Grassley,with Sen. Richard Durbin,is pushing legislation changes to visa program.

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Feb 2, 2009

The way I read this they are trying to tightened up the program since the bankers abused the program. Bankers are not being to looked on too favorably since the just gave themselves billions of dollars in bonuses. As mentioned before this program was being looked on and now it will be looked even closer.

suzanne4, RN · Feb 2, 2009

It has nothing to do with loopholes or anything else if you understand the H1-B visa and why it was created in the first place. Then the fact that until the retrogression hit two years ago, RNs were actually being fast-tracked for the green card ahead of all of the other professions in most cases.

The H1-B visa was designed to be used for specialists in their fields as a start. New grads do not qualify just by this as they have no experience. And because of the paperwork that is actually needed to be completed by an employer when they have H1-B employees, to the tune of three people to complete the paperwork all year long. Add into it that the majority of facilities in the US are no longer using the H1-B because of this.

And if the hospital is under a union, unions do not permit temporary workers, they will only permit those with a green card or a treaty visa.

Out of the top 25 employers in the US that use workers with the H1-B visa, 8 of them are actually Indian companies that export workers to the US. And one of these companies is under investigation for doing the same things that Enron did a couple of years ago and all of the problems that rose from that as well.

And a temporary visa can be cancelled at anytime by the US government or the employer and with no recourse to the employee. They can do nothing to argue it since they are considered a guest worker here as well.

deanml · Feb 3, 2009

Good point.

What about Nurse researchers involved in stem cell research project ?

Must they go through Indian companies ? or Is there any U.S companies doing such kind of services you know of ?

Friend of mine is asking for that info.

suzanne4, RN · Feb 4, 2009

Depends on the company as a start. But most of the researchers are going to be going in with more than the RN behind their names before they would even get hired.

The Indian companies are actually being investigated right now, there are 8 that are under tight scrutiny for immigration issues with bringing employees to the US as a reverse of exporting jobs, instead that are importing workers here. The main one is actually causing a huge scandal across India.

And I do not know of one of these companies that is going to hire an IEN for a position like this without them having experience in the US or at least very advanced degrees. Not just the BSN.

Any of the researchers that I know personally, all hold doctorates if they are from out of the US and were sponsored under the H1-B visa.