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.
Thanks for the info on OPT, I didn't know that. I thought you only had one shot at OPT no matter what,so thanks, the info makes me feel better.
How do you know at any given time whether retrogression is in place and what countries it affects? How do you get the current info? For example, I will graduate in December and start OPT sometime mid-January, I already have a guaranteed job for my OPT period, so how will I know whether or not retrogression is in place?
thanks again for the useful info.
Depends on your country of birth for the main thing. If you have the OPT, then that is good for a year if no time has been deducted from it. You must have passed the NCLEX exam and have a Visa Screen Certificate in hand for you to be able to have anything submitted on your behalf.
We expect those that were born in PIC countries and Mexico to continue under the retrogression for sometime. The US State Dept issues a Visa Bulletin each month that shows what visas or categories will be current for that month, it is released mid-month of the preceding month, so we expect the October Bulletin to be released next week some time. That is the big one as the new fiscal year starts in October and there are more visas that can be made available then. However, with the 300,000 I-485s that USCIS was foreced to accept last month, not sure what they are going to do with visa distribution for next month and the rest of the year.
For the PIC countries, the number of applicants far exceeds the number of available visas per year.
Please see the threads on the retrogression for more information on that, there are already several that are very current on this forum.
another doubt- i am in ADN program graduating next may. during my OPT, if the same scenario happens again when I485 can be submited though retrogression is in place, what happens then? does my status changes from F1 to smthing else? (referring to ur earlier comment in post#683: "You will continue to be under the F-1 status until the I-485 can be submitted") if I485 is submitted and gets approved, does the approval also depends on visa availability? and does I485 approval means i get EAD and can work in US indefinately until i get my GC?
sorry for heaps of questions, i am really confused/worried and just the idea of getting only a year to work and pay off my loans is conflicting with my studies too.
I'm a international student on a F1 visa currently enrolled in an ADN program from which I will graduate in May 2008. I want to be sure that I get all the paperwork and such for my GreenCard done as soon as I can to avoid any delays. So I'm trying to find a clear, thorough and reliable step-by-step summary of all I will need to do, including the timeframes. The recruiter from the hospital I'm now working with as a nurse tech (OPT) says they will do whatever they need to do to keep me here, but I will have to tell them what they have to do, so I need information on this as well. If anyone can point me towards a good resource, I'd appreciate it.
Also, after I graduate I will still be able to use 6 months of full-time optional practical training. Should this be long enough for the paperwork to be processed? I'm wondering, because if there is any doubt I would choose to go back to my home country during the processing time and come back once I have my GreenCard.
another doubt- i am in ADN program graduating next may. during my OPT, if the same scenario happens again when I485 can be submited though retrogression is in place, what happens then? does my status changes from F1 to smthing else? (referring to ur earlier comment in post#683: "You will continue to be under the F-1 status until the I-485 can be submitted") if I485 is submitted and gets approved, does the approval also depends on visa availability? and does I485 approval means i get EAD and can work in US indefinately until i get my GC?
sorry for heaps of questions, i am really confused/worried and just the idea of getting only a year to work and pay off my loans is conflicting with my studies too.
thanks!
Once the I-485 can be submitted, then your F-1 status fails to exist any longer. This is why you must get the I-131 if you wish to leave the country before your green card is actually issued. It is called the Advanced Parole and is required since your I-20 gets cancelled.
If the petitions can be accepted, you will get the EAD that will permit you to work while the I-485 is being processed. When you get the approval on the I-485, that is the time that the actual green card is issued.
If you can get the I-485 submitted and accepted, then you can work under that status indefinitely until you get the green card, and the EAD for that can be renewed, not like the one that you get because of the OPT. Petitions can only be accepted when there are visas available, or they will not accept them. This last July was not a normal situation and you will not see that again.
But the big issue is which countries will remain under the retrogression and this is what is going to affect you more than anything else.
I'm a international student on a F1 visa currently enrolled in an ADN program from which I will graduate in May 2008. I want to be sure that I get all the paperwork and such for my GreenCard done as soon as I can to avoid any delays. So I'm trying to find a clear, thorough and reliable step-by-step summary of all I will need to do, including the timeframes. The recruiter from the hospital I'm now working with as a nurse tech (OPT) says they will do whatever they need to do to keep me here, but I will have to tell them what they have to do, so I need information on this as well. If anyone can point me towards a good resource, I'd appreciate it.
Also, after I graduate I will still be able to use 6 months of full-time optional practical training. Should this be long enough for the paperwork to be processed? I'm wondering, because if there is any doubt I would choose to go back to my home country during the processing time and come back once I have my GreenCard.
Thanks for any help and info!
Please take the time to do some reading here on the forums. It does not matter what your employer wishes to do, but the fact of what will be happening then with the visas. Right now we are still under the retrogression so no petitions can be submitted for you to remain in the US. Also a big factor is your country of birth.
If the US government will not be accepting the I-485 when you are ready, you will be unable to remain after 60 days after your OPT finishes. Employers have no say in this at all, only the US government.
You cannot start the petitioning process until you have actually passed the NCLEX exam and have a Visa Screen Certificate in hand. There is no reason to list the steps here again as they have been mentioned over and over again. Suggest that you read the first post to this thread, as well as the Primer at the top of this forum.
Things will continue to progress. But nothing will go past the I-140 if there are no visas available. You will continue to be under the F-1 status until the I-485 can be submitted. The petitioning is based on your meeting the requirements for working in the US as an RN and has nothing to do with you continuing on school. Actually when there are no visas available, the only thing that you can legally do it to remain as a full-time student and under the F-1 status.
You can get the OPT for each next level of schooling, such as the ADN, then the BSN, then the MSN. But it should not take you more than the next degree to get the green card. It is also dependent on where you are born, there are only so many visas available per year for your country of birth, not where you are currently residing, or where you are a citizen of.
Suzanne,
Thank you for the clear answer. That's encouraging to know that the process continues even if I have to return to school, and that I have an OPT opportunity after each next level of schooling.
I am not from the PIC countries or Mexico, I am from Africa.
Anyway, the focus for me now is to finish my semester, and be prepared for the NCLEX. Incidentally I just did a proctored ATI predictor exam today and my results predicted that I have a 99% likelihood of passing the NCLEX on my first attempt... oh may it be so!!
So after I pass NCLEX I will apply for the Visa Screen certificate and have all my ducks in a row to start the petitioning process.
Thanks again for the useful info. I will be watching for the visa bulletins although it's really of no consequence until I actually pass the NCLEX, which I think is what you keep telling us. :), so full focus on my last semester and the NCLEX!
Actually not entirely true. It is well known fact that any that come here and go to nursing school are usually planning to stay and have never seen one issue with anyone that has started the process.
Right now the retrogression is for all nurses from all over the world, but expect some changes next month. And as we saw this past month when there was a small window of opportunity, there was only a short time to get things submitted. And when it takes about six weeks just to prepare the documents and petition for the I-140, it is best to have that done in advance. To wait to start that, and it may delay someone for another year. Visas were not current in July, but were accepted so that does not always hold true to wait until they are current.
Each case needs to be decided on its own merit, but telling someone to automatically wait is not necessarily good advice. Birth country also plays a large role in this at this time and for the next few years. Attending school in the US does not guarantee anyone a visa to remain in the US to work if there are not visas available.
Let me clarify my earlier posting that is said NOT to be "enirely true". When I say it is NOT a smart move for an employer to petition for you, as an F-1, when retrogression is in place. I mean just that. NOT SMART. That does no mean you can't do it or start the process. The smart way of proceeding is to start the whole process with your employer, have all your documents in place, and wait for a window of opportunity when Visas are current before you file your I-140. The rationale is that as an F-1 you may at some point desire to apply for some Non-immigrant benefits and in some forms you may come accross questions such as:
1. Has an Immigrant petition ever been filed for you or for any other person included in your application? Yes/NO.
2.Are you or any other person included on this application an applicant for an Immigrant visa? Yes/No.
A yes answer to either of these questions warrants further scrutiny of your Non-immigrant benefits application. Remember you have to offer an explanation for each yes answer. If I were you I would NOT want to be caught up in such a situation unless you are absolutely sure you won't be applying for any Non-immigrant benefits after filing your I-140. You don't want to take chances with immigration though "It is well known fact that any that come here and go to nursing school are usually planning to stay". There is absolutely nothing wrong with starting the whole process with your employer...Remember this is NOT a legal advice. It's always a good idea to seek professional legal help.
Let me clarify my earlier posting that is said NOT to be "enirely true". When I say it is NOT a smart move for an employer to petition for you, as an F-1, when retrogression is in place. I mean just that. NOT SMART. That does no mean you can't do it or start the process. The smart way of proceeding is to start the whole process with your employer, have all your documents in place, and wait for a window of opportunity when Visas are current before you file your I-140. The rationale is that as an F-1 you may at some point desire to apply for some Non-immigrant benefits and in some forms you may come accross questions such as:
1. Has an Immigrant petition ever been filed for you or for any other person included in your application? Yes/NO.
2.Are you or any other person included on this application an applicant for an Immigrant visa? Yes/No.
A yes answer to either of these questions warrants further scrutiny of your Non-immigrant benefits application. Remember you have to offer an explanation for each yes answer. If I were you I would NOT want to be caught up in such a situation unless you are absolutely sure you won't be applying for any Non-immigrant benefits after filing your I-140. You don't want to take chances with immigration though "It is well known fact that any that come here and go to nursing school are usually planning to stay". There is absolutely nothing wrong with starting the whole process with your employer...Remember this is NOT a legal advice. It's always a good idea to seek professional legal help.
What do you mean by non-immigrant benefits? Can you give me some examples of non-immigrant benefits that one may apply for where I could run into this situation?
I am an international student, and I will finish my bachelor's degree in spring 2008. What should I do now? When should I apply for OPT? I am really confused about the whole process. Any information is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time!
i am also an international nursing student who will finish my bachelor's degree next may. I am wondering what hopital is willing to give you all the document so that you can obtain a green card. Thanks in advance.
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
hi Efe,
i am also an international nursing student who will finish my bachelor's degree next may. I am wondering what hopital is willing to give you all the document so that you can obtain a green card. Thanks in advance.
Spring2002
welcome to the site
Many hospitals will petition for green card but at the moment retrogression is affecting all foreign nurses and no idea when things will change. Nothing can be done until you have passed NCLEX and would suggest applying for OPT
suzanne4, RN
26,410 Posts
Depends on your country of birth for the main thing. If you have the OPT, then that is good for a year if no time has been deducted from it. You must have passed the NCLEX exam and have a Visa Screen Certificate in hand for you to be able to have anything submitted on your behalf.
We expect those that were born in PIC countries and Mexico to continue under the retrogression for sometime. The US State Dept issues a Visa Bulletin each month that shows what visas or categories will be current for that month, it is released mid-month of the preceding month, so we expect the October Bulletin to be released next week some time. That is the big one as the new fiscal year starts in October and there are more visas that can be made available then. However, with the 300,000 I-485s that USCIS was foreced to accept last month, not sure what they are going to do with visa distribution for next month and the rest of the year.
For the PIC countries, the number of applicants far exceeds the number of available visas per year.
Please see the threads on the retrogression for more information on that, there are already several that are very current on this forum.