H-1C newbie

JunRN · Aug 10, 2007

I guess you have to go for it unless visa is made available in October. You can change status from H1C to GC, right? So if I were you, I would take the H1C than the student visa.

suzanne4, RN · Aug 11, 2007

Sorry, but there is no way that I would recommend the H1-C visa to anyone. It means that they have a severe shortage of staff to even be able to get that designation in the first place. Not a good work environment at all for you to be in. Desparate does not spare your safety. And if in the Chicago area, then the neighborhood is going to be rough enough that American's do not wish to work there.

There are only 15 facilities in the US that can use that visa to staff with. So also if you do not like it, then you are in a pickle, you will have only 30 days to find another facility under that designation or you will need to leave the US. And you will not have the benefit of going back to the student visa at that time.

Go for the student visa, and if you are going on in the level of the degree, then you can qualify for the CPT as a student again. It will not give you full-time work, but perhaps the facility that you are at would be willing to help you with your schooling and then you would remain safe as well.

Sorry, but safety should hold priority over anything. Anything less, and then it just does not matter what you do.

jpaulino · Aug 11, 2007

Sorry, but there is no way that I would recommend the H1-C visa to anyone. It means that they have a severe shortage of staff to even be able to get that designation in the first place. Not a good work environment at all for you to be in. Desparate does not spare your safety. And if in the Chicago area, then the neighborhood is going to be rough enough that American's do not wish to work there.
There are only 15 facilities in the US that can use that visa to staff with. So also if you do not like it, then you are in a pickle, you will have only 30 days to find another facility under that designation or you will need to leave the US. And you will not have the benefit of going back to the student visa at that time.
Go for the student visa, and if you are going on in the level of the degree, then you can qualify for the CPT as a student again. It will not give you full-time work, but perhaps the facility that you are at would be willing to help you with your schooling and then you would remain safe as well.
Sorry, but safety should hold priority over anything. Anything less, and then it just does not matter what you do.

do you know if it is possible to extend my OPT?

the problem with my current employer is that they said if i don't get into legal working status by the time my OPT is up, then my postition would be terminated.... this is my dilemma...

JunRN · Aug 11, 2007

OPT is valid for 12 months only and cannot be renewed. CPT is your next option or off-campus EAD. CPT will take another 9 months, I think. Off-campus EAD is harder to get.

Better get H1C if the hospital you're on is willing to sponsor you for that.

jpaulino · Aug 11, 2007

OPT is valid for 12 months only and cannot be renewed. CPT is your next option or off-campus EAD. CPT will take another 9 months, I think. Off-campus EAD is harder to get.
Better get H1C if the hospital you're on is willing to sponsor you for that.

CPT, 9 months to get or will give me another 9 months to work, though part-time?

the H1C option will be another hospital in chicago, i am currently in milwaukee, so that is what im still trying to decide upon.

JunRN · Aug 11, 2007

Another 9 months of full time study to get. It has to be part of your curriculum.

porknbeans · Aug 12, 2007

mercy medical hospital in baltimore, maryland is also offering the H-1c visa. did your current employer attempt to file for any of your paperwork?

pinoynarz · Aug 12, 2007

mercy medical hospital in baltimore, maryland is also offering the H-1c visa. did your current employer attempt to file for any of your paperwork?

Yeah I have a friend who is working in Mercy Hospital in Baltimore Maryland under the H1-C visa, and according to her the place is very nice and the hospital too. I think not all hospital who petition H1-C have a bad environment, I think it depends on the place of the hospital.

suzanne4, RN · Aug 12, 2007

There is a thread on the Philippine Forum that will give you a link where you can check the crime statistics for a specific area. Suggest that you check it out.

If the hospital can get the H1-C rating and be able to employ nurses under that visa, then it means that they have had major staffing issues and have been unable to get American nurses in enough numbers to work there. They have had to advertise for nurses for a certain period of time and not had enough to get hired.

And the other issue is that if for some reason that you do not like the facility, you must get hired by another facility that can use that same classification in thirty days or you must leave the US. No other way around that.

If you are not from a PIC Country, I would not even consider doing anything about the H1-C contract until we know what is going to be done with visas in October.

porknbeans · Aug 12, 2007

i've been out of work three months now, and counting

life is tough- especially back home. without the income, what are we going to send home? what are they going to eat? what about our living expenses? our bills? our loans? right now, its really the matter of survival...

sometimes you do what you have to do...

suzanne4, RN · Aug 12, 2007

Sorry, but safety always needs to be a first priority. Sometimes things need to change, and things do not always go as one plans.

Still would not tell anyone to go under the H1-C visa and for quite a few reasons:

It is a temporary visa only, nothing is guaranteed any further than that.

If not green card available, then nothing can be done to get you that.

If you do not like the facility, or they do not like you, and you have to leave the facility, it is going to be very difficult to find something within the 30 day period that you will be given. When there are only 15 or so facilities in the entire US, it is quite difficult.

If all of a sudden, they decide that they do not need you anymore, your visa gets cancelled. We have seen it quite a bit, and it does happen. That is why I am so happy that there are no H1-B visas for nurses. This one does not change any conditions as far as being able to remain in the US if your visa gets cancellled. What do you do then about the additional bills and loans that you took on? Before getting more into debt, you need to assess what is happening to you right now, and why?

Bigger question is where are you actually from?

You do what ever you need to do, but you are the one that needs to make an eduated evaluation of it, not just grabbing at whatever. Sometimes you do need to return home for a bit. In the past, even if you attended school in the US, it never guaranteed that you could remain in the US without leaving. That is why the OPT was created in the beginning, to give the graduating student a year of getting post degree training before returning home. And this is for graduates in most fields, nothing specific for nurses.