A word of caution: AGENCIES

john83, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2007

If you have any doubts, check with the US Embassy where you are. They are very aware of what is going on with some agencies.............but do not sign until you have valid information in front of you.

Ma'am Suzanne, does the US embassy have other means of contact other than physically going there or making a long distance/billed call? Do they have email or forum where there is a Q&A or PM section? For those in the provinces and/or for those who don't have the luxury of money(both conditions apply to me), I'm sure it is a big burden.

suzanne4, RN · Apr 18, 2007

There is much already written about most of the agencies that recruit. You can easily Google them, or use another search.

Take the time to do a search on your own, it is just as easy as the searches that we do in the US, and you can find out all of the information that you need. Do the search, and then with a final question, check with the Embassy. The Embassy should not be used to do your work for you. Thy should be the final step only if you have doubts. Most of the agencies that are being mentioned here lately already have much written on them in this forum.

Take the time to do your homework.

john83, BSN, RN · Apr 19, 2007

There is much already written about most of the agencies that recruit. You can easily Google them, or use another search.
Take the time to do a search on your own, it is just as easy as the searches that we do in the US, and you can find out all of the information that you need. Do the search, and then with a final question, check with the Embassy. The Embassy should not be used to do your work for you. Thy should be the final step only if you have doubts. Most of the agencies that are being mentioned here lately already have much written on them in this forum.
Take the time to do your homework.

Thanks ma'am Suzanne. There maybe a wealth of information in google but not all are to be believed. One really has to verify if the facts stated are right.

suzanne4, RN · Apr 19, 2007

If you do enough searching with Google or another search engine, you are going to hear what people are saying, enough to be able to significantly narrow your search.

There has also been much written on this forum about different agencies, but it is going to take the time of the nurse to do their own research. Once you sign a contract, it is too late. All questions need to be asked and researched before it is signed.

That is the point that I am trying to make. Lately, too many have been posting asking about an agency that they have already signed with. Same way that you would not but a house until you did the research on it.

puri · Apr 19, 2007

the time to check out an agency is before you sign the contract, not after. they are legally binding contracts and are not easily cancelled. and if you notice that many have large cancellation fees if you leave the contract, and that is even before you come to the us. or go to any other country.
please take the time to do a search on the agencies that you are considering. if the offer sounds too good to be true, compared to others in the are, then it is.
have seen agencies not live up to their promises, as well as those that follow every promise exactly.
if you have any doubts, check with the us embassy where you are. they are very aware of what is going on with some agencies.............but do not sign until you have valid information in front of you.
and if any agency guarantees approval in a certain number of days: run
no one has any control over what uscis can and will do, and they can't make a promise that will be met. right now, the retrogression is in place, and nothing past the i-140 is getting approved. not one thing, no matter what they tell you.

:idea: my agency told me that they already sent my papers to their immigration lawyers and once filed to us cis there wont be any activities until visa are made available....my question is: is there a big difference between filing now my i-140 and filing it later after visas are available?which is a correct action? :uhoh3:

lawrence01 · Apr 19, 2007

my agency told me that they already sent my papers to their immigration lawyers and once filed to us cis there wont be any activities until visa are made available....my question is: is there a big difference between filing now my i-140 and filing it later after visas are available?which is a correct action?

hi. please try to to read the many threads we have in our international forum and you will see that the i-140 petition is still being processed, whether it is retrogression or not as the i-140 petition is actually just the job offer. with this respect your agency is wrong. in fact, those who hasn't filed anything yet and those who just filed the i-140 petition are not technically and strictly speaking 'in retrogression' due to the reason that it is continuously being processed during retrogression since it only pertains to the job offer and the applicant's qualification (proof of passing nclex or cgfns).

after the i-140 is approved, then that's really where retrogression begins because everything after that is on-hold during retrogression. the visas are allocated by the national visa center. with this respect your agency is right but to say that the i-140 is not being processed during retrogression is not accurate. it is either they do not really know or they are making an excuse for not filing the petition right away and unless they give you proof that it has been filed already always presume that it hasn't. far too many stories about telling their applicants that it has been filed only to find out it really wasn't filed and if it were filed, it was filed on a much, much later date.

we have lots of threads in the int'l forum where this kind of issues are more appropriately discussed. if you have ff-up questions don;t hesiate to post or make a thread in our int'l forum. we are more than willing to help and discuss things there where it is more appropriate. thanks.

breech · May 1, 2007

Maam Suzanne, how to check if a certain agency is legal or banned?

Are there any sites to check?

TNK U..

blabber, RN · May 3, 2007

Hi everyone! I'm just new in this forum but I would like to give a little advice for those nurses who are looking for agencies that could help them in the Philippines.

I spoke to an international recruiter during my phone interview for their hospital and she told me that being recruited by an agency rather than a hospital will differ in terms of salary because if you start working in the US, your salary will come from the agency and not the hospital itself thus, making your salary a little bit shorter than what you're supposed to be payed because that's the way agencies make money for themselves. It's just convenient for us who doesn't have a clue what to do with the paperworks and stuff to have an agency to help us but at the end of the day, they will still take some money from our paychecks.

At the end of the day, it'll still be your choice. I just hope that you will find a reliable recruiter or agencies in the Philippines.

Best of luck!

supermark99 · May 5, 2007

Hi everyone! I just want to ask anyone knowledgeable here regarding my case with my agency.Last May 2006, I have signed with them a memorandum of agreement plus employment contract. It states there that in case I wish not to continue my 3 years contract with them, I have to pay them 10,000 USD. After signing the contract, 2 weeks after they filed my I-140 to the USCIS and my case was approved on June 30, 2006. Because of retrogression, I'm still here in the PI. Here comes the problem: My agency, which is based in NY, sent me a new employment contract. However, the buy-out amount for the contract has been increased to 20,000 USD plus some other revisions regarding my reimbursements for the exams that I took. My question is, do I have the right to refuse to sign this new contract? And If I do not sign it, would it adversely affect the processing time of my papers? Thanks a lot for the help! I'm really quite confused right now on how to deal with this problem.

suzanne4, RN · May 6, 2007

You do not have to sign that, and they can cancel the contract. But any agency that tries to do that when you have already signed a contract is not worth it in my opinion. And they will be sure to do something else once the rates go up with immigration in the next month.

Which agency is it? And especially if from NY? You will be working in a nursing home only, if they have work for you. Please send me the name in a pm before you do another thing.

If you already have had a three year contract and the new rated have not started, seriously wonder what they are going to add to your contract then. Most contracts have been two years and we are expecting them to go to three years, but if yours has already been at three years, not a good thing at all.

suzanne4, RN · May 6, 2007

Your profile states that you are in Texas, but where are you right now? And where will you be working? Especially if the agency is in NY. Two plus two are not making four here.