Nonimmigrant Visas for Nurses: Part One - H-1C Visas

Overview

The H-1C visa category was established by the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999 (NRDAA). The H-1C visa was designed to alleviate nursing shortages in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) in the United States by allowing registered nurses to come temporarily to the United States to perform services at hospitals in such areas.

The H-1C visa is based on the former H-1A visa for nurses, which is now expired. Although similar, the H-1C visa is more restricted than the H-1A visa was, due to the annual numerical cap and the greater number of attestations that facilities are required to make before petitioning for H-1C nurses.

Eligibility Requirements

There are three requirements for nurses seeking H-1C status. In order to qualify, nurses must:

(a) Have a full and unrestricted license to practice professional nursing in the country where they received their nursing education, or be educated in the U.S.;

(b) Have passed an appropriate examination (recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services) or have a full and unrestricted license under state law to practice professional nursing in the state of intended employment; and

(c) Be fully qualified and eligible under the laws governing the place of intended employment to engage in the practice of professional nursing as a registered nurse immediately upon admission to the U.S. and be authorized under such laws to be employed by the facility.

Employer's Responsibilities

A United States hospital seeking to file an H-1C petition on behalf of a foreign nurse must file an attestation with the Department of Labor, indicating that:

(1) As of March 31, 1997, the facility was located in a health professional shortage area;
(2) Based on the settled cost report for the period beginning fiscal year 1994, (a) it had at least 190 licensed acute care beds; (b) at least 35% of its inpatients days were for patients entitled to Medicare; and (c) at least 28% of its inpatients days were for patients entitled to Medicaid;

(3) Employment of the H-1C nurse will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of other nurses similarly employed;

(4) The H-1C nurse will be paid the same wages as registered nurses similarly employed by the facility;

(5) There is not a strike or lockout in the course of a labor dispute;

(6) It did not terminate employment of a registered nurse already employed there within the period beginning 90 days before and ending 90 days after the date of filing of any H-1C petition;

(7) The employment of the H-1C nurse is not intended to influence an election for a bargaining representative for registered nurses of the facility;

(8) It will not employ a number of H-1C nurses that exceeds 33% of the total number of registered nurses employed;

(9) The H-1C nurse will not be authorized to work at any worksite other than the worksite controlled by the facility and he or she will not be transferred from one worksite to another;

(10) Notice of the filing of the H-1C petition has been provided to the bargaining representative of the registered nurses at the facility or, in the absence of a bargaining representative, notice has been provided to the registered nurses through posting in conspicuous locations; and

(11) The facility has taken significant steps to recruit and retain registered nurses who are U.S. citizens or immigrants. These steps include, but are not limited to:

(a) Operating a training program at the facility for registered nurses or financing (or providing participation in) a training program elsewhere;

(b) Providing career development programs and other methods facilitating health care workers to become registered nurses;

(c) Paying registered nurses higher wages than those currently being paid to registered nurses similarly employed in the geographic area; or

(d) Providing reasonable opportunities for meaningful salary advancement by registered nurses.

A facility's attestation expires a year after it is filed with the Department of Labor or at the end of the period of admission of the last H-1C nurse with respect to whose admission it applies, whichever is later.

General Procedure

The procedure for the H-1C visa is similar to the H-1B visa. A petition for an alien worker needs to be filed with the INS in addition to the attestation filed with the Department of Labor. Multiple employees may be included in a single petition.

The maximum period of admission on an H-1C visa is three years. Once the admission period has expired, H-1C status cannot be extended.

No more than 500 H-1C visas may be issued in each fiscal year. In addition to the national cap, there are also numerical limitations imposed on individual states on the basis of the state's population. States with a population of less than 9 million (based on the 1990 decennial census) may not be issued more than 25 visas and states with a population of 9 million or more (based on the 1990 decennial census) may not be issued over 50 visas.

The H-1C visa category will expire on June 13, 2005. Therefore, all H-1C petitions must be filed by that time. In addition, H-1C nurses may not be admitted to the U.S. after June 13, 2005.

By Teressa accurso Dickman
Law Offices of Teressa Accurso Dickman, P.A.
www.ImmigratingToAmerica.com

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