Musillo Unkenholt Law | Healthcare Immigration Blog

September 25, 2013
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CHANGE IN POLICY FOR ONTARIO NURSES IN THE US

The below post was brought to myattention by Michigan attorney MarcTopoleski. Much of this post is taken directly from arecent email exchange between us.

Canadiannurse licensure in Ontario is governed by the College of Nurses of Ontario. The CNO has changedtheir policy for Non- Practising Ontario nurses, such as those who havemoved to the US.

Under thenew policy non-practicing Ontario nurses must convert their CNO membership to aregistration in the Non- Practising Class. This requires an annual fee. Anurse registered in the Non- Practising class cannot practice nursing inOntario, not even in a volunteer capacity. These nurses also have a second option. They can resign their CNO membership.

Onequestion that Marc and I have is whether this new policy will have any impacton Canadian nurses from Ontario at the time of their VisaScreen renewal. Neither of us has yet had a nurse in the Non-Practisingclass apply for a Visa Screen renewal.

Ouropinion is that if an Ontario nurse allows his/her license to go inactive (byconverting to the Non-Practising class) or lapse (by failing to renew licensebecause they are not actively practicing in Ontario that this should have noimpact as part of CGFNS’ license validation.

Marc alsopasses along additional notes about nurses returning to Ontario.

Ontarionurses who choose to maintain registration in the Non-Practising class need toapply for reinstatement of their CNO membership if they want to return toOntario to practice nursing. The reinstatementprocess includes passing the Ontario RN Jurisprudence Examination. The RN Jurisprudence Examination is an onlineexamination that assesses an applicant’s knowledge and understanding of thelaws, regulations, by-laws, practice standards and guidelines that govern thenursing profession in Ontario. There isa $40 fee (CDN) to take the exam. Thisexam is different than the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination (CRNE), whichis the Canadian national examination that measures the competencies required ofnurses at the beginning of their practice.

ForOntario nurses who choose to resign their CNO membership, they can apply forreinstatement within 3 years of the date their CNO membership ended withouthaving to take any examinations, but would have to pay reinstatement fees. However, if a nurse wanted to return topractice as a nurse in Ontario after 3 years from the date their CNO membershipended, it appears they would have to apply for licensure under the same processas first-time applicants.

September 17, 2013
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CGFNS TO DELETE FILES UNLESS USERS PURCHASE eSAVED

CGFNS is the only organization authorized by USCIS to issue Healthcare Worker Certificates (Visa Screen) to Registered Nurses. Among other things, CGFNS verifies the authenticity of the nurse’s primary source documents, including the nurse’s education. As part of their normal course of activity, CGFNS saves documents for four years.

CGFNS is now launching their eSAVED system. By purchasing eSAVED an applicant can have their electronic files saved at CGFNS for an additional year for $25. CGFNS is also offering to store files for an additional four years for $50, which represents a 50% savings on a year to year basis. The four year program at $50 is a promotional rate, conditioned upon applicant’s purchasing by September 30, 2013.

CGFNS also issues Visa Screens for other healthcare occupations, such as Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists, although these are much smaller programs when compared to their monopoly on Registered Nursing certifications.

September 11, 2013
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OCTOBER 2013 VISA BULLETIN ANALYSIS

The Department of State has justreleased the October 2013Visa Bulletin. This is the first Visa Bulletin of the 2014 US FiscalYear, which begin October 1, 2013. There was virtually nochange in the dates from the September2013 Visa Bulletin. The September 2013 Visa Bulletin had a massivepromotion of dates.

The lack of retrogression in the new Visa Bulletin was awelcome surprise. The Department of State’s comments in theprior Visa Bulletin led some to fear that there would be a retrogression. In those comments, the DOS explained that the massive promotion ofdates in the September 2013 Visa Bulletin was done to insure thatall available Fiscal Year 2013 immigrant visas wereused before the FY-2013 year’s end on September 30, 2013.

It is not expected that the next few Visa Bulletins will include significantpromotions of dates. We may see the next promotions of dates after theNew Year.

Here is the chart:

October 2013 Visa Bulletin
	All Other Countries	China	India	Philippines
EB-2	Current	15SEP08	15JUN08	Current
EB-3	01JUL10	01JUL10	22SEP03	15DEC06

September 9, 2013
Uncategorized

EB-2 IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR PHYSICAL THERAPISTS

Because Physical Therapists have beendesignated by the U.S. Department of Labor as a ‘Schedule A occupation’, theyare exempt from the labor certification process (PERM) required for mostemployment based immigrant visas. PhysicalTherapy positions are eligible for EB-2 classification. The EB-2 category isthe immigrant visa classification for positions requiring at least an advanceddegree (Master’s degree or higher) or a Bachelor’s degree and five years ofprogressively responsible experience.

Generally speaking there is no backlogfor EB-2 visas for most countries (excluding India, Mexico, and China) and thusan immigrant visa can be obtained “immediately” as soon as the normal case processingis completed. In contrast, obtaining an immigrant visa for an individual filingin the EB-3 classification is currently a lengthy process which takes betweenfour to seven years.

The USCIS has struggled with processing PhysicalTherapist EB-2 petitions. At issue is notwhether these positions require a Master’s Degree. At issue is whether the Beneficiaries holdthe US equivalent of a Masters Degree. Theproblem stems from the fact that many Philippine colleges issue a diploma labeled“Bachelors” degree”. When US educationalevaluators review the diploma, coursework, and credit hours, they equatethis education background to a US Masters Degree. Educators such as FCCPT and 53 US stateand territory licensing jurisdictions all universally find that these degreesare equal to a US Masters Degree. All of the private educational evaluators that we have worked with have also issued Masters equivalent opinions. The opinion appears to be universal.

Well, almost universal. The USCIS often looks to AACRAO as itspreferred educational evaluator. AACRAO’sEDGE evaluation system alone has determined that these Philippine degrees arenot equal to a US Master’s Degree. Throughout the summer MU Law has filed severalsimilar briefs explaining this issue to the USCIS’ Administrative AppealsOffice. While we think we have thebetter argument, the decision-making rests in the AAO’s hands. We will let you know as soon as the AAOreleases their decision.

September 4, 2013
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DS-260 REPLACING DS-230

The Department of State (DOS) is replacing the DS-230 with the new electronic DS-260. Beneficiaries submitting new cases that arrive at the National Visa Center (NVC) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on or after September 1 will be instructed to complete the DS-260 instead of the DS-230. Like the DS-230, the DS-260 is valid for one year from the date of the oath. After the oath expires, the DS-260 will automatically unlock and DOS officers will tell the applicant to update and resubmit the DS-260. The DOS has published a FAQ on their webpage.

The DOS will not require DS-260s for beneficiaries of “pipeline” cases already in process at NVC on September 1 if: 1) the case has already been documentarily qualified and sent to scheduling, or 2) NVC receives a single submission of documents that makes a case documentarily qualified.

For all other pipeline cases where NVC has occasion to send a “checklist” of missing documents after September 1, NVC will instruct petitioners/agents/beneficiaries to submit the DS-260 along with those missing documents, even if a DS-230 was already on file. Those filing petitions locally overseas (with either USCIS or a consular section) on or after September 1 must submit a DS-260 once the petition is approved.

August 28, 2013
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NATIONAL NURSING DATABASE

TheNational Council of State Boards of Nursing has just launched Nursys. Nursys isa national database for verification of nurse licensure, discipline andpractice privileges. There are three Nursys services publicly available via www.nursys.com: Licensure QuickConfirm, Nurse License Verification, andEmergency Responder Service.

Data is availableon Registered Nurses and Licensed Professional Nurses. All59 NCSBN’s (RN and PN) Member Boards share disciplinary data into Nursys and 51share licensure data.

August 26, 2013
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PLENTY OF VOTES FOR CIR DOES NOT EQUAL A VOTE FOR CIR

With Congress on their Summer Recess the Comprehensive Immigration Reform news cycle has been slow. The conventional wisdom is that when the Congress returns in September it will focus on the federal budget. That process will keep Congress busy until October. Once the budget is settled CIR will be next on their agenda.

The focus will entirely on the House. Earlier this summer the Senate passed a wide-ranging, bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration bill, which has something for everyone to love and something for everyone to hate. The House’s effort is one entirely of politics. Between a large block of House Democrats and a healthy minority of House Republicans, there appears to be enough votes in the House for the Senate’s version of the bill to pass.

But it’s never that simple. House leadership adheres to the informal “Hastert rule,” named after one-time Majority Leader Dennis Hastert (R-IL). Rep. Hastert’s leadership was defined by his unwillingness to put any bill on the floor of the House if it did not have the support of the majority of Republicans in the House. As the majority party, the Republicans control which bills come up for a vote. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) endorses this “majority of the majority” strategy.

The Republican leadership is using this break to poll their constituents both formally and informally. If their polling reveals that rank-and-file Republicans want CIR, then the Republicans are expected to offer a version of CIR in October that will lead to a law being passed before the end of the year. If not, expect the CIR debate to whimper along until year’s end, at which point it will fade out.

August 20, 2013
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PNAA ANNUAL CONVENTION

MU Law was proud to sponsor the Philippine Nurses Association of America’s 34th Annual Convention, which was held in Cleveland. MU Law sponsored the PNAA’s 5K Fun Run.

Here are some photos of the event:

August 13, 2013
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SEPTEMBER 2013 VISA BULLETIN: MASSIVE PROGRESSION OF DATES

The Department of State has just released the September 2013 Visa Bulletin. There has been a dramatic jump for India EB-2 — all the way to June 15, 2008. MU Law expected that an India EB2 progression would happen, although it took a lot longer than we expected. Suffice it to say, had it happened earlier in the year, the August and September jumps would not have been as dramatic. Nevertheless, the India EB-2 progression is great news.

The other big movement was in the EB-3 category. All other (ROW) EB-3 surged forward 18 months. It is now at July 1, 2010. India and Philippines EB-3 also moved ahead several months.

Here is the chart:

September 2013 Visa Bulletin
	All Other Countries	China	India	Philippines
EB-2	Current	08AUG08	15JUN08	Current
EB-3	01JUL10	01JUL10	22SEP03	01DEC06

The Department of State explained the rationale for the massive progressions:

EMPLOYMENT-based:

SECOND:

India: This cut-off date has been advanced significantly more than originally expected, based on the projection that there would be “otherwise unused” numbers under the overall Employment Second preference annual limit. This is the result of a decrease in Employment First preference number use, and a similar decrease in Employment Second preference demand for most other countries during the past two months. It is expected that such movement will generate a very significant amount of new India demand during the coming months.

THIRD:

The Employment-based Third preference cut-off date for most countries was advanced at an extremely rapid pace in April through July in an effort to generate demand. Historically such movements have resulted in a dramatic increase in applicant demand for numbers within a few months. At this time there is no indication that the expected increase is materializing or will do so in the near future. This has resulted in significant movements in the September cut-off for all countries.

It is unlikely that there will be any forward movement of most Employment-based cut-off dates during the next couple of months. In addition, a sudden surge in demand could require the retrogression of a cut-off date at any time. Such action would be required if it appears that such number use could impact visa availability under the FY-2014 annual limits.

August 12, 2013
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AAIHR PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS WEBINAR

The AmericanAssociation of International Healthcare Recruiters represents the interestsof international healthcare recruitment service providers to promote the legal,ethical, and professional best practices. They have been involved in informing and guiding political leaders onthe intersection of healthcare, recruitment, and immigration since the mid2000s.

AAIHR is having a Prospective Membershipwebinar on Friday August 23 at 1 PM ET. The webinar will explain how the AAIHR works in Washington DC andoverseas to promote international healthcare recruitment and the security ofimmigrant and nonimmigrant visas for healthcare professionals.

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