Visa Bulletin Jan 08 12/12/07

From what I follow about Congress’ actions these days, even the Omnibus bill’s enactment is under doubt. Possibly (and I hope) there will be a short time Continuing Resolution bill ) bill that (automatically) funds everything at current levels until Feb. This will hopefully give HLG more time to lobby until the Omnibus bill will be enacted – maybe – sometime at end of Jan.

it seems to me that the congress is hiding the so called 218,000 recaptured visa. What are they going to do with that?

what’s happening to the nursing industry. if there are nursing shortages IN US ,why cant the congress accept it and face the fact that they need nurses or professionals from other countries. anyone have an idea if there is a possibility that it may open early next year? since they already released the january visa bulletin does that mean that there’s no possibility that it will open on january? people are already loosing hope.

Money making business?????

Don’t b’e disappointed

There will be a day for us. It may come very soon……………

Its quite depressing…hope it will forward faster…of course, I’m asking for moon…but I am becoming more upset if someone would tell me to give up and try somewhere else.. I won’t mention her name because she is somewhat popular on another site for nurses…quite irritating..

Democrats bow to Bush spending limit. They’ll trim $11 billion but try to boost funds for their priorities, perhaps at the expense of some of the president’s initiatives

Link:http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-spend13dec13,1,4019838.story?coll=la-news-a_section

Hello again, Every body talks about this or that , guys look at the mirror try to do some productive work other than wasting your life and time for nothing.LET YOUR immigration lawyer do the job they will call your attention if and when visa is available, stop worrying.PLS think PRAYER do some wonders LET US PRAY let our GOD not man or anybody else. just GOD ALONE…GOD BLESS….in his time. amen.

i know that all of us are kinda frustrated with this retrogression thing. but we just have to remember that there is a season for everything. HOLD ON! God knows our desires and HE is in cintrol. Let us pray harder that God will touch the heart of senators and congressmen and even Pres. Bush to issue visas for us, nurses, and other health workers. God is in control, the Supreme Ruler of the whole universe. we will be in US soon! Amen.

to Grace and Loidzky

very well said

we need that comments to lift our spirits

thank you

Dear HLG,

Kindly ket us know the update on the bridge amendment.

Dear HLG,

I have an very very important update for you. There is a high chance that immigration amendments will be allowed in Omnibus bill which is going to be acted anytime during next week. Continuing Resolution to Keep Federal Offices Funded will end 12/21/2007. Following is a latest update I found from EB lobby group immigrationvoice.org.

They updated that there is a proposal from Senator Cantwell for Omnibus bill which includes 61,000 recapture visas for Schedule A (they have mentioned it for nurses, hope its for whole Schedule A which includes physical therapists also)

Dear HLG, please make sure that something will happen for Scheudle A in Omnibus bill. Please intensify the lobbying efforts. Our hopes and prayers are pinned on you. Please dont leave us in the darkness of never ending despair and agony. Please save us from this hell of retrogression.

http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16128

pappu
Administrator

12/14/07 : Omnibus update from IV

Immigration Voice and its lobbyists have been working hard to push for our provisions in the Omnibus Appropriations bill. We have some news to share with our members. There is a compromise being built in the Senate to allow High-Skill legal immigration provisions. There is a proposal from Sen. Cantwell, that is being considered.

There is a chance that it will pass in the Senate. House leadership has indicated that if the Senate passed something on their end, then the House will allow that to stay during the House and Senate conference committee (Conference process is a process in which House and Senate iron out the differences between their respective versions and come up with a single bill that goes our of congress to President’s desk).

There may be some opponents of this measure because some members of congress want to take a comprehensive approach and not allow smaller measures to pass.

Immigration Voice will try its best to use its full resources and the support we have received from our members to be successful in our effort. If we need any help from our members to send faxes, make calls or meet with lawmaker offices we will announce as situation demands. Please stay tuned.

Also, please keep in mind that legislative reform is not an IT project with a well-defined starting point and end point. It takes time and patience to do things and sometimes things get done in installments over a period of time between which there is a lull in activity. We encourage members to sign up for recurring contributions so that the revenue flow to Immigration voice is more steady, uniform and predictable. It allows us to budget our expenses for future and helps us plan how much we want to pay our lobbyists and consultants.

The Cantwell proposal in Omnibus bill:
• Recapture of 100,000 H-1Bs, for FY 2008 only;
• Recapture of 218,000 green cards (61,000 for nurses); and
• Early adjustment applications.
Each of these petitions/applications would require a supplemental fee
of $1500.
The proposal would also include the following enforcement items:
• No H-1B-only advertising;
• Employers must share immigration documents with former,
current, or future employees;
• Government must provide H-1Bs with information on employees’
rights and employers’ obligations;
• DOL to publish LCA filing information on its website (this
information is already publicly available, just not online);
• DOL can review LCAs for indicators of fraud or
misrepresentation;
• DOL can take 14 days to approve LCAs (today they can take up
to 7 days to approve, but they do it instantly as a practical matter);
• Complaints alleging LCA violations can be filed up to 24
months after the alleged violation (it’s 12 today);
• DOL Secretary’s personal certification not needed before an
investigation;
• No “reasonable cause” determination needed before a DOL
investigation;
• DOL can impose penalties if a simple violation is found
(today there must be “substantial failure”, “willful failure”, or
“pattern or practice”, depending on the particular kind of LCA
violation at issue; so this lowers the standards for finding a
punishable violation or imposing penalties);
• Broader sources of information alleging potential violations
can prompt investigations (so DHS could provide DOL with information
from H-1B filings, outside tipsters don’t have to identify themselves
to DOL, information prompting investigations can come from DOL
employees, etc.);
• DOL can conduct compliance audits and surveys;
• DOL must annually audit at least 1 percent of H-1B
employers;
• DOL must annually audit all H-1B dependent employers; and
• DOL may hire 200 more enforcement officers.

hello to all,

don’t be discouraged B + VE
GOD knows more updates than every one, he knows when to lift retrogression, don’t be doubtfull trust in the lord, all our efforts God knows,he is the master ruler of all the world ,he can work in the heart of the senetors ,because they are also just His creatures.GOD IS GREAT

Dear HLG,
it seems that every lobby group is trying to attach thier provisions to Omnibus bill. It seems opposition against immigration provisions have considerably reduced. Amoung any lobby group our Schedule A have best chances and HLG have proved that beyond doubt last October.

HLG please make sure that our provisions will be acted in the Omnibus bill. Our hopes and prayers are with you. We all are waiting for the big day. Following is another interesting article.

http://www.provincetownbanner.com/article/news_article/_/52651/News/12/13/2007

11th-hour visa moves give businesses hope

By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff

PROVINCETOWN — A last-ditch effort to save the H-2B returning worker visa program, which local business owners believe is critical to their financial survival next summer, likely will live or die over the next week.

Joy McNulty, owner of the Lobster Pot restaurant, told selectmen that the bill, which would make it easier for returning foreign workers to get a seasonal work visa, has been attached to an omnibus appropriations bill that may come up for a vote in the House this week. In addition, a major opponent of the visa bill, the Hispanic Caucus, reportedly has withdrawn its opposition, according to Kevin Driscoll, legislative aid to Congressman William Delahunt (D-Cape & Islands).

“While this is good news, the leaders of the Caucus now must go to the House leadership and confirm this, which apparently has not happened yet.

Moreover, the omnibus bill has numerous other unrelated problems which must be resolved,” Driscoll told McNulty in an email.

But in another development, Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA), who has strongly opposed the visa exemption bill, has also withdrawn his objections to the bill, McNulty said.

“Our big opposition is gone. If we survive [a House vote], the bill goes to the Senate and could end up on the president’s desk by the end of the week,” she told selectmen.

Some additional, potentially good news came on Monday night. McNulty told selectmen that as of Dec. 4, only 7,000 foreign workers had submitted applications to fill the 33,000 visas available for summer workers, meaning that returning workers might have an easier time getting a visa this spring even if the exemption program is not passed. The extension would allow staff members who previously came to the U.S. on a seasonal work visa not to be counted against the annual 33,000 cap on summer workers.

However, even if the H-2B amendment passes this year, the bill only extends the program for one year. Unless the political climate surrounding the controversial issue of immigration changes, the same scenario is likely to occur next year, according to Alix Ritchie, a member of the town’s economic development council and the Banner’s publisher.

As a result, the EDC is proposing to survey local business owners to get an accurate estimate of the potential size of the labor shortfall that might occur in Provincetown if the returning foreign workers applying for H-2B or J1 visas are curtailed. If local business owners are forced to find an alternative workforce — the EDC mentioned hiring workers from New Bedford — they will face a volatile and competitive situation, vying for workers alongside other Cape Cod business owners, she said.

“Maybe the pressure is off this year. Maybe it isn’t. But under any circumstances, we have to be prepared to act swiftly,” Ritchie said.

Selectmen voted 5-0 to reword the draft EDC survey letter and mail it to local business owners, as well as post it on the town’s website. They also directed the licensing department to follow up with any businesses that do not respond to the survey.

“It’s something we really need to get a handle on. In the future, we need to take a much more proactive stance on this,” Selectman Michele Couture said.

Local employers across the country, including Cape Cod — which depends heavily on foreign workers to manage summer businesses — were dismayed in October when Congress did not renew the returning worker exemption to the H-2B foreign worker legislation, letting it expire.

Local employers have said that if Congress does not renew the exemption provision, it could have a devastating impact on resort community towns employing foreign workers, including Provincetown, which depends on staff from Jamaica, Eastern Europe and other countries to make up a large percentage of its summer work force.

Unless the exemption is renewed, dozens of foreign workers who return to Provincetown each summer will now be counted against the cap, which could significantly reduce the number of people allowed here to work next summer. The cap is split into two equal groups of 33,000, divided between winter and summer workers. The cap on winter workers was reached on Oct. 1, almost two months earlier than last year, according to Shawn Saucier, a spokesperson for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Cool Cool. Y V people r fighting each other. Anti..s also active n this forum. Act now & pray now

toms,
this is the week end in the US… people have families and prefer spending their time with their family rather than here on the blog.

HLG will update us when there is something important to update us

hello abhilash,

i saw your posting, may be you are intellegent ,but remember that is because God don’t let u to born as a mentally retarded child, we are no body to question THE God,think ,if the breath u are taking in is not coming out ,then what is the use of your great efforts here, u s embassy is not the whole universe it is just a tiny corner only, every moment in our life is a gift of GOD ,

At least u r agreeing the 50:50 bussiness, good . you have done your 50 already in your own time, then wait for the GOD to do his part in his own time ,it’s very simple to understand ,just don’t be frustrated because you want to go to usa now it self , don’t think usa is the heaven in this world ,where ever you live try to make it a heaven . don’t worry about your future any more ,it is already planned inch by inch before u arrived in this world,just believe it blindly,

don’t tell your life is miserable , are you starving for food, don’t you have dress to wear,and house for shelter.

don’t think we are sleeping and you only awake, we are leading very good family life, working 8 hour per day, and looking after our children, then attended all exams which you also did ,may be more efforts than you dear.but not dying to go to usa , when our turn comes we will also be their.

what ever it is you are good blogger giving updated comments.keep it up

this is for your kind clarification only.

it’s up to you

GOD and SENATORS?! Are you arranging them on one line?
I will not talk about GOD, because different religions has different definition and different understanding of GOD. But I am sure he has more important things to do than waching debates in the US Congress.
Senators – are just ordinary people with an enormous power of law in their hands, and extraordinary responsibility on their sholders. They have to be wise to deal with these two…But being only people, each of them has personal interests and only the interactions between these interests could bring a law to the reality.
All in all it has nothing to do with international nurses. We could have our “bridge” only if our interests will corresponde to the interests of the majority of senators. The art of presenting things in the right sight is called: lobbying. And that how things work in the US.
We already are in this game through our money we’ve spent for attorneys, CGFNS, Visa , etc.
So let the HLG and other pro-immigrant groups do their job – lobby our interests.

Hi!

I am very grateful for all the informative updates shared by our fellow professionals in this group. In return, I would like to share what I have learned to assist in a successful migration in the U.S.

1) It will be helpful if you have a credit card in your home country and you have a very good record in paying your bills on time. This may assist you in purchasing your car or starter home in the U.S. Also, when your facility will provide you an apartment, it will be helpful in your end to have your name in the rental contract (say after three months) and all the other utilities.

2) When nurses migrate to the U.S. with children, it will be helpful to introduce some topics about the american history before you go there because this is the usual subject that is not included in our local curriculum.

3) If the nurses or PT migrate there without any form of sign on bonus, please set aside a pocket money of about UDS$10,000 to cover for any emergency needs for yourself and your family. For some facilities there, they will give health care benefits after 90 days of service. Sometimes a flu medicine for kids could cost as much as $60.

4) Please get your own Social Security number on your first week of stay there so you can start working ASAP when you have one. Usually the facility’s Human Resources team will help you with this.

5) Either married or single, you must learn how to drive and your spouse too. Taxi fare there is very expensive and the buses are available only in designated areas.

6) Health history for the whole family must be prepared especially immunization records for the kids. This will aid you in your medical needs and the children’s enrollment in their school.

7) Please read about the state you are heading their laws, their culture and basic information that will be helpful for you to adjust better.

Read about the role of the nurses there. How they handle their team, things about delegation and communication pattern (being frank but tactful). While you are in your home country, please try to orient yourself with the latest hospital equipments and how to operate these because this is the usual skill that that a foreign nurse will need to master.

9) Teach family members and friends how to operate the latest technolodgy like yahoo messenger to save on your phone bills which is very expensive.

10) If your spouse is not a nurse, it will be helpful to view from the net what are the possible jobs they can apply in your state and it will help them better if they bring with them their resume and recommendation letter from previous employers.

11) When you arrive in the U.S. during winter time and you are on a budget, make sure you know the location of the nearest goodwill stores so you can buy pre-owned winter clothes at a very reasonable price. TIP: the end of season sale in the U.S. is the ideal time to buy new but inexpensive clothing/goods.

Some websites:

1) more about Buying and Renting a Home: http://www.hud.gov
http://www.fanniemae.com
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov

2)getting a Social Security number:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov

3) Prevention on Identity Theft:
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft

4) about taxes
http://www.irs.gov/localcontacts/index.html

5) getting a driver’s license
http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Motor_Vehicles.shtml

Hope this information will be helpful for a smooth transition when our time will come to migrate there.

Hun thanks also for the greetings.

To Grace,

Thanks for all that great info.

Grace,

All these are really useful advices, I hope we will be able to follow then promptly.

HI HLG/anybody else
Evey blogs are silent on OMNIBUS bill going to be voted today.
Any update about amendments!!!
Please share here!

OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!
OMNIBUS BILL WILL PASS TODAY!!!

.

Funny… What is OMNI BUS… I know only OMNI VAN…

Dear Anti Immigrants in HLG,

Watch carefully today!!!! The Bill is going to pass and you guys will get the kick from backside…lol…

KICKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

huh

.

Dear funny i have one question,
How many kilometers from washington DC to Miami beach

Funny !!! “You talk too much…I kick your face and get out…You talking nonsense in the house of my wife mother and father!! Uncle him send out..outhouse..go..go away..”

The House passed its omnibus spending bill Monday night in two separate votes.

The lower chamber first voted 253-154 to clear the omnibus spending measure and then voted 206-201 to add $31 billion for troops in Afghanistan.

In the first vote, 41 Republicans supported the measure while 8 Democrats voted no. Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) voted present. While some GOP appropriators voted yes, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) opposed the spending bill.

The Afghanistan measure attracted 18 Democratic no votes and the backing of five Republicans.

Republicans attacked the omnibus package, pointing out that many earmarks were “airdropped” into the bill at the last moment. They also were critical of Democratic leadership’s decision not to include Iraq war funding in the measure. Those funds are expected to be added by the Senate.

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a vocal critic of earmarks, said a few of the airdropped earmarks simply seek to allocate money to cities without explanation.

Flake rattled off the names of cities and how much the bill will allocate to those locales.

“For what?” Flake asked. “We have no idea.”

In his closing remarks, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) called the bill “the major domestic achievement of the Congress for the year,” but called the measure inadequate. He blamed President Bush and the Senate for forcing the bill to be scaled back.

Obey said there were two messages that voters sent in November 2006: end the war in Iraq and change the nation’s priorities.

“We’ve struggled mightily to bring about both,” Obey said. “We’ve failed because of two reasons: not enough votes in the Senate” and the president’s decision not to compromise with the Democratic-led Congress.

Obey explained Democrats have 51 votes in the upper chamber and that the Senate’s “peculiar” rules call for controversial bills to attract 60 votes.

But I dont think Nurses Amendment is included in this bill(HR2764)

God knows..

Kuttappa….

Nammudeyokke aaradhanapaathram Reshmaye arrest cheythannu….oru HARTHAAL aahwanam cheythaloooo????????

YES,YES…She will get..100% sure…
No CGFNS,No IELTS,No NCLEX…..

She proved already that she is eligible…and may be big MNCs are there to sponsor her…huh….

plz tell What is going to happen on 21 Dec.?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-12-17-budget-bill_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

TO HLG,

UP DATE US ON THE RECAPTURED VISA THAT SENATOR CANTWELL INTRODUCE IN THE OMNIBUS BILL

There are only about 9,800 employment-based immigrant visas per year available for the Philippines. That number is shared by all professions including Engrs, IT, Nurses, Cook, etc. Dependents also get from that quota.

Philippines is among the countries which are known to be over-subscribed, meaning there are more applicants than the available visa numbers.

It is imperative that the only solution to our problem is additional visa numbers through legislation. However, 2008 is election year. Just like last year when politicians started campaigning, this year will be much more and seeing immigration law passed is far from possible.

Currently, the situation is the retrogression of EB3 Philippines but there are some hope with EB2 Philippines because it is still showing “C”, current. If EB1 and EB2 Philippines are left unused, it will be given to EB3 Philippines come end of the immigration fiscal year, that is about July to September 2008. I think those with PD of 2004 (lucky if 2005) will get a shot for a visa this year.

Those with PD of 2005 to 2006 (half of 2007), will get shot for a visa in 2009 and those with PD of 2007 will get in 2010.

Just a prediction if Congress did not do anything after 2008 election. Lucky for us if Clinton wins, there maybe something in store for us.