H4 visa to H1 as RN in US?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 8, 2011

You still have to meet Florida requirements for International trained RN and you may find that they require you to have at least 2 years work experience in the state you received your initial registration. (seen a few members post issues in regards to this) Also with the current job situation for nurses and I have seen Florida have issues with nurses struggling to find work, finding a H1b employer may be hard and you must have a BSN or equivalent years experience (12 I believe)

sawling25 · Mar 8, 2011

thanks for the clarification

Mandeep4 · Aug 13, 2012

Hi Sawling:

I am also on the same boat as you were last year. I did my BS in Nursing from India, have an active license from Vermont State Board of Nursing and currently I am on H-4 in California. Could you please guide me for getting RN job in California? (I need SSN to endorse my License to California BON but I don't have it) Do I have to study here? If yes, then please suggest me some short term courses. Please reply soon.

Mandeep

sawling25 · Aug 13, 2012

Mandeep4, I am now on the process of changing my status from H4 to immigrant, hoping to get my green card by November. After that, I will look for a job here as a nurse and ask for reciprocity of license. I think there is no way to change status from h4 to h1, unless the hospital will petition you. But if the visa for nurses is still on retrogression, there is no way that the hospital can sponsor you. You can wait until you adjust your status so you can have a ss#. In that way, you can look for a hospital to hire you

loriangel14, RN · Aug 14, 2012

Retrogression is still in place. It will take 6 years to get a Green Card.

sawling25 · Aug 14, 2012

I am adjusting status thru my husband, he is a physical therapist. His company is sponsoring me and our children as well.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Aug 14, 2012

Getting immigrant visa will depend on category your application is in EB1 EB2 or EB3. EB3 is the one generally nurses come under and it is affected by retrogression and will take 6 plus years regardless if already in the US working.

You can study on a h4 but it will not get you a US SSN you need a F1 for that and courses I believe have to be full time for over a year which may be expensive if classed as a International student.

misswoosie · Aug 14, 2012

You still have to meet Florida requirements for International trained RN and you may find that they require you to have at least 2 years work experience in the state you received your initial registration. (seen a few members post issues in regards to this) Also with the current job situation for nurses and I have seen Florida have issues with nurses struggling to find work, finding a H1b employer may be hard and you must have a BSN or equivalent years experience (12 I believe)

Plus the position must REQUIRE a Bachelors degree. USCIS are not keen to issue RNs with H-1Bs.

Many nursing jobs prefer bachelors, but not so many that require one and some of those jobs will require certification in the specialty- which you might be able to do if you meet the practice requirements. I would also get BLS and ACLS once you get here.These will all increase your employability.

What's your area of practice and how much experience do you have?

I use simply hired to look at jobs.

Ritty Chacko · Dec 19, 2013

Hi, it's again a query on the H1B dependent to work as a nurse in US. I passed my Nclex exam in 2007 and IELTS at the same time and got a VISA Screen certificate in Aug 2008. But I was not lucky enough to land in US with a nursing job due to long held retrogation and my VISA screen certificate got expired in Aug 2013 after 5 years validity.

Now my Husband who is an IT business analyst got an H1B VISA and coming to US by mid of 2014. If I come as an H1B dependent, will I be able to work as a registered nurse as per latest rules and regulations in US? Any values for the VISA screen certificate that got expired recently...

My colleagues... please share if you have any idea on this or any reliable source from where I can get some knowledge on this... Thanks & have a great Day! ~~~ Ritty

Silverdragon102, BSN · Dec 19, 2013

Hi, it's again a query on the H1B dependent to work as a nurse in US. I passed my Nclex exam in 2007 and IELTS at the same time and got a VISA Screen certificate in Aug 2008. But I was not lucky enough to land in US with a nursing job due to long held retrogation and my VISA screen certificate got expired in Aug 2013 after 5 years validity.
Now my Husband who is an IT business analyst got an H1B VISA and coming to US by mid of 2014. If I come as an H1B dependent, will I be able to work as a registered nurse as per latest rules and regulations in US? Any values for the VISA screen certificate that got expired recently...
My colleagues... please share if you have any idea on this or any reliable source from where I can get some knowledge on this... Thanks & have a great Day! ~~~ Ritty

On a H4 you can not work. You have to find a employer willing to go H1b route

allnurses Guide · Dec 22, 2013

You may not work on a H4 dependent visa. You will have to reapply for VSC and pay again and have all the documents sent again to renew. I wouldn't do it until you have a job lined up with an employer willing to petition for H1B visa.

It is not correct, however that a hospital cannot petition a H1B visa due to retrogression. Retrogression refers to the backlog of immigrants (green card) visas. It has nothing to do with temporary work visas.