For those of you that are studying in the US under either an F-1 visa, or any other where you do not have permission to work, and will need to apply for a green card when you finish your schooling-----this is for you.
You must meet all of the requirements for immigration that a foreign-trained nurse does, the only exception that you have is that the English requirements are waived for you. You still need to submit the application and get a Visa Screen Certificate. This is offered by CGFNS and the application is available on their website, http://www.CGFNS.org. There is only one application available, whether you did your training in the US, or overseas.
You will still need to find an employer that will petition for your green card. You will still need to undergo a physical exam at a physician's office that is approved by USCIS an have verification of all titers and vaccinations. If you do not have verifiable proof of having had chicken pox, etc., you will need to have either a titer drawn, or receive the vaccination. Immigration is very strict now with this, they will no longer go on what you are verbally telling them.
Hope that this helps...............most of you will also be able to get an OPT for one year of training while your documents are being processed, but you can only receive the OPT once, especially if this is now a second career for you, and you already used your OPT status for the other.
If you are coming to the US just for the MSN, and already have a BSN from overseas, you will be required to write the English exams. You are only exempt from them if this is your initial training as a nurse, meaning ADN or BSN only.
This is a webpage from Yale University where you can get a clear idea of how CPT works. Then again it may still differ from school to school. http://www.oiss.yale.edu/visa/f1cpt.htm. Good luck to you and keep us posted. I will be graduating in December 2007.
Ok, here's one thing that I have to make a decision by tomorrow,
and I need your opinion.
Even if I've read all thread regarding to retrogression, opt and so on, I'm still confused.
I work under OPT-graduate this May- , passed NCLEX and waiting for VisaScreen which about to issue for me soon.
The question is ... Is it useless if I hire an attorney for my greencard at this moment because there's no visas(AOS) available at this point?
Even if I pay to an attorney and discuss about it, he can't do anything about it?
So, what do I do then? Wait until visa regulation changes as keeping
F-1 visa? (Hopefully can work under CPT)
Does anyone work with attorney about AOS recently?
If so, tell me, please.
Thanks
Biggest question is which country were you born in? That will make things different as to how I answer you.
If you were born in Philippines, China, India, or Mexico; I would wait at this time to see how things pan out. Expect that those from these countries will be under the retrogression for sometime. Attending school in the US does not give you priority over those that trained out of the Us, you still have to go thru the same procedures.
If other countries, I would get the things together that are needed for the I-140, such as having the Visa Screen Certificate in hand and making sure that the facility has posted the job for ten days, and then followed the thirty day waiting period. Then wait to see what happens with October Bulletin which will be released in mid-September. We will know more then.
And just to make things clearer for some of you that are not sure how things are currently being handled in the US:
1. While under the OPT, you remain under the F-1 status. The OPT is just considered a trainng period. If there are no visas available when you complete your OPT, you will have two options, and these two only:
You either need to continue with your studies to be able to remain under the F-1 status. OR You will have sixty days once your training period ends to leave the US, same as you would get when you complete your studies if you do not qualify for the OPT. That is what is meant by the D/S stamp on your I-94 in your passport.
Training in the US does not guarantee you a visa afterwards to remain in the US. If there are visas available, and you can get one; you may remain. You do not get any special waivers for the green card, you must complete the same requirements that a foreign trained nurse needs to go thru. Only exception to this is that the English exams are waived for you if you did your initial training in the US. If there are no visas available, then you will not be able to continue on in the US.
The biggest suggestion that I can make to you is to make sure that you have all of your documentation in your hand before starting the petitioning process, immigration is now requiring completed files, or they will be returned to the attorney.
My lawyer in Tennessee gave me a fee of $3900 for me and my wife. Also, the others i met said $5000. Youc an use your OPT to work anywhere. You do not need to get any special work permit. Maybe your recruiter is confusing OPT for CPT. PM me if you need any more info... My sister is an RN in Long Island....
Hi, Maro,
Thank you for sharing the info on legal fees. I am just looking for a lawyer to petition my GC. Would you please give me the name and contact info of your lawyer?
you do not need to use an attorney in your state, they can be anywhere in the country. make sure that you have a good rapport with them, and that they work with rns. there are special items required for the nurse process for a green card which is different from others......
i have an attorney here in california, if you are interested. specialty is nurses.
hi, dearest suzan,
i am new here but i have been reading your posts for some time and i found your input and advices most helpful!
i am on f-1 visa (originally from china) and i just graduated from a university in pennsylvania with a bsn degree. i am trying to find a nursing job in california. i will take nclex in about one month. first i want to find my own attorney to work with my (future) employer to petition for my gc. would you please give me the contact info of the lawyer you mentioned here? you can send me a pm if you don't mind.
You should not even be looking for an attorney at this time. There is not one thing that anyone can do until you have passed the NCLEX exam, and have found an employer. An employer is needed for you to be able to begin any petitioning process.
There is also a retrogression in place at this time. Do you actually have the OPT? If not, then you are not going to be able to work at this time, as USCIS is not accepting any petitions. And if the F-1, you are only going to be able to work with the OPT. An attorney is not needed for that. With the retrogression in place and your country of birth being China, not sure when things are going to open up for you. Not sure what will happen next year, but do not expect anything to open for the PIC countries for sometime.
Finding a job and getting a visa to be able to work are two very different things. Can you be more specific as to the visa that you are currently on and if you have the OPT?
And my recommendation would be not to even start looking for an employer until you have passed the NCLEX exam. More doors will open with that, but with the retrogression, it is going to be much more difficult, even with the OPT. Hospitals do not want to train if there is no guarantee how long the nurse will be able to remain there. You may have to continue on with your studies to remain in the US after your year, if you have the OPT.
Thank you for your quick reply. I am on F-1 and already got my OPT. I got two hospitals in California which are interested in petitioning for me, provided that I get my own lawyer and pay the legal fees. I let them know that I am preparing for the Nclex right now. Yea, as you said, there is retrogression is place....can only hope for the best,
Hi suzanne, i had a few queries if u can help me with:
1. Can i work more than 40hrs per week (overtime) or with more than one employee during OPT?
2. If i were to finish OPT adn still retrogression is in place, i was planning to start my BSN, but being an international students high fee wud be a burden. My question is when can i start my CPT (20hrs/week) after in enroll in BSN. Is it after 9 months in USA or ( months enrolled in the degree program. I have been in states for 3 years now.
3. can i delay my OPT? i wud be graduating in may'08. can i start my opt from august 08? thereason being i wud be done with my nclex by then and also i wud have aug 08- aug 09 on OPT and then i can start BSN in sep 09. thereby i wud be in status (OPT+ 60 days)
plese advice and let me know if there are any flaws in my planning, and btw you have been an awesome help!
Hi suzanne, i had a few queries if u can help me with:
1. Can i work more than 40hrs per week (overtime) or with more than one employee during OPT?
2. If i were to finish OPT adn still retrogression is in place, i was planning to start my BSN, but being an international students high fee wud be a burden. My question is when can i start my CPT (20hrs/week) after in enroll in BSN. Is it after 9 months in USA or ( months enrolled in the degree program. I have been in states for 3 years now.
3. can i delay my OPT? i wud be graduating in may'08. can i start my opt from august 08? thereason being i wud be done with my nclex by then and also i wud have aug 08- aug 09 on OPT and then i can start BSN in sep 09. thereby i wud be in status (OPT+ 60 days)
plese advice and let me know if there are any flaws in my planning, and btw you have been an awesome help!
Thanks in advance!
You can choose to delay the start of the OPT. While under the OPT, you remain under the F-1 status, and would continue to do so even if you completey your OPT in June or July, you are planning to go on for your BSN so would be an accepted student into a program, so no issues.
Planning to work mutliple jobs when first starting is not a good idea, you still need to get thru your orientation and and there is so much for you to learn. Please take things one step at a time.
Thanks for you excellent advice on this thread and in the forums. I am a new member here and an international student, and have read the primer and this thread and a few more in totality..my eyes are burning from staring at the screen for so long... lol.
Anyway, I want to be sure I understand everything, so I'll summarize this as I understand it for my situation. I would appreciate if you tell me if I have understood and if you have any corrections and suggestions for me.
I am an international student from Africa, and this is my last Semester of Nursing School, I graduate in December. I am in an ADN program that is a collaborative program between my community college and a hospital. I have a scholarship from the hospital that is conditional upon me working for them for 1 year after graduation. So this is how I plan to proceed.
1. Sometime before December, apply for jobs in the hospital, as is the custom for my school, and secure provisional employment, as is the custom for my school. Also, attend the appointment I already have with the international office at my college to get my OPT
2. Finish school
3. Sit the NCLEX
4. Pass the NCLEX... that's the plan ::
5. Start working under OPT
6. Get a lawyer and get the visa screening certificate
7. Go through the necessary process for my employer to petition for me... they have already told me that they do petition
8. Have the lawyer process the paperwork
9. Wait
Do I have this right so far? How does the retrogression affect me since I am from Africa? That visa bulletin didn't make a lot of sense to me
rinachoi
11 Posts
HI, Ms. Suzanne and everyone
Ok, here's one thing that I have to make a decision by tomorrow,
and I need your opinion.
Even if I've read all thread regarding to retrogression, opt and so on, I'm still confused.
I work under OPT-graduate this May- , passed NCLEX and waiting for VisaScreen which about to issue for me soon.
The question is ... Is it useless if I hire an attorney for my greencard at this moment because there's no visas(AOS) available at this point?
Even if I pay to an attorney and discuss about it, he can't do anything about it?
So, what do I do then? Wait until visa regulation changes as keeping
F-1 visa? (Hopefully can work under CPT)
Does anyone work with attorney about AOS recently?
If so, tell me, please.
Thanks