medicalMonitor

the monthly healthcare immigration eZine

                                   published by Hammond Law Group, LLC

DECEMBER 14, 2006 VOL. III ISSUE 12 (DECEMBER 2006 ISSUE)

 

Visit www.HammondLawFirm.com

Keep up with the latest Immigration News by signing up for all of Hammond Law Group LLC's free publications:
Immigration Alerts, Medical Monthly Monitor and Business Immigration Quarterly.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/mailing_list.htm

 

JANUARY VISA BULLETIN
A small amount of Schedule A Worker numbers which had been provided to consular offices for November use were returned unused after the end of the month and thus became available for reallocation. All remaining Schedule A Worker numbers have been made available to applicants whose priority dates are within the January cut-off date (15JUN04). The Schedule A Worker category will be removed from the listings beginning with the February cut-off dates.
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3100.html

 

CONGRESS FAILS TO CURE RETROGRESSION, H-1 CAP
Efforts by Senators Cornyn and Hutchinson to increase H-1B visas and immigrant visas for nurses (respectively) were unsuccessful. Accordingly, U.S. employers will remain unable to obtain new H-1B workers until October 2007. Additionally, foreign nationals in the green card process will continue to face lengthy delays in obtaining immigrant visas. Most notably, U.S. hospitals and other healthcare facilities recruiting foreign Registered Nurses and Physical Therapists remain temporarily unable to obtain immigrant visas unless or until Congress authorizes additional immigrant visas for Schedule A workers or eliminates Schedule A workers from the visa quota. Advocacy efforts continue.
 http://hammondlawgroup.blogspot.com/


RETROGRESSION F.A.Q.
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 are offering this Retrogression FAQ. Please feel free to distribute it to your employees, friends, and colleagues. We are republishing this FAQ because we have had many clients and friends ask for additional copies.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/11.02.2006_hcalert.htm

 

CTIHS SIGN-ON LETTER
The organization that HLG leads, the Coalition to Improve Healthcare Staffing, has aligned itself with other like-minded organizations such as the AHA to lobby Congress on behalf of retrogression relief among other things positive for our industry. The CTIHS recently sent a letter to Congress in which we advocated for retrogression relief.
http://www.coalitiononhealthcarestaffing.org/


CGFNS RAISING PRICES
The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) announced that, beginning on January 1, 2007, an Order Processing Fee of $50 will be charged, in addition to the normal service fee. The fee will cover energy, transportation and postal increases as well as electronic management of records. This will allow for enhancements for the secure transmission of documents.
http://www.cgfns.org/sections/about/news/news/2006/11-15-06_order.shtml


LATEST NCLEX FACT SHEET RELEASED
The latest NCLEX fact sheet lists a number of interesting pieces of information, including volume, pass rates, and first-time internationally educated candidates’ countries.
https://www.ncsbn.org/2006_NCLEX_Fact_sheet.pdf


NURSE WEEK: NOMINATE AN EXCELLENT NURSE
Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek have created a national program of recognizing extraordinary contributions nurses make to their patients, each other, and the profession. They are seeking Nominations for 2007 Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek Excellence Awards in six categories.
http://nsweb.nursingspectrum.com/nursingexcellence/2007/

 

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 )

June 1, 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 )

June 1, 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-
mainland born		INDIAMEXICOPHILIP-PINES
Employ-ment
-Based
 		     
1stCCCCC
2nd C22APR0508JAN03CC
3rd 01AUG0201AUG0208MAY0115MAY0101AUG02
Schedule
A
Workers 		15JUN0415JUN0415JUN0415JUN0415JUN04
Other
Workers 		01OCT0101OCT0101OCT0101OCT0101OCT01
4th CCCCC
Certain Religious WorkersCCCCC
Iraqi & Afghani Translators18SEP0618SEP0618SEP0618SEP0618SEP06
5th CCCCC
Targeted Employ-ment Areas/
Regional Centers 		CCCCC

 
 

 

 

Keep up with the latest Immigration News by signing up for all of Hammond Law Group LLC's free publications:
Immigration Alerts, Medical Monthly Monitor , Business Immigration Monthly, and Business Immigration Journal (BIJ).
Subscribe to immigration news, articles, and other publications at

http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/mailing_list.htm

Hammond Law Group has a team of attorneys and legal staff who work with leading hospitals, recruiting agencies, and other healthcare providers to handle the immigration processing of cases for professional nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists and other healthcare providers. This eZine is designed to provide our clients with only the information they need. For more detailed information about any of the topics discussed, please contact us and a member of our healthcare team will be happy to speak to you.