H1b Petition Denied. Options?

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Hello all

I have a cousin who is an NCLEX-RN passer in the state of WA and is currently on F-1 visa for almost 2 years now. She has no SSN or TIN as of the moment. Last May 2015, she found a nursing facility who is willing to sponsor her for an H1B visa. It is a cap-exempt facility in Maryland. She got interviewed and eventually they filed the petition for her. Then come October, a RFE was issued stating that she needs to have an RN license in Maryland.

Now here's the problem, Maryland BON needs either an SSN or a Federal Tax ID ( which she does not have right now ) to apply for RN licensure by endorsement. On December, she received a denial letter stating that she needs to have a valid RN license in MD. She was then told that she has 3 options. Either refile a new petition, reappeal or find a new sponsor.

Is there any way that she could get a Federal Tax ID / SSN so that she could have her license endorsed in Maryland and show it as a proof if she chooses either to refile or reappeal the petition that she has indeed a valid MD license? What could be her other options aside from this? I want to help her because I believe she was already that close to working in the US. Thank you all in advance. :)

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Specializes in SICU.

How does she not have a SSN. The F1 allows you to work on campus where you get a SSN

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I believe that you need to apply for OPT to obtain SSN. Am i right? Another thing, on her first year holding an F1 visa, she studied in California. Then after a year, she transferred to another school in Washington.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

On a F1 she can apply for permission to work and when she gets that she can apply for a SSN. I would suggest you get her to talk to her student adviser. As a full time student they can work after applying for permission and it being granted but their hours of work especially during term time is restricted

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Is that going to be an on-campus employment? She told me that she needs certain number of units before she can apply for OPT/CPT. I do not know the difference between the two. And regarding the options on her denied H1b petition, will there be an expiration date on when she can refile or reappeal once she get a SSN?

She also wanted to know if she could apply for a Federal tax id instead of SSN for the meantime because Maryland BON can accept either of the two for licensure by endorsement.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

OPT is something that is used after completion of study and usually for nurses allows someone who trained in the US to stay for 12 months after graduation to work as a nurse (OPT is a way to gain post grad experience) As a F1 you can apply for permission to work and initially the first year is on campus but after that you can look out of campus. It will not affect OPT

https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/students-and-employment

F-1 students may not work off-campus during the first academic year, but may accept on-campus employment subject to certain conditions and restrictions. There are various programs available for F-1 students to seek off-campus employment, after the first academic year. F-1 students may engage in three types of off-campus employment, after they have been studying for one academic year. These three types of employment are:

  • Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
  • Optional Practical Training (OPT) (pre-completion or post-completion)
  • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Optional Practical Training Extension (OPT)

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Than you for the clarification. Is there a specific time frame when you can work on-campus or you can work as long as you have a valid f1 status?

How about getting a federal tax id? Is she eligible to get one? She really wants to have her license endorsed in MD as soon as possible so that she could ask her employer to refile her petition for h1b.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

She can try and get a ITIN but no guarantee, Just because she applies for work permission doesn't mean she has to run out and get a job, she can apply for it and once approved apply for a SSN and sort license out

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