EB-2 visa

bsnwnab · Aug 11, 2011

online programs regardless if it's on a master's degree level even if it's a phd will never be recognized by immigration. that means --- upon inspection, your eb2 petition will be denied.
i repeat, it will never be recognized.
also, admittance to on-campus programs for master's degree level in nursing require prior work experience of at least one year in a us hospital.

someone from the immigration forum said as long as the school is found in us dept of education's list of accredited institution, online degrees are recognized by uscis. i don't know how reliable his info is.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Aug 11, 2011

Well, it's ludicrous to say that there is no legitimacy to ALL graduate degree programs that are offered online. There are some terrible schools out there selling a degree you can obtain without physically ever stepping into a campus but to say that any online-based program WILL not be recognized is just ignorant. Some of the best known schools of nursing in the US have an alternative format to classroom education and many are in the online format. University of Arizona's PhD in Nursing program can be completed online with a few trips a year to the campus. Vanderbilt, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Rush University are just a few of the more respected universities offering Nurse Practitioner programs in a non-classroom format. The key is that the clinical component is real, face to face, with a preceptor, and with actual patient encounters that are monitored in terms of hours of completion.

And to say that "admittance to on-campus programs for master's degree level in nursing require prior work experience of at least one year in a US hospital" is just plain untrue. There are direct-entry Master's degrees that don't even require one to be Registered Nurse before being admitted. Schools like UCLA, UCSF, Columbia, and Yale have these programs and these are big names regardless of where you go in the US. Please get your facts straight before posting them.

bsnwnab · Aug 11, 2011

I agree...

orangepink, NP · Aug 18, 2011

yes, i have a source for this. i spoke to three immigration lawyers here in the us. one of them specializes in f1 visas.

let me repeat that --- three. i spent around $1000 asking for legal advice about this. i assure you i am not making this stuff up. but feel free not to follow my advice.

also, if you really are keen on becoming an np, then why not apply for ucla and those elite schools you mentioned? ucla has a 2 year on-site program. that should work for your visa requirements.

bsnwnab · Aug 18, 2011

yes, i have a source for this. i spoke to three immigration lawyers here in the us. one of them specializes in f1 visas. but if you don't believe me, by all means....take the risk.

but we're talking about eb-2 visas... i think i remember that online schools is not accepted for f1 visas...

they prolly have different requirements for eb-2

orangepink, NP · Aug 18, 2011

but we're talking about eb-2 visas... i think i remember that online schools is not accepted for f1 visas...
they prolly have different requirements for eb-2

i'm just going clarify what i've been trying to say here. to the filipino nurses who want to obtain a green card via the eb2 category, i'm going to take a wild guess here and assume you are above 21 years of age. henceforth, you must have entered the us as a temporary resident and that pertains to a students visa (f1) or a work visa (h1b). i can't speak for the other kinds of visa like j1, k1, li, etc. some of you may have entered the us as a tourist and had it converted to a students visa (f1). first, let's discuss your options as an f1 student:

as part of the aftermath of 9-11, the uscis has deemed it fit that all international students (anyone with a f1 visa) must be constantly supervised. after all, one of the 9-11 hijackers entered the us with an f1 visa. in my college, our adviser explained this to all the international students so we understood the rationale for their laws. that particular hijacker declared some school, some program to be his major when all he was literally doing was re-con work here in the us. this is why it is extremely important that you enroll in a full-time program that is offered on-site/on-campus. basically, the government wants to monitor your activity. i know, i know. life is unfair but let's just face the facts for now.

i'm also assuming you have no desire to be an international student forever. you, of course, want to have it changed to a green card status. this is why you file for a green card under the eb2 category. what do you think will the uscis personnel assume when he sees your file and realizes "hey juan de la cruz lived in florida for 5 years as an international student and he only enrolled in an online school? what was he doing all this time? could he be plotting something?" keep in mind that the world became paranoid after 9-11. and it stayed that way. the uscis is not as happy-go-lucky as they used to be. so what do you think are the chances of you getting approved? it rapidly decreases and i'm being really gentle with this advice. all that money you spent on online schools, that private student loan that your godmother co-signed, and all that time, the effort and all the daydreaming are wasted because you googled something on the internet.

this is why i paid $1000 to consult (and verify) with three different immigration lawyers.

again, the number of lawyers i've talked to is ---- three.

now, you can interpret this in any way you want. you don't have to take my advice. go ahead and take the risk. if your file ends up on the hands of a blonde, dimwit pencil-pusher in the uscis office and you get approved, then good for you. you gambled and you won.

as for me, i'm saying all this so you'd have enough information to stack all the odds in your favor. i'm sharing all this information for free. i foot the bill and you get the free lunch. simply put, i'm the good guy. but again, you don't have to listen to me. you can always take the risk.

orangepink, NP · Aug 18, 2011

Second, let's discuss options for those who entered the US on a work visa (aka H1B):

Let's say your work visa was approved but your work was designated to be an OT in a local hospital in Ohio and you decided to take a master's in nursing informatics. From there, after graduation, you apply for a green card under the EB2 category. Again, what do you think will the USCIS personnel will assume when he sees your file and realizes "hey Mrs. Luzviminda Sanchez entered this country to work as an OT and now she's a nurse?!? What is this person up to? Sounds really fishy to me." Your chances of being approved greatly deteriorates.

Let's say your work visa was approved and your work was designated as a nurse supervisor in long term care facility in Idaho and you decided to take a master's in nursing informatics. After graduation, same thing, you file your papers. Your chances of being approved are greatly increased. Why? Because your intentions when you entered the country matches appropriately with all your actions. Basically, you entered the country as a nurse and you worked your way up in the nursing world so yes, they (the USCIS personnel) understands this as "ah, Mrs. Luzviminda is a hard-working, career-oriented individual. Her chances of plotting any malicious attacks are negligible."

This is the point that I've been trying to share with all of you. Just because what I said doesn't correlate with what you want to hear doesn't mean I'm the bad guy. If you would just be less emotional and take a step back, you'd appreciate that I'm actually increasing the odds in your favor. It is never fruitful to risk all your dreams in life just because you're acting on desperation. Again, you are free to not take my $1000 worth of advice.

bsnwnab · Aug 18, 2011

Thanks for the tips. But i have a question. First you said Online programs/degrees will never be recognized by USCIS for the EB-2 visa. Then from the examples you gave, you said that online programs greatly deteriorates the chance of getting the visa approved. There's a difference between the two. The former simply means it online schools are not recognized period. The latter means it is recognized but the applicant has a big chance of not getting approved. So which one is it?

Thanks.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Aug 18, 2011

Orangepink,

Do you even know how online programs work? Do you have a master's degree? Well, I happen to have one obtained here in the US and even though my nurse practitioner program was entirely classroom based with clinicals spent in US hospitals, I can speak for the entire nurse practitioner profession and the routes one can take in becoming one including the programs that are offered online. bsnwab was asking specifically about nurse practitioner programs that are offered online. Nurse practitioners are advanced practice nurses who have a graduate degree in nursing (MS or higher) regardless of where you go in the US. That's a prime example of a profession that the EB2 Visa category will qualify for. I don't care what your three lawyers say. There are ways the immigration service can monitor a student in an online program for nurse practitioners. Students log in on the computer regularly in these programs because you have to keep up with online classes just like you do in classrom based programs. Computers have an IP address and can be tracked easily. Clinicals are face to face in an actual healthcare facility in the US and must be done with at leat 500 hours of actual patient care. I say your lawyers are full of it with all the terrorist attack theories. Lawyers are not the expert on how the nursing profession works and the educational paths in advanced practice nursing.

bsnwnab · Aug 24, 2011

Can CRNAs be sponsored under EB-2 category?

allnurses Guide · Aug 28, 2011

Just to play devil's advocate, how would USCIS know if your program was online or in person? Most universities give out the same degree certificate with no mention of the online/on the ground status. Unless the school's office of international students wouldn't even let you register for that format..? Provided you do the required clinicals in person, I can't see how it matters if you're sitting in your loungeroom or sitting in a lecture hall for the theory classes.

Anyone with a US masters degree, relevant licensure, visa screen etc, and a job offer for a position that requires a masters degree, is eligible to apply in the EB2 category.

orangepink, NP · Aug 30, 2011

All of you (including @bsnwnab) spend so much effort deconstructing everything I say and as well as all that's written on the internet and I wonder if any of you even bothered to check with an immigration lawyer.

It's like me telling you the car's out of gas and you all keep saying that of course not, it's still a car since you can see the windshield wipers. Why not start the car yourself and see if it works? That's all I'm asking. Talk to a lawyer yourself. It won't take much more than a phone call or a visit and a few hundred dollars.

In fact, I insist that you all to talk to 5 (since 3 isn't convincing enough for you) different immigration lawyers. It must be hard accepting the things I just wrote what with all the money and time you've spent on pursuing your dreams but seriously, I insist that you consult with a lawyer. In the end you're going to need one anyway. Or are you planning on filing for your green card petition yourself?

@juandelacruz: What's the name of our online NP school? And no, I don't have a master's degree and just because you got admitted into a master's program doesn't make you an expert in immigration law. Nursing grad school is way different from law school so I don't know how you made that correlation. So pardon me if I trust those three lawyers (people who passed the bar here in the US) more than I trust any of you. You don't interpret the law for living. They do so I'm trusting them more than I trust you. Sorry. It must be hard to accept one's own mistakes.

@ghilbert: Upon receipt of your green card petition, they will investigate your timeline and paperworks. that includes your school, too.

On a final note, I wish you all the best but seriously, consult with a lawyer. An immigration lawyer who is actively practicing here in the US and not a divorce lawyer nor a tax attorney nor an entertainment lawyer. Not a dentist and not a biochemist. And no, your neighborhood mechanic does not count. Some people (you know who you are) in this thread seem to jump to the farthest conclusions all because they got accepted into grad school.

With every single post that you argue with me, you're only making things worst for yourself. For the __th time, there is no harm in talking to an immigration lawyer :-)