Healthcare Blog

Thanksto aggressive lobbying and advocacy by the AAIHR, MU Law believes thatimmigrant visas are again being issued to applicants who apply through the USEmbassy in Manila.  This week, a notablenumber of MU Law clients have been granted their visas.

MULaw recommends that all nurses who have been waiting to schedule their appointment begin contacting the Embassy and reset their appointments.

Previously,the US Embassy in Manila had denied virtually every nurse immigrant visa forthe entirety of 2020, including in January and February, before the pandemicbegan.

The HWRA provides a partial answer tothis.  The HWRA allows 25,000 fullyqualified nurses into the US, who are only waiting to enter the US because ofbureaucratic delays and misallocated visa quotas.  The bill similarly allows doctors who havebeen waiting in the immigration queue for 10+ years to rise to the top of thequeue.  

And the HWRA does all this withoutadding a single visa to the annual quotas. The HWRA recaptures visas that were authorized by Congress but were notissued because of processing delays at government agencies. 

With 36 bipartisan Senators (out of 100) who have already signedon to co-sponsor the bill, the HWRA is among the most popular bills in theSenate.  In the House of Representatives,the co-sponsor list is approaching 70 members. As with the Senate, the House list is fully bipartisan with a nearly50/50 split between Democrats and Republicans. 

Congress is now back in session, aftertaking most of August off.  It isexpected that the Congress will take up additional COVID relieflegislation.  The Democrat-controlled Housepassed a partisan bill in May, which the Republican-controlled Senate hasdeclined to consider.  Now, theRepublican-controlled Senate is expected to do the same, and attempt to pass a “skinny” COVID relief bill. That bill is also not expected to go anywhere. 

After that it is expected thatDemocrat and Republican leadership will attempt to broker a deal that bothparties can hold their nose and agree to endorse.  Any agreement would have to come in the nextfew weeks.  HWRA advocates are activelyseeking to make the HWRA part of any deal. 

The first US presidential debate isset for September 29.  While not a truedeadline, September 29 almost serves as a soft deadline for the HWRA, at leastuntil after the US election on November 3. If no deal is reached by September 29, there is a chance that Congressreturns after the election and revisits a COVID relief deal.

USCISannounced that it will not have to furlough 13,000 employees, which isabout two-thirds its workforce.  Thefurloughs were set to begin on August 30, 2020. The agency cited, “unprecedented spending cuts and a steady increase indaily incoming revenue and receipts,” as the reason for the recession of thefurloughs.  USCIS first expected the furloughsto begin earlier in the summer.  Thosewere postponed until August 30.  Theyhave now been further averted.

USCIS Deputy Directorfor Policy Joseph Edlow warned, “averting this furlough comes at a severeoperational cost that will increase backlogs and wait times across the board,with no guarantee we can avoid future furloughs. A return to normal operatingprocedures requires congressional intervention to sustain the agency throughfiscal year 2021.”

The Department of Statehas just issued the September2020 Visa Bulletin. This is the last Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2020.This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

September 2020 VisaBulletin

Table A: Final ActionDates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card(Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

MU Law Analysis

There was not much to report this month.  This Visa Bulletin showed no real movement inthe categories, which was a bit surprising, although probably reflects thereality that very few immigrant visas are being issued overseas, and the USCISis backlogged in immigrant visa processing. Therefore, any movement in the categories was probably unnecessary.  USCIS’ backlog is expected to get worse inlight of their forthcomingfurloughs. 

MU Law expects thefavorable employment-based visa dates to continue next fiscal year.  We explained why on thisblog post.

TheDepartment of State released guidanceon national interest exceptions to Presidential Trump’s April and June 2020immigration bans which suspended the entry of certain immigrant visaapplicants, applicants for H-1B, H-2B, L-1 visa, certain J-1 visa applicants,and spouses or children applying for H-4, L-2, or J-2 visas through December31, 2020.

Afinal determination regarding a visa applicant’s eligibility for a nationalinterest exception will be made at the Embassy or Consulate interview. 

Thefollowing, among others, will be considered for a national interest exceptionfor H-1B and L-1 visa applicants:

1.  Publichealth or healthcare professionals, or researchers to alleviate the effects ofthe COVID-19 pandemic, or to conduct ongoing medical research in an area with asubstantial public benefit.  Thisincludes those traveling to alleviate secondary impacts not directly related toCOVID-19, but adversely impacted by the pandemic.

2.  Thoserequested to come to the U.S. by a U.S. government agency to meet critical U.S.foreign policy objectives or to satisfy treaty or contractual obligations.

3.  Applicantsentering the US to resume ongoing employment with the same employer in the sameposition and visa category.

4.  Technicalspecialists, senior level managers, and other workers whose travel is necessaryto facilitate the immediate and continued economic recovery of the U.S.

5.  Seniorlevel executive or manager filling a critical business need of an employermeeting a critical infrastructure need.

Ifthe principal applicant qualifies for a national interest exception, anyaccompanying dependents will be able to receive the corresponding H-4, L-2, orJ-2 visa. Applicants who are subject to aging out of their current immigrantvisa classification by January 14, 2021 can contact the nearest U.S. Embassy orConsulate to request an emergency appointment.

Ifyou need to travel internationally and you believe you may qualify for anational interest exception please contact your MU attorney.

On July 29, 2020, a District CourtJudge in New York stopped the USCIS and DOS from enforcing, applying,implementing, or treating as effective the new public charge rule during thenational health emergency declared by President Trump due to Covid-19.  

On July31, 2020 USCIS announced that in response to this ruling USCIS will notconsider any information or documentation provided with the I-944 onapplications filed after July 29, 2020.  In addition, the USCIS will notreview information provided with respect to public benefits on the I-485,I-129, or I-539 filed after July 29, 2020.  

Applications for green cards postmarkedafter July 29, 2020 should not include the I-944 or provide informationabout the receipt of public benefits on the I-485, I-129, or I-539.  

OnJuly 31, 2020, the USCIS publisheda rule that will increase or decrease USCIS filing fees.  The new fees for most business immigration filings are in thetable, below.  You can find a full list of new fees here. Thenew fees go into effect October 2, 2020. 

USCISlast raised their fees in 2016.  USCIS fees basically pay for the entireUSCIS budget.  Very little of the USCIS’s budget comes from federal taxdollars.

USCIS’sbudget has recently received news coverage, as the USCIS has indicated they areplanning to furlough13,000 workers due to a budget shortfall. The USCIS has requested $1.2 billion in emergency funding from Congress.