tourist visa convert to either working or student visa

Of course she can not work as a nurse on a student visa. But what i'm trying to suggest is if she is really desperate to go to America she can take the student visa route. Then after finishing her further education (maybe Post Graduate course) she can find a sponsor to apply for a working visa (Maybe a nursing or a Non nursing related job).

There are other ways to go to the States if thats what she wanted...

To the OP, what do you want? It's not your sister it's YOU, right?

Since the tourist visa route is nonsense and illegal do you have the money and wish to study without any guarantee that you can stay afterwards. Or do you have the necessary experience to get a work visa legally? But might be not where your sister live (where ever that is).

Would you have a job elsewhere waiting for you or the chance to get one? You need to think about your options, not your sisters, especially, since she doesn't seem to know immigration stuff well, all hearsay......
On this board I found the most inappropriate advises came from familymembers or welldoers. Sorry to say that.
Idea might be to talk to a immigration lawyer, so at least you would exactly know what your options are.

good luck
5cats

It's only a suggestion on your part, and it's a good option for the original poster. Definately something to think about. But at the sametime there's no guarantee that she will be able to find a sponsor who is willing to sponsor her for a work visa. We all know the green card isn't an option and wont be for years. But the fact remains that there's going to be a lapse in time from the time she finished her studies as a RN to the time she's allowed to apply for a work visa. What company is going to want to hire an outdated nurse? What if the original poster doesn't have work experience at this moment and never does? So if it's a non-related nursing degree that's going to be useless for a job as a nurse. What it will give her is the chance to stay here and work in something ELSE other than nursing. But if her main concern is working as a nurse, then she needs to focus on graduate studies as a nurse to keep her up to date with nursing. But that's going to be very expensive for an international student. Most of them can't afford it. The other option muight be private scholarships but those are few and far between.

Yes NurseCubanitaRN2b , you are absolutely right. To get accepted and to study a post graduate course in nursing in the US will cost a fortune... So for the time being the OP can't go to America on a tourist visa nor she will be qualified for the next couple of years or so.

But to the OP, you shouldn't loose hope. If you meant to come to America it will happen no matter what. Just that now is not the right time.

The OP should come up with a plan B and follow it while she's waiting for Plan A to come into effect. Don't lose hope as Rougue says, but face reality at the sametime. If it was meant to be, it will happen as she stated. But if it isn't it's because there's something else bigger and brighter waiting for you. When one door shuts, another one opens :-)

With things changing in the USA ( the economy changing) it may not be a very attractive place to come. First, hospital reimbursements are decreasing each year not increasing. I don't think hospitals can spend thousands of dollars in bonuses or paying for travel expenses.

Second, the almost unlimited overtime is becoming a thing of the past. With many positions have many applicants, the recruiters can be choosy. I know the salary for nurses is going to be decreasing, it won't be a big money maker. This could be good for nurses since the nurses won't be in profession for the money. When I mean reducing nurses who get into nursing for the money only ( this applies to All nurses foreign and domestic).

I've even heard of some nursing programs that are also feeling the effect of the economy. A lot of nursing schools depend on the private donations coming from the hospitals. Now those donations are slowly disappearing. So what's happening to these nursing schools? Some of them wont be admitting students for the upcoming fall semester. That's a scary issue. I don't see how a hospital is going to stop with their donations to local nursing schools and then turn around and sponsor a foreign nurse when they're not needed at this time. Doesn't make any sense to me.

The colleges here in the Northeast get no funding from hospitals. Students are still applying so far the recession has not impacted nursing schools.

good info. thanks

please do it legally. just ask immigration and see what theyll say. apply for a work visa. i know people who have done it YEARS ago and got through, but post 9/11 forget it