Hi everyone! I have recently applied through an agency in the Philippines as a nurse in Minot ND. My credentials has been assessed by the ICON Group and fortunately passed their initial interview and got a good feedback. Now I am just waiting for my interview last April 2015 by my employer 'TRINITY HEALTH'. however, I heard the bad news that the retrogression is current again due to cleaning up unused visa according to the Department of State officer.
Now I just wanna ask If has anyone of you know about Trinity Health?
Do you think this retrogression issue will takes longer time again?
I hope you can help me on this. Thank you very much.
Last week, we released a list of seven common mistakes our company sees during visa retrogression periods. This is Health Carousel's third visa retrogression period, so we've seen enough to know the good practices from the bad. And now that we've covered what you definitely do not want to do, we'll talk about the things you should still be doing.
The situation is out of your control. But many people interpret that as an invitation to stop what they're doing and make other plans. Avoid the temptation to quit – we have seen this happen twice before, and we expect priority dates to spring forward once again. They always do. And those who remain driven and dedicated to their dreams are typically the first to achieve it.
The following is a short list of things you should being doing during visa retrogression:
1) Keep clinical skills sharp.
PassportUSA is no stranger to the nursing situation in the Philippines. There are so many nurses, some of you are paying to volunteer at a hospital. And if you've been affected by the recent visa retrogression news, you may not be willing to continue doing that.
We understand. We always advise taking care of yourself and your family, first and foremost. But think about this. You decided to go for the American Dream.
Wasn't this already the best decision for yourself and family?
Retrogression doesn't end the dream, it merely delays it. And when it's over, the hospitals that needed your services before will still be waiting for qualified nurses and therapists. Will you be one of them?
Companies like ours take pride in providing these hospitals with exceptional international medical talent. If you are to be included in that group, you'll need to keep your clinical skills sharp. Keep in mind, you're not the only person affected by visa retrogression. You may decide it's not worth the time and effort volunteering on top of your full-time job. But if you plan on continuing your pursuit of the American Dream when retrogression moves forward again, you'll be just one of thousands of applicants.
What makes you more appealing than those applicants? Keep those clinical skills sharp, keep volunteering if you must and separate yourself from your competition.
2) Stay in touch with your agency.
You decided to work with your agency because you trusted them. If you're with an agency that charged you no money, that offered to reimburse you for your language exams or other potential things and has always acted in your best interest, stay in touch with them during this time.
They have hundreds, sometimes thousands of other nurses and therapists to keep up with, so don't take it personal if you aren't hearing from them as much as you did. That's why we advise sending an e-mail once a week, or even a quick phone call. This let's your agency know to take you seriously. You're not changing plans because of temporary roadblocks.
Staying in touch increases your stock, especially if you're following point No. 1 above. That's the kind of commitment that manifests itself in everything you do, and it's why you're going to be successful in the United States.
3) Stay positive.
Easy for us to say from our perspective. But this is vital, almost as vital as point No. 1. We speak with our Philippine constituents every day, both online and on the phone. We hear the dismay, we read the distress – and we understand. Agencies like ours are frustrated too, but more importantly, so are the hospitals and the patients inside them.
Retrogression doesn't end America's nursing shortage. It just makes it worse.
Everyone feels like the backlash of retrogression – no one benefits from this. Because we can't change the situation, we can at least focus on what we can control. Stay positive. If you can stay positive, if you can keep your clinical experience current and if you stay in touch with your agency, you absolutely will achieve your American dream at the end of this retrogression period.
Thank you. I'd rather wait for my PD while waiting here in the UK. Since the agency told me that they believed that retrogression will not take that long.
Agencies, from my own experience do not have any idea about how long retrogression would take. Even immigration lawyers are not able to predict either. Mine took 10 years. However, don't lose hope. It is true though that some states are saturated with new grads who are not able to find jobs (such as NY and CA).
In the mean time, keep your knowledge and skills current :) Good luck.
Silverdragon102, BSN
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