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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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Some Filipinos seeking U.S. jobs
may end up overstaying
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NEW YORK, October 7, 2004 --- The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday that no more H-1B or work visa petitions will be accepted as it has met the congressionally-mandated cap for fiscal year 2005.
The Congress has set an annual H-1B cap of 65,000. Of that figure, 6,800 are set aside for the H1-B program under terms of the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements, which leaves the H-1B cap number a total of 58,200.
According to federal officials, in a press statement, all 2005 H-1B cap petitions received after close of business on Oct. 1, 2004, will be returned with the filing fee.
The earliest date a petitioner may file a petition requesting FY 2006 H-1B employment would be April 1, 2005, the statement said.
The USCIS notes that extending a currently valid H-1B visa and transferring a valid H-1B from one employer to another employer are exempt from the cap. Institutions of higher education, government research institutions, and their affiliated non-profit organizations are also included in the exemption.
Some Filipino-American immigration lawyers said they anticipated the cap would be filled earlier than normal, but it came so soon.
In the Filipino community, I believe the ones greatly affected are those who are currently on visitors visa but looking for work visa status. Now that this year's cap was reached, that means the door had been closed to them, Ian Hinonangan, a Filipino-American lawyer based in Newark, NJ. Some of them may end up overstaying, and that is apparently a violation.
In 2001, Congress temporarily raised the number of applications from 65,000 to 195,000 to meet the demand of the Internet-fueled technology boom. But only 79,000 workers applied, well below the cap.
After Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the dot.com era waned, Congress declined to renew the quota and it returned to 65,000 despite lobbying by the high-tech industry.
Critics said current limits deprive many U.S. companies of the workers they need to grow and prosper.
For C. Bento, 31, who came to the U.S. to look for work opportunities, it would be another year of waiting.
I will go back to the Philippines first. I don't want to overstay and tarnish my record. I want to keep my multiple-entry visitor's visa until I find a U.S.-based employer. But this means that I will spend another P75,000 for my ticket, she said.
America is not the only country for Filipino workers
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is not overly concerned if the U.S. government has received enough H-1B petitions to meet its limit for fiscal year 2005.
Its not a problem. Our workers can always go elsewhere and get the same high-paying jobs in countries like the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Canada, among others. DOLE Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said in a report.
Sto. Tomas said that the US needs Filipino workers, particularly nurses, and if their entry was being restricted its their [Americans] problem, not ours.
She said many Filipino workers in countries other than the US were also pirated by American firms.
So it has no effect on us. In fact, a group of Japanese lawmakers wanted to fast-track an agreement for the supply of Filipino nurses in Japan, Sto. Tomas said.
But militant labor groups in Manila saw it differently as the U.S. stoppage in issuing working visas will be an added burden to the already suffering Filipino workers.
The Americas accounted for a 23.8 percent increase in OFW deployment, from 2,303 last year to 2,851 in first three months of 2001.
Under the H-1B program, US employers must pay foreign workers the prevailing wage for their job fields and show that qualified US workers are not being passed over. The foreign workers, who must have at least a bachelors degree or its equivalent, are eligible to work in the U.S. for up to six years. --- With reports from ILW and MNS.
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From right: Consul General Cecille Rebong, Filipinas J. Lowery,
former PNAA president and NCLEX Task Force chairperson,
and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.
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NEW YORK, October 7, 2004 --- There will be a time when Filipino nurses dont have to be in the United States just to take the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) as Philippine government supports the move to make the Philippines a test site for its international administration.
That was the assurance given by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo to the members and leaders of the Philippine Nurses Association of America, Inc. (PNAA) during a meeting initiated on Sept. 18 by the Philippine consulate here.
I will personally ask the Philippine Ambassador to the United States to look into how, and whether, your NCLEX-initiative can be tabled as a topic-of-interest in the RP and U.S.s bilateral relations, Romulo said.
The foreign secretary said that he will personally endorse PNNAs request to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and will refer the matter to the relevant government agencies, including the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC), for further study amd for issues to be addressed appropriately.
For foreign nurses, passing the NCLEX is the final step in a multi-step process before they can practice the nursing profession in the U.S. Currently Filipino nurses have to fly to Guam or Saipan to take the examination or wait until they arrive in the U.S. after successfully obtaining a temporary or immigrant visa.
In 2002, the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), which administers the NCLEX, approved a recommendation to designate international test centers for the administration of the nurse licensing exam outside the U.S. and its territories. The NCSBN set a target for implementation of the said recommendation after Jan. 1, 2005.
That led PNAA to take action by initiating communications with NCSBN and submitting a position paper in support of the Philippines as a test site. PNAA believes that the it would be a tremendous opportunity to help Filipino nurses aspiring to work in the U.S. by reducing the cost of taking the NCLEX.
During the groups national convention, in June 2003, PNAA created a Task Force for International NCLEX Administration Site to work for the designation of the Philippines as an NCLEX test site by the NCSBN. The task force proposed to NCSBN in April of this year that the Philippines be established as one of the international test centers for the administration of NCLEX.
One of the strong points cited by the task force was that the majority of all foreign-trained nurses taking the NCLEX are Filipino nurses and 85 percent of the U.S.s total foreign nurses are Filipinos. It was also cited that Filipino nurses have played a vital role in alleviating the acute nursing shortage in the U.S. for over two decades and continue to do so.
Meanwhile, NCSBN selected Hong Kong, Seoul and London as three pilot sites for international NCLEX administration. NCSBN plans to initially implement the international NCLEX program in these pilot sites before considering other countries.
The NCSBN apparently bypassed the Philippines as an initial NCLEX test site without prejudice due to the inability of the country to meet critical components of the eight selection criteria set by the Council. These eight selection criteria are: (1) National security, including economic climate; (2) Examination security; (3) Similarity of local laws with U.S. intellectual property and copyright laws; (4) Pearson locations with high-stakes testing; (5) Numbers and locations of internationally educated nurses; (6) regional accessibility; (7) Number of U.S. military personnel and dependents; and (8) Similarity of local nursing educational system to U.S. nursing educational system.
But with the support of the Philippine government, PNNA is steadfast in its commitment to pursue NCLEX initiative and convince the NCSBN that the Philippines meets the first two criteria.
Romulo thanked the PNAA members for their advocacy of an issue that is both beneficial to the U.S. government in terms of addressing the acute nursing shortage in the U.S., and Philippine nurses in terms of helping them reduce the cost of taking the NCLEX.
Filipinas J. Lowery, former PNAA president and NCLEX task force chairperson, responded that her group is grateful that their great endeavor is backed by Philippine government.
For those interested in supporting Task Force for NCLEX Administration Site in the Philippines, contact Filipinas J. Lowery (NY) at (212) 304-0909; Rosario May Mayor (NY) (212) 677-2261; Reynaldo Rivera (NY) (212) 675-6931; Lolita Compas (NY) (212) 777-6423; Leo Felix Jurado (NJ) (732) 752-8488; Ernesto Rosas (KC) (816) 454-9603; Linda Simunek (FL) (954) 432-6097; Remedios Solarte (MI) (248) 641-7329; or Brenda Cohen (CA) (818) 991-3738.
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NEW YORK, October 7, 2004 --- A score of Filipino advocates joined the rally in front of the Federal Building on Thursday to protest over the citizenship delays that may lose tens of thousands of potential New York voters on Nov. 2 elections.
Im here because the impact of presidential elections in this country have made thousands of citizenship cases stuck nationwide, a Filipina member of MIGRANTE, who spoke on anonymity, said. Im wearing a bandanna tied over my mouth to symbolize the loss of immigrants voices and in the coming elections.
According to Margie McHugh, director of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), roughly 60,000 immigrants in New York, including Filipinos, have lost their right to vote in the presidential elections because their citizenship cases have not been adjudicated properly.
With several hundred thousand citizenship cases pending nationally, and with the margin of victory in the presidential race expected to be razor-thin in many states, the massive loss of votes caused by the immigration services failure to process these cases could certainly have an impact on the outcome of the presidential elections, McHugh said.
The number of immigrants sworn in as U.S. citizens nationwide dropped by almost 20 percent from 2002 to 2003, according to USCIS data.
The data also reveal that while the number of naturalizations has continued to decline, the backlog of adjudicated cases has increased.
More than 678,000 citizenship cases are pending nationwide, USCIS reports said.Of all the USCIS offices, New York has the largest number of naturalization cases in the backlog.
President Bush put the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in charge of citizenship and other immigration matters, and instead of treating hardworking immigrants with respect and adjudicating their cases, DHS has diverted the application fees paid by immigrants for other purposes and let the backlogs grow larger and larger, said Raquel Batista, executive director of the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrants Rights.
She added that DHS managers forced New Yorks citizenship and green card staff to ignore their caseloads and go off on a wild goose chase known as the Special Registration Program.
Im sure you have relatives, members of the family or friends who have been badly affected by the citizenship delays. They cant vote, and they dont much freedom, even if they are as equally hardworking as U.S. citizens, said A. Brillantes (not his real name), another Filipino member of MIGRANTE. The citizenship backlogs make a mockery of immigrants patriotism and belief in Americas democratic values.
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MANILA, October 7, 2004 --- More than 1,000 Filipinos have sneaked into Iraq despite the governments ban on the deployment of migrant workers in the strife-torn country, an alliance of migrant workers claimed.
Connie Bragas-Regalado, Migrante chair, said the prospective workers gain access to Iraq through its neighbors Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey and Jordan.
They managed to get tourist visas [from these countries], she said.
The government has imposed a ban on the deployment of Filipino workers in Iraq following the abduction of the truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, who was freed only after Manila pulled its military contingent out of Iraq.
Regalado was disappointed about the governments failure to carry out the ban and the inability of the coalition forces to monitor the entry of undocumented workers in Iraq.
Theyre desperate to enter Iraq because of huge salaries even if their lives are put in danger, Regalado said. The governments failure to provide employment opportunities in the country also forced them to leave.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier acknowledged that 27 Filipinos managed to slip into Iraq after the ban was imposed. This was on top of the 4,200 documented Filipinos working in military camps and employed for reconstruction and relief mission of the US and British troops.
Regalado said the government should have a contingency plan for the evacuation of more than 1,000 undocumented Filipino workers in Iraq should the security there continue to deteriorate.
She noted that the labor department needs to start tracking down these workers so the government wouldnt be caught off guard should the need for repatriation arise.
The government was able to gather some 4,200 documented Filipino workers in various resettlement sites in Iraq but failed to bring them home.
Meanwhile, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) was allotted $293,500 for the repatriation of Filipino workers from Iraq. (MNS)
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