Welcome to HealthOne Staffing’s Immigration Blog for Nurses!
HealthOne's blog tracks the allocation and processing dates of United States work Visas for international nurse petitioners. Processing for nurse employment Visas (EB3 category) has been in a state of retrogression since November of 2007. Our blog covers efforts in US Congress to increase the number of available nurse Visas and movement of processing dates from the monthly Visa Bulletin. Bookmark this page and return frequently to stay informed.
July 2008
As expected, the Visa Bulletin for July indicates that Visas for EB3 (the RN petition category) will be unavailable through September, 2008. Visas will be made available again in October. The processing dates in October are anticipated to mirror the processing dates of the June 2008 Visa Bulletin.
June 2008
USCIS has posted the June Visa Bulletin. There are no advancements in processing dates.
June Processing Dates (EB-3)
China: March 22, 2003
India: November 1, 2001
Mexico: July 1, 2002
All Other Countries: March 1, 2006
The Visa Bulletin included a note that suggests EB3 dates will advance minimally, if at all, through September. The note reads:
Demand for numbers, primarily by Citizenship and Immigration Services Offices for adjustment of status cases, is expected to bring the Employment Third preference category [EB-3] very close to the annual numerical limit in June. As a result, this category is likely to experience retrogressions or visa unavailability beginning in July. Such action would only be temporary, however, and a complete recovery of the cut-off dates would occur for October, the first month of the new fiscal year.
House Bill 5924
There is a bill gaining momentum in the House of Representatives (HR 5924) that, if signed into law, could lift retrogression for nurse petitions (schedule A) filed before September 30, 2011. Following are a few key points of the legislation as summarized by legal firm Hammond Law Group, LLC.
1. Lifting of retrogression for Schedule A workers. Any immigrant visa quotas or caps are waived for all visa applications filed for Shortage Occupations (Schedule A occupations: Physical Therapists and Registered Nurses), provided that the I-140 is filed prior to September 30, 2011.
2. 20,000 primary beneficiary quota. While there is no retrogression for Schedule A cases filed before September 30, 2011, Consulates may not approve more than 20,000 primary beneficiary visas in any one year. There is no quota for the immediate family members of such beneficiaries.
3. Expedited Review. The USCIS must review -- and approve or issue an RFE -- on all Schedule A I-140 cases within 30 days of receipt.
We will continue to follow HR5924 and update you as the bill progresses through Congress.
May 2008
USCIS has posted the May 2008 Visa Bulletin. The May Bulletin advances the I-140 processing date to March 1, 2006 for all countries except China, India and Mexico. The 8-month jump forward follows big March and April advances of 26 and 6 months respectively.
India and China saw more modest processing date advancement. India moves ahead one month to November 1, 2001 and China advances approximately one and one-half months to March 22, 2003.
HealthOne has begun contacting all its contracted international nurses to explain the latest processing date advances and how it is expected to affect their petitions. Nurses whose petitions may be processed in the next 6 months are being asked to update their profiles on HealthOne's secure application portal.
May Processing Dates (EB-3)
China: March 22, 2003
India: November 1, 2001
Mexico: July 1, 2002
All Other Countries: March 1, 2006
April 2008
Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft, brought attention to U.S. immigration policy in comments he made March 13th before the House Committee on Science and Technology. Gates testified that the future of U.S. innovation and competitiveness would be damaged if the U.S. fails to make immigration policy reform. While Gates focused largely on H1-B policy, his testimony highlights growing recognition that foreign-born professionals play a vital role in the future of the U.S. "U.S. innovation has always been based in part on foreign-born scientists and researchers. The fact that [other countries'] smartest people have wanted to come here has been a huge advantage to us, and in a sense, we're kind of throwing that away.” For more on Bill Gates' testimony click here.
USCIS has issued the April Visa Bulletin. According to the Bulletin, nurse I-140 petitions filed on or before July 1, 2005 are being processed. The exceptions are Mexican, Indian and Chinese nurse petitioners. The processing date for Mexican and Indian petitions is October 1, 2001. The Chinese processing date is February, 2003.
February 2008
Processing for nurse employment Visas (EB3 category) has been in a state of retrogression since November of 2007. During a period of retrogression Visa processing dates are “retrogressed” to a date in the past. While retrogression is in place Visas are only issued to petitioners that filed for Visas on or before the stated processing date. Every month USCIS calculates the number of Visas issued and posts a new Visa Bulletin with updated processing dates. Processing dates typically advance with the issuance of each Bulletin.
The March 2008 Visa Bulletin identifies January 2005 as the current processing date for most petitioners. Petitioners that are citizens of China have a processing date of December 2002. The processing date for Indian citizens is August 2001.
Across the United States staffing agencies like HealthOne, immigration attorneys, hospitals and other nurse staffing advocates continue their collective efforts to get legislation passed in Congress that would end retrogression for nurses and other healthcare workers. We will continue to post information on specific Congressional proposals to end retrogression as details become available. Check back periodically for updates.
December 2007
A large consortium of hospitals, staffing agencies and immigration attorneys have formed the Coalition to Improve Healthcare Staffing (CTIHS). Thanks to efforts by CTIHS, in November of 2007 the US Senate unanimously approved two bills (SA304 and SA3449) that would have ended retrogression. Unfortunately, the bills were voted down in the House of Representatives due to agenda conflicts with the Hispanic Congressional Caucus. Despite this minor setback, CTIHS continues to press Congress to support and approve a bill that will address the nursing shortage and the problem of retrogression.
Questions?
HealthOne knows that the immigration process can be difficult to understand and sometimes frustrating, especially during a period of retrogression. If you are a HealthOne sponsored nurse please do not hesitate to contact our immigration team regarding your pending petition. You can reach us by email or phone - immigration@healthonestaffing.com, 650-292-7940.