Although the latest Visa Bulletin, released October 10, brings the bad news the industry has been expecting for months, there is a small “reprieve”. Retrogression for EX visas (Schedule A) will occur in November. However, the November Visa Bulletin established a priority date of October 1, 2005 for the EX/Schedule A category rather than making the category completely unavailable.  For Schedule A petitions, the priority date is the date the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) was received by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). This means that only those individuals who filed an I-140 petition on October 1, 2005 or earlier will still be eligible to obtain an immigrant visa either through a consular interview or through the filing of an Application to Adjust Status (Form I-485). Additionally, individuals in the United States will not be eligible to file the Adjustment of Status Application (Form I-485) unless they previously filed an I-140 petition on October 1, 2005 or earlier. Initial concurrent filings of the I-140 and I-485 will be temporarily unavailable beginning November 1, 2006.

See: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3046.html

Note that employers can continue to file I-140 petitions and the USCIS can and will continue to approve those petitions. Furthermore, the NVC has confirmed that they currently plan to continue to receive the approved I-140 petitions from the USCIS and conduct "pre-processing" for interviews. However, Consulates will discontinue interviews and granting immigrant visas for Schedule A petitions not filed prior to October 1, 2005.

Pending Adjustment of Status applications for Nurses and Physical Therapists in the United States will  remain pending  until additional immigrant visas become available (unless the I-140 was filed before October 1, 2005). The Nurse or Physical Therapist will be able to remain in the United States and eligible to obtain employment authorization during this time.

HLG is heavily involved in the lobbying effort to eliminate retrogression for Schedule A petitions and we are confident a legislative solution is imminent. Please keep up with the latest news on the retrogression legislation on our Healthcare Immigration Advocacy Blog.