*** Visas for working in the US ***

...USCIS recognizes the shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers in the United States, and the potential for a detrimental effect on the health care system. However, USCIS’ ability to rectify this situation is more limited than the CIS Ombudsman’s recommendation suggests. As the CIS Ombudsman’s recommendation discusses, there are limited immigrant and nonimmigrant options available to nurses seeking employment in the United States. Currently, nurses desiring to come to the United States as a nonimmigrant may be eligible to come on an H-1B visa, a TN visa, or an H-1C visa. Hospitals seeking to sponsor a nurse to enter the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident are eligible to file an I-140 petition and labor certification directly with USCIS (bypassing DOL processing of the labor certification prior to filing the I-140 petition). I-140 petitions filed as a Schedule A occupation are considered Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) petitions and are subject to annual limits on visas. USCIS respectfully points out that we do not have the authority to create immigrant and nonimmigrant visa categories, we do not set the annual limits for visa numbers, and we cannot minimize the processing times for immigrant visas if a visa number is not available. ...