Immigrant Visas for Nurses

Overview

Of all the immigration options available to foreign nurses, an immigrant visa is the best choice because it allows the nurse to live and work in the United States for an indefinite period of time.

Generally, three main steps are involved in obtaining an immigrant visa. First, the employer must file a Labor Certification application with the U.S. Department of Labor. Second, the employer must petition for the foreign employee and lastly, the application for the immigrant visa is filed at a U.S. Consulate abroad or, if the alien is legally in the United States, s/he may file for permanent resident status.

Schedule A Labor Certification

The purpose of the Labor Certification application is to verify that the hiring of a foreign employee will not have an adverse effect on the U.S. market with regard to a certain occupation. It requires the employer to test the U.S. market before being able to employ a foreign worker.

The Department of Labor has made a blanket determination that there are not enough United States workers who are able, willing, qualified and available for certain occupations and the employment of foreign workers in such areas will not adversely affect the U.S. labor market. Employers seeking to hire foreign workers in these occupations, known as "Schedule A occupations," do not need to test the U.S. market before petitioning for a foreign employee. Because of the current nursing shortage, professional nurses are included in the list of Schedule A occupations.

In Schedule A cases, the employer may directly file the Petition for an Alien Worker with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly INS). The following supporting documentation must be included with the Petition: (1) Form ETA-750 in duplicate; (2) documentation establishing the employer's ability to pay the offered wage; (3) evidence that the alien will be employed as a professional nurse; (4) evidence that the nurse has passed the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFN) Examination, or that s/he holds a full and unrestricted license to practice nursing in the State of intended employment

Nurses who have passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) may be eligible for Schedule A in the absence of a CGFNS certificate or full and unrestricted license to practice nursing in the state of intended employment.

Visa Screen Certificate

In addition to the CGFNS Certificate, foreign nurses must obtain a VisaScreen certificate before an immigrant visa will be issued. The CGFNS is the agency authorized to administrate the VisaScreen Certificate program. To qualify for a VisaScreen certificate:

(i) The alien's education, training, license, and experience must-

(I) Meet all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for entry into the United States under the classification specified in the application;

(II) Be comparable with that required for an American health-care worker of the same type; and

(III) Be authentic and, in the case of a license, unencumbered

(ii) The alien must have the level of competence in oral and written English considered to be appropriate for health care work of the kind in which the alien will be engaged, as shown by an appropriate score on one or more nationally recognized, commercially available, standardized assessments of the applicant's ability to speak and write; and

(iii) If a majority of States licensing the profession in which the alien intends to work recognizes a test predicting the success on the profession's licensing or certification examination, the alien has passed such a test, or has passed such an examination.

Nurses who have graduated from a college, university, or professional training school located in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States are exempt from the English language requirement.

Application

Once the Petition for an Alien Worker is approved, and the nurse has obtained a VisaScreen certificate, s/he is eligible to apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad. If the nurse is already in the United States in lawful status, s/he may adjust their status to a permanent resident.

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

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