HR 5924 Progress Continues
HR 5924, which recently was introduced in Congress, continues to make progress through the House of Representatives.  Follow the bills’ advancement on HLG Healthcare and Advocacy Blog.
http://hammondlawgroup.blogspot.com/

How You Can Help Pass HR 5924
The below-link contains a quick and easy way that allows you to contact your Representatives and urge support of HR 5924. If you are a US citizen, please complete the on-line Cap Wiz form. It takes just a few minutes of time.
http://capwiz.com/sjhs/issues/alert/?alertid=11498866

HLG Comments on OPT Rules
HLG recently submitted comments to the USCIS about their recently-published OPT extension rule. Those rules allow students in STEM occupations preferential work authorization. STEM occupations are those in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. HLG contends that two professions ought to be added to the preferential occupational list – Registered Nurses and Physical Therapists.
abbreviated link

CGFNS Adjusts Call Center Times
Beginning July 14, 2008, the CGFNS Call Center hours of operation will change. The new hours will be Monday through Friday: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm (ET) in the United States of America.  The telephone number for the call center is (215) 349-8767.  The automated telephone system remains open 24 hours/day, seven days a week. That telephone number is 215-599-6200. Use of this system by applicants to check their status requires a CGFNS ID number and date of birth.
http://www.cgfns.org/sections/announcements/

Premium Processing for Certain I-140’s
Premium processing should be available for those beneficiaries whose H will expire within 60 days of filing the request, and who need the I-140 approval to become eligible for that additional H time.  This may provide relief to H-1 workers (such as Advance Practice Nurses, Physical Therapists, Pharmacists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, etc.) who are nearing the end of their H-1 six year stay.
http://hammondlawgroup.blogspot.com/2008/06/uscis-to-resume-premium-proccessing-for.html

AILA Recap 2008
HLG attended the AILA Annual Convention, held in Vancouver, BC, Canada in June. As is our custom, we posted a recap of the important and interesting information that we learned.
http://www.h1cap.com/2008/07/01/aila-roecap-2008/

DC Area School Nurses Overburdened
The nursing shortage is now hurting schools.  The Washington Post reports that caseloads for school nurses exceed federal guidelines in much of the Washington region at a time when campus clinics serve growing numbers of students with severe disabilities or chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062401574.html

A Drain on Knowledge When Nurses Retire
Nursing professionals have talked a lot about the aging nursing workforce and the looming catastrophic shortage of nurses that will emerge as more baby boomers retire.  Many of the nurses who will soon be retiring hold key positions in hospitals and healthcare facilities and retain a body of knowledge critical to the operation of the facility and to the delivery of quality patient care.
http://include.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080630/NATIONAL02/306300022/-1/frontpage

IELTS Reaches 1 Million Mark
For the first time ever in a single 12 month period, more than one million people around the world (or two every minute) have gained certification in The International English Language Testing System (IELTS).  Topping the results league table were those whose first language was Tagalog - spoken in the Philippines - with an overall score of 6.571 across the four papers (listening, reading, writing and speaking). They were closely followed by Spanish, Malay, Hindi and Tamil (spoken widely in Southern India and Sri Lanka) speakers. From a country perspective Germany tops the list - its residents scored an average of 7.16 - followed by Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia and Hong Kong.
http://www.ielts.org/general_pages/media_centre/ielts_reaches_1_million.aspx

PROCESSING DATES

SERVICE CENTER	PROCESSING DATES
California Service Center ( CSC )	Not Processing
AZ, CA, GU, HI, NV
Nebraska Service Center ( NSC )	February 15, 2007
AK, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, ND, OH, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY
Texas Service Center ( TSC )	July 23, 2007
AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX
Vermont Service Center (VSC)	April 1, 2006
CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, PR, RI, VT, VA, VI, WV

VISA BULLETIN
 

	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIP-PINES
Employ-ment -Based
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01APR04	01APR04	C	C
3rd	U	U	U	U	U
Other Workers	01JAN03	01JAN03	01JAN03	01JAN03	01JAN03
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th	C	C	C	C	C

Hammond Law Group, LLC Event Calendar

July 16, 2008 OSBA Immigration Law CLE Sherry Neal's presentation, "NIV Visas for Temporary Workers," is the first session of the Ohio State Bar Association's Immigration Law CLE. Columbus, OH OSBA Brochure September, 2008 Inside the Minds: Working with Government Agencies in Immigration Law Sherry Neal has contributed a chapter to Aspatore Books' latest Inside the Minds series.  Copies should be available for sale in the next few weeks. Aspatore Books September 8-10, 2008 Healthcare Staffing Summit Staffing Industry Analysts Chris Musillo will be a panelist at this event, which is one of the premier Healthcare Staffing seminars in the USA. San Francisco, CA Learn More October 19-20, 2008 Health Careers International Mike Hammond will be a featured speaker and presenter at Canada's leading healthcare job fair. Toronto, Ontario Register Now