November 2007
Nursing immigration to the U.S. came to a halt earlier this year because of
Retrogression (backlog) in the EB-3 Green Card category.
In October, as a result of intensive efforts by CTIHS (Coalition to Improve
Healthcare Staffing), the U.S. Senate added a nurse immigration relief
amendment to a Labor budget bill that would have recaptured 61,000
previously unused visas for Schedule A occupations (nurses and physical
therapists) and their immediate family members.
The Labor bill was vetoed by the President this month, and has been
returned to Congress. Votes to override the veto could be scheduled but
this is doubtful so the bill will be revised and presented to the President for
reconsideration. Efforts continue to include the nurse immigration relief
amendment to the revised bill and for now, this remains a possibility.
Updates will be posted here as any new substantive information becomes
available. See also the Healthcare Immigration Advocacy Blog at www.
hammondlawfirm.com
CTIHS (established in 2004) it is a collection of nearly 75 employment
immigration attorneys who concentrate their practice in healthcare
employment immigration law. These attorneys represent over 500
healthcare facilities, staffing companies, and other stakeholders. The
CTIHS will continue its work on this and other reform and legislative efforts.
See www.ctihs.org
October 24, 2007 – from Gregory Siskind, Attorney at Law, Siskind Susser
Bland - Immigration Lawyers
A nurse immigration relief amendment was included by unanimous
consent in a voice vote in the U.S. Senate last evening. Nursing immigration
ground to a halt earlier this year because of retrogression in the EB-3 green
card category, the depletion of a 2005 allotment of 50,000 green cards for
nurses and the lack of a non-immigrant visa category for nurses. The U.S.
Senate added the measure as an amendment to a Labor budget bill. We
await the final language but here are the key provisions:
The brain drain provisions cover doctors as well as other health care
workers.
Note that the bill still has some key hurdles including making it out of a
House-Senate conference committee and past a presidential veto. But
passage on the Senate floor was considered the biggest obstacle.
Updates will be posted here as they become available.
This amendment is the result of intensive efforts by CTIHS (Coalition to Improve
Healthcare Staffing), see www.ctihs.org. Founded in 2004, the CTIHS is a collection
of nearly 75 employment immigration attorneys who concentrate their practice in
healthcare employment immigration law. These attorneys represent over 500
healthcare facilities, staffing companies, nurses, physical therapists, and other
stakeholders. The CTIHS will continue its work on this and other reform and
legislative efforts.
Nursing immigration to the U.S. came to a halt earlier this year because of
Retrogression (backlog) in the EB-3 Green Card category.
In October, as a result of intensive efforts by CTIHS (Coalition to Improve
Healthcare Staffing), the U.S. Senate added a nurse immigration relief
amendment to a Labor budget bill that would have recaptured 61,000
previously unused visas for Schedule A occupations (nurses and physical
therapists) and their immediate family members.
The Labor bill was vetoed by the President this month, and has been
returned to Congress. Votes to override the veto could be scheduled but
this is doubtful so the bill will be revised and presented to the President for
reconsideration. Efforts continue to include the nurse immigration relief
amendment to the revised bill and for now, this remains a possibility.
Updates will be posted here as any new substantive information becomes
available. See also the Healthcare Immigration Advocacy Blog at www.
hammondlawfirm.com
CTIHS (established in 2004) it is a collection of nearly 75 employment
immigration attorneys who concentrate their practice in healthcare
employment immigration law. These attorneys represent over 500
healthcare facilities, staffing companies, and other stakeholders. The
CTIHS will continue its work on this and other reform and legislative efforts.
See www.ctihs.org
October 24, 2007 – from Gregory Siskind, Attorney at Law, Siskind Susser
Bland - Immigration Lawyers
A nurse immigration relief amendment was included by unanimous
consent in a voice vote in the U.S. Senate last evening. Nursing immigration
ground to a halt earlier this year because of retrogression in the EB-3 green
card category, the depletion of a 2005 allotment of 50,000 green cards for
nurses and the lack of a non-immigrant visa category for nurses. The U.S.
Senate added the measure as an amendment to a Labor budget bill. We
await the final language but here are the key provisions:
- 61,000 visas for Schedule A occupations (nurses and physical
therapists) and their immediate family members - A $1500 additional fee for each of these green cards to be paid as a
condition of approval of the adjustment application by USCIS or
issuance of the visa by the State Department; waiver for certain
facilities in disaster areas or HHS-designated health professional
shortage areas. - Brain drain provision one: nurses, physicians and other health care
workers must attest that they do not owe their native country any
financial obligation tied to their health care worker education (an
exception is made if the obligation was incurred by coercion or in the
case of undue hardship); this provision shall take effect 180 days
after passage of the bill - A grant program is created to allow US nursing schools to increase
the number of nursing faculty and students - Brain drain provision two: Permanent resident health care workers
(including doctors and nurses) will get credit toward naturalization
and not be deemed to have abandoned permanent residency during
time spent working in certain countries (a list will be published by
DOS within six months (and DHS must publish rules within six
months) of enactment of the legislation and updated annually):
- countries eligible for International Development Association
assistance or - which are classified as "lower middle income countries" in
the World Development Report for Reconstruction and
Development published by the Bank for Reconstruction and
Development or - a country determined jointly by DHS and DOS to be qualified
due to special circumstances such as natural disasters or
public health emergencies
The brain drain provisions cover doctors as well as other health care
workers.
Note that the bill still has some key hurdles including making it out of a
House-Senate conference committee and past a presidential veto. But
passage on the Senate floor was considered the biggest obstacle.
Updates will be posted here as they become available.
This amendment is the result of intensive efforts by CTIHS (Coalition to Improve
Healthcare Staffing), see www.ctihs.org. Founded in 2004, the CTIHS is a collection
of nearly 75 employment immigration attorneys who concentrate their practice in
healthcare employment immigration law. These attorneys represent over 500
healthcare facilities, staffing companies, nurses, physical therapists, and other
stakeholders. The CTIHS will continue its work on this and other reform and
legislative efforts.
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