Nurses
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. Read
full article
An H-3 visa allows a temporary trainee
to come to the United States to participate in a training program
at the invitation of an American organization or individual. The
purpose of U.S. training is to further the nonimmigrant's career
in their home country. It may not be designed primarily to provide
productive employment. Read
full article
Canadian and Mexican nurses may be able
to work temporarily in the United States in TN status, under the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). TN visas allow Canadian
and Mexican citizens to engage in activities at a professional level,
which are defined as activities that require "at least a baccalaureate
degree or appropriate credentials demonstrating status as a professional"
in a listed profession. Nursing is specifically included in the
list of professions recognized under NAFTA. Specific requirements
for each profession are listed as well. To qualify for a TN visa,
a Canadian or Mexican nurse must possess an RN and a state or provincial
license. Read full article
As stated in our previous article, one category
of nonimmigrant visas available to registered nurses (RNs) is the
H-1C visa. In addition, professional nurses may also be eligible
for H-1B status. To qualify, the position being offered must be
considered a specialty occupation, for which a bachelor's degree
or its equivalent is necessary. Nursing is not per se a specialty
occupation because a baccalaureate degree is not generally required
to become a professional nurse. Therefore, it is difficult for nurses
to satisfy this requirement and obtain H-1B status. Read
full article
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. Read
full article
On November 27, 2002, the Executive Associate
Commissioner in the Office of Field Operations issued a Memorandum
providing guidance to field offices in the adjudication of H-1B
petitions filed on behalf of registered nurses. Generally, regular
registered nurses (RNs) are not eligible for H-1B status. However,
aliens working in certain specialized RN occupations are more likely
to be eligible for H-1B status. Read
full article
|
Home
