H1B Visa sponsorships?

Rook · Sep 12, 2010

Hello, everybody!
I am a Canadian educated nurse (though I have a European passport) looking to work in the MD/DC/VA area.
I have passed the NCLEX a few months ago, my VisaScreen certificate in hand, and a current Virginia license. (Maryland license to follow) Due to my current location my experience is limited to 2 years in long-term care. I am not looking for any specialty in particular - I am willing and eager to learn whatever my new employer throws at me.
As far as I know the requirements for an H1B visa include that the job description must require a BScN, which I have. Does anybody have any idea how to go about finding an employer who might be willing to sponsor me? I am a very hard worker, have lots of unpaid overtime under my belt, and in the two years of work at my long-term care facility I have had not a single sick-day.
Any suggestions are much appreciated!!
Carla

As long as you have a year under your belt in exp you'll be fine in that respect. Getting a visa is tough in this climate now though. Job openings are scarce. However you might have a shot getting a job in DC or North VA its one of the better markets for RN hires.

question: my bro lives in canada and was thinking of taking the Canadian NCLEX. Does Canada pay well, and is a visa hard to come by to work there?

Carla_RN · Sep 12, 2010

I am on a work visa and it wasn't at all hard to get, even as a "non-NAFTA person". The Canadian test is called the CRNE. They only write it three times a year, which is a bother. And then it takes 8-10 weeks for the results to come in.

As for salaries - I do believe my corner (Ontario) pays less than what I am looking for (DM/MD/VA). Then again, if you are willing to go up North they pay a lot more. Jobs in Ontario are pretty hard to come by as well, but up North they need nurses desperately. Also, I heard Alberta pays well. Though living expenses are higher also. That's all I know - sorry.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2010

An H1B visa is strictly for a specialist nurse - and only issued if the specialist position cannot be filled by a citizen.

It does not matter how much you are willing to learn, or how much unpaid OT (which is illegal in the USA, anyway - but many people still do) or how few sick days you have.

The MAIN thing the matters is that you are a specialist in a hard to fill area.

Do you have certification in Geriatric nursing or in wound care, or many of the other issues common to LTC. If there are plenty of local citizen applicants for many of those job openings, it woud be hard to prove "need" for an H1B sponsorship, without advanced credentials. And uness that can be proved and you hold those credentials, H1B visa cannot be issued.

You would have to take a position that requires that specialty, otherwise you would be in violation of your Visa status - a BSN is not enough to make you a "specialist", though experience might.

Carla_RN · Sep 12, 2010

It is curious to read your post because I have two friends that work on an H1B visa in Michigan (where I do not want to work), who got that visa as graduate nurses. That would not be possible under your theory. ?

And no, I am not certified. I am just working my behind off at work and falling into bed at night like many other nurses out there. Unfortunately I have not had the energy to get certification. That would be another reason why I am looking for a new opportunity. It's a dead end where I am right now.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2010

It is curious to read your post because I have two friends that work on an H1B visa in Michigan (where I do not want to work), who got that visa as graduate nurses. That would not be possible under your theory. ?
And no, I am not certified. I am just working my behind off at work and falling into bed at night like many other nurses out there. Unfortunately I have not had the energy to get certification. That would be another reason why I am looking for a new opportunity. It's a dead end where I am right now.

If you have doubts in my knowledge/veracity, please review the substantial threads on this very topic throughout this BB. Other references for this data would be Ghillbert, Silverdragon102, and Suzanne4 - they have been working for years to assist International nurses in Immigration t the USA

As a general rule, new grads do not qualify as "specialists" and therefore do not qualify under H1B. Do some slip through? Yes. Do the often get deported? Yes. I know personally of several that got deported in FL and more, in CA, because the PTB "fudged" on the paperwork. ICE caught up with them. And ICE has been increasingly cracking down on immigration discrepancies. And given the current financial/politically climate, I expect it will probably continue.

The current status in MD/VA/DC is that there are thousands of nurses looking for jobs - an employer would be hard pressed to qualify to take H1B sponsorship or to justify the expenses that they would pay. Your best bet would be LTC as that is where your experience is and a classification that occasionally has trouble filling. If you were to go to another specialty to be trained, there would be difficulty qualifying due to lack of experience and the issue could be brought up that a new grad domestic nurse could be brought and trained just as easily, eliminating the need for an H1B holder.

For any other questions regarding requirements of the H1B, you might go to the references listed above. They are quite knowledgeable and helpful.