EB3 VISA processes USA

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Hi!

I’m from Sweden and I have a few questions about immigration and EB3 Visas.

I’m a Swedish educated Registered Nurse, BSN. I’ve been working as a RN for the past 2,5 years in Sweden. I’m licensed to practice as a RN in the state of NY, and I hold a Temporary License in Pennsylvania (currently waiting for my permanent license to be issued). I’ve passed the NCLEX (obviously, since I have my US RN licenses), I’ve got my VISA-screen certificate (which also means I passed the IELTS-test). So basically from my knowledge, I have everything that is needed for an EB3.

I have an employer in the state of Pennsylvania that wants to hire me. They referred me to a law firm 1 that told me if I pay for premium processing I'll be over in the US within 3-6 months. If not 12 months +. This law firm says I'll get my GC after a few months being in America. However I wanted to double-check this so I asked another law firm (2) about the process.. and that law firm (2) tells me that its impossible to get an EB3 visa within 3-6 months and then have a GC in your hand a few months after you move. That you need a H1B visa move to the US, work and during the time you work - approx 2 years then you get a GC.


So I have two law firms stating different things.. and now I don't know what to do? I've got a contract that I can sign and they will file my petition etc.. however.. I wanna make sure I get the EB3 visa not the H1B.. haha I'm so confused...

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

As a nurse you do qualify for EB3 and many nurses go this route but it is employer driven and my understanding is the lawyers are employed by the hospital and they pay fees for you but you may have to pay fees for any family member accompanying you. If interview for EB3 is approved at embassy then the day you land in the US you are a immigrant and green card will follow quickly because that is what EB3 is. Processing dates for EB3 depends on place of birth so suggest Google search for US visa bulletin and see what current EB3 processing times are and certain countries are given otherwise your country of birth if not mentioned will come under rest of the world

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3 hours ago, Silverdragon102 said:

As a nurse you do qualify for EB3 and many nurses go this route but it is employer driven and my understanding is the lawyers are employed by the hospital and they pay fees for you but you may have to pay fees for any family member accompanying you. If interview for EB3 is approved at embassy then the day you land in the US you are a immigrant and green card will follow quickly because that is what EB3 is. Processing dates for EB3 depends on place of birth so suggest Google search for US visa bulletin and see what current EB3 processing times are and certain countries are given otherwise your country of birth if not mentioned will come under rest of the world

Right. So you’d say that what the first law firm says sound reasonable? 3-6 months before heading to the US and then 3-6 months after begin in the US to get my official green card?

Also, may I ask? Maybe you don’t know but you sound very experienced or knowledgeable. The company tells me I don’t need to sign a contract with them but only with the law firm? In the contract with the law firm it says they represent both me and the company for a schedule A - I-140 application.. maybe it’s just me feeling insecure by not having a contract with the job itself.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Because the immigrant visa is employer based you should have a contract signed by yourself and employer showing you have a job and I believe it must show that your pay is the same as other nurses working for the same company. I am not an immigration consultant but back many years ago was going through the process and was my experience. I-140 is your application for immigrant visa. Looking at the current visa bulletin you are looking at processing applications submitted before 15 April 2018 for EB3 if born in a country not listed so realistically you are looking at 2 years before your application is even looked at so both lawyers are not telling you the truth

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2020/visa-bulletin-for-July-2020.html

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My thoughts are likewise. I should have contract with the employer first hand. Althought both company and lawyer says its alright as long as both employee (me) and employer has a contract with the law-firm.

From my own research regarding time-frames. I've found this:

" Your employer (with your help) completes a request for labor certification and sends it to DOL. The DOL's approval means it's confirming that no U.S. workers were available for the job and that you and your employer can go ahead with the process of applying for your green card. There's an exception to this requirement: A few types of jobs don't require labor certification, because they're on the Schedule A list of workers that are in short supply within the United States. Professional nurses and physical therapists have been on the Schedule A list for years."

and

"Registered nurses may enter the U.S. directly as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or Green Card status. A benefit afforded to the nursing profession is that presently, the Petition for Alien Worker and U.S. Department of Labor classifies nursing as what is referred to as a "Schedule A" occupation. The advantage is that the oftentimes lengthy and expensive Labor Certification Process can be circumvented. LPR status also allows a nurse and his or her family to permanently reside in the U.S. through a sponsor after meeting certain requirements."

So from my understanding, if I file with premium processing the process could take 3-6 months and then I'll be heading over to the US, and then after a few months in the US I'll get my GC. Premium processing means: You pay a fee and Premium Processing for I140 petitions is a service provided by the Department of Homeland Security (USCIS) that offers 15-day processing for certain employment-based petitions and applications.

Haha, all this is so confusing, and since everyone says differently.. it's hard to know what to believe.. and it's actually quite a lot of money we're talking about I have to pay up.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Regardless on paying premium processing you still have 2 years to wait currently for your interview with the embassy and get approval to move to the US. All premium processing means you go to the top of the list but you still have to wait for your interview. The date your I 1-40 is approved is the date you use when following the EB3 processing dates. For example if you I 1-40 is approved 30 Aug 2020 then you still have to wait until your date shows up on the visa bulletin. As I mentioned previously current date is April 2018 so you would have to wait 2 years and 4 months before you can expect movement. You need to keep an eye on the visa bulletin as dates go backwards and forward

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11 hours ago, Silverdragon102 said:

Regardless on paying premium processing you still have 2 years to wait currently for your interview with the embassy and get approval to move to the US. All premium processing means you go to the top of the list but you still have to wait for your interview. The date your I 1-40 is approved is the date you use when following the EB3 processing dates. For example if you I 1-40 is approved 30 Aug 2020 then you still have to wait until your date shows up on the visa bulletin. As I mentioned previously current date is April 2018 so you would have to wait 2 years and 4 months before you can expect movement. You need to keep an eye on the visa bulletin as dates go backwards and forward

Okay I see what your saying. Then I just need to figure out if the lawyer tells me is true. Because the lawyer yelled me that all healthcare professional that has an accepted I-140 skip the line and get an interview right away.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

They used to many years ago but back in the early 2000 nurses stopped being in short supply. We actually saw a decrease in international nurses being hired plus retrogression caused many countries to wait over 10 years for a interview

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Just did a bit of reading and schedule A still exists but what I have read still shows you have to wait for your priority date to be current before you receive an interview all it means you jump the queue to the top if you have schedule A

Have you tried looking for lawyers experienced with nurses?

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I guess I have to look at that..! Because it’s insane how everyone is saying different things!

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Just out of curiosity, does the facility in Pennsylvania happens to be Revolutionary Home Health? @MiloRe

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I wouldn't be comfortable sharing the employer this openly :).
How come you ask?

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