Nurse with a K1-visa

Silverdragon102, BSN · Dec 1, 2008

hello everybody! last week i had my interview in the us embassy, manila philippines. now, i am waiting for my k1 visa and soon i will be in the us. my concern is how i will be able to get a job right away? i'm a us-rn already. i have passed the nclex-rn, cgfns and ielts exams & i have a one and a half years of experience in the renal dialysis unit. from what i know employers need ead (employment authorization document) before they will allow a foreign national to work. are their nursing agencies/hospitals who are willing to help me get the ead? what advice can you give me in order to get a job fast? i really want to work right away since i don't want to be alone:no: in the house waiting for the soon-to-be husband while he's at work. i want to be busy right away. your insights will be highly appreciated. thanks!:wink2:

hi and welcome to the site

you will not be able to work until you are married and have ead in hand. this is going to take a few months so unfortunately you will have to stay at home

wonderone · Dec 1, 2008

well yeah, we plan to get married right away. is there any other way to get ead other than us applying for it? can an employer apply ead on my behalf?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Dec 1, 2008

well yeah, we plan to get married right away. is there any other way to get ead other than us applying for it? can an employer apply ead on my behalf?

check this out

will i get a work permit?

after arriving in the united states, your fiancé(e) will be eligible to apply for a work permit. (you should note that uscis might not be able to process the work permit within the 90-day time limit for your marriage to take place.) your fiancé(e) should use form i-765 to apply for a work permit. please see how do i get a work permit? for more information. if your fiancé(e) applies for adjustment to permanent resident status, your fiancé(e) must re-apply for a new work permit after the marriage.

uscus bringing fiancé to the us

suzanne4, RN · Dec 1, 2008

There is no way for you to get the EAD immediately. One of the requirements for it is normally that you have gotten married in the 90 days that you are permitted and then have an interview again here in the US.

Even with the EAD being issued, you are then going to need to apply for the SSN# in person and wait for that to arrive.

What you are not understanding is that employers do not issue the EAD, that is done by the US government. You are being issued a K-1 visa to come to the US, but that has specific requirements along with it that need to be met. You are going to need to meet those in order to be able to get the EAD.

No one on the K1- visa is able to work immediately when they arrive in the US.

You also need to be aware of the fact that jobs are quite tight in many regions in the US right now, not sure where you are going to be living or working. The work experience that you have from overseas is usually quite different from how things are done over here, and one is usually hired in as a new grad if in a hospital setting. Those programs are at a premium right now, which means hard to find.

Best of luck to you.

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Dec 1, 2008

hello everybody! last week i had my interview in the us embassy, manila philippines. now, i am waiting for my k1 visa and soon i will be in the us. my concern is how i will be able to get a job right away? i'm a us-rn already. i have passed the nclex-rn, cgfns and ielts exams & i have a one and a half years of experience in the renal dialysis unit. from what i know employers need ead (employment authorization document) before they will allow a foreign national to work. are their nursing agencies/hospitals who are willing to help me get the ead? what advice can you give me in order to get a job fast? i really want to work right away since i don't want to be alone:no: in the house waiting for the soon-to-be husband while he's at work. i want to be busy right away. your insights will be highly appreciated. thanks!:wink2:

congrads on your upcoming marriage. as a new nurse expect to get the less desirable shifts so being home with your husband won't be much of an issue.

key to a successful marriage is being around the first couple of months, so the 90 days will be a great time to get to know each other as man and wife. also you will want time off for a honeymoon. best of luck on your new marriage.

Daly City RN · Dec 1, 2008

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First of all: Best Wishes to you!

I understand your willingness to work right away. As Suzanne has written, you will have to wait months before you can start working, legally. You need to legally marry your husband-to-be first, then obtain a SS#, and adjust your status to Permanent Resident. I, too was on a K1 Visa three decades ago. I became a U.S. Citizen in 1983.

I remember the boredom at home, the sudden weight gain and of course homesickness. What I did was to learn to take public transportation so I could have lunch with my wife in downtown San Francisco once or twice a week. I also watched a lot of TV and tried to learn the American accent. My intention was not to have a "fake" American accent, but I wanted my relatives, friends, and strangers to better understand me when I'm speaking to them. If you think you don't have an accent, think again. Softening my Filipino accent was very useful when I became an RN in California.

I also began jogging in the cool SF climate. It was very effective in losing all the weight that I gained, thankfully. It also kept me busy while I was waiting for my green card.

I also visited my many relatives here to cure my homesickness. Thirty years ago we did not have texting nor internet, duh. We actually wrote personal letters to relatives back in the Philippines! Long distance phone calls were still relatively expensive.

We did not have NCLEX during my time. I took the California State Board, and that was it.

I became a nurse and just recently retired with a lifetime pension. I retired from my 'government' RN job, and will work for the 'private' sector until I become eligible for social security pension in 10 years. Yes, I will have two pensions! If you can get a government RN job, this may be a good career path for you if you want to retire young.

If you have friends who are working as nurses in the U.S.A. I urge you to speak with them and ask them about nursing practice in the States.

By the way, if you don't know how to drive a car yet, better get driving lessons in the Philippines from a licensed instructor. It is much cheaper in the Philippines. Once you are in the States, you can take just maybe a couple of driving lessons from a licensed instructor to learn your States' driving laws.

Good luck to you.

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rn4ever? · Dec 2, 2008

congratulations on your upcoming wedding wonderone! but don't rush---take it nice and slow. settle down first and savor the first couple of days of being married. trust me, once you start working as an rn, that's it---you will be really busy and most likely exhausted.

well, the time you are able to get an ead and all other appropriate documents depends on you mainly. if you get married right away and submit your completed paperwork, and there is no backlog, then it shouldn't take long for you to get you ead. the ead could be issued even before you get your permanent resident card. once you get it, you can go get your ssn, then when you have an ssn, you can take driving lessons and work. if you have questions regarding your papers, you could always contact uscis or a reputable immigration attorney. good luck!

hello everybody! last week i had my interview in the us embassy, manila philippines. now, i am waiting for my k1 visa and soon i will be in the us. my concern is how i will be able to get a job right away? i'm a us-rn already. i have passed the nclex-rn, cgfns and ielts exams & i have a one and a half years of experience in the renal dialysis unit. from what i know employers need ead (employment authorization document) before they will allow a foreign national to work. are their nursing agencies/hospitals who are willing to help me get the ead? what advice can you give me in order to get a job fast? i really want to work right away since i don't want to be alone:no: in the house waiting for the soon-to-be husband while he's at work. i want to be busy right away. your insights will be highly appreciated. thanks!:wink2:

redranger · Dec 3, 2008

We are going thru K1 Visa / AOS at the moment. I am the Petitioner.

Social Security # : Wait about 10 days after your arrival and go to SS office, Very easy and free of charge for applying, takes about 7 more days for SS card to arrive in mail.

POE : Only JFK issues a Temporary Work Visa upon entry, and it's valid for 90 days. It also becomes invalid upon marriage, I don't know the requirements for temp AOS.

EAD : After you get married you can send in AOS with EAD form. It's taking about 3 to 4 months to process and recieve AOS/EAD at this moment.

As far as staying home while husband work: Look into volunteer work at hospital or animal shelter or food bank.

My wife has been in USA about 4 months, she is studying for NCLEX, but she does get bored while I work.

wonderone · Dec 31, 2008

Hello everyone! Sorry, I was not able to check this site and didn't know that there's a lot of replies already. Thanks for the advises! I highly appreciate it.

I am here in Washington DC now and starting the AOS paperwork. The volunteer idea seems good for me. I might do that. Now, I have another question. My NCLEX-RN license in Vermont will expire on March 2009. My fiance and I will get married on the 8th of Jan. 2009. I thought of having an endorsement from Vermont Nursing Board to Washington DC/Maryland Nursing Board. How can I change my maiden license to married one? Can I directly change it through the endorsement or change it first through Vermont Board of Nursing before endorsement. Please help me with this matter. Thanks a lot!

NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2008

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding...and congratulations on passing the exams that needed to be passed....Look at the positive of not working right away...Once you arrive in the area that you will be living at you can actually go visit facilities and study them carefully....If I were you, I'd go there and not speak to anybody there...Just go observe everything...the workers, the facility, the conditions etc....Then you can make your decision which places you want to apply at and also which facilities to stay away from....Then from there you can actually speak to the people that you need to speak to....This way at least you will know where you want to work at once everything is cleared....Good Luck!

allnurses Guide · Dec 31, 2008

There are actually multiple posts at a different site I look at (related to immigration/visas) which have reported that if you enter via JFK airport in New York on a K1 visa, the immigration officers will issue you with a stamped EAD. You still won't have the card, but you are allowed to work with this immediately. By the time you marry and apply to adjust status and get the EAD card, there may be a gap between the stamp running out (only good for 90 days) and having the EAD card issued. In that case, you could NOT work during the in-between period.

PM me if you want more info.