February 2008
Finally there has been some movement on the Green Card application
backlog. The March 2008 Visa Bulletin indicates processing is now
available for All Other Countries and the Philippines for applications filed
prior to January 1, 2005. This is a huge jump of three years for these two
groups. There was no real improvement for India (Aug. 2001) and China
(Dec. 2002) applicants.
So, Green Card visas are now available to those applicants with Priority
Dates on or before the dates listed. The Priority Date is the date a petition
filing is accepted by the Department of State, which essentially establishes
the applicant’s place in line. All others must wait until the dates move past
their Priority Date. The Visa Bulletin should be checked regularly for
updates and can be seen at is at http://travel.state.
gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html - look for the Employment Based 3rd
category on the grid.
Nursing immigration to the U.S. came to a halt in early 2007 year because
of Retrogression (backlog) in the EB-3 Green Card category. Retrogression
occurs when there are more applicants than the number of visas available
and then petitions either cannot be filed or cannot progress until more visas
are available. The U.S. Department of State allocates 140,000 new
Employment Based visas every year but availability for applicants depends
on applicant volume and processing times.
This is an extraordinary interruption to visa availability and processing
times. International nurses have supplemented the U.S. nursing work force
for decades and between our ever-present U.S. nursing shortage and
massive nursing retirements of U.S. nurses in coming years - there is no
question that visas will always be available. The current problems relate to
processing times and availability of visa numbers. A coalition of healthcare
employers (including Procare USA/Nursing USA), immigration attorneys
and other interested parties continues to lobby representatives in
Washington on visa availability for healthcare workers.
We recognize that it takes an extraordinary commitment to emigrate to the U.
S. and this is made all the more difficult with the unpredictability of visa
availability in recent times. Notwithstanding these challenges, we remain
committed to sponsoring international nurses and we hope you will not be
deterred from the Green Card process whether already in the U.S. or
coming from outside the country to live and work here. Clearly, applicants
outside the U.S. should make no relocation plans until a visa has been
stamped in the passport when they will have six months to enter the U.S. to
“activate” their status.
Please check back for periodic updates. We also recommend you check
the healthcare advocacy blog at the website www.hammondlawfirm.com for
news and comments on retrogression and please check the Visa Bulletin
every once in a while as it is not unusual for processing dates to move
ahead for months or years at a time.
Finally there has been some movement on the Green Card application
backlog. The March 2008 Visa Bulletin indicates processing is now
available for All Other Countries and the Philippines for applications filed
prior to January 1, 2005. This is a huge jump of three years for these two
groups. There was no real improvement for India (Aug. 2001) and China
(Dec. 2002) applicants.
So, Green Card visas are now available to those applicants with Priority
Dates on or before the dates listed. The Priority Date is the date a petition
filing is accepted by the Department of State, which essentially establishes
the applicant’s place in line. All others must wait until the dates move past
their Priority Date. The Visa Bulletin should be checked regularly for
updates and can be seen at is at http://travel.state.
gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html - look for the Employment Based 3rd
category on the grid.
Nursing immigration to the U.S. came to a halt in early 2007 year because
of Retrogression (backlog) in the EB-3 Green Card category. Retrogression
occurs when there are more applicants than the number of visas available
and then petitions either cannot be filed or cannot progress until more visas
are available. The U.S. Department of State allocates 140,000 new
Employment Based visas every year but availability for applicants depends
on applicant volume and processing times.
This is an extraordinary interruption to visa availability and processing
times. International nurses have supplemented the U.S. nursing work force
for decades and between our ever-present U.S. nursing shortage and
massive nursing retirements of U.S. nurses in coming years - there is no
question that visas will always be available. The current problems relate to
processing times and availability of visa numbers. A coalition of healthcare
employers (including Procare USA/Nursing USA), immigration attorneys
and other interested parties continues to lobby representatives in
Washington on visa availability for healthcare workers.
We recognize that it takes an extraordinary commitment to emigrate to the U.
S. and this is made all the more difficult with the unpredictability of visa
availability in recent times. Notwithstanding these challenges, we remain
committed to sponsoring international nurses and we hope you will not be
deterred from the Green Card process whether already in the U.S. or
coming from outside the country to live and work here. Clearly, applicants
outside the U.S. should make no relocation plans until a visa has been
stamped in the passport when they will have six months to enter the U.S. to
“activate” their status.
Please check back for periodic updates. We also recommend you check
the healthcare advocacy blog at the website www.hammondlawfirm.com for
news and comments on retrogression and please check the Visa Bulletin
every once in a while as it is not unusual for processing dates to move
ahead for months or years at a time.
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