Health Care Blog

• India EB2 will see very little movement in the foreseeable future.  Many immigrant visa applicants with old India EB3s are recapturing these dates in subsequent EB2 applications, thereby holding back the progression of India EB2.  Current numbers indicate that there are approximately 42,000 India EB2 cases in line with priority dates prior to May 2010.  These numbers cannot account for future upgraded India EB3s.
• The USCIS and DOS have pre-adjudicated 44,000 India EB-3 Applications with priority dates before August 2007.  Therefore it will be several years before India EB-3 progresses beyond that date.
• There are 12,000 India EB3 cases with priority dates before January 2004, which means that India EB3 will not improve into 2004 for at least one or two years.
• Worldwide EB-3 has 42,000 pre-adjudicated cases with priority dates before March 2007.  Still, the Worldwide EB-3 date is May 2007.  Mr. Oppenheim did not say it, but it reasonable follows that many of these 42,000 Worldwide EB-3s likely have been abandoned.

The US allows65,000 new cap-subject H-1Bs in any fiscal year.  Added to that is another 20,000 H-1Bs forthose who have graduated from US Master’s degree programs.  There is no limit on cap-exempt H-1Bemployers.  Cap-exempt employers are nonprofitentities (or their affiliates) who are associated, owned or attached to auniversity.  Some research facilities arealso exempt from the H-1B cap. 

Computerworldreports that 134,780 cap-subject H-1Bs were approved in fiscal year 2013 (thefiling period for cap-subject FY2013 H-1Bs was April 1, 2012 – June 12,2012).  This is the greatest number offilings since FY2007.  Computerworldnotes that all of the top H-1B users are all technology companies.  There are not any healthcare companiesanywhere near the top of the list.  WillCongress carve out a visa path for these badly needed healthcare workers? 

Occupational Therapist candidates are reminded that the filed of Occupational Therapy raised its minimum educational standard on January 1, 2013.  All applications that are postmarked after January 1, 2013 can only be filed by Masters Degree prepared OTs.  

The NBCOT reminds applicants that starting July 31, Occupational Therapy Education Determination (OTED) applicants who do not hold a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy will be deemed incomplete. 

Anapplication is deemed incomplete when one or more of the documentationrequirements remains outstanding:

Last year the H-1B cap wasreached on June 11, 2012; we expect that the demand will be greater this year. It is imperative that all H-1B cap-subject Petitions are filled on April1, 2013 in order to insure that the H-1B Petition qualifies under this year’sH-1B cap.

H-1B cap-subject petitionsinclude:
* International studentsworking on an EAD card under an OPT or CPT program after having attended a U.S.school
* International employeesworking on a TN may need an H-1B filed for them in order for them to pursue apermanent residency (green card) case
* Prospective internationalemployees in another visa status e.g. H-4, L-2, J-1, F-1
* H-1B workers with a capexempt organization
* Prospective internationalemployees currently living abroad

In addition to the H-1B capdiscussion, MU lawyers will also provide an employment-based immigrationlegislation update.

The Philippines continues to produce nurses, in spite of a global recession entering its fifth year.  GMA News reports that the Philippines produced about 100,000 nurses last year, about triple the Philippines 36,000/year need.

This is not unusual for a country that acknowledges that overseas employment is a key part of its government policy.  The natural result of educating a greater number of nurses is that the licensure pass rates of the nurses will decrease.    The Philippine nursing will need to make sure that the quality of the education does not suffer as the volume of nursing students increases, which is certain to happen in the next few years.  These schools traditionally have been good at adapting to these macro-economic labor trends.  There is no reason to think that they won’t be in the future.