Predictions on Visa Availability for Nurses and Physical Therapists
Posted Sep 01, 2006
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The U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued an updated projection of availability of Schedule A visa numbers that apply to nurses and physical therapists. The prediction, issued in late August 2006, states that the numbers should remain "current" during the month of October 2006. After October 2006, however, they estimate that there will be fewer than 1,000 Schedule A numbers remaining of the 50,000 allocated by Congress to ameliorate the shortage of nurses and physical therapists in the United States. These cases were given a one-time allotment of 50,000 designated visa numbers as part of a law that was passed in May 2005. More on this topic is available in our June 7, 2005 NewsFlash, DOS Visa Bulletin Includes New Schedule A Category, available on MurthyDotCom.
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Unlike other categories in the DOS Visa Bulletin, once the Schedule A numbers are all used, no more will be issued unless the law changes to increase the quota again. If the Schedule A numbers are depleted, these cases will be charged against the regular employment-based, third preference quota (EB3 visa numbers), as they were before. Regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are aware of the significant backlogs in EB3. This will add substantially to the existing problem, creating a dire situation for the employers and patients relying on these nurses. Nurses generally are not eligible for H1B visas as temporary workers in a specialty occupation, unless they fall within one of the exceptions. Most registered nurses, therefore, will have to wait with the regular EB3 visa group even just to work temporarily in the U.S.
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Predictions in the Visa Bulletin are based on estimations of the demand for immigrant visa numbers. Notices such as this tend to generate more demand as people rush to complete their cases. If demand increases, the numbers may not even last through October 2006. At the Murthy Law Firm, our recommendation to Schedule A foreign nationals and their employers is that they consider using premium processing for their I-140s to increase their chances of getting an approval before the numbers run out. At the very least, eligible Schedule A cases should file the I-140/I-485 concurrently while it is still possible to do so.