There is no doubt that Americastill lacks local resident to fill up positions for their healthcare facilities. For this reason, recruitment of foreign health workers in Americais set to continue until the year 2014. The fact that majority of the US populations nowadays are aging and increase in the number of retiring health workers made this necessary. 

According to a recruitment consultant, who works for Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (FAME), Emmanuel Geslani, an estimate of 1.2 million nurses will be hired in the United Statesuntil 2014.

Geslani based his statement from a report of the US Department of Health and Human Services that aside from the 500,000 nurses that need to be hired to replaced retirees, Americaalso has to recruit 700,000 more to take care of the aging baby boomers in the years to come.

However, Geslani advised Filipino nurses that although there is a need for foreign nurses in America, the US States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is yet to create and implement rules that would make visa processing of foreign nurses easier.

For this reason, the recruitment consultant said that instead of solely focusing their attention to the USjob market, nurses should still seek job opportunities elsewhere. Geslani recommends the Middle East citing that even if the salary is not as high as what nurses in Americagets, one need not wait for years before getting a job there.

Geslani also informed that the USCIS are currently reviewing proposals to expedite visa applications of foreign nurses. One of the suggestions is to allot a specific lane and category for foreign nurses.

Gesalani said, “The nursing shortage in the US may not be solved in the immediate future as policy recommendations will have to be approved and the red tape involved in the processing of nurses visas will have to be resolved without the CIS letting up on its safeguards in setting up standards for foreign nurses qualifications.”