Emergency Nurse Relief Act 2009- Update

I'm giving more hope in this H.R.2536 "Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act" than a Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR), which focuses on illegal immigration, borders etc. unless CIR will include a section about legal nursing immigration. In my opinion these politicians should discuss about legal immigration FIRST before illegal ones.

I'm sure I'm not the only one in this ugly situation. There are hundreds and thousands of US-educated, but foreign-born RNs, who are in the same shoes as I am. They just CAN NOT work. Unlike other majors we can not just go to a grad. school (if we decide so) because of lack of nursing experience. It does not make any sense to me, this is just one example showing how screwed up the immigration system in the US.

I'm not sure if getting a specialty in nursing will help at all. Personally I do not want to spend another cent for something, like my BSN degree, which later turn out to have no use at all! But thanks anyway!

Do you think that I'm unable to work because I do not have a Social Security Number?? HA HA. That's funny. I'm sorry you made me laugh again (I see you have no idea). This has nothing to do with a SSN or the nursing school. This is an immigration issue (there is NO VISAS for RNs!!), I do not have a legal right to engage in employment! There used to be a Schedule A visa category for RNs and physical therapists to get a permanent visa, but that category ran out of visa about 2 years ago when I was in school. The problem is a new bill hasn't been approved since that!! NOBODY knows when another bill will pass, if it ever happens!!

I think there is a big difference (in terms of the process to apply for a visa) between foreign-born RNs 1) who went to school in the US, passed NCLEX, and got US RN license vs. 2) who are non-US-educated and waiting abroad! The ones who didn't get their nursing education from the US, and do not have US RN license they have to take some kind of international Nursing licensure exam, TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), Spoken English Test etc etc. I'm sure it is a loooong process for them to prove that their education is equivalent to US system. http://www.cgfns.org/sections/programs/vs/ there might be some info about exams etc. here. Even I have to pay money to get a Visa Screen to prove that my US-education is US-equivalent (even though my BSN is from an accredited US university!). That's another nonsense! (There are many stupid rules that don't make sense at all). But I was told my Visa Screen processing will be much faster than of those who are educated abroad. Filing applications probably has more steps, and papers involved and takes soo much time for them too. Plus they are not physically in the States, thus everything has to go through an agency or something like that. I'm just saying things that I heard, I can't speak for them really. May be there are other reasons that makes the whole process for them soo long, and that's why they've been waiting for years...

Are you trying to say that they (non-US educated RNs) have been playing by rules and I haven't? Pardon me! I hope you didn't mean it or you just don't know what you are talking about?! As I said above I know the rules and requirements are different based on where you earned your nursing education, and probably if you are in the States or not. I feel the pain of RNs waiting for years to come to the States!

My point is I think there should an easier way that ALLOW US-EDUCATE RNs to be able to work legally after nursing school. We also played by the rules, worked soo hard in school, paid so much money to get the degree (in most cases when you are an international student your tuition is much higher than in-state residents', or even out-of-state residents'; and no there no such thing as "financial aid" when you are a foreigner!). The visa process should probably be handled differently than of those educated abroad. I also think that the Congress should discuss about LEGAL immigration prior to illegal ones! That's just NOT FAIR! Also, it is NOT FAIR for us, who went to the same school, got the same degree and license as our American classmates, UNABLE to work simply because we are foreign-born!

If I knew what was going to happen, of course, I wouldn't have gone to a Nursing school here! Probably, I wouldn't have come to the States in the first place. Why waste money & time for something where the Government doesn't give any value and turns out to be WORTHLESS! I wanted to work here for a few years, because I went to school in the States. Hope that makes sense.

I don't understand people who are opposing this bill. The stats say that there will be about ONE MILLION open nursing position by 2020. So, how much of a difference will 20,000 green card visas to foreign RNs will make? one million vs 20 thousand?! That 20,000 is a one time deal, and it's for only 3 years (probably the first year they'll ran out of visas again).

I'm off topic but your post made me think. Foreign Medical Graduates (FMG's) who attend residency programs in the US are able to do so via the J-1 Visa. After their residency program is completed, these physicians are to return to their home countries unless they apply for a J-1 Visa Waiver allowing them to stay for an additional 3 years if they choose to work and are hired in underserved areas (mostly rural health clinics, Indian reservations, things of that sort). I wonder if the immigration service can come up with a similar exception for US-trained foreign nurses.

That's not what my post is suggesting. Foreign nationals who studied nursing in the US can be an exception because they are already acculturated to American nursing practices.

I'm really off topic now but BTW, why do we accept the fact that medicine is dependent on a steady supply of FMG's and yet we couldn't see nursing in a similar light?

I'm glad that at least you, or perhaps others, who are reading this forum, are looking at Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act from this angle (US-trained foreign nurses who can NOT work because there is NO visa for them). Yes, I heard about J-1 visa, but I didn't know that FMG's could use that. <<I wonder if the immigration service can come up with a similar exception for US-trained foreign nurses.>> - That's EXACTLY THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE. I wrote about my situation to make some people understand what some of us have gone through (went to US nursing schools, got US RN license etc.) and that there are different interests in regard of this bill, hoping that people will not look at this bill from one angle/interest only.

[quote=Alexk49;3659713] The sad part is that many qualified Americans have to go to Foreign Medical Schools to qualify to practice in the USA. Do we want American nursing to follow in medicine's foot steps and have American nurses who have to be educated overseas?

I noticed that when someone makes a point different from yours you seem to exaggerate to one extreme!! Just think what portion of nursing students are foreign-students? This must a VERRRRY small number (very small percentage of foreign students choose to major in fields like nursing, physical therapy, whereas majority of international students study business, computer science etc.) For example, there were 22 students in my class, 3 american students dropped out, because they didn't feel nursing was for them (it proves that nursing is not for anyone to go into no matter whether you are american or foreign-born!) and I was the only foreign-student in my class. When you think that a tiny portion of nursing grads are foreign-born I do not think that's going to have a huge impact whatsoever, not even mentioning pushing American students to study nursing abroad. That's SOoo unrealistic!

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-2536
<<Over the next 15 years, this shortage is expected to grow significantly. The Health Resources and Services Administration has projected that by 2020, there will be a shortage of nurses in every State and that overall only 64 percent of the demand for nurses will be satisfied, with a shortage of 1,016,900 nurses nationally.>>

Look at this stats. There will be over ONE MILLION open nursing positions by 2020 (I don't know the current number). If there is a DEMAND & you can't fill these positions with American nurses, than what's wrong with bringing only 20,000 qualified foreign-born RNs? If nurses, hospitals etc. really care about the quality of patient care they should allow foreign nurses to work, until US is able to train enough of its own nurses, which is going to take some time.

Alexk49, I DIDN'T WRITE about my case TO MAKE YOU or OTHERS TO FEEL SORRY FOR ME!! That was NOT my intention at all!! I wanted some people who are opposing this Nursing Act to understand that there are DIFFERENT INTERESTS in regard of this bill!! So, please try not to look at this bill from only one angle! Also, I wanted to point out that there are many flaws in American Immigration system.

http://shusterman.com/siu.html
<<..."On April 8, the State Department published the May 2009 Visa Bulletin online. Gone is the much-lamented six-year wait for green cards for professionals and skilled workers who are being sponsored by their employers. Instead, green cards are "unavailable" in this category for the next 5 months. This is the earliest that the category has become unavailable in my 33 years of practicing immigration law. Persons who have played by the rules and have pending applications for adjustment of status now have no idea when, or even if, they will qualify for permanent residence in the U.S. ... Immigrants who followed the complex immigration rules will get the following message: Never mind that you paid your taxes and never got so much as a parking ticket, that you were active in your church and that your children were straight A students, that you always maintained your legal status in the U.S. For you, the American Dream is over."

The American Dream may not only be over for thousands of talented scientists and engineers born in other countries, but since we no longer seem to have room for the world's best and brightest, for our country as well.
Craig Barrett, the Chairman of Intel, puts it in stark terms. "We are watching the decline and fall of the United States as an economic power."
This may not be an exaggeration. Andrew Grove, the co- founder of Intel is an immigrant. Ditto for Sergey Brin (Google), Jerry Yang (Yahoo), Vinod Khosla and Andreas von Bechtolsheim (Sun Microsystems). I could go on... Another troubling aspect of the disappearance of EB-3 visas is prolonged family separation...>>

- This is just one example about visa "disappearance" in EB3 Skilled workers category.

As I said before, and I'm repeating again, the fact that there is no nursing visa HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY SCHOOL. Nobody knew that Schedule A category visas were no longer going to be available. So, I'm not here to play a blame game, and blame my school for that. Even today no-one, not even immigration attorneys, or hospitals, knows if this bill will pass or not! It's really up to the lawmakers (the Congress)!!! I hope there are healthy minds in D.C. to realize the demand, quality of patient care and the big picture!

Also, I'm not here to ask anyone to hire me etc.! It's not like I can't find a job, there are nursing jobs everywhere! Every hospital in my area has open positions! As I said before I have multiple employers willing to hire, and immigration attorneys willing to do paperworks, the only problem is THERE IS NO VISA numbers available, so they can't help. After I explained you still do not seem to have any slightest idea about immigration processes. I'm not trying to insult you, but I don't think you get it. I've been playing by the rules. As I mentioned in my previous writing the process involves more steps, many tests, more papers if you are a non-US-educated RN! If you are a US-trained nurse I think the steps fewer, but stil going through the same process...

<<Moon906, I feel bad for your situation. Your school should have counseled you that retrogression was in place( since 2006) and you could not go to grad schools without experience. As I have stated before, if I was a hiring I would rather hire you ( as US trained nurse ) but to work you have to wait your turn through the immigration process. It seems only fair.>>

Oh, I forgot to say that when I was in my BSN program I was NOT planning on going to a grad. school at all! Even now I do not really want to do master's in nursing. Seems like most NP, CNS programs require nursing experience (I learned that's another disadvantage of nursing major even though there are programs for non-nursing majors to get BSN, and go directly into MSN without experience?!), but I only applied to a few schools. If I try hard I might find schools that do not care much about experience. Also, if I change my concentration & choose something like Nurse Educator etc. I know I can get easily accepted into a grad. school. MSN is still an option if there is no bill, and I want to stay in the US. Again, there will be no financial aid, no tuition assistance/reimbursement from an employer for foreign students. At this point I'm a bit hesitant of spending more money, and seeing no benefit afterall...