Visa Priority Dates for EB3 (Nurses) – 01-08-05 Visa Bulletin October 2010

The priority date for the Employment-Based Category 3 (EB3) has moved to January 8, 2005.   This represents a month of movement from last month’s priority date.  For the September 2010 Visa Bulletin, the priority date for EB3 was December 15, 2004.  Below is the October 2010 priority dates for employment-based visa category:

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Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	08MAY06	C	08MAY06	C	C
3rd	15DEC04	22OCT03	15DEC04	01JAN02	U	15DEC04
Other Workers	22MAR03	22MAR03	22MAR03	01JAN02	U	22MAR03
4th	C	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th	C	C	C	C	C	C
Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers	C	C	C	C	C	C
5th Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C	C

New Immigration Bills Filed In US Congress

AlinsugLaw, January 9, 2008.

Last January 7, 2008, US Congresswoman Shiela Jackson-Lee introduced the bill entitled, “To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to comprehensively reform immigration law, and for other purposes”.

Unavailable to January 1, 2005 – October 2008 Visa Bulletin

AlinsugLaw September 12, 2008 — The US Department of State had just issued the Visa Bulletin for October 2008. As regards Filipino nurses waiting on any development on visa availability, the October 2008 Visa Bulletin, at least, brings some movement. Since last July the employment-based visa category (EB3) under which nurses generally fall, has been UNAVAILABLE. In the current Visa Bulletin, the priority date has moved to January 1, 2005 (the same as that in the March 2008 Visa Bulletin). This is a welcome development considering that come October 2008, the new immigration calendar will begin which means that new visas will become available. Below is the relevant portion of the current Visa Bulletin:

House Judicial Committee to Vote on Immigration Bills on September 10, 2008

On September 10, 2008, the House Judiciary Committee will vote on bills of significant importance to Philippine nurses.  Among the bills are the bill to recapture unused visas for EB3 and the bill which would allow 20,000 nurses and PT’s to the US annually.  NurseLaw will be closely watching this event.

NurseLaw: July Visa Bulletin

The US Department of State has recently issued the Visa Bulletin for July 2008. As for the EB3 visa for Filipino Nurses, it is not good at the moment as the visa has become unavailable (U).

NurseLaw: New Bills Introduced May Alleviate Retrogression

New bills filed before the US House of Representatives are bringing renewed hope for the Filipino nurses intending to go to the US. Read the recent article from NurseLaw.

US Visa Bulletin for April 2008 – EB3 Priority Date Jumps to March 2006

The US Department of State issued the Visa Bulletin for April 2008 and it shows that the EB3 Visa availability jumped from July 2005 to March 2006.

NLE Passers for December 2007 Exams

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AlinsugLaw congratulates the thousands of nurses who have passed the December 2007 Nurse Licensure Examination.  New doors of opportunities have opened up for you.  Make your country and family proud of you.

Visa Bulletin for November and December 2007 – Slow Movement

AlinsugLaw has chosen to combine the November and December 2007 Visa Bulletin because basically there was no significant movement during these months for Employment-Based Visa category 3 (EB3), the visa nurses from the Philippines are interested in. 

The November 2007 Visa Bulletin reveals no change, that is, the cut off date remained at August 2002 (same as the October 2007 Visa Bulletin); whereas, the December 2007 Visa Bulletin shows only a movement of one month, that is, September 2002, as follows:

	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIP-PINES
Employ-ment -Based
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01JAN03	01JAN02	C	C
3rd	01SEP02	15OCT01	01MAY01	22APR01	01SEP02
Other Workers	01OCT01	01OCT01	01OCT01	01OCT01	01OCT01
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th	C	C	C	C	C
Targeted Employ-ment Areas/ Regional Centers	C	C	C	C	C

The December 2007 Visa Bulletin also has a note that slower movement is to be expected, as follows:

“Third:  Slow forward movement should be possible while demand patterns are established.”

The expected additional visas for nurses was removed as a rider in the appropriations bill.  Still, the hope for nurses is that a bill is passed within the next coming months to address this shortage of visas for nurses.  AlinsugLaw will monitor any development and blawg on any significant news on this front.

October 2007 Visa Bulletin – EB3 Priority Date August 2002

The Visa Bulletin for October 2007 is now out and it doesn’t look good for nurses expecting new available visas in October.  Far from it, the priority date has substantially retrogressed to August 1, 2002.

DOLE: Only licensed agencies allowed to conduct Internet-based recruitment

Wednesday, August 22, 2007The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said that measures have been initiated to prevent illegal recruitment through the Internet.

Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) allows only licensed agencies and their legitimate representatives to post vacancies and recruit Filipino workers through the Internet. The POEA is a DOLE attached agency.

June 11, 2007 Results: 9,198 or 68.96% Passed

The results of the June 11, 2007 nursing board exam is out.  According to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), a total of 13,338 nurses licensed pursuant to the June 2006 NLE took the exam and 9,198 or 68.96% Passed.  It its press release, DOLE likewise explained –

“A total of 13,338 nurses licensed pursuant to the June 2006 NLE took the voluntary retake examination and 9,198 or 68.96% passed. The rest (4,140) failed to meet the passing grade of at least 75% in both Tests III and V.

Compendium of Forms for Filipino Nurses Applying for US Employment-Based Immigration

Below is an attempt to list down all the forms a Filipino nurse might need in going through the immigration processing for the US.  Luckily, most, if not all, of the forms are available online.  This is by no means an exhaustive listing but we hope Filipino nurses will find this listing useful:

August 2007 Visa Bulletin – All EB Visas Unavailable

The Visa Bulletin for August 2007 has been released and the headline for Filipino nurses is that all emploment-based visas are UNAVAILABLE.  Below is the portion of the current Visa Bulletin pertaining to employment-based visas:

NCLEX in Manila begins on August 23, 2007

This news is long time coming.  Early this year, NCSBN already announced that Manila will be the next NCLEX test site.  Now, it’s definite that the NCLEX will be administered in the Philippines beginning August 23, 2007, and those with ATT can already start scheduling tomorrow (July 13, 2007). 

USCIS Announces Temporary Suspension of Premium Processing Service

USCIS Announces Temporary Suspension of Premium Processing Service for

Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

BAD NEWS: Immigration Bill Crumbles; Stand Alone Bills For Nurses May be the Alternative

The Immigration Reform Bill which we have closely monitored these past months is dead.  The pro-immigration bill advocates failed to muster the required votes of 60 to push the immigration bill to a final vote at the US Senate.  (See related articles:  U.S. Senate kills Bush immigration reform bill; Lawmakers pursue remnants of failed bill) .

Immigration Bill Back in the Senate for Consideration

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Senate should wrap up work on a sweeping overhaul of U.S. immigration laws before July 4, but its odds of passage remain uncertain, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday.

DOLE: 11,000 nursing examinees in 2006 to undergo retake on June 11

As expected, around 11,000 nurses from the June 2006 Philippine board exam re-took nurse licensure examination last June 11, 2007.  In its press release, DOLE reports –

Close to 11,000 nursing graduates affected by the controversial June 2006 nursing board examinations will undergo a retake of the nursing licensure examinations scheduled on Monday, June 11, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said.

Filipino RN’s Top Number of NCLEX Takers; Passing Rate 46.7%

NCSBN posted the statistics on the NCLEX Quarterly Examination Statistics showing that Filipino RN’s have the most number of NCLEX takers (5,076) as of March 2007 –

2007 First-Time Internationally Educated Candidates:
Top Five Countries (with respect to volume)1
Volume	Jan. – March	April – June	July – Sept.	Oct. – Dec.	2007 Total
1st	Philippines 5,076	Available in July 2007	Available in Oct. 2007	Available in Jan. 2008	Philippines 5,076
2nd	India 1,384				India 1,384
3rd	South Korea 600				South Korea 600
4th	Canada 201				Canada 201
	Cuba				Cuba
5th	168				168
1In this table, the count of first-time internationally educated candidates includes both RNs and PNs.

It will be recalled that, last February 2007, NCSBN announced that the NCLEX will be offered in the Philippines.