MusilloUnkenholt is pleased to report that the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act hasbeen introduced into Congress. The HWRAis smart, positive legislation that will increasing the supply of nurses anddoctors into the US. These twooccupations are among the shortest supplied occupations by US workers. Musillo Unkenholt and the AAIHR have been working closely with theseoffices for the last two months, assisting congressional staffers in draftingthis legislation.
Thisis our FAQ about the legislation.
Howdoes this help nurses and doctors currently in retrogression?
Ifthe HWRA becomes law, all nurses and doctors whose visa applications arecurrently retrogressed immediately become current. Likewise, any nurse or doctor whose I-140 isfiled any time before 90 days after PresidentTrump’s Emergency Declaration on COVID-19 also receives aretrogression-free visa, although there is an overall quota of 25,000 for RNsand 15,000 for MDs.
Whatis retrogression?
Thereare thousands of fully qualified nurses and doctors who have been approved for US greencards but who are not in the US because of “visa retrogression.” “Visa retrogression” is when a fullyqualified visa applicant has to wait for a visa to become available because theEB-3 visa category is oversubscribed. Right now, fully qualified Philippine and worldwide nurses must wait fouryears for a visa appointment because of the visa retrogression. Indian nurses and doctors have a twelve year wait.
Thislegislation prioritizes fully qualified nurses and doctors by utilizing a portion of thehundreds of thousands of visas that have been authorized by Congress but havegone unused.
Doesthis legislation add any visas into the quota?
No. Thislegislation does not add visas to the overall visa quotas. Likewise, it does not take visas from anyother occupation.
TheHWRA uses visas that Congress had previously authorized, but had gone unusedfrom 1992-2020.
Canspouse and children also receive immigrant visas?
Yes. Spouse and under-21 children obtain visas atthe same time as the nurse. They mayalso follow to join. These familymembers do not count against the overall 25,000 RN and 15,000 MD visa quota.
Arethese nurses qualified to work in the US?
Absolutely. Before any nurse can enter the US, the nursemust have:
(i) Passed the US nursing licensing exam;
(ii) Graduated from a university that isequivalent to a US nursing school;
(iii) Passed an English fluency examination; and
(iv) A spotless overseas nursing license.
Whatprotections are there for US labor?
Before the visais issued, the employer must attest that the foreign trained nurse “has notdisplaced and will not displace a United States worker.’’