Happy New Year! We’re back from the Christmas and New Years holiday and ready to blog on the latest Healthcare visa information. There are a few stories that are important and worth following in the next few weeks:
– Congress is back in session. The new administration is calling on the new Congress to enact another economic stimulus bill. If healthcare visa legislation is to be passed in the first few weeks/months of 2009, it is imperative that Congress doesn’t get bogged down and only focusing on the economic stimulus legislation.
– Sunsetting Immigration legislation. On March 6 several important immigration-related bills are set to expire, including the controversial e-Verify. Other bills include the Conrad 30 foreign doctors’ bill and the EB-5 investors’ visa. There has been some talk of extending these bills and including smaller immigration legislation to the extensions, perhaps even last year’s HR 5924.
– Economic conditions. With the US economy in a tailspin, it remains to be seen if Congress will be willing to increase visa quotas, even in areas where definite supply shortages exist.
– Television. National broadcaster ABC is launching a new reality show, “Homeland Security USA,” which is sure to raise awareness of the immigration issue on the southern US border. The show purports to be a “Cops” for DHS. While ABC contends that the show will not take a political position, it seems certain that the viewer will identify with the enforcement team and not with the immigrants.