Bills to Ease Visa Backlogs Approved by Immigration Subcommittee

Two House Bills (H.R. 5924 and H.R. 5882) that were introduced to ease the retrogression of immigrant visa numbers were approved by the Subcommittee on Immigration last August 1.

H.R. 5924, sponsored by Representative Robert Wexler on April 29, 2008, would provide additional visas for nurses and physical therapists. H.R. 5882 sponsored on April 23, 2008 by Rep. Zoe Lofgren seeks to recapture unused employment-based and family-based visa numbers.

These bills are now with the full House Judiciary Committee for review.

Although these bills are considered “stop gap measures”, they provide a gleam of hope to hundreds of thousands who are currently waiting and/or intending to apply for immigrant visas.

More Visas for RNs and PTs

If passed, H.R. 5924 will provide an additional 20,000 visas for Registered Nurses and Physical Therapists every year for three years or until September 30, 2011. Their immediate family members will be allowed to immigrate without being subject to the quota limitation.

Under this bill, the USCIS will be required to fast-track its review and act on the immigrant visa petition (I-140) within 30 days from filing. The I-140 petition is the first step in the green card process.

A fee of $1,500 for each nurse who uses the visa will be charged to the employer except when the employer was affected by the Katrina disaster or is located in a Health Professional Shortage Area.

The fees collected will be used to fund a grant program designed to help nursing schools all over the U.S. attract and/or retain students and faculty members.

This bill has wide support. In a letter written to the sponsors last May 16, the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resource Administration (ASHHRA) stressed the urgent need for nurses because “the nation’s severe nursing shortage, now in its ninth year, challenges the hospitals’ ability to operate at full capacity to care for communities.”

AHA has 5,000 member hospitals and other health care organizations while ASHHRA represents 3,200 health care human resource managers. Both organizations offered their resources to help enact the legislation.

Recapture of Unused Visas

If passed, H.R. 5882 will recapture employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas lost due to government processing delays and prevent loss of these visas in the future. It will add to the fiscal year’s 140,000 employment-based quota and 480,000 family-sponsored visas, the previous year’s unused visas and the number of unused visas from the fiscal years 2002 to 2007.

Under existing laws, green cards already authorized by Congress but remained unused were lost because there is no system which will preserve these unused green cards.

Under H.R. 5882, these unused green cards will be restored and again be available for use by U.S. employers to retain their foreign workers/employees and also allow families of U.S. citizens and permanent residents a faster reunion with their relatives.