Is an associate's degree in nursing eligible for the permanent residency in the USA?

allnurses Guide · Jun 23, 2008

Hi there and welcome to the site, there is a great deal of information in the international forum which will help you and the international moderators are hugely knowledgable about such things.

I will move your post to the international forum as you will get a more appropriate response

suzanne4, RN · Jun 23, 2008

The ADN if done in the US may be used for permanent residency, or what is usually referred to as the green card.

However, and a very big however, is the fact that the US is under a retrogression at this time so there are no green cards available for you to adjust your status to once you are done with your training.

And the ADN is only good for the green card, and it does not even meet the requirements of having the four year BSN for either the H1-B or the H1-C visas that you may hear mention of.

What you need to be aware of is the fact that going to school here in the US no longer guarantees that one will be able to remain here when they have completed school. You may qualify for the year of OPT, but then after that, the only way to remain in the US would be to continue on with your studies and you will not be permitted to work again once the one year is up. But will have to go thru the same things that you will have to do with this degree.

jonnie · Jun 24, 2008

Thanks a lot, Suzanne. Your answer is valuable.

Jonnie

suzanne4, RN · Jun 24, 2008

You are quite welcome.

What is really shocking me is why the international advisors of any of these schools are not giving this information to their students when they start. Perhaps they do not even know, but again, it is their responsibility to know everything that is going on in the world of visas right now.

lorein · Jun 27, 2008

have friend who has ADN and is a resident of saipan would it be easier for her to work in the US since saipan is a US territory? or will she be also affected by the retrogression?

by the way she took her ADN in the Philippines and currently residing in the philippines as well.

help, I'm confused:confused:

suzanne4, RN · Jun 27, 2008

have friend who has ADN and is a resident of saipan would it be easier for her to work in the US since saipan is a US territory? or will she be also affected by the retrogression?
by the way she took her ADN in the Philippines and currently residing in the philippines as well.
help, I'm confused:confused:

Requirements for working in Saipan are different from the US, they are a US territory and even visas to visit there are different from that of the mainland.

Her issue is going to be getting licensed here in the US with only the two year ADN as that is not accepted here in most cases for immigration purposes. Residency in Saipan is not the US green card either.

If she has been out of the country attending school, her residency may not even be valid any longer.

But yes, she is affected by the retrogression that we have here. And do suggest that she complete the BSN as well, since the ADN training is not accepted by the Philippine government for licensure and many states in the US are now requiring the local license as well.