Hiring of Filipino nurses in US slowing down amid longer visa processing — PNAA

Filipino nurses preparing for deployment to the United States have been waiting longer for their visas to be released as processing times—some already taking several years—have become even more lengthy under the Trump administration, the Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) said Thursday.

In an interview with GMA News Online in Manila, PNAA President Dr. Marlon Saria said the US government's stricter immigration policies do not necessarily have a direct effect on Filipino nurses, but this may be the case with the processing of visa applications. 

The waiting time has been taking longer than usual, Saria said, and may have created possible ripple effects in the US healthcare sector.

"We do have nurses who have since qualified who are unable to come to the US because of the processing of their visa applications. Unfortunately, they're having to wait a little longer for their cases to be reviewed and approved," Saria said at the sidelines of the Filipino Nurses Global Summit VI and 15th International Nursing Conference at Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.

Saria said the longer visa processing may have already contributed to the short staffing in some American hospitals in urgent need of nursing manpower.

"I'm hearing that it is already a problem for some of our nurses. It's also a problem for some of the organizations. Hospitals in the United States where they are expecting the nurses to fill in some of those positions that they need to fill… it is very hard to find staff. It's very difficult right now and that might be a contributing factor to why there is short staffing in many organizations across the US," he added.

Understaffing was among the key concerns raised by over 1,000 Filipino nurses who joined a recent mass hospital strike in New York City. This followed a deadlock in negotiations over higher compensation, improved healthcare benefits, safety, and the staffing issue.

The PNAA chief said that although the organization is unable to comment on the local healthcare system and nursing in New York City, the protest and advocacies raised during the strike were understandable.

In spite of the developments in New York, Saria said, "In general, Filipino nurses are very highly regarded, are doing very well, and are very successful. We do have cases where we hear of abuse of Filipino nurses, in terms of employment abuse, where they may be shifted to another facility without them agreeing to or knowing in their contract, but those are isolated cases. We know they're happening, isolated cases, but generally, Filipino nurses are very well regarded, very highly regarded in the US."

"Forefront in our mind is the patients who is the center of all of these. The nurses are advocating for the patients and advocating for themselves and advocating for recognition. And so, we want to make sure and we're hoping for a quick resolution of what's happening for the benefit of the patients in New York," he added.

Filipino nurses in need of assistance were encouraged to consult with the PNAA.

Saria said, "Come to PNAA if you need help with other issues that you may have outside of the legal issues, in terms of their employment...  We would definitely benefit as an organization to collect the voice… The more voices we have in our organization, the more we will be heard and the more we will be represented." — VDV, GMA Integrated News