May 27, 2009 - New legislation specifically aimed at ending visa retrogression for RNs was introduced in the United States Congress May 20, 2009. The currently proposed legislation closely mirrors a 2008 proposal that called for RNs to be exempted from any numerical limit on visas until 2012.
While this is only the first of many steps before this Bill becomes law, it is a positive development after many months of no legislative action at all on this issue.
We believe that there are several reasons for cautious optimism that a solution to visa retrogression will be found this year.
Firstly, President Obama appears to be willing to tackle several complex issues at the same time and he has clearly stated that he intendeds to get to work on immigration reforms starting now.
Also, the current legislative proposal had gained significant support in the House of Representatives and the Senate before the elected officials all went campaigning for the fall 2008 federal election. It is very likely that those who supported the measure in 2008 will continue to support the current effort.
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While the current economic downturn has resulted in a sharp reduction in nursing and allied health vacancies for some employers, the facts are that the current economic conditions have not changed the demographic profile of the country and that the medium-long term trends continues to point to an increasing shortage of health care providers.
