Changing status of F1 visa to H1 visa.

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Hi,

I am currently in New York with a F1 student visa and have passed the NCLEX exam. I am thinking of applying at the different hospitals for a job but I am not sure if the F1 visa can be changed to a H1 visa. Does anyone have any info on this?

Any help will be appreciated. I don't want to end up doing something wrong.

Thanks.

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Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.

https://allnurses.com/forums/f75/

Please check out the international nursing forum at the link above. There are numerous threads at the top of the forum addressing general question re: immigration/visas/overseas work.

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There are no H1 visas available for nurses, only the permanent residency, or green card.

Please check out the primer at the top of the International forum, for all of the help that you will need.

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do apply...

F1 visas can be converted to H1B visas depending on your academic qualifications but since you passed the NCLEX already, they will apply for an immigrant visa right away.

Sorry, but no they cannot when you are talking of the RN. They do not exist anymore and have not for over two years. It is also extremely difficult to find a hospital that would handle them because of the shear amount of paperwork involved. The only visa that is available to work legally is the green card. And if you know of some that are using the old H series , then the agency is doing something very illegal and should be reported to immigration. And chances are they are not using the H series, but tryin gto get them thru on a J-1 visa, and that can cause way too many issues. There are some very unscrupulous agencies out there just tryin got make a fast buck, and they care nothing about the nurse.

Please do not give out fals information here, especially if youhave not checked it out.

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And if they do not like their job, they cannot quit, they will have one month to find another employer or they will have to immediately leave the country.

H1B visas have not ben offered to nurses for over two years, and I am sure that the lawyers did not push the RN part, but something else. That is why green cards are fast-tracked.

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I am also a F-1 visa student and I applied for OPT(Optional Practical Training). You might know about this visa already but incase, this is only good for one year though. You can start work anywhere with this visa and meanwhile try to find a hospital that who can sponsor for a green card. If you are interested in applying for this visa, your International student office at your school will help you.

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