gtg506p
11-16 11:49 AM
Dear IV members
This is for my wife. Her 485 is pending with TSC. PD is EB2 India March 15 2004. Has been current since September 1. After the USCIS website update recently received Document production or Oath Ceremony status update online. And message saying a document has been sent etc.
Since she was current we thought it might be good. 30 days later nothing received. Raised SR since we didnt receive anything. The customer service rep as usual didnt know anything. Said they haldn't received anything back. They opened SR. We got response 3 weeks later.
In the response letter it says that another notice will be forthcoming to tell you to go to local ASC.
Havent received anything. Do you think right now should I again pursue after them by writing to Ombudsman etc especially since case is current? Mainly I am afraid that since the status says Document production would some IO think that the case is already approved and so stop working on that case? Please advice. Thanks in advance.
Amar
This is for my wife. Her 485 is pending with TSC. PD is EB2 India March 15 2004. Has been current since September 1. After the USCIS website update recently received Document production or Oath Ceremony status update online. And message saying a document has been sent etc.
Since she was current we thought it might be good. 30 days later nothing received. Raised SR since we didnt receive anything. The customer service rep as usual didnt know anything. Said they haldn't received anything back. They opened SR. We got response 3 weeks later.
In the response letter it says that another notice will be forthcoming to tell you to go to local ASC.
Havent received anything. Do you think right now should I again pursue after them by writing to Ombudsman etc especially since case is current? Mainly I am afraid that since the status says Document production would some IO think that the case is already approved and so stop working on that case? Please advice. Thanks in advance.
Amar
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augustus
08-16 09:28 AM
I am seeing people with july 2nd dates getting their checks cashed, and there maybe a quick jump after July 2nd because of the bulletin fiasco we had. And plenty of people have filed after July 17, Could someone tell me if their checks have got cashed? This could be a helpful thread for After 17th filers.
EB3- India
PD- Aug 2005
Application Sent- July 17,reached July 19
Center - Nebraska
EB3- India
PD- Aug 2005
Application Sent- July 17,reached July 19
Center - Nebraska
kittu1991
06-19 08:42 PM
I have a question. I heard about new premium processing rule for 140.
my friend�s six years is going to complete in next month , he has applied labour certification via PARM 10 months back and its pending, did he is eligible to file 140? Or he has to live next month?
Your friend cannot apply for I140 without approved labour. I don't know what other provision he has to be in status. May be he can try to recpture the vaccation time. If he has atleast 2 months of vaccation time, don't know if he can apply for 7th yr extension based on 365 days rule.
my friend�s six years is going to complete in next month , he has applied labour certification via PARM 10 months back and its pending, did he is eligible to file 140? Or he has to live next month?
Your friend cannot apply for I140 without approved labour. I don't know what other provision he has to be in status. May be he can try to recpture the vaccation time. If he has atleast 2 months of vaccation time, don't know if he can apply for 7th yr extension based on 365 days rule.
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Blog Feeds
09-11 12:00 PM
There has been an interesting alliance of antis in both the health care and immigration arenas to scare people in to believing that illegally present immigrants will be eligible for subsidies to secure health insurance under the health care reform proposal being pushed by President Obama. That claim is patently false. But that did not stop one extremist in the Congress, Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) from screaming "You lie!" when President Obama addressed that myth. This appalling lack of respect has already led the GOP to go in to damage control mode and Wilson issued an apology within minutes of...
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2009/09/president-heckled-by-gop-congressman-over-bogus-claim-that-illegally-present-immigrants-will-be-cove.html)
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2009/09/president-heckled-by-gop-congressman-over-bogus-claim-that-illegally-present-immigrants-will-be-cove.html)
more...
Axilleus
10-31 08:11 AM
You may work for any employer any hours you want with the EAD.
Macaca
11-27 09:32 PM
Sen. Ted Kennedy to Write Memoir (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/11/26/entertainment/e200218S67.DTL&hw=immigration&sn=009&sc=275) By HILLEL ITALIE | AP National Writer, November 27, 2007
The memoirs of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the youngest and last surviving brother of the country's most famous political siblings and for decades an eminent liberal statesman and legislator, have been acquired by an imprint of the Hachette Book Group USA.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but a publishing official with knowledge of the negotiations said Monday that the agreement was comparable to the $8 million Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton received for "Living History" and the $9 million former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will reportedly get for his planned memoir. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity, following standard industry practice.
"I've been fortunate in my life to grow up in an extraordinary family and to have a front row seat at many key events in our nation's history," Kennedy, 75, said in a statement. "I hope my reflections can contribute to a deeper understanding of many events in the history of this great country and to a more in-depth picture of an American family."
Hachette's acquisition came after a six-day auction involving nine publishers. Kennedy was represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose other clients include Clinton and Tony Blair.
The book, currently untitled and tentatively scheduled to come out in 2010, builds upon the oral history project that Kennedy has been working on through the Miller Center of the University of Virginia. The project, launched in 2004 and expected to last several years, will include interviews with the senator, family members, colleagues, journalists, foreign leaders and others.
For his memoir, Kennedy plans to use a co-author/researcher, still to be determined. A "significant" portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity, including the John F. Kennedy Library, where the senator's public and private papers will eventually be stored, according to Kennedy adviser Stephanie Cutter.
The book will be published by the Hachette imprint Twelve, founded two years ago by former Random House editor Jonathan Karp
"The senator's book is not about the money," Karp told The Associated Press. "I think it's about telling a story that only he can tell. He's both seen history and he's made history. His perspective is unique, and it would be a tremendous loss if he did not put his experiences in writing."
Karp said that he and other Hachette officials went down to Washington last fall to meet with the senator at his home, where they talked in Kennedy's study, family pictures on the walls, books by Robert Caro and David McCullough on the shelves.
"He intends to be candid," Karp said. "He's a great raconteur and he talked so articulately and disarmingly about his childhood and some of his political experiences over the years that you got the sense that this is a man capable of captivating anyone with a story."
Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and the youngest of nine children, was first elected to the Senate in 1962, when he was voted in to fill the seat initially vacated by his older brother, John F. Kennedy, who had been elected president. Ted Kennedy was just 30 at the time, barely old enough to legally have the job, and his greatest burden was living down the taunt of his Democratic primary opponent, Edward J. McCormack: "If your name was simply Edward Moore instead of Edward Moore Kennedy, your candidacy would be a joke."
Kennedy's achievements and troubles exceeded everyone's expectations. Brothers John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, and personal scandal � most notably a 1969 accident in which a car he drove ran off a bridge, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne � helped prevent Ted Kennedy from becoming president himself.
But he also emerged as one of the Senate's most accomplished and eloquent legislators, respected even by Republicans for his knowledge and hard work, and for his role in passing bills on education, wages, health care, immigration and many other issues. Last year, he was easily elected to his eighth full term and has no plans to retire, according to Cutter.
Kennedy's previous books include "My Senator and Me," a children's story, and "America Back on Track." He has been the subject of countless works and cooperated with one author, Adam Clymer, for a biography that came out in 1999.
The memoirs of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the youngest and last surviving brother of the country's most famous political siblings and for decades an eminent liberal statesman and legislator, have been acquired by an imprint of the Hachette Book Group USA.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but a publishing official with knowledge of the negotiations said Monday that the agreement was comparable to the $8 million Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton received for "Living History" and the $9 million former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will reportedly get for his planned memoir. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity, following standard industry practice.
"I've been fortunate in my life to grow up in an extraordinary family and to have a front row seat at many key events in our nation's history," Kennedy, 75, said in a statement. "I hope my reflections can contribute to a deeper understanding of many events in the history of this great country and to a more in-depth picture of an American family."
Hachette's acquisition came after a six-day auction involving nine publishers. Kennedy was represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose other clients include Clinton and Tony Blair.
The book, currently untitled and tentatively scheduled to come out in 2010, builds upon the oral history project that Kennedy has been working on through the Miller Center of the University of Virginia. The project, launched in 2004 and expected to last several years, will include interviews with the senator, family members, colleagues, journalists, foreign leaders and others.
For his memoir, Kennedy plans to use a co-author/researcher, still to be determined. A "significant" portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity, including the John F. Kennedy Library, where the senator's public and private papers will eventually be stored, according to Kennedy adviser Stephanie Cutter.
The book will be published by the Hachette imprint Twelve, founded two years ago by former Random House editor Jonathan Karp
"The senator's book is not about the money," Karp told The Associated Press. "I think it's about telling a story that only he can tell. He's both seen history and he's made history. His perspective is unique, and it would be a tremendous loss if he did not put his experiences in writing."
Karp said that he and other Hachette officials went down to Washington last fall to meet with the senator at his home, where they talked in Kennedy's study, family pictures on the walls, books by Robert Caro and David McCullough on the shelves.
"He intends to be candid," Karp said. "He's a great raconteur and he talked so articulately and disarmingly about his childhood and some of his political experiences over the years that you got the sense that this is a man capable of captivating anyone with a story."
Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and the youngest of nine children, was first elected to the Senate in 1962, when he was voted in to fill the seat initially vacated by his older brother, John F. Kennedy, who had been elected president. Ted Kennedy was just 30 at the time, barely old enough to legally have the job, and his greatest burden was living down the taunt of his Democratic primary opponent, Edward J. McCormack: "If your name was simply Edward Moore instead of Edward Moore Kennedy, your candidacy would be a joke."
Kennedy's achievements and troubles exceeded everyone's expectations. Brothers John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, and personal scandal � most notably a 1969 accident in which a car he drove ran off a bridge, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne � helped prevent Ted Kennedy from becoming president himself.
But he also emerged as one of the Senate's most accomplished and eloquent legislators, respected even by Republicans for his knowledge and hard work, and for his role in passing bills on education, wages, health care, immigration and many other issues. Last year, he was easily elected to his eighth full term and has no plans to retire, according to Cutter.
Kennedy's previous books include "My Senator and Me," a children's story, and "America Back on Track." He has been the subject of countless works and cooperated with one author, Adam Clymer, for a biography that came out in 1999.
more...
chanduv23
06-14 06:46 AM
Dear All,
As I work for a consulting company and my previous lawyer was my employer's ass kisser, I decided to go for a new lawyer.
(1) Will the new lawyer need any documents from old lawyer? As such I have copies of everything till now
(2) My employer is in Dallas and I am on a project in New Jersey, but my petition is for my permanant work location in Dallas - is it advisable to choose a lawyer from Dallas (future employment area) or NYC/NJ where I currently have my project (i plan to stay here for a while) - what is the general take - physical accessibility to lawyer or choose lawyer close to company location?
(3) How hard is it to find lawyers? Last month when dates moved considerably - I heard lawyers have been stressed and over burdened over the mad rush of petitions and have been least responsive - will lawyers take new cases in such situations???
(4) Can anyone suggest a communicative lawyer? The best of all :)
Thanks for your responses
As I work for a consulting company and my previous lawyer was my employer's ass kisser, I decided to go for a new lawyer.
(1) Will the new lawyer need any documents from old lawyer? As such I have copies of everything till now
(2) My employer is in Dallas and I am on a project in New Jersey, but my petition is for my permanant work location in Dallas - is it advisable to choose a lawyer from Dallas (future employment area) or NYC/NJ where I currently have my project (i plan to stay here for a while) - what is the general take - physical accessibility to lawyer or choose lawyer close to company location?
(3) How hard is it to find lawyers? Last month when dates moved considerably - I heard lawyers have been stressed and over burdened over the mad rush of petitions and have been least responsive - will lawyers take new cases in such situations???
(4) Can anyone suggest a communicative lawyer? The best of all :)
Thanks for your responses
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manishs7
01-13 06:00 PM
Dude,
Here is a link for you :
Advanced Parole renewal process and attachments - Page 10 - Immigration Voice (http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=19282)
Here is a link for you :
Advanced Parole renewal process and attachments - Page 10 - Immigration Voice (http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=19282)
more...
zulutrix
10-02 01:57 PM
Hi friends
I'm concurrently filing 140 and 485 at NSC (my application shd be out in 2-3 days). I've obtained a waiver and my J-1 expires next year Aug 2008. What do you guys feel that if this much time is enough to obtain the decision regarding those two applications. I'll be getting my and wife's EAD in 3 months. Should I used EAD after my J-1 expries or else I move to H-1 a month before it expires. Presently my wife is working in a private company (j-2 EAD). My lawyer discouraged me by saying that my applicaation could be rejected as J-1 is non-immigrant intent visa?? Please reply...
:)
I'm concurrently filing 140 and 485 at NSC (my application shd be out in 2-3 days). I've obtained a waiver and my J-1 expires next year Aug 2008. What do you guys feel that if this much time is enough to obtain the decision regarding those two applications. I'll be getting my and wife's EAD in 3 months. Should I used EAD after my J-1 expries or else I move to H-1 a month before it expires. Presently my wife is working in a private company (j-2 EAD). My lawyer discouraged me by saying that my applicaation could be rejected as J-1 is non-immigrant intent visa?? Please reply...
:)
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kirupa
04-29 03:35 PM
Added your first one up because it actually features some pizza :)
more...
Blog Feeds
01-21 09:50 AM
A fat report and one with some helpful recommendations and statistics. Here are some of the more interesting items I found - - Of the top 150 H-1B employers, 24 were deemed H-1B dependent (a high percentage of workers on the H-1B) and 9 had prior H-1B violations. - Real earnings growth for US workers in occupations with proportionately more H-1B workers - particularly IT - was actually much stronger than the general US worker. - Engineers and IT professionals on H-1Bs were more than twice as likely as their US counterparts to have advanced degrees. - The proportion of...
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2011/01/government-accountability-office-releases-report-on-h-1b-program.html)
More... (http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2011/01/government-accountability-office-releases-report-on-h-1b-program.html)
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amitga
06-05 04:49 PM
EB2 - ROW has 5000+ cases pending = No Spill over:(
more...
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crystal
11-12 11:49 AM
Valid EAD along with SSN is used for work. As you are waiting for the corrected EAD, you cannot work I guess.
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ElusiveCard
12-14 05:17 PM
1) I am in USA on H1B.
2) I have accepted an offer to join companyA in January '07. They have filed for the H1B transfer a few days back. And I have resigned from my current employer.
3) Now another companyB has agreed to acquire companyA, and they will close the deal in December '06. CompanyB will be issuing revised offer letters to new hires like myself soon.
So even when my H1B has been filed by CompanyA, it will cease to exist on my joining date (January '07).
My question is how is the H1B handled in such a case ?
Can an amendment be sent to the original application saying its for CompanyB, and not CompanyA. Or does CompanyB have to apply for a fresh H1B ?
General qn : When can I change the employer -- when the H1 papers reach INS or when the lawyers get the receipt notice from INS ?
They are setting up conference calls with the lawyers soon; I was wondering if I could get some inputs from the experts on the forum as well.
2) I have accepted an offer to join companyA in January '07. They have filed for the H1B transfer a few days back. And I have resigned from my current employer.
3) Now another companyB has agreed to acquire companyA, and they will close the deal in December '06. CompanyB will be issuing revised offer letters to new hires like myself soon.
So even when my H1B has been filed by CompanyA, it will cease to exist on my joining date (January '07).
My question is how is the H1B handled in such a case ?
Can an amendment be sent to the original application saying its for CompanyB, and not CompanyA. Or does CompanyB have to apply for a fresh H1B ?
General qn : When can I change the employer -- when the H1 papers reach INS or when the lawyers get the receipt notice from INS ?
They are setting up conference calls with the lawyers soon; I was wondering if I could get some inputs from the experts on the forum as well.
more...
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atilakmca
10-14 02:16 PM
is it possible and advisable to convert H1 B to H4 and go on searching for job and if find a job then coming back to H1? Are there any risks in this process? if so can some one explain me in detail?
Thanks
Tilak
Thanks
Tilak
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roseball
02-09 11:37 PM
Hi
I am planning to apply for new PERM under EB2.
Just checking during these days, how long it takes for PERM approval.
Pls update the timing if you or your friends got the approval in EB2.
Thanks
Around 10 months if your case is not audited and over 2 yrs if audited.
I am planning to apply for new PERM under EB2.
Just checking during these days, how long it takes for PERM approval.
Pls update the timing if you or your friends got the approval in EB2.
Thanks
Around 10 months if your case is not audited and over 2 yrs if audited.
more...
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saketkapur
02-28 10:39 AM
Hi
My wife who is currently working as a doctor in medically underserved area(J1 waiver case), on cap exempt H1B visa. Her clinic is contemplating name change. I will really appreciate if someone can shed the light on how might this proposed name change can/will impact her status?
Her visa is currently unstamped and we are planning to get the same done this year in october. My queries are as follows:
1. Will a new waiver petition and H1B visa need to be filed or only an addendum notification to the USCIS will suffice?
2. If the latter is true then what kind of additional documentation will be needed for visa stamping from the lawyer?
Attorney input will be highly appreciated.
regards
Saket Kapur
My wife who is currently working as a doctor in medically underserved area(J1 waiver case), on cap exempt H1B visa. Her clinic is contemplating name change. I will really appreciate if someone can shed the light on how might this proposed name change can/will impact her status?
Her visa is currently unstamped and we are planning to get the same done this year in october. My queries are as follows:
1. Will a new waiver petition and H1B visa need to be filed or only an addendum notification to the USCIS will suffice?
2. If the latter is true then what kind of additional documentation will be needed for visa stamping from the lawyer?
Attorney input will be highly appreciated.
regards
Saket Kapur
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panky72
06-23 10:52 AM
Where can I do status checking? At what site?
https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/caseStatusSearchDisplay.do;jsessionid=cabgStG5cPwU Jh4hj71Qr
https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/caseStatusSearchDisplay.do;jsessionid=cabgStG5cPwU Jh4hj71Qr
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bdt5897
09-29 05:25 PM
I am a US Citizen and just married an immigrant. Her situation is interesting. Upon arrival to the U.S. she was detained and an I275 was filled out but not submitted. Apparently, her visa had been expired due to an overstay in the distant past. The result of the detention was a Paroled status stamped on her pasport. No I-94
We met shortly after her entry and are currently maried. We want to self-file the I485/I130 papers but don't know how to proceed without an I94 number. If we submit an I102 will she get an I94 replacement or will they reduse based upon her Paroled status, whcih she has overstayed?
Please Help...
We met shortly after her entry and are currently maried. We want to self-file the I485/I130 papers but don't know how to proceed without an I94 number. If we submit an I102 will she get an I94 replacement or will they reduse based upon her Paroled status, whcih she has overstayed?
Please Help...
vali
03-30 01:33 PM
I just checked and my attorney just reopened the closed LCA.
Anyone any ideea how I can switch companies?
Thanks.
Anyone any ideea how I can switch companies?
Thanks.
Macaca
07-28 04:46 PM
Reid Eyes Rules Changes To Restrict Amendments (http://www.rollcall.com/issues/53_10/news/19488-1.html) By Emily Pierce, ROLL CALL STAFF, July 23, 2007
After nearly seven months of battling Republican filibusters and controversial amendments on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday he may seek to change Senate rules to make it easier to restrict amendments on the floor.
Reid said Rules and Administration Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) would be tasked with exploring what rules changes should be made.
Noting that there has been a "growing breakdown between the majority and minority in terms of how to get things done," Howard Gantman, Feinstein's chief of staff for the Rules panel, said the committee would conduct a "comprehensive review" and look at the rules on the germaneness of amendments and how long Senators have to review proposals before voting on them.
"Sen. Feinstein is very serious about looking at the vast range of amendments that are brought in at the last minute that are not germane," said Gantman. He added that the panel's focus would be on "how to better get things done."
Reid spokesman Jim Manley cautioned that Reid "has no intention of unilaterally seeking a rules change."
However, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) scoffed at the notion of limiting or restricting Senators' ability to offer amendments, which he likened to freedom of speech.
"Look, nobody's going to shut anybody up in the Senate," he said at a press conference Friday. "There's going to be robust debate. You can just write that down. And I understand Sen. Reid's frustrations, but we're not going to establish any speech police in the Senate - not now, not ever."
Reid apparently reached his boiling point Thursday night when Republicans used Senate budget rules to offer a number of non-germane amendments to a student loan financing bill.
"What went on last night was ridiculous," Reid said on the Senate floor. "We should change those rules. ... We will have to take a look at that."
Reid said Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and ranking member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) managed the student loan measure "very well until it ran into the rule that we have here that allows unending amendments on any subject forever, literally, before you get to final passage."
Because the higher education bill - by virtue of its status as a budget reconciliation measure - was immune to filibuster, Senate rules permitted unlimited amendments to be offered and voted on. On Thursday night, in particular, Senators were given only a few minutes to review the substance of some amendments before they were asked to vote on them.
As is customary with budget and reconciliation measures, Senators engaged in a long series of back-to-back votes, known as a "vote-a-rama," at the end of the debate. But Democrats said Republicans' insistence on having 14 non-germane votes - including six related to cutting taxes, three related to immigration and two related to terrorism - was excessive.
When Democrats pushed back with their own non-germane amendment expressing the Senate's opinion that President Bush should not pardon Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Scooter Libby, Republicans tried to force a vote on former President Bill Clinton's controversial pardons.
But before the Senate could vote on that, Reid asked that both the Libby vote and the GOP pardons amendment be stricken from the Congressional Record, and the chamber voted on final passage of the bill.
Manley explained: "These so-called vote-a-ramas are bad for the system, and they may lead to bad policy. As have leaders in the past, all Sen. Reid was doing was expressing his frustration at the Republicans' desire to score cheap political points at the expense of a good-faith effort to pass a bill that will make college education more affordable for more Americans."
Even though Reid is seeking a Rules panel review, the rules governing Thursday night's debate actually fall under the Congressional Budget Act. If Reid were to seek a change in the Budget Act, the Senate would have to pass legislation and it would have to be signed into law by the president.
However, changes to Senate rules require 67 votes to pass.
After nearly seven months of battling Republican filibusters and controversial amendments on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday he may seek to change Senate rules to make it easier to restrict amendments on the floor.
Reid said Rules and Administration Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) would be tasked with exploring what rules changes should be made.
Noting that there has been a "growing breakdown between the majority and minority in terms of how to get things done," Howard Gantman, Feinstein's chief of staff for the Rules panel, said the committee would conduct a "comprehensive review" and look at the rules on the germaneness of amendments and how long Senators have to review proposals before voting on them.
"Sen. Feinstein is very serious about looking at the vast range of amendments that are brought in at the last minute that are not germane," said Gantman. He added that the panel's focus would be on "how to better get things done."
Reid spokesman Jim Manley cautioned that Reid "has no intention of unilaterally seeking a rules change."
However, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) scoffed at the notion of limiting or restricting Senators' ability to offer amendments, which he likened to freedom of speech.
"Look, nobody's going to shut anybody up in the Senate," he said at a press conference Friday. "There's going to be robust debate. You can just write that down. And I understand Sen. Reid's frustrations, but we're not going to establish any speech police in the Senate - not now, not ever."
Reid apparently reached his boiling point Thursday night when Republicans used Senate budget rules to offer a number of non-germane amendments to a student loan financing bill.
"What went on last night was ridiculous," Reid said on the Senate floor. "We should change those rules. ... We will have to take a look at that."
Reid said Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and ranking member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) managed the student loan measure "very well until it ran into the rule that we have here that allows unending amendments on any subject forever, literally, before you get to final passage."
Because the higher education bill - by virtue of its status as a budget reconciliation measure - was immune to filibuster, Senate rules permitted unlimited amendments to be offered and voted on. On Thursday night, in particular, Senators were given only a few minutes to review the substance of some amendments before they were asked to vote on them.
As is customary with budget and reconciliation measures, Senators engaged in a long series of back-to-back votes, known as a "vote-a-rama," at the end of the debate. But Democrats said Republicans' insistence on having 14 non-germane votes - including six related to cutting taxes, three related to immigration and two related to terrorism - was excessive.
When Democrats pushed back with their own non-germane amendment expressing the Senate's opinion that President Bush should not pardon Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Scooter Libby, Republicans tried to force a vote on former President Bill Clinton's controversial pardons.
But before the Senate could vote on that, Reid asked that both the Libby vote and the GOP pardons amendment be stricken from the Congressional Record, and the chamber voted on final passage of the bill.
Manley explained: "These so-called vote-a-ramas are bad for the system, and they may lead to bad policy. As have leaders in the past, all Sen. Reid was doing was expressing his frustration at the Republicans' desire to score cheap political points at the expense of a good-faith effort to pass a bill that will make college education more affordable for more Americans."
Even though Reid is seeking a Rules panel review, the rules governing Thursday night's debate actually fall under the Congressional Budget Act. If Reid were to seek a change in the Budget Act, the Senate would have to pass legislation and it would have to be signed into law by the president.
However, changes to Senate rules require 67 votes to pass.
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