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.
Never ever mention that you are on OPT. They won't ask you if you don't say. If they hire you, just give your OPT card to HR with a flat face. If they ask, tell them you have options to get new EAD next year. In many areas of the country new grads have hard time getting a first job.
Why say you have options to get a new EAD when there is no guarantee at all? That will be untruthful. Also, she does not have the OPT yet. She is just graduating and will be pursuing the OPT route. The EAD one gets for OPT purposes gets canceled once OPT is done and there is no extension as well if the EAD was for OPT. It is only good for 12 months. The EAD for an AOS pending can be renewed annually as long as it is still pending BUT the EAD one gets for OPT is only good until the OPT is valid and OPT is only valid up to 12 months and once the maximum 12 months has been used up, the OPT is over and as well as the EAD base on that OPT.
To get the EAD that can be renewed you are suppose to have a 'pending AOS' and you cannot file for AOS now since we are in retrogression as Anna mentioned and the reason that it is extra hard to find one right now is simply because nothing can be filed now except for the I-140 and majority of employers will not start the process now with just that because there is no definite date on when an AOS will allowed to be filed again, so better to not start at all. Also, if you re-check the reason she has been getting from some hospitals that will not hire her on OPT is that there is no guarantee she can stay with them and be formally hired as a regular employee after the OPT is over in 12 months.
Filing for H1B is also not allowed until April, 2008 and that is not recommended as well (please see prior posts for explanation). Coincidentally, that was also precisely the very reason why no one wanted to hire you when you mention that you are just on OPT and you were hired only when that short window happened in July as a result of the fiasco. If that did not happen, they would have not hired you as well whether or not they knew that you only have an OPT since you kept that information from them.
I have received one information from a hospital up there that they won't even hire me on my basis as OPT as they don't know if I would be able to stay for longer than these twelf months. SO I guess my first bet would be to find somebody who would hire me as an OPT with the option of filing all the other paperwork afterwards. I am already in the States for almost 8 years and could apply for residendy but my country (germany) doesn't allow dual citizenship which would mean that I would give up my German citizenship with all my retirements I have already accumulated. If this is the only way for me to stay -- than I will have to do this. But I would prefer something where I can still go back into country where all of my family is.
Thank you. I can need all the luck in the world. I have called many nursing recruters at varies hospitals but so far I can't get them to call me back.All I was asking them was if they would generally hire nurses on OPT -- and if so - if they could call me back. So either they don't like my accent or they don't hire OPT people.
Just want to clarify a few things here. A foreign student on F1 Visa is only given 60 days to depart US once he or she graduates and if this is a nurse then he or she must file either the I-140/I485 for a green card or file a working visa to be able to stay in the US. H1B is generally not allowed for new grads (generalists) as this is reserved for specialists. And both routes are not available NOW. The 1st route is not available due to retrogression while the 2nd route is not available until April next year and this is already presuming that one is eligible for the H1B but many will argue that a new grad (generalists) does not qualify for it.
Another option is the H1C visa, w/c is not 'illegal' and nobody here says that it is but it is not recommended. It is only limited to 500 visas a year and limited only to 14 or so qualified hospitals that was certified by the US Dept of Labor to have extreme shortage of staff nurses. There is a very good reason why these 14 or so hospitals in the whole USA have extreme difficulty in attracting staff nurses to work there to begin with and there is much information why this is so that are already posted all over the forums.
In addition, to even able to file for an H1c visa, you of course need to have the proper qualifications such as having a license on the State (needs to pass the NCLEX of course) where the hospitals is located and also having the visa screen certificate on hand (also needs the results of the NCLEX exam to be given one). And like I mentioned, a foreign student graduating from a US program is only allowed 60 days from the time one graduates to leave the US if one is not able to get the EAD for OPT purposes, of w/c the said student will be given 12 months for the OPT and therefore give more than enough time to do all paperworks that are needed.
If a graduating foreign-borned student will not be able to avail of the 12 months OPT then she has to do everything within the 60 days that one is allowed to stay in the US. Filing for AOS is out due to retrogression and H1B is out for the reason I mentioned as well. We are then left with the H1C visa and you have to produce proof of passing NCLEX plus the Visa Screen Certificate on hand to file for it and although theoretically possible, it is pushing it to the limits to produce all those things within 60 days (remember someone who is not on post-grad OPT is only given 60 days to leave the US) and it also adds additional pressure to someone to know that one has to make sure that one passes the NCLEX-RN exam in just one try and reviewing for it as well in less than 60 days is not so easy as well. And all those pressures and hard work to get everything done within 60 days to just file for an H1C visa to be able to work where you are not sure of your safety is not worth it. Again, we are not forcing anyone not to avail of it. It is available but not recommended and everything that may happen to someone while on it will be one's own responsibility.
Doing all the necessary paper works and qualifications on a much longer time-frame such as being on a 12 month OPT is much, much better and I am sure that all Int'l Student advisors are recommending it if the foreign borned student that is about to graduate wants to stay in the US for an additional 12 months.
I would listen to the lawyer, before I would listen to the advisor. Students change form H-4 to F-1 all of the time. And in the US.
Hi, I've been reading a lot of posts and I need to ask you some things, this is my case: I'm under an H-4 visa, my husband's employer is doing the petition for the family and are actually doing all the paperwork. For what I heard, with the Term process it should take about 8 to 12 months to get the greencard. I just got into a ADN and during the paperwork meeting they asked us to filed some kind of working paper because they have a government grant. The lady in charge was kind of worried that I do not have a work permit. I told her that I do not have it yet but by the time I finish the program I will have the greencard. I know that I can study with my visa and I'm actually classify as a resident. I know the people in the nursing deparment do not have any idea on how things work. I think I'm the only case they ever had.
DO you think there is going to be a problem? I just felt as if I was doing something wrong, and I'm not, I gave them a copy of every document I have. They say it is Ok, but I'm still worried. I just want your oppinion.
Just want to clarify a few things here. A foreign student on F1 Visa is only given 60 days to depart US once he or she graduates and if this is a nurse then he or she must file either the I-140/I485 for a green card or file a working visa to be able to stay in the US. H1B is generally not allowed for new grads (generalists) as this is reserved for specialists. And both routes are not available NOW. The 1st route is not available due to retrogression while the 2nd route is not available until April next year and this is already presuming that one is eligible for the H1B but many will argue that a new grad (generalists) does not qualify for it.
Another option is the H1C visa, w/c is not 'illegal' and nobody here says that it is but it is not recommended. It is only limited to 500 visas a year and limited only to 14 or so qualified hospitals that was certified by the US Dept of Labor to have extreme shortage of staff nurses. There is a very good reason why these 14 or so hospitals in the whole USA have extreme difficulty in attracting staff nurses to work there to begin with and there is much information why this is so that are already posted all over the forums.
In addition, to even able to file for an H1c visa, you of course need to have the proper qualifications such as having a license on the State (needs to pass the NCLEX of course) where the hospitals is located and also having the visa screen certificate on hand (also needs the results of the NCLEX exam to be given one). And like I mentioned, a foreign student graduating from a US program is only allowed 60 days from the time one graduates to leave the US if one is not able to get the EAD for OPT purposes, of w/c the said student will be given 12 months for the OPT and therefore give more than enough time to do all paperworks that are needed.
If a graduating foreign-borned student will not be able to avail of the 12 months OPT then she has to do everything within the 60 days that one is allowed to stay in the US. Filing for AOS is out due to retrogression and H1B is out for the reason I mentioned as well. We are then left with the H1C visa and you have to produce proof of passing NCLEX plus the Visa Screen Certificate on hand to file for it and although theoretically possible, it is pushing it to the limits to produce all those things within 60 days (remember someone who is not on post-grad OPT is only given 60 days to leave the US) and it also adds additional pressure to someone to know that one has to make sure that one passes the NCLEX-RN exam in just one try and reviewing for it as well in less than 60 days is not so easy as well. And all those pressures and hard work to get everything done within 60 days to just file for an H1C visa to be able to work where you are not sure of your safety is not worth it. Again, we are not forcing anyone not to avail of it. It is available but not recommended and everything that may happen to someone while on it will be one's own responsibility.
Doing all the necessary paper works and qualifications on a much longer time-frame such as being on a 12 month OPT is much, much better and I am sure that all Int'l Student advisors are recommending it if the foreign borned student that is about to graduate wants to stay in the US for an additional 12 months.
Lawrence01,
thanx for thorough information on the current situation of international students.
I just wanted to assure some things that you have mentioned above. H-1B visas , would they be available after april'08? why April, not now immediately? Will it be available, or still gonna be under question as new graduate won't get it, and specialist get it? when they say specialist, do they mean NP, Nurse midwife....?
I searched in this forum regarding h-1c visa, but could not find why those 14 hospitals are not the best places to work? is it because of bad working conditions? bad salary? bad location? can u just give me link where it was dicussed I 'll read it up.
Thanx again for all the info. It cleared many things.
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Lawrence01,
thanx for thorough information on the current situation of international students.
I just wanted to assure some things that you have mentioned above. H-1B visas , would they be available after april'08? why April, not now immediately? Will it be available, or still gonna be under question as new graduate won't get it, and specialist get it? when they say specialist, do they mean NP, Nurse midwife....?
I searched in this forum regarding h-1c visa, but could not find why those 14 hospitals are not the best places to work? is it because of bad working conditions? bad salary? bad location? can u just give me link where it was dicussed I 'll read it up.
Thanx again for all the info. It cleared many things.
H1c are usually in bad location and hospital has retention problems. Also with H1c I think employers can pay what they want so may not be as good as RN pay. If you loose your job unless you find another H1c hospital to take your visa up (they have to apply for a new H1C and you can not work whilst waiting) you have to leave the country
H1c are usually in bad location and hospital has retention problems. Also with H1c I think employers can pay what they want so may not be as good as RN pay. If you loose your job unless you find another H1c hospital to take your visa up (they have to apply for a new H1C and you can not work whilst waiting) you have to leave the country
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
why H-1B will be gone within hours when released?
Because the demand is high especially with IT and other professions which qualify for H1B. Nurses haven't really used H1B for a few years and don't always qualify for it
Because the demand is high especially with IT and other professions which qualify for H1B. Nurses haven't really used H1B for a few years and don't always qualify for it
oh I see. I though this april release of H-1b is specifically for nurses, but if it includes all the other professions, makes sense not to be left in hours now H-1b is also out of the list...
Hi guys, I have been reading this forum and I am very thankful to all of you. Need some advice on my particular situation. Thanx.
Is there an hospitals in NY who hire RNs who are on OPT? if no, what are neighboring states that are more friendlier to RNs under OPT?
After my OPT is expired, I am planning on continuing my education on different major, let's say Biology. But, parallel with studying in Biology, can I still work as RN using my CPT, for 20hrs/week ? Or should my CPT externship should be related to the major I am currently studying, which would be Biology at that time?
just any advice is appreciated, on how can F-1 student who is RN(trained in US), who is studying in college under F-1 can work as RN at the same time during this retrogression period? also should I file I-140 after my graduation from Nursing, although I am planning on continuin my education under F-1?
now H-1b is also out of the list...
lawrence01
2,860 Posts
Why say you have options to get a new EAD when there is no guarantee at all? That will be untruthful. Also, she does not have the OPT yet. She is just graduating and will be pursuing the OPT route. The EAD one gets for OPT purposes gets canceled once OPT is done and there is no extension as well if the EAD was for OPT. It is only good for 12 months. The EAD for an AOS pending can be renewed annually as long as it is still pending BUT the EAD one gets for OPT is only good until the OPT is valid and OPT is only valid up to 12 months and once the maximum 12 months has been used up, the OPT is over and as well as the EAD base on that OPT.
To get the EAD that can be renewed you are suppose to have a 'pending AOS' and you cannot file for AOS now since we are in retrogression as Anna mentioned and the reason that it is extra hard to find one right now is simply because nothing can be filed now except for the I-140 and majority of employers will not start the process now with just that because there is no definite date on when an AOS will allowed to be filed again, so better to not start at all. Also, if you re-check the reason she has been getting from some hospitals that will not hire her on OPT is that there is no guarantee she can stay with them and be formally hired as a regular employee after the OPT is over in 12 months.
Filing for H1B is also not allowed until April, 2008 and that is not recommended as well (please see prior posts for explanation). Coincidentally, that was also precisely the very reason why no one wanted to hire you when you mention that you are just on OPT and you were hired only when that short window happened in July as a result of the fiasco. If that did not happen, they would have not hired you as well whether or not they knew that you only have an OPT since you kept that information from them.
She is better off pursuing her OPT for 12 months.