On September 9, 2015 the U.S. State Department announced the revision to the procedure for determining when applicants can submit their Adjustment of Status applications. The revision takes effect with the October 2015 bulletin. This revision is a game changer for a lot of people, especially those who have been affected by unavailability of visas for several family and employment based categories.
Registered Nurses and other Schedule A professionals (e.g., physical therapist) stand to benefit a lot from this change. While in the past, Registered Nurses have had to wait for months and years before they can submit their Adjustment of Status and Employment Authorization applications, under the new program, these applications can be filed almost immediately—especially for applicants from countries other than China, India and Philippines. Since these occupations have been certified by the Department of Labor, employers do not have to do the traditional recruitment efforts before filing these applications.
This revision is part of executive action initiative announced by the president in November 2014. While we hope that usual cast of characters would not mount a legal challenge of President Obama’s authority on this issue, we believe this is a great opportunity for Registered Nurses and their employers.