CNN posted an interesting article on 12/23/09 that echoed what all of us have been saying in healthcare immigration and staffing, that the USA is facing an ever worsening nursing shortage as the population grows older.

Here are some of the comments:

America has had a nursing shortage for years, said Peter Buerhaus, workforce analyst at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn. But by 2025, the country will be facing a shortfall of 260,000 RNs, he said.  “In a few short years, just under four out of 10 nurses will be over the age of 50,” said Buerhaus. “They’ll be retiring out in a decade. And we’re not replacing these nurses even as the demand for them will be growing.”

Barry Pactor, international director of global health care for consulting company HCL International, agrees that more nurses should be trained within the U.S. system. But as a short term solution for this “huge shortage,” he said the U.S. government should loosen immigration restrictions on foreign health care workers.

“I don’t see this as foreign nurses taking American jobs, because these are vacancies that already exist and cannot be [filled] by nurses currently in training,” he said. “We’d be filling in the gaps until the training can catch up with the demand.” 

This is an extremely informative Q&A session between AILA and  USCIS that addresses the following major  topics:

1)  Excessive documentation requests for L-1 RFEs including L-1Bs involving placements at 3rd party sites

2)  H-1B Cap Exempt employers

3)  Right of Counsel for H-1B Site Visits…..and more

To highlight a few USCIS responses:

1) AILA provided examples to USCIS of explaining its RFE requests by providing examples (rather than endless lists of mandatory documents) of how to respond

2)  Re Counting periods of time abroad for L-1 Eligibility:  USCIS stated,  “Contrary to the AFM, precedent decisions and long practice, USCIS now states that only time in the US in L status, rather than any ‘authorized periods of stay in the US for the foreign employer’, does not interrupt the prior year of employment.

3)  Right to Counsel during the course of audits and site visits & training for Investigative Officers:

a.  “USCIS is in the process of amending several forms (Form I-129 instructions) and receipt notices to advise that USCIS may conduct compliance site inspections at any time pre or post adjusication.  There are currently no plans to provide advance notice of a site inspection conducted under the ASVVP”.

b.  Advance notice is provided by FDNS officers when conducting site visits/administrative inquiries on cases containing elements of suspeced fraud unless the officer believes that advance notice would jeopardize or hamper the site visit.  FDNS officers also provide notice to attorneys of record when conducting site visits under the Benefit Fraud Assessment and Compliance Program.

c.  Are petitioners/beneficiaries informed of their right to call their attorney and have the attorney present before questioning commences?  “Participation in an ASVVP compliance site inspection/any USCIS site visit, is volunary”.

d.  “A petitioner/beneficiary/other persons will be allowed to contact their counsel if they are immediately available (in person or by phone), however, such contact should not unduly delay the process or entail unusual accommodations in which case the site inspection or site visit may be terminated”.

e.  Site visits will not be rescheduled if an attorney cannot be present.  If the employer’s attorney is not available, the Inspector will note this in their report.  The report will be reviewed for follow-up action, if appropriate.

4)  Site Visit Officer Training:  “Training is provided to site inspectors and immigration officers during their basic training after their entry on duty.  The inspectors collect and report information which is then analyzed by immigration officers who do have appropriate immigration law training.”

Other topics in this report covered termination of empoyment authorization documents, I-130 denials that are appealed, Civil Surgeons training and monitoring, etc.   Well worth the read through.

We link to the Q&A document

It has been reported that some 20,000 more unannounced employer site visits will be taking place over the next few months by FDNS, but this time it will be to employers who have filed H-1B extensions to determine if there is ongoing compliance by the employer.

It’s been asked, do they have the legal right to do this – just show up and demand to speak with a company’s representative or executive officer?  Yes, they do, although it hasn’t been acted upon to the extent we are now observing until your $500 Fraud Detection and Prevention government filing fee created the revenue to employ some 6,500 FDNS agents.  Up until now, USCIS or DOL agents have always been in a position to do onsite employer visits when they thought necessary – but it’s been rarely acted upon.  Presently, you can add ICE and FDNS to this group – because we’re in a hunt ‘em down, enforcement climate – and it’s the employers who are being targeted.

So, how does an employer handle this?  We don’t recommend that you wait to ask this question and to get your documentation organized when the agent comes knocking.  This is serious business now, and they are not just targeting the small to medium-size employer or the employer who has financial issues and can’t respond to requests to prove the ability to pay the offered wage to the employee.

Therefore, it is recommended that you discuss this with your immigration counsel now.  If you don’t have a representative, we are available to walk you through a program that will not only assist you in organizing your Public Access information and files, but we will give you the tools to prepare the company representative that will handle the agent site visit and to prepare them for the questions that will be asked, what documentation should be organized now and beeasily accessible to present to the agent when requested – and overall, how to successfully respond to a government site visit at your place of employment.

The NCSBN has an excellent Resource Manual available for International Nurses and was developed as a user-friendly resource.

The manual focuses on 3 main topics related to foreign nurses:  Education, English Exam and Immigration.  Very intelligently, each chapter has 4 sections:  Definitions, Issues, FAQs and Resources.

It is important to understand that each state is responsible for the licensure of nurses within the state. Variations exist among the states.  It is very important to be working with a knowledgeable certification and licensure specialist or be in direct contact yourself with the State Board.

Immigration Solutions are specialists in health care immigration – for all occupations.  We have placed hundreds of foreign health care personnel with US hospitals and top medical facilities in the USA.  We have worked with some of the most reputable international staffing professionals in the industry; have attended countless recruitment events abroad and in the USA, and interface one-on-one with the health care professional and their families throughout the entire process.  We continue to advise and consult with some of the top recruiters and medical facilities in the USA.

Contact Immigration Solutions for all of your US and Canadian health care immigration matters.  Here is the link to the NCSBN Manual and here is a link to our healthcare brochure.

Mexico City, April 25, 2009 – Mexico and the United States are cooperating closely together as Mexico works to contain the current outbreak of H1N1 influenza. At the invitation of the Mexican government, a team of experts from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has arrived in Mexico to work with their counterparts to identify and limit the outbreak of H1N1 influenza. The United States has imposed no additional constraints or limitations on travel between the United States and Mexico. Travelers are encouraged to comply with suggestions by Mexican public health officials and to practice good health and sanitation.

In accordance with measures announced by the City of Mexico to limit the congregation of large crowds, the Embassy in Mexico City has decided to suspend processing of the approximately 5100 non-immigrant visa appointments scheduled Monday, April 27 through Wednesday, April 29.

For more information on the Embassy taking precautionary measures:
Read this press release from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico

Remade in America: This is one segment in a series about the newest immigrants and their impact on American institutions

The question comes from one of dozens of engineers around a crowded conference table at Google. They have gathered to discus how to bujild easy-to-use maps that could turn hundreds of millions of mobile phones into digital Sherpas – guiding travelers to businesses, restaurants and landmarks

His plane gets in at 9:30,” the group’s manager responds. Google is based here in Silicon Valley. But Sanjay G. Mavinkurve, one of the key engineers on a map project, is not. His wife doesn’t have a visa, so he lives in Canada.

For more: http://projects.nytimes.com/immigration/

The “Sentosa 10” were given “a clean bill of health” and found new employment in nursing homes and in a hospital after their criminal charges of conspiracy and patient endangerment were dropped, according to their lawyer James Druker.

The 10 nurses, hired while still in the Philippines to work in U.S. nursing homes managed by Sentosa Care, LLC, found working and living conditions different from what they’d been promised, according to the January 13 decision by the New York State Supreme Court’s appellate division. Their
attorney at the time, Felix Vinluan, advised them that, under the circumstances, they could legally resign. After the 10 nurses’ joint resignation, they and Vinluan were prosecuted
(see “An American Dream Gone Wrong,” In the News, August 2007).

For more information on this story and to read the CGFNS News for April 2009:
Download this PDF

WASHINGTON – April 8, 2009, USCIS announced it continues to accept H-1B nonimmigrant visa petitions subject to the fiscal year 2010 (FY 2010) cap. USCIS will continue to monitor the number of H-1B petitions received for both the 65,000 regular cap and the 20,000 U.S. master’s degree or higher educational exemption cap.

Should USCIS receive the necessary number of petitions to meet the respective caps, it will issue an update to advise the public that, as of a certain date (the “final receipt date”), the respective FY 2010 H-1B caps have been met. The final receipt date will be based on the date USCIS physically receives the petition, not the date that the petition is postmarked. The date or dates USCIS informs the public that the respective caps have been reached may differ from the actual final receipt date.

For more information on this story:
Read this article from USCIS.gov

There are surprising (and positive) developments to report on CIR. The House appears to be getting its act together on immigration, Immigration Daily has learned that Rep. Conyers and Rep. Lofgren have made significant progress in writing a massive CIR bill. Furthermore, The Hill reports that “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who did not bring the issue up last Congress, appears to be throwing more support behind the initiative this time.” A major immigration bill, backed by the full Democratic leadership of the House is likely to be ready for hearings and markup in a couple of months. This development is particularly heartening in that positive signs from the House were not visible earlier this year.

For more information on this story:
Read this link from ILW.com

Join us for our monthly telephone conference on I-9 compliance where we will discuss:

• I-9 Laws and Regulations
• Completing the new Form I-9
• Documentation Requirements and Examination
• Document Retention, and
• Discrimination and Penalties
• Open Q&A

Note: April 3, 2009 is the effective date of the new I-9 form for all new hires and re-verification.

New I-9 Form

Government I-9 Guide

For those of you who don’t want to pour through 65 pages of government data, RSVP and join us on April 17 for the straight talk!

Details:

Date: Friday, April 17, 2009
Time:11am PDT  |  2pm  EDT
RSVP:info@immigrationsolution.net
We will reserve your place and provide you with dial in information and your personal access code.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…