International student about to finish school, where to start?

Welcome

Moved to the International forum

Have you thought about applying for OPT? If not I would consider it. You will be affected by retrogression and may have to think about returning home if you are not able to use OPT. Retrogression has been ongoing since Oct 06 and there are many many nurses affected by it and have been waiting since before Oct 06 for a visa. If you meet H1b requirements (specialist nurse and BSN) and as a new grad as well depending on your training most do not meet H1b requirements there is no other way to stay in the US and work. Alternatively you could consider staying on at school and go further up the ladder which may help you get a job. Also depending on your training you may want to consider another country

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Retrogression means that the demand for immigrant visas (that is what most nurses come under) is much higher than the amount of visas allocated. If you do a search for retrogression you will find many threads discussing this. Nurses generally are filed under EB3 and if you check out the visa bulletin currently there are no visas available until the new year starts in October. USA Visa bulletin

H1b is a work visa that employers can apply for and the employer has to pay all costs. They are a specialist visa and depending on whether the establishment is capped or uncapped will depend on when the employer can file. Most are capped which means the employer files in April (1st) and you if lucky start October, usually is a lottery as many other professions also file for H1b mainly IT and this year is the first time for many years that there are still H1b visas not allocated. Usually they are gone in hours and is a lottery. For H1b you need to be BSN or higher.

You do need to consider using OPT and don't leave it to late to apply.Your International advisor should be able to tell you when you need to apply for it

Med Surgical is a great choice since it provides a new nurse with a broad base of experience, but with the job the way it is any job you can secure would be a great choice.

hey pheonix ja. i'm in the same situation that you are in. i would like to catch up with you and see what your plans are for the future.

New graduate does not have the experience for H1B visa.

If you are here legally ( other than school) you can work. When my kids went abroad for school they were not allowed to work.