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Showing posts from May, 2008

New immigrant visas for nurses proposed

A new proposed legislation in the US. House of Representatives seeks to give up to 20,000 visas per year to nurses and physical therapists up to September 2011. The proposal, HR 5924 or the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act, would waive the quota for these two occupations, also known as Schedule A jobs, up to 2011 but a maximum of 20,000 visas can only be approved every year. Immediate family members of primary visa beneficiaries, however, would not be counted against the 20,000 yearly cap. Based on the new proposal, the US immigration department must make a decision on I-140 petitions within 30 days of receipt. Also being proposed is the allocation of a Grant Fee, where beneficiaries of the new visa allocations must pay $1,500 which will go to a fund to help US nursing schools. Visa applicants must also provide legal proof that they do not owe money that was used to finance their education in their home country, such as student loans, for example. Click here to see the full text of