Newsletters
E2Reform.org Newsletter – January 2010
Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you all had a great Christmas. This is our first Newsletter of the New Year and I really do believe this year – 2010 – will be the year that change will come about for E2 Visa Holders. I think we had a great end of 2009, with the Reception in Orlando and the Organized Contacting of Senators, Members of Congress and others, to help make them aware of what we are aiming for. Although we may not have got the immediate answers that we could have hoped for, we have come to realize that nothing moves quickly in Washington, and any responses were a step in the right direction. More of the people who can bring change about, know what an E2 Visa is now, and if we keep up a slow and steady campaign of contact, surely things will begin to happen. However Washington has been focusing on other reforms and I don’t think we should be bombarding them every couple of weeks or we run the risk of becoming annoying. Some of the responses we got said that they would back us when Immigration Reform comes to the table, but when that happens we need all the Senators and Members of Congress to know who we are and that we should be part of it.
I listened with great hope to President Obama’s State of the Union Address in the hope that he would give out some hope that Comprehensive Immigration Reform would be considered this year, but it doesn’t seem to be the case, so maybe now we need to concentrate our efforts on getting the Bill passed because we are good for the Economy and Jobs – all things that Obama did concentrate on in his Address. His Immigration comments were as follows
“And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system — to secure our borders and enforce our laws, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation”.
So looking at them, we are playing by the rules, we are contributing to the economy and we do enrich this nation!!!! What better immigrants could E2 Visa Holders be?
We have been told that we shouldn’t be part of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, then, we were told we would only be considered within it, so it has been very confusing. So let’s go ahead and bring the message that we are just what America is looking for. Let’s get the Media onboard if we can – I know it’s an uphill battle (we saw that when so few came to our Reception), but we really need to tell as many newspapers and TV reporters about our fight for reform. Let’s tell them our individual stories and why we would like to stay here permanently, but above all let’s tell them what an opportunity the US is missing out on by not giving us a stable future. The figures we collected at the ‘E2Reform Reception’ in October are proof that we do make a difference to this country. As a group, we reckon E2 Visa Holders have brought in foreign investment of over $40 billion – that’s a massive amount and shouldn’t be taken lightly. We employ around three quarters of a million US citizens and we turn over more than $50 billion. As a group we’re not big in numbers, but we are huge in impact.
Nina had a Guest Commentary in her local Naples newspaper just recently – to see the article please visit
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jan/23/guest-commentary-if-only-immigration-were-easy/
The Reception, in Orlando, in October was fantastic and we really must keep up the enthusiasm and feeling of helping each other that was brought about by that event. A lot of folks answered the Questionnaire that we put out and said they were interested in being part of a ‘Core Group’ to move E2 Visa Reform along. If you weren’t at the Event or didn’t fill a questionnaire in, and would like to be part of this group, please let me know.
I would like us to have our first ‘Core Group’ meeting on Sunday, March 7th, in Lakeland, at the Clubhouse on my subdivision. Lakeland is half way between Orlando and the Gulf Coast, so is probably easier to get to for most people – unless you are on the east coast and I then apologize. It is cheap to hire and will hold a fair amount of people, which makes it perfect for us. The Meeting will start at 12.00. Please can you let me know if you will be coming or if you have any questions?
The people who came to the Reception were asked to fill out a Registration Form and I have included the questions on here, so if you would like to answer them and return it to me, please do so. I am keeping a database of as many E2 Visa Holders as possible – maybe if you feel there isn’t anyone else close to you, I might be able to put you in touch with someone. The Form is at the end of this Newsletter. I promise these details will not be given out without your permission.
I know there are many people I am sending this Newsletter to who aren’t in Florida and I would hate you not to feel involved just because it is probably too far for you to come to these meetings. Believe me I am very very glad we have been able to reach you in other parts of the US, because you have different media contacts and maybe Members of Congress and Senators on the relevant committees, much more so than Florida does. It is so important for you to make contacts as these are people that we haven’t got a hope of getting to. So visit the local office of your Congress Member or Senator and ask for an appointment, either with them or the Immigration Aide, or call the Washington office and speak to an Aide there. Also get your local newspaper or TV station interested - this will all help so much. Or see if you can get more E2 people in your area together or in contact with us.
In December there was another ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’ Bill presented to Congress and it now has a lot more supporters than our Bill (H.R.1162) does. Remember there was talk of a similar Bill being presented to the Senate earlier last year and neither Bill includes E2 Visa Holders. The Bill into Congress is H.R. 4321 and it already has 92 co-sponsors. Here is the text of the Bill and a list of the co-sponsors:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4321
We should be contacting the Members of Congress who have supported this Bill and asking them to include E2 Visa Reform in this as well – especially if one of the co-sponsors is your Member of Congress.
So I reckon we should have another ‘E2 Visa Reform Day of Action’ and again contact as many politicians as possible. Steve, my husband, suggested Presidents Day, which is Monday, February 15th. Although the Government Offices will be closed, it gives us the weekend and the Monday to send e-mails or faxes and if you did want to ring, you could do so on the Tuesday. Let’s try and contact as many of the Members of Congress who have co-sponsored the above Bill and also the ones on the Judiciary Committee – most especially the members of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and international Law. We could also look at contacting the members of the House Committee on Small Business and the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship – we are all running small businesses aren’t we? Maybe we could look at a whole new approach.
We are hoping to get a sister Bill into the Senate for the Bill HR1162, which would make changes for us. Bob, the guy from Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been in contact with the offices of his Senators and they have both expressed interest in helping us to do this. So we can also include the Senators on their Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security.
All the information about these committees can be found on Google or if you want to e-mail me for more details, you can do. If you are not sure what to say, again please contact me, but I think we should be writing our own e-mails this time, rather than a standard one.
On March 25th, AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers Association) are having a Day of Action in Washington and in local offices all around the US. There might be the opportunity for some of you to get involved with this, more likely at the local level, but it could be worth asking your Immigration Attorney if they know anything about it. This will be especially helpful in states where we haven’t been in touch with many Members of Congress and Senators. Please let me know if you find out any information.
Nina has had a meeting with a representative from the Collier County Economic Development Council. Nina lives in Naples in Collier County. This lady has become very interested in how we are bringing foreign money into her county to invest and has agreed to set up an opportunity for us to present our hopes to some of the area’s most influential people. These could include Congressman Connie Mack and Marco Rubio, who is running to be the Florida Senator. If there are others who live in Collier County who would be interested in joining us for this Presentation, we will be happy to have you along. The date should be some time in April, so please let us know if you would like to be involved. Of course this could give everyone else the idea to contact their Economic Development Councils and see what they can do for us as foreign investors. It would be great to get the backing of lots of these agencies across the country - also ask your local Chamber of Commerce if they would be willing to stand behind us.
I have had lots of e-mails and heard lots of stories from E2 Visa Holders, usually with worries about renewals or children ageing out or whether to risk leaving the US to visit relatives and I think it could be good to put together a dossier of some of these stories. Although I still say the most important part of any campaigning should be to emphasize what WE do for the US, I think we do have an opportunity to hopefully share some of the really bad problems that we often have with this visa. So if you would like to send me your story to put in the dossier, please do so.
So, the main points of this Newsletter are:
‘E2 Visa Reform Day of Action’ – Monday February 15th (Presidents Day)
There will be a Core Group Meeting on Sunday March 7th in Lakeland. If you would like to come please call or e-mail and I will give you the address and more information.
Please contact any Media outlets you can think of and also the office of your Member of Congress – either locally or in Washington. Also think about how your Chamber of Commerce or Economic Development Council could help us with contacts. Tell them how much of an impact we do have on the Economy and Jobs market.
Fill in the E2 Registration Form if you have not already done so.
I started this Newsletter thinking that I didn’t have a huge amount to say, but it seems to have grown as I have gone along.
I look forward to seeing or hearing from lots of you soon.
Take care
Zoe Adams – 863 709 9555 e2reform@tampabay.rr.com
www.E2Reform.org
E2 Registration Form
Name
Company Name, Location and Type of Business
Number of Employees
Contact Phone
Contact E-Mail
Area Where You Live
How long have you been in US?
Nationality
What is your main problem with the E2 Visa/Status?
Are you interested in being part of a ‘Core Group’ who will meet regularly to gain Reform?
Comments
October Newsletter
Last Friday Evening turned into a Great Night for E2 Visa Reform. The Omni Resort in Orlando played host to over 400 attendees at our first ‘E2 Visa Reform Reception’. People had come from all over Florida and even though the audience was predominantly British, there were plenty of other nationalities as well.We all had one thing in common – hope that those of us living on E2 Visas in the United States might be able to have a more secure future. There were tables and chairs for some, but most people stood - they listened, agreed with, and cheered at everything that was being said. One of the main purposes of the Evening was to find other E2 Visa Holders who were passionate about pushing forward the Bill – H.R.1162 – and we definitely did that.
Congressman Adam Putnam (R-FL), who had introduced the Bill into Congress, had hoped to be with us, but was not able to get away from Washington in time. Steve and I did meet him on Monday night at a Town Hall meeting in Bartow and he immediately wanted to know how the evening had gone, as did all his staff. I truly believe he would have been at the reception, if it had been possible.
We’re a small group – nothing like as huge as the ‘Undocumented Workers’ and some others, who have numerous lobbyists helping them and publicity galore. But does that mean we shouldn’t be able to have our say? We are making a big change to the lives of some US Citizens by offering, and keeping them in, employment in these financially difficult times.
We asked every E2 business in the room to fill out an Anonymous Survey, and asked how much investment had you made in a business when you came to the US, how many employees did you have and what was your annual turnover? From only 143 businesses represented, the results were staggering. Over forty eight and a half million dollars invested – an average of $340,000 per business. 776 employees – an average of 5.4 – and a turnover of nearly fifty six million – average $390,000. As we estimate there are around 120,000 E2 businesses in the whole of the US, this makes the foreign investment approximately $40 Billion and an employee total of around 650,000. Are we now a small group?
There were Speakers at the Reception. Zoe Adams, Nina Mold and Bob Franklin as the three founding members of E2Reform.org all told their stories and all had similar problems to many others in the room. Bob, with his wife and son, had travelled from New Mexico for the Reception. He was the guy who had met Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM) a few years ago and she realized that it wasn’t right that they still could not call the US their permanent home. She introduced the first Bill to address the problems in the last Congress.
Next was Victoria Ray, a producer from a British TV Company, along with Colin, the director, who are making a documentary about Brits in Florida. She wanted to hear people’s stories and decide who to use for the final filming in December. After her, Justine Assal, the President of the British American Chamber of Commerce, who was a child herself of E2 parents, spoke and told us the realities of life when she became twenty one. Lisa Khan, a well known Immigration Attorney from Orlando, who is the current Chair of the Central Florida Chapter of AILA, brought us up to date with legalities involved in the initial applications and renewals of the visa, as well as how to get interest from the Legislators. She told us that AILA are fully aware of what we are trying to achieve and behind us in every way. Next March, there will be a ‘Day of Action’ in Washington, and she invited all the people in the room to come and join them. This organization will truly be a wonderful ally.
We talked about lots of subjects. Nina brought up the issue that sometimes we are seen as wealthy foreigners and have no reason to complain about our lives. The term ‘Investor’ makes people think of wealth, but what we have to make them understand is that we run Small Businesses – we’re not running major conglomerates!!! Some of us struggle and as we have to keep employees, often it is the business owner who loses out. The term ‘wealthy foreigners’, in most cases, is very far from the truth.
Nina’s daughter, Stephanie, who turns 21 in March next year, then spoke about her worries when she is no longer covered by her parent’s E2 Visa. She was representing all the kids in the room and they all came up to the front of the stage. Even though she is at College and doing very well, the cost of having to change to an F1 Visa may prohibit her being able to stay – the same problem for many families. Even if she does though, there is no guarantee that a job will be available, when she finishes her education, with a company who will sponsor her for a Green Card.
We had a Question and Answer Session with Lisa and some other Immigration Attorneys, who had come to give their support.
The main result of the evening is going to be a concentrated attempt to move our situation into the spotlight. We have asked everyone to e-mail, phone, write or fax the two Senators and their own Member of Congress on the same day, Thursday, November 5th. This date had a special significance to the British members of the audience, as it is when we set off fireworks and light a bonfire to signify Guy Fawkes trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament!!!
It was a wonderful Reception and I was truly amazed there were so many people there. I would like to thank everyone who came and supported us and especially all who provided prizes for the Chance Drawing and bought tickets. We did get enough to cover all the expenses and we now have a small ‘Slush Fund’ for future events.
OK so what can you do?
Whether you were at the Reception or not, we are asking everybody to contact the two Florida Senators, Bill Nelson and George Le Mieux and also your own Member of Congress. We also think the White House should be e-mailed and because of the Human Interest side of the children ’Aging Out’, we feel it can’t hurt to have a mass e-mailing to the Oprah Show. Imagine if we could get her on our side.
Although you can choose your own way of contacting the offices, I would suggest e-mailing and also maybe phoning. The e-mails will go to Washington, so if you are going to phone, try there as well as the local offices. Please put ‘E2 Visa Reform’ in the subject box, so the recipients can see they are all about the same issue, and make sure you write it all in the e-mail and don’t send Attachments.
Here are the details you will need:
Senator Bill Nelson - www.billnelson.senate.gov
Senator George Le Mieux www.lemieux.senate.gov
These are their website addresses – go to the Contact page and it will give you an e-mail option.
To find your own Member of Congress, put your full Zip Code in the top left corner of this website - http://www.house.gov/ and then you can go to the right website. On a lot of these websites you will be able to e-mail directly to the office, but you will need to put in your own details.
Obviously, if Congressman Adam Putnam is your local representative, then you don’t need to ask him to help as he is already on board, but an e-mail thanking him for his efforts would probably be appreciated and show him the strength of support that this reform has locally.
The White House - http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
To contact the Oprah Show - http://www.oprah.com/contactus - you will need to fill in all your details on this.
Congressman Tom Rooney is a Florida Member of Congress who is on the Judiciary Committee and he has shown interest to one of our members in his Constituency – it could be good to e-mail him too - http://rooney.house.gov
Here is a Sample E-Mail if you aren’t sure what to write:
Dear Senator/Congressman/woman???
I am writing to you in the hope that you might lend your support to an issue that is affecting my family and thousands of others in the US today. We are a group of foreign investors who have come here on E2 Treaty Investor Visas. We have all invested into businesses here, we employ US Citizens and pay taxes, yet the visa does not give us a path to permanent residency.
Congressman Adam Putnam (R-FL) has introduced a bill – H.R.1162 – that would address this problem by allowing visa holders who have reached certain criteria, to apply for permanent residency. With the real possibility of Comprehensive Immigration Reform taking place within this Congress, we urge you to consider helping us to be included.
On Friday, October 23rd, at a hotel in Orlando, over 400 E2 Visa Holders joined together to meet and brainstorm how to get this Reform to the attention of the people who could help. We came up with figures - through an Anonymous Survey asking for Initial Investment, number of employees and Annual Turnover - that are staggering. By averaging the results and then multiplying that figure by the number of E2 Businesses we believe are in the US, this is what we found. E2 Businesses brought in Foreign Investment on around $40 Billion, employed over 650,000 US Citizens and had an Annual Turnover of $50 Billion. Do these figures not make us a group to be included into ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’?
The E2 Visa must constantly be renewed, usually in the country of origin, and this is, by no means, guaranteed. Many E2 Visa Holders dread the renewal process and live in fear of being denied. Children, when they reach the age of twenty one, are no longer classed as visa dependants and must then look at other arrangements to be able to stay. If our business fails, if we want to retire, or even if we become incapacitated, we must leave.
America needs entrepreneurs, particularly in these difficult economic times, and E2 investors are ideal immigrants. We are self-supporting and have laid down our money for the privilege of living in this country – albeit at the moment temporarily.
Please consider talking to your fellow Members of Congress and Senators, on the relevant committees, and asking them to support us. Also, please look at a website that has been created to draw attention to this matter – www.E2Reform.org
Yours
????
If we can get hundreds of e-mails going into these offices, surely it will have an effect. It has been suggested that you cc a copy of your e-mail to me, so I can keep a tag of who has been contacted and by how many people. I will then follow up a few days later, to see their reaction. I have opened up a new E-Mail Address – E2Reform@tampabay.rr.com - for this purpose and it is the address I will send all these Newsletters from. Please feel free to write to anyone else you think can be of help to us – Newspapers, TV Stations, prominent business people etc. Some people are asking everyone they know to send e-mails – maybe staff and clients could be asked too.
At the Reception, everyone filled in a Registration Form, and we asked if you would like to be part of a Core Group to work on moving this Reform forward. If you would like to add your name to that group, please let me know. I think we should look at the results of the ‘Day of Action’ together, maybe later in November or December. We will have to find a central point to meet.
Also on Thursday, November 5th, there is a ‘Guy Fawkes Celebration’ at Osceola Heritage Park, 1875 Silver Spur Lane, Kissimmee, FL 34744. It starts at 6.30 with a Bonfire and Fireworks later on. It is being hosted by the British American Chamber of Commerce and we will have a table there to promote ‘E2 Visa Reform’. If you are coming along, please drop in and say Hi, and if you are interested in helping us to man the table, let us know.
I know it must seem as though the whole focus over the last couple of months has been on the ‘E2 Visa Reform Reception’ in Florida, and I apologize to all the E2 people on my Database in other parts of the country if they have felt neglected in any way. However I think it has been a very important exercise and will hopefully give us a lot more strength to move forward. We need to be in constant contact with legislators who can help us and the media, who, can get our message across and hope and pray that ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’ will come about within this Congress and E2 Visa Holders are also reformed under the umbrella.
If you would like more information about how you can join us in the future, or know anyone else who could be interested, please contact
Zoe Adams
863 709 9555
E2Reform@tampabay.rr.com
Nina Mold
239 598 3822
Nina6520@gmail.com
www.E2Reform.org
I thought I would add this poem as a bit of light hearted relief. It that was sent to me after Friday’s Event and as you will be able to tell written by a Brit!!!
Dear Mr. President
A room full of “Poms” all investor E2
Met to work out a plan of just what to do
With Visa attorneys and accountants galore
It was standing room only with seats on the floor
The room was so full they brought in more chairs
As we E2 “investors” bemoaned all our cares
To “our wee lass” Zoe who worked like a good’un
Lets raise some roast beef and a wee bit o’ puddin’
Speakers talked of their issues relevant to all
And I did shed a tear now that I recall
We all chose a future in the land of the free
Oh sorry I’m an E2 does it apply to me?
Emancipation ended slavery and gave all the vote
But no vote for us “investors” I quote
With recession and bailouts and executive sprees
We are content with no holidays just a day by the sea
We left good ole “Blighty” and followed our dreams
Years down the road it is not what it seems
We invested our dough for a slice of the action
Working dawn until dusk like a Disney attraction
If the powers to be could acknowledge our plight
Look at us E2 who use all of our might to
Maintain our business both large and small
For we don’t want your welfare or health care reform
We’ve invested our lives our hopes and our money
To live in a land that flows milk and honey
We pay to come here and we pay to stay
We pay all our taxes and someday we pray
No need to renew we will have earned the CARD
By being model citizens and all working hard
To live with the threat of bi-annual renewal
You are in or you’re out what the heck do we do?
From 143 companies in that room tonight
With 48 million invested alright
55 million we generate each year and in a recession you can have no fear
Cos’ we can’t make a loss, retire or fail
We don’t DUI can’t risk going to jail
Or UCIS will throw us all out with 30 days notice and I have no doubt
There is no appeal I heard it told
For 1 cent on the dollar car house are all sold
We live with this fear and tremble with fright
When the anniversary renewal comes into sight
When Mr. Obama reads this I know he’ll agree
We deserve to live here permanently
For this is our home which we love with a passion
The weather, the sport and the cool summer fashion
We speak only English and worship our God
We clean villas and pools and even lay sod
So Mr. Obama respond to our plea
And give us a green card for our family
Let’s raise the flag and fight for our right
Across the US let us strike a light
And spotlight our cause
Let all see our plight
Let’s go to the top and show that we’re right
Let’s not be the victim
U.C.I.S. the bully
Let’s lay down some rules we can understand fully
With Obama on side we can bring this in range
Immigration reform is Obama for “Change?”
Does he know we exist or can we exchange
An E2 for a green card give us the green light
We are all great citizens just make it right
With our homes and out families together we’ll be
“In the land of the brave and the home of the free”
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E2.Reform.org August 2009 Newsletter
‘E2 Visa Reform Reception’’
Friday October 23rd 5.00pm till 9.00pm
Omni Resort at ChampionsGate, Orlando
Guest of Honor - Congressman Adam Putnam
(to be confirmed)
Other Guests to be invited
Meet and Greet Fellow E2 Visa Holders
Bring Awareness of our Reform Hopes for the E2 Visa to the Media
Raffle with prizes from E2 Businesses
RSVP Please
OK Everyone, well the E2 Get Together – now known as the ‘E2 Visa Reform Reception’ - has now been booked and we need to go into overdrive to make the Event a huge success. I hope lots of you will attend – we really do need a giant turnout to make this evening worthwhile – and you will tell everyone else you know on an E2 to come as well. Please can you RSVP, so we have an idea of how many people will be attending. We are hoping for at least 200, if not more, to make the evening interesting and fun, as well as getting ourselves known to the people who can make a difference. Please do not think you are excluded if you are not an E2 Visa holder – the more people the merrier – but we do hope the Event will predominantly be attended by people on this Visa.
We have decided to make this a Free Event to attend – the logistics of ticket sales are far too complicated to put in place anyway – but will be hoping to fund the Event by the sales of Raffle Tickets and Donations. We would like to make the Raffle very exciting and inviting, so if you are willing to donate a prize, please let us know. We will advertise your company to all the attendees in return.
I am still waiting for confirmation from Congressman Adam Putnam’s office about whether he will be able to attend – I know from when we went to see him last year that they don’t book things too far ahead, but I’m hoping that once we get into September, I will hear from his office. He has expressed interest in coming along, but of course it will all depend on his other commitments.
We will also be contacting the offices of other Members of Congress from Florida and seeing if they, or their Aides, will come along, but please if you would like to do that for your own Member of Congress, then let us know. There are the two Senators offices – now Charlie Crist has appointed a replacement for Mel Martinez – to ask as well.
We will also be inviting Members of the Press to come, as we really want to get ourselves noticed. I really do think one of the main reasons that this issue has not been looked at before, is because most of the people who can make the changes, don’t even realize we exist. That has to change if we want to get reform for this Visa. I will be adding a Formal Invitation at the bottom of this Newsletter – a very good idea from one of our members – so if you have contacts with your local Member of Congress or Media, please print it out and take or send it to them. Please let me know if you do, so I can keep tabs on who has been contacted.
We have booked a Cash Bar to be available in the Room for the Event and we did look at providing some food, but that really was too expensive for us to front. The Omni Hotel has various restaurants and there is a Deli on the same floor as the Ballroom, where we will be, and food can be bought from there and brought into the room, if need be. Obviously food from outside is not allowed. The hotel has offered us a discounted room rate for anyone who would like to stay there and I am copying the details here for you directly from them.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
We are glad to offer a discounted group room rate of $139.00 per room, single or double occupancy on the dates listed above. Room tax is 14%. Guestrooms are on a space available basis.
The prevailing resort fee at the time of Groups dates will apply to all guest rooms. Currently the resort fee is $16.00 per night, which includes transportation to Disney theme parks, use of health club, use of all recreation activities including lazy river pool, tennis, volleyball and basketball, daily newspaper, local and 800# calls, in-room coffee, high speed internet access, evening turndown service (upon request), complimentary self-parking.
Reservations will be made, modified or canceled by individuals by calling the hotel directly at 407-390-6664 or by calling Central Reservations at 1-800-THE-OMNI and, in either case, referring to the group and group program name: E2 Visa Reform.
Guests will be individually responsible to payment of their own rooms, taxes and incidental charges. If there are any exceptions to this procedure, the Hotel will be notified by the Group.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
I am also including the Website for the hotel here, so you can see what a beautiful place it is. On here are also directions to the hotel.
http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/OrlandoChampionsGate.aspx
There are plenty of other hotels in the area if you wish to stay elsewhere – maybe make a weekend of it and visit all that Orlando has to offer if you aren’t local.
We will be making posters to advertise the Event shortly and will be taking them to various locations. If anyone has ideas of where to place these posters or other Advertising Ideas, then please get in touch. We are also looking at leaving Business Size Cards with the posters, so hopeful attendees can take details with them, so they won’t forget the date, location etc.
I know a lot of the people who I am sending this Newsletter to aren’t from Florida and maybe feel that this Event is nothing to do with them, but believe me if we can start to get some interest in our cause, then it will benefit E2 Visa Holders all over the country. I hope you will still maybe think about visiting Orlando and attending, or support us with a Raffle Prize or Donation that will help to make the evening go well.
Now on to other E2 Reform News –
There have been two more Co-Sponsors on the Bill H.R.1162. They are Congressman Martin Heidrich (D-NM) and Congressman Addison Wilson (R-SC). They join the original co-sponsor, Congresswoman Sue Myrick (R-NC). This is great news as it means we are slowly getting along and letting these folks who can make a difference know we are here. Martin Heinrich is especially good to have on board, as he is our first Democrat. We need more of the Members of Congress who are in a position to look more closely at this Bill and decide to include it in any Comprehensive Immigration Reform. This is being talked about much more within politics and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) is a huge believer that it will happen in this Congress. He has taken over as the Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration. I did try to contact his office a couple of weeks ago, but the relevant Aide was on vacation. We also have a Senator from New Mexico possibly interested in presenting a Sister Bill to H.R.1162 into the Senate. This would be wonderful.
One of our Members wrote to President Obama a few months ago and has recently had a reply asking for more information about E2 Visas. Out of the thousands of e-mails the White House receive every day, apparently they do follow up on a few of them and her one fell into this category. She included a letter we wrote about E2Reform.org with her own letter and it will be very interesting to see if there is any outcome.
My local Newspaper, the Ledger, had an article yesterday inviting you to send in a question for Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL). The Political Editor is meeting with him on Monday and will be putting a sample of the questions to him. I wrote and asked if he thought E2 Visa Holders could be included in future Comprehensive Immigration Reform and if not, why not? I have met this Editor a few times and hope he will remember me and make mine one of the questions asked – I will have to see when the article is printed. I will be asking this Political Editor along to our E2 Visa Reform Reception.
The summer is often a quieter place in Washington – indeed the Members of Congress spend the month of August in their own constituencies – so now the time is coming around for renewed interest in Immigration. We have to make sure if Comprehensive Immigration Reform is going to be debated soon, that we are included. This Congress is our best shot, as I’m really not sure how easy it will be to find someone else to present the same Bill a 3rd time. So we realistically have just over a year to get this reform noticed. Anything anyone can do to contact their local Member of Congress, Senator or Media can only help. The more people we can tell that we would like this Reform to go ahead the more chance there is of it happening. Nearly everyone who I am sending this Newsletter to has included their e-mail address when they signed the Online Petition on our website, so that means you must be an E2 Visa Holder or know someone who is. So write, e-mail or phone for yourselves or for them – maybe you are an employee of an E2 Visa Holder, so it is very important for you to do this.
I would like to end this Newsletter by adding a Formal invitation for the ‘E2 Visa Reform Reception’. Obviously if you want to change the RSVP to your own details, it is easy to do so.
I hope we have a brilliant turnout and a very successful evening.
Zoe
863 709 9555
We would like to invite you to an
‘E2 Visa Reform Reception’
Omni Resort at ChampionsGate, Orlando
Junction 58 on I4
Friday October 23rd 5.00pm to 9.00pm
Guest Speakers
Bring Awareness of our Reform Hopes for the E2 Visa to the Media
Meet and Greet
Giant Raffle
RSVP Please to
863 709 9555 or
zadams@tampabay.rr.com
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Well we keep plodding away here at E2Reform.org and although it may not seem as though we are making much progress, we do feel that we are getting more of the people that matter to understand our situation. It’s obviously a funny time in American politics at the moment, with the Presidential Election coming up and also all the Members of Congress and some of the Senators up for re-election. I feel quite strongly that there isn’t too much we can do until after the November Elections, but we will be right back in there in a few weeks. However, if you read on, you will see some action that can be taken as soon as the Elections are over. There may be some changes in the Election to some of the present Members of Congress, so it may be as well to wait until after they are over and then see who your Member is.Anyway, to the BIG NEWS –on Wednesday October 1st I had a meeting with my Congressman, Adam Putnam. He was very supportive and understanding of the E2 position and thinks that the Heather Wilson Bill should be taken forward to the next Congress. He is going to talk to Members of Congress who are on the Subcommittee for Immigration and see if one
of them will do this. He feels they will have the right knowledge and experience to make something happen with it. When a Member of Congress introduces a new Bill, they send out a ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter to all the other Members, telling them about the Bill and asking them to co-sponsor it. He did say it would help enormously if E2 Visa Holders in every part of the country write to their own Members of Congress and explain to them about the E2 Visa and how this Bill will help us.
SO I AM ASKING EVERY E2 VISA HOLDER OUT THERE TO PLEASE, PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND ASK THEM TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS BILL AND CO-SPONSOR IT. ASK ANY OTHER E2 PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBOURS AND ESPECIALLY EMPLOYEES TO ALSO WRITE. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT CONGRESS REALISES THAT WE ARE A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THEIR COUNTRY. MAYBE FOLLOW UP WITH A PHONE CALL AND EVEN ASK FOR AN APPOINTMENT – IF NOT WITH THE MEMBER THEMSELVES, THEN WITH AN IMMIGRATION AIDE AND GET THEM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE ARE DOING.
I will write a sample letter at the end of this Newsletter in case you would like a guideline on what to write. Please can you let me know who you write to, and especially if you get a positive reply, so I can keep a tally of who has been contacted and try and contact the others myself, although it is much easier if you are in the Constituency. With there being some changes to the present Members of Congress, it may well be that any new Members will be great contacts, as they will be keen to learn all they can and hopefully help. If you’re not sure who your Member of Congress is, look on our website at the Links section and you will find a link where you can put in your Zip Code and it will tell you who they are.
I really feel very positive now that Legislation is going to change and allow us to apply for Green Cards in the future. Adam Putnam actually said it was something that was a very small fix, wouldn’t upset anyone and just made sense. He thought it was probably too small a Bill to become Law on its own, but could be rolled in with other Immigration changes. He also said we should avoid the ‘Maelstrom’ of any Illegal Immigration debates. To have a politician of his stature on our side is a huge step forward. He is the 3rd Ranked Republican in the US and I would imagine his voice carries a lot of weight.
I have been trying for nearly a year to get to see Adam Putnam, but it was actually only about 11 weeks ago that I was asked to fill in a form at his office to request to see him - no one had asked me to do that before. After first meeting him at a Chamber of Commerce Event, I had been sort of communicating with a girl in his Washington office, who had contacted me after that. There was then a very frustrating period when I played phone and e-mail tag with her and couldn’t get her to talk to me. When Nina and I went to Washington, we actually got to meet her and again she promised to arrange a meeting with AP for me, but it came to nothing. Apparently she then left his office and after I had met with Adam Putnam at another Bartow Event at the beginning of July, I went to his office and finally made an official request to meet with him. I have just put all this in the Newsletter to show that you can’t give up if you don’t get a reply the first time you try to make an appointment or phone a Member of Congress. It can take time and perseverance to get to meet with them or one of their Aides.
As we know Congresswoman Heather Wilson won’t be in the next Congress and I wrote a Thank You letter to her on behalf of E2reform.org. I was then contacted by an Aide in her office, who was very keen to see that the Bill was carried forward by someone else. He actually said if John McCain becomes President, then it is very likely that Heather Wilson will be in his Cabinet - another person in power who understands where we are coming from and what we are trying to achieve.
I have a database of about 300 e-mails, from the petition – there are over 1500 signatures on there, but not everyone added their e-mail address - and various forums that I go onto. I would love to let more people on this important visa know about what we are trying to do and achieve, so please ask any other E2ers you know to send me their e-mail addresses and I will add them to the list.
We have also been considering whether to try and arrange a ‘Get Together’. Maybe we could get some media coverage if there was going to be a large group of us meeting. Let me know what you think.
So let’s get going on laying the Ground Work to make this Bill a success. We need to get every Member of Congress and Senator to understand what an E2 visa is all about and what changes we hope there will be in the future. Then when other Immigration Bills come up in the new Congress, we want our voices to count as well.
Zoe Adams – Co-Founder of E2Reform.org
Sample Letter to Members of Congress –
Dear Congressman/woman ???
Reference Bill No H.R.2310
I would like to bring to your attention a Bill that is going to be re-presented to Congress fairly soon. It will make a huge difference to the lives of a group of Foreign Investors, who are living in the US on a visa known as an E2 Treaty Trader Investor Visa. We all have either invested money in an ongoing business or started a business from scratch. At the moment the Visa is a Non-Immigrant Visa, which basically means we can live and work here, but never stay permanently. This Bill would change things so that we could, after certain criteria, apply for green Cards to stay for good.
Obviously this would have a huge impact on our futures, which would in turn make us all much more likely to make further investments in our original companies or other new ones. At the moment, we have to keep renewing the Visa, usually every 2 or 5 years, and this can be a very precarious task. What right minded person would keep investing, if their future wasn’t secure and there was the chance of being denied the opportunity to stay here?
Also our children are no longer classed as Visa Dependants when they reach the age of 21, so other arrangements have to be made for them. This can be a difficult task and often results in them having to leave the US. All of these children have been in full time education, some from when they are very young, all at US Taxpayer’s expense. It makes no sense for there not to be a pathway for them to stay here easily and put the wonderful education they have received to good use.
If you would like to know more about this visa, please read our Information Website at www.E2Reform.org. Otherwise please look out for this important Bill and co-sponsor it. It really will make a great difference.
Thank you so much.
Yours Sincerely
??????
______________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Everyone and Welcome to the First E2Reform.org Newsletter
I am sending this to people who have shown an interest in helping us with our fight for E2 Reform, either in person, by phone or just by signing our petition and leaving their e-mail address. I hope to hear from many of you who are interested in helping us to move forward.
E2Reform.org was set up by me, Zoe Adams, and my husband Steve. We are in
We have had a busy 6 months or so since the Website was originally created. Frustratingly things seem to move very, very slowly in politics and although we have made lots of attempts to get positive reactions from various Members of Congress and Senators around the
As you are probably aware, our main focus up to now has been to try and get more support for the Bill that Congresswoman Heather Wilson presented to Congress last May. As you can read on our website, this would create a pathway for E2 Visa Holders to apply for Green Cards. I have met with various members of staff from Congressman Ric Keller’s and Senator Mel Martinez’s offices in
So, in the hope that the personal approach might have more luck, Nina and I visited
We then went on to a meeting with a firm of lobbyists. We knew that they were going to want money from us to give us any real help, but thought it would be interesting to see what they had to say. They agreed with what we had already been told, that we would get much further by concentrating on the Economic aspect of what we all bring to the
After this we went to meet Brian in Heather Wilson’s Office. Our original thought was to pass on our thanks for the work she had put into presenting the Bill to Congress, but with our renewed interest in the Bill, we wanted to see what could happen next. Brian told us that he was going to send out a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter to all the other Members of Congress, to ask them to rethink supporting it and wanted our input into how he should word things.
We then went to Congressman Adam Putnam’s Office – he is my Congressman and Steve and I had actually met him last October and he had seemed pretty supportive. He is also the 3rd Ranked Republican, so we felt he was a good guy to try and get on our side. Susan, who we met there, was adamant she could get me an appointment with him in Bartow (his home town and just down the road from me) pretty soon.
So Nina and I flew home that night very excited about the progress we felt we had made, but I’m afraid that since then we have come to another standstill. All the promises and offers of help that had been made have really come to nothing, despite numerous e-mails, letters and attempted phone calls. It has been very frustrating. Our other recent setback is the sad news that Congresswoman Heather Wilson was defeated in the Republican Nomination for the New Mexico Senate Seat, so she won’t be around in politics after the end of this session. We thank her very much for everything she has done for us.
We have had other things going on in the last few months. Nina and I have made two presentations to Groups in
I have had various other suggestions made to me about organizations to contact. The National Federation of Independent Business and AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) are two that I am going to be in touch with. Both of them have good Lobbyists working with them, so may be interested in helping us.
The petition is going really well with over 1300 signatures, but we need it to be a whole lot bigger if we are going to present it to Congress. Please sign it if you haven’t done so already, and ask your families, friends and employees to do so as well.
I have had an article printed in Emigrate
SO, ON TO THE NEXT STEP – I think we really need to get as many letters as possible sent to everyone’s Members of Congress and Senators. We have contacts now in lots of other parts of the
I will be away next week, as Steve and I are taking a long awaited vacation in
I look forward to hearing from you all
Zoe Adams
863 709 9555
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Congressman/Woman ?? or Senator ??
I am writing to you about a subject that is very close to my heart. I am living and working in the US on an E2 Treaty Trader Investor Visa. I have purchased a Business – although I could have started a business from scratch if I’d wanted to – and in order to remain in this country I have to grow the enterprise and increase my workforce. Obviously this means I am contributing greatly to the ECONOMY in my local area, as well as giving employment to US Citizens. This must be good in this time of near Recession.
My problem is that I am not in a position on this Visa to ever apply for Legal Permanent Residency and I have to prove the growth in my company in order to renew my visa and remain here. This causes many problems when I have to make decisions about future investment, either in my current business or thinking of the possibility of expanding into another area. Think how much more likely I would be to look at a new business if I had the security of living here permanently.
Last year Congresswoman Heather Wilson introduced a Bill – H.R.2310 – to Congress that would address this issue and give E2 Visa Holders a chance to apply for a Green Card. I am asking you if you would please take a look at this Bill and consider co-sponsoring it, so there is a chance when Comprehensive Immigration Reform takes place people on this visa will be included also.
I look forward to your reply with a positive outcome.
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