chaks7
01-19 04:10 PM
My wife's co. provides health insurance for both of us. We are both on H1-B.
If my wife quits her job, can we still be eligible for COBRA because at that point she will be doing COS to H4. If someone has any experience or knowledge about this please reply. It will help us deal things better as we are better prepared with what could be our options.
Does COBRA depend on H1-B status? Also recently Obama administration has worked a plan where the payments on COBRA are less than the usual amounts, COBRA subsidy? Can you provide details regarding that?
If my wife quits her job, can we still be eligible for COBRA because at that point she will be doing COS to H4. If someone has any experience or knowledge about this please reply. It will help us deal things better as we are better prepared with what could be our options.
Does COBRA depend on H1-B status? Also recently Obama administration has worked a plan where the payments on COBRA are less than the usual amounts, COBRA subsidy? Can you provide details regarding that?
snathan
02-23 10:07 PM
I am not sure if BS (3 yrs) + MCA is considered to be equivalent to MS or not. But if it is, then you can definitely file for EB2 (MS +0). However, your company will need to have a job that requires these qualifications.
Also, I am not sure why you couldn't use the experience gained with your employer. If the job description is at least 50% different than your EB3 job, you can certainly use the experience gained at your current employer.
I am also planning to file under EB2 using the experience gained with current employer. However, I have been concerned about possible audit. Nonetheless, when I asked the audit question (in a different thread), couple of folks shared their personal experience who had gotten approval (using experience gained at same employer) without any audit.
Has anyone seen a case where someone got audited for using the experience gained with the same employer? I think this will be a useful information for several others as well...
Why dont you ask this question in a free attorney's call.
Also, I am not sure why you couldn't use the experience gained with your employer. If the job description is at least 50% different than your EB3 job, you can certainly use the experience gained at your current employer.
I am also planning to file under EB2 using the experience gained with current employer. However, I have been concerned about possible audit. Nonetheless, when I asked the audit question (in a different thread), couple of folks shared their personal experience who had gotten approval (using experience gained at same employer) without any audit.
Has anyone seen a case where someone got audited for using the experience gained with the same employer? I think this will be a useful information for several others as well...
Why dont you ask this question in a free attorney's call.
conundrum
03-28 10:01 AM
Great for us...aren't are Indian PHD's in the US are as scholarly and motivated as before? lol To think that there are left over visas in this category beats me ! :D
Having a PhD alone doesn't put you in EB1. Everything depends on the job requirement. You can have a PhD and still be in EB3 if the job that you are working doesn't require an advanced degree.
Having a PhD alone doesn't put you in EB1. Everything depends on the job requirement. You can have a PhD and still be in EB3 if the job that you are working doesn't require an advanced degree.
akred
03-09 02:08 PM
Priority date is the date on which a permanent labor certification was filed for a beneficiary and based on which an underlying I-140 petition is applied.
should be:
Priority date is defined in two ways -
a) For cases with a labor certification, the date on which a permanent labor certification was filed for a beneficiary and based on which an underlying I-140 petition is applied.
or
b) For cases without an underlying labor certification, the date on which the I-140 petition was applied for.
should be:
Priority date is defined in two ways -
a) For cases with a labor certification, the date on which a permanent labor certification was filed for a beneficiary and based on which an underlying I-140 petition is applied.
or
b) For cases without an underlying labor certification, the date on which the I-140 petition was applied for.
more...
Skip
March 9th, 2004, 12:34 PM
SB-26 will be a problem. You cannot use TTL flash mode with any Nikon digital camera. It would be like going back to an old thyristor auto flash. Only the DX series flashes work with the digitals.
mambarg
08-05 11:44 PM
I took some time to compile the list of INDIA only EB3 and EB2 categories for past 2 years and from the trend, it is very easy to predict the Oct bulletin.
It does not need a attorney or spies. You just need to work up the numbers.
I did this only for INDIA. Any chinese can complile it for China.
MONTH EB2 EB3
Aug 05 C 01APR01
Sep 05 C U
Oct 05 01NOV99 01JAN98
Nov 05 01NOV99 01JAN98
Dec 05 01JUL00 1-Jan-99
Jan 06 01JAN01 01JUN99
Feb 06 01AUG01 01JAN00
Mar 06 01JAN02 01JAN01
Apr 06 01JUL02 01FEB01
May 06 01JAN03 01MAR01
Jun 06 01JAN03 08APR01
Jul 06 01JAN03 15APR01
Aug 06 U 01APR01
Sep 06 U 15APR01
Oct 06 15JUN02 22-Apr-01
Nov 06 01JAN03 APRIL01
Dec 06 08JAN03
Jan 07 Jan03 May01
Feb 07 Jan03 May01
Mar 07 Jan03 May01
Apr 07 Jan03 May01
May 07 Jan03 May01
Jun 07 Apr04 Jun03
Jul 07 C C
Aug 07 U U
Sep 07 Jan03 May01
Oct 07 Jan03 May01
Nov 07 Jul03 June02
Dec 07 Jul03 Jun02
Jan 08 Jan04 Jun02
Feb 08 Jan04 Jun02
Here is my analysis.
Bulletin dates moves by six months as max jump for EB2 and 1 month for EB3.
Begining of New year in Oct, they conservatively pull back the numbers so as to flush out pending apps.
Now since they have already flushed apps in June/July, in Nov they will move EB2 by six months and possibly either stop there or make it one full year by moving it by another six months.
For EB3, they like to get it stuck at mid year so Jun02.
Guys, give a thought to this trend and see if you can guess more accurately.
It does not need a attorney or spies. You just need to work up the numbers.
I did this only for INDIA. Any chinese can complile it for China.
MONTH EB2 EB3
Aug 05 C 01APR01
Sep 05 C U
Oct 05 01NOV99 01JAN98
Nov 05 01NOV99 01JAN98
Dec 05 01JUL00 1-Jan-99
Jan 06 01JAN01 01JUN99
Feb 06 01AUG01 01JAN00
Mar 06 01JAN02 01JAN01
Apr 06 01JUL02 01FEB01
May 06 01JAN03 01MAR01
Jun 06 01JAN03 08APR01
Jul 06 01JAN03 15APR01
Aug 06 U 01APR01
Sep 06 U 15APR01
Oct 06 15JUN02 22-Apr-01
Nov 06 01JAN03 APRIL01
Dec 06 08JAN03
Jan 07 Jan03 May01
Feb 07 Jan03 May01
Mar 07 Jan03 May01
Apr 07 Jan03 May01
May 07 Jan03 May01
Jun 07 Apr04 Jun03
Jul 07 C C
Aug 07 U U
Sep 07 Jan03 May01
Oct 07 Jan03 May01
Nov 07 Jul03 June02
Dec 07 Jul03 Jun02
Jan 08 Jan04 Jun02
Feb 08 Jan04 Jun02
Here is my analysis.
Bulletin dates moves by six months as max jump for EB2 and 1 month for EB3.
Begining of New year in Oct, they conservatively pull back the numbers so as to flush out pending apps.
Now since they have already flushed apps in June/July, in Nov they will move EB2 by six months and possibly either stop there or make it one full year by moving it by another six months.
For EB3, they like to get it stuck at mid year so Jun02.
Guys, give a thought to this trend and see if you can guess more accurately.
more...
Hassan11
04-08 11:13 AM
is MTR the same thing as Appeal?? so far I haven't heard from the Appeal borad. as I mentioned before the HR Manager sent them a letter at the end of Jan 2008 requesting an update on my appeal but she hasn't heard anything from them. this is really taking forever. all we want them to do is to make a decision, either accept the appeal or deny, so i can move on.
I would definitely be interested to see how your MTR pans out. Please keep us posted. We filed a MTR back in 2005 for a PERM case that was denied because the salary was wrong on a job opening notice - we ended up winning the MTR and the case was approved but not until mid-2007. We have had some erroneous denials recently and are looking to file the motions to reconsider, so I would love to know your experience if you receive a decision.
I would definitely be interested to see how your MTR pans out. Please keep us posted. We filed a MTR back in 2005 for a PERM case that was denied because the salary was wrong on a job opening notice - we ended up winning the MTR and the case was approved but not until mid-2007. We have had some erroneous denials recently and are looking to file the motions to reconsider, so I would love to know your experience if you receive a decision.
bluekayal
08-21 11:37 AM
Because they are sitting and looking at the Service Requests generated by the National Customer Service. There were 9000 of them a couple of days ago.
more...
mpadapa
08-09 02:30 PM
bump
LONGGCQUE
05-05 10:10 PM
Krishmunn,
How about this ? I have an approved I 140 in eb2 with my current employer, I 485 never filed, then join a new employer, start perm and then I 140.
Questions ..
1) If first employer withdraws I 140 after I move out. Can I still port my older PD when I140 is filed with new employer.
How about this ? I have an approved I 140 in eb2 with my current employer, I 485 never filed, then join a new employer, start perm and then I 140.
Questions ..
1) If first employer withdraws I 140 after I move out. Can I still port my older PD when I140 is filed with new employer.
more...
kisana
04-11 04:27 PM
Can any one who has used e-file , please advice for my last two questions.
GC_1000Watt
12-03 04:26 PM
The simple reply to this question I could think of is that Dream Act is not meant to benefit Legal immigrants, however Visa recapture will directly benefit all the Employment based legal immigrants.
Thanks.
Why do we need Recapture more than DREAM ACT or with DREAM ACT?
What makes recapture an important issue as mush as DREAM ACT issue?
Is the question asked to me when I communicated with someone in favor of DREAM act. We need good answers when asked this question.
I was looking at posts to respond back and write to all reporters writing on DREAM ACT. Can someone post convincing answers?
Thanks.
Why do we need Recapture more than DREAM ACT or with DREAM ACT?
What makes recapture an important issue as mush as DREAM ACT issue?
Is the question asked to me when I communicated with someone in favor of DREAM act. We need good answers when asked this question.
I was looking at posts to respond back and write to all reporters writing on DREAM ACT. Can someone post convincing answers?
more...
Redeye
12-19 08:26 PM
Abhjitp thanks for your reply.
ram_ram
10-01 09:43 AM
The backlogs at DOLS's found a solution..PERM. Similarly premium processing was introduced for I-140's. I think now it's time to move the Departments and courts to find a more efficient Security/Name check process. If not USCIS will continue to loose tons of visa numbers every year. Though USCIS has 26 k cases that has the visa number available,
many of them are struck with FBI. Any movements or actions?
Successfully Challenging USCIS Delays in Federal Court
On September 10, the Los Angeles Times featured an article about how FBI name checks have been slowing down the process of gaining immigration benefits for hundreds of thousands of applicants.
The article revealed that "nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of August 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit in federal court regarding this issue. The Times article quotes an ACLU attorney who stated that "there is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd. People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
Applicants for adjustment of status, citizenship, extensions of stay and many other immigration benefits have taken days off work to visit USCIS offices only to be told that the USCIS can do nothing since the name check process is in the hands of the FBI.
Nor do letters and meetings with Senators and Members of Congress yield results. They receive polite letters from the USCIS' Congressional Liaison Unit to the effect that "Sorry, but this is FBI's problem, not ours."
DHS Secretary Chertoff announced that his Department is meeting with the FBI (which is part of the Department of Justice) to work out a more efficient system of processing these name checks, but so far, the number of people waiting for results from the FBI continues to grow and grow.
The problem exists for applicants from a wide variety of countries and affects Christians, Moslems, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, etc.
Our solution is to sue both the USCIS and the FBI in Federal Court. Most Federal Judges are not reluctant to order the FBI and the USCIS to complete their name checks and application processing by a date certain.
Many applicants have turned to litigation as the one and only method of solving the name check problem. The numbers of such lawsuits have increased from just 680 in 2005 to 2,650 in 2006 to over 4,100 this year. Although there is no guarantee of success, our law firm has yet to lose one of these cases in Federal Court.
The Times article concludes with a quote from me:
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court."
We link to the Times article, "Caught in a Bureaucratic Black Hole" from
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091107P.shtml
We also link to AILF's new practice advisory entitled "Mandamus Jurisdiction over Delayed Applications: Responding to the Government's Motion to Dismiss" from
http://shusterman.com/toc-dpt.html#A1
many of them are struck with FBI. Any movements or actions?
Successfully Challenging USCIS Delays in Federal Court
On September 10, the Los Angeles Times featured an article about how FBI name checks have been slowing down the process of gaining immigration benefits for hundreds of thousands of applicants.
The article revealed that "nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of August 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit in federal court regarding this issue. The Times article quotes an ACLU attorney who stated that "there is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd. People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
Applicants for adjustment of status, citizenship, extensions of stay and many other immigration benefits have taken days off work to visit USCIS offices only to be told that the USCIS can do nothing since the name check process is in the hands of the FBI.
Nor do letters and meetings with Senators and Members of Congress yield results. They receive polite letters from the USCIS' Congressional Liaison Unit to the effect that "Sorry, but this is FBI's problem, not ours."
DHS Secretary Chertoff announced that his Department is meeting with the FBI (which is part of the Department of Justice) to work out a more efficient system of processing these name checks, but so far, the number of people waiting for results from the FBI continues to grow and grow.
The problem exists for applicants from a wide variety of countries and affects Christians, Moslems, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, etc.
Our solution is to sue both the USCIS and the FBI in Federal Court. Most Federal Judges are not reluctant to order the FBI and the USCIS to complete their name checks and application processing by a date certain.
Many applicants have turned to litigation as the one and only method of solving the name check problem. The numbers of such lawsuits have increased from just 680 in 2005 to 2,650 in 2006 to over 4,100 this year. Although there is no guarantee of success, our law firm has yet to lose one of these cases in Federal Court.
The Times article concludes with a quote from me:
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court."
We link to the Times article, "Caught in a Bureaucratic Black Hole" from
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091107P.shtml
We also link to AILF's new practice advisory entitled "Mandamus Jurisdiction over Delayed Applications: Responding to the Government's Motion to Dismiss" from
http://shusterman.com/toc-dpt.html#A1
more...
GCEB2
09-21 10:33 AM
thanks mnhatim....The information is helpful. How about bay area side do you know any affordable places. Also any other websites i can browse threw.
punjabi
09-29 09:57 AM
My cousin went for her sister-in-law's wedding and at New Delhi airport, the Customs Officer asked her to show the bag. Apparently, there was good amount of jewelry. And she had to declare it in her passport.
She was not charged any duty but she had to show it again during the departure.
Hope it helps.
Has anybody travelled TO India with personal gold jewellery? I am not concerned about theft/security. My question is about Customs clearance at the airport. Do we need to declare it or pay customs duty?
If you have any experience doing this, please do share it here.
Thank you.
She was not charged any duty but she had to show it again during the departure.
Hope it helps.
Has anybody travelled TO India with personal gold jewellery? I am not concerned about theft/security. My question is about Customs clearance at the airport. Do we need to declare it or pay customs duty?
If you have any experience doing this, please do share it here.
Thank you.
more...
a_yaja
10-05 07:14 PM
Hi
Is there any webpage that has details on an EAD and what jobs a person can do, cannot do, whether new job it needs to tie in 50% to current job etc ..
I'm looking for the official page that has some detail on this.
Looked online did not find anything. A little surprised.
Let me know if any of you have any relevant links to this info.
Not looking for hearsay ... something official.
Thanks
V
EAD = Employment Authorization Document. The only restriction it has (for I-485 applicants atleast) is that you I-485 is still pending. If your I-485 is denied/ approved then EAD is no longer valid.
There is no restriction for what the EAD can be used for as long as it is legal work. Not sure why you think there is a restriction on the kind of work you can do with an EAD.
Is there any webpage that has details on an EAD and what jobs a person can do, cannot do, whether new job it needs to tie in 50% to current job etc ..
I'm looking for the official page that has some detail on this.
Looked online did not find anything. A little surprised.
Let me know if any of you have any relevant links to this info.
Not looking for hearsay ... something official.
Thanks
V
EAD = Employment Authorization Document. The only restriction it has (for I-485 applicants atleast) is that you I-485 is still pending. If your I-485 is denied/ approved then EAD is no longer valid.
There is no restriction for what the EAD can be used for as long as it is legal work. Not sure why you think there is a restriction on the kind of work you can do with an EAD.
Chelo
07-21 08:38 AM
and he is cute..., that is a must
gjoe
03-10 06:15 AM
Some of you have been receiving the USCIS response about your FOIA request.
(3) As requested in the original letter, I need the number of pending AOS petitions sorted by their Priority date and NOT USCIS receipt date or receipt notice date, Category, Country of Birth/Nationality (if available)
Thanks,
XXXXX
Category, Country of Birth/Nationality should not be optional because this is a very important data which DOS has been using in their killer app to come up with the VISA bulletine every month. This is something they should provide along with the other data you have requested. If officially DHS don't have this information then DOS has to answer an FOIA request to clarify on how they arrive at the magic number in the visa bulletine.
(3) As requested in the original letter, I need the number of pending AOS petitions sorted by their Priority date and NOT USCIS receipt date or receipt notice date, Category, Country of Birth/Nationality (if available)
Thanks,
XXXXX
Category, Country of Birth/Nationality should not be optional because this is a very important data which DOS has been using in their killer app to come up with the VISA bulletine every month. This is something they should provide along with the other data you have requested. If officially DHS don't have this information then DOS has to answer an FOIA request to clarify on how they arrive at the magic number in the visa bulletine.
mlk
06-26 04:16 AM
I Have a Dream - Address at March on Washington
August 28, 1963. Washington, D.C.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. [Applause]
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
August 28, 1963. Washington, D.C.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. [Applause]
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
gc_on_demand
05-13 11:01 AM
Dear members
Please dont keep hope that there will be a CIR in a year. Why ? Mr President is not confident that he will bring it or not otherwise he would have sound plan and announcement. He is asking Mccain to take a lead on this and remember that news Mccain was angry on mexican delegation who went to him to argue to bring CIR.
This year they will not bring it with unemployment and other reason. Next year it will be election year.
If time is good they will attempt in 2011 so it will help in election 2012...again nothing can be done in 2012 too..
Please dont keep hope that there will be a CIR in a year. Why ? Mr President is not confident that he will bring it or not otherwise he would have sound plan and announcement. He is asking Mccain to take a lead on this and remember that news Mccain was angry on mexican delegation who went to him to argue to bring CIR.
This year they will not bring it with unemployment and other reason. Next year it will be election year.
If time is good they will attempt in 2011 so it will help in election 2012...again nothing can be done in 2012 too..
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