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Discussion

Good News?

OPT EXTENSION to 29 MONTHS

http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=25123

Although right now nursing is not considered an eligible major ( http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/press_opt_ifr.pdf), DHS still welcomes comment on the list and any recommendations for additional degrees that the Department should consider for inclusion in the list. DHS will continue to work with interested parties to evaluate the degrees that may be added to this list in the future, and will be reaching out to other agencies in the development of the final rule.

I think we should definitely do something to promote a positive result for nursing students in the US!!!

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Over-all this is good news. Even more if nursing will be included in the list.

However, just this confirms that AOS is extremely backlogged starting from those that filed last July/Aug. 2007. Talks of extending OPTs to 29 mos. and EADs good for 3 years instead of the current 1 year only confirms that the backlog for AOS cases will not be resolved anytime soon.

  • Experts

Sorry, but I do not share the same view as you. I do not think that nursing students in the US should get any preferential treatment when it comes to being able to obtain a green card over someone that attended school out of the US. And the visas come from the same pile.

There are no visas available and the reason why is that there are so many more applicants than there are visas available for them and this is only going to get worse, not better. The number of visas that are available per birth country has not changed and will not be changing.

And nursing training does not require that someone have to train for an additional two years plus before they have enough experience to be able to work someplace or return to their country. That was the entire reason for the OPT in the first place, not to be used as a stepping stone here to get a visa.

That is my opinion on it, and the same as I have always believed.

And if you care to factor in that the nursing shortage is going to be easing up by the number of Americans that are currently enrolled in programs because they have lost their job in another field, priority should go to them for training, not the foreign student that comes here to train so that they think they will have a better job of getting a visa here to remain. There is no benefit of training in the US when it comes to getting a visa, the only thing that is waived is the series of English exams.

And the EAD that comes with the AOS processing, making it valid for three years, only means that it is going to take years for someone to get thru that, and one is essentially in limbo with that, as they truly do not have a visa to do anything with. That is why one must apply for the I-131 to be able to leave the country and it is called Advanced Parole, and there is no guarantee that one will be permitted entry again when they do return. It is up to the individual at the port of entry.

  • Author

Sorry Suzanne, but I didn't mention anything regarding the green card. I've already given up my hope for that. But I still feel that people who exerted a lot of efforts to get a BSN or NP here deserve more time to practice afterwards. To be frank with you, financially I'm also in urgent need of that 17 more months to be able to carry on with my life. The charge of training here is way too much than it's actually worth. I don't have to stay in the US. It's not part of my dream. It's not our shame either to accomplish school but can't even find a place to apply what we've learnt...

Sorry if this sounds too emotional... didn't mean to write this way...

  • Experts

The OPT was designed to give someone a year of experience before they returned home. Nothing more than that, it just was not made for anything else. And not sure why you think that more time should be made for them to practice, there are clinicals in school that many other professions do not have with their training in the first place.

EADs for the AOS mean that one would like the green card as they are processing for that.

I do hope that there will not be an increase in the length of time for the OPT. It will just make it harder for those to get a visa that wish one as more will be remaining in the US and trying for one.

Working in the role of the BSN is entirely different than the role of the advanced practitioner, and not even comparable.

One can get the OPT for a year with the degree of the BSN, and then they can get another year with the MSN. There is no reason what so ever to increase each of those to over two years. Just makes no sense at all, at least to me.

Sorry, but this is my take on it and why I do not think that it needs to be changed from what is in place now.

Right now, there is nothing much to discuss about the new OPT rule that will take affect as far as nursing students are concerned.

There are diff. views on it and everyone is welcome to give their opinions on it as long as it is done in a polite or respectful manner BUT the fact is, it is not currently on the list of those eligible for it.

Another fact is the OPT is being used as a stop-gap measure until visas or the ability to file something is allowed again or a way to earn some money while waiting for whatever they want to do more than anything else. I think no one can deny this.

Attending school in the US is very expensive and majority of foreign students would want to stay and have a job in the US and understandably so.

Foreign students who have no intention on staying will have no problems with just 1 year of OPT for nurses. Some don't even go for OPT at all and go straight to find a job on their home countries.

  • Experts

And again, there is no guarantee that one will be able to remain in the US and work when they are done with their training, same as most other fields. We saw it happening and people going into nursing as a means to remain in the US, but with the increase in number of students from overseas as well as the increase of American students, this is no longer the case any longer.

If you can get one, great. But it is not a given that you will get one.

The OPT is only a period of getting additional experience before leaving to return home, and was never supposed to be more than that. And training in the US should not give one preference over getting a green card for the US, experience as an RN should be the most important factor in determining this.

Have we even confirmed that nursing students are allowed to take advantage of this OPT extension? The rule mentions STEM degrees (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Bill Gates suggested this change in order to give students who fall into the "gap" between the expiration of their opt and the start of their H1-B. So to all who may have mixed feelings about the use of OPT, ICE / USCIS has extended it, knowing FULL WELL, that it will be a stepping stone for internationals to stay in this country and get meaningful experience and one day, perhaps get a green card. USCIS isn't stupid ! They know !

Either way, the rule is quite ambiguous so as soon as someone makes sense of it in its entirety - let us know!!!

I don't think nursing applies to the 17month extension. If you want to take advantage of this, maybe try doing a second major in engineer or some other science major that falls into the few categories specified.

  • Experts

You have the answer right in front of your nose, there is no H1-B visa for nurses. It has been almost impossible to get the H1-B as a new grad nurse in the US for several years and also requires the BSN. And also with specific requirements for the job.

That is why you do not see anything about nursing in it. Medicine and nursing are not the same.

You are already doing clinical training when you are in a nursing program, but not all programs have that and that is why they are trying to extend the time for some of the programs. There is absolutely no reason that it needs to be extended for nurses, as it is, when there are visas, they are fast-tracked for them. What you need to understand is that there is no guarantee that a nurse will be able to remain in the US when they finish their training. There is no priority for training in the US, experience should be the most important.

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