On March 15, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act. This includes $275 million to help the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services address the backlogs and delays with processing immigration visas. More on this funding is available
here.
A long term care (LTC) coalition focused on the workforce crisis, and led by AHCA/NCAL, sent a
letter last fall to the State Department offering solutions to help address the crisis. AHCA/NCAL has heard from providers that the immigrant visa processing is incredibly backlogged due to COVID-19 and reduced staffing at U.S. embassies and consulates. Many of the health care professionals with offers from U.S. LTC facilities with approved immigrant petitions have been waiting for many months, in some cases more than a year, for a visa interview appointment. In the
letter, the LTC coalition urged the State Department to swiftly take a variety of measures to expedite the interview process so international nurses can enter the country and help LTC providers provide quality care for the most vulnerable Americans.