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RP EMBASSY TO PURSUE CONTINUED DEPLOYMENT OF FILIPINO NURSES IN THE US

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY - NEWS RELEASE
18 February 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Philippine Ambassador to the United States Albert del Rosario today said that the Philippine Embassy will endeavor to undertake a three-pronged strategy to pursue the continued deployment of Filipino nurses in the US in response to the stoppage of visa issuances to workers.

This deployment has been disrupted by the fact that the temporary working visa (H1B) and employment-based immigrant visa (EB3) which are used by Filipino nurses have been fully utilized for 2005.

According to Ambassador del Rosario, the Philippine Embassy will undertake the following:

First, it will make official representations with the State Department emphasizing that since the US has an acute need for nurses which the Philippines can readily supply, both governments can pursue a “win-win” solution to the problem.

Second, it will harness the support of the Philippines-US Friendship Caucus - composed of 69 American congressmen - for the immediate enactment into law of two important bills. One is the “Health Improvement and Professionals Act of 2005” sponsored by Congressman Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo, San Francisco) in the US House of Representatives, and by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) in the US Senate.

This bill provides for the allotment of unused visas for other countries to qualified nurses from the Philippines, India and China. To date, a total of 130,000 EB3 visa numbers for countries other than the Philippines, China and India, remain unused.

The other bill, filed by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), would create a special nurse visa, similar to the old H-1A, which was used to address the nursing shortage of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Third, the Philippine Embassy will work with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and other concerned parties who have a vital need for reliable access to nursing services.

Ambassador del Rosario said that the shortage of nurses in the US remains acute. The US Department of Health and Human Services reports that there are 130,000 registered nurses vacancies nationwide. This number is projected to grow to 275,000 by 2010 and to over 800,000 by 2020.

Last year, based on the data of the US Embassy in Manila and the POEA, the Philippines’ deployment under the H1B visa and the EB3 visa numbered 11,349, of which around 70% were issued to nurses.

Reference:
Consul Patricia Ann V. Paez
Press and Information
E-mail: pvpaez@aol.com
Tel. No.: 202 -467-9400

Mr. Gerald Gloria (Staff)
rppress@verizon.net
Tel. No.: 202- 467-9432