Recent reports put the number of unemployed nurses in the Philippines at around 150,000. And this figure will continue to increase in the next few years considering the number of nursing students lately. Though these nurses can apply anywhere from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Canada, UK to nearby Singapore, the United States remain the most attractive of these destinations. Two things differentiate the USA dream: The salary of nurses and the immigrant visa.

My wife is a registered nurse and we are at the final stages of our immigration application for the United States. The current retrogression somewhat delayed everything, even though demand for nurses in the US is still very high, and expected to further increase in 2025, when the baby boomers will reach retirement age. The October 2008 visa bulletin had been released lately and there now seems a ray of hope for the nurses. The priority dates had moved too, though not the ones we expected.

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