4floridabound

The important thing to bear in mind is that as long as your employer has not cancelled the job offer, you are still good to go. No matter how bleak the situation is, it is still your decision to come here.

Whatever is said and written here by both sides, nothing can stop nurses from coming over here, try coming over here, think of coming over here and dream of coming over here UNLESS USofA makes it illegal for foreign nurses to work here.Nuff said and Peace.

We know there are lots of job lay-offs and increasing number of people with no jobs. But there are still lots of jobs for everyone, American citizens or not. That is if you are not looking for the job you LIKE or you are just not looking very hard.

Filipino nurses have no intention of taking jobs away from Americans. We completely agree with you that in ones country, the citizens comes first. You say that nursing jobs now should be offered first to Americans, then let the hospitals,nursing homes and other healthcare institutions do that. We Filipinos cannot do anything about that. If they want to they can take back their job offers and stop recruiting from the Philippines. Give the jobs to Americans that was once offered to the Filipinos. It would be very hard for us but there is NOT a thing that we can do if they do just that. Yes, recruiting has come to a standstill but the job offer still stands for most of the Filipino applicants. What do you want us to do? Call off the job offer ourselves even if there is no word from the hospital about it? We Filipinos dream of a better life as compared to our life in the Philippines. The American Dream is a better life for us. The kind of hard life Americans now are experiencing due to the Recession is not new to us. In fact, it is still a better life from our normal life in the Philippines. Lots of Filipino workers are enduring hardship across the world(even in Afghanistan and Iraq) so that their family can live a better life. The American Dream is still a better life for us, Recession or no Recession.

I dont know if this is true to most of the recruited nurses from the Philippines but I know a lot them who were able to reimburse their expenses in the NCLEX review and review books,NCLEX,CGFNS,English language test,visa fee and airfare.

They are correct. Philippines is the number one for those taking the NCLEX Exam who are educated outside the US and not the number one passers. But let us still give to those who passed.

From what I understand on Silversurfer's post, he is just stating from his knowledge the average age of Filipino nurses and American nurses. No issue is attached to it. He probably means that Filipinos have years to waste while waiting for their American Dream to be fulfilled and still be young. Regarding the spending on those exams, they are immigration requirements. No matter how unfair,expensive and time consuming, there is nothing that could be done but to comply. That is how it works. I say again that nothing is for free. You have to take risks and work hard for you to achieve your dream. Dream on guys and never lose hope. America still welcomes you.:redbeathe:smokin::heartbeat:p

"I guess this must be a difference in belief system. I would not encourage my family or friends to dream the impossible, especially if they were putting financial resources into this dream." But sir, the American Dream is very much possible. Nurses and others are still arriving. I am one example. I just arrived here 4 months ago. The US government has not stopped issuing visas. Visas are still available. As for the financial costs those dreamers are having, it is more like a calculated gamble or maybe an investment. Nothing in this world is free. If you want something then you will have to really work hard for it. When my son graduated in elementary last 2005, he asked me and his mom if he could study for high school at Ateneo de Manila. THis school is one of the best in the Philippines and I mean one of the BEST(it is even included in the top 500 HS in the world) but it is also very,very expensive. We said yes and we(including my son) worked hard for it. His mom came here in America last 2006 to work as a nurse while we stayed for a while in the Philippines since I have a job there and also took a 2nd course nursing. My son got a 50% grant-in-aid and studied hard to maintain it. Now he is graduating from high school and wants to study Medicine. Of all the courses in the world, he chose Medicine.Why could he not just choose Nursing?Why?Why?Why? (Maybe I was a bad boy in my past life and God is punishing me for it. No, just kidding ;P) I will not just give up and say to my son that he cannot be a doctor because it is too costly. We(still including him) will work hard so he will be a doctor someday.

No one has the right to tell the 99% of those 1,000,000 + nurses that their American Dream is a NO DREAM. It is their dream if that is their dream for that matter. It is everyones right to dream.We are not even entirely sure if all of them have the American Dream. Even if there are a 10 million nurses who wants to come here and there are only 10 visas available then that is their problem. Let them work hard for their dream. Survival of the fittest. As long as America is the land of the free and accepts nurses and gives them permanent residency then there is HOPE fo each and every one of those 1,000,000+ nurses who dreams of coming here.PEACE:redbeathe:p:heartbeat

I dont see any logic in comparing Death with the American Dream. The history of America is full of dreamers with their seemingly impossible dreams. Independence,the abolition of slavery, womens right to vote, desegregation of schools and a lot more were dreams of great Americans. What could have been if these were not pursued? If these dreams were not given hope?If those dreamers gave up? Yes there is a financial crisis in America. Would someone disagree with me that America will not come out of it? It is not that bleak for goodness sake!!!Do we see lootings here? People lining up to get water and food rations? Absence of basic utilities? Do we see people's unrest? NONE!! We see people still in malls, in football games, in coffee shops, in bars, in cinemas, going on tours, going in vacations, doing their usual stuff BUT doing so in a cheaper way(I used to buy Heiniken beer but now I buy Bud when there is a quorom). I sometimes even wonder if there is really a crisis going on. Yes there are job lay-offs but there are lots of jobs also available IF you are not picky. If you can swallow your pride then jobs are available EVERYWHERE. Again, would somebody disagree with me on that? Anyone and I mean ANYONE can survive this crisis, well... maybe a dumb,lazy and picky person would not. If you can survive in the Philippines then you can ride this one out smiling. One more thing, I believe this poem is engraved and inside the Statue of Liberty: The New Colossus By Emma Lazarus, 1883 Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

seamusglas, Additional information: 1.Spouse and unmarried children (21 yrs old and below) can accompany you or follow to join you at a later date (as long as their visas are still valid) when they are included in your DS230 form as Silverdragon has mentioned. 2. For children who are more than 21 yrs old, they will have to be petitioned by you under the Family based category F2B after you received your green card. The waiting line in terms of years for F2B category is 8 years for Rest of the World, China and India while its 11 yrs for Philippines and 16 yrs for Mexico based on the current Visa Bulletin. 3. For marrried children, you can only petition them after you become a US citizen under the Family based F3 category. They in turn will be able to bring their spouse and children(age 21 yrs old below and unmarried). The waiting line for this F3 category is the same for F2B category except for Philippines which is 17 years.

"Godbless. Don't Believe that there is no visas available. Visas are there despite of the RETRO, the thing is, your PD must be current plus you should be documentarily qualified for the Visa Center to allocate you with a visa number. And by the time you'll face the consul for an interview, you must have a current and updated job offer. This you must have in posession. And also, don't get too much worried with job offers getting cancelled, just pray hard, check this out with your petitioner/agency, they are the only one who who is in the right position to provide you with reliable source of information pertaining to your job offer. Dont be easily carried away with remarks that JOB OFFERS will be withdrawed. It won't help in anyway. True to say that some were get cancelled, but our fate differs from one another. Trust in God, and Let HIM do the rest. " That is completely correct!

pretty neirelle, Congratulations!!!!News like this really makes my day! Such a great feeling to hear that another one has made it thru. Would it be a bother if you can share to us about your embassy interview especially regarding the job offer? Your actual experience will really shed light on the questions and doubts of those who are waiting for their embassy interview schedule. Once again, congratulations and Godspeed!

One can never really tell how much it will move. The reality is that the advance and retreat of the past VB is erratic. Anything can happen and is possible as we can see from the history of the VB.

Its official. The November Visa Bulletin has been released. E3ROW and E3Phil is May 1, 2005. An advance of 4 months. Good indication for all whose PDs are 2005. Your time may be this 2009 fiscal year. Keep the faith!!!!

pretty neirelle, 1. If there was any problems regarding your medicals, the doctors at St. Luke's would have told you and advised you what to do next. If the doctors there did not mention anything about you or your family members, then all is fine. 2. As soon as you receive the updated job offer, make sure all data about you and the employer is accurate. 3. Expect the consul to ask you with personal info,previous work experience and particular things about your employer/hospital(address, salary, current job description, etc.).I dont think they will ask you on technical matters on nursing but if they do then you would probably just ace it. Your family members will be asked simple questions regarding their personal data,relatives in US and your relationship with them. My advise is to answer each question with simple,short,direct,and truthful answers. Answer only what is being asked from you. Basically, the questions are for confirmations of the facts on the documents that you have submitted to them and they are just verifying it. Relax , be confident and be yourself during the interview. Dress simply and accordingly(not too formal or not too casual). Lastly, be friendly by smiling often. God bless and have faith that you and your family will get your visas.

But Topscot mentioned/stated that it was the hospital who assured her that the job offer will still be standing for her to which Suzanne remarked that the hospital is not being truthful to Topscot. So the question still stands.What is the reason for the hospital to be untruthful on Topscot's job offer?

I have a couple of questions: 1. If the hospital is not being truthful to Topscot that the job offer is still standing, why would they be so and what on earth is their reason? 2. If the visa situation is so bleak for the nurses to come over here because of the current situation and that the petitioning hospital knows this, why don't the petitioning hospitals just cancel the job offer and spare the expecting nurses from so much grief,stress,and money?

There is one thing that can be done to verify all the confusion about the job offer letter and that is to check with the US embassy first. Secondly ask about this from the hospital that is petitioning you and if possible if you can, also from an immigration lawyer. Presently,as of today, the Manila US Embassy only requires an Official Job Offer with the salary stated from the potential U.S. employer, issued less than one year prior to visa application.

Allez, If you already have a date for consular interview, why is your lawyer asking for another set of documents? How did you find out about your date of interview?

pretty neirelle, If you got the date of med exam and embassy interview from the Manila US embassy website by using your Case Number then that information is 100%reliable. Don't worry that the date of the med exam and interview are the same. Mine was also like that. The important date is the embassy interview. You can have the med exam date re-scheduled easily by calling St. Lukes. Have it re-sked by 2 to 3 weeks prior to date of interview so you will have extra time if ever delays will crop up. Let's assume that your med exam comes and still no letter of appointment. It is still not a problem. Simply print the page from the embassy website of your date of appointment and that is what you will show to the guard at St. Lukes to let you in. Once inside, inform the people of St. Lukes that you have not received your appointment letter and they will print one for you. If you want verification to what I have written here, you can personally call St. Lukes and ask them about it. Their telephone numbers are available at the website of the Manila US embassy.

Congratulations pretty neirelle!!! Hoping that other waiting will soon have theirs.

Yes the June PD did go backward from 2006 to 2005 and it happened on the 2nd half of that fiscal year as I also mentioned would be possible on my second post(speaking of which I am wondering why I don't see here). The only fact I am trying to point out is that based on the VB from 2004 to 2007 published by the State Dept, the PDs beginning on October have never retrogress or have gone back during the 1st half of that fiscal year. During the 1st half, PDs do stay the same or advance a little or advance radically. On the 2nd half, retrogression from the PD of the Oct VB of that fiscal year is a sure thing. Last 2006, it was a 5+ year wait but now it is only a 3+ year wait. Regarding the economy and the cancellation of contract, I don't have anything to say about that since it would not affect the issuance of interview schedule. This would come only into play during the issuance of the visas but until the hospital has not cancelled the contract, the ball is still in play.

One can clearly see on the previous VBs published by the US State Department that the PD of the beginning month(October) of the fiscal year do not retrogress within the first half of that fiscal year. The PD either stays the same or advance a bit or jumps forward radically. But sadly after that, its anyone's guess. So I repeat to those who are already DOC QUALIFIED(whose files are already completed and reviewed by NVC) and PDs prior to Jan 1 2005, it is just a matter of time before you have your date with the embassy.

Allez, Congratulations for having your interview sked. If you would not mind, I would like to advise that you re-sked your medicals 2 to 3 weeks before your interview. This is to give you extra time if ever unexpected problems will come up on your medicals and you will have ample time to resolve them before the day of your embassy interview. You are almost here. Good luck!!! To all those waiting, If your PD is prior to Jan 1 2005 and already documentarily qualified, expect your embassy interview dates within the next 2 months and if your PD is a couple or so months beyond Jan 1 2005, you are not far behind. The fiscal year has just started and new visa allocations are in effect. It is possible for the PD to remain in Jan 1 2005 in the coming months and more probable for it to advance by a some more months but it is nearly impossible for it to retrogress from the current PD as of this time. Just hang on.