Move your checking account to Bank of America and get $75

I have moved my checking account to Bank of America and, before applying online, did a search for coupons. And its a good thing I did because this is is what I found. (coupon link at the end of the post)

Make the move to better banking and you can receive $75. Just open a new, personal checking account, and you'll enjoy access to your money on the nation's largest network of bank-owned ATMs. And the freedom to bank from your new home with our free Online Banking service with unlimited Bill Pay.

Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts and/or existing checking customers. Student checking accounts are not eligible for this offer. Bank of America associates are not eligible for this offer. All accounts are subject to our normal approval process. This form must be presented at the time the account is opened if account is opened in a banking center. This minimum deposit required to open a new, personal checking account and receive the $75 offer is $100. We will make every attempt to directly deposit the $75 into your new Bank of America checking account. If for any reason we are unable to do so, a check will be issued as a replacement. We will deposit the money within 90 days of opening your new account. Limit one check per household. To the extent required by law, Bank of America will report the value of the offer to the IRS on Form 1099. Any applicable taxes are the responsibility of the account holder. For interest-bearing personal checking accounts, the Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is 0.05% as of 3/02/2007 for any account balance. The rate may change after the account is opened. Fees could reduce earnings on the account. Please consult a Banking Center, visit bankofamerica.com or see the Personal Schedule of Fees for other account fees, rates and information.

The big reason for me to move to Bank of America is that recently they have this new NO Closing Costs, NO PMI mortgage plan that I might go for, and one of the pre-requisites to apply for this mortgage is that you need to have an account with them.

Please keep in mind that this deal is only till May 31, 2007.

Coupon Link: Move your checking account to Bank of America and get $75

TB Test Update on I-485 Adjustment Application

Foreign nationals who are filing the I-485 application for adjustment of status (i.e. final stage of the "green card" process) have to demonstrate eligibility in a number of areas. One area involves medical screening, by a specially authorized physician, referred to under law as a civil surgeon. The exam includes a number of different tests to order to determine whether the applicant has certain "contagious diseases of public health significance" that should prevent her/him from obtaining the I-485 approval and becoming a U.S. permanent resident. One of the medical conditions for which an individual is tested is tuberculosis (TB). The required test for TB for obtaining the I-485 approval is a skin test, not simply an x-ray test from the civil surgeon.

USCIS RFEs Request Skin Test for TB
There recently have been many reports of the USCIS sending Requests for Evidence (RFEs) for tuberculosis skin tests. These were generated because the doctors in these cases used x-ray only examinations for TB, rather than skin tests as part of the physical examination. TB is comparatively rare in the U.S. and more common in India and several other countries. Under the regulations, the USCIS is correct in insisting upon a skin test.

Request that Your Doctor Perform Skin Test for TB
A TB skin test is a necessary part of the physical examination required by the green card application process. It can be waived only in limited circumstances, such as for children under two years of age. Otherwise, a showing of good cause, such as a particular health condition, may exempt an applicant from the actual skin test. In order to avoid delays or an RFE on this issue, it is best to ask the civil surgeon to perform a skin test for TB, in the event that the physician does not do so without prompting.

Source: murthy.com

Visa Dates Move Forward for June 2007 for EB2 and EB3 categories !

Finally, there is some good news for people waiting to file their I-485 application.
For Jun 2007, the visa dates for EB2 and EB3 categories have moved forward..not by a month or two, but more than 2 years !
For EB3, all those who have a priority date on or before June, 2003, can file their I-485 applications. So in my case my priority date is Jan, 2003. So I am wasting no time in submitting my application.

For other categories, please refer to the visa bulletin

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No Fee Mortgage from Bank of America !

This new No Fee Mortgage product from Bank of America has got me all excited. The main advantages to this mortgage are :

• No Closing Costs (approx. $5000 in my case)
• No PMI even if you put less than 20% down.
• Competitive Rates
• Will close within 25 days or BofA will pay your first mortgage payment
• If you dont close with BofA and go with another lender, you get $250

Below is more info from Bankrate.com

Bank of America has expanded its fee-free mortgage offering nationwide. Not only do B of A home loans come without fees, but they don't require mortgage insurance, either.

With the No Fee Mortgage PLUS, Bank of America doesn't charge an application fee. The bank pays all third-party closing costs, including title insurance and appraisal. It doesn't charge for mortgage insurance up to 95 percent loan to value (in other words, borrowers have to put at least 5 percent down). B of A will pay your first month's principal and interest if it misses your closing date, and will give you $250 if you apply for a No Fee Mortgage PLUS loan but decide to get your mortgage elsewhere.

What's the catch? This loan is for home purchases, not for refinances. Subprime mortgages aren't available under the program. The bank says it not only pays all third-party fees, but lets you choose providers (such as the title company). You have to get the loan directly from Bank of America (at one of its branches or mortgage offices, or by phone or online), and not through a broker.

Borrowers can get 30-year fixed or adjustables or interest-only loans.

It sounds too good to be true, but B of A exec Floyd Robinson insists that customers "don't give up anything. They get a lot." And he says the bank gets a lot, too: A typical B of A mortgage customer ends up with five other accounts with the bank (such as checking and savings accounts, credit cards, home equity loans, and so on).

What about rates? Robinson says the mortgage rates are competitive. It's up to the customer to decide whether that's true; because B of A doesn't charge an application fee, it doesn't hurt to comparison shop.

The bank has been working on this product for more than a year, and introduced it as a pilot program in the state of Washington last year. The pilot was expanded to eight more states in February, and then was rolled out nationwide April 23. Today, the bank picked up its megaphone to talk about it.

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SKIL Act 2007 addresses the Green card Backlog Issues

SKIL Act stands for Securing Knowledge, Innovation and Leadership Act.

On April 10, 2007, Senator Cornyn, a republican from Texas, introduced the Securing Knowledge, Innovation and Leadership (SKIL) Act of 2007.
In his opening remarks, Senator Cornyn emphasized the importance of retaining U.S. competitiveness when "everyone has to do their part to keep our country's economy strong and viable." Senator Cornyn also referred to the congressional testimony of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. In his testimony, Mr. Gates proposed an increase, and even elimination, of the H1B annual quotas in order to boost the nation's competitiveness in a global economy.

The SKIL Act of 2007 does not purport to replace or eliminate the need for legislation on Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Instead, it provides for an emergent measure to fix the problem revealed by the current H1B cap crisis. Among other things, the bill provides for a flexible calculation of H1B visa numbers per year, which would depend on then-current demand. It also provides for a mechanism to retain foreign workers educated in the United States, to reduce immigrant visa backlogs, and to reform the student visa system to facilitate growth of U.S. business and economy.

I have only included text related to the green card backlog issues.
You can read the original article at http://www.murthy.com/news/n_h1eblm.html that also talks about the The High Tech Worker Relief Act.

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The miracle of compound interest

Here is an interesting way to look at compound interest.
Source: MSNMoney

This is a concept best illustrated by example. Let's say I give you a penny today, and promise to double the amount every day for a full month. How much money would I be giving you on the 31st day?

The answer: $10.7 million. Check it out:

Day 1 0.01
Day 2 0.02
Day 3 0.04
Day 4 0.08
Day 5 0.16
Day 6 0.32
Day 7 0.64
Day 8 1.28
Day 9 $2.56
Day 10 $5.12
Day 11 $10.24
Day 12 $20.48
Day 13 $40.96
Day 14 $81.92
Day 15 $163.84
Day 16 $327.68
Day 17 $655.36
Day 18 $1,310.72
Day 19 $2,621.44
Day 20 $5,242.88
Day 21 $10,485.76
Day 22 $20,971.52
Day 23 $41,943.04
Day 24 $83,886.08
Day 25 $167,772.16
Day 26 $335,544.32
Day 27 $671,088.64
Day 28 $1,342,177.28
Day 29 $2,684,354.56
Day 30 $5,368,709.12
Day 31 $10,737,418.24

Each day, the "interest" I paid you the previous day earns more interest. At the beginning, the amounts are nominal, but by the end we're talking big bucks.

Of course, no one's going to double your money every day. But this concept explains how people who save relatively small amounts over the years can build rather substantial nest eggs. After a few decades, their actual contributions represent only a small part of their burgeoning wealth -- it's mostly their returns that are earning returns.

But this also illustrates how debts can quickly balloon out of control. If you're paying interest, rather than incurring it, and you're not diligent about paying off the finance charges in full every month, the unpaid amount will incur additional interest charges, increasing the total amount that you owe. This is why so many families who incur credit card debt eventually find themselves in trouble as the amounts they owe explode past their ability to pay.

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courtesy of http://mfrost.typepad.com/

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