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.
hi suzanne4, I am an RN here in Illinois but I got my RN license originally in California. I am a graduate of BSN in the Philippines. My question is, can I use my BSN here in the USA or should I go to a nursing school here to become a BSN.
Your BSN is valid here, there is no reason to go to school again to get the same degree. The BSN is the only valid degree that a nurse from the Philippines gets to have licensure in your country. The NLE requires the BSN.
Where you are licensed in the US makes no difference in if you are a BSN or not.
i have asked questions before also. And have got enormous help from you. To short, I am currently in US in F1 status and I am trying to bring my wife who is a nurse to US as soon as possible.
By reading replies to my questions here i got to know that it will take MINIMUM 3 yrs for her to reach here through normal mode and start working. But i heard of an agency in india called "pinnacle" giving an advertisement that nurses (who have BSc(4yr course) in india) can reach here through student visa and can attend a 1 yr course in some university in Georgia. then they will conduct RN during the course itself and she has to work in their hospital for 2 yrs. But they r also specifying that there is no bond n she can change the job if she wants. the tolal cost is 14500$ including tutiion fees, accomodation and food for 1 yr.
but i read in your post that there is no H1 visa available for nurses and everybody has to go thru the procedure of greencard. And it will take a lot of time for getting the greencard coz of rretrogression nowadays. Then does it mean that this agency is not sayin the truth?
do you happen to know anything about this course in university in georgia or anything else that i shud know abt studying here and work as a nurse afterwards??
Sorry but that agency wants her to do something illegal, and you can only work part-time on a student visa; and it is not something that automatically gets approved to do in the first place.
There is no longer any guarantee that anyone that graduates from a nursing program in the US will be able to remain and work afterwards. Just is not happening anymore, and the fact that they stated that she will need to work for two years after completing the program also raises red flags to me. If she would qualify for the OPT once she finishes, that is only granted for one year and can never be renewed.
So something is not correct with what they are telling you. That is for sure.
And I will repeat my favorite saying again here as well:
"Any time that someone tries a shortcut to get to the US, it turns and bites them on the backside."
This would be another time where this is so very true. And to add in to this that even with passing of the NCLEX-RN and having an employer, there is no guarantee that she will get the green card. There are many more from your country that are applying for the green card than there are visas per year available. What you also need to take into account is that most of those that come here from your country under the H1-B in the IT sector are also under the same EB-3 category that your wife would be under.
Stay away from any program like that, too many things that are not on the up and up, especially with US immigration.
If you take the time to do some research here, you will find quite a few posters that have gone thru the CPT and OPT processes and have had only a limited number of months for the OPT; not the full one year because time was subtracted from when they used the CPT full-time during breaks and vacations, etc.
You are entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to mine. And I have seen hundreds here with this same problem and then not being able to get a petitioner as they only had 6 to 8 months of OPT time because of working while in school.
Hi Suzanne,
with respect to your opinion, you are poorly informed on this issue. As Snowstorm mentioned above, time spent on CPT is not deducted from OPT. It's important to mention that CPT and OPT are different. CPT requires that employment has to be an integral part of the school's curriculum, or the student will earn an academic credit for it. OPT does not have such a requirement.
I've been on full-time CPT for 10 month and then obtained my OPT for 12 month after graduation with no questions asked.
But if one uses more then 12 month of full-time CPT, then he/she will be ineligible for OPT.
The CPT requires documentation that the person can legally work and a document that can be taken to the Social Security Administration office to get a SSN#.
CPT will be authorized by the school and new I-20 will be printed. A student can take this new I-20 to the Social Security office as a proof of employment authorization.
You are welcome to your opinon and I am entitled to mine. You are one person that has done one thing; I have been here in the US for many years and am well aware of what is happening in the realm of the CPT and OPT. Just because you have done it one way, it does not mean that it is available as you have posted.
There are hundreds that have posted here that have not been able to get the full year of the OPT because of their hours that they completed while they were in school; and then have had trouble getting an employer when they only had seven or eight months available to them to use for the OPT with the retrogression still in place. Once an OPT has been used with one degree cateogory; even if not completely used up, it is never available under a new degree to be used later on.
You have just joined here, and most of us have been here for sometime.
It is your choice what to do with what you read here, but I am still sticking by what I have written. And to add into this now: There is no guarantee that anyone is going to get a green card based solely on the fact that they have attended school here in the US for nursing. When the OPT is finished, if there are no visas avaiable for the AOS procedure, then no one can remain in the US unless they continue on in the student role and start the process all over again to be able to work part-time as a student. That role only will be available.
I could not find any examples on this forum when CPT time was deducted from OPT time. On the other hand side if someone used pre-completion OPT during the school, then this time will be deducted from post-completion OPT. Make sence? With respect to your Opinion, I would appreciate if you could backup it up with some reliable reference.
I could not find any examples on this forum when CPT time was deducted from OPT time. On the other hand side if someone used pre-completion OPT during the school, then this time will be deducted from post-completion OPT. Make sence? With respect to your Opinion, I would appreciate if you could backup it up with some reliable reference.
Hi TY, Cud u pls tell me which univ. offers full time CPT as a part of their BSN? I am an ADN student, and wud be graduating in may. I was planning to start my BSN after an year of OPT in case retrogression continues. I wud be a great financial relief if I cud find a school that offers full time cpt, so that i can work as a RN while in school.
Thanks for clearing the doubts b/w OPT and full time CPT, i also verified ur posted info. with my international student advisor, and it's all very accurate. CPT less than 12 months is never deducted from OPT, while part time OPT is deducted from after graduation OPT by the no. of hours.
The DSO approves Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for students in accordance with the 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(i). No employment authorization from USCIS is needed.
8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(i) Curricular practical training. An F- 1 student may be authorized by the DSO to participate in a curricular practical training program that is an integral part of an established curriculum. Curricular practical training is defined to be alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or practicum that is offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school. Students who have received one year or more of full time curricular practical training are ineligible for post-completion academic training. Exceptions to the one academic year requirement are provided for students enrolled in graduate studies that require immediate participation in curricular practical training. A request for authorization for curricular practical training must be made to the DSO. A student may begin curricular practical training only after receiving his or her Form I-20 with the DSO endorsement.
So you want to make sure that your school sends their nursing students to your hospital, because employment must be "offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school". You can ask your advisor to authorize CPT based on the course of Independent studies (can be 1 credit).
It case of CPT a lot will be depend on your school interpretation of the law. Bellow if a good explanation of differences between CPT and OPT.
The only thing I disagree with is that CPT can be only part-time when school is in session. It fact in can be full-time or part-time. But again, different schools have different policies regarding CPT.
Curricular practical training is for work in your field of study for which you receive academic ("curricular") credit. This employment may be an internship, cooperative education job, a practicum, or any other work experience, provided it is either for credit or required for your
degree. Students may work part-time (20 hours per week or less) during the academic year or full-time during semester breaks. To be eligible, you also need to have been enrolled for a full academic year.
Any student who works accumulatively for one year or more in full-time or 23 months or more in part-time curricular practical training, however, loses eligibility for any practical training after
completion of studies.
Advantages:
* Employment Authorization Document from BCIS is not requried
* Is not subtracted from your 12-month practical training after completion of study, unless you work cumulatively full-time 12 months or more or part-time 23 months or more
Disadvantages:
* you must either receive academic credit for your work experience or it must be required for your degree
* you are not eligible for curricular practical training until you have been in F-1 status for at least one academic year
Optional Practical Training
Optional practical training is work in your major area of study which is authorized by the Bureau of Immigration and Citizenship Services (BCIS). After having been enrolled for a full academic year, you are eligible for OPT in your field of studies. You may receive one 12-month period of optional practical training for each higher degree you receive (talk with the Advisor at the ISSO if you have been outside the US for 5 months or more). It may be used before or after completion of studies. OPT can be used full-time during the summer and the winter semester break, or part-time (limited to 20 hours of total employment per week, including any on-campus work) during the academic year. However, the time spent with this type of employment authorization before you graduate will be reduced from your 12-month practical training after completion of studies. After graduation, OPT is authorized for full time only (not part time).
Advantages:
* does not have to be for-credit nor required for your degree program
* little paperwork for the employer (just a job offer letter)
Disadvantages:
* must mail in your application to the BCIS with $120 fee [$340 effective August 1, 2007. Ty-134].
* it takes about two to four months to get the approval
* time spent for this practical training will be deducted from your12-month practical training after completion of study
Sorry, but reread what you have posted and it states that the student can only use the CPT part-time (20 hours per week) when they are in school and fulltime for the 40 hours per week when they are on vacation or holiday.
This is specific for any student visa. Strict requirements for the part-time only when in school. And remember if it is for credit, then the student still needs to be a full-time student to maintain their hours and there are now CPT programs where you can get enough hours for full-time work in one semester.
per your post:
Students may work part-time (20 hours per week or less) during the academic year or full-time during semester breaks. To be eligible, you also need to have been enrolled for a full academic year.
Suspect that the site that you are getting your information from is the one from Yale University.
This site here is specific for nurses, and not those in other fields where the training and practicums are different from this specialty. There are not normally full amount of credit hours issued for nursing students to be working under the CPT during the academic year time. Classes are designed differently in nursing programs, and only last for a certain amount of weeks, they normally do not continue on over the year for the same course.
This is the point that I am making. You do not see nursing students working under the CPT full-time other than holiday or vacation time. they are usually in a hurry to get done and start working as an RN, not prolonging their training. Salaries increase significantly when they have graduated and have RN after their name. About three times more per hour in pay in many areas. There is no reason that try to get more experience under the CPT, it does not help them in getting a job as it does in some other fields.
I just read the current visa bulletin, and I honestly cannot understand the thing!! :uhoh21:. The C's and dates and Chargeability and such in the tables make no sense to me, so I have no idea... are we still in retrogression or what?
I graduate in December and have already had some interviews. I start my one year of OPT in february '08 so this is not immediately crucial to me, but I would like to keep up to date with the visa status and understanding the bulletins would be a great start! Can anyone help explain it to me?
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
When looking at the visa bulletin you are looking at category EB3 and also your country of birth. Currently retrogressed and no idea how long it will last PD of 2001 and 2002 depending on country
suzanne4, RN
26,410 Posts
Your BSN is valid here, there is no reason to go to school again to get the same degree. The BSN is the only valid degree that a nurse from the Philippines gets to have licensure in your country. The NLE requires the BSN.
Where you are licensed in the US makes no difference in if you are a BSN or not.