Dire nursing shortages set to get even worse across US as mass visa delays fuel green card backlog

Nursing shortage to worsen amid visa delays

Erica DeBoer, the chief nurse at America's largest rural health network, thought she could finally offer some relief for her overworked staff and thousands of patients. More than 160 reinforcement nurses were supposed to arrive over the coming months across…

Dire nursing shortages set to get even worse across US as mass visa delays fuel green card backlog

The U.S. is in the midst of a visa retrogression, when a surge in demand collides with annual caps, jamming up the processing queue. Experts estimate that at least 10,000 foreign nurses have been delayed indefinitely — a holdup that’s almost certain to worsen an already dire national shortage. After the pandemic led 100,000 nurses to leave their jobs due to burnout or early retirement, U.S. hospitals looked abroad to fill the gap.

Dire nursing shortages set to get even worse across US as mass visa delays fuel green card backlog

The U.S. is in the midst of a visa retrogression, when a surge in demand collides with annual caps, jamming up the processing queue. Experts estimate that at least 10,000 foreign nurses have been delayed indefinitely — a holdup that’s almost certain to worsen an already dire national shortage. After the pandemic led 100,000 nurses to leave their jobs due to burnout or early retirement, U.S. hospitals looked abroad to fill the gap.

Dire nursing shortages set to get even worse across US as mass visa delays fuel green card backlog

The U.S. is in the midst of a visa retrogression, when a surge in demand collides with annual caps, jamming up the processing queue. Experts estimate that at least 10,000 foreign nurses have been delayed indefinitely — a holdup that’s almost certain to worsen an already dire national shortage. After the pandemic led 100,000 nurses to leave their jobs due to burnout or early retirement, U.S. hospitals looked abroad to fill the gap.

Dire nursing shortages set to get even worse across US as mass visa delays fuel green card backlog

The U.S. is in the midst of a visa retrogression, when a surge in demand collides with annual caps, jamming up the processing queue. Experts estimate that at least 10,000 foreign nurses have been delayed indefinitely — a holdup that’s almost certain to worsen an already dire national shortage. After the pandemic led 100,000 nurses to leave their jobs due to burnout or early retirement, U.S. hospitals looked abroad to fill the gap.

Dire nursing shortages set to get even worse across US as mass visa delays fuel green card backlog

The U.S. is in the midst of a visa retrogression, when a surge in demand collides with annual caps, jamming up the processing queue. Experts estimate that at least 10,000 foreign nurses have been delayed indefinitely — a holdup that’s almost certain to worsen an already dire national shortage. After the pandemic led 100,000 nurses to leave their jobs due to burnout or early retirement, U.S. hospitals looked abroad to fill the gap.