you can consider this thread as closed since information posted here became obsolete on may 11 2005, once president george w bush signed the apropriations bill in to a law to make additional 50,000 visas available for nurses. this thread was started on dec 11 2004 when the worst news hit rn community that the pd dates have been retrogressed to jan 2002 and nurses will be the hardest hit.
now its official.
pd dates for eb3 cases from india,china, philippines retrogress to jan 2002.
this is worst news for the rn community who wish to migrate to us.
this means that, rns who are already in us will not be able to file i485 (aos) after dec 31 2004 till the priority dates become current. its not clear how long it will take.
those who have managed to file aos will have a huuuuuuuuuge waiting time for their gc apporval.
those who are outside us, will have a loooooooong wait
for someone who is in us and has either cgfns/ncelx (with or without visascreen), the only option is to get an employer to file for i140 and 485 before dec 31 2004. this will make them eligible for ead and legal status in us.
considering the rn shortage, there are chances that they may introduce a new visa category or an exception for nurses. depends on how hard the empoyers lobby the congress.
I am new to this forum and I came to know that it is very informative and interesting. I am a nurse from India. My processing is almost completed and I am in the last stage i.e. waiting for consulate interview I have even got my consulate number also.
Now what could be the status of my case. If anybody is having a fair idea please let me know.
Is there any active effort happening on Rep Lantos bill. When will it likely to get passed.. God save us :)
Bills that have to go before the entire Senate and House of Representatives usually do not get acted on quickly. Best bet is to contact your immigration lawyer directly as he/she knows your case the best. You can also try looking up your number on http://www.visapro.com and see where you are at. There is a section on the lower left hand of their screen where you can put in your number from immigration.
Sorry, no one can give you any better info at this time........
Thanks a lot Suzanne for ur immedeate response.. Well I spoke to my lawyer and he said My case is already moved to the consulate in India. My case will be one of the 1st to attend when the retrogression is lifted up. He is expecting things will be clear by April end or May1st.
From the news i heard from here and there says this bill will be debated soon and by the end of April there will be more clarity. Anyway the new visa bulletin dosen't give any hope..
First, I don't think that the retrogression will be lifted before July 1st at the earliest. Immigration does things here on the quarter system, and I do not see any way that they can have thigs in place in another ten days, not with the way that the government works here. Especially on the national level.
[lantos bill moved to subcommittee on immigration,border security and claims on 2 nd of march 2005//judge in california doesent work by the quarter system//neither are the ratios to be met in july// they are to be met now today//how will u meet them//things will only get worse//// my lawyer says positive news by april/may 2005//actually the writing is on the wall this requires quick prompt action //remember u are not doing overseas nurses a favour u also need them// it is mutually symbiotic//the nurses are the cream of these countries//plus they have a natural flair for service of humanity//gooood luck
Unfortunately, this is a national issue, concerning immigration, not just something specific to California. Whatever rulings come out cover the enitre US, not just one state. So as I was saying before, to have the entire Senate and House of Representatives act on something very quickly is quite unusual.
You need to know how US government functions. Immigration functions under its own set of rulings. There are actually somre groups in the US that would like to see a delay to any changes in this, because technical people are also included, and there are Americans in this area which have been laid off because of jobs going overseas. There is no easy fix at the moment to this.
I work with several immigration attorneys that i consult with on a regular basis, and they don't think that anything will come forth that will be beneficial to any of the nurses before July.
Meeting ratios has nothing to do with the import of foreign nurses. At the earliest, right now, it is taking about two years for a green card for California. So how is that going to help ratios?
Another example: Even if the nurse is in the US on a tourist visa, if she/he hasn't applied yet to a Board of Nursing for licensure, it is usually three to four months wait for the ATT, especially as a foreign grad, then there is setting up the appt to take NCLEX. The Visa Screen Certificate takes about four months to receive after the English exams and either NCLEX or CGFNS have been completed. When the Change in Status is being submitted in the US, the VSC must be submitted with the petition, then it is 90 days before the nurse can actually begin work under the EAD.
So rulings in California with ratios have no direct impact on this issue.
And as you know, I am very much for foreign nurses working in the US and have been all along. There is just no easy fix right now if you are from China, Inida, or the Philippines. Simple as that............
Meeting ratios has nothing to do with the import of foreign nurses. At the earliest, right now, it is taking about two years for a green card for California. So how is that going to help ratios?
Another example: Even if the nurse is in the US on a tourist visa, if she/he hasn't applied yet to a Board of Nursing for licensure, it is usually three to four months wait for the ATT, especially as a foreign grad, then there is setting up the appt to take NCLEX. The Visa Screen Certificate takes about four months to receive after the English exams and either NCLEX or CGFNS have been completed. When the Change in Status is being submitted in the US, the VSC must be submitted with the petition, then it is 90 days before the nurse can actually begin work under the EAD.
So rulings in California with ratios have no direct impact on this issue.
THE NURSING SHORTAGE IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE//MOST OF INDIAN NURSES ALREADY HAVE VISA SCREEN //ATT IS ALSO QUIET FAST BECAUSE THE APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED WHEN THE NURSES ARE IN INDIA//VERMONT APPROVAL HAS BEEN AS SHORT AS 21 DAYS//THE RATIOS ARE IN CAL FOR NOW BUT THEY MUST HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE REST//IT IS NOT WHETHER CONGRESS WILL BUT WHETHER THEY SHOULD AND THAT TOO FAST//THEY ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE MEMBERS OF STATES//THE GLASS IS HALF FULL AND NOT HALF EMPTY//AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED//
THE QUESTION IS VERY SIMLE DO U NEED FOREIGN NURSES //IF U DONT THEN TO HELL WITH THEM//BUT IF U DO .DO WHAT IS TO BE DONE AND FAST//
Meeting ratios has nothing to do with the import of foreign nurses. At the earliest, right now, it is taking about two years for a green card for California. So how is that going to help ratios?
Another example: Even if the nurse is in the US on a tourist visa, if she/he hasn't applied yet to a Board of Nursing for licensure, it is usually three to four months wait for the ATT, especially as a foreign grad, then there is setting up the appt to take NCLEX. The Visa Screen Certificate takes about four months to receive after the English exams and either NCLEX or CGFNS have been completed. When the Change in Status is being submitted in the US, the VSC must be submitted with the petition, then it is 90 days before the nurse can actually begin work under the EAD.
So rulings in California with ratios have no direct impact on this issue.
THE NURSING SHORTAGE IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE//MOST OF INDIAN NURSES ALREADY HAVE VISA SCREEN //ATT IS ALSO QUIET FAST BECAUSE THE APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED WHEN THE NURSES ARE IN INDIA//VERMONT APPROVAL HAS BEEN AS SHORT AS 21 DAYS//THE RATIOS ARE IN CAL FOR NOW BUT THEY MUST HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE REST//IT IS NOT WHETHER CONGRESS WILL BUT WHETHER THEY SHOULD AND THAT TOO FAST//THEY ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE MEMBERS OF STATES//THE GLASS IS HALF FULL AND NOT HALF EMPTY//AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED//
THE QUESTION IS VERY SIMLE DO U NEED FOREIGN NURSES //IF U DONT THEN TO HELL WITH THEM//BUT IF U DO .DO WHAT IS TO BE DONE AND FAST//
The nursing shortage has been going on for over twenty years, some times the shortage is increased more, other times no. The big thing going on in the US right now is the shortage of nursing school places due to decreases in teachers, etc. Not that there aren't enough students to fill the positions. Most have a two year waiting list.
Because Vermont has a quick processing time, it still doesn't make things work any faster. Not when you are still adding each thing into the pot. The quickest that a nurse can be working in the US, with a green card, is about one year, allowing for the exams, etc. to be completed. And that is for the east coast. California is still at about two years..........and then you must take into account the time that the facility needs to train the nurse before they can be on their own and actually count in the number of nurses on per shift.
Nursing is quite different in the US than overseas. The nurses have much more responsibility than they do in many other countries, especially India, Philippines, and the other Asian countries. You must also take that into account. So just by bringing a nurse over, doesn't mean an instant fix to anything. Remember that the nurses are now coming over with permanent residency, not on a temporary work permit. There are many more checks that go into this.
You can say what ever you want on this, but being over here in the US, and working with this on a daily basis, with nurses from around the world, I do not see anything opening up before July at the earliest.
If you have been reading some of the articles being published on other sites, there is a big problem continuing or even escalating where the foreign nurse is in a hurry to get to the US and is signing a contract in English for work in the US, and it is essentially a "slave labor" contract. To work for $7 per hour for 3 years..............and unfortunately, once it is signed, they do not have recourse.
No contract should be signed without it being gone over by a translator into that nurse's own language, they should not be given a contract and told to sign here and that everything will be taken care of. Each tihing to do properly takes time.
You may be into a hurry to get to the US, so are many others. You are lucky that nurses are even fast-tracked, most others have to wait at least three years before even being considered.
There is more than one side to each story, you need to look at both sides of the equation...............
ATT is not quite fast, it still takes four months to receive the Certificate after you have completed the exams..................and not all have applied when they are considering going to work in the US. The may have passed CGFNS exam, but many foreign nurses have difficulties with passing the speaking part of the English exams, and this goes for nurese from the Philippines, as well. Each thing takes time...........it is much bette to do things right and not jeapordize a nurse's license over here once they receive it......things are done differently here, plain and simple.
suzanne4, RN
26,410 Posts
Bills that have to go before the entire Senate and House of Representatives usually do not get acted on quickly. Best bet is to contact your immigration lawyer directly as he/she knows your case the best. You can also try looking up your number on http://www.visapro.com and see where you are at. There is a section on the lower left hand of their screen where you can put in your number from immigration.
Sorry, no one can give you any better info at this time........