Dear member,

There are many in this list who have been with NOSTOPS since its inception(2004). There are quiet those, that have registered recently… Neverthless, it is important to communicate now… and bring your attention to the arriving opportunities.

The present discussions and the debate of the US imposing restrictions on the H1B worker that will hurt the Indian IT industry as a whole has indeed served its objective… that of generating an awareness within the Indian corporate and of making free of the corruption that affects us as a whole.

It is now understood that the visa program has many loopholes and that it can be manipulated but these are now getting fixed.

The “H1 & L1 visa Fraud & ABuse Prevention Act of 2007″ (original draft of the visa proposal can be viewed online : http://www.nostops.org/bill.pdf)

This proposal is now part of the larger ‘Comphrensive immigration proposal’.

Though the restrictions claim minimized opportunities for travel to the US on the H1B program, they are infact aimed to bring stringent enforcement of visa policies, and making it tougher for employers (especially the ‘bodyshops’).. Your review of the actual changes made in the draft should help explain issues of the workers once in the US and on the H1B work visa. (Eg: Prevailing wage levels, specified location of work in the H1B LCA,etc…)

While we all do agree that the labor displacement due to the economic crisis will allow the present job opportunities to be filled… the slow economic revival will only create a larger pool of jobs that will still be unfilled.

While we all await the outcome of the recommended immigration proposals… we, at NOSTOPS, have begun taking the initiative of verifying all our members and issuing them an identification card that verified, certifies and qualifies our members.

Here is our Press Release -
http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/information-technology/2008072911549.htm

Our aim to build the largest repository of verified candidates therefore is taking responsibility and enacting the mission mandate of NOSTOPS… thus being truly worker centric.

I invite you to also register as a free member on http://www.nostops.org, and access the job opportunities
unadvertised elsewhere by employers.

At this point of time, showcasing real jobs by real employers is our only guarantee to you..

Should you also prefer to stay connected via Facebook, please visit us at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Organisation-for-Software-and-Technology-Professionals/78659300070#/pages/National-Organisation-for-Software-and-Technology-Professionals/78659300070

Or follow our updates on twitter – http://www.twitter.com/nostops2009

I look forward to your feedback

Regards

Rajiv Dabhadkar
Helpdesk: http://www.nostops.org/helpdesk/

The National Organisation for Software and Technology Professionals (NOSTOPS) is an organisation that is knowledge worker centric & will strive hard to promote high standards of professionalism. In furtherance of this aim, NOSTOPS also will ensure that through its initiatives of implementing a structured hiring practice, efforts begin with the candidate employee.

New Delhi,INDThe Indian software industry is flooded with ‘fake cv’s’ and the leading software companies have begun taking stringent action on the employees as well as all concerned people. Indian knowledge workers are upwardly mobile and in great demand globally. The recent “India Fraud Survey Report – 2008” by KPMG emphasizes the alarming rise in fraudulent documentation by employees.

The delay in processing of visas for Indian knowledge workers by host nations, due to their stringent immigration border control policies, restrict the outward mobility & increase costs to their employers. In this context, efforts are made by employers to scrutinize and verify their applicant pool.
National Organisation for Software and Technology Professionals (NOSTOPS) is a professional service organisation that performs as a conduit between the employers, the staffing agencies and the employees, both in India as well as overseas.
With the recent spate of documentation fraud, NOSTOPS has launched a new initiative that will serve as an online databank of live ‘verified & screened’ knowledge workers, which employers use to query & authenticate prospective employees.
NOSTOPS focuses with the ‘jobseeker’ against the ‘employee’ mindset to arrive at a clean authentic online databank. Towards this, NOSTOPS has partnered with First Advantage Pvt. Ltd, a leading background verification company with a presence in 20 countries.

Talking at the web site launch, Mr. Rajiv Dabhadkar, Founder – NOSTOPS and the CEO –‘ NOSTOPS.ORG’ said that “There is a large gap between the multiple skills demanded from the employer (required to remain globally competitive) and the skills learnt in educational institutions. This industry-academia mismatch is one of the affects of globalisation that gives opportunities for ‘document abuse’, which is seriously manipulated & misused towards the outward migration of Indian knowledge capital”.
“Every industry has a small lot of – not so right people and the recruiting industry is no exception. NOSTOPS has been striving hard to set right this malady. Through this initiative we hope to begin making the difference to our members by providing them an opportunity to do the right thing… and to be sought by the employers rather than beating the system or by opting for services from little known agencies/people wherein monitoring quality service from them will be very difficult.” said Mr. Dabhadkar.

About NOSTOPS:-The National Organisation for Software and Technology Professionals (NOSTOPS) is registered under the Maharashtra Societies Registration Act 1960.
The National Organisation for Software and Technology Professionals (NOSTOPS) strives to enhance the professionalism of its members. Accordingly, “NOSTOPS” has been advocating reforms to the guest worker program in the United States, where a majority of Indian knowledge workers travel for work. NOSTOPS has been performing as an advocacy organisation to other tech worker organisations and overseas job seekers alike. NOSTOPS has developed a methodology of Professional Practice Guidelines to assist NOSTOPS member in their pursuit of seeking an overseas employer for employment opportunities.
NOSTOPS has close to 1000 members – most of them being employees of large firms in the organised sector, from across the globe but mainly of Indian origin.
Similar to the US Department of Labour making available publicly, the details of each and every work visa petition filed by US Employers, NOSTOPS will aim to present overseas employers, India’s rich labour talent pool that has been ‘verified’ & ‘background checked’
NOSTOPS has strategic partnerships with other firms and domain experts for a cause that is to create an “Industry Platform”, to improve “Ethics & Standards”, to become an “Important Voice”, to be heard at the right quarters, to remove the hurdles & foster the growth of this industry.
NOSTOPS and its members promises to provide outstanding professional service that rests on the quality, ethics and integrity of relationships with clients, colleagues, employers and the public.
- End -

National Organisation for Software and Technology Professionals (NOSTOPS) The National Organisation for Software and Technology Professionals (NOSTOPS) is registered under the Maharashtra Societies Registration Act 1960.
Globalisation creates opportunities that are making firms extremely competitive. Information Technology today is moving at an alarming speed. The Internet makes the transfer of information move with blasting speed. It is therefore difficult for educational institutions to keep abreast with the fast changing curriculum and the needs of the industry. Corporations today are moving away from the traditional roles of recruitment. Global mobility of India’s knowledge capital is on an ever high and greatly encouraged by host nations.

It is therefore a difficult time for employers that have a business need to transfer workers to other locations on a short time. It is time now to simplify the movement of skilled professionals and to reduce the documentation needs within the security framework.

This is the defining moment, when the industry as a whole, should raise the bar of ethics, uphold standards and instil a self – correcting mechanism.

NOSTOPS shall work tirelessly towards these goals to put the Indian talent in its rightful place of pre – eminence, on the global map

For more information contact:
Rajiv Dabhadkar
Founder – National Organisation for Software and Technology Professionals (NOSTOPS)


Mobile: 9987 803 843 /93224 03156
You can also visit www.nostops.org or www.indiaverified.com for more information.

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http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/information-technology/2008072911549.htm

Advisory:

The earliest one can apply for the H1 visa is not before april of 2009.

It is the month of August and there is no lottery system at present and so the H1 visa is NOT an option for now.  There are some emails doing their rounds and contacts made by so-called employers from the USA claiming that the USCIS has opened yet another lottery system to acccomodate H1B applicants who have not made it to the ‘recent’ lottery…

Please note: these are false statements and it is advised to refrain from such claims made .. the best way to kow is by consistently checking with the uscis web site at http://www.uscis.gov

However, other visa possibilities may be possible provided there is a real job offer and visa opportunities may arise… if there is indeed an employer that needs you to work for them in the USA.

Suggestion to any and all those who wish to pursue a job overseas is to seek a job .. not an “employer”…. a job is a guarantee of a visa… ONLY an employer without a job is not !

There are some web sites in the US that have been sending out emails and claiming this to be true…

We are aware of such web sites and the IT Consulting firms behind them…

There are many who have not received their refunds from their employers, & those who say their application to the lottery did not get selected…  these fradulent emails about the renewal of the lottery system is one way to stall or avoid issuing the refunds.

Besides forfetting the amounts paid to these companies, it is advisable to ask for the filling receipt and the rejection/approval letter from the USCIS from the employer.

A scanned copy, a fax simply is no  proof that the employer has indeed applied for the visa on your behalf.

Over 80% of those filed but not selected are feared to be losing their refund fees. Ask for the ORIGNAL document from the employer. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO YOUR ORIGINAL COPY. The USCIS sends two copies to the employers (one for you the applicant) the other for the employer that files the petition on your behalf. 

Stay tuned for more alerts

World’s Best Presentation Contest

We have received many emails asking if they could volunteer.

There are many areas for which one could volunteer, but it would be a nice idea if we could have a focussed activity to begin with.

Via PRAJA @ NOSTOPS, it is our intend to promote a cause that is at GRASSROOT level. It doesnt necessarily have to be limited by geographies. But yes, it needs to have a collective bargaining .. that means it needs to reach out to maximum amount of people. THINK BIG !

Do you have a cause in mind yourself ! Lets begin with a dialogue !

Dear Members,

At its inception, Id like to apologise for the delay in updating you with the progress at NOSTOPS.

There were some serious issues that I presumed would never get resolved. .. and at times, there were those challenges that needed the determined focus to make progress ..

In any case,the silence from our end is unjustified.. and your calls and emails poured in consistently. It gets difficult to respond to every emails / calls. And I found many getting quiet upset with the silence from our ends. There were quiet a few who offered to volunteer their time with NOSTOPS, and that was indeed the much needed encouragment.

The internet never sleeps. And as with any growth, we too witnessed the need to re-work on our processes as we received the membership windfall. Scaling them as we move forward.. however, the quantum of responses we received (..and still continue to receive) only meant to forge partnerships with existing partners with the requisite core-competencies.

The time to explain, to negate and negotiate took time… however, our service delivery is now ship shape and ready to roll out…

These blogs come out of your recommendations, and even though I will try to accomodate your queries..I’d appreciate your continued understanding (.. and not patience anymore *smile* )

Nonethless, there have been some grey areas that we were working on in these past weeks of silence and the same will be updated time and again thru these posts.

Should your questions find no answers here, or there is anythnig that you’d rather talk to me…in person… feel free to call in

Rajiv Dabhadkar
9987 803 843
93324 03156