help/questions about immigrations, etc. for foreign nurses

Silverdragon102, BSN · Sep 11, 2008

hello! i am a citizen of nepal, recently graduated from us nursing school and will be taking my nclex-rn in 2 weeks. currently i am on opt and looking for jobs. honestly, i do not know squat about all the immigration stuff for nurses. i have been reading different forums on this topic and i am more confused now than ever! there are just so much stuff that i am no longer sure about because i am hearing different stories from different directions. i would greatly appreciate it if someone would provide answers to my following questions:
1. what is the current immigration status for nurses regarding green card? when do new visa numbers become available? under retrogression so once completed opt you will have to maintain student visa to stay in the us
2. do i obtain visa screen after i have my license? how long does it take? what kind of documents do i need to submit? are there any other requirements? once you have passed nclex you will need vsc
3. when interviewing for nursing jobs, is it ok to ask if they will sponsor for my green card? or does that affect on my chances of getting a job? in my opinion they should be made aware on your current position, they may be taking you on thinking you can commit when really you can only commit to opt time due to retrogression
4. if i do find an employer who is willing to sponsor for my green card, what is the process like? what are the costs? would the hospital bear the costs of hiring lawyers and doing all the paperwork or is it my responsibility? mostly hospitals have their own lawyers but again you will be affected by retrogression so only i140 can be filed so will not allow you to stay and work whilst waiting
5. any additional information will be highly appreciated!
i am aware that i have a lot of questions but i am just very uncertain at this point in regards to the validity of the information i have. i truly appreciate everyone in helping me out regarding this matter!
thanks!

you will be affected by retrogression and have a long wait, much has already been written so suggest a good cuppa and a long read in this forum

floridanurse2008 · Sep 11, 2008

Also, does anyone know which hospitals in Jacksonville, FL or any other cities in FL petition for green card? I have applied to majority of hospitals in the area and chances are thin. I initially lived in Maryland, what are my chances there? Any hospitals you know of that will petition for green card? Any information will be highly appreciated! Thanking in advance!

floridanurse2008 · Sep 13, 2008

so, what should my next step be after i get my license, and a job from an employer who is willing to petition for my green card? are you saying that i do not have any chances for green card? and does that mean i have to go back to school and be on f1? please clarify...i am very confused now...thanks!

Silverdragon102, BSN · Sep 13, 2008

so, what should my next step be after i get my license, and a job from an employer who is willing to petition for my green card? are you saying that i do not have any chances for green card? and does that mean i have to go back to school and be on f1? please clarify...i am very confused now...thanks!

Nothing stopping you from looking for an employer and starting the process but only I140 can be filed which does not allow you to stay and work whilst waiting. You will need to maintain student status to stay in the US once your OPT is finished

jasmine1119 · Sep 19, 2008

Hey,

I'm in the same boat as you. I finished high school in another country, my BSN here in the U.S. I am no expert in this but I will try to answer your questions the best I can.

1. Green card - I don't think anyone knows for sure when visas will become available for nurses (visa Schedule A).

2. Visa Screen - yes you need to file for it if you finished high school in another country. I suggest do it now because you will need it in the future for the petition/sponsorship. I think it took about 3 months to get it although I am not sure on that. Just go to the CGFNS website to check the requirements.

3. OPT - HR will eventually know that you're on a limited work permit because they will ask for your 'papers' (If you're not a citizen, are you a green-card holder? If not, how are you legally allowed to work? That's when you give the EAD so they will know you need sponsorship). When I was applying for a job using OPT, I would call the hospitals and ask if they are sponsoring nurses. My top choices said 'no' (I think that's because of the retrogression but they will eventually sponsor nurses once the immigration is 'open'). Just apply to as many places as you can. I have to admit that part of this is geographical - depends on the nursing shortage in your area. I'm from a big city so I found a hospital that will petition me. Most nursing homes will petition though. Some who don't petition may take you as a temporary worker. Just apply and try to have a positive attitude.

4. Costs - Some hospitals pay for all immigration expenses. My hospital didn't, I had to pay personally (I think about it now and it may be to my advantage because I didn't sign a contract with the hospital yet since the immigration is not 'open' yet, and I can change employers because I paid for the expenses myself - at least that's what the lawyer told me - not sure if this is 100% true).

Good luck on your NCLEX! Try not worry too much about your immigration issue at this time because you are taking the NCLEX lol I know I did that :banghead:

Let me know if you have any more questions

suzanne4, RN · Sep 19, 2008

Schedule A has been gone for several years already, nurses are under the EB-3 category at this time. Schedule A was under that.

The VSC needs to be completed if you are applying for a visa to work in the US, it has nothing to do with where you went to high school. Even attending school in the US and you are still going to need to have one in hand for the visa.

The information that you were given is not completely correct. You can only change employers if the I-485 was submitted and it has been more than 180 days since approval was given on the I-140 if they were both submitted at the same time. Since the I-485 was not submitted in most cases for you, then this is not going to apply to you. You will be required to work for this one employer for quite some time even if you paid for it, or will be starting the process from the beginning. The I-140 and PD date cannot be transferred in any other case.

No special consideration is given to a nurse that trained in the US as far as getting a visa is concerned. The expected wait is going to be close to five years at present if you take into account the 800,000 I-485 petitions that were submitted last summer when there were no visas available at that time. With only a total of 140,000 green cards per year and that 800,000 does not include those that are waiting out of the country, you will see why we are stating five years plus. Also will depend on your country of birth as well, as that is how visas are issued.

Even if you find a hospital to petition, you are going to have to remain in the F-1 status to be able to remain here legally. The OPT is only valid for one year and is never renewed.

Would recommend doing some reading on this forum, there is already much information that is out there.

Best of luck to you.

floridanurse2008 · Sep 19, 2008

Thank you jasmine1119 and suzzane for all the information, i have been reading your posts regarding green card for nurses in this forum and they have been very helpful. I just took my nclex and boy it was hard!!! I really appreciate all the effort!!! Any new information about the current emergency nursing shortage act?

suzanne4, RN · Sep 19, 2008

Thank you jasmine1119 and suzzane for all the information, i have been reading your posts regarding green card for nurses in this forum and they have been very helpful. I just took my nclex and boy it was hard!!! I really appreciate all the effort!!! Any new information about the current emergency nursing shortage act?

None what so ever, and do not expect anything to come of it for several months at the earliest. The economy here is much more important as well as the election.

But the issue remains that even with the extra 20,000 visas per year, there are many more that already have completed petitions and have just been waiting for a visa number to be issued to them, so this is not going to help any new grads that are just starting the process. Those that have been waiting for a couple of years deserve to get visas first.

Best of luck to you.

LucyNtheSkyW/Diamnds · Sep 19, 2008

Thank you jasmine1119 and suzzane for all the information, i have been reading your posts regarding green card for nurses in this forum and they have been very helpful. I just took my nclex and boy it was hard!!! I really appreciate all the effort!!! Any new information about the current emergency nursing shortage act?

Best of luck to you on your nclex results! I took mine just this year and found it very difficult too but thank God I passed it. It's just so frustrating to have gone through all the tedious preparations for these exams only to be blocked by the current retrogression.

I, too, would like to know if the emergency nursing shortage act would make a sizeable/significant dent on the retrogression once it is passed into law? Thanks in advance.

LucyNtheSkyW/Diamnds · Sep 19, 2008

The information that you were given is not completely correct. You can only change employers if the I-485 was submitted and it has been more than 180 days since approval was given on the I-140 if they were both submitted at the same time. Since the I-485 was not submitted in most cases for you, then this is not going to apply to you. You will be required to work for this one employer for quite some time even if you paid for it, or will be starting the process from the beginning. The I-140 and PD date cannot be transferred in any other case.
No special consideration is given to a nurse that trained in the US as far as getting a visa is concerned. The expected wait is going to be close to five years at present if you take into account the 800,000 I-485 petitions that were submitted last summer when there were no visas available at that time. With only a total of 140,000 green cards per year and that 800,000 does not include those that are waiting out of the country, you will see why we are stating five years plus. Also will depend on your country of birth as well, as that is how visas are issued.

I am in the same situation. I was able to find an employer willing to sponsor my immigrant petition but the hospital does not shoulder attorney's fees, which amount to almost 5,000 dollars. I was told by the lawyer that we can file the I-140 to save the priority date, and that even if I switch employers during the process, my priority date will remain the same. Since you are saying that this will only be true if an I-485 is filed with it, and since since the government is not accepting I-485s at this time (is this true?), that the option to switch employers will not be possible in my case?

I applied to nearly a hundred hospitals and only a handful considered hiring a foreign nurse with no hospital experience. That's why I felt quite lucky to have been offered a job. This employer is located in a place that I do not particularly like and has given me an offer for 15/hour beginning as a nurse-in-training. I'm willing to take a wage even that low if it means finally being able to have a priority date but I'm concerned if a wage that low is actually a violation - I have heard of foreign professionals working in the US under H1B/H1C and with an immigrant petition filed who have been denied and deported in the end because they agreed to work under a wage that was below the minimum for a US citizen, in effect gaining an advantage over US citizens. Is working for 15/hour initially as a nurse-in-training a technical violation that could get me in trouble later on?

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Sep 19, 2008

As the economy tanks there will be less and less support for an emergency nurse act. I looked at my hospitals Human Resource board and the only openings experienced nurses and there were only a few of them.

I also teach nursing, and the clinical unit I am assigned to had many new faces, the new faces were nurses who had seniority and displaced the old nurses ( many of them have been at the hospital over ten years).

The students I teach are concerned that they will find positions. All these forces will leave the voters not to push for the emergency relief act ( although I am hoping that MSN nurses who teach will get a better salary!)