SENATE TO VOTE ON MASSIVE IMMIGRATION BILL
Hammond Law Group has been providing a "play-by-play" on Congress' attempts to craft an Immigration bill on our new Blog.
http://hammondlawgroup.blogspot.com/

SJC PASSES MASSIVE IMMIGRATION BILL
The most favorable bill of the many being debated is the SJC's bill (aka Kennedy-McCain). If this bill is passed there will not be any green card quota for Schedule A occupations - nurses and physical therapists. If you haven’t taken a minute to contact a Senator and let him or her know your opinion of the bill, the time to do so is now.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/03.28.2006_alert.htm

H-1 VISA FILINGS START NOW
If you have a potential employee who you want to sponsor for an H-1B visa, the time to file is right now. If last year is any indication, we expect that the H-1 quota will be used very quickly – perhaps as soon as May 2006.
http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/2.06.2006_alert.htm

USCIS: NEW FILING PROCEDURES FOR I-140 and I-129
Beginning on April 1, 2006, all I-129 petitions and related applications will be filed at the Vermont Service Center and all I-140 petitions and concurrently filed applications will be filed at the Nebraska Service Center. After filing, the Vermont and California Service Centers will have sole responsibility for adjudication of I-129 petitions and the Nebraska and Texas Service Centers will have responsibility for adjudicating I-140/I-485 petitions. This change will alleviate the vast disparity in processing times between California and the other Service Centers for Schedule A I-140 petitions.

Note that this change also impacts TN nurses and other NAFTA healthcare professionals who will be extending their status in the United States. Those petitions for extension of status were previously filed exclusively with the Nebraska Service Center and will now be filed with the Vermont Service Center.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/BiSpecPh01_24Mar06PR.pdf

CGFNS PRICING INCREASES
The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) announced a new pricing structure that will be effective May 1, 2006. Among other changes, the new fee for an initial VisaScreen will be raised from the current $325 to $398.
http://www.cgfns.org/sections/press/news/2006/03-16-06_fees.shtml

CGFNS SHRINKS TIME LIMITS
CGFNS reports that , effective May 1, 2006, applicants applying for the CGFNS Certification Program, Credentials Evaluation Service and VisaScreen will be given 12 months to meet the requirements of each program. Orders for these three services that have not resulted in the rostering of an applicant to take the Qualifying Exam for the Certification Program, that have not resulted in the issuing of a Credentials Evaluation Service report, or that have not resulted in the issuing of a VisaScreen within 12 months of the application date will be closed. http://www.cgfns.org/sections/press/news/2006/03-16-06_fees.shtml

NURSE RUNS FOR SENATE
Despite the national star power of her primary opponent, U.S. Senate hopeful Rosalind Kurita hopes to unseat front-running Congressman Harold Ford Jr. for the nod to represent the Democratic Party in the race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN).
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=9&screen=news&news_id=48823

IMMIGRATION CHANGE TO HURT NURSING HOMES?

Immigration reform should be designed carefully to not hurt the needs for long-term care workers, industry groups said this week.

http://www.upi.com/healthbusiness/view.php?storyid=20060331-052431-8397r

 

PROCESSING TIMES CHART  

SERVICE CENTER	PROCESSING DATES
California Service Center ( CSC )	June 16, 2005
AZ, CA, GU, HI, NV
Nebraska Service Center ( NSC )	December 17, 2005
AK, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, ND, OH, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY
Texas Service Center ( TSC )	January 4, 2006
AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX
Vermont Service Center (VSC)	November 19, 2005
CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, PR, RI, VT, VA, VI, WV

 

PRIORITY DATES  

	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
Employment-Based
1st	C	01JAN04	01JAN05	C	C
2nd	C	01JAN03	01JUL02	C	C
3rd	01MAY01	01MAY01	01FEB01	08APR01	01MAY01
Schedule A Workers	C	C	C	C	C
Other Workers	Other Workers	01OCT01	01OCT01	01OCT01	01OCT01