H1-B Visa Available for Nurses?

Please try reading the thread located on this link: http://allnurses.com/forums/2433654-post61.html

Even some immigration lawyers do not want to be part of it. Read the thread above and you'll learn why and why the H1B visa for nurses keeps on persisting and how it is now VERY hard to be selected (presuming a nurse truly qualifies, w/c most often times do not) as explained on the thread located on the link above

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They can say all that they want, but the US government is not going to approve them.

Open window for submitting the petition is only twice a year for a few hours and then for six months later, so earliest would be for next October. And there are strict requirements with those.

The other thing that you have to think about is that the unions do not want temporary workers, and they will not use agencies that have hired them, so it is a no win situation.

And as being under the H1-B if it were available is very bad news for nurses as the company is not required to pay the same salary that they pay to Americans. Very bad news all around.

Agencies are hurting and you are going to see all types of unethical things come up, but you are the one that stands to lost the most.

Hi,

Is it possible to do both application for H1-b and I-140, and just wait what will be approved faster? Iam a Philippine Registered Nurse,Passed Nclex and Ielts and in the process of applying for Visa Screen Certificate. I can look for employers here in California for employment petitions because at present I'm here in California using visitors visa.I understand though that there's no chance of AOS and I plan to do consular processing by the time I will return to the Philippines.

The demand for H1b is very high from a few professions ie IT not just nurses and for H1b you need to fit the criteria (listed below) most visas are gone literally in a couple of hours and no guarantee that you will get one. Also as a RN you do not meet criteria. Please take the time to read on the forum about this and also the reasons why we don't recommend it and also that for bedside nurses it is not used. If you file I140 it is done in April and won't start work until October and like I said no longer a guarantee.

May be difficult to understand but the best option is to look at either work in the Philippines or another country as you are pretty much at the start of the journey and currently looking at over 5 years before you get anywhere near a visa and due to the high demand from the Philippines no guarantee that you will get one.

The H1B visa is designed to be used for staff in "speciality occupations", that is those occupations which require a high degree of specialized knowledge. Generally at least the equivalent of a job-relevant 4-year US Bachelor's degree is required (this requirement can usually be met by having a 3-year degree and 3 years' relevant post-graduate experience)
http://www.workpermit.com/us/us_h1b.htm

Thanks for the informations.Thye're very helpful,but I just wandered if both H-1B (temporary visa) and I-140 (for green card) petitions will be filed at the same time? And also if Physical Therapies can easily go for H-1B, why does nurses cannot qualify? Thank you.

Please try and use the link I have already posted in the beginning of the thread. It goes to a thread where it was already previously discussed in detail as to why nurses in general do not qualify for H1B. There is no reason for people to keep repeating themselves and answer the same questions, every time someone asks for it when it was already answered.

To make it easier for you to understand what we are trying to tell you:

Applications for the H1-B are only accepted two times per year, it is not an open door window for those. And the next open window is not until April for a start date of next October.

And add into that the fact that most hospitals in CA are unionized and they do not permit any temporary workers there as nurses. And any job in a hospital must have approval of the union before the government will approve the job.

You also must have a completed VSC in hand before you can even apply for the H1-B visa. And add into it the fact that nurses have not been under the H1-B for more than 3 1/2 years. You are going to need to go home and apply thru CP just like the others and expect to wait for a few years for a chance at a visa. There are no shortcuts and you knew about the retrogression before you came to the US since it has been in place for more than a year.

Physical Therapists also have a Master's degree as entry requirement now in the US, and it is a different job classification than the nurse.

You also must have a completed VSC in hand before you can even apply for the H1-B visa. And add into it the fact that nurses have not been under the H1-B for more than 3 1/2 years. You are going to need to go home and apply thru CP just like the others and expect to wait for a few years for a chance at a visa. There are no shortcuts and you knew about the retrogression before you came to the US since it has been in place for more than a year.



If the USCIS is really strict in implementing their rules on having a VSC in hand before one can apply for even a non-immigrant visa such as H1-B, then why has somebody from the Phils who went to the US on a tourist visa able to apply for I-140 & I-485 last july 2007 without his VSC and was granted Advanced parole to be able to retake nursing exams in the Phils in dec to qualify for a VSC.

Even if the documents will be pass thru a fine-tooth comb when visas are available, it will be moot and academic since that guy can produce the required VSC by then.

So, even if filipino nurses are very much aware of the retrogression, many who have passed NCLEX & IELTS still do travel to the US on a tourist visa to be able to get ahead of evryone because they know that those who went to the US were able to work because for them passing NCLEX is a guarantee.