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Agency can do little to hasten nurse visas

March 25, 2009

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services responded this month to a report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's ombudsman in December that called for speeding up the processing of visa applications from foreign nurses to help alleviate the nursing shortage. However, the USCIS said there was little it could do.

"USCIS recognizes the shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers in the United States, and the potential for a detrimental effect on the healthcare system," the agency wrote. "However, USCIS' ability to rectify this situation is more limited than the CIS Ombudsman's recommendation suggests."

Congress is responsible for setting the limits and the U.S. Department of State issues visa numbers, it wrote.

The ombudsman's report called for:

*Prioritizing nurse green-card applications so they can be expedited without a written request upon immigrant visa eligibility.

*Centralizing processing of nurse visa applications at one USCIS service center for more efficient and consistent processing.

The USCIS said nurses must wait in line with other skilled workers for immigrant visas. The agency also disagreed with the recommendation to centralize processing of nurse visas at one service center, saying it presently uses only two centers for nurse visa processing and they are working to make sure procedures are consistent at both sites.

For the full reply, click here.