the senate leadership has designated cir as one of its top ten legislative priorites for 2007. tell your senators you support quick action, and urge your representative to follow the strong lead of cir supporters in the senate.
...they have a template letter to support immigration reform. just enter your info (name/address) and the computer will automatically email the letter to both senators from your state and the representative(all based on your zipcode).
note: if you're residing outside the us like india,china or philippines use the address of your employer or your relative's us address, because the link requires a us address.
once you're done, you have an option to click again for a letter to support of the h-1b crisis. this is the easiest and most effective way to show our indignation to the current situation. only 2 minutes to do it and make a difference.
And for those of you that wish to do things legally, we will bend over backwards to help. But for those that wish to circumvent things and think that they can just come over and begin work without the proper visa, etc.; think again.
It makes it hard for the others to work here legally.
I spend much time here as a volunteer helping foreign nurses to pass the NCLEX exam and be able to work in the US. But all must do it the legal way and not look for shortcuts.
The H1-C visa is a shortcut that will not help your career, even though agencies are promising so. It will only speed up the chance of you losing your license. Impossible to care for 16 patients and care for them properly in an acute facility.
And Karen is 100% correct. You do not see hospitals recruiting in PI unless they have acute shortages, and then the working conditions are not good for you to start your career. It is one thing for one hospital from a city to be recruiting, but when you see numerous hospitals from the same city there, a red flag should go off in your brain.
We can only tell you what you should look for, you need to make the final decision. And do your homework, and do it well, before signing on the dotted line.
whenever i read posts like these, especially those from rn's in the phils, i can't help feeling a twinge of sadness. sad because these us nurses are right. phil. rn's have no right to be indignant. no right to expect anything except that which the us deems to be its "leftovers from the table". (ever wonder why uscis requires any us job offered to aliens to undergo a time period wherein it is offered first to us citizens? and only after this time period will they certify that there indeed exists a need for this particular position that no american (on not enough of them at least) is willing to take on? and these phil rn's are even expected to regard these scraps as "gifts".
phil. rn's have no right to have a say about immigration issues. issues that will affect them squarely head-on for sure, but this in and of itself does not entitle one to have a say about what will be done with his own person in the us legal immigration system. (ironic isnt it?) us interests must come first. and this system applies to all aliens regardless of who they are, lest phil. rn's think they are being singled out.
like i said, i am saddened at how phil. rn's are reduced to giving up so much of their rights, their dignity, their pride. it wasn't their fault that they lived in an economy wherein the practice of their profession would be insufficient for subsistence. but it isn't the us's fault either. i can't help feeling pity for the phil. rn willing to leave friends, family, home and all he ever knew in his life, sacrificing so much just to try to carve a more decent way of life for his loved ones. and it stings whenever thinly veiled insinuations are made that these people go over to the us to "take something away" from the us. i am of the persuasion that majority have gone over and have become assets rather than liablities to the us economy.
hathaway
i am sorry you felt that way. but i disagree with you saying philippine nurses are being singled out, or "given scraps to"....what is going on right now is there is a continuing retrogression, and there is no visa available for now. and not only people from the philippines are wanting to get in this country, but also other people. nurses have the better chance of coming in because they can find a job a right away, knowing that they are in demand. about the immigration issue, its not like filipinos are the only ones who are trying to get in. think about it as your neighbor trying to mess with your backyard. you are not a citizen of this country, so you have no rights to meddle with it.don't feel bad because it is the truth. the same scenario when a foreigner tries to mess with philippines affairs, of coorifice, they don't have a right to that also, make sense, right? many, many immigrants from other countries some 200 years ago left their country in europe for a better life here in america, so it doesn't make any difference when you're a new immigrant. america isa great country, that is why many wants to come in, but you have to follow the rules and regulations also..americans have a lot of good priviledges, true, you have to come here, it's not automatically given to you, you have to earn it...just be positive, times really fly fast, just be patient and you will get your turn.
you make it sound like america is being mean to, or taking advantage of, foreign nurses, just giving them 'scraps from the table'. however, what exactly should the purpose of importing foreign labor be? should we be trying to fill needs, or should we use our own laws to displace our own workers?
what other nation would import foreign workers at the expense of their own?
if you wish to come here, shouldn't that be subject to our need for you to be here? i know that many of you want to come here, for all the benefits that coming here would provide. however, why should that desire take priority over our needs? your needs, or desires, to come here are plain. shouldn't that be a mutually beneficial relationship?
i fully believe that most foreign nurses are wonderful assets, and should be welcomed, as the need arises.
i bristle at the idea that we somehow inherently 'owe' foreign nurses anything. it is a gift to allow you to come. it is a privilege. the advantages to you far outweigh the advantages to us for you coming here. each of you that comes get the full measure of benefit from being here, while the advantage to us for you being here is spread over the entire labor pool.
there is a similar situation here, with our nursing schools being full. look at a few of the threads on this site about pre-nursing majors that complain about how unfair it is that they didn't get in, when others did! since when are nursing students 'owed' a spot in school? the ability to attend such schools is a privilege, to be earned, yes. also, it is a privilege to be appreciated.
if you do not like the nature of the gift, you have other options. if you think you are being taken advantage of, then pursue your other options. however, i think that reality tells a different story. there is a reason so many of you try so hard to come here. the advantages of being here potentially far outweigh most of your other options.
so, there is an issue of perspective. i can understand being frustrated. i don't understand this indignant attitude that you are being denied your rights, or that we are taking advantage of you. nothing could be further from the truth! in truth, you have other options. as long as you look to america for your options, and opportunity, then the system as it is currently in play is a situation that each of you have chosen to embrace, for better or worse.
i don't pity pi nurses, at all. i fell badly that the current situation has created a significant, temporary roadblock. however, i am also a bit eager at the prospect of the potential opportunities that are before you to come here, as well.
to me, i think this is a wonderful land of opportunity, and, as we may, it is an experience that could and should be shared. i see immigration of nurses as an opportunity to share our bounty when to do so is mutually beneficial. i see it as a wonderful, potential gift.
It's interesting how my post becomes misconstrued to mean anything against the US immigration policy or US nurses in general. If you'd take the time to read that thing over...I said "these US nurses are right."
I'd never been in doubt about whether US immigration policy was correct in handling immigration for nurses. And yes, if it was our backyard, we'd probably go about it in similar fashion following similar principles too.
However, my point is, I feel sad for the Phil RNs. I know so many of them who've left for the US. And even more who want to. They say they're lucky they're already in the system and will eventually get there. These are the same people who, when they get there, feel indescribably hurt for having left behind everything they've known in life. Friends. Family. They go there because difficult economic conditions here force them to. And yes, maybe it's fortunate that their working there is mutually beneficial to the US and the immigrant nurse. But when was it ever absolutely acceptable to say, "Man, you're lucky, you got a job offer. Now you gotta leave everything behind and start your life over from scratch."?
There is great benefit for these Phil RN's who have this opportunity, no doubt about that. However, the sacrifice may very well be just as great, only it is not measurable in terms of money.
Timothy, you said just doesn't understand my perspective on this. Maybe it's because you havent had to think about giving up all you've known in your life. Pack your bags, go to someplace you've only seen on tv. Yeah, you can choose not to accept this "gift". But your family needs you to go, so you go. I hope by now you see why I'm sad at times. I have so many friends in the US, nurses. They all left their lives to help their families. And they talk to me when they miss home.
It's interesting how my post becomes misconstrued to mean anything against the US immigration policy or US nurses in general. If you'd take the time to read that thing over...I said "these US nurses are right."
I'd never been in doubt about whether US immigration policy was correct in handling immigration for nurses. And yes, if it was our backyard, we'd probably go about it in similar fashion following similar principles too.
However, my point is, I feel sad for the Phil RNs. I know so many of them who've left for the US. And even more who want to. They say they're lucky they're already in the system and will eventually get there. These are the same people who, when they get there, feel indescribably hurt for having left behind everything they've known in life. Friends. Family. They go there because difficult economic conditions here force them to. And yes, maybe it's fortunate that their working there is mutually beneficial to the US and the immigrant nurse. But when was it ever absolutely acceptable to say, "Man, you're lucky, you got a job offer. Now you gotta leave everything behind and start your life over from scratch."?
There is great benefit for these Phil RN's who have this opportunity, no doubt about that. However, the sacrifice may very well be just as great, only it is not measurable in terms of money.
Timothy, you said just doesn't understand my perspective on this. Maybe it's because you havent had to think about giving up all you've known in your life. Pack your bags, go to someplace you've only seen on tv. Yeah, you can choose not to accept this "gift". But your family needs you to go, so you go. I hope by now you see why I'm sad at times. I have so many friends in the US, nurses. They all left their lives to help their families. And they talk to me when they miss home.
Hathaway
Don't get me wrong. I think we are quibbling over words more than we are ideas. I can fully understand how the current situation is a bad situation for those that were in the process of trying to come over here.
I HAVE agreed in that I completely understand your frustrations.
I guess I didn't like the word, 'indignant', is all. It implies more than frustration. I guess I was quibbling at the difference between frustrated and indignant.
I don't think we disagree. The current retrogression is unfortunate. I pray for all of you that relief comes soon and plentiful.
Interesting discussion. I've recently graduated from nursing, my second course. Yes, my primary motivation for becoming a nurse is a better future for my family. If anybody question's that motivation, I urge you to delve into your past and take a good look.
on working in the US....
After going through 3 hellish years (sorry but but I was working full time in a demanding job and feeding a family while studying nursing) I don't feel like anybody owes me a living. I don't view working in America as a right, nor is it a gift and privilege, but a most welcome opportunity. Becoming an American citizen is a privilege and along with it comes GREAT responsibility but that's another story. I'm sorry if some of my countrymen gave you the wrong impression.
on that bill...
I know where I stand and there's nothing I can do about that bill except wait. In nursing school, I learned to do everything the proper way, my CIs saw to it. :) Thanks for clearing up that HB1 thing.
on the poor quality of recent nursing graduates...
Sad but true. Nursing education in the Philippines has become big business and everybody is trying to get a slice of the pie. I've never encountered a 15:1 student nurses-patient ratio but I've been in situations where there were 2 of us assigned to a patient. But more common is 1:1. The most number patients assigned to my care was 6. It's really up to the student if he wants to learn or not.
Know what? I'm beginning to like this forum already. Lot's of learning opportunities here.
Can somebody do something about these smilies to the right? They extend into the sponsors column. Or is it my browser? I'm on FF.
suzanne4, RN
26,410 Posts
And for those of you that wish to do things legally, we will bend over backwards to help. But for those that wish to circumvent things and think that they can just come over and begin work without the proper visa, etc.; think again.
It makes it hard for the others to work here legally.
I spend much time here as a volunteer helping foreign nurses to pass the NCLEX exam and be able to work in the US. But all must do it the legal way and not look for shortcuts.
The H1-C visa is a shortcut that will not help your career, even though agencies are promising so. It will only speed up the chance of you losing your license. Impossible to care for 16 patients and care for them properly in an acute facility.
And Karen is 100% correct. You do not see hospitals recruiting in PI unless they have acute shortages, and then the working conditions are not good for you to start your career. It is one thing for one hospital from a city to be recruiting, but when you see numerous hospitals from the same city there, a red flag should go off in your brain.
We can only tell you what you should look for, you need to make the final decision. And do your homework, and do it well, before signing on the dotted line.