February Visa Bulletin

Published

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Posting this to not give false hope but to just say that there is such a move that is being planned this qtr. of the year and is understood that it needs to be done before the elections.

And if I may say, 61,000 visas is quite fair. It's just practically the same thing as the 50,000 that was given before and may even have a lesser impact now since there has been more nurses that got caught up in limbo since then. It may even be barely enough to bring relief to everyone already in the pipeline since only roughly 1/3 - 1/4 actually goes to the nurse and the rest are allocated to their dependents. The 61,000 visas may only be good for those already in the middle to latter stages of the immigration process. It may even be depleted even before it hits those that filed in July and August of 2007. This is the same way, that the previous 50,000 visas were depleted even before everyone were given a visa. Even some of those that filed when there was still no retrogression still don't have a visa up to now and those given one in July and Aug. 2007 are not part of the 50,000 (they were exhausted in Nov. 2006) but are taken out from the annual quota of the EB3 category,

Just hope no one will lobby against this. This is quite fair, at least in my humble opinion and will simply just provide relief to those already in the pipeline rather bring out new nurses.

2008

Leveraging our 2007 success

There is a very real chance that healthcare immigration friendly legislation is passed in 2007. We are currently targeting two efforts:

1. Recapture of 61,000 visas. This is the legislation that was passed by the Senate in October 2007. We have personally met with many of the main players in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Pelosi, who is the Speaker of the House, and Rep. Lofgren, who chairs the Immigration subcommittee. These offices have told us that they believe that there is a real chance for our legislation to be enacted in the first quarter of 2008.

2. Elimination of the Schedule A Visa quota through larger Business Immigration Reform. Very recently we have heard of a revival of the Strive Act. This Act calls for several pro-business visa quota increases. The original Strive Act called for the elimination of the Schedule A visa quota for 10 years. At least one staffer has told us that this is being reconsidered for early 2008, although it may be scaled down from 10 years.

Strategy for 2008

Lobbying and supporting lobbyists for immigration legislation is not for the faint of heart. Immigration is a hot button issue in Washington DC; the issue is often tied up in the Mexican undocumented worker phenomenon. That having been said, our opportunity is now and is very real. Our issue has traction in Washington. There is a lot of pressure on Congress to enact business-friendly immigration in the first half of 2008. The conventional wisdom is that virtually no legislation will pass in late 2008, as the politicians’ focus will be squarely on the Presidential election. Therefore we must act quickly.

*Source: http://www.hammondlawgroup.blogspot.com/

"We are, however, more hopeful for legislation which would fix parts of our broken legal immigration system. With starting salaries for registered nurses in places like Los Angeles topping $55,000 per year, and with over 150,000 RN vacancies nationwide, it would be sheer folly for Congress to dodge this issue in 2008. House leaders have indicated that a bill to recapture unused visas for registered nurses and physical therapists will be considered during the first quarter of this year."

http://www.shusterman.com/siu.html

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Wow, EB3 availability for India moves 8 days since the last bulletin!!!!!! Now we have reached February 2007 Visa Bulletin nos.

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i am keeping everything crossed here my case has been completed and sat on the desk at the london embassy since the end of july 07 and my PD date is may 05 i have a house and job already in the usa so am praying with all my heart somthing happens soon.

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Best of luck to everyone.

I wish someone can do this for everyone::wshgrt:

But all we can do now is this: :hngon:

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As Lawrence has mentioned, those that have completed petitions should be the first in line to get a visa from any that are made available. And as mentioned the number of the 61,000 also covers dependents, spouses and children. So not that many will get thru with these.

Those that are just starting or have just recently had approval of their I-140 will not have any chance at these, no matter what an employer may tell them. There are nurses here that have PD dates from a couple of years ago and completed files in their entirety that are still waiting and they should get the visa first.

Best of luck to all of you.

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As Lawrence has mentioned, those that have completed petitions should be the first in line to get a visa from any that are made available. And as mentioned the number of the 61,000 also covers dependents, spouses and children. So not that many will get thru with these.

Those that are just starting or have just recently had approval of their I-140 will not have any chance at these, no matter what an employer may tell them. There are nurses here that have PD dates from a couple of years ago and completed files in their entirety that are still waiting and they should get the visa first.

Best of luck to all of you.

I agree those that have been waiting for several years should get a first crack at the potential visas being considered but it gives me hope that when the backlog for those from 2005 and on get cleared up it will make it faster for those of us who are just starting the process since last July. It doesn't help to speculate but sometimes it is hard not to.

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I agree those that have been waiting for several years should get a first crack at the potential visas being considered but it gives me hope that when the backlog for those from 2005 and on get cleared up it will make it faster for those of us who are just starting the process since last July. It doesn't help to speculate but sometimes it is hard not to.

If it's just going to be 61,000. It will not be enough, that is for sure.

This is base on what happened to the 50,000 visas last time around. When that was given in the 2nd half of 2005, those w/ earlier PDs (mostly with the 2004 PDs) were the first ones to be given. And in fact, only those that who have approved I-140s on the 1st qtr. of 2006 were the last ones to be given visas base from that 50,000 when it stopped in Nov. 2006.

All those who only filed their I-140s in the 2nd qtr. of 2006 and until the 1st weeks of Nov. 2006 were all caught up in retrogression and this includes those who filed in the US via AOS. This particular batch only started receiving their GCs in July and Aug 2007 and a few trickled in Sept. 2007. And even then, not all of them were also given a GC. Some are still on their 2nd EAD up to now. Some, of course who had either their I-140 or I-485 denied on those times were forced to go back home since they cannot re-file another set since the only ones allowed to file AOS until Aug. 15 are those who have new I-140s filed by July 31, 2007. All I-140s filed after July 31 cannot file AOS anymore.

All of what happened last time around were all well documented here in the forums. So, if we apply what happened the last time around then it would be the same, since it will be the same scenario and practically the same number of visas. The extra 11,000 is not much at all, esp. if you adjust it to visa demand inflation (for the lack of a proper term I could think of).

Besides, if you applied in July then you have the EAD and you can renew it afterwards if it doesn't reach the July 2007 PD just like what some did for those with PDs of 2006 and weren't given one. Also, you need to make sure first your I-140 will be approved. There are also those whose I-140s weren't approved and have to do it from scratch again and to those unfortunate to have been denied during retrogression, they have to go back to their home countries since they cannot re-file the I-485 and EAD during retrogression. A denied I-140 nullifies both the I-485 and the EAD since the I-485 is base on a pending I-140 and the EAD is base on a pending I-485. A denied I-140 nullifies everything above it.

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Consideration for one of these expected 61,000 will not even be entertained without already having approval of the I-140 if you are under the AOS processing. That was taking close to a year with the petitions that just squeaked by last year, that is why we just saw them getting visas this past summer.

If these visas do get made available, then it will be for those that already have approval, not those that are just starting. When the petitions were accepted this summer, it was done with the understanding that everyone was aware that there were not going to be any green cards soon for those that were being able to submit petitions.

There are many with completed files all over the world just waiting for visa numbers to be available.

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Ok, so let me get it straight. If all of this comes true, those who are already in the US but haven't started anything (even no I-140) won't be allowed to file for AOS?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Ok, so let me get it straight. If all of this comes true, those who are already in the US but haven't started anything (even no I-140) won't be allowed to file for AOS?

Correct. The window opened for approx a month in July/Aug and thousands of applicants filed and expect many to be rejected if incomplete as warned. We doubt at the moment that this window will reopen for a few years Also if some visas are released because the whole world has been affected and many already have I140 approval and been waiting they should have first choice as only fair. I also doubt that the visas will last as long as last time as a lot more countries are involved this time unlike last time which was PIC

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Ok, so let me get it straight. If all of this comes true, those who are already in the US but haven't started anything (even no I-140) won't be allowed to file for AOS?

To be able to file for AOS the category would have to be "Current", so will depend on how it plays through when it is actually made available. Also, some lawmakers may attach a provision or some conditions in the law for it. No one knows yet. And contrary to some beliefs, the Schedule A category back then isn't always "Current". It was for most part but at one point it was also scaled back to cut-off dates.

Being able to file for AOS is also not a guarantee of having the GC. If it's just 61,000 it will definitely be depleted fast. And remember there were a lot that filed for AOS in July and Aug. and so if it reaches that batch, it will definitely be exhausted there if not sooner.

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