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.
I am wondering when I should apply for OPT? Thanks!
90 days prior to finishing your program is good time. Talk to your International Coordinator for further advice. Key is: It has to be done before you graduate.
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?
Immigration benefits for F-1 students include but are NOT limited to Work authorization, Change/Extend your status, etc.
technically, it goes by your birth country, not where you are citizen of now. so, for the green card, you need to list where you were born, that is what it will ask for, not where you are now, or have citizenship. those are the current rulings. however, the one thing that you do have in your favor, is that you now have a canadian passport, so you would qualify under the nafta-tn visa to work here, even if a retrogression came back in.
i do not know of any hospitals in texas, but i do know of several in ca if you are willing to relocate. make sure that you get an opt before you graduate so that you beign work right after you graduate. it must be done before you graduate or will not be accepted by immigration.
hello suzanne,
could you let me know which hospital in ca would accept foreign nurse? i have canadian passport, passed nclex, living in california, but can't find any hospital understand my situation. they all ask for rn license first....
I am an international student who is thinking of studying nursing program in texas. I have heard of ppl saying greencard is easy to apply if you are an RN. Is that true? What will the market look like in 2010 ?
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Suzanne,
I am an international student who is thinking of studying nursing program in texas. I have heard of ppl saying greencard is easy to apply if you are an RN. Is that true? What will the market look like in 2010 ?
Will most texas hospitals willing to sponsor GC ?
Thank you!
It is no longer easy for nurses to get greencard and if that is what you are looking for then shame on you, if you are going into nursing because that is what you want to do then good for you but not as a way of getting a greencard. Currently nurses are under retrogression and will take several years to go through the process even AOS as no visas to adjust. I would suggest reading on retrogression here on the forum. Hard to predict what 2010 will look like
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.
This is not true. F-1 status and I-20 will not be terminated automatically, and one will remain in F-1 status as long as she/he does not apply for EAD/AP, and cont. to pursue full-time course of study.
This is not true. F-1 status and I-20 will not be terminated automatically, and one will remain in F-1 status as long as she/he does not apply for EAD/AP, and cont. to pursue full-time course of study.
The issue is that there are no visas available to adjust to and we do not expect them for a few years. It is also no longer a guarantee that someone that is in school here to become an RN will automatically get the green card. There are those that are finding it out the hard way.
It does not matter how many years that the go to school for, the issue is that there are only so many visas available per year and the request for them far exceeds the number.
And what you are quoting was in response to what happens when the OPT is completed, the EAD with that is never renewable, so the nurse has to apply for the EAD if they wish to be able to work in the US. Being a student does not automatically permit you to continue on working and that was what that post was about.
Just continuing on as a full-time student does not mean that you can continue working as nothing never changed. With each new degree, the process starts over again. And only twenty hour maximum while in school until the next OPT is obtained. So I am very correct on what I stated above.
And my question for you is: if the I-485 can be submitted, why in the world would someone not wish to go with that and the EAD that you can get at that same time? If they have accepted the I-485 it means that it is being processed and your I-20 is no longer needed. The I-20 does not offer anything, the I-94 with it expires 60 days after the last day of class or the OPT, if the I-20 has an expiration date that is past, if the student leaves the US they must get that renewed to be able to enter the US again, and that is no longer automatically done. Much better off with the I-131 if it is available.
Every single poster here that I have been in contact with, wants to go the route of the EAD and I-131, you are entitled to your opinions, but they are just that. And I am entitled to mine, and I am definitely not wrong on this.
And the post above about the Visa Screen Certificate, it actually has to be done by the nurse, there is nothing for an attorney to do about it. The statement was get an attorney, and get the VSC. In no way did it mean that the attorney has to do it. Those that have been posting here know what they have to do.
If the nurse attended school in the US, then they just need to submit the application to ICHP/CGFNS and the appropriate documents that they need. They do require written verification from your BON they cannot accept the proof from you that you have passed.
...Just continuing on as a full-time student does not mean that you can continue working as nothing never changed. With each new degree, the process starts over again. And only twenty hour maximum while in school until the next OPT is obtained. So I am very correct on what I stated above.
Suzanne, quick question about something that you said above. Once my OPT is done, and I have not succeeded in changing status, and I decide to go back for BSN, am I allowed to work during my BSN 20 hours a week without having to apply for special permission?
I realize that I probably won't get my status changed during that one year of OPT because of retrogression, so I want to be prepared. Will I be allowed to work 20 hours when I go back to school after OPT or will the same restrictions I am under now still apply? I know that once I have submitted my green card application thing the processing will continue even if I go back to school, and I will be eligible for another year of OPT at the end of my BSN if I haven't got a change of status by then (I hope I will have). I guess I want to know if I'll be a non-working RN until then. I hope you understand my question.
Once the OPT is completed that you are under, then the next degree kicks in and you have to start the process again to be able to work. It does not automatically just kick in. The EAD that you get with the OPT is not able to be renewed under any circumstances, so you need to apply again to be able to work legally here.
You will be a non-working RN from the time that your OPT is finished and you qualify to be able to work part-time again under the new EAD.
spring2002
15 Posts
Hi to everyone,
I am wondering when I should apply for OPT? Thanks!