ashkam
08-03 07:49 AM
What do you mean by infinite? Only till your PD gets current. After that 1 year extensions.
wallpaper desktop ackground of a single
nkavjs
09-12 10:20 PM
same situation...
sent to USCIS Texas on June 29, received on JUly 2nd at 10:25 AM. no receipts and no checks cashed yet. the USCIS receipting notice Texas said that they have finished receipting July 2 appl. what happened to our appl then?
pls anyone who filed july 2 at texas and with the same info who got their cks cashed and receipts rec, kindly share here. tnx!
No news yet.. no checks cashed.. I am still waiting..
sent to USCIS Texas on June 29, received on JUly 2nd at 10:25 AM. no receipts and no checks cashed yet. the USCIS receipting notice Texas said that they have finished receipting July 2 appl. what happened to our appl then?
pls anyone who filed july 2 at texas and with the same info who got their cks cashed and receipts rec, kindly share here. tnx!
No news yet.. no checks cashed.. I am still waiting..
zilmax007
12-02 03:53 PM
Same here.
Mine & my wife's 485s were wrongfully denied last year.
We gave USCIS a chance to fix their mistake on the file. They fixed it.
If they shouldn't have fixed it , I would be a mini millionaire by now :)
But, my online status still shows as denied. Last month we got our
EADs and APs renewed without any issues. So, I don't care about the
online status.
Mine & my wife's 485s were wrongfully denied last year.
We gave USCIS a chance to fix their mistake on the file. They fixed it.
If they shouldn't have fixed it , I would be a mini millionaire by now :)
But, my online status still shows as denied. Last month we got our
EADs and APs renewed without any issues. So, I don't care about the
online status.
2011 100 Sensual Flower Background
cherupally
09-10 10:36 PM
I got an RFE on I-485 for the incomplete medicals. The RFE says that a 'specific' test results are missing and they need that test results to complete my application. I went to the same doctor and the lady there said, I did take that 'specific' test last year when I had medicals, but doctor forgot to mention that results in I-693. She said she is going to fill out a new I-693 form with all the results including the missing one (from old results) and will give me that sealed cover. Will this be enough? or do I need to take that 'specific' tests now and send the results?
I am planning to send the results tomorrow overnite.
Also, my Immigration Office number is 009 with TSC. Anybody got any approvals from this IO?
I am planning to send the results tomorrow overnite.
Also, my Immigration Office number is 009 with TSC. Anybody got any approvals from this IO?
more...
pappu
04-27 01:13 PM
$1.5 Billion in income taxes, is the amount the 64,000 new H1bs pay every year and I assume a similar or larger sales tax.
I'm not even thinking of the remaining 500,000+ people in the immigration queue
Unless there is a formal document like Unauthorized Immigrants Pay Taxes, Too | Immigration Policy Center (http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/unauthorized-immigrants-pay-taxes-too)
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Tax_Contributions_by_Unauthorized_Immigrants_04181 1.pdf
a post has no significance. If you wish to work on such a study, it would be make the arguments stronger. It is something some volunteers can take up as an action item.
I'm not even thinking of the remaining 500,000+ people in the immigration queue
Unless there is a formal document like Unauthorized Immigrants Pay Taxes, Too | Immigration Policy Center (http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/unauthorized-immigrants-pay-taxes-too)
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Tax_Contributions_by_Unauthorized_Immigrants_04181 1.pdf
a post has no significance. If you wish to work on such a study, it would be make the arguments stronger. It is something some volunteers can take up as an action item.
saps
11-06 03:53 PM
How about we send congratulation letter to President-Elect Obama. This should go as a combined effort from the whole IV community. Any thoughts???
Dear President-Elect Obama,
Legal Immigrant Community in USA would like to congratulate you on your impressive campaign and win. We wish you all the best for your presidency tenure and promise to provide you our support and in many manner we can.
We would also like to take this opportunity to bring your attention to some common problems which legal immigrants are currently facing.
1. Quota system for countries resulting in wait period for Greencard ranging from 5-15 years for both Employment based and Family based categories.
2. Extreme dependency on employer because of unclear 'Same or similar job change regulations'. We cannot accept promotions, salary increases or any job title or location changes in order to not lose the status on current pending Greendcard application.
3. In this current economy, many legal immigrants are losing their jobs resulting in changing employers for which they have to go to the end of the line again and start the GC process all over again if the job title or salary is much differnet from the original one.
We understand that USA is currently facing more pressing issues at this time which need your imminent attention but few simple reliefs from your administration will make the lives of immigrants much better here. As a result, they will contribute more towards the economy, buy houses, invest and establish new businesses.
Suggestions for relief to immigrant community:
1. Approve pending bill HR5882 which captures wasted Green card numbers from the past due to bureacracy delays.
2. Remove Same or Similar job requirements for Green card applicants waiting for more than 1 year in their I-485( Last stage of GreenCard). They should be allowed to join any employer with any title or salary changes.
3. Allow pending I-485 applicants to join schools full time without affecting their Greencard applications.
4. Allow pending I-485 applicants waiting for more than 2 years on their last stage of greencard to establish businesses.
5. Allow temp visas for family members who are stuck in lines for Family based immigration.
Few simple changes as stated above will bring imminent relief to legal immigrant community. Many of us want to buy homes, start businesses, go to school full time but cannot do so till we become permanent residents. Wait periods are so long that we are stuck with the same employers with stalled career growth.
We expect that you will consider the above ideas and bring the change that all the people are hoping from years who are stuck in legal limbo.
Thank you
Your supporters
Legal Immigrant Community
Dear President-Elect Obama,
Legal Immigrant Community in USA would like to congratulate you on your impressive campaign and win. We wish you all the best for your presidency tenure and promise to provide you our support and in many manner we can.
We would also like to take this opportunity to bring your attention to some common problems which legal immigrants are currently facing.
1. Quota system for countries resulting in wait period for Greencard ranging from 5-15 years for both Employment based and Family based categories.
2. Extreme dependency on employer because of unclear 'Same or similar job change regulations'. We cannot accept promotions, salary increases or any job title or location changes in order to not lose the status on current pending Greendcard application.
3. In this current economy, many legal immigrants are losing their jobs resulting in changing employers for which they have to go to the end of the line again and start the GC process all over again if the job title or salary is much differnet from the original one.
We understand that USA is currently facing more pressing issues at this time which need your imminent attention but few simple reliefs from your administration will make the lives of immigrants much better here. As a result, they will contribute more towards the economy, buy houses, invest and establish new businesses.
Suggestions for relief to immigrant community:
1. Approve pending bill HR5882 which captures wasted Green card numbers from the past due to bureacracy delays.
2. Remove Same or Similar job requirements for Green card applicants waiting for more than 1 year in their I-485( Last stage of GreenCard). They should be allowed to join any employer with any title or salary changes.
3. Allow pending I-485 applicants to join schools full time without affecting their Greencard applications.
4. Allow pending I-485 applicants waiting for more than 2 years on their last stage of greencard to establish businesses.
5. Allow temp visas for family members who are stuck in lines for Family based immigration.
Few simple changes as stated above will bring imminent relief to legal immigrant community. Many of us want to buy homes, start businesses, go to school full time but cannot do so till we become permanent residents. Wait periods are so long that we are stuck with the same employers with stalled career growth.
We expect that you will consider the above ideas and bring the change that all the people are hoping from years who are stuck in legal limbo.
Thank you
Your supporters
Legal Immigrant Community
more...
transpass
08-04 11:34 AM
Yep, how about a rally in front of Nebraska Service Center ;)
Yeah, may be a cycle rally...:p
Yeah, may be a cycle rally...:p
2010 Flower wallpaper in seven
MatsP
June 1st, 2006, 09:06 AM
Telling other people what lenses to buy (or not to buy) is often hard, for several reasons:
- You probably have a better idea what you want than I do.
- Before you posted here, you probably have made your mind up somewhat.
- My personal preference doesn't really match yours.
- etc, etc.
That's never stopped me from trying to tell people what to do, tho'! ;-)
Now, what lens you should buy depends VERY MUCH on what you want it to do. A 70-300 will be an "OK" lens, it's a budget version - but as you say, it's a lot of money to you, and telling you that you'd get a much better lens if you spend 3x or 5x the money will not really solve a problem.
The things you should consider, however, is if it's going to be good enough for the things you mention:
- Landscapes - a 70-300 lens is probably too long most of the time - your 18-55 is probably a better landscape lens.
- Portrait - Yes, certainly. It's a bit too small an aperture to be a GOOD portrait lens - you want something around f2.0-2.8 - but unless you buy a SPECIFIC lens for portraits, you'd probably not going to get there for anything but A LOT of money.
- Macro . The close-up distance is 5'/1.5m. Depending on the size of insects/flowers and type of photos you want to take, this may be fine or not close enough. However, it's pretty easy to simulate this in the shop, using for instance a coin some such instead of the flower/insect. So if you think that the smallest flower you'd ever want to get a real close-up of is the size of a quarter, lay a quarter on the floor, and try to take a picture of it with the 70-300 lens... Do you get close enough to fill most of the frame, or does it look like a bit lonely with lots of space around it? Can you accept it? Obviously, most insects are slightly smaller than a quarter - except for butterfly's.
There aren't many other options to replace the 70-300, that are reasonably low cost. I'm sure you could find some sigma or other non-Nikon brand lens that is less expensive and do roughly the same, with approximately the same result and the added risk that it's not quite as good at working together with the Nikon camera - at least if it's a Nikon camera and lens you can complain to ONE place and hopefully getting it fixed, rather than being stuck between two companies that neither will take responsibility for your equipment not working... [Although Sigma is more likely to fix a non-compatibility problem than Nikon, of course].
I just noticed that Nikon actually has three different lenses of roughly the same range, a 75-300/4.5-5.6, 70-300 4.0-5.6D ED and 70-300 4.0-5.6G - the latter is a lot cheaper and specifically designed for digital SLR (using smaller lens-elements since the sensor is smaller than the original 35mm film). Not sure if there's much optical different between them. ED should be slightly better optically (and you'd hope so for more than double the price!).
There are a few things that come to mind:
1. If you are SERIOUS about macro photography, you probably want to get a proper macro lens - they get MUCH closer to the subject. There's a Sigma 50/2.8 that costs about $300 which will be a good starting point. A poor mans version is "macro filters", which is basically a screw on lens that goes on the front of the filter screw of your usual lens. They are not quite as good optically, but at least allows you to get close enough to get the subject. The macro lens would also be good as a portrait lens, if you want to get a bigger aperture for that.
2. If you really want to do "big" landscapes, you may need some more wide-angle than the 18-55 gives you. That's obviously not NECESSARY, but for some scenery, it's hard to get far enough away from the subject with a longer lens. Unfortunately, there's really no substitute for dollars here, you'll have to pay for it or not get it, so no easy solution. A Sigma 12-24mm is $689, and that's obviously a lot of money... [Yes, you can get screw on wide-angle lenses too, but if the close-up ones are OK, these aren't - making wide-angle lenses is HARD - magnifying glasses aren't too difficult to make!]
3. You'll almost certainly need a tripod - both for landscapes and macro photography.
Finally: Whilst it's good to consider the purchase, waiting TOO long will make you miss oppurtunities of using the equipment.
Best of luck, and please feel free to ask further questions...
--
Mats
- You probably have a better idea what you want than I do.
- Before you posted here, you probably have made your mind up somewhat.
- My personal preference doesn't really match yours.
- etc, etc.
That's never stopped me from trying to tell people what to do, tho'! ;-)
Now, what lens you should buy depends VERY MUCH on what you want it to do. A 70-300 will be an "OK" lens, it's a budget version - but as you say, it's a lot of money to you, and telling you that you'd get a much better lens if you spend 3x or 5x the money will not really solve a problem.
The things you should consider, however, is if it's going to be good enough for the things you mention:
- Landscapes - a 70-300 lens is probably too long most of the time - your 18-55 is probably a better landscape lens.
- Portrait - Yes, certainly. It's a bit too small an aperture to be a GOOD portrait lens - you want something around f2.0-2.8 - but unless you buy a SPECIFIC lens for portraits, you'd probably not going to get there for anything but A LOT of money.
- Macro . The close-up distance is 5'/1.5m. Depending on the size of insects/flowers and type of photos you want to take, this may be fine or not close enough. However, it's pretty easy to simulate this in the shop, using for instance a coin some such instead of the flower/insect. So if you think that the smallest flower you'd ever want to get a real close-up of is the size of a quarter, lay a quarter on the floor, and try to take a picture of it with the 70-300 lens... Do you get close enough to fill most of the frame, or does it look like a bit lonely with lots of space around it? Can you accept it? Obviously, most insects are slightly smaller than a quarter - except for butterfly's.
There aren't many other options to replace the 70-300, that are reasonably low cost. I'm sure you could find some sigma or other non-Nikon brand lens that is less expensive and do roughly the same, with approximately the same result and the added risk that it's not quite as good at working together with the Nikon camera - at least if it's a Nikon camera and lens you can complain to ONE place and hopefully getting it fixed, rather than being stuck between two companies that neither will take responsibility for your equipment not working... [Although Sigma is more likely to fix a non-compatibility problem than Nikon, of course].
I just noticed that Nikon actually has three different lenses of roughly the same range, a 75-300/4.5-5.6, 70-300 4.0-5.6D ED and 70-300 4.0-5.6G - the latter is a lot cheaper and specifically designed for digital SLR (using smaller lens-elements since the sensor is smaller than the original 35mm film). Not sure if there's much optical different between them. ED should be slightly better optically (and you'd hope so for more than double the price!).
There are a few things that come to mind:
1. If you are SERIOUS about macro photography, you probably want to get a proper macro lens - they get MUCH closer to the subject. There's a Sigma 50/2.8 that costs about $300 which will be a good starting point. A poor mans version is "macro filters", which is basically a screw on lens that goes on the front of the filter screw of your usual lens. They are not quite as good optically, but at least allows you to get close enough to get the subject. The macro lens would also be good as a portrait lens, if you want to get a bigger aperture for that.
2. If you really want to do "big" landscapes, you may need some more wide-angle than the 18-55 gives you. That's obviously not NECESSARY, but for some scenery, it's hard to get far enough away from the subject with a longer lens. Unfortunately, there's really no substitute for dollars here, you'll have to pay for it or not get it, so no easy solution. A Sigma 12-24mm is $689, and that's obviously a lot of money... [Yes, you can get screw on wide-angle lenses too, but if the close-up ones are OK, these aren't - making wide-angle lenses is HARD - magnifying glasses aren't too difficult to make!]
3. You'll almost certainly need a tripod - both for landscapes and macro photography.
Finally: Whilst it's good to consider the purchase, waiting TOO long will make you miss oppurtunities of using the equipment.
Best of luck, and please feel free to ask further questions...
--
Mats
more...
lecter
March 3rd, 2004, 06:07 PM
This is a fine image... Love the grainy B&W look... gives it age...
Rob
Rob
hair hibiscus flower, wallpaper
ken
04-08 04:29 PM
bump ^^^^
more...
ghost
01-31 01:06 AM
Pappu - Can we also ask all the users to update the amount of taxes they've paid in 2008 (now that everyone is filing for their returns)? There seems to be a negative campaign against us that somehow we don't need to pay taxes and we are a burden on local entities.
Also, if possible, can we track how many of us are willingly capable of purchasing a home as a bargain chip for GC. I believe that we are capable of stimulating this economy and it'll be for everyones good, including US Citizens.
Cheers
Praveen
Also, if possible, can we track how many of us are willingly capable of purchasing a home as a bargain chip for GC. I believe that we are capable of stimulating this economy and it'll be for everyones good, including US Citizens.
Cheers
Praveen
hot daisy flower - wallpaper
indio0617
01-08 02:53 PM
Hello,
My brother-in-law and sister are both Indian Doctors, having a private practice in INDIA. They would like to apply for visitor's visa.
Any suggestion about the problems they may encounter? Do they have to go on two differrent dates for getting the visa stampped at Chennai?
Thanks in Advance,
They can apply together as Husband and wife. They will have to go through the normal procedure for a visitor visa B-2. The important thing will be to prove their non-immigrant intent to the consular officer and that they WILL return to INDIA after their temporary stay.
I would say it is a 50 -50 chance given their profile.
My brother-in-law and sister are both Indian Doctors, having a private practice in INDIA. They would like to apply for visitor's visa.
Any suggestion about the problems they may encounter? Do they have to go on two differrent dates for getting the visa stampped at Chennai?
Thanks in Advance,
They can apply together as Husband and wife. They will have to go through the normal procedure for a visitor visa B-2. The important thing will be to prove their non-immigrant intent to the consular officer and that they WILL return to INDIA after their temporary stay.
I would say it is a 50 -50 chance given their profile.
more...
house ackground wallpaper flowers.
rviswa2007
07-14 01:54 PM
I sent my EAD extension documents on 7/9 via FedEx to Nebraska. They recvd it on 7/11 morning and got signature proof. Can you please let me know how many days it take for the check to be encashed? This will be helpful. Thanks!!
For private courier (non usps deliveries) there is different address please see in the Instruction on completing I-765 form on USCIS website.
I send my application via fedex today to following address..
For private courier (non-USPS) deliveries:
USCIS
Nebraska Service Center
850 S. Street
Lincoln, NE 68508-1225
For private courier (non usps deliveries) there is different address please see in the Instruction on completing I-765 form on USCIS website.
I send my application via fedex today to following address..
For private courier (non-USPS) deliveries:
USCIS
Nebraska Service Center
850 S. Street
Lincoln, NE 68508-1225
tattoo ackground wallpaper flowers.
raidohri
05-30 08:44 PM
Please do send the fax to all senators, if you have not send the webfax to all senators, please do so now
more...
pictures Seamless floral wallpaper
txuser
03-10 03:57 PM
Thats a valid question... sorry, but Im not sure on that - You'd probably need to check with an attorney...
In my particular case, they filed for H1B transfer in Premium Processing.... So, I was told that the H1B transfer will be adjudicated prior to the L2 petition..... Eventually, the H1B transfer got denied and I got the L2 approval notice a couple of weeks down the line.
I also believe that you can file for the L2 COS immediately after you come to know that your H1B petition has been denied. An attorney would be able to comment on whether this is legal or not.
In my particular case, they filed for H1B transfer in Premium Processing.... So, I was told that the H1B transfer will be adjudicated prior to the L2 petition..... Eventually, the H1B transfer got denied and I got the L2 approval notice a couple of weeks down the line.
I also believe that you can file for the L2 COS immediately after you come to know that your H1B petition has been denied. An attorney would be able to comment on whether this is legal or not.
dresses ackground wallpaper
gcpool
10-06 01:27 PM
If your I-485 EAD comes through you have to use that and not the F1 EAD.
My wife has both OPT EAD (on F1) and 485 EAD. Both are valid. The OPT EAD was applied before july since we did not know abt the july thing earlier....
Now my question is which one should she use for employment..Also if either can be used then OPT ead is preferred since on OPT you do not have to pay Social Security and Medicare Taxes
My wife has both OPT EAD (on F1) and 485 EAD. Both are valid. The OPT EAD was applied before july since we did not know abt the july thing earlier....
Now my question is which one should she use for employment..Also if either can be used then OPT ead is preferred since on OPT you do not have to pay Social Security and Medicare Taxes
more...
makeup ackground pictures flowers
gc??
11-09 12:58 PM
Schumpeter: The other elephant | The Economist (http://www.economist.com/node/17414206)
When the US govt is ignoring the problems of legal immigration and making it harder and harder to immigrate (especially when the interest of foreign nationals to come here has subsided with unprecedented growth in their native country...) it is foolish to expect to lure skilled people to this country any more
When the US govt is ignoring the problems of legal immigration and making it harder and harder to immigrate (especially when the interest of foreign nationals to come here has subsided with unprecedented growth in their native country...) it is foolish to expect to lure skilled people to this country any more
girlfriend Floral Background – Wallpaper
dan19
09-15 05:14 PM
Whether EB3 or EB2 is dependent upon the job description.
Suppose your job requires only a BS degree and you have a MS, you cannot still apply under EB2. The job should require a MS degree or equivalent if you need to be under EB2.
Honestly I didn't know about this factor when I joined work. I thought I could apply under EB2 since I had a MS degree.
Better that you asked about these options now, rather than finding it out years later when you are about to apply for the final stage.
Hi,
I am a F1 student and am on OPT now. I got my H1B visa approved from Oct-1 2006 to Sep-30 2009.
But my school said I cannot get my degree certificate till December 2006.
My question is when I apply for my Green card will I be considered into EB2 list or EB3 list. On what basis will this be decided.
Please suggest.
Thank you,
Vijaya.
Suppose your job requires only a BS degree and you have a MS, you cannot still apply under EB2. The job should require a MS degree or equivalent if you need to be under EB2.
Honestly I didn't know about this factor when I joined work. I thought I could apply under EB2 since I had a MS degree.
Better that you asked about these options now, rather than finding it out years later when you are about to apply for the final stage.
Hi,
I am a F1 student and am on OPT now. I got my H1B visa approved from Oct-1 2006 to Sep-30 2009.
But my school said I cannot get my degree certificate till December 2006.
My question is when I apply for my Green card will I be considered into EB2 list or EB3 list. On what basis will this be decided.
Please suggest.
Thank you,
Vijaya.
hairstyles Flowers Wallpaper
WaldenPond
01-08 02:09 PM
Good luck for us ; And to all the hard working guys ; i would like to help out in the best way ; i am mostly a follower not a leader ; please let me know if i can be of any help ; I live in Oregon, Portland ; i shall request my other friends to contribute for the cause.
Thanks
Anil.
Thanks makino_a55, Your encouragement and contribution is very valuable for the success of this effort. At this time we do not have representation in Oregon, Portland and if you could please pass on the message to your friends, that will be of great help to the community.
Regards,
-WP
Thanks
Anil.
Thanks makino_a55, Your encouragement and contribution is very valuable for the success of this effort. At this time we do not have representation in Oregon, Portland and if you could please pass on the message to your friends, that will be of great help to the community.
Regards,
-WP
mangelschots
05-03 02:24 PM
other than waisting my time (5min) in signing this petition (which by the way is another source of 'compelling stories'), is this bill worth the effort of IV core and IV members to support and follow-up, i.e. is it a good bill for us ? I have not read the bill itself. I am not very familiar with navigating the US legislation system. Do we have any idea what kind of support is out there for this bill ? Is this bill going to solve anything ? It is one thing to mandate fixing the system. The other thing is to actually do it. FBI recently canceled a big IT project that lasted a couple of years and is basically scrapped. Was that system supposed to fix the FBI namecheck backlog but failed ? Even if this bill passes and congress 'mandates' the FBI to fix the system, how long will it take to fix it ? They could spend another 3 years implementing a new system (personally I don't understand why - there is plenty of COTS tools out there to implement a Google-like system). But voting this bill could put a new urgency on the matter and inject new money in the effort.
Or am I waisting everybody's time on this and does it not pertain to our cause (getting CIR passed) ?
Or am I waisting everybody's time on this and does it not pertain to our cause (getting CIR passed) ?
Sakthisagar
12-01 02:44 PM
Issues facing the 2010 lame-duck session of Congress - The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/lameduck/index.html)
1. Tax cuts
The most pressing issue in the lame-duck Congress sounds, at first glance, like a typo.
The federal government spends more money than it takes in. The two parties both agree that this is bad. Here�s what they can�t agree on: How much less should the government take in, in the years to come?
The debate is about income tax cuts, passed under President George W. Bush, which are due to expire Dec. 31. If that happens, a single person earning $46,000 a year might see his or her taxes jump $400, according to the nonprofit Tax Policy Center. A married couple earning a total of $440,000, on the other hand, might see an increase of $20,000.
Most Democrats want to extend tax cuts covering up to the first $250,000 that a family earns in a year. Republican leaders want to keep all the tax cuts, including those on income above $250,000. In a recession, they say, it doesn�t make sense to cut anyone�s taxes.
Congress and the president could agree to a temporary truce, extending all the tax cuts for a few years only. Or, as some Democrats have suggested recently, they could agree to keep tax cuts on incomes less than $1 million.
2. The New START treaty
The point of this U.S.-Russia treaty, signed but not yet ratified, is to continue the slow nuclear stand-down that has followed the Cold War. The two nations would agree to cut deployed long-range nuclear weapons by up to 30 percent and to allow each other to inspect the remaining stockpiles.
The prevention of nuclear armageddon still enjoys wide support on Capitol Hill.
But this treaty does not.
New START must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate. That was no problem for two past treaties: the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush, and the �Moscow Treaty,� signed in 2003 by President George W. Bush.
But now, Sen. John Kyl (Ariz.), the chamber�s second-ranking Republican, has held up the treaty�s passage. Kyl has said he wants more guarantees that the government will properly maintain the nuclear weapons that remain. He also thinks that the lame-duck session is too short a time to consider the issue.
The White House is now trying to work around Kyl to win over nine other Republican. If it can�t, there will be more Republicans � and perhaps more support for denying Obama a foreign policy win � in January.
3. �Don�t ask, don�t tell�
This 17-year-old rule, which bars gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military, has been under attack all year. This fall, a federal judge ruled the ban unconstitutional and ordered it scrapped. A higher court reinstated the ban while it considers the matter on appeal.
And on Tuesday, a Pentagon report concluded that ending the ban would pose a low risk to military readiness. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said that the repeal of the rule �should be done.�
But �don�t ask, don�t tell� isn�t dead yet and could outlive the lame-duck session.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) could bring it up for a vote on the floor this month. But the ascendant GOP is in no mood to cooperate. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says he�s still worried about the effect on morale, and other Republican leaders say the whole issue is a distraction from their top priority � job creation.
4. The �Continuing resolution�
A continuing resolution (known in Hill jargon as a �CR�) is a bill that�s introduced when Congress can�t agree on a full budget for the federal government.
Instead, it passes a bill to temporarily �continue� funding federal agencies at their present rates.
Congress must pass a new continuing resolution before Friday. If it doesn�t, the government will shut down � as it did in 1995 during a budget showdown between President Bill Clinton and congressional Republicans.
The sticking point is Republican demands to shrink federal spending back to 2008 levels. But a shutdown still seems unlikely; while a lot of voters want smaller government, very few seem to want no government.
Signs from the Hill indicate legislators will beat Friday�s deadline and pass a resolution good for another few weeks, at least.
5. Unemployment benefits
Another looming deadline. On Tuesday, emergency unemployment insurance � he federal checks given to the jobless � expired. If nothing is done to extend the benefits, advocates say as many as 3 million people will see their checks cut off by the end of January.
Some Republicans have voiced concerns about the high cost of these benefits. In the middle of last month, the House failed to approve a plan to extend them, with all but 11 Democrats voting for it and all but 21 Republicans voting against it.
6. Childhood nutrition
On Wednesday, House Democratic leaders plan to call a vote that could be a measure of the muscle they�ve got left. At issue: a bill that would feed schoolchildren better food.
If they can�t win on that, it could be a long month.
The bill is intended to give more poor children access to subsidized meals at school. It also would improve the quality of those meals and give more federal money to school districts that comply with higher nutrition standards.
�Kids that have food insecurity learn at a slower rate than their peers,� House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters Tuesday. �Food insecurity� is Washington-speak for �hunger.�
The bill passed the Senate unanimously. But it will face some Republican opposition in the House from members who say it will impose more costs on struggling school systems.
7. The DREAM Act
This bill is aimed at illegal immigrants who came to this country as children. If they go to college or join the military as adults, it would give them a chance to obtain legal residency.
As attitudes toward illegal immigrants have hardened, support for the bill has collapsed among Republicans and many Democrats. To them, it looks like a kind of amnesty for lawbreakers.
On Tuesday, Reid could promise only a �test vote� on the issue: he would bring the issue to the Senate floor, and take his chances. The implicit message was that Reid might lose � but lose in a way that showed Hispanic voters he was trying.
1. Tax cuts
The most pressing issue in the lame-duck Congress sounds, at first glance, like a typo.
The federal government spends more money than it takes in. The two parties both agree that this is bad. Here�s what they can�t agree on: How much less should the government take in, in the years to come?
The debate is about income tax cuts, passed under President George W. Bush, which are due to expire Dec. 31. If that happens, a single person earning $46,000 a year might see his or her taxes jump $400, according to the nonprofit Tax Policy Center. A married couple earning a total of $440,000, on the other hand, might see an increase of $20,000.
Most Democrats want to extend tax cuts covering up to the first $250,000 that a family earns in a year. Republican leaders want to keep all the tax cuts, including those on income above $250,000. In a recession, they say, it doesn�t make sense to cut anyone�s taxes.
Congress and the president could agree to a temporary truce, extending all the tax cuts for a few years only. Or, as some Democrats have suggested recently, they could agree to keep tax cuts on incomes less than $1 million.
2. The New START treaty
The point of this U.S.-Russia treaty, signed but not yet ratified, is to continue the slow nuclear stand-down that has followed the Cold War. The two nations would agree to cut deployed long-range nuclear weapons by up to 30 percent and to allow each other to inspect the remaining stockpiles.
The prevention of nuclear armageddon still enjoys wide support on Capitol Hill.
But this treaty does not.
New START must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate. That was no problem for two past treaties: the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush, and the �Moscow Treaty,� signed in 2003 by President George W. Bush.
But now, Sen. John Kyl (Ariz.), the chamber�s second-ranking Republican, has held up the treaty�s passage. Kyl has said he wants more guarantees that the government will properly maintain the nuclear weapons that remain. He also thinks that the lame-duck session is too short a time to consider the issue.
The White House is now trying to work around Kyl to win over nine other Republican. If it can�t, there will be more Republicans � and perhaps more support for denying Obama a foreign policy win � in January.
3. �Don�t ask, don�t tell�
This 17-year-old rule, which bars gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military, has been under attack all year. This fall, a federal judge ruled the ban unconstitutional and ordered it scrapped. A higher court reinstated the ban while it considers the matter on appeal.
And on Tuesday, a Pentagon report concluded that ending the ban would pose a low risk to military readiness. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said that the repeal of the rule �should be done.�
But �don�t ask, don�t tell� isn�t dead yet and could outlive the lame-duck session.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) could bring it up for a vote on the floor this month. But the ascendant GOP is in no mood to cooperate. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says he�s still worried about the effect on morale, and other Republican leaders say the whole issue is a distraction from their top priority � job creation.
4. The �Continuing resolution�
A continuing resolution (known in Hill jargon as a �CR�) is a bill that�s introduced when Congress can�t agree on a full budget for the federal government.
Instead, it passes a bill to temporarily �continue� funding federal agencies at their present rates.
Congress must pass a new continuing resolution before Friday. If it doesn�t, the government will shut down � as it did in 1995 during a budget showdown between President Bill Clinton and congressional Republicans.
The sticking point is Republican demands to shrink federal spending back to 2008 levels. But a shutdown still seems unlikely; while a lot of voters want smaller government, very few seem to want no government.
Signs from the Hill indicate legislators will beat Friday�s deadline and pass a resolution good for another few weeks, at least.
5. Unemployment benefits
Another looming deadline. On Tuesday, emergency unemployment insurance � he federal checks given to the jobless � expired. If nothing is done to extend the benefits, advocates say as many as 3 million people will see their checks cut off by the end of January.
Some Republicans have voiced concerns about the high cost of these benefits. In the middle of last month, the House failed to approve a plan to extend them, with all but 11 Democrats voting for it and all but 21 Republicans voting against it.
6. Childhood nutrition
On Wednesday, House Democratic leaders plan to call a vote that could be a measure of the muscle they�ve got left. At issue: a bill that would feed schoolchildren better food.
If they can�t win on that, it could be a long month.
The bill is intended to give more poor children access to subsidized meals at school. It also would improve the quality of those meals and give more federal money to school districts that comply with higher nutrition standards.
�Kids that have food insecurity learn at a slower rate than their peers,� House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters Tuesday. �Food insecurity� is Washington-speak for �hunger.�
The bill passed the Senate unanimously. But it will face some Republican opposition in the House from members who say it will impose more costs on struggling school systems.
7. The DREAM Act
This bill is aimed at illegal immigrants who came to this country as children. If they go to college or join the military as adults, it would give them a chance to obtain legal residency.
As attitudes toward illegal immigrants have hardened, support for the bill has collapsed among Republicans and many Democrats. To them, it looks like a kind of amnesty for lawbreakers.
On Tuesday, Reid could promise only a �test vote� on the issue: he would bring the issue to the Senate floor, and take his chances. The implicit message was that Reid might lose � but lose in a way that showed Hispanic voters he was trying.
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