medicalMonitor
the monthly healthcare immigration eZine
published by Hammond Law Group, LLC
NOVEMBER 3, 2006 VOL. III ISSUE 11 (NOVEMBER 2006 ISSUE)
Visit www.HammondLawFirm.com
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Immigration Alerts, Medical Monthly Monitor and Business Immigration Quarterly.
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SCHEDULE A
RETROGRESSION IN NOVEMBER
Retrogression for EX visas (Schedule A) will occur in November. The
November Visa Bulletin established a priority date of October 1, 2005
for the EX/Schedule A category rather than making the category
completely unavailable. This means that only those individuals who filed
an I-140 petition on October 1, 2005 or earlier will still be eligible
to obtain an immigrant visa either through a consular interview or
through the filing of an Application to Adjust Status (Form I-485).
Additionally, individuals in the United States will not be eligible to
file the Adjustment of Status Application (Form I-485) unless they
previously filed an I-140 petition on October 1, 2005 or earlier.
Initial concurrent filings of the I-140 and I-485 will be temporarily
unavailable beginning November 1, 2006.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/10.11.2006_hcalert.htm
RETROGRESSION F.A.Q.
On November 1, 2006, the Department of State enacted retrogression for
Schedule A nurses and physical therapists. In response to a number of
inquiries that HLG has had, we recently published a Retrogression FAQ.
Please feel free to distribute it to your employees, friends, and
colleagues
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/11.02.2006_hcalert.htm
US ELECTION DAY: NOVEMBER 7, 2006
The US Election is November 7, 2006. All of the seats in the House of
Representatives (lower house) and one-third of the Senate’s seats (upper
house) are up for election. Almost any outcome is likely to have a deep
impact to the world of US immigration. The best place for information
pertaining to how the election impacts Healthcare Immigration is HLG’s
Healthcare Immigration Advocacy Blog.
http://hammondlawgroup.blogspot.com/
CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN
AILA has created a handy tool that allows one to easily let their
Congressional representatives know how they feel about immigration. It
takes under 3 minutes! Why not take a minute (or three) and let your
representatives know that you support CIR (Comprehensive Immigration
Reform), the SKIL Bill and H-1 Cap relief? You can find the tool on our
blog.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/10.11.2006_hcalert.htm
FSBPT TO STOP OFFERING EXAMS IN U.S.
TERRITORIES AND CANADA
Effective October 18, 2006 exam scheduling will no longer be available
at test sites in the U.S. territories and Canada. If you are currently
scheduled to take an exam in the U.S. territories or Canada, you will be
able to sit for the exam as scheduled. All future examinations may be
scheduled at any of the approximately 300 testing centers in the United
States.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/10.20.2006_hcalert.htm
CGFNS TO BEGIN SENDING ALL VISASCREEN
CERTIFICATES TO APPLICANTS VIA TRACEABLE MAIL
To expedite delivery and increase reliability, CGFNS began sending
VisaScreen Certificates via Traceable Mail on October 16, 2006.
http://www.cgfns.org/
LATEST ON EXAM SCANDAL
President Arroyo on Tuesday replaced the entire Board of Nursing of the
Professional Regulation Commission since the reforms are not moving fast
enough to resolve the scandal triggered by a leak in the nursing exam
last June. Also, twenty nurses who had passed the original exam have
filed formal complaints after they failed the re-grading. Finally, the
Board of Trustees of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing
Schools met recently to consider whether Philippine nurses who passed
the Philippine nursing license exam given in June 2006 will be eligible
for VisaScreen Certification. Any VisaScreen application filed on behalf
of June 2006 passer will be deferred until a final decision is made,
which is expected in the near future.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/nov/01/yehey/top_stories/20061101top5.html
http://www.cgfns.org/sections/press/news/2006/10-25-06_vs.shtml
HLG ATTORNEYS TO ATTEND STAFFING WORLD 2006
Chris Musillo and Cindy Unkenholt will be attending the American
Staffing Association Convention and Expo to be held November 7 through
November 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Staffing World is the industry's
premier educational and networking event.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/index.htm
PROCESSING TIMES CHART
(Note that as of April 1, 2006, all Schedule A cases must be filed at the NSC)
|
SERVICE CENTER |
PROCESSING DATES |
|
California Service Center ( CSC ) |
Not Processing |
|
AZ, CA, GU, HI, NV |
|
|
|
|
|
Nebraska Service Center ( NSC ) |
May 02, 2006 |
|
AK, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, ND, OH, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY |
|
|
|
|
|
Texas Service Center ( TSC ) |
May 02, 2006 |
|
AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX |
|
|
|
|
|
Vermont Service Center (VSC) |
April 01, 2006 |
|
CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, PR, RI, VT, VA, VI, WV |
|
VISA BULLETIN
|
|
All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA- |
INDIA |
MEXICO |
PHILIP-PINES |
|
Employ-ment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1st |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
|
2nd |
C |
15APR05 |
01JAN03 |
C |
C |
|
3rd |
01JUL02 |
01JUL02 |
22APR01 |
08MAY01 |
01JUL02 |
|
Schedule |
01OCT05 |
01OCT05 |
01OCT05 |
01OCT05 |
01OCT05 |
|
Other |
01MAY01 |
01MAY01 |
01MAY01 |
01MAY01 |
01MAY01 |
|
4th |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
|
Certain Religious Workers |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
|
5th |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
|
Targeted
Employ-ment Areas/ |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |