News on U.S. government agencies, U.S. politics, companies doing business with U.S. federal government. Read U.S. national and local news. This site is not affiliated with United States Government.
(EMAILWIRE.COM, February 25, 2009 ) SUNRISE, FL – As the American mortgage crisis continues to deepen with each passing month, a new proposal from the educational sector has the potential to significantly relieve America’s current housing problem while encouraging billions of dollars in economic growth. Ms. Sheila Danzig, director of a foreign degree evaluation agency, TheDegreePeople.com and an expert on the characteristics and demographics of persons seeking foreign diploma evaluations for EB-2 and EB-3 visas to the United States, advocates significantly speeding up the processing of applications for permanent residency from those holding the visas.
"Just as the U.S. military has recently created a faster path to citizenship for temporary visa holders who enlist in the armed forces, IÂ’m supporting a visa processing speedup proposal that was first presented on the Immigration Voice internet chat board," says Ms. Danzig, whose firm performs foreign diploma evaluations and foreign degree evaluations. "EB-2 and EB-3 visa holders have already been living in the U.S. for more than five years. They all have professional degrees and many have a masterÂ’s or a Ph.D. None are taking a job away from Americans, because the visas are issued precisely when no U.S. citizens are available for these jobs. They make a very good income, but theyÂ’re afraid to buy a house while their green card status remains in limbo due to a tremendous backlog."
The average income earned by workers holding EB visas is $65,000 - $135,000 yearly, notes Ms. Danzig. The majority of these individuals have good or excellent credit ratings and secure incomes. They are highly motivated to purchase homes and settle in family-friendly neighborhoods. However, they remain in limbo while they wait for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve their green card applications – sometimes up to a seven year wait. Mortgage companies and banks rarely approve home loans for families without permanent residency.
As with the new faster path to citizenship recently announced for enlistees already holding temporary visas, this proposal does not have anything to do with illegal immigration.
Currently, approximately 800,000 wage earners wait to see whether they will be permitted to remain in the United States. More than 200,000 immigration visa numbers have been lost as workers wait for their application to be processed, which has resulted in millions of lost dollars for the economy, notes Ms. Danzig.
"Suppose half of these persons wish to purchase a home. If they were permitted to make a 20 percent down payment on a private home (and the average cost of a home in the U.S. today is approximately $200,000), this would result in a net financial gain of $1.6 billion immediately for American banks, not to mention improving the dismal real estate market in many areas of the country."
Accordingly, Career Consulting International, Ms. DanzigÂ’s foreign credential evaluation agency, has started a petition drive at http://www.thedegreepeople.com/eb-petition.html to speed up visa processing for EB-2 and EB-3 visa holders who are ready to purchase a home now.
"Immigrants are highly motivated to succeed and make themselves part of the culture that welcomes them to remain in their country," says Ms. Danzig. "I remember when my father got his citizenship. I was about eight years old, and he picked me up and danced me around the room, he was so happy. Offer your support for a solution that works for hard-working immigrants as well as the U.S. economy today. These stable, risk-free mortgages will help to reverse the downward spiral into which our housing market has slumped and help it to soar upward again."
We are pleased to offer you this exciting, new, and entirely free professional resource. Visit our Free Industry resource center today to browse our selection of 600+ complimentary Industry magazines, white papers, webinars, podcasts, and more. Get popular titles including:
