H1b Visa for nurses under FY 2010

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I have applied for a work visa for the position as a dialysis nurse. I was filed last april 1 2009 and was wondering when will i get to have a visa? Anyone with a similar status of mine???:specs:

In my area Nurse Practitioners aren't hired in the hosptials as much as PAs. Nurse Practitioners are more in the clinics or medical groups. You will find PA's and very few NPs in the ER and that's usually it. Not very many hospital positions available.

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Let me add on to my last post. There are NPs in the hospitals, as a matter of fact all over the hospitals, but they're hired as RNs not NPs. For example in the Cancer Unit that I sometimes float to there's a RN who is also a NP, but in her scope of practice there at the hospital she's only a Staff Nurse RN, she doesn't use her NP because she wasn't hired as a NP. I hope I didn't confuse people. In the ER, there isn't any NPs there but they can be hired in the ER. The ERs are infested with PAs are hired over a NP. It may not be like that at all hospitals, but in my area of California that's how it is.

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In the northeast there are plenty of NPs working in hospitals as NPs. There are more NPs than PAs in general in the Northeast.

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Wow... 27 pages! I read the first 10, speed-read the next couple, and then realised there were loads more! I will go back and read in more detail when my headache has gone - I've been researching various websites all day and am getting conflicting information all over the place. britishexpats.com recommended this site. Here's where I'm hoping you can help...

Wife is a Filipina but recently become a British Citizen. Trained in Philippines and got BSN, and worked in the Philippines as a nurse constantly for 6 years. She did dialysis though I'm not sure how much, and that would have been quite a few years ago now. She's been in the UK for 6 years, the latter third in ICU. Does this sound sufficient basis for an H1B visa application? I've read about the job shortage and the 65k H1B cap so will just have to hope for the best. I don't know whether it will help but her aunt is senior in an LA hospital and can get her recommended for a position - whether with that the hospital will be happy to sponsor, I don't know (ideas?)

She doesn't yet have NCLEX but is applying for it.

If all goes well and we get moving fast, would we manage the April 1st filing date (for best chance of beating the cap)? And if that all goes well, does that mean an October start date under normal circumstances? Will NCLEX hold things up (I've heard some hospitals have made provisional job offers based on passing of the exam, but how common is this)?

As her husband I know I cannot work if I were dependent on her visa; however, I believe I qualify for the same visa in the IT sector.

Thanks for any help.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Wow... 27 pages! I read the first 10, speed-read the next couple, and then realised there were loads more! I will go back and read in more detail when my headache has gone - I've been researching various websites all day and am getting conflicting information all over the place. britishexpats.com recommended this site. Here's where I'm hoping you can help...

Wife is a Filipina but recently become a British Citizen. Trained in Philippines and got BSN, and worked in the Philippines as a nurse constantly for 6 years. She did dialysis though I'm not sure how much, and that would have been quite a few years ago now. She's been in the UK for 6 years, the latter third in ICU. Does this sound sufficient basis for an H1B visa application? I've read about the job shortage and the 65k H1B cap so will just have to hope for the best. I don't know whether it will help but her aunt is senior in an LA hospital and can get her recommended for a position - whether with that the hospital will be happy to sponsor, I don't know (ideas?)

She doesn't yet have NCLEX but is applying for it.

If all goes well and we get moving fast, would we manage the April 1st filing date (for best chance of beating the cap)? And if that all goes well, does that mean an October start date under normal circumstances? Will NCLEX hold things up (I've heard some hospitals have made provisional job offers based on passing of the exam, but how common is this)?

As her husband I know I cannot work if I were dependent on her visa; however, I believe I qualify for the same visa in the IT sector.

Thanks for any help.

Hi Geoff

Her experience may help but a lot will depend on whether the hospital will petition for a H1b visa. having a Aunt will not make it any easier as the hospital still has to prove that they can not employ a US citizen or PR. Only way to do this is find out but the hospital may not do anything without a license or letter indicating that she has passed NCLEX and meets license requirements. In this way I think you will be struggling to make the April deadline.

Same goes for you and H1b your employer needs to prove that they can not employ a USC or PR and this year is the first time in over 5 years I have known H1b visa last until Dec as most have generally gone within hours of being released and generally to the IT sector.

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In the US there are many lay offs in both health care and IT sector. So there really is no need to import when our own can't even find jobs, it just doesn't make any sense at the moment.

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Hi salveapril! I just want to ask your kind help if you can recommend me to your petioner. I have a pending I-140 approval PD Sept 2009. I am hoping to find an employer who can apply me for H1B visa. My expeirence is OR, BSN graduate and I have Visascreen Certificate. Ms Salveapril please PM I honestly dont know to send you PM eh. Sorry for being such an ignorant. Hope you can help me... Thank you so much!

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Usually OR Nurse doesn't require a Bachelors degree. For H1b visa the position must require a minimum of a Bachelors degree along with several years experience in a particular specialty. Just because one has a bachelors degree doesn't mean that they will qualify for a H1b visa automatically.

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Thank you for your reply Ma'am.

I am currently working as Theatre Nurse for 5 years here in the Middle East. Does it mean I am not qualified for an H1B visa? What are the other requirements to qualify? I am a bachelor's degree holder with NCLEX Cali Board and Visascreen cert. Hope you can help me out. I am trying my luck to find an employer who can petition me.Thanks again..

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I'm ignorant because I have no idea what a Theatre Nurse is. Can you please let me know what it is? If a Theatre Nurse is what we have here in the US and the minimum qualifications for the position requires a bachelors degree, then the chances are good in your favor. The only thing is that finding an employer who employs Theatre Nurses that isn't laying off nurses or cutting back due to budget cuts who is willing to help you with your H1b visa. It doesn't make sense to lay off nurses and then pay money to import a foreigner. In reality they would be paying more for the foreigner than had they kept their former employee. But it all depends, good luck.

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NurseCubanitaRN2b: I understand your concern but you've made a broad generalisation there. There are pockets of specialities and/or hospitals where there is a shortage of appropriate American workers, and that is where immigration comes in. There are caps and there are checks so it's not as if there is uncontrolled foreign labour filling your positions.
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That's why I stated that the problem lies with finding an employer who isn't cutting back and laying off workers. Those places are the ones that would be able to petition a foreigner. But right now those places are few and far between because most are cutting back and laying people off. Most places aren't going to lay off workers in order to bring in foreigners, it's just costly to do so because they would have to pay for their work visas and all the fees that go with it, plus they would still have to train them on the system here which means more money, it would make more sense to hire a seasoned nurse from here where the training wouldn't be so extensive or a new RN from here and train them. I'm not saying there isn't employers who aren't willing to hire foreign nurses, the problem is finding them. With this economy it's like finding a needle in a haystack. Had it been a few years back finding an employer was much easier. I'd hate to say it but even those who were able to find employers aren't willing to pass on that information to the ones that are looking. I only read one person on this board who shared that information to others. Other than that, most of them dodge the question when asked.

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