What You Need To Know About: Visa Retrogression For USRN Applicants

Beginning in May, 2023, USCIS intends to implement visa retrogression for those international applicants seeking employment-based green card sponsorship across all countries. While we hope this visa retrogression is temporary, Medliant reminds international USRN applicants that we will continue NCLEX and USRN Sponsorship as we have done prior to this announcement.

Recent and future Medliant USRN candidates chosen for sponsorship will continue to have their I-140 filed. This filing date will be your place in line and when the USCIS visa bulletin priority date is moved forward to a date after your filing date, Medliant will then be able to move forward with the next steps of your Green Card Visa Sponsorship for both you and your family dependents.

The only change with visa retrogression is that the actual immigration timeline may take a few additional months. This additional processing time applies to all applicants, regardless of the chosen agency or employment position as this is a USCIS decision. This blog post will hopefully answer any questions you may have about visa retrogression.

What is Visa Retrogression?

Visa retrogression refers to a situation where the number of immigrant visas available for a particular country or category of foreign nationals exceeds the statutory limits set by the United States government. When this happens, USCIS must limit the number of visas issued to certain categories of people or countries, causing a backlog or delay in visa processing.

Retrogression can occur due to various reasons such as the high demand for visas in a particular year, insufficient visa allocation, and other factors such as country limits and visa priority dates. When retrogression occurs, applicants may face extended immigration timelines as a result of having their countries priority dates moved backward.

It's important to note that visa retrogression can happen at any time, and it can impact different visa categories such as employment-based, family-based, and diversity visas. Visa retrogression can be a complex issue, however, with more than 30 years of experience, including prior visa retrogression periods, Medliant has the expertise and legal team to continue supporting you in your journey to begin living your American Dream as a Medliant USRN.

Why does Visa Retrogression Occur?

When the demand for a particular category of visa exceeds the number of visas available, USCIS may implement visa retrogression by establishing a priority date (aka a place in line or cut-off date) for visa applications. This means that only those who filed their applications before that priority date or place in line will be eligible to move forward with visa processing at that time.

For example, if the limit for a particular employment-based visa category is 500,000 visas per year, and 600,000 people apply for that visa from a single country in a given year, then USCIS may establish a priority date to limit the number of eligible applicants to 500,000. This could mean that applicants who filed after the priority date will have to wait until their filing date or place in line comes up.

What will the Priority Date be for most Countries Beginning May 2023?

June 01, 2022 will be the final action date for most countries including The Philippines, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and The United Kingdom, among others, with the exception of China (2019) and India (2012).

Will Medliant still provide NCLEX and USRN Sponsorship?

Yes! Medliant will continue to offer NCLEX and USRN Sponsorship for successful candidates as we have done so prior to visa retrogression being announced. The only change is, while visa retrogression is in place, that the actual visa processing time may take longer. It does not mean that you will not successfully immigrate to the USA. Medliant will continue to file successful candidates I-140s to establish your place in line and to support you and your family each and every step of the wayto ensure that you will begin living your American Dream!