H-1C newbie

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hi everyone,

i am an RN in Wisconsin using my OPT to work. however, my OPT expires in January of 2008. My hospital is willing to sponsor me for green card but there aren't any available right now, and according to October Visa Bulletin predictions, there probably won't be any available soon. i am running out of time on my OPT and i am running out of options, except to go back to school but i don't exactly have the budget for that right now. there is a hospital in chicago that is willing to sponsor me for H-1C. i know this visa is not exactly recommended because the hospitals aren't in great areas and i will have to sign a 3 year contract, but i don't have very many options right now. has anyone gone throught the same process? any insight is greatly appreciated!

thanks!

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
could you please elaborate on how my being born in KSA will benefit me? i would like to increase my knowledge in this whole matter as much as i can, so i will be somewhat prepared when my time comes

Visas are allocated on country of birth not where you are residing. Some countries have a higher demand than others therefore visas go quicker for some and not others. This in turn means depending on country you may or may not get to the US at the same time as someone else with the same PD as you. Example, you from Saudia Arabia and someone from the Phillipines with the same PD, you may get your visa quicker than the other person because the demand from the country is not the same.

Hope this makes sense

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When the US releases visas, they assign so many to each country. And it is based on the country where you were born, not where you are currently a citizen of or where you are currently living.

With the Philippines, there are many more that wish to work and live in the US than there are visas available. There are less than 10,000 per year for those from PI, and that includes the dependents as well.

With your country of birth, there are far fewer that are applying, so it makes it faster for you to be able to get a green card when comparing it to those born in PI.

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so in the visa bulletins, would i fall under the "Other Countries" category in the line of EB-3? another issue i'm wondering about, being born in saudi arabia, is that with this whole war on terror, will my being born in saudi be a bad thing? just wondering...

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That is for the US State Dept to decide and they do that on an individual basis. But with the number of applicants already in line from PI, you have better chances of getting thru with the KSA birthplace. Really does not matter, as that is the country of your birth, and that is what they will go by, not the Philippines for you.

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Specializes in NICU.
Yeah I have a friend who is working in Mercy Hospital in Baltimore Maryland under the H1-C visa, and according to her the place is very nice and the hospital too. I think not all hospital who petition H1-C have a bad environment, I think it depends on the place of the hospital.

hi to all! I am new on this site! Hi pinoynarz, Are you also under H1C? I just signed up a contract under H1C, before I decide I made alot of advice from my family in the US, and they told me to sign for it and later change it to immigrant as what is written on the contract with the hospital. I think this is the best way to go to the US since EB3 visa is not available at this time. It is better to be there in the US earning than to suffer in this country with poverty.

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hi to all! I am new on this site! Hi pinoynarz, Are you also under H1C? I just signed up a contract under H1C, before I decide I made alot of advice from my family in the US, and they told me to sign for it and later change it to immigrant as what is written on the contract with the hospital. I think this is the best way to go to the US since EB3 visa is not available at this time. It is better to be there in the US earning than to suffer in this country with poverty.

Still not good advice by your family members. The facility that you signed with is in a very bad location, there are only 15 facilities in the US that have that designation and can bring in nurses with the H1-C visa. There is a reason that they have that large of a shortage of nurses, and if there were not a severe shortage, they could not use the H1-C. Safety should be your primary concern, not anything else.

And with the retrogression, they cannot just change over your visa to immigrant status. And if you do not like that facility, or they do not like you, then you have only 30 days to find another facility that can hire with the H1-C, or you will be forced to leave the US. So, still do not recommend the H1-C, for no one.

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Specializes in NICU.
Still not good advice by your family members. The facility that you signed with is in a very bad location, there are only 15 facilities in the US that have that designation and can bring in nurses with the H1-C visa. There is a reason that they have that large of a shortage of nurses, and if there were not a severe shortage, they could not use the H1-C. Safety should be your primary concern, not anything else.

And with the retrogression, they cannot just change over your visa to immigrant status. And if you do not like that facility, or they do not like you, then you have only 30 days to find another facility that can hire with the H1-C, or you will be forced to leave the US. So, still do not recommend the H1-C, for no one.[/quote

But what is important Suzanne4 I am already there and earning. My relatives live nearby the hospital, and they said it's safe in their place.

I will just do everything I know about nursing, I will use my in depth knowledge, I will be good to them to avoid being kicked by the hospital. I just wanna leave here and tired of living very hard in my home country. I hope everything will happen nice to me there, just wish me luck, and I will keep you posted about my developments.

Are there any nurses here under the H1-C?

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What we are trying to tell you is that with the H1-C visa, you do not get paid at the same salary as they pay their US nurses, or those with the green card. By law, they are not required to do so.

And there are always reasons that a facility does not want a nurse to remain there, it can be for anything, and if that happens, you have 30 days to find another facility. And since there are only 15 out of the entire US, it is going to be very difficult. Have seen it over and over again, and the nurse finally has to leave the US. No way to remain in the US without the visa.

You are new to this forum, and we are telling you by experience from what we have seen over and over again. And sorry, I have seen too many nurses from your country that have been essentially given over to an agency or facility for the referral bonus that auntie gets. Essentially like selling them, and this has happened over and over again. This is a decision that you need to make on your own, and not by what your family is telling you that you should do.

Suggest that you have a good read on the Philippine Forum, and on the top of that forum in a sticky is a thread on Crime Statistics, please have a good luck at that and input the facility's location into that link and see what they come up with. You need to be going into this with open eyes. It may not be as you think that it will be.

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hi to all! I am new on this site! Hi pinoynarz, Are you also under H1C? I just signed up a contract under H1C, before I decide I made alot of advice from my family in the US, and they told me to sign for it and later change it to immigrant as what is written on the contract with the hospital. I think this is the best way to go to the US since EB3 visa is not available at this time. It is better to be there in the US earning than to suffer in this country with poverty.

Hello pampangaKid, I am not under H1-C, I undergo CP, I am waiting for my packet 4 or interview schedule at the American consulate in the Philippines. But I do have a friend who went the same route as yours- H1C, and she was offered a salary of $26/hr when she signed up with them in 2005 before the retrogression lifted, then her salary increase 3 times within two years, she's now receiving $34/hr, 36hrs/week, with night and evening diff, weekend diff of 4$ and a holiday pay of one time and half, not bad I think compare to my salary offer:o of less than 25$/hr, 40hrs/week.:angryfire What state are you going?

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Depends on the state and the location. And the number of patients that you are caring for, etc. Hospitals that are that short that can use the H1-C classification for immigration, do not have ratio laws in their states. Never look at salary only.

You are also getting a green card, the H1-C visa can be cancelled at anytime, up to the employer as well as the US government. It is only a temporary visa and it is not required that it be renewed. Look at what is happening to the nurses in the UK right now.

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Specializes in NICU.
What we are trying to tell you is that with the H1-C visa, you do not get paid at the same salary as they pay their US nurses, or those with the green card. By law, they are not required to do so.

And there are always reasons that a facility does not want a nurse to remain there, it can be for anything, and if that happens, you have 30 days to find another facility. And since there are only 15 out of the entire US, it is going to be very difficult. Have seen it over and over again, and the nurse finally has to leave the US. No way to remain in the US without the visa.

Why would this hospital spend their money for the H1C processing when they don't actually want a nurse to remain with them? Are they wasting their time and money interviewing nurses for H1C by traveling or calling the nurses via phone interview then when the nurse gets there in the USA they will just throw them away because of a single mistake? I don't think Americans will do that especially if they are in need of nurses, giving a 10weeks orientation is good enough for a foreign nurse to learn more of the hospital routine and equipments

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Why would this hospital spend their money for the H1C processing when they don't actually want a nurse to remain with them? Are they wasting their time and money interviewing nurses for H1C by traveling or calling the nurses via phone interview then when the nurse gets there in the USA they will just throw them away because of a single mistake? I don't think Americans will do that especially if they are in need of nurses, giving a 10weeks orientation is good enough for a foreign nurse to learn more of the hospital routine and equipments

well the could be a few things that could make the hospital decide they don't want the nurse anymore. They may not meet the grade, they may decide they do not need the nurse anymore and have managed to find nurses from within the US.

The boot may also be with the nurse and that they decide that it is too dangerous to work in that hospital.

Employers will do that. I had a contract cancelled by a hospital because they decided they did not want to hire foreign nurses anymore. About 15 of us was affected and we all had received approval and the hospital didn't even pay towards any costs we had occurred and when we found another hospital to petition us we had to start the process all over again and I lost my original PD.

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