By Thomas J. Joy, Esq.

October 1, 2008 marks the start of the new government Fiscal Year 2009 (“FY 2009”).  At this time the new annual quota of immigrant visa numbers becomes available.  Unfortunately, retrogression is still with us.  The anxiously awaited State Department October Visa Bulletin indicates EB-3 cutoff dates as follows:  China (October 1, 2001), India (July 1, 2001), Mexico (July 1, 2002), Philippines (January 1, 2005), all other countries (January 1, 2005).  Earlier visa bulletins had predicted that FY 2009 would start with the more favorable cutoff dates that had existed in June 2008 just before the EB-3 category became totally unavailable from July through September 2008.  However, heavier demand from USCIS than anticipated has caused the State Department to establish cutoff dates further back than those that existed for June 2008.  Finally, a note in the October Visa Bulletin states that little if any forward movement is likely until the extent of the USCIS backlog of old priority dates can be determined.  As a result, at this time, it is impossible to predict or even guess how soon immigrant visa numbers will become available for later filed cases.  We will keep you advised of any new information as it is released by the State Department. 

In the area of proposed new laws to increase the immigrant visa quotas for nurses and to recapture unused immigrant visa numbers from previous annual quotas, significant progress has been made as previously reported here.  The nurse legislation and the recapture legislation introduced in the House of Representatives has been repeatedly postponed for further hearings and the recapture legislation introduced in the Senate has not yet been scheduled for hearings.  This proposed legislation is the result of bipartisan efforts.   With Congress leaving for the upcoming national elections and the ongoing problems with the US economy, it is unlikely that this pending legislation will be enacted this year.  However, due to the bipartisan support for and the significant progress of this pending legislation this past year, we are optimistic that same or similar legislation will be reintroduced in the new Congress which will start in early 2009.

As stated here previously, we advise and encourage you to continue to file your Schedule A immigrant visa petitions for nurses.  This initial step in the immigrant process is not prevented by the presence of retrogression.  By filing now, you will be ahead of the competition when retrogression is lifted by the enactment of the proposed nurse and recapture legislation.

2. Visa Bulletin Clarity

What is the Visa Bulletin

The United States Department of State, through the Bureau of Consular Affairs, publishes the monthly "Visa Bulletin."  The Visa Bulletin lists the availability of "immigrant numbers" during the month of publication, and is intended as a guide for consular officials, attorneys and others who would like to know if visas are immediately available for individuals in particular categories. 

The Visa Bulletin indicates the availability of visas for family and employment-based preference categories, and separately lists countries that may have exceeded their allocation of visas.  Countries that have exceeded their allocation of visas are “oversubscribed” and individuals from those countries must wait before a visa can be issued.

What is a priority date?

As part of the immigration paperwork process, individual applicants receive priority dates. These dates indicate the applicant's place in line, which determines when they are eligible to enter the United States. In most circumstances, the priority date is the filing date of the petition or labor certification application.

Individuals whose priority date is after the one listed in the tables must wait until their priority date is included in a table published in the monthly Visa Bulletin.  In other words - only applicants who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number. 

Contrary to what one might believe, priority dates do not necessarily advance one month at a time, and depend upon the number of applications filed around the time of an individual’s application.

What does it mean if a category is “current”?

If a Category is "Current" then visas are immediately available for issuance by the consulate, and tables on the Visa Bulletin indicate this fact with a "C" under the appropriate chargeability area.  If a category is oversubscribed, tables on the Visa Bulletin indicate this fact with a date, such as 22JUN00 under the appropriate chargeability area.  When a category is oversubscribed, as mentioned above, only individuals with a “priority date” earlier than the one listed on the Visa Bulletin may be issued visas.

At Immigration Compliance Group, we continue to share information on Visa Bulletin matters with our readers and explain them in easily understandable language.

If you have any questions on this topic, please feel free to contact us.  We have a Quick Link to the Visa Bulletin in our monthly newsletter each month. 

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3. Canada gets it right by Helping Temporary Foreign Workers and Foreign Student Graduates become Permanent Residents

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced the details of the Canadian Experience Class, a proposed new avenue for immigration for certain temporary foreign workers and foreign student graduates with Canadian work experience. Unlike other existing programs, this proposal will allow an applicant’s Canadian experience to be considered a key selection factor when immigrating to Canada.

“The Canadian Experience Class is one more measure this government is proposing to make our immigration system more attractive and accessible to individuals with diverse skills from around the world, and more responsive to Canada’s labour market needs,” said Minister Finley. “This new proposed avenue for immigration would also go further to spread the benefits of immigration into smaller centres across Canada.”

“Choosing newcomers based on knowledge of our labour market and experience within Canadian society would make Canada a more attractive destination for skilled individuals from around the world,” added Minister Finley. “International students and skilled workers would be more likely to choose Canada if they knew their time in Canada and contribution to Canadian society would assist in their eligibility to apply to stay permanently.”

The Canadian Experience Class will allow certain temporary foreign workers and certain foreign student graduates with managerial, professional, or technical or trade work experience to apply to become permanent residents, and eventually Canadian citizens. All applicants, depending on their occupational skill level, will be required to demonstrate either basic or moderate language skills. Proposed regulatory changes have been pre-published in the Canada Gazette for a 15-day comment period. Final regulatory changes will be published following this comment period.

To read more details of the update:
Read this from Citizenship and Immigration Canada

4. The Voluntary Code of Ethical Conduct for the Recruitment of Foreign Nurses

The code evolved from the recognition that there is no single cause for the nursing shortage and that there are diverse solutions to ensure supportive, productive work environments for all nurses in the United States.   The code is voluntary; health care organizations and recruiters that subscribe are committing to adhere to a series of practical standards and to emulate best practices.  There are concerns that a rapid increase in international recruiting creates opportunities for unethical behavior,” said Patricia Pittman, Ph.D., executive vice president of AcademyHealth, the professional home for health services researchers, policy analysts and practitioners.  

For more on the voluntary code:
Read this article from Fair International Recruitment 

5. CEO’s sign onto letter to the House and Senate

Once again, leading corporate heads called for the House and Senate to pass a new immigration reform bill.  The letter was signed by 84 CEOs and presidents of US corporations calling for a H.R. 5882 to be passed this year that would recapture employment-based immigrant visas that were lost due to administrative delays.  To name a few who submitted letters:  Global Public Policy, Salesforce.com, Oracle, VeriSign, US Chamber of Commerce, Accenture, Cisco Systems, Inc. and Texas Instruments. 

For more information on the letter:
Read this article from Compete America