RETROGRESSION for this year?

I hope that nurses whose application still on the process will not be affected if another bully of retrogression will again take place. I hope that this is just a humor.

it's rumor not humor,hehehe!

rumor... rumor... rumor... when will it end.... :)

the "current" status of sched A visas is expected to end by the last quarter of 2006......i hope not though

i am a little bit apprehensive of what you've disclosed jonRNMD! i hope & pray that our applications which are now at the NVC will not be affected if in case there will be a shortage of visas for the schedule A. By the way, what is your basis regarding this news? thanks!

It was officially announced by the DOS VISA OFFICE that Schedule A visas numbers will be exhausted at the first quarter of the fiscal year 2007 which would start at October 1, 2006.

Even if your papers are with the U.S. Embassy if dates ROLLED BACK because of retrogression and your priority date is not current you will not be able to get a VISA... this is what happened last year before the 50,000 relief were given to nurses.

ZATHAN

i am a little bit apprehensive of what you've disclosed jonRNMD! i hope & pray that our applications which are now at the NVC will not be affected if in case there will be a shortage of visas for the schedule A. By the way, what is your basis regarding this news? thanks!

It's the USCIS who determines whether a specific visa category is current or not. The fact that Schedule A is still current, petitions will still be approved at its current pace. Approved petitions that are now waiting for NVC action/approval are safe provided that all the necessary forms/documents are submitted.

But then again, these are all rumors. The great need for nurses in the US will not be solved in this decade. So if and when the visa quota has reached the treshold, I strongly believe that Congress or a new EO will be released seeking for more visa slots. It may be stricter (coz of the whole illegal immigrants bill bruhaha) but still possible if your papers are in order.

Goodluck to all of us.

thank you daning! God bless to all of us...& More power..

rumors are nothing more than rumors. no use discussing it. it will only add to the confusion as some people might mistake it as truth since they "got the information" from the largest online community of nurses.

i think it is better to discuss this in order to be ready than to be caught unaware or not being too complacent. we have nothing to lose anyway discussing this. in my opinion retrogression is just the same as delay. it has a negative impact actually to those who are yet planning to apply for work abroad. we should not dilly dally our plan. we encourage them to act now!

the fact still remains that NO AMOUNT OF DISCUSSION will change a thing. if retrogression happens, there is nothing we can do about it.

better focus on productive things than waste time discussing rumors which only add to the confusion floating around.

then again, it's your opinion and i respect that. have a nice day!

Here's the deal. Up until middle of last year, the state dept was issuing E-3 visas to nurses...visas you had to wait about 5 years to get. In order to provide a "band aid" solution to the nursing shortage, the state dept. released 50,000 "unused" visas from other visa categories and issued them under the label "for Schedule A nurses". That made visa waiting times CURRENT from the previous 5 year backlog. As of march 2006, the agency reports approx 20,000 of those visas left. They are projecting that if they continue issuing them at the same rate, these will run out by the 1st quarter of fiscal year 2007. That corresponds to OCT-Dec 2006. By then, if US Congress does not enact new law allocating new visa numbers to nurses on a yearly basis, it's back to the old E-3 numbers and the 5 year wait. June 2006 update by the USCIS shows theyre processing applications filed last Jul 2001 for E3 visas. That's a five-year wait for those interested.