The president signed into law on May 11, 2005, the supplementary spending bill for Tsunami Aid and Iraq which included a rider that recaptures 50,000 unused immigrant visa numbers from 2001 to 2004.
The 50,000 visa numbers are specifically allocated for registered nurses (RNs) and physical therapists (PTs), most of whom are from the Philippines.
Thousands of immigrant visa applications of RNs and Pts which have been stalled by the retrogression since January this year will be processed immediately as a result of this change in the law.
The Department of State had earlier imposed a cut-off date for the third preference employment-based category (EB3) visas which includes RNs and PTs.
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