albeit with some mobility is no fun either. Isn't that sort of what the illegals have now at their own labour level. We will be 2nd class citizens to be discarded at a fire brand politician's whim and fancy.If that wait is many years it will not be good. Further those applying later and later will eventually end up with inordinate waits leaving them the choice of waiting for decades like in some family based categories.
I am only saying this since it was stated that this should be the number one priority. The absolute number one priority for all of us should be to quicken the time to a GREEN CARD.
posmd,
If we're able to make every category current, then this amendment for filing I-485 will be moot. But then again our goals will have to tempered with ground reality. While we're fighting very hard against the hard country limit, there is no guarantee that it will be revoked. In the house-senate conference again, we cannot be sure that all of the exemptions like the ones for Dependents, STEM will not be stripped. So there is a very high chance that priority dates are not going to become current. So with that in mind, we need to make sure that atleast our life during the time that we're waiting for GC is much easier.
hair Alex Pettyfer as Peeta
lutherpraveen
09-19 06:44 PM
Lying on the table.... End of discussion.
Before this discussion thread grows bigger and hopes get inflated, I thought I should quote logiclife's post on "Order to Lie on the Table", that was discussed sometime ago for a different amendment. Enjoy the logic and humor.
Before this discussion thread grows bigger and hopes get inflated, I thought I should quote logiclife's post on "Order to Lie on the Table", that was discussed sometime ago for a different amendment. Enjoy the logic and humor.
more...
whitecollarslave
03-17 10:58 AM
I checked the full text of this bill, it does not have anything else besides temporary quota increase for H-1B.
How can we actively participate in this process? How can we find out about such bills when they are still in the works and make suggestions to the lawmakers to include relief for EB issues?
How can we actively participate in this process? How can we find out about such bills when they are still in the works and make suggestions to the lawmakers to include relief for EB issues?
hot him being Peeta Mellark in
rsayed
04-27 11:07 AM
whether the incident is true or not, IV member is trying caution everybody that all should be very careful when handing over their passport to a third person. We should be fully focused when an officer examines our passport.
Very true - you would think such things don't happen (and they probably don't) - but one should always be attentive at Airports.
Very true - you would think such things don't happen (and they probably don't) - but one should always be attentive at Airports.
more...
house Alex Pettyfer.
amitjoey
10-23 02:05 PM
-------------------------------------
I'm sorry, few details.
Yes, the lawyer said that he will file to Nebraska.
One small detail I did not understand: PD-priority date- is about the PD when I filled for LC or will be another PD for this I-140?
About the fees:
U.S. Government Fee: I-140- $475.00
U.S. Government Fee: I-485 (includes I-765 and I-131) �$1010.00
U.S. Government Fee: I-485 (includes I-765 and I-131) �$1010.00 - wife.
the lawyer's fees are very high but I'm stuck and afraid to make changes at this last stage. I'm wrong?
PD: Date when you filed your labor. Stays throughout untill 485 is adjudicated.
Untill you get GC.
Processing time of 140 is based on when you file it.
I-140 Should be filed with Lawyers help (My advice) since the intent is to show that the employer has the financial muscle to keep paying you and it is really the employers petition. I-485 is your application to adjust status, and a lot of people have done it on their own without lawyers help.
I'm sorry, few details.
Yes, the lawyer said that he will file to Nebraska.
One small detail I did not understand: PD-priority date- is about the PD when I filled for LC or will be another PD for this I-140?
About the fees:
U.S. Government Fee: I-140- $475.00
U.S. Government Fee: I-485 (includes I-765 and I-131) �$1010.00
U.S. Government Fee: I-485 (includes I-765 and I-131) �$1010.00 - wife.
the lawyer's fees are very high but I'm stuck and afraid to make changes at this last stage. I'm wrong?
PD: Date when you filed your labor. Stays throughout untill 485 is adjudicated.
Untill you get GC.
Processing time of 140 is based on when you file it.
I-140 Should be filed with Lawyers help (My advice) since the intent is to show that the employer has the financial muscle to keep paying you and it is really the employers petition. I-485 is your application to adjust status, and a lot of people have done it on their own without lawyers help.
tattoo Alex Pettyfer or Josh
RNGC
07-12 01:08 PM
Most people think law suit is a bad thing, but that is not right. In a democratic country law suit is the right way to deal with things. We are legal immigrants, we have all the rights to file a law suit, but with full support of IV.
People have already filed a law suit on the same day the President signed the bill! (yesterday, the wire tapping bill...)
By filing a law suit, all we are trying to do is to fix the laws which are not working. Basically, we are doing the right thing. Not only us, but future Legal immigrants will be benefitted, they don't have to go thru what we had to...
Here are the things that needs to be fixed...
1. Country quota
2. Recapturing visas.
3. 3 year EAD/AP
4. End the endless wait ( Proposing a new law )
5. Remove the same/similar confusion in AC21
What is "End the endless wait" ?
EAD is a very good example, If 90 days have passed after filing EAD, you have the option to go to a local USCIS office and get a temp one. We should have a similar option for all the peper work. For example, each and every stage in green card process should have a a day count for processing. Like name check should be completed in 180 days.
Basically, when we receive any receipt notice, it should have a statement which reads "We have received your application and we will take action within 180 days. If we fail to act by MM-DD-YYYY, Please go to the nearest USCIS for approval.."
Sounds little ambitious ?? well, we are not asking for too much, just a day count. Lets say if the whole Green card process takes 3 years or 10 years based on the day count for each stage, people can decide whether they want to immigrate to USA with a clear idea that it will take x days to become a permanent resident ( like how it works in all other countries except USA)
Even a person jailed gets to know how long he is going to spend his time behind bars, but we do not know when we will be free from this immigration mess!
People have already filed a law suit on the same day the President signed the bill! (yesterday, the wire tapping bill...)
By filing a law suit, all we are trying to do is to fix the laws which are not working. Basically, we are doing the right thing. Not only us, but future Legal immigrants will be benefitted, they don't have to go thru what we had to...
Here are the things that needs to be fixed...
1. Country quota
2. Recapturing visas.
3. 3 year EAD/AP
4. End the endless wait ( Proposing a new law )
5. Remove the same/similar confusion in AC21
What is "End the endless wait" ?
EAD is a very good example, If 90 days have passed after filing EAD, you have the option to go to a local USCIS office and get a temp one. We should have a similar option for all the peper work. For example, each and every stage in green card process should have a a day count for processing. Like name check should be completed in 180 days.
Basically, when we receive any receipt notice, it should have a statement which reads "We have received your application and we will take action within 180 days. If we fail to act by MM-DD-YYYY, Please go to the nearest USCIS for approval.."
Sounds little ambitious ?? well, we are not asking for too much, just a day count. Lets say if the whole Green card process takes 3 years or 10 years based on the day count for each stage, people can decide whether they want to immigrate to USA with a clear idea that it will take x days to become a permanent resident ( like how it works in all other countries except USA)
Even a person jailed gets to know how long he is going to spend his time behind bars, but we do not know when we will be free from this immigration mess!
more...
pictures PEETA MELLARK. #1 Alex
Euclid
03-19 09:55 PM
Actually, what your HR says makes no sense. You *are* presenting a list A document. According to the receipt rule "the receipt for the replacement suffices (for 90 days) wherever the actual would have sufficed" (I paraphrase).
So you are in effect presenting a list A document.
Get some talking points from the net and argue this out with them.
So you are in effect presenting a list A document.
Get some talking points from the net and argue this out with them.
dresses Alex Pettyfer as PeetaFans can
sixburgh
08-13 10:46 AM
History:
- My h1 stamp on passport was expired, but my H1 renewal has always been done and was valid at all times.
- Wife had entered USA on H4 (2005)
- In July 2007, we both got a chance to apply for 485, EAD and AP
- Since then I switched to EAD, wife too started working on EAD
- But my company also kept renewing my H1
- During the last H1 renewal, in-house immigration lawyer suggested that I should renew my wife's H4 too and we sent both renewal requests in the same package.
- We both received our h1 and h4 notices.
- Now it was time for me, to go to India for visiting my parents. I recently had applied and received my AP. When I asked my lawyer what should I use to re-enter USA, he suggested that even though I am on EAD, since I already have an H1 approval document, I should go to US consulate in India, get a H1 stamp and re-enter on H1.
- This is what I did, I got a stamp and entered USA now on H1.
- Note that my wife continued to remain in USA and worked on EAD.
- Please also note that our EAD's are expiring soon and I am still waiting for them to arrive from NSC.
- Since I entered on H1 and now using H1 on i9, I wont use my EAD, I will just keep it handy for any possible future use
- But once wife gets EAD, she will continue to use it to work.
Question for fellow IV members :
By merely renewing my wife's H4, while she was still working on EAD, did she automatically get switched to H4?
(My understanding is that, unless one re-enters BACK into the USA on h1 or h4, no automatic switch is possible)
(I am also under this impression that unless I really file for a CHANGE OF STATUS form, specifically stating that my wife wants to change status to H4, she will continue to be under AOS/EAD)
Someone in my office is scaring me that by merely renewing her H4, I have switched her to H4 and that since the renewal arrived, her working has created something called "illegally working on H4".
Can someone shed some light on this: Am I right or wrong?
Does this affect her or mine, pending 485/AOS ?
- My h1 stamp on passport was expired, but my H1 renewal has always been done and was valid at all times.
- Wife had entered USA on H4 (2005)
- In July 2007, we both got a chance to apply for 485, EAD and AP
- Since then I switched to EAD, wife too started working on EAD
- But my company also kept renewing my H1
- During the last H1 renewal, in-house immigration lawyer suggested that I should renew my wife's H4 too and we sent both renewal requests in the same package.
- We both received our h1 and h4 notices.
- Now it was time for me, to go to India for visiting my parents. I recently had applied and received my AP. When I asked my lawyer what should I use to re-enter USA, he suggested that even though I am on EAD, since I already have an H1 approval document, I should go to US consulate in India, get a H1 stamp and re-enter on H1.
- This is what I did, I got a stamp and entered USA now on H1.
- Note that my wife continued to remain in USA and worked on EAD.
- Please also note that our EAD's are expiring soon and I am still waiting for them to arrive from NSC.
- Since I entered on H1 and now using H1 on i9, I wont use my EAD, I will just keep it handy for any possible future use
- But once wife gets EAD, she will continue to use it to work.
Question for fellow IV members :
By merely renewing my wife's H4, while she was still working on EAD, did she automatically get switched to H4?
(My understanding is that, unless one re-enters BACK into the USA on h1 or h4, no automatic switch is possible)
(I am also under this impression that unless I really file for a CHANGE OF STATUS form, specifically stating that my wife wants to change status to H4, she will continue to be under AOS/EAD)
Someone in my office is scaring me that by merely renewing her H4, I have switched her to H4 and that since the renewal arrived, her working has created something called "illegally working on H4".
Can someone shed some light on this: Am I right or wrong?
Does this affect her or mine, pending 485/AOS ?
more...
makeup that Alex Pettyfer was in
nhfirefighter13
June 4th, 2004, 02:16 PM
I hope you don't mind but with about 20 minutes in photoshop...
:D
:D
girlfriend Peeta Mellark: Alex Pettyfer
gc_lover
04-27 09:57 AM
I had received the same story in email about 7 years back.
You are right. I keep getting emails with this story every now and then. I have travelled so many times to India and never had any problems of such kind at airport.
You are right. I keep getting emails with this story every now and then. I have travelled so many times to India and never had any problems of such kind at airport.
hairstyles #Peeta Mellark #katniss
amitjoey
08-15 12:58 PM
I filed in last week of June but have still not issued receipts. There are many like me. At the same time, some July 2 filers have receipts.
The explantion for this is that USCIS does not stricly follow first in, first out. They continue to process applications and issue receipt notices haphazardly, that is why some early filers have not recieved RNs while some later filers have. This has created a lot of confusion and anxiety.
The only thing that can help us is a legislative fix. Please help IV help ourselves!
Absolutely right, how otherwise do you explain that they issued card production for people with PD's in 2004, (Dates not current in June) on July 2nd and in an hour and then said the visas are unavailable.
NO FIFO whatsoever.
They just saved themselves by retracting the VB of JULY, or else they would have faced lawsuits, and investigation which would have shown all irregularities and fraud.
The explantion for this is that USCIS does not stricly follow first in, first out. They continue to process applications and issue receipt notices haphazardly, that is why some early filers have not recieved RNs while some later filers have. This has created a lot of confusion and anxiety.
The only thing that can help us is a legislative fix. Please help IV help ourselves!
Absolutely right, how otherwise do you explain that they issued card production for people with PD's in 2004, (Dates not current in June) on July 2nd and in an hour and then said the visas are unavailable.
NO FIFO whatsoever.
They just saved themselves by retracting the VB of JULY, or else they would have faced lawsuits, and investigation which would have shown all irregularities and fraud.
hiralal
06-15 10:09 PM
I have a quick question though it is not related to family petition.
what happens in this case ...you have a EAD valid for 2 years, say till Sept 2011. few months from now, 485 is denied for whatever reason.
does the EAD become null and void or can you still use EAD till 2011 ? (I know we can file MTR etc).
In other words, I wanted to know, what happens to EAD if GC is denied (in final judgement).
Thanks
what happens in this case ...you have a EAD valid for 2 years, say till Sept 2011. few months from now, 485 is denied for whatever reason.
does the EAD become null and void or can you still use EAD till 2011 ? (I know we can file MTR etc).
In other words, I wanted to know, what happens to EAD if GC is denied (in final judgement).
Thanks
sanz
12-21 04:40 PM
Good to know someone at least thought about our poor souls
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/12/kundras_managem.html;jsessionid=VEGR0THB1JIVRQE1GH OSKHWATMY32JVN
Kundra's Management Challenges
Posted by J. Nicholas Hoover on December 21, 2009 03:17 PM
Federal CIO Vivek Kundra's job is different from others whom we’ve named as InformationWeek’s Chief of the Year in the past in a few big ways that make it especially challenging.
The 2009 chief of the year (read our story here) is certainly younger, and the federal government’s $76 billion IT budget dwarfs those of any other organization. However, Kundra’s two big biggest differences are that first, his job isn’t driven by traditional profit motives and second, many of his subordinates report to him only via a dotted line. In some ways, these two issues play together, and they've been challenges that have played a role in creating what top officials like OMB director Peter Orszag note as a gap between IT in the private and public sectors.
Unlike in the private sector, where Wall Street can make or break IT decisions, the government doesn’t have the same forcing mechanisms for IT performance and for determining what should be the next project to pursue. Second, the reporting structure in the federal government is one of typical bureaucracy. Dozens of federal agency CIOs report to Kundra, but only indirectly. That means that while Kundra sits as chair of the federal CIO council, there are limits of what he can require of agencies or demand of budget and system decisions.
Kundra's peers say he stands out in his ability not only to strategize, but to execute. Take his ability to understand that a drop of sunshine can go a long way when it’s tax dollars and not supply and demand at work, and that citizen engagement is the name of the game, which has played out in his use of dashboards and full embrace of the administration’s transparency initiatives, both as federal CIO and before as CTO of Washington, D.C.
“His goal has never been innovation merely for innovations’ sake, but innovation to get results in service to the public,” Virginia governor Tim Kaine said in an e-mail that didn’t make it into our story. “Vivek has a limitless imagination, and combined with his agility in the structures of government, I have the utmost confidence that he will continue to do great work for President Obama.”
One story, which also didn’t make it into our feature, is particularly telling. Earlier this year, President Obama called on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to partner with Kundra, federal CTO Aneesh Chopra, and federal chief performance officer Jeff Zients to find ways to improve the immigrant application experience.
Kundra took an idea and ran with it. "Vivek very quickly helped to think through how transparency and open government could instill more confidence if we could publish average turnaround times in a forum online for visa and other application processing time, by office," Chopra says.
The effect would be two-fold, Kundra thought. First, immigrants could now find out exactly where they stood in line to get their green card or visa and check on processing times for specific forms at US-CIS field offices around the country, comparing them with national averages and national goals. Second, placing that data online at the hands of the public could put pressure on US-CIS field offices to make them more efficient.
Kundra then acknowledged the need to separate this effort from a larger, more complex modernization project currently underway at US-CIS. "When you have a multi-year project plan, it's challenging to thoughtfully introduce any new innovation without disrupting or adjusting requirements," Chopra says. And yet, that's exactly what happened: the team delivered the site within 90 days, and though it required shifting some money around, it didn't end up requiring any additional budget expenditure.
"When you put it together, he sees the ability for something like the IT Dashboard to really jump start his larger strategy for how to change the way IT projects are done and then puts his head down and gets it done within 10 weeks," Zients says.
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/12/kundras_managem.html;jsessionid=VEGR0THB1JIVRQE1GH OSKHWATMY32JVN
Kundra's Management Challenges
Posted by J. Nicholas Hoover on December 21, 2009 03:17 PM
Federal CIO Vivek Kundra's job is different from others whom we’ve named as InformationWeek’s Chief of the Year in the past in a few big ways that make it especially challenging.
The 2009 chief of the year (read our story here) is certainly younger, and the federal government’s $76 billion IT budget dwarfs those of any other organization. However, Kundra’s two big biggest differences are that first, his job isn’t driven by traditional profit motives and second, many of his subordinates report to him only via a dotted line. In some ways, these two issues play together, and they've been challenges that have played a role in creating what top officials like OMB director Peter Orszag note as a gap between IT in the private and public sectors.
Unlike in the private sector, where Wall Street can make or break IT decisions, the government doesn’t have the same forcing mechanisms for IT performance and for determining what should be the next project to pursue. Second, the reporting structure in the federal government is one of typical bureaucracy. Dozens of federal agency CIOs report to Kundra, but only indirectly. That means that while Kundra sits as chair of the federal CIO council, there are limits of what he can require of agencies or demand of budget and system decisions.
Kundra's peers say he stands out in his ability not only to strategize, but to execute. Take his ability to understand that a drop of sunshine can go a long way when it’s tax dollars and not supply and demand at work, and that citizen engagement is the name of the game, which has played out in his use of dashboards and full embrace of the administration’s transparency initiatives, both as federal CIO and before as CTO of Washington, D.C.
“His goal has never been innovation merely for innovations’ sake, but innovation to get results in service to the public,” Virginia governor Tim Kaine said in an e-mail that didn’t make it into our story. “Vivek has a limitless imagination, and combined with his agility in the structures of government, I have the utmost confidence that he will continue to do great work for President Obama.”
One story, which also didn’t make it into our feature, is particularly telling. Earlier this year, President Obama called on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to partner with Kundra, federal CTO Aneesh Chopra, and federal chief performance officer Jeff Zients to find ways to improve the immigrant application experience.
Kundra took an idea and ran with it. "Vivek very quickly helped to think through how transparency and open government could instill more confidence if we could publish average turnaround times in a forum online for visa and other application processing time, by office," Chopra says.
The effect would be two-fold, Kundra thought. First, immigrants could now find out exactly where they stood in line to get their green card or visa and check on processing times for specific forms at US-CIS field offices around the country, comparing them with national averages and national goals. Second, placing that data online at the hands of the public could put pressure on US-CIS field offices to make them more efficient.
Kundra then acknowledged the need to separate this effort from a larger, more complex modernization project currently underway at US-CIS. "When you have a multi-year project plan, it's challenging to thoughtfully introduce any new innovation without disrupting or adjusting requirements," Chopra says. And yet, that's exactly what happened: the team delivered the site within 90 days, and though it required shifting some money around, it didn't end up requiring any additional budget expenditure.
"When you put it together, he sees the ability for something like the IT Dashboard to really jump start his larger strategy for how to change the way IT projects are done and then puts his head down and gets it done within 10 weeks," Zients says.
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