Two of my co-workers have stopped working as RN due to their OTP is expired. I would like to find out few questions.
1) is it ture that US immigration stop giving out Green card to international nurse?
OR it is very hard to geen cards for international nurses?
2) Will the immigration policy change back in the future?
3) Do you have any update information?
Thanks
newnurse01
1. no it has not stopped. it is currently suspended inview of more applicants versus the number of visas allocated.
2. us immigration policy has always been quite volatile. we have to keep track of what's happening with uscis-- visa bulletin and announcements. you can also check better known immigration forums and web pages
3. by october 2008, visa number assignments are expected to move again. this means all who are here in the u.s. and have approved immigrant petitions (i-140) from their employers will be able to file for their i-145 for adjustment of status, ead and ap etc. so they can start to WORK legally.
if your friends are associate degree rn's, they either have go back home or apply to get back to f1 status in order to keep a legal status and pursue a bsn. by getting a bsn, they increase their chances of getting hired again and being sponsored (under an h1b on top of eb3). hopefully, no i-140's have been filed on their behalf at this time because this will cause their f1 renewal to be disapproved.
The biggest chance for these non-resident RNs in US to be able to work, is, from their spouses. Lots of them have spouses working on H1, some are researchers in universities with PhD degrees.
Generally speaking, many H1s can apply for GC based on Employment. EB2 is current for the ROW. Once labor certificate is approved with a category of EB2, spouses can file 485 concurrently, and get EAD within 3 months. For those whose spouses are researchers or post-docs, working in universities not only give them opportunities to apply for special H1b, these H1bs are quota-exempt, mean absolotely no lottery or limit on the number per year, and can be applied and start at anytime of the year, but also give them a chance to apply GC by themselves. As long as the research is good, with good papers, publications, they can sponsor themselves for GC independent of employers. Eb1 category is current for all the countries, EB2 is current for countries other than China and India.
If one is not married, or spouse not in US, if one has a previous non-nursing Bachelor's degree, one can try H1b lottery. If one has an advanced degree from US, their chances of winning H1b lottery is much higher. From that point, one can apply for GC based on employment on H1B. Some people have foreign MD degrees, or a MS in biology, etc. It is easy for these people to get a job in the research lab of the universitites. Of course, pay is not that good compared to RN, but you get a H1b without worry about lottery.
1. no it has not stopped. it is currently suspended inview of more applicants versus the number of visas allocated.
2. us immigration policy has always been quite volatile. we have to keep track of what's happening with uscis-- visa bulletin and announcements. you can also check better known immigration forums and web pages
3. by october 2008, visa number assignments are expected to move again. this means all who are here in the u.s. and have approved immigrant petitions (i-140) from their employers will be able to file for their i-145 for adjustment of status, ead and ap etc. so they can start to WORK legally.
if your friends are associate degree rn's, they either have go back home or apply to get back to f1 status in order to keep a legal status and pursue a bsn. by getting a bsn, they increase their chances of getting hired again and being sponsored (under an h1b on top of eb3). hopefully, no i-140's have been filed on their behalf at this time because this will cause their f1 renewal to be disapproved.
The issue right now is that the H1-B visas are being investigated right now, and most do not have spouses that qualify for the EB-2 visa.
There are only 65,000 visas per year with the H1-B lottery, and if you remember what happened last summer, there were about 800,000 petitions submitted for the I-485 as they were unable to submit before then.
EB-2 is not current for all countries either, most definitely not India.
How Do I Apply For Immigrant Status Based On Employment?
An immigrant is a foreign national who is authorized to live and work permanently in the United States. You must go through a multi-step process to become an immigrant based on employment.
1. The USCIS must approve an immigrant petition (application) that was filed for you, usually by an employer.
how can you apply for AOS i-145 if you don't have an approved i-140? that's just NOT right. filing concurrently i-140 and 145 is practiced nowadays but the real principle behind the process is to secure approval for immigrant petition first i-140 130 before the alien can apply to adjust status i-145.
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i think the bone of contention is when to file i-145 (along with EAD...). i believe you can do that as soon as your priority date becomes current (and by current i mean if your PD falls before the PD under your immigration preference in the latest...which of course judging from the latest VBs does not happen in say, 2 years...). you don't get your greencard straightaway but at least you secure your status and find work legally after AOS is set.
now the point i'm desperately trying to make is for those already in the u.s. on valid non-immigrant visas to ensure that they are MAINTAINING legal status in the middle of this painstakingly slow, even unfriendly immigration process. employers' filing of an i-140 does not make one "safe" and could even put extension/renewal of non-immigrant visa in question (dual intent issue).
now if all else fail....NO, it won't. i'm done here.
- You are reading it wrong. Just ask all others here that were able to file the I-140, the I485 and the EAD all at the same time when there were no retrogression and even in July-Aug. 2007 when the window opened again.
Remember, there were many others that has done it already. Concurrent filing is still allowed, fortunately or unfortunately.
Is it right?? Many thinks it is not. That is why, if you'll notice from the post you've quoted from me, I indicated that they intend to stop this practice and go back to what is done previously, w/c is to wait for the I-140 to be approved first before applicants are allowed to be able to file for the I-485 and the EAD.
I have actually made a post regarding this new development (USCIS reverting back to not allowing concurret filing anymore). You may search for it by using our custom search.
Also, I think those who wants concurrent filing to be stopped to be careful on what they are asking for, esp. those in the US as students and those who plans to do AOS coming from tourist visa status.
As what have been previously discussed from previous threads (as this topic has been discussed), requiring the I-140 be approved first before the I-485 (AOS) and the EAD be filed actually is not to the best interest of F1 students and those on tourist visas.
Also, being able to concurrently file does not mean anything has to be approved. Concurrent filing just means just that - you are able to file all petitions at the same time. The I-485 cannot be approved w/o the I-140 being approved. The EAD w/c is the document that actually gives the temp. permit to legally work is also based on a pending I-485, so if the I-485 cannot be filed concurrently and needs to wait for the I-140 to be approved first then it would be months and even more than 1 year before anyone can work legally even on an EAD basis.
The I-140 nowadays takes at least 6-9 mos. to be approved if coming from Texas Service center and around 8-15 mos. if being handled by Nebraska Service Center. A graduating F1 student, unable to go on OPT (and it is getting hard to find a facility for this) or will not continue to be a student actually only have 60 days to leave the US while a tourist nowadays is only given 3-6 mos to stay. As you can see, requiring the I-140 to be approved first will actually make it hard to do AOS for the great majority and many will be forced to go home first. Believe me, it is to the advantage of F1 students and all others in the US in other visa status to be able to file all 3 concurrently, other wise many will be forced to go home first to their home countries.
Here, this was the thread I have done last May citing the possible USCIS proposal to end concurrent filing and since there is no word yet of it, it must be presumed that until further notice that concurrent filing is still allowed and being used by those on EB1 and some countries on EB2 visa category because their visa category are actually current compared to the EB3 visa category wherein all countries under it is unavailable.
**FYI: To make it more clear to all others: There was a time that concurrent filing is really not allowed, then USCIS allowed it (up to now) and now since they are so backlogged and because of reports of abuses (esp. those coming from tourist visa status) they want to revert back to not allowing concurrent filing again so that when PDs become current in the future they will have less work to do. That is the history in a nutshell.
Regarding on what to do if cannot file the AOS in the near future ??
Without exactly knowing what your actual status is, I think SD102 has summed it up quite well.
If on F1: Many who are graduating are scrambling to be on OPT to buy time or plans to continue to be a student by either going to an ADN-BSN program or even a MSN program if already coming from a BSN program if they can find one that does not require experience first. All of these measures are simply to buy time both figurative and literally.
Some go home, if unable to be on OPT or if they do not have funds anymore to continue to be a student. Some, simply go out of status.
There are extra 20,000 H1b visa being created beyond 65,000 annual quota. These are for people who graduate from US schools with advance degrees.
Research-oriented non-profit organizations are not subject to H1b quota. Visa petitions can be applied at anytime of the year, and the beneficiary can start working immediately once it is approved.
I'm not from PI, many RNs I know here used to be spouses of H1b visa holders, or their spouses are F1s doing PhD programs. After finishing PhD programs, chances of working with H1 at a research-organization is, very high. In fact, I have couple of old high school classmates go straight from F1 students to tenure-track professors at US colleges. And most of Rns I know get GC from their spouses through NIW or Eb-1, not by themselves.
But I also agree these rules do not apply to people who do not have spouses. But if one is motivated, one can continue study PhDs in nursing/health science/other related areas. And if one is a real good researcher, with a PhD degree, job offers will be plenty after graduation, and immigrations will not be a problem either, in any western countries.
The issue right now is that the H1-B visas are being investigated right now, and most do not have spouses that qualify for the EB-2 visa.
There are only 65,000 visas per year with the H1-B lottery, and if you remember what happened last summer, there were about 800,000 petitions submitted for the I-485 as they were unable to submit before then.
EB-2 is not current for all countries either, most definitely not India.
One more suggestion for foreign RNs who graduate from US schools, when visa quota is not available. Do something you can control, don't sit there becoming out of status. Things you can do:
1) If you are an ADN, go get your BSN first.
2) If you already have a BSN, go for MSN or PhD studies. The PhD studies do not have to be in the same or similar areas. You can apply for PhD studies in any area in your interest, as long as you take enough pre-requisites. I have friends who are foreign MDs but later on go for MS in computer Science and PhD in electrical engineering. I heard somebody who has a BA in music and went for PhD in biology and now working as a research scientist in a Cancer institute.
3) In your studies, work as hard as you can. Get as many published papers as you can. Achieve as many research achievements as you can. Actually I remember data says majority science and engieerning PhD graduates from US are foreign students on F1 vsia. So obviously this is a way out for people who are really motivated and willing to work hard towards their goals.
There are extra 20,000 H1b visa being created beyond 65,000 annual quota. These are for people who graduate from US schools with advance degrees.
Research-oriented non-profit organizations are not subject to H1b quota. Visa petitions can be applied at anytime of the year, and the beneficiary can start working immediately once it is approved.
I'm not from PI, many RNs I know here used to be spouses of H1b visa holders, or their spouses are F1s doing PhD programs. After finishing PhD programs, chances of working with H1 at a research-organization is, very high. In fact, I have couple of old high school classmates go straight from F1 students to tenure-track professors at US colleges. And most of Rns I know get GC from their spouses through NIW or Eb-1, not by themselves.
But I also agree these rules do not apply to people who do not have spouses. But if one is motivated, one can continue study PhDs in nursing/health science/other related areas. And if one is a real good researcher, with a PhD degree, job offers will be plenty after graduation, and immigrations will not be a problem either, in any western countries.
There are extra 20,000 H1b visa being created beyond 65,000 annual quota. These are for people who graduate from US schools with advance degrees.
Research-oriented non-profit organizations are not subject to H1b quota. Visa petitions can be applied at anytime of the year, and the beneficiary can start working immediately once it is approved.
I'm not from PI, many RNs I know here used to be spouses of H1b visa holders, or their spouses are F1s doing PhD programs. After finishing PhD programs, chances of working with H1 at a research-organization is, very high. In fact, I have couple of old high school classmates go straight from F1 students to tenure-track professors at US colleges. And most of Rns I know get GC from their spouses through NIW or Eb-1, not by themselves.
But I also agree these rules do not apply to people who do not have spouses. But if one is motivated, one can continue study PhDs in nursing/health science/other related areas. And if one is a real good researcher, with a PhD degree, job offers will be plenty after graduation, and immigrations will not be a problem either, in any western countries.
But those H1-B visas are for the spouses in most cases and not for RNs. And right now all are being investigated, so we are not seeing much movement with the H1-Bs at this time.
This is the point that we are trying to make, essentially that there are no H1-B visas for nurses. The fact remains that one is supposed to be a specialist to get the H1-B, and the person that posted with the original question is here under a student visa and without a spouse. Answers should be geared toward what they are asking.
No need to worry about tuition or living expenses if going for PhD programs. Almost all PhD programs provide students, especially international students, with assistantship and tuition waiver. All they need is study hard, work hard at labs, research.
Yes, the OP is an international student with no spouse. Going for a PhD is an option, actually maybe a very good option.
They are just getting their ADN now. Far from being ready for the PhD.
The next issue for anyone is that they have to be accepted to a graduate program to remain in the US once their program is completed. They only have 60 days to get apply and get accepted and it usually takes longer than this.
We are looking for viable solutions as to what can be done now, not five years from now.
Just want to say, most people start thinking about next step far in advance than 60 days. People start to ask questions even before they start nursing school. Always good to have a plan B. Especially for foreigners, abide all laws and rules of this country, be a good person, stay away from any trouble, illegal work, DWI, drugs. Be a person with morals. try your best, and hang there. There is always a way out for people who abide laws and rules, who work hard and work smart, who are motivated and willing to work hard twice or three times or four times than other people. Good luck to OP.
I'm sure many other people in similar situation will read this thread. A lot of them will have bachelor degrees already. Hopefully they can have some thoughts and get some useful information that can help them for their future.
rhp123
307 Posts
The biggest chance for these non-resident RNs in US to be able to work, is, from their spouses. Lots of them have spouses working on H1, some are researchers in universities with PhD degrees.
Generally speaking, many H1s can apply for GC based on Employment. EB2 is current for the ROW. Once labor certificate is approved with a category of EB2, spouses can file 485 concurrently, and get EAD within 3 months. For those whose spouses are researchers or post-docs, working in universities not only give them opportunities to apply for special H1b, these H1bs are quota-exempt, mean absolotely no lottery or limit on the number per year, and can be applied and start at anytime of the year, but also give them a chance to apply GC by themselves. As long as the research is good, with good papers, publications, they can sponsor themselves for GC independent of employers. Eb1 category is current for all the countries, EB2 is current for countries other than China and India.
If one is not married, or spouse not in US, if one has a previous non-nursing Bachelor's degree, one can try H1b lottery. If one has an advanced degree from US, their chances of winning H1b lottery is much higher. From that point, one can apply for GC based on employment on H1B. Some people have foreign MD degrees, or a MS in biology, etc. It is easy for these people to get a job in the research lab of the universitites. Of course, pay is not that good compared to RN, but you get a H1b without worry about lottery.