VZCZCXRO7812
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHML #0156/01 0260856
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 260856Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6391
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000156 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ELAB CVIS OEXC RP
SUBJECT: FILIPINO NURSES STRUGGLE TO RESUSCITATE CAREERS AFTER U.S. 
VISA SLOWDOWN 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Nursing degrees provided thousands of Filipinos 
opportunities to work in the United States.  Facing low wages and 
high unemployment at home, Filipino nurses were eager to help 
address the chronic nursing shortage in the United States.  However, 
many of these job opportunities evaporated when fewer U.S. 
employment-based immigrant visas became available after 2005. 
Facing dim career prospects today, many nurses are seeking other 
avenues to enter the United States, providing an interesting example 
of how U.S. immigration policy can affect a foreign economy.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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CHASING THE DREAM 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  The United States has experienced a shortage of registered 
nurses for decades.  This shortage is projected to reach 260,000 
unfilled positions by 2025.  Filipino nurses are well positioned to 
fill this gap due to their English fluency and training within a 
U.S.-based education system.  U.S. healthcare institutions have 
actively recruited foreign nurses for years, and Filipinos have 
gladly heeded the call.  Approximately 40 percent of all foreign 
nurses in the United States are from the Philippines. 
 
¶3.  Employment in the U.S. is an irresistible opportunity for many 
Filipinos.  A registered nurse in the Philippines can expect to make 
approximately $300 a month but could earn 10 times as much in the 
United States.  Filipinos recognize that a nurse in the U.S. can 
provide a steady stream of remittances and sponsor family-based 
immigrant petitions for relatives with no other path to emigrating 
from the Philippines.  In the past 10 years, the number of 
accredited nursing colleges in the Philippines swelled as parents 
pushed their children into the career.  Nursing students readily 
admit that they entered the profession because it provides the best 
opportunity to work overseas, especially in the United States. 
 
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A DOOR CLOSES 
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¶4.  The path for a nurse to enter the United States for employment 
purposes is narrow.  The preferred route of many Filipinos was 
through employment-based immigration (EB-3), which provided both a 
job and U.S. permanent residence.  The only other method is to apply 
as a temporary worker under the H non-immigrant visa classification. 
 In both cases, the applicant must find a U.S.-based employer, who 
must obtain Department of Labor approval to hire a foreigner and 
then file a petition through the Department of Homeland Security. 
Both visa classes are numerically limited. 
 
¶5.  Immigration opportunities for nurses were significantly reduced 
in 2005 when the demand for employment-based immigrant visas 
exceeded the Congressionally mandated supply and applicants had to 
wait for an available slot.  However, each time an EB-3 Filipino 
petitioned a family member, or a Filipino in the U.S. adjusted to 
employment-based immigrant status, a number was taken away from the 
quota.  Thus, the waiting time for EB-3 visas in the Philippines 
continues to lengthen; visas can now be issued only for those with 
petitions approved before June 2002.  In effect, an employment-based 
immigrant visa is no longer a viable way for nurses to work in the 
United States. 
 
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NURSES, NURSES, EVERYWHERE... 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  Many Filipinos were slow to recognize this change.  In 2008 
alone, Philippine nursing schools produced approximately 60,000 
nurses accredited to practice in the Philippines, many of whom face 
bleak career prospects.  An estimated 100,000 registered nurses are 
currently either unemployed or working in another vocation.  Some 
nurses volunteer in hospitals without pay in hope of eventually 
being offered a salaried position.  When a top hospital opened new 
nursing positions last year, it had to close the announcement early 
after being inundated with 4,000 applications.  Healthcare 
institutions in the Philippines specifically cite U.S. visa 
retrogression as the cause of the decline in nurse turnover, from 50 
percent in 2005 to 8 percent today. 
 
¶7.  The local economy has begun to respond to the over-supply of 
nurses.  Enrollment in nursing schools throughout the Philippines 
has dwindled by up to 35 percent and some programs have closed 
altogether.  Since 2008, the number of Filipinos taking the National 
Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), which is required to practice 
nursing in the U.S., has dropped by approximately 20 percent.  While 
some nurses continue to wait for their employment-based visas to 
become available, others are looking elsewhere for their next 
opportunity.  Many nurses are seeking jobs in Europe, Canada and the 
Middle East while others pursue new careers. 
 
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OTHER DOORS OPEN 
 
MANILA 00000156  002 OF 002 
 
 
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¶9.  The American Federation of Teachers estimates 200,000 new U.S. 
teachers are needed each year to keep up with attrition and growing 
demand.  Positions in math, science, and special education are 
increasingly hard to fill, and teacher shortages exist in nearly 
every state.  Faced with this situation, more than 100 school 
districts throughout the United States have begun to recruit 
Filipino teachers.  Besides temporary worker (H) non-immigrant 
visas, teachers have the added flexibility of also qualifying for 
exchange visitor (J) non-immigrant visas.  Between 2000 and 2008, 
the number of newly hired teachers working overseas grew by an 
annual rate of 27 percent. 
 
¶10.  In addition to jobs in education, Filipinos continue to pursue 
careers in information technology, physical therapy, engineering and 
accounting with overseas employment as a primary goal.  As the 
Philippines continues to experience high unemployment and low wages 
in the near term, the desire to find jobs in the United States will 
remain strong.  Both applicants and employers will look for ways to 
find opportunities in existing employment visa categories. 
 
BASSETT