As most of you in the forum know very well by now, the US Dept of State has announced that they are forecasting a runout of the 50,000 "Schedule A visas" (from recaptured, unused visa numbers from the last fiscal year) by the 1st quarter of FY 2007. That corresponds to Oct to Dec of 2006. If all other things immigration-wise remain the same, this means nurses will revert to applying for immigrant visas under category E-3 which has a backlog of about 5 years. (June 2006 Visa Bulletin from the USCIS shows theyre processing July 2001 applications).
Now, maybe a shred of hope.. .Last May 25, 2006, the US Senate passed its own version of the immigration law significantly different from the one passed by the House in Dec of 2005. It provides a pathway for eventual resident status for those illegal immigrants in the US. (The major bone of contention with the House since the latter does not want any form of amnesty or concession to these illegals.) The interesting thing is, Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas (Republican) managed to insert a provision in the Senate version allowing for lifting of the visa limits for nurses and PT's (Schedule A) for 7 years. However, this must be taken with a grain of salt. This is all for naught if the Senate and House cant get their act together. Interestingly enough, much of the debate has been focused over the question of the illegals and border security and NOT so much the proposed unlimited visas for nurses.
Opinions on the senate bill:
American Nurses Asso. - dont support it, claiming that outsourcing is not the way to go...the right way is to spend more money in US nursing education to meet demand (a tall, tall order). In addition , opening the gates to foreign nurses will further hurt health care systems of other countries like the Philippines, India and China. (These send the most nurses over there, although the argument against the Philippines might not hold much water...this country has historically, year after year produced more nurses than it needs many times over). They even cited the example of the number of Filipino MD's retraining in nursing and then immigrating to the US.
US Hospital Asso's - most support the bill, since they'll be able to meet JCAHO standards (nurse-patient ratios) and keep many of their departments running.
Many nurse orgs say opening the gates to foreign nurses will lead to salaries taking a plummeting nosedive, which will hurt all US nurses in general. Immigrants included.
N.B. One factor that may weigh heavily on how US House Reps and Senators will tackle the issue is the looming mid-term (November) elections. Many hardliners against illegals among them will probably soften (or already have) in hopes of currying favor among the voting minority groups.
There are always new plans going into place and all of the time.
Even when the actual retrogression went into place more than one year ago, it lasted all of 6 months. I would not lose any slepp over this, and even think about it. You are already in the process, and just leave it like that.
here's a bit of good news regarding unlimited visa for nurses. feel free to verify.
summary of comprehensive immigration reform act of 2006 - s.2611
title v - backlog reduction
allows recapture of unused visa numbers and
increases employment-based green cards from 140,000 to 450,000 per year from fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2016.
the increase from the earlier bill version's 290,000 (which was an increase from the current law's 140,000) is to accommodate some of the undocumented workers who will now have to queue up behind the longer term residents (those over five years) as well as all persons currently awaiting employment based green cards either in the us or abroad). after fy 2016, the numbers will drop back down to 290,000 per year.
a total cap of 650,000 is imposed on an annual basis.
visas for spouses and children shall not be counted against the numerical limits.
immediate relatives would no longer be counted against the 480,000 annual cap on family-based immigration. (section 501).
the per country limits are raised from 7% to 10%. (section 502).
the allocation of family-sponsored visas is shifted as follows (section 503):
10% - f1 unmarried sons and daughters of citizens
50% - f-2 spouses, minor children and unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents (77% of these go to spouses and minor children of permanent residents)
10% - married sons and daughters of us citizens
30% - brothers and sisters of citizens
the allocation of 290,000 employment-based visas is shifted as follows (section 503):
15% for eb-1 (was 28.6% but presumably many will now qualify in the new uncapped
category for certain advanced degree holders)
15% for eb-2
35% for eb-3
5% for investors (redesignated as eb-4)
30% for new eb-5 for other workers (old eb-3 unskilled workers).
section 503 is amended to make clear that the 30% of employment-based green cards reserved for unskilled workers is to go first to people physically present in the us before january 4, 2004.
section 503 is amended to remove the numerical limitation on green cards for all special immigrants and not just the first two small groups (returning lawful permanent residents and former us citizens returning to the us). this expanded group includes religious workers.
section 504 is broadened to allow a widow or widower of us citizens married less than two years at the time of the citizen's death to also seek permanent residency if the spouse can show by a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely for the purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit. current law requires one always be married for more than two years.
the immediate relative category is changed to let children of spouses and parents of us citizens to obtain legal status and travel to the us to be with their families.
section 505 was added by amendment and exempts schedule a occupations (nurses, physical therapists and group ii exceptional ability applicants) from employment-based green card caps until september 30, 2017.
spouses and children are included in the cap exemption.
new language has been added requiring an hhs report on the nursing shortage, the foreign nurse population in the us and the impact of nursing immigration on the supply of nurses in the countries the nurses are leaving.
section 506 codifies the widows and orphans act. the provisions of this section allow certain children and women outside the us who are at risk of harm and who are referred by us officials, international officials and certain non-governmental organizations to qualify as special immigrants.
Senate bill s2611 makes for great reading...but its all worthless if the House wont negotiate. And lately all the House leaders have been very, very adamant about compromising with any of the provisions of the House's enforcement-only bill. In fact, since May 25 when s2611 got passed, key supporters of the senate bill (Senators Specter, McCain, Brownback, Kennedy, Frist, etc.) have voiced willingness to compromise with the House. Not ONE of the House people have budged an inch. In fact, they're not even willing to go to the negotiation table. (Except for probably Rep. Pence, who went to the white house and tried get the President to support a mixed version of the House-Senate bill...that didnt get anywhere.)
Sensenbrenner, Hastert, Boehner, and all the other right-wing hardliners have vowed that hell would freeze over before they'd sign anything that comes from the senate that has provisions for eventual citizenship for unlawful immigrants in the US.
Colorado couldnt wait for US congress and passed its own version of hard-line laws against immigrants. Right now, Colorado is very inhospitable to non-US citizens.
Funny thing, yesterday, the US Senate hit the House back by allocating ZERO dollars for actual funding for materials for walls and fencing along the US Mexico Border. (After passing the bill authorizing its construction, haha)
Right now, the only thing approaching anything palatable to both Houses of Congress is the SKIL bill proposed last week, intended to raise the caps for advanced Engineering, Science and Computer professions. (Seems the US is short on those too). That one has provisions that will increase the E3 visa cap, affecting nurses also.
If the incoming nurses were made to pay taxes I might be more in favor of using foreign nurses. Where I work we have 2 cardiologist from Syria, each year they return home for 1 month in order to maintain their citizenship there and keep from paying US taxes. I think this is a total waste, that they will use medicare dollars for payment, paid by every american worker and taxpayer and yet give nothing back to the country that has given them such a lucrative life. In my opinion if they can not even pay taxes them they are just a burden on us and giving our tax dollars to foreign countries.
If the incoming nurses were made to pay taxes I might be more in favor of using foreign nurses. Where I work we have 2 cardiologist from Syria, each year they return home for 1 month in order to maintain their citizenship there and keep from paying US taxes. I think this is a total waste, that they will use medicare dollars for payment, paid by every american worker and taxpayer and yet give nothing back to the country that has given them such a lucrative life. In my opinion if they can not even pay taxes them they are just a burden on us and giving our tax dollars to foreign countries.
Sorry but this is not true.
Even international STUDENTS who work part time on US campuses [regardless of major or field of study] pay local and State taxes which are not refundable (and naturally, tax laws differ from State to State).
What you mention might well be true - they no doubt avoid paying some taxes though a loophole in tax laws. But it is completely untrue that they pay no taxes at all.
I won't even bother with responding to your "give nothing back" comment. Apparently, rendering medical services as cardiologists (the reason they were hired) is not enough...
And as for the strawman argument of "tax dollars to foreign countries", look up the amount of money spent on so called 'Foreign Aid' and other such niceties as the "National Endowment for Democracy". I wager that all the wages supposedly being sent back home by these "invading foreign professionals" won't even be half of what's being spent through regular government means through such proxies as the NED alone.
The Immigration bill is, for all intents and purposes, dead until after the Nov elections, which means it won't be reconsidered until Congress is in session in Jan. That likely means it won't be active until FY2008 - or Oct 2007.
Even then, it is not likely that the Senate version will prevail.
The reason for its death is so the House members can beat up the Senate in the fall elections (not directly but by showing a 'will of the people') and produce a bill more to THEIR liking next year, and much less to the Senate's liking. . .
This is especially true if, as is probable, Republicans retain control of the House. Most House seats are 'sure things'. It's very rare for enough incumbents to lose that it changes control of the House. Now, having said THAT, there is more of a chance of that happening this year than in most.
But, even so, the House would still pony up a more conservative bill. It's not likely that open immigration for nurses will survive.
You have to understand the political rhetoric. Many politicians that are seeking to make immigration their key campaign issue are already telling their voters that provisions like this, once you include family members, could mean 100 MILLION new immigrants.
That's strong enough rhetoric to cause even the most openly immigration-minded voter to take pause. And, if you've read this site (or the ANA's position on the subject), you should know by now that many Americans are not quite that open-minded on the subject.
Indeed, the whole POINT of the immigration bill was to CONTROL illegal immigration, not expand legal immigration.
I agree with you Timothy. It's gonna be January before US Congress gets anything done. It's only 2-3 weeks before the August recess and then those politicians will go on the campaign trail to defend their seats in the House. Anyhow, I've read that there's been a significant rise in the number of qualified applicants for naturalization to US Citizenship lately. Some wanting to make sure about their status ever since some US places have cracked down on immigration, others wanting to get their interests and a vote later on (since many of these have unlawful immigrant relatives in the US).....By and large people of Hispanic ethnicity have been doing this lately...and this info is from the USCIS. There is, in fact, an organized effort among these people to undergo naturalization just to have enough clout (a swing vote, so to speak), because they want to garner more respect.
The article that I read stated it's one of the reasons why the whole enforcement-only thing isnt something some House Reps are touting as brazenly as they would like....Immigration might be dead in the water for this year and right-wing Republicans might get the enforcement legislation by next year (after all, most of their constituents actually WANT them to pass that law). It's practically a sure thing for them in the short term, but in the long term, maybe even the 2008 elections, things may not be as certain. The Latino subsection continues to be the fastest growing voter bloc...(which of course will show a sizable increase by then after the aforesaid flurry of naturalization applications)...the estimate is about an additional 30% on top of the 7 million or so Latino voters now.
Anyhow, its something for conservative Republicans to think about. That, and the whole Iraq mess the Democrats intend to blame them for, stating that was the Republicans' idea.
I wonder what the party composition of US Congress will look like in the next few years...
The House and Senate can't reconcile their reform bills, but the big problem isn't in Washington. It's on Main Street. Can american patients afford to wait in long and winding (road) line?
There's the contradiction of how we insist we're against illegal immigration, and yet can't stop hiring illegal immigrants. And that's not just to do "jobs that Americans won't do," but the jobs that make the lives of average Americans easier and cushier. After months of discussing this issue, little has been said about the "domestic" consumption of illegal immigrant labor. You'd never guess that so many households rely on housekeepers, nannies and gardeners. When politicians and talk show hosts talk about getting tough with employers, the villain is usually some gigantic, faceless company. It's rarely our friends and neighbors, or the soccer moms who cruise around in their SUVs.
dont worry just proceed and continue with your processing, review for nclex and examination, concentrate on what is presently important. the bush administration is working hard to passed the immigration reform bill, to be used on one of his accomplishment and achievement.
immigration reform bill to be discussed in congressional committee
bush calls for congressional effort and compromise on immigration legislation.
president bush said the u.s. congress is moving forward on immigration reform legislation, with the house of representatives and the u.s. senate having passed different versions of the legislation that now must be negotiated in a conference committee.
speaking at the u.s. chamber of commerce in washington june 1, bush said, "the house and senate bills will require effort and compromise on both sides. it's a difficult task. yet the difficulty of this task is no excuse for avoiding it."
bush called for a comprehensive bill that will help secure u.s. borders, and permit trade and lawful immigration while keeping out illegal immigration, criminals, drug dealers and terrorists.
the president acknowledged that economic conditions in some neighboring countries are motivating many to risk their lives to cross the u.s. border to find work.
"[t]here are people in our neighborhood who are desperate to put food on the table for their families. and if they, say, make $7 in america versus 50 cents where they live, and they want to support their families, ... they're going to try to sneak across the border," he said, even risking their lives by hiking across the desert or being "stuffed in the back of an 18-wheeler."
the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent and hardworking, the president said. "they're part of american life and they are vital to our economy, and yet they're beyond the reach and protection of american law."
however, their presence has put pressure on u.s. schools and hospitals, strained state and local budgets and, in some instances, brought crime.
the united states must "stop the number of people who are trying to sneak across in the first place. and the best way to do that is to make a temporary worker program," bush said, adding that such a program "would create a legal path for foreign workers to enter this country in an orderly way for a limited period of time ... [and] would match willing foreign workers with willing american employers for jobs americans are not doing."
immigration reform also should target the illegal industry that has developed in response to the pressure to enter the united states. "these are these folks that are willing to use human life as a commodity, to make money off of somebody," bush said, such as "coyotes" who smuggle illegal immigrants, document forgers and "unscrupulous" american companies exploiting those who are willing to work for less than the market rate.
"we don't like people living in the shadows of our society. we're a nation of the rule of law, and we want people to be treated with respect," the president said.
suzanne4, RN
26,410 Posts
There are always new plans going into place and all of the time.
Even when the actual retrogression went into place more than one year ago, it lasted all of 6 months. I would not lose any slepp over this, and even think about it. You are already in the process, and just leave it like that.