TomPlate
12-12 09:26 PM
thanks ram for your message. where did you cut and paste? see if you have any soft LUD?
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Sakthisagar
03-12 02:12 PM
For Your First Question it is a big YES, USCIS/DOS is responsible. as per law, for the wasted visa re-capture, congress approval is not required, that decision is solely on USCIS, and USCIS can definitely make folks who are waiting on I-140 approval to file I-485 and be on EAD, that is solely under the jurdistriction of USCIS.
Now, Please tell us what is the next step??
Now, Please tell us what is the next step??
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go_guy123
03-12 03:33 PM
Surely we know each other then!! :)
Compared to US, Software Engg position in India sucks a lot. It makes sense only if you are a manager in India. I know batchmates went to work in Texas Instruments in Bangalore and after a year or 2 later, got frustrated with the insfrastructure etc there.
Compared to US, Software Engg position in India sucks a lot. It makes sense only if you are a manager in India. I know batchmates went to work in Texas Instruments in Bangalore and after a year or 2 later, got frustrated with the insfrastructure etc there.
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shana04
08-09 12:55 PM
1. How do you know that we are not approving 2004 cases? Just that you didn't got your approval doesn't mean that we are not approving 2004 cases.
2. There are not that many 2004 cases, so we are approving 2005 and 2006 cases.
3. We divided cases into 3 boxes : 2004, 2005, 2006. It must be a case that IO's assigned to 2006 are working faster and efficiently.
4. We received so many 2006 I-485 applications on 07/02/2007. We are just processing by Receive Date.
5. We made a policy to approve I-485 cases bases on I-140 approval dates. Since we have many cases with old I-140 approval cases that happened to be with earlier priority dates, we are approving them now.
6. There are so many FBI name check hits on 2004 cases. All name hits will be processed later.
7. Oops... we sorted all cases that can be approved, by descending order. Sorry!
8. Time and again we want to approve that we can do anything we want.
9. All EB2 perm cases are really frustrated EB3 cases that have an older EB3 priority dates. We just wanted to be fair to them.
10. Yikes! Dog ate all 2004 cases.
11. Ding, these 2003, 2004 and Early 2005 boxes are under these 2006 boxes that we are too lazy to pick them up.
2. There are not that many 2004 cases, so we are approving 2005 and 2006 cases.
3. We divided cases into 3 boxes : 2004, 2005, 2006. It must be a case that IO's assigned to 2006 are working faster and efficiently.
4. We received so many 2006 I-485 applications on 07/02/2007. We are just processing by Receive Date.
5. We made a policy to approve I-485 cases bases on I-140 approval dates. Since we have many cases with old I-140 approval cases that happened to be with earlier priority dates, we are approving them now.
6. There are so many FBI name check hits on 2004 cases. All name hits will be processed later.
7. Oops... we sorted all cases that can be approved, by descending order. Sorry!
8. Time and again we want to approve that we can do anything we want.
9. All EB2 perm cases are really frustrated EB3 cases that have an older EB3 priority dates. We just wanted to be fair to them.
10. Yikes! Dog ate all 2004 cases.
11. Ding, these 2003, 2004 and Early 2005 boxes are under these 2006 boxes that we are too lazy to pick them up.
more...
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addsf345
12-05 10:46 AM
how wld I know abt all these codes..
do I need to ave access to my approved labour?..
my approved 140 doesn't have much details abt the proposed job instead it's is written as see labour for job requirements...
so where wld I get these codes?
It was given on LC copy. Also, some one last year posted a URL to DOL website where all the LC in each particular year where published as a part of public disclosure. I could actually found mine with my company name, date, salary and some guestmates. I will post the URL if I can find it back.
do I need to ave access to my approved labour?..
my approved 140 doesn't have much details abt the proposed job instead it's is written as see labour for job requirements...
so where wld I get these codes?
It was given on LC copy. Also, some one last year posted a URL to DOL website where all the LC in each particular year where published as a part of public disclosure. I could actually found mine with my company name, date, salary and some guestmates. I will post the URL if I can find it back.
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javadeveloper
12-17 04:21 PM
Dates were current till 2005. They were again current in between.
dates were current till Dec 2004(http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1343.html).afterthat in 48 months (05,06,07,08)dates were current only for 1 month(July 2007) which is for about 2% of the time.
Jan 05 VB - http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2007.html
dates were current till Dec 2004(http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1343.html).afterthat in 48 months (05,06,07,08)dates were current only for 1 month(July 2007) which is for about 2% of the time.
Jan 05 VB - http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_2007.html
more...
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getta05
03-30 07:47 AM
I am on L2 visa. You dont need to have to have a GC with L2?
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walking_dude
10-30 01:52 PM
WA, Bill Gates is with you.
He attended Senate Commitee hearing to help you! Read his testimony and get inspired.
http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/exec/billg/speeches/2007/03-07Senate.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/exec/billg/speeches/2007/03-07Senate.mspx)
He attended Senate Commitee hearing to help you! Read his testimony and get inspired.
http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/exec/billg/speeches/2007/03-07Senate.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/exec/billg/speeches/2007/03-07Senate.mspx)
more...
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pa_arora
04-21 04:26 PM
Someone told me recently, if ur on EAD and 485 gets rejected, ur H1 can be reinstated. This H1 will not be from the cap and you will only be getting the left over time from 6 yrs.
Is it true, if yes, can someone thow some light on this.
Is it true, if yes, can someone thow some light on this.
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anilsal
12-14 11:49 AM
Are we calling the Senator's office for taking up the cause for CIR?
I presume he is a democrat. Can we request him to take into consideration, skilled immigration?
I presume he is a democrat. Can we request him to take into consideration, skilled immigration?
more...
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Wendyzhu77
02-11 10:26 AM
What do you mean "that is easily offset by EB-CP "?
You should know, Family Based immigration is really the backbone of immigration in current systems, much more people get FB than EB. Also, Employment through CP is really an anormalty in EB, since EB basically requires you to be physically present in this country, so almost bars the possibility of CP. Yes, it is leagal, but not really practical. So, the number of people seeking FB 485 is way much larger than number of people seeking 485 CP.
http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/APPLICATIONS%20FOR%20IMMIGRATION%20BENEFITS_Decemb er07.pdf
I know it includes FB application but that is easily offset by EB-CP also seeking visa numbers.
So the wait time is really very long for July 2007 filers with later PD.
You should know, Family Based immigration is really the backbone of immigration in current systems, much more people get FB than EB. Also, Employment through CP is really an anormalty in EB, since EB basically requires you to be physically present in this country, so almost bars the possibility of CP. Yes, it is leagal, but not really practical. So, the number of people seeking FB 485 is way much larger than number of people seeking 485 CP.
http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/APPLICATIONS%20FOR%20IMMIGRATION%20BENEFITS_Decemb er07.pdf
I know it includes FB application but that is easily offset by EB-CP also seeking visa numbers.
So the wait time is really very long for July 2007 filers with later PD.
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RandyK
02-16 11:46 AM
Am I understanding this right ?
FOR H1/L1 They do a FBI background check
FOR I-485/CP They do a Name Check
Please someone clarify, I do have a loooong name just wanted to know what I am getting into here.
FOR H1/L1 They do a FBI background check
FOR I-485/CP They do a Name Check
Please someone clarify, I do have a loooong name just wanted to know what I am getting into here.
more...
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manishi
11-16 03:46 PM
I have applied for my 485 in July because then the PD's were current. Now the PD's are moved back . Does that i will get my GC delayed too. Does the processing of 485 is related to PD's . I thought the PD's are only related to the dates when you can apply for 485 not processing. Correct me if i am wrong.if PD's are also related to getting GC's then what the I-485 processing dates?
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cygent
07-03 07:24 PM
I wanted to share this with all of you. This is my attorney & friends (who is American) thoughtful response to a thread below :-
************************************************** *********
Donna:
What is the source of your facts about immigrants?? Immigrants also pay A LOT into the
system
MOST "IMMIGRANTS" AS YOU SO LOVINGLY CALL US, ARE LAWFULLY IN
THE UNITED STATES (BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!!) AND THEY ALL WORK A LOT
HARDER THAN MANY AMERICANS ARE WILLING TO WORK!!!!
MANY MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ARE PAID INTO THE SYSTEM BY
THEM EACH YEAR. THOSE HERE ILLEGALLY NEVER HAD, AND NEVER WILL
HAVE THE RIGHT, TO GET ANY OF THE MONEY BADK - EVEN WHEN THEY
HAVE REFUNDS DUE THEM. THE IRS JUST K E E P S IT F O R E V E R AND
IT, HOPEFULLY, GOES TO AMERICANS WHO ARE NOT IMMIGRANTS!!!
GREEN CARD HOLDERS (ALSO "IMMIGRANTS") HAVE WORKED HARDER THAN
AMERICANS DO - AS I MENTIONED AND THEY ARE CLEARLY ENTITLED TO GET
THE BENEFITS THEY HAVE EARNED.
DO YOU FOR ONE MOMENT THINK THAT THE SSA WILL GIVE THE ILLEGAL
IMMIGRANT ANY SOCIAL SECURITY?!!????
NEVER HAPPEN - NEVER HAS HAPPENED!!!! IF THEY FALSIFY INFO TO ANY
GOVERNMENT AGENCY - THEY WILL NECESSARILY GET CAUGHT GO STRAIGHT
TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR AT LEAST 2 YEARS AND THEN GET DEPORED. THIS HAS
BEEN THE LAW FOR DECADES AND IT IS ENFORCED!!!!
EVEN THE LEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT GETTING THE
SSA THAT IS DUE THEM. THEY GET CHEATED BY THE SSA EVEN MORE THAN
US CITIZENS DO IN THE NORMAL COURSE OF SSA DAILY STEALING OPERATIONS
- IF THEY LEAVE THE COUNTRY FOR TOO LONG (FOR EXAMPLE IF A PARENT GETS
SICK AND THEY HAVE TO GO AND TAKE CARE) THEY JUST L O O S E ALL
THEIR BENEFITS PERMANENTLY - EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY HAVE BEEN BEEN
HERE AND WORKED FOR MORE YEARS THAN MOST AMERICANS DO. THIS
KIND OF DISCRIMINATORY CONDUCT BY GOVERNMENT AGAINST LAWEUL
PERMANENT RESIDENTS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN HELD TO BE CONSTITUTIONAL
BY THE SUPREME COURT EVEN EVEN THOUGH IT IS CLEARLY UNFAIR. THESE
BENEFITS CAN BE REFUSED VERY EASILY FOR THE LEGAL RESIDENTS WHO
WORKED HAS DOUBLE AND TRIPLE JOBS FOR FIFTY OR MORE YEARS.
WHO BENEFITS FROM THIS? YOU GIVE THE ANSWER!!!
LIGHTEN UP AND LEARN THE REAL FACTS.
ALL IMMIGRANTS ARE NOT ILLEGAL. IN FACT, MOST IMMIGRANTS ARE
LEGAL AND WORK THREE AND FOUR JOBS - DO YOU WANT TO WORK SO
HARD?? HE..- NO!!!!!
PASS THIS ON TO ALL THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW SO THAT THEY CAN BE
EDUCATED ABOUT ANOTHER MORE FACTUAL ASPECT OF THE MATTER.
THANK YOU, DONNA.
xoxoxo
----- Original Message -----
From: Donna xoxoxo
To: xoxoxo@yahoo.com
Sent: 7/2/2009 5:16:27 PM
Subject: Social Security Insult
This is an insult and a kick in the butt to all of us...
Get mad and pass it on - I don't know how, but maybe some good
will come of this travesty.
If the immigrant is over 65, they can apply for SSI and Medicaid and get
more than a woman on Social Security, who worked from 1944 until 2004.
She is only getting $791 per month because she was born in 1924 and
there's a 'catch 22'.
It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee
with a monthly allowance of $1,890. Each can also obtain an
additional $580 in social assistance, for a total of $2,470 a month.
This compares to a single pensioner, who after contributing to
the growth and development of America for 40 to 50 years, can only
receive a monthly maximum of $1,012 in old age pension and
Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees!
Consider sending this to all your American friends, so we can all be
ticked off and maybe get the refugees cut back to $1,012 and the
pensioners up to $2,470. Then we can enjoy some of the money we were
forced to submit to the Government over the last 40 or 50 or 60 years.
Please forward to every American to expose what our elected politicians
have been doing over the past 11 years - to the over-taxed American.
SEND THIS TO EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER YOU KNOW
************************************************** *********
Donna:
What is the source of your facts about immigrants?? Immigrants also pay A LOT into the
system
MOST "IMMIGRANTS" AS YOU SO LOVINGLY CALL US, ARE LAWFULLY IN
THE UNITED STATES (BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!!) AND THEY ALL WORK A LOT
HARDER THAN MANY AMERICANS ARE WILLING TO WORK!!!!
MANY MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ARE PAID INTO THE SYSTEM BY
THEM EACH YEAR. THOSE HERE ILLEGALLY NEVER HAD, AND NEVER WILL
HAVE THE RIGHT, TO GET ANY OF THE MONEY BADK - EVEN WHEN THEY
HAVE REFUNDS DUE THEM. THE IRS JUST K E E P S IT F O R E V E R AND
IT, HOPEFULLY, GOES TO AMERICANS WHO ARE NOT IMMIGRANTS!!!
GREEN CARD HOLDERS (ALSO "IMMIGRANTS") HAVE WORKED HARDER THAN
AMERICANS DO - AS I MENTIONED AND THEY ARE CLEARLY ENTITLED TO GET
THE BENEFITS THEY HAVE EARNED.
DO YOU FOR ONE MOMENT THINK THAT THE SSA WILL GIVE THE ILLEGAL
IMMIGRANT ANY SOCIAL SECURITY?!!????
NEVER HAPPEN - NEVER HAS HAPPENED!!!! IF THEY FALSIFY INFO TO ANY
GOVERNMENT AGENCY - THEY WILL NECESSARILY GET CAUGHT GO STRAIGHT
TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR AT LEAST 2 YEARS AND THEN GET DEPORED. THIS HAS
BEEN THE LAW FOR DECADES AND IT IS ENFORCED!!!!
EVEN THE LEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT GETTING THE
SSA THAT IS DUE THEM. THEY GET CHEATED BY THE SSA EVEN MORE THAN
US CITIZENS DO IN THE NORMAL COURSE OF SSA DAILY STEALING OPERATIONS
- IF THEY LEAVE THE COUNTRY FOR TOO LONG (FOR EXAMPLE IF A PARENT GETS
SICK AND THEY HAVE TO GO AND TAKE CARE) THEY JUST L O O S E ALL
THEIR BENEFITS PERMANENTLY - EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY HAVE BEEN BEEN
HERE AND WORKED FOR MORE YEARS THAN MOST AMERICANS DO. THIS
KIND OF DISCRIMINATORY CONDUCT BY GOVERNMENT AGAINST LAWEUL
PERMANENT RESIDENTS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN HELD TO BE CONSTITUTIONAL
BY THE SUPREME COURT EVEN EVEN THOUGH IT IS CLEARLY UNFAIR. THESE
BENEFITS CAN BE REFUSED VERY EASILY FOR THE LEGAL RESIDENTS WHO
WORKED HAS DOUBLE AND TRIPLE JOBS FOR FIFTY OR MORE YEARS.
WHO BENEFITS FROM THIS? YOU GIVE THE ANSWER!!!
LIGHTEN UP AND LEARN THE REAL FACTS.
ALL IMMIGRANTS ARE NOT ILLEGAL. IN FACT, MOST IMMIGRANTS ARE
LEGAL AND WORK THREE AND FOUR JOBS - DO YOU WANT TO WORK SO
HARD?? HE..- NO!!!!!
PASS THIS ON TO ALL THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW SO THAT THEY CAN BE
EDUCATED ABOUT ANOTHER MORE FACTUAL ASPECT OF THE MATTER.
THANK YOU, DONNA.
xoxoxo
----- Original Message -----
From: Donna xoxoxo
To: xoxoxo@yahoo.com
Sent: 7/2/2009 5:16:27 PM
Subject: Social Security Insult
This is an insult and a kick in the butt to all of us...
Get mad and pass it on - I don't know how, but maybe some good
will come of this travesty.
If the immigrant is over 65, they can apply for SSI and Medicaid and get
more than a woman on Social Security, who worked from 1944 until 2004.
She is only getting $791 per month because she was born in 1924 and
there's a 'catch 22'.
It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee
with a monthly allowance of $1,890. Each can also obtain an
additional $580 in social assistance, for a total of $2,470 a month.
This compares to a single pensioner, who after contributing to
the growth and development of America for 40 to 50 years, can only
receive a monthly maximum of $1,012 in old age pension and
Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees!
Consider sending this to all your American friends, so we can all be
ticked off and maybe get the refugees cut back to $1,012 and the
pensioners up to $2,470. Then we can enjoy some of the money we were
forced to submit to the Government over the last 40 or 50 or 60 years.
Please forward to every American to expose what our elected politicians
have been doing over the past 11 years - to the over-taxed American.
SEND THIS TO EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER YOU KNOW
more...
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pthoko
06-19 12:43 PM
Does the affidavit for Birth be on Stamp paper?? All those who have obtained affidavits, please advise.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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desi3933
05-13 06:51 AM
....
Now, I need to know how my previous I-140 (immigration petition) affects my prospects for obtaining the F1 visa (non-immigrant visa) now? I presume my I-140 will be void anyway since I quit my employer and been out of US for the last 12 months?
.....
It will be helpful if your I-140 is canceled or revoked by your ex-employer. If not, please request ex-employer to do so.
Unless canceled (or revoked) I-140 is valid for lifetime and can be used to file I-485 anytime (as long as permanent job offer is available). By having canceled I-140, it can not be used against you in judging your immigrant intent.
Good Luck.
____________________
Not a legal advice.
Now, I need to know how my previous I-140 (immigration petition) affects my prospects for obtaining the F1 visa (non-immigrant visa) now? I presume my I-140 will be void anyway since I quit my employer and been out of US for the last 12 months?
.....
It will be helpful if your I-140 is canceled or revoked by your ex-employer. If not, please request ex-employer to do so.
Unless canceled (or revoked) I-140 is valid for lifetime and can be used to file I-485 anytime (as long as permanent job offer is available). By having canceled I-140, it can not be used against you in judging your immigrant intent.
Good Luck.
____________________
Not a legal advice.
more...
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sumithooda
01-12 11:58 AM
gcdreamer05:
Is there something we can do to avoid this PIMS delay.......
Yes, You should be able to find out a contact number and call them in advance with you appointment details handy and ask if your details in PIMS are uptodate with your current H1 extensions and stuff. This call would be free in india, but if you have appointment in CANADA, they do charge some money for that call to CANADA.
Kiran K02
Masterji, I will not be able to come on AP as my Passport is in Application Package.
If they dont have your details inPIMS they would send your passport back by post and would askk you come after particular time when they have details and so on. So once you have your passport you can always fly with AP. This is the sole reason why people say to carry AP as back-up.
Thanks
Is there something we can do to avoid this PIMS delay.......
Yes, You should be able to find out a contact number and call them in advance with you appointment details handy and ask if your details in PIMS are uptodate with your current H1 extensions and stuff. This call would be free in india, but if you have appointment in CANADA, they do charge some money for that call to CANADA.
Kiran K02
Masterji, I will not be able to come on AP as my Passport is in Application Package.
If they dont have your details inPIMS they would send your passport back by post and would askk you come after particular time when they have details and so on. So once you have your passport you can always fly with AP. This is the sole reason why people say to carry AP as back-up.
Thanks
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another_wei
05-01 02:07 PM
Hi all;
Questions if anyone has ever seen an RFE like this one.
My first RFE was asking for all documents related to work authorized by USCIS.
I think I responded properly and provided all documents requested.
Then another RFE just came in end of April mail asking for the following.
Please provide all school transcripts during your F1 student status.
Now I am dummy because up until about few days ago I just realized I made big mistake!
I have gap (7 months) from when I finished school (mid 2002) and when I was approved my H1B (Jan 2003)
I should have went on OPT after school but mistake I think I could wait pending my H1B application. I did not work during that 7 month period and stupid me did not go to school during that 7 month period in end 2002.
Any good lawyers in San Jose area think I can pass with a letter of explanation?
Questions if anyone has ever seen an RFE like this one.
My first RFE was asking for all documents related to work authorized by USCIS.
I think I responded properly and provided all documents requested.
Then another RFE just came in end of April mail asking for the following.
Please provide all school transcripts during your F1 student status.
Now I am dummy because up until about few days ago I just realized I made big mistake!
I have gap (7 months) from when I finished school (mid 2002) and when I was approved my H1B (Jan 2003)
I should have went on OPT after school but mistake I think I could wait pending my H1B application. I did not work during that 7 month period and stupid me did not go to school during that 7 month period in end 2002.
Any good lawyers in San Jose area think I can pass with a letter of explanation?
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MerciesOfInjustices
09-30 12:15 AM
link is broken
Here is the complete article, I think -
The Element of Surprise
To help combat the terrorism threat, officials at Los Angeles International Airport are introducing a bold new idea into their arsenal: random placement of security checkpoints. Can game theory help keep us safe?
Web exclusive
By Andrew Murr
Newsweek
Updated: 1:00 p.m. MT Sept 28, 2007
Sept. 28, 2007 - Security officials at Los Angeles International Airport now have a new weapon in their fight against terrorism: complete, baffling randomness. Anxious to thwart future terror attacks in the early stages while plotters are casing the airport, LAX security patrols have begun using a new software program called ARMOR, NEWSWEEK has learned, to make the placement of security checkpoints completely unpredictable. Now all airport security officials have to do is press a button labeled "Randomize," and they can throw a sort of digital cloak of invisibility over where they place the cops' antiterror checkpoints on any given day.
Developed by computer scientists at the University of Southern California and believed to be the first program of its kind to be used at an airport, ARMOR aims to thwart terror plots during the early, surveillance phase. Typical plots start when would-be attackers begin watching their target "18 months to four years prior to an attack" to look for security weaknesses, says James Butts, deputy executive director of law enforcement at Los Angeles World Airports, which runs LAX and other city-owned airports. "Part of it is to look for patterns in the deployment of assets. We're trying to block the surveillance cycle" by making the security patrols appear in unpredictable places at unpredictable times.
Randomness isn't easy. Even when they want to be unpredictable, people follow patterns. "Unconsciously, (security forces) develop predictable patrol behaviors," as Butts says. That's why the new software helps, and the folks at LAX turned to the computer scientists at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering.
The ARMOR software is the real-world product of an idea that began as an academic question in game theory. USC doctoral student Praveen Paruchuri sought to find a way for one "agent" (or robot or company) to react to an adversary who has perfect information about the agent's decisions. Using artificial intelligence and game theory, Paruchuri wrote a new, fast set of algorithms to randomize the actions of the first agent. But when he took the paper to prestigious AI conferences, nobody would publish the work. The basic reaction: great math, but so what? "They said, 'We don't see a practical use for it'," says Milind Tambe, the USC engineering professor who led the ARMOR team. "It was very disappointing."
But LAX officials saw things differently. Under a mandate from L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to improve airport security, they were on the lookout for new ideas. So when a former FBI agent named Erroll Southers, who works at a USC security program funded by the Department of Homeland Security, told LAX officials about it, they agreed to meet with the USC team in April. Over the summer grad students fed vast amounts of classified data about the airport's facilities into the program, and ARMOR started running in August, according to Butts.
The nation's fifth-biggest airport is "one of the top targets on the West Coast," says Butts. The "millennium plot" of December 31, 1999, aimed to set off explosives at LAX. Federal agents broke up the plot when they arrested Algerian Ahmed Ressam entering the U.S. from Canada with a car laden with explosives. He was later convicted on terrorism charges. On July 4, 2002, an Egyptian immigrant named Hesham Hadayet opened fire at the El Al counter at LAX, killing two and wounding four.
Airport officials have at least one new task for the software. Soon ARMOR will begin jumbling the placement of the bomb-sniffing canine patrols too, says Butts. Other potential uses are too secret to talk about. Butts says that the new random placement "makes travelers safer" and even gives them "a greater feeling of police presence" by making the cops appear more numerous. That's good for visitors, and, officials hope, bad for would-be terrorists.
� 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
Here is the complete article, I think -
The Element of Surprise
To help combat the terrorism threat, officials at Los Angeles International Airport are introducing a bold new idea into their arsenal: random placement of security checkpoints. Can game theory help keep us safe?
Web exclusive
By Andrew Murr
Newsweek
Updated: 1:00 p.m. MT Sept 28, 2007
Sept. 28, 2007 - Security officials at Los Angeles International Airport now have a new weapon in their fight against terrorism: complete, baffling randomness. Anxious to thwart future terror attacks in the early stages while plotters are casing the airport, LAX security patrols have begun using a new software program called ARMOR, NEWSWEEK has learned, to make the placement of security checkpoints completely unpredictable. Now all airport security officials have to do is press a button labeled "Randomize," and they can throw a sort of digital cloak of invisibility over where they place the cops' antiterror checkpoints on any given day.
Developed by computer scientists at the University of Southern California and believed to be the first program of its kind to be used at an airport, ARMOR aims to thwart terror plots during the early, surveillance phase. Typical plots start when would-be attackers begin watching their target "18 months to four years prior to an attack" to look for security weaknesses, says James Butts, deputy executive director of law enforcement at Los Angeles World Airports, which runs LAX and other city-owned airports. "Part of it is to look for patterns in the deployment of assets. We're trying to block the surveillance cycle" by making the security patrols appear in unpredictable places at unpredictable times.
Randomness isn't easy. Even when they want to be unpredictable, people follow patterns. "Unconsciously, (security forces) develop predictable patrol behaviors," as Butts says. That's why the new software helps, and the folks at LAX turned to the computer scientists at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering.
The ARMOR software is the real-world product of an idea that began as an academic question in game theory. USC doctoral student Praveen Paruchuri sought to find a way for one "agent" (or robot or company) to react to an adversary who has perfect information about the agent's decisions. Using artificial intelligence and game theory, Paruchuri wrote a new, fast set of algorithms to randomize the actions of the first agent. But when he took the paper to prestigious AI conferences, nobody would publish the work. The basic reaction: great math, but so what? "They said, 'We don't see a practical use for it'," says Milind Tambe, the USC engineering professor who led the ARMOR team. "It was very disappointing."
But LAX officials saw things differently. Under a mandate from L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to improve airport security, they were on the lookout for new ideas. So when a former FBI agent named Erroll Southers, who works at a USC security program funded by the Department of Homeland Security, told LAX officials about it, they agreed to meet with the USC team in April. Over the summer grad students fed vast amounts of classified data about the airport's facilities into the program, and ARMOR started running in August, according to Butts.
The nation's fifth-biggest airport is "one of the top targets on the West Coast," says Butts. The "millennium plot" of December 31, 1999, aimed to set off explosives at LAX. Federal agents broke up the plot when they arrested Algerian Ahmed Ressam entering the U.S. from Canada with a car laden with explosives. He was later convicted on terrorism charges. On July 4, 2002, an Egyptian immigrant named Hesham Hadayet opened fire at the El Al counter at LAX, killing two and wounding four.
Airport officials have at least one new task for the software. Soon ARMOR will begin jumbling the placement of the bomb-sniffing canine patrols too, says Butts. Other potential uses are too secret to talk about. Butts says that the new random placement "makes travelers safer" and even gives them "a greater feeling of police presence" by making the cops appear more numerous. That's good for visitors, and, officials hope, bad for would-be terrorists.
� 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
prem_goel
06-12 05:00 PM
i got an rfe too. I think its sent to both the attorney and the applicant. They said they mailed the RFE yesterday, so hopefully by early next week I should have it. I am guessing its employment verification due to me filing change-of-address. i know for sure that my ex-employer did not revoke 140.
StuckInTheMuck
07-28 11:56 AM
Would it be too much to add a second thread that talks about contributions to IV when i look at 5 threads at the top of the list that all track LUD's :)
This spurt of LUD-related threads is a symptom of the COLTS outbreak that has been reported recently. This epidemic seems to break out every time VB jumps ahead a few notches :)
This spurt of LUD-related threads is a symptom of the COLTS outbreak that has been reported recently. This epidemic seems to break out every time VB jumps ahead a few notches :)
