EB1: All Current
EB2: All Current, except China (22MAR05), India (22JAN05)
EB3: All 01JUN02, except China (22FEB02), India (15APR01), Mexico (01MAY02).
Based on these processing times, a typical EB3 Nurse takes over 7 years to arrive in the United States, and even longer if the nurse was born in China, India, or Mexico. The US nursing shortage certainly has abated in the last few months, but all credible economists opine that the nursing shortage will reemerge with a vengeance shortly after the economy turns and employment numbers stabilize.
MU calls on Congress to review the employment based visa immigration policy in this country and offer up an alternative to these ridiculous processing times. There is an excellent piece of legislation that, if passed, will create a special immigrant visa category for nurses. The legislation is H.R.2536 – Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act and is sponsored by Rep. Wexler (D-FL) and Rep. Sensenbrenner (R- WI). The ENSRA is a good place to start.