Healthcare Blog

The Department of Statejust issued the August 2023 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month'sVisa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

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

USCIS

The USCIS is expected touse Table A: Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings. ABeneficiary must be current on the above Table A chart to file their I-485, Adjustmentof Status applications. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

As we explained last month, the DOS has almost exhausted all employment-based visasfor FY 2023.  As a result, almost allcategories retrogressed will retrogress even further in August, essentiallyending visa issuance until the start of the next fiscal year on October 1,2023.  There were some slight improvementsin the Chinese dates probably reflecting strained US-Chinese relations anddecreased demand related to COVID in the 2019-2022 time frame.

These EB-3 retrogressionsmean that the USCIS and DOS overextended priority dates earlier in the year anddid not see the demand for the visa numbers that were there.

The Visa Bulletin includesa Note about EB-3s, indicating that the demand exceeded the expectation.  Accordingly, MU does not expect anyprogression in EB-3 for the rest of the fiscal year.

Even the EB-1 dates wereretrogressed, including the Indian date by 10 years.  The Visa Bulletin does say that the IndianEB-1 dates should return to at least February 2022 at the start of the nextfiscal year.

USCIS announced that applicants filing Form I-539seeking a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 nonimmigrantstatus can now request premium processing on Form I-907 based on the followingschedule:

• Effective June 13, USCISnow accepts I-907 requests filed via paper form or online for F, M, or Japplicants with a pending I-539;
• Starting June 26, USCISwill accept I-907 requests filed together with I-539 applications seeking F, M,or J status;

This expanded premium processing isonly available for change of status requests. The I-907 request must be submitted in the same manner as the I-539application, either online or snail mail. The premium processing clock will start only once all I-539 applicantshave completed biometrics.

The premium processing fee for F, M,and J change of status applicants is $1,750 and the processing time is 30 days.

USCIS hasissued a policy alert and hasupdated its policy manual toprovide additional guidance on the compelling circumstances that may warrantthe issuance of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).

Under thecurrent regulation, USCIS may, in its discretion, issue EADs to certain I-140beneficiaries who, at the time of filing Form I-765: (1) hold E-3, H-1B, H-1B1,O-1, or L-1 nonimmigrant status; (2) have an I-140 priority date that is notcurrent according to the visa bulletin; and (3) can demonstrate compellingcircumstances that justify the issuance of employment authorization.

Anindividual with a valid compelling circumstances-based EAD is considered byUSCIS to be in a period of authorized stay, and therefore will not accrueunlawful presence.

In itsupdated policy manual, USCIS providesa non-exhaustive list of situations that could lead to a finding that compellingcircumstances exist, including:

• serious illness and disability,
• employer dispute or retaliation,
• other substantial harm to the applicant, or
• significant disruption to the employer.

The updated policymanual also provides guidance on evidence an applicantcould submit to demonstrate compelling circumstances such as:

• school or higher education enrollment records,
• mortgage records, or
• long-term lease records

Finally, USCIS confirms in its policy manual thata compelling circumstances-based EAD will be granted for a validity period ofup to 1 year, with the possibility of subsequent renewal(s).

TheDepartment of State just issued the July 2023 Visa Bulletin. This blog postanalyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

VisaBulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applicationswith these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residencycard) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

USCIS

The USCIS isexpected to use Table A: Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-basedfilings. A Beneficiary must be current on the above Table A chart to file theirI-485, Adjustment of Status applications. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU LawAnalysis

This VisaBulletin shows that the DOS has almost exhausted all employment-based visas forFY 2023.  All categories remained thesame or retrogressed.

The twocategories that retrogressed were EB-3 for All Other Countries, including thePhilippines.  The date was moved back toFeb 1, 2022, from June 1, 2022, a four-month retrogression.   India EB-3 dropped back to January 1, 2009,which is a significant retrogression. 

These EB-3retrogressions mean that the USCIS and DOS overplayed their progression earlierin the year and did not see the demand for the visa numbers that were clearlythere. 

MU’sexpectation is that we will see any more progression throughout FY23, throughSeptember 30, 2023.

The VisaBulletin included these notes about the two retrogressed categories.

E.RETROGRESSION IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED THIRD PREFERENCE (EB-3) FOR REST OF WORLDCOUNTRIES, MEXICO, AND PHILIPPINES

In the May2023 Visa Bulletin, the EB-3 final action dates for Rest of World, Mexico, andthe Philippines were established to keep number use within the FY 2023 annuallimit. This was in part due to higher than expected demand from applicants withpriority dates earlier than the established final action dates.  The Department and USCIS continue to seeincreased demand from these applicants, necessitating retrogression.  As a result, the Rest of World, Mexico, and PhilippinesEB-3 final action dates have retrogressed to 01FEB22. This situation will becontinually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

F.RETROGRESSION IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED THIRD PREFERENCE (EB-3) FOR INDIA

Asreaders were informed was possible in Item E of the June 2023 Visa Bulletin, ithas become necessary to retrogress the EB-3 final action date for Indiaeffective in July. India’s EB-3 number use has been consistently robustthroughout the fiscal year, and it is estimated that applicants chargeable toIndia will use all EB-3 numbers made available to them during this fiscal year,taking into account INA 202(a)(5) and INA 202(e), by the end of June. Thus,applicants from India are subject to a final action date of 01JAN09. Thissituation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will bemade accordingly.

TheUnited States is about to learn the hard way what happens when an entiregeneration of nurses retires without enough new clinicians to fill their shoesat the bedside.  That is how an opinionpiece in Time magazine presents the US nursing crisis.  The opinion piece co-authored by HHSSecretaries Kathleen Sebelius (Obama) and Alex Azar (Trump) urges Congress torecapture unused visas for qualified international nurses to address thegrowing US nursing shortage.

TheSecretaries plainly argue that,

This is a whole-of-America crisis and weneed a whole-of-government response, including a sensible loosening oflicensing requirements, prioritize positive patient outcomes by modernizing theresponsibilities and standards of nursing, supporting expanded educationalopportunities, and enabling lawful employment-based immigration.

The Congresswould do well to heed the Secretaries warnings and embrace their solutions.

MULaw will be hosting a FREEwebinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 at 2PM Eastern(1PM Central).

Joinus for this FREEwebinar to learn more about

• Green Card Process for Schedule A
• Healthcare Worker Certificates
• PERM for Healthcare Workers
• H-1Bs for Healthcare Workers
• Priority Dates/Retrogression Predictions

PLEASEJOIN US!

The Department of Statejust issued the June 2023 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin 

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

USCIS

The USCIS is expected touse Table A: Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings. ABeneficiary must be current on the above Table A chart to file their I-485,Adjustment of Status applications. See: USCIS Visa BulletinDates

MU Law Analysis 

There was virtually nochange between the June 2023 Visa Bulletin and the May 2023 Visa Bulletin,which is unsurprising given that the May 2023 VB was notably retrogressed,indicating that the State Department has probably allocated most of this fiscalyear’s visas. 

The only change on theabove chart was that China EB-3 Other Workers progressed four months toSeptember 15, 2015.

TheJune 2023 Visa Bulletin included a statement indicating that all India EB-3visas have been utilized. 

E. VISAAVAILABILITY IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED THIRD PREFERENCE (EB-3) FOR INDIA

Steady number use and highdemand in the EB-3 category for India will most likely necessitateretrogression of the EB-3 final action date for India as early as next month tohold number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2023 annual limit. Thissituation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will bemade accordingly.

MU Law is pleasedto recognize that May 6^th to May 12^th is National NursesWeek in the United States. National Nurses Week is a weeklong celebration ofthe significant contributions nurses have and continue to make inAmerica. 

Nurses make upthe largest part of the health care workforce, with more than four millionregistered nurses, almost one million licensed practical nurses, and over300,000 nurse practitioners nationwide. While it is a large profession, thereis still room for more nurses to overcome longstanding staffing shortages andmeet growing demand in the future. 

Every day, nursesgo above and beyond to provide heroic and life-saving care. At MU we are proudto honor nurses for their amazing dedication and commitment to their patients,their patient’s families, and our nation’s most vulnerable communities.

To all the nurseswho read this page, THANK YOU for all that you do!

To read moreabout the history of National Nurses Week, check out the American NursesAssociation’s website.

USCIS announced that it has received a record 758,994 eligible registrationsfor the FY 2024 (March 2023) H-1B cap season. This issubstantially more than the 483,927 registrations in the FY 2023 (March 2022)H-1B cap season, a 60% increase.

Hereare the H-1B registrations totals for the last several fiscal years.

USCIShas notified H-1B cap lottery winners.  H-1Bwinners have until June 30, 2023 to submit their full H-1B cap petition to theUSCIS for adjudication.

TheUSCIS report acknowledges that there may be “misuse” of the H-1B capregistration system.  At the AILA SpringConference, USCIS said that it expects to make investigations that could leadto both civil and criminal penalties for people who fraudulently filed multipleH-1B petitions.

Ashas been the case since the launch of the on-line registration system in March2020, the USCIS will continue to update the H-1B cap winners list.  Additional winners may be selected insubsequent rounds until March 2024. USCIS is not expected to notify any H-1Blottery entrants of non-selection until all 85,000 H-1B cap approval noticeshave been issued.