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The
U.S. Department of State recently released the March 2008 Visa
Bulletin, which indicates the availability of immigrant visas (green
cards) for the month of March 2008. Dramatic advances in the cut-off
dates occurred in the EB-3 category (the category that covers nurses)
for Philippines (more than 2 years), India (almost 3 months) and all
countries except China, India, Mexico and Philippines (more than 2
years). This sudden advance in the cut-off dates is an effort by the
State Department to guarantee that the full annual quota of immigrant
visas is used before the end of the current fiscal year (September 30,
2008). In addition, the State Department, by making more immigrant
visas available earlier in this fiscal year, is attempting to avoid the
chaos and confusion that resulted near the end of the last fiscal year
in July 2007 when the remaining supply of unused immigrant visas were
suddenly made available to all countries in all categories. It must be
noted, however, that the March 2008 Visa Bulletin warns that if the
expected increase in immigrant visa usage materializes; future cut-off
date movements could slow or stop.
We remain
hopeful that new laws will be enacted soon to decrease the present
waiting periods for nurses to immigrate to the United States. We base
our hope on the fact that the current critical shortage of nurses in
the U.S. demands immediate action so that the U.S. healthcare system
can continue to operate effectively. In addition, in the past, new laws
have been enacted to address the shortage of nurses in the U.S. by
allowing more foreign nurses into the U.S. Finally, several legislative
solutions have been and continue to be proposed and debated.
Various
groups of healthcare employers, nurse recruiting companies, and related
entities and persons are presently lobbying for a legislative solution.
The present focus is on short-term immediate relief for nurses. In
addition, long-term permanent relief is being pursued. Specific
proposals include exempting nurses from the annual immigrant visa quota
restrictions, increasing the number of immigrant visas available in the
EB-3 quota category that applies to nurses, and creating a new
nonimmigrant visa to allow nurses to come to the U.S. immediately to
start work while waiting for the immigrant visa process ("green card")
to be completed. Hospitals and nurse recruiters in the U.S. are
encouraged to contact their Senators and Congressmen to express their
support for these legislative efforts to relieve the current shortage
of nurses in the U.S. by speeding up the process to bring foreign
nurses to the U.S.
For more information head to http://www.immigrationsolution.net & if you'd like to advertise with Immigration Solutions, please read over our media kit @ http://www.immigrationsolution.net/immigrationsolutionsmediakit.pdf
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