Can the hospital sponsor a nurse educator on H1B?

lavalin · Mar 25, 2007

the earliest date for which a petitioner may file a petition requesting fy 2008 h-1b employment with an employment start date of october 1, 2007, is april 1, 2007.

the deadline is when the visacap has already been reached.

filing h1b applications for fiscal year 2008

the fiscal year 2008 h1b cap begins october 1, 2007. the earliest an employer can file an h1b application for an october 1, 2007 start date is april 1, 2007. that date is fast approaching. last year, the uscis received a heavy volume of h1b applications between april 1st, 2006 and the end of may 2006. the regular cap of 65,000 visas were exhausted by the end of may 2006. the second cap of 20,000 visas for persons with advanced u.s. degrees lasted until mid-july 2006.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 25, 2007

I was speaking of the visas that were available for the beginning of 2008, not the end of the year. Expect things to be completed with some visas open for the green cards way before then.

Still do not recommend the H1-B visa for any nurse, never have over the past three years and never will. It is strictly a temporary work visa and most employers will not use it. And if you look at the requirements for it, most nurses do not fit under those requirements.

And the other key thing to think about it if the facility is employing people under that classification, then they are significant issues with their staffing, like the H1-C visa. How can a nurse be responsible for education in the US when they have no work experience in the US? Something is not adding up here.

H1-B visas do not cover most nurses that come to the US in the first place. They are not doing jobs that are specialized with a special skill set, hospitals usually do not place foreign nurses in specialty areas to start. Nor are they coming to the US to run nursing operations for a company. Those are the only two classifications that even have a change of getting thru. And if they have those, and then they usually have a MSN, and can get a green card in shorter time with the EB-2 classification.

With all of the issues that I have seen coming out of NY, my antennas are ip at full-staff with this. If they were offering it, and some had gotten approval with this, there would be postings about it, and there are none to be found.

When it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. The immigration attorneys that I consult with have not seen any nurse go thru the H1-B process in more than three years. And they are located all over the country. Just because a visa is applied for, does not mean that it will get approved. I see many attorneys advertising about this, but they do not work with RNs.

Have not seen on H1-B visa approved for an RN since they started fast-tracking RNs three years ago.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 25, 2007

But the bigger question is why in the world would someone want to pay thousands in fees for a visa that will not even start for 18 months, provided that it even gets approved. The goal is to get a green card, and much easier just to go that route.

If the nurse does not like the facility when they get there, or the facility does not like them, they are only going to have a short window to find another employer under that classification. Or you will be forced to leave the US. Never a good idea.

narsbing · Apr 1, 2007

something didnt add up here....

The earliest one can work under a cap subject H1B if filed on April 1, 2007 is October 1, 2007 not October 2008. Fiscal year for 2008 starts at October 1, 2007 and therefore applicants applying for fiscal year 2008 has a valid H1B starting on October 2007. I was commenting on Lavalin's post that if H1B was filed on April 2007 and approved the visa validity starts when you got stamped at the point of entry and can start working after October 1st 2007

Correct me if im wrong.

suzanne4, RN · Apr 1, 2007

something didnt add up here....
The earliest one can work under a cap subject H1B if filed on April 1, 2007 is October 1, 2007 not October 2008. Fiscal year for 2008 starts at October 1, 2007 and therefore applicants applying for fiscal year 2008 has a valid H1B starting on October 2007. I was commenting on Lavalin's post that if H1B was filed on April 2007 and approved the visa validity starts when you got stamped at the point of entry and can start working after October 1st 2007
Correct me if im wrong.

All I can say is the H1-B visas are very bad news for nurses. Period. Most facilities will not go anywhere near them. They must have a full-time staff of three to handle the paperwork. You have not seen them around for the past three years, very rarely do you see anyone on one. I do not like them and never have, and never will.

You will also find that quite a few hospitals, if they are unionized, will not even permit a nurse to work there with that type of visa. And then that opens up another can of worms.

With the issues that are going on with immigration right now in the US, I would tell anyone to stay away from that type of visa. Id someone wants to attempt that route, then they do so without any help from me.

JDScott · Feb 6, 2008

A little late in posting, but the current scheme is for cap-exempt employers to try and sponsor nurses for H-1B visas in the specialty areas. Many hospitals qualify for exemption from the H-1B cap and can sponsor throughout the year, not just on April 1 for an Oct. 1 start date. That only leaves the question of whether the position qualifies for H-1B sponsorship and the nurse has the right credentials. The 2002 USCIS Memo from Johnny Williams creates a gray area here on which positions might qualify. To my knowledge, that memo has not been superseded. Even if the position qualifies, the nurse still must have VisaScreen and be licensed in the state where he/she will work (not just NCLEX passed through any state). I agree that H-1B is usually bad for nurses and extremely expensive (for the employer since nurses can't legally pay the fees) and only a very few employers are legitimate in representing the positions accurately.

Be VERY wary of any promises for this type of sponsorship, particularly if you are a new graduate or have med/surg experience. Often, the hospitals are being sold the same bill of goods that you are being sold.

suzanne4, RN · Feb 7, 2008

The more important issue is that most of these facilities are covered under a nursing union and the unions do not permit temporary employees. That is a very big hurdle.

We have seen promises made and the nurse never getting the visa.

And the other issue is that the H1-B can be cancelled at any time by the employer and then the nurse will have to leave the US if they cannot find another employer in a short period of time.

And the fact that the employer is not required to pay the temporary worker the same rate that they pay to permanent residents and US passport holders.

pinkpurple · Feb 7, 2008

Hi suzanne. I'm still confused. why would University of Pennsylvania Health System offer to apply H1B visas for their applicants who are still waiting for immigrant visa, if H1bs are not legal for nurses like me. they're a big institution and has a good reputation for them to hire nurses illegally. I went for embassy interview last year but missed getting a visa because my police clearance came too late. UPHS said that it could be another 3-5 yrs before retrogression will be lifted that's why they're offering to apply applicants like me for H1B if we want to while awaiting for our priority dates to be current for our immigrant visas. The nursing supervisor from UPHS came here to UK last december to tell to their applicants about them offering this H1B.

I really don't know what to do. will it jeopardize my immigrant application if I'll go ahead for this H1B? They reassured us that the salary and benefits will be the same.

By the way, UPHS is also my sponsor for my immigrant application so if ever I'll go for this H1B, I'm not gonna be changing employer or agency. Does that make things any better?

suzanne4, RN · Feb 7, 2008

Not sure what the position is that you are applying for, but as a staff nurse, will find it hard to imagine that the unions will approve that.

It will not jeopardize your immigrant petition, but I just do not like temporary work visas like this, never have, and never will. They are not required to pay you the same as they pay their other nurses with the H1-B, and there are also many other things that you can be missing out on.

Your choice as to what to do, but I do not like them. And to look at it from the other side of it, if the facility is willing to try that route, it means that they must be very desparate, so that sends off red flags in front of my eyes. I do not know a thing about this university or their hospital, but why are they so short that they are willing to attempt to bring nurses over under that temporary visa in the first place? Especially when there are so many nursing schools in that area?

JDScott · Feb 7, 2008

I would ask how many other nurses are employed in the dept. you will be working in and do all of them have at least bachelor degrees? If yes, and the entity can make a valid claim that they require at least a bachelor's degree for the position, then the H might work if the unions permit (assuming the position is covered by a union agreement) and the USCIS agrees with their analysis of the requirements for the position.

For salary, the hospital is required to pay you in accordance with the higher of the prevailing wage for the position in that area or the actual wage they pay at the facility for the position. If they underpay you, you can get the difference by filing a complaint with the Dept. of Labor. The H-1B actually protects you pretty well through the Labor Condition Application that the employer has to file and is public record. They shouldn't be able to pay you less than what was listed in their permanent visa sponsorship. As long as no misrepresentations are made in the H-1B paperwork, it should not affect your immigrant visa case. Good luck.

suzanne4, RN · Feb 7, 2008

Temporary work visas, such as the H1-B, have always been paid at a different level than the nurse with the green card or US citizen; this is a well-known fact in the US. And this is one reason that unions do not like the temporary work visa and do not usually approve positions with them. This is something that most employers have always done and the fact that it is a temporary visa does not provide any protection in most cases as you are considered a guest in this country. And if the person starts to complain, then the employer can cancel the visa, and the person has to leave the US within a certain amount of time, another reason why I do not like them under any circumstances. You are also unable to work for any other employer at the same time, many nurses have a second job or per diem job in another facility, and you are unable to do this with the H1-B.

There has also been many issues with those that were under the H1-B and their employers filed specific paperwork as to what the salary was to be, and when the US asked for the RFE in terms of the green card, they have been finding that the employers were not always paying what they had in the contract that was submitted. And this is a major reason as to why green card petitions have been getting denied more frequently lately, and why they are asking for copies of paystubs from so many before proceeding with the green card issuance.

suzanne4, RN · Feb 7, 2008

The nurse needs to be in control of what is happening to them, not the employer in control; and that is what happens with the H1-B visa.

Have seen too many get hurt in the past under this visa, and do not like it because of that. Not something that I just dreamed up.