USCIS hints at quicker processing times for Schedule A 12/08/08

hi everyone!

read this: thank you!

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20081209-176852/8000-canada-visas-issued-to-Filipinos

all words no action, my greencard is way, way OVER the processing time! Those filed in texas got theirs first even if my documents were filed earlier than theirs just because mine was filed in Nebraska! So unfair!

Mumbai US Embassy releases VB for January, It’s still May 01, 2005 for most of the countries for EB3 category.

dgd,

we both have the same case. My case is still pending after more than a year now of waiting. And it was also filed in Nebraska. While my cousin who filed her application in Texas has been approved already, the fact that i am a year ahead from her in filing the I-140.
I guess Nebraska is not efficient enough.. Hay buhay.. at isa pang hay buhay….

To t-cell and Erwin_RN: any words of encouragement please….

Merry Christmas to all!!!!WHY? WHY? WHY? Why there’s no movement?

Hi everyone!

We are all saddened by the Jan 2009 VB. It is in your hands to decide for a plan… to go for another country or wait for priority date to be current. Just pray harder because only God knows which path is really for us. HE has a good reason why this things happening to us.

Anyways, for now, just enjoy your christmas together with your love ones.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL!!!

=)

I got my I-140 approved yesterday. The visa bulletin for Jan 09 is due any day, So i guess they will add Schedule A catergory back this time, and I am hoping they will make is “C”, very optimistic here. LOL

No it can’t be adding back the immigration schedule A must be under the approval of a legislation.

It will not come back.

attention: January Visa Bulletin is now posted

http://www.nursepod.com/2008/12/11/attention-visa-bulletin-for-year-2009-is-now-posted-in-mumbai-site/

Immigrant Visas
Cut-Off Dates for Immigrant Visas
We are pleased to announce the January 2009 cut-off dates for immigrant visas for individuals born in India and those born in most other countries.

To qualify for an appointment, an applicant’s priority date (the date that the petition was filed) must fall before the cut-off date for the appropriate category.

The following numbers are derived from the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin. If you have additional questions about cut-off dates and your case is being processed at the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, please e-mail us or call us at +91-22-2363-7407 between 2 and 4 p.m. IST.

Category India Most Other Countries
F1 15 June 2002 15 June 2002
FX 15 August 2001 15 August 2001
F2A 15 May 2004 15 May 2004
F2B 22 March 2000 22 March 2000
F3 1 August 2000 1 August 2000
F4 1 November 1997 8 February 1998
E1 Current Current
E2 1 July 2003 Current
E3 15 October 2001 1 May 2005
EW 15 March 2003 15 March 2003
E4 Current Current
E4-Religious Current Current

http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/cut_off_dates.html

Improving the Processing of
“Schedule A” Nurse Visas
December 5, 2008 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The nursing shortage in the United States is becoming increasingly problematic and may adversely affect the health care industry. According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 2007 study, the United States will require 1.2 million new Registered Nurses (RNs) by 2014 to meet the nursing demand: approximately 500,000 RNs to replace nurses leaving the field, and “an additional 700,000 to meet growing demand for nursing services.”1 Congress has passed legislation that recognizes the labor shortage for nurses. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has taken steps to address the shortage by designating RNs as a Schedule A occupation.2 Schedule A precertification is a determination that there are insufficient U.S. nurses who are able, willing, qualified, and available, and that the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed will not be adversely affected by the employment of foreign nationals.3
In meetings with nursing organizations and stakeholders, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman heard concerns about the time it takes for a foreign nurse to be admitted to the United States to work. Visa availability continues to be the principal obstacle for many immigrants and non-immigrants seeking employment in the United States, and the number of visas available can only be addressed through legislation.
Apart from legislation, federal agencies can implement changes to facilitate the processing of immigration applications. For example, DOL has made adjustments to the normal procedures for Schedule A nurse employment-based immigrant applications by allowing employers seeking to hire a foreign nurse to bypass the first step in the process.4 Likewise, USCIS should adjust its normal procedures for processing Schedule A nurse applications. Specifically, USCIS should separate and prioritize, as well as centralize, its process for these applications in accordance with Congress’ expressed concern over the national nursing shortage and to ensure consistent adjudication of applications. In addition, USCIS may wish to consider establishing points of contact with DOL on the processing of Schedule A nurse applications as partners hoping to achieve the same goal: the expeditious processing of Schedule A nurse applications.

To llana,

Yes, try to be positive.

The nursing and physician shortage will only get worst in the coming years. You can read articles and reputable studies and projections of that from reputable websites. : )

And there has always been a nursing shortage for decades. That is why there has been Filipino nurses and other foreign-educated nurses from other countries that has migrated to the US even before most of us were even borned.

US has on and off opened the doors for foreign nurses throughout the decades. It would be ignorant to say that the US has not made or did not strive to produce their own domestic nurses throughout those decades. They have. The fact is not all wants that profession and not all can handle the demands of being a nurse and most of them quitting within 3-5 years. Now, I even read some quitting within just a few months – why? This is the wrong time for them to be in the nursing profession (where the shortage is just really beginning and projected to get worse in the years to come as baby-boomers retire) they only took because they were forced into it.

foreign-nurse.lefora.com

@abhi

can u say pls,the date of u r PD , and which center …

I am legally employed under an HIB visa at a hospital. H1B expires 2010- My I-140 w/c was sponsored by another department was just approved…my PD however is Jun 2008. My questions: Can I be hired under the department that got my I-140 approved? If not, I guess I have to stay in my current department-keep renewing the H1B visa? then I do have to wait for the PD to be current, wait for I-485 and EAD?