Retrogression Is Not Over

[suzanne4, RN]

I am sure that many of you do not want to hear this. But it is the actual truth. There still is no special schedule for nurses, and the Schedule A is not included in the Visa Bulletin.

That the dates are current for the month of July does not state that it is over. There is a huge number of applicants waiting for the green card, in addition to nurses, and they have been waiting as well. Remember that most that came to the US under the H1-B visa, are also included with the EB-3 caseload. And many of their attorneys are much faster at getting things done. Example: When the window opened for petitions to be submitted in April for the October 2007 H1-B visas, there were more than a 150,000 submitted in less than one day. And they were gone.

Not trying to burst any bubble, but trying to be honest on this. There are only so many visas available per year, never unlimited number. And this Bulletin does not go into effect until July 1, 2007. And those dates are only for that month and if you notice there is also mention that if the visas get used up that are there, then the dates will not remain in effect all month.

For those of you that got stopped in the processing just before your interview, this will be very beneficial for you. If your DS-230 has been approved and accepted, then this can be beneficial to you. For those that are just starting the process, remember you at the mercy of your agency and attorney and how fast that they will do things. We have seen multiple posts over the years of mistakes made with petitions that delayed things for quite a period of time. There is also a considerable raise in immigration fees going into affect at the end of July that will delay things for some people as the agencies are going to be holding back on paying of fees.

Those that have been paying their own way will find that they may get thru faster.

So please, do not make final plans to leave for the US until you actually have an interview date given to you. We saw what happened last fall to quite a few of you here.

Until there is another Schedule in place for nurses, the retrogression will not be over. Just an open window in the scheme of things, but definitely not over. Look at what happened even last month when the dates were moved up for the PD, you did not see a significant movement of anything. When money is needed to be paid by the agencies, everything drops to a crawl.

[english_nurse]

Oh Pants

[Billy Shears]

Come on now english_nurse, glass half full eh?

[suzanne4, RN]

I happen to be off from work today, and have spoken with more than six different immigration attorneys that I really trust. And that I have used as sources in the past when I have had questions or a follow up to something that one of you have asked me. And everyone single one of them is stating the same thing that I have posted. Consider this just a little hiccup.

For those of you that were not in the US in April when the opened the floodgates for the H1-B visas for the next round with October issuance, they had more than 150,000 petitions already submitted within a couple of hours. We were watching it quite closely from this side, even Lawrence is well aware of what happened then. There are 100s of thousands in the US already and that have approval of their I-140 and have been waiting for their PD date to be current, and they are not nurses but have been here under other temporary visas such as the H1-B visa and many of them work for large computer companies, etc., that have immigration attorneys in house. You can believe that the day that these dates become current, they will be lining up with couriers to have them submitted. The dates posted in the July Bulletin will not be current until July 1st. That gives these attorneys time to get everything completed and most have the paperwork completely ready, just waiting for it to be open season. There is no Schedule A in the Bulletin, nor any word from the US government that it is over.

And what you are seeing posted about September or October is just a guess by certain attorney offices and definitely not the word of the US government.

Your choice as to who to believe. But look at this more as just an open woindow to get things submitted before the rates go up at the end of July, and this is what will be done for those that have been in the US for sometime under other visas. This is a gift to the huge corporation to get things done before the rate goes up. But this is not going to cover too many of the nurses here.

[lost_stranger]

Maybe this bulletin is not good news at all for us nurses. One would think that with retrogression temporarily relieved, the issue of additional visas for nurses would be put on the back burner again. I mean who would fight to save us from retrogression when there is no retrogression?

[lawrence01]

It will still have benefits to some but not to others. Those who will benefit most are those who are already in line for an interview while those who are on the 1st stages of the process will not be benefiting on these very narrow window of opportunity. It is expected that it will stay Current only for a couple of months, give and take, and depending on the demand from each country.

This narrow window period is still a relief, nevertheless. Who knows... maybe in a couple of months' time there could be a bill specific for nurses in place so that nurses gets separated from the 'pack'.

[suzanne4, RN]

There is still a retrogression, you have not seen the US government come out and issue a statement. Have you?

This is just a little hiccup given out to get petitions and fees in before the rates go up significantly at the end of July. This is going to help those already in the US on temporary work visas, such as the H1-B, it is not going to make a dent at all in nurses that wish to work in the US.

And even for those in the US, if they do not already have an I-140 that has been submitted, this is not going to help either due to the length of time needed to get the required documents that need to be submitted with that petition by the attorney, it is not something that is done over night.

I do not expect it to stay current for a couple of month, not with the rates going up at the end of July, many corporations will be on a push to get the final petitions submitted for their employees. No more than a couple of weeks at the longest. There are already hundreds of thousands in the US on the H1-B with an approved I-140.

[RGN1]

Oh Pants

You might benefit though because you were already at the interview stage. glass half full for sure EN!!

[FutureUSRN]

Let's listen to Suzzane. She's always right.

[rozmaril]

Dear All!

That the window for the 'relief of retrogression" is very small is clear. What are your predictions as for the dates to which the cases will be thrown back when retrogresion hits again? Last time it was 5 years back, am I right?

Also, the new visas become available every quarter or how?

Thanks.

[MARI 1]

This is a test... in patience..

I have spoken with two immigration attorney's and they at first thought the same as everyone else, however when they went back read the information over it is as Suzanne has posted... you need to as they say

Read the fine print..... this is limited and those companies that have attorney's in house they will be at the INS offices with all the docs prepared and ready.. so this is very limited. Just keep working towards your goals, get prepared for when it does come. Given the climate for immigration right now in the USA, it is going to be a while longer still..

Immigration here is a process that takes time.. they have rules and they change them.. we all need to abide by them... so just get in line and work your way through.. its like working on a project, just keep at it and in the end you will appreciate and be satisfied that you did on your own and you earned it.

Immigration to the USA requires, first and for most patience, determination, hard work... it is not easy. Just do it once and do it right... cheating the system will land you in jail or penalized it is not worth it.

Thanks

[YAJRN]

it is not a good news after all. I mean under the current system a small number of nurses will be accomodated. There are other professions on the line especially computer scientists who are waiting.

Moreover, it would likely be the biggest retrogression event in the coming months may be on August or October. I hope Philippines might be able to move a little farther.

India and China could possibly meet RETRO FEVER.