I am probably one of those [postdocs] who can understand Deborah Andrew's postdoc best. I am a postdoctoral associate at the University of Miami. The university requires under the soft term "recommends" that all candidates to change status from F1 to H-1B hire a lawyer approved by the university. Fine. It cost me $1500. Anticipating that things with H-1Bs were going bad, I first contacted a "university approved" lawyer on Jan. 6, seven months before the expiration of my present employment auth

Editor's Note: In a subsequent letter received just prior to this issue's deadline, Andrey Savtchenko offers an update: ... Meanwhile, my case was solved, and I received my change-of-status approval [Sept. 15]. I must admit, that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (at least the Texas Service Center) is apparently doing their best to alleviate the situation. [However,] the resolution of my case is not the solution to the problem. The issue is that thousands of professional workers, and