of the million and plus websites on the net, this link is one of the few that will explain in simple terms what material support is and what developments have been made with regard to the legislative-cum-executive waivers.

the link: http://www.rcusa.org/index.php?page=refugee-waivers

another equally valuable resources for it can be found at: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/asylum/torchlight/newsletter/newslet_61.htm

once you are in that website, follow the appropriate deep link. human rights first is one organization that i know about which has tried endlessly to mitigate the effect of material support, including specifically for some nepalis. you can sign up for monthly updates through their newsletter.

it even offers pro bono services under certain circumstances.

am a curious reader and you should know that these are just resources that i know of as a voracious reader of news, views and developments. i have no clue as to the overall process and stuff like that. anyone interested in the process should consult the uscis website where there is lot of helpful information. in the heat of someone's success, it is easy to oversee the dangers of legal loops. if i were you, i would hire a legal help.

material support was a provision defined by the legislators to bar anyone who supported in any imaginable way to overthrow a government, through the all-catch act called the patriot act, from getting entry to the US.

i first came to know about this in an NYT article about a Liberian lady who was asked to cook and wash for the rebels, and then this thugs later raped her and gave her untold misery. yet, she was not granted asylum at the time as the legalities did not spare any room for maneuver. she too had formidable merry-go-round-the-legal-hearings in the US.

after a huge amount of criticism from all possible quarters, thanks to the work of Human Rights First, the US govt came forward with a piecemeal approach that is still highly selective in how a reprieve or a waiver is granted and was embedded in a 2008 Omnibus Budget Bill by (i think) senator Leahy of Vt. and sympathizers as a bargaining ploy to support Bush on his budget bill! Give us this concession or we won't support your budget bill! thought it happened only in nepal? wrong!

i think it was washington post that first broke a story about how an iraqi soldier who fought alongside the US troops was denied a green card due to material support issues as he had earlier supported forces trying to overthrow saddam! when the legislators knew about this, of course the soldier's concerns were handled separately.

so friends, if you think that asylum is just about throwing a bunch of papers to the uscis and staking a claim through imaginary persecution at home, think twice! if you are lucky, you will smile, if not the parting, unlike in julius caesar, is not "well made"! once you are caught up in a legal limbo, you will feel that you would have been happier growing millet somewhere around solukhumbu and sleep in a jhopadi, with all the peace of mind! or eat momos in kathmandu rather than slug in a gas station without happiness and uncertainty nibbling your conscience.

and if you are a politician, good luck, as that is a scenario that will take you down the spider hole even deeper! wider the connections, stickier the muck you are in! good luck!

if i were you and a student at that (like i am) i would work twice as hard, apply for work 10 times harder like i did, sharpen my skills 100 times than the usual kid, and get a job, even in this odd times! cos some real hardworking folks have succeeded in doing just that and stay away from a legal situation whose outcome is uncertain.

all said and done, am not a legal consultant..am just a grad student trying hard to make my ends meet!
good luck guys!