In the middle of September, the US Department of State will release its October 2007 Visa Bulletin which marks the start of the government fiscal year and the availability of the new annual quota of immigrant visas for fiscal year 2008 (October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008).  At that time we will have a better idea of the waiting periods for immigrant visas for nurses under the current immigrant visa quota system. 

As we have indicated recently, we remain hopeful that new laws will be enacted soon to decrease the present waiting periods for nurses to immigrate to the US. We base our hope on the fact that the current critical shortage of nurses in the US demands immediate action so that the US healthcare system can continue to operate effectively.  In addition, in the past, new laws have been enacted to address the shortage of nurses in the US by allowing more foreign nurses into the US.  Finally, several legislative solutions have been and continue to be proposed and debated. 

Various groups of healthcare employers, nurse recruiting companies and related entities and persons are presently lobbying for a legislative solution.  The present focus is on short-term immediate relief for nurses.  In addition, long-term permanent relief is being pursued.  Specific proposals include exempting nurses from the annual immigrant visa quota restrictions, increasing the number of immigrant visas available in the EB-3 quota category that applies to nurses and creating a new nonimmigrant visa to allow nurses to come to the US immediately to start work while waiting for the immigrant visa process ("green card") to be completed.  Hospitals and nurse recruiters in the US are encouraged to contact their Senators and Congressmen to express their support for these legislative efforts to relieve the current shortage of nurses in the US by speeding up the process to bring foreign nurse to the US. 

Approximately 300,000 visa applications were received by the Government for the month of July.  Only 140,000 visas were allocated for the month of July and 80,000 were approved.  This will most likely increase the wait time for applicants from India (EB3 category) and the Philippines, already the categories with the highest demand.

Although the rejected immigration bill attempted to solve problems with the current system by focusing on issuing permanent and temporary work visas, it failed to address the numerous underlying institutional problems.  Up until 1990, H-1B visas were not subject to numerical limitations.  At one point, 195,000 H-1B visas were awarded in one year.  Now the story is much different, and the process is mired by the involvement of three different agencies: the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS).  This schema lacks clear lines of accountability and results in arbitrary, inefficient and inconsistent decisions.

Companies that are frustrated with the maze-like bureaucratic process have responded to visa procurement problems by out-sourcing and establishing cross-border facilities.  However, recent evidence suggests that the out-sourcing process has slowed at the upper end of the high-technology sector, due to the rising costs of highly skilled Indian labor and because of the increasing difficulties associated with working in multiple locations.  It is perhaps being replaced by companies establishing cross-border facilities, such as what Microsoft plans to do.  Microsoft recently announced that it would open a software development facility in Vancouver, British Columbia.  This is the first to be created outside of the United States to accommodate workers caught up with U.S. visa procurement issues.

Even though the bureaucratic mess and visa shortage has started to tangibly effect the investments and future developments of U.S. companies, the Democratic congressional leadership is divided on the prospects for incremental immigration reform. Although many of us can point fingers at Congress to not fixing the problem, perhaps there are other entities that deserve attention.  A significant number of U.S. high-technology professionals oppose allowing targeted immigration in this sector as they argue importing lower-cost foreign workers depresses wages and benefits.  These professionals have strong lobbying associations, which were well represented in the drafting of the immigration bill and may have diluted the relevant high-technology immigration provisions to the extent where the overall package lost corporate backing.  One of the most egregious examples was a proposed amendment that would have guaranteed certain minimum wage and benefit standards to workers allowed in on H-1B visas.  Until the lobbyists are not part of the political picture, or change their tune, so to speak, it appears that high-technology employers are likely to continue to suffer under a glaringly inadequate visa system for highly skilled immigrant workers, and will be forced to continue searching for creative methods of meeting employment needs. 

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