H1b for NP

Silverdragon102, BSN · May 12, 2009

As long as you meet criteria and there are H1b's then you should be OK to get one. You need license as RN and VSC plus the employer needs to pay all fees and fie. Depending on whether they are capped or not will depend on when they can file. If they are not capped exempt then you may find it is now too late for this year and will have to wait for April 10 file with hopeful Oct 10 employment start.

Moved to a thread on it's own

confuzhn · May 12, 2009

Thank you for the quick reply. Are there many opportunities for NPs and H1b, or is it fairly difficult to find?

Silverdragon102, BSN · May 12, 2009

A lot will depend on what your NP is in, whether there are jobs in the areas you want to live and that there are no USC or legal resident that could be employed.

We have seen this with H1b's this year as generally within a few hours of 1at April H1b's are all gone and this year there are still plenty left. Although H1b's are not as common in hospitals as other professions it just shows what the current US job climate is like. We are also seeing more people posting in the forums on how hard they are finding it to find jobs. The employer has to prove that they have been unable to get a USC or legal resident for the job which may be hard (not saying it is impossible just hard)

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · May 13, 2009

In my area, Boston new NPs have had some difficulty finding their initial positions and continue to work as a RN.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · May 14, 2009

The thing that would complicate matters is how a foreign nurse practitioner can get national certification as a nurse practitioner in the US which is a requirement to practice in many states. All certifying board for all types of NP's in the US require graduate-level preparation (MS or DNP) from a university that is accredited by either NLN or CCNE. I am not aware of any foreign master's degree programs that are accredited and currently, the DNP programs are still in the process of undergoing accreditation.

I think this will work if you have a sponsor and the following are met:

the state you're interested in does not require national certification to practice as an NP.
your foreign NP preparation is accepted as equivalent to the one in the state you're applying to and the state is willing to grant you an NP license.
the NP job opening has been posted and no US citizens and legal immigrants have applied.

or:

you meet the third "if" from the above list, and you obtained your NP education in the US and therefore, you are eligible for national certification as an NP here.

allnurses Guide · May 15, 2009

There is no requirement that no USC or LPRs have applied, only that the foreign applicant is a better candidate. If all are equal, then the USC/LPR must be hired.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · May 16, 2009

I guess it's all in the "wording"...the actual language in the law states:

"The employer, before applying for H-1B status for any alien worker pursuant to an H-1B LCA, took good faith steps to recruit U.S. workers for the job for which the alien worker is sought, at wages at least equal to those offered to the H-1B worker. Also, the employer will offer the job to any U.S. worker who applies and is equally or better qualified than the H-1B worker."

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · May 16, 2009

Mr Obama has asked that hospitals and health care providers reduce costs by 1% each year, the cost of recruiting a foreign nurse ranges between $10K to $30K depending on the source. I am assuming the cost is legal and relocation fees, my question is why would a hospital increase their costs when there are incentives for hiring citizens.

allnurses Guide · May 18, 2009

I guess it's all in the "wording"...the actual language in the law states:
"The employer, before applying for H-1B status for any alien worker pursuant to an H-1B LCA, took good faith steps to recruit U.S. workers for the job for which the alien worker is sought, at wages at least equal to those offered to the H-1B worker. Also, the employer will offer the job to any U.S. worker who applies and is equally or better qualified than the H-1B worker."

Isn't that what I just said?

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · May 19, 2009

Isn't that what I just said?

Not to start an argument with you, but I interpret the law as saying that the employer should have taken "good faith steps to recruit US workers for the job sought" as meaning that a job posting was made and didn't result in any qualified US worker candidates (or no applicants for that matter).

allnurses Guide · May 22, 2009

Clearly - that is the purpose of the LCA. My point was that a USC does not have the right to the job if they are not equivalently qualified with the foreign worker, which is exactly what the language of the visa says. If you have particular specialized skills (which is a condition of the temp working visas), you are competing with others who have the same skills, whatever nationality they are.