June 2012 Visa Bulletin

RETROGRESSION UPDATE

It's been a while since we last wrote about monthly visa bulletins issued by the American State department here at Pinoy RN. So let's see what's new in the visa front.

The visa bulletin for June 2012 has been out for more than a week now and Hammond Law Group made a very good table showing the movement of employment-based immigrant visa 3rd preference.

Click to enlarge. Table courtesy of Hammond Law Group Website

The table above shows that in June last year, Filipino nurses waiting since  September 15, 2005 (or earlier) were seeing progress in their immigrant petition to work in the United States. Fast forward to today, and we see that the priority dates moved nine (9) months.  

While still retrogressed, the monthly visa bulletins show a slow but consistent progress in the processing of nurse petitions.

September 2010 Visa Bulletin Shows 6-Month Jump in Priority Dates for Filipino Nurses

RETROGRESSION UPDATE

The visa bulletin for September 2010 has been released by the Department of State and it continues to show the forward movement of cut-off dates for Filipino Nurses.

From a previous cut-off date of June 1, 2004 indicated in the August visa bulletin, the September 2010 visa bulletin reflects a cut-off date of December 15, 2004. That's a 6-month leap forward.

Filipino nurses whose priority dates fall within the periods mentioned can expect movement in the consular processing of their employment-based immigrant visa petition.

Retrogression Update: May 2009 Visa Bulletin Released; EB3 Unavailable Until October 2009

RETROGRESSION UPDATE

The U.S. Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for May 2009 with more bad news for would-be immigrants.

	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
Employ-ment -Based
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15FEB05	15FEB04	C	C
3rd	U	U	U	U	U
Other Workers	U	U	U	U	U
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
5th Pilot Progams	C	C	C	C	C

The May 2009 Visa Bulletin shows the employment-based immigrant visa category 3rd preference (EB-3), where filipino registered nurses are usually petitioned under, to be unavailable. This means that visa numbers for the fiscal year has been completey exhausted.

Visa Bulletins for June, July, August, and September are expected to reflect the same information.

Related Link:
Visa Bulletin for May 2009

Pinoy R.N. Adds Section for Visa Bulletins

As part of Pinoy R.N.'s effort to deliver up-to-date nursing news and information to nurses, a new section will be added to the site dedicated to Visa Bulletins.

Every month, the U.S. State Department issues Visa Bulletins summarizing available visa numbers for the next month for both family and employment categories.

A quick access to these Visa Bulletins is provided at the side bar for easy reference.

Related link:
August 2008 Visa Bulletin

July 2008 Visa Bulletin Released; Nurse Visa Category Becomes Unavailable

RETROGRESSION UPDATE

As projected in a Pinoy R.N. report last month, the employment-based 3rd preference (EB3) visa numbers for the month of July are unavailable according to the State Department's most recent visa bulletin (July 2008). The unavailability of the visa numbers for the category where filipino registered nurses belong will persist until the new fiscal year begins in October.

Meanwhile, the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act or HR5924 is gaining momentum in the United States congress with ten (10) congressmen co-sponsoring the bill.

HR5924, among others, seeks to lift the current visa backlog (retrogression) by removing the limit on the number of visas that can be issued to nurses.

Formal hearing on the proposed legislation by the subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, refugees, border security, and international law is scheduled on June 12, Thursday.

June 2008 Visa Bulletin Released; No Movement for EB3 Category

RETROGRESSION UPDATE

After two months of rapid movements in the EB3 dates, the June 2008 Visa Bulletin released by the U.S. Department of State today showed that the priority dates for employment-based visas for filipino nurses remain at March 1, 2006.

This lack of movement in the EB3 priority dates is mainly due to the visa numbers nearing its annual cap for the year which may even result to the dates moving backwards temporarily in the July and August Visa Bulletins with the fiscal year nearing its end.

However, the EB3 priority dates are again expected to reflect significant forward movements in October 2008, the first month of the next the fiscal year.

Meanwhile, despite the "not-so-good" news in the June 2008 Visa Bulletin, filipino nurses still have something to smile about with the recent introduction of HR 5924 which, among others, seeks to lift the current visa retrogression by waiving visa quotas for occupations listed under Schedule A. Nursing and PT jobs are considered shortage occupations by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Related Links:

June 2008 Visa Bulletin
May 2008 Visa Bulletin
April 2008 Visa Bulletin
HR 5924: Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act

May 2008 Visa Bulletin Released; EB3 Dates Move Forward to March 2006

RETROGRESSION UPDATE

The U.S. Department of State has released its Visa Bulletin for May 2008 and it showed all categories to be current except for EB2 and EB3.

However, a bit of good news came with the bulletin as the EB3 category for the Philippines reflects major movement from last month. Starting next month, those with approved immigrant petitions on or before March 1, 2006 can expect developments in their visa processing anytime soon.

The priority dates for the EB3 category, where filipino nurses belong, have progressed to March 2006 from July 2005 the previous month.

Related Link:
May 2008 Visa Bulletin

April 2008 Visa Bulletin Released; EB3 Dates Jump Further to July 2005

RETROGRESSION UPDATE

Here's a bit of good news for filipino nurses with approved immigrant petitions on or before July 1, 2005. The priority dates for the EB3 category, where professional nurses belong, has progressed to July 2005 from January 2005 last month.

This means that those with priority dates July 1, 2005 or earlier can expect movements on their visa processing anytime soon.


Related Link:
April 2008 Visa Bulletin