Dear Nurses,

The US Department of Homeland Security has recently released its Visa Bulletin for April, and it shows that for those with approved Third Preference Employment Based Petitions like you, the US Department of State will now be processing petitions approved prior to April 8 , 2006.

We therefore urge you to make sure that all your credentials are complete and current now so you will be ready at the time of interview at the US Embassy in Manila. If your Visa Screen is expiring within the next six months, we advise you to start reviewing for your IELTS Exam now and take the test as soon as possible because in all likelihood, your Visa Screen will expire before the interview.

Also, if you have not passed the NCLEX, we likewise urge you to review and take the test here in Manila, also at the soonest possible time, to avoid expected inconveniences upon arrival in the United States.

At this point, we would like to inform you in view of the recession that hit the United States in 2007, and still prevailing to this date, the employers that filed the petition for you might no longer be in a position to provide the employment and/or the benefits initially promised. Fortunately, our principal, the Nursing Resources, Inc., has a host of employers willing and able to provide you with employment in the US. That means that even if the hospital that filed the I-140 petition in your behalf has closed down or no longer needs the same number of nurses it petitioned for, we can still provide you with an employer or employment.

Incidentally, if you have friends, classmates and relatives who have approved Immigrant Visa Petitions BUT whose employers have either closed or will no longer provide employment and/or plane fare in going to the US,  please refer them to us. We can help them with an employer and a new visa petition that will preserve their current Priority Date.

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR CREDENTIALS NOW !!!

Thank you.

TB AWARENESS CAMPAIGN BY US EMBASSY – MANILA
Posted: 21 Mar 2012 06:39 AM PDT

The US Embassy in Manila has begun an awareness campaign about Tuberculosis (TB). About fifteen percent of all visa applications are denied or delayed as a result of high TB numbers. TB is the number one medical reason for the denial or delay of a visa application. All immigrant applicants must prove that they have been immunized against the major communicable diseases.

According to the Embassy, the Philippines has the ninth-highest TB rate in the world. TB is the sixth leading cause of death. About one hundred Filipinos die of the disease every day. If you are living in Manila and plan on immigrating to the US, please be sure to have your immunization records up-to-date. Indeed, even if you do not plan on coming to the US, it is a good idea to protect yourself.

The Embassy has posted a video on its Facebook page by Project Blue Balloons, which highlights this tragic disease.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First: Priority Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.

Second: Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.

Third: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to “*Other Workers”.

Fourth: Certain Special Immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level.

Fifth: Employment Creation: 7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of Pub. L. 102-395.

On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); “C” means current, i.e., numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and “U” means unavailable, i.e., no numbers are available. (NOTE: Numbers are available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.)

CALIFORNIA BOARD OF NURSING:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING REQUIRED SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS FOR LICENSURE APPLICANTS: The Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) will no longer accept applications that do not contain a U.S. Social Security Number. The Nursing Practice Act provides for a unified examination and licensing application. Once an applicant passes the examination, a license is automatically issued. Under these circumstances the BRN cannot accept applications for the examination and licensure without a U.S. social security number. | More Information

http://www.rn.ca.gov/pdfs/applicants/ssninfo.pdf
CA BON update for SNN as a requirement

NEW NCLEX-RN PASSING STANDARD, EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2010: Starting April 1, 2010, a new passing standard of -0.16 logits will be implemented to the NCLEX-RN examination. The new standard represents an increase of 0.05 logits from the current passing standard of -0.21 logits. Per NCSBN policy, NCLEX passing standards are reevaluated once every three years to accommodate possible changes in entry-level nursing practices. In December 2009, NCSBN Board of Directors considered all available evidence, including results from a criterion-referenced standard-setting study, and determined that safe and effective entry-level RN practice requires a greater level of knowledge, skills and ability than it did three years ago. This resulted in the decision to increase the NCLEX-RN passing standard. | More Information

https://www.ncsbn.org/1983.htm
NCLEX raise passing rate