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Hospitalsin every corner of the country are once again buckling under the weight of thecoronavirus. But unlike earlier surges when intensive care capacity flexed togrow the number of available beds or acquire additional ventilators, thechallenge for health systems today is neither space nor supplies—it’s staff.

Evenbefore the coronavirus, US hospitals were short about 200,000 nurses. Thesituation is far worse today. One survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found3 in 10 health care workers are considering or already have left the bedside.Nurses are superheroes of this pandemic. But they’re not superhuman. Tired andtraumatized after more than a year on the front lines, nurses are vacating thepractice in historic numbers.

Absenta massive infusion of qualified nurses, patient care—and, crucially, patientoutcomes—will plummet because nurse staffing directly influences patientmortality. Increasing a nurse’s workload by just one patient increases patientmortality by 7 percent.

Hospitalsneed reinforcements. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services hasapproved green cards for at least 5,000 qualified, skilled internationalnurses. These nurses all have sterling clinical records and have passed Englishlanguage tests, but they cannot emigrate because their visa processing hasstalled at the final step due to a bureaucratic backlog.

Underthe US State Department’s visa processing schedule, there are four priority tiers.Nurses are fourth—dead last—in this framework. In practice, it means they’re atthe end of a very long, slow-moving line. Meanwhile, ICU beds are filling, andhospitals are struggling to staff them.

TheDepartment of State must fast-track nurse visa processing. American patientsdeserve nothing less.

Weurge you to take just a few minutesand contact your elected representatives in Washington and ask them to elevatethis issue with the State Department so we can expediate the approval of thesedesperately needed nurses.

ContactYour House member:

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Contactyour Senator:

https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

 

The Department of State has just issued September Visa Bulletin.  This isthe final Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2021. This blog post analyzes thismonth’s Visa 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.

Table B: Dates of Filing

The USCIS will be using the Table A: Final Action Dates chart forI-485 employment-based filings. A beneficiary must be current on the aboveTable A chart in order to file their I-485, Adjustment of Status applications.  See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

Both the Philippines and Worldwide (All Other) EB-3 continueto be current. Our opinion remains that these categories will stay current forthe foreseeable future and into 2022.

EB-1 remains current for all categories.  This will certainly be the case for the restof the fiscal year and into FY 2022.  IndiaEB-2 advanced by three months, which shows that the demand for thiscategory remains strong.  India EB-3again moved ahead by six months in spite of widespread reports of downgradesfrom EB-2 to EB-3.  This category hasadvanced by one year in just two months, meaning that the DOS is trying toencourage EB-3 applications.

ChinaEB-2 showed a three-monthadvancement, which is encouraging. 

On theother hand, EB-3 remained the same, indicating exhaustion of thiscategory’s visas for FY 2021.

MU Law will be hosting a free webinar for our clients and friendson Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 2PM Eastern (1PM Central).

–         Visa Bulletin predictions

–         Consular backlogs

–         Deference to prior approvals by USCIS

–         RFEs and NOIDs

–         Expediting cases

–         Biometrics and EAD policies for dependents

–         Additional updates and policy proposals

PLEASE JOIN US!

Join us for a review of some of the immigration changes in the first six months of the Biden Presidency.  Interested clients and friends can register for our webinar by clicking on the link below.

REGISTER HERE

MU Law will be hosting a free webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 2PM Eastern (1PM Central).

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

–          Visa Bulletin predictions

–          Consular backlogs

–          Deference to prior approvals by USCIS

–          RFEs and NOIDs

–          Expediting cases

–          Biometrics and EAD policies for dependents

–          Additional updates and policy proposals

 PLEASE JOIN US!

Pursuant to a courtorder, USCIS has extended flexibilities for certain foreign studentsaffected by delayed receipt notices issued for Form I-765, Application forEmployment Authorization. These flexibilities apply only to those applicationsfiled on or after Oct. 1, 2020, through Oct. 31, 2021, inclusive.

As acknowledged by USCIS, filersof I-765 EAD applications for OPT and STEM OPT extensions have experiencedsignificant delays in the issuance of receipt notices. In an attempt to assistcertain applicants impacted by the delays, USCIS first enacted flexibilitiesfor certain applicants filing form I-765 for OPT on February 26, 2021, whichapplied to cases received through May 1, 2021. However, those flexibilities wereextended by court order on July 23, 2021, and now apply to cases received throughOctober 31, 2021.

Until October 31, 2021, USCISwill allow for the following flexibilities:

GuaranteedProcessing of Form I-765 OPT/STEM OPT applications in 120 days

• USCIS will process all applications for OPT andSTEM OPT within 120 days of receipt. Processing means that the application willbe approved, denied or an RFE will be issued within 120 days.

Grant of post-completionOPT EAD validity period

• USCIS will grant a full 12 months ofpost-completion OPT irrespective of the requirement that OPT be completedwithin 14 months of graduation.
• USCIS will grant OPT for the full period originallyrecommended by the DSO on Form I-20, irrespective of the time of adjudication.

 Retroactivecorrection of OPT EADs already issued

• Upon eligible applicants’ request, USCIS will issuea CORRECTED EAD for any post-completion OPT EAD applicationreceived between Oct. 1, 2020, through Oct. 31, 2021, inclusive, that wasissued with a validity period that was less than the DSO’s recommended validityperiod.

Acceptanceof previously-rejected OPT/STEM OPT applications

• USCIS will accept re-filed I-765 applications forOPT/STEM OPT that were originally filed on time between October 1, 2020 and October31, 2021 and later rejected.
• Resubmitted applications must be received prior toNovember 30, 2021.
• Resubmitted applications will be processed as if receivedon the original date (i.e. the full period of OPT will be granted, but theoriginal I-20 will be accepted without the requirement of a new I-20).

o  If the case was rejected for missing or deficientsignature(s), a request for Evidence will be issued instead of a denial.

Immigration regulations requirethat when filing a nonimmigrant or immigrant petition for certain health care occupations,including Registered Nurses, the Petitioner must include a healthcare worker’s certificate(sometimes called a VisaScreen) from an authorized credentialing organizationfor the Beneficiary listed in the petition.

The Commission on Graduates ofForeign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), the National Board for Certification inOccupational Therapy (NBCOT), and the Foreign Credentialing Commission onPhysical Therapy (FCCPT), were previously the only authorized credentialingorganizations listed in the immigration regulations.

On July 22, 2021, USCIS approved the application for Josef SilnyAssociates, Inc., to be added to the list of organizations authorized to issuecertificates and certified statements for Registered Nurses.

REGISTER HERE

MU Law will be hosting a free webinar for our clients and friendson Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 2PM Eastern (1PM Central).

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

–         Visa Bulletin predictions

–         Consular backlogs

–         Deference to prior approvals by USCIS

–         RFEs and NOIDs

–         Expediting cases

–         Biometrics and EAD policies for dependents

–         Additional updates and policy proposals

 PLEASE JOIN US!

AUGUST 2021 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS

TheDepartment of State has just issued August Visa Bulletin.  This is the eleventh Visa Bulletin of FiscalYear 2021. This blog post analyzes this month’s Visa 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.

Table B: Dates of Filing

The USCISwill be using the Table A: Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-basedfilings. A beneficiary must be current on the above Table A chart in order tofile their I-485, Adjustment of Status applications  USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

Both the Philippinesand Worldwide (All Other) EB-3 continue to be current. Our opinion remainsthat these categories will stay current for the foreseeable future and into2022.

EB-1 remains current for allcategories.  This will certainly be thecase for the rest of the fiscal year.  IndiaEB-2 did not move, which shows that the demand for this category remainsstrong.  On the other hand, India EB-3moved ahead by six months in spite of widespread reports of downgrades fromEB-2 to EB-3.  This could mean that thereports are overblown.

Due to Googleshuttering it’s feedburner service for email subscriptions, the MusilloUnkenholt Law Blog is transitioning over to use Follow.It as our new email subscriptionservicer. 

There shouldn’t be anything that needs to be done, but you will notethat the subscribe widget on our blog has change to reflect this switch.

Today, thereare thousands of high-skilled international nurses who have already qualifiedfor visas but their issuance has stalled amid unprecedented delays at USembassies and consulates, which have effectively de-prioritized green cardapproval for essential healthcare workers under US State Department rules.

Will you jointhousands of people and sign a Change.org petition demanding the StateDepartment fast-track nurse visas? 

SIGNTHE PETITION