Monday, August 24, 2009

Reform Minded?

Late last week Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano hosted 130 immigration reform leaders at the White House. The purpose of the meeting was to tamp down the growing chorus that the administration was ignoring immigration reform. The President even dropped in. The plan may have worked. Many would-be critics of any CIR legislative delay went and released positive messages shortly after the meeting.

For those interested in healthcare immigration reform, the next few months are critical. If you are interested in liberalizing needed visas for US healthcare workers, now is a good time to meet with your local Congressional delegation, as they are all in their home districts until early September.

Meeting with Congressional representatives is surprisingly easy. All that one needs to do is to place a simple call to the Representative’s office. These phone numbers are readily available on Representatives’ webpage. Everyone who is interested in the US should take the time to contact their Congressional representatives and/or have their friends and family in the US do so.

The message is a simple one:

1. The Department of Labor predicts that the Registered Nurse occupation will grow faster than any other job in the next seven years. (Chart at Table 8 of link).
2. There are not enough US nurse educators to train the next generation of nurses.
3. 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).
4. The legislation calls for 20,000 nurses per year, for three years. An additional $1,500 is added to visa fee. The $90 million that this legislation raises goes directly to US nursing schools who can use the funds to train the next generation of US nurses.

4 comments:

  1. Chris,
    Do you think any CIR movemnet is possible this year.?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Miami-

    I think that it is very unlikley that CIR is passed in 2009. As for 2010, hard to say...

    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Chris,
    I've been following your updates from Hammod Law Group blog. I recently came to know that you're not with them anymore. Currently I'm working on OPT in a hospital. My OPT will expire Jan'10 than I've to either continue study (MS) or change my status to H-4. I really don't want to spend anymore money for doing my masters as I'm on F-1 visa and I've spent lots of money to get my Bachelor. Is there any other way where I can keep continue working.? I just have 4 months of experience now. I'm working in "Mental Health" hospital. Is that profession eligible to get H1-B.??
    Please I need to know my options.
    Thanks,
    -Kunal

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Kunal:
    That's correct. Neither of us (Cindy or Chris) are associated with HLG anymore.

    In order to qualify for an H-1, see my next Blog post.

    ReplyDelete

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