NATIONAL NURSING DATABASE

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing has just launched Nursys.  Nursys is a national database for verification of nurse licensure, discipline and practice privileges. There are three Nursys services publicly available via www.nursys.com: Licensure QuickConfirm, Nurse License Verification, and Emergency Responder Service.   

Data is available on Registered Nurses and Licensed Professional Nurses.  All 59 NCSBN's (RN and PN) Member Boards share disciplinary data into Nursys and 51 share licensure data. 

PLENTY OF VOTES FOR CIR DOES NOT EQUAL A VOTE FOR CIR

With Congress on their Summer Recess the Comprehensive Immigration Reform news cycle has been slow.  The conventional wisdom is that when the Congress returns in September it will focus on the federal budget.  That process will keep Congress busy until October.  Once the budget is settled CIR will be next on their agenda. 

The focus will entirely on the House.   Earlier this summer the Senate passed a wide-ranging, bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration bill, which has something for everyone to love and something for everyone to hate.  The House's effort is one entirely of politics.  Between a large block of House Democrats and a healthy minority of House Republicans, there appears to be enough votes in the House for the Senate's version of the bill to pass.

But it's never that simple.  House leadership adheres to the informal "Hastert rule," named after one-time Majority Leader Dennis Hastert (R-IL).   Rep. Hastert's leadership was defined by his unwillingness to put any bill on the floor of the House if it did not have the support of the majority of Republicans in the House. As the majority party, the Republicans control which bills come up for a vote.  House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) endorses this "majority of the majority" strategy.  

The Republican leadership is using this break to poll their constituents both formally and informally.  If their polling reveals that rank-and-file Republicans want CIR, then the Republicans are expected to offer a version of CIR in October that will lead to a law being passed before the end of the year.  If not, expect the CIR debate to whimper along until year's end, at which point it will fade out.

PNAA ANNUAL CONVENTION

MU Law was proud to sponsor the Philippine Nurses Association of America's 34th Annual Convention, which was held in Cleveland.  MU Law sponsored the PNAA's 5K Fun Run.  

Here are some photos of the event:

SEPTEMBER 2013 VISA BULLETIN: MASSIVE PROGRESSION OF DATES

The Department of State has just released the September 2013 Visa Bulletin.   There has been a dramatic jump for India EB-2 -- all the way to June 15, 2008.  MU Law expected that an India EB2 progression would happen, although it took a lot longer than we expected.  Suffice it to say, had it happened earlier in the year, the August and September jumps would not have been as dramatic.  Nevertheless, the India EB-2 progression is great news.

The other big movement was in the EB-3 category.  All other (ROW) EB-3 surged forward 18 months.  It is now at July 1, 2010.   India and Philippines EB-3 also moved ahead several months.

Here is the chart:

September 2013 Visa Bulletin
	All Other Countries	China	India	Philippines
EB-2	Current	08AUG08	15JUN08	Current
EB-3	01JUL10	01JUL10	22SEP03	01DEC06

The Department of State explained the rationale for the massive progressions:

EMPLOYMENT-based:

SECOND: 

India:  This cut-off date has been advanced significantly more than originally expected, based on the projection that there would be “otherwise unused” numbers under the overall Employment Second preference annual limit.  This is the result of a decrease in Employment First preference number use, and a similar decrease in Employment Second preference demand for most other countries during the past two months.  It is expected that such movement will generate a very significant amount of new India demand during the coming months. 

THIRD:

The Employment-based Third preference cut-off date for most countries was advanced at an extremely rapid pace in April through July in an effort to generate demand.  Historically such movements have resulted in a dramatic increase in applicant demand for numbers within a few months.  At this time there is no indication that the expected increase is materializing or will do so in the near future.  This has resulted in significant movements in the September cut-off for all countries. 

It is unlikely that there will be any forward movement of most Employment-based cut-off dates during the next couple of months.  In addition, a sudden surge in demand could require the retrogression of a cut-off date at any time.  Such action would be required if it appears that such number use could impact visa availability under the FY-2014 annual limits.

AAIHR PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS WEBINAR

The American Association of International Healthcare Recruiters represents the interests of international healthcare recruitment service providers to promote the legal, ethical, and professional best practices.  They have been involved in informing and guiding political leaders on the intersection of healthcare, recruitment, and immigration since the mid 2000s.

AAIHR is having a Prospective Membership webinar on Friday August 23 at 1 PM ET.  The webinar will explain how the AAIHR works in Washington DC and overseas to promote international healthcare recruitment and the security of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for healthcare professionals.

USCIS CHECKING SOCIAL MEDIA

AILA immigration attorneys have reported seeing RFEs questioning information posted on social media and other websites.  LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets are public and available to USCIS adjudicators.  USCIS is reportedly searching the internet for information on companies and employees before approving cases. 

Things to keep in mind regarding online postings:

·         Employees assigned to third party worksites who list the end-client as their employer.  This can cause the USCIS to raise questions regarding whom the actual employer is and who maintains the right to control the employee’s work.  Be sure to list your H-1B employer as your employer on your social media page.

·         Any information on a company’s website which contradicts the H-1B petition, including the address of the company headquarters, vendors or other clients the company works with, etc. can cause the USCIS to issue an RFE asking for additional information about the Petitioner.

·         Negative comments posted on social media or other customer feedback websites may cause the USCIS to investigate the company more fully before approving the case.

MU suggests that H-1B employees are accurately listing their employment on social media and that your company website is accurate and up-to-date.  

MU LAW'S MARIA SCHNEIDER WINS INGENUITY AWARD

MU Law attorney Maria Schneider is the founder and chair of the Cincinnati Bar Association’s (CBA) Immigration Law Committee.  The Immigration Law Committee recently won the CBA’s Ingenuity Award, for the second year in a row.  The Ingenuity Award is given to a CBA Committee, which in the past year has displayed a commitment to strengthening its purpose and function through membership development, successful continuing education seminars, creative programs and other notable accomplishments. 

The Immigration Law Committee focused on advanced topics within the practice of immigration law, hosting monthly meetings featuring speakers and round table discussions among experienced practitioners.  This year’s meetings included a tour of the Customs and Border Patrol post at the Greater Cincinnati Airport.  This month, the committee hosts Ellen Kinker, a caseworker from Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-OH) office.

CONGRESS VACATES

The US Congress will begin its summer recess tomorrow.  Like schoolchildren, they take much of the summer off.  This year's promised  Comprehensive Immigration Reform has now been tabled until after they return in September.  

The Senate has done its job.  It passed a bi-partisan immigration bill by a healthy margin, which included both good and bad things for the healthcare industry.  

The Republican-controlled House has stalled.  The lower-level House Judiciary Committee has passed a small business based immigration bill, the SKILLS Act. Will the full House move on a bigger Comprehensive bill in September?

  

Some see hopeful signs.  Immigrants and employers are pressing their concerns directly to House members, who have returned to their home districts for the Summer Recess. Some Republicans leaders, such as Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and one-time Vice Presidential hopeful Paul Ryan (R-WI) reportedly have been working behind the scenes to encourage colleagues to produce a bill.  

Hopeful these efforts can lead to a productive autumn.