Re: Retrogression

suzanne4, RN · Jan 20, 2008

Moved your post to its own thread since I found it on one that was already outdated.

There is much already posted here about the retrogression. Right now there are no visas available so if you have not started the petitioning process with an employer as of yet, you are looking at about five years before getting the green card.

We do not expect any changes for sometime, and if any recapped visas can be used, they are going to apply to those that have completed petitions already.

Be aware that passing of the NCLEX exam and finding an employer no longer guarantee anyone that they will be able to get a green card.

suzanne4, RN · Jan 20, 2008

There is a Visa Bulletin that is put out each month by the US State Dept, usually about the middle of the month preceding and is valid for that month only.

Do not expect to see anything new for sometime.

prati · Jan 21, 2008

thnks suzzane

but i ve already applied for CES and and they are revewing that.i m right now in USA.do u think still it gonna take me longer me get green card even after they lift the "RETROGRESSION"?????

suzanne4, RN · Jan 21, 2008

If you are looking at getting a visa to work in the US, you are looking at several years at the earliest. There was just an open window where the I-485 could be submitted and that was in July/August. There were more than 800,000 petitions submitted then for the AOS, or Adjustment of Status, and there are only 140,000 green cards issued per year under the EB-3 category. And those that were submitted this summer does not include those that are undergoing Consular Processing, or what we refer to here as CP.

Noted that you have passed the NCLEX-RN exam, the CES is usually a credentials eval to see if you qualify for licensure here. You may be thinking of the VSC, which is the Visa Screen Certificate and that is needed for immigration.

We do not expect the retrogression to be lifted anytime soon, there are many more applicants now than there are visas per year available.

Immigration needs to be accepting the I-485 for you to be able to adjust your status and be able to work in the US, we do not expect that to open up again for several years. They have not even started to go thru the petitions that were accepted this summer when there were no visas available for them in the first place.

Even if you find an employer willing to peititon you now, there is no way that you will get a visa for several years at the earliest, there are already many in front of you. Even graduating from nursing school in the US no longer guarantees someone that they will be able to remain in the US.

prati · Jan 21, 2008

now im thinking of going back to my country and suggest my juniors not to take nclex..so that they will not have to get dissappointed after this long struggle..

suzanne4, RN · Jan 21, 2008

There is a retrogression in place and as long as someone is aware of this, then there is no issue with taking the NCLEX exam. But they should be considering getting experience while they are waiting for a visa.

There has been no guarantee that someone can automatically get a green card once they pass the NCLEX exam and have an employer to petition them since the last retrogression started. There are just many more applicants than there are visas available. And the retrogression is also affecting all nurses from all over the world, it is not limited to several countries as it has been in the past.