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Exactly, this was my point. Thank you :)

I was just thinking that in order to get an H1b I need to prove that BSN is required by the employer. The Magnet status would help to prove to immigration that BSN is needed to work in this hospital.

I will not go for ADN-MSN because I need to save some money in between degrees during my OPTs (Unless I find a sponsor millionaire :) I will better work during OPT after a BSN and apply for H1b and save some money. This is what my question is about - Magnet requires BSN, then: From the USCIS website requirements for H1b (1) a bachelor’s or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum entry requirement for the position; (2) the degree requirement is common to the industry or, in the alternative, the position is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree; (3) the employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position; or (4) the nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree. See 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) Also not all the Magnet hospitals require BSN.

There is another question. Will the Magnet status of the hospital help in getting H1b? I know that in hospitals with Magnet status there is some limit to hiring ADN nurses and they prefer BSNs to keep this status. Also the job description might say BSN preffered (but not required).

Hi LemuelRN :) I just wanted to wish you good luck with getting you H1b approved. I am also planning on getting my BSN and then applying for an H1b. I will keep my fingers crossed for you Good luck!

Thank you for your support. I still don't give up on H1b because I have time to find some information before I get to that point. I think this is very sad that millions of illigal aliens have a chance to get their citizenship here. A friend of mine has been living here for 10 years since high school on F1 visa and paid her triple out of state tuition to achieve her education here. Now, millions of illigals have a chance and she doesn't. This is so unfair. Even if I have to go back to my country I will do as much as I can to get a higher education and experience in a very good hospital to become a good specialist.

Thank you for your response. I am just trying to explore the opportunities for an H1b. I think that to be a clinical instructor or to teach the theory is a huge previlege and you really have to love it. Probably the newly graduated nurse with a BSN wouldn't qualify, with an exception of being an assistant or support staff. In this topic we talk not about the internationally trained nurses to be petitioned for but about F1 students who were trained here. They get the same education like US nurses and have their clinicals in the same US hospitals. The US immigration and the government also grant them the opportunity to receive one year of experience (OPT) after completion of the program. I don't see any reason why would the employers discriminate one category over another. The thing here is that international F1 students after one year of experience have an option to go back to their country or to continue with their education for a higher degree. Also the retrogression made it almost impossible to hire any internationally trained nurse. But if the USCIS gave me the right to use one year to get this experience after graduation, of course I will use this chance When I did my externship in the hospital I've heard about one internationally trained nurse who was petitioned for. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to succeed on the floor and had to quit.

Thank you so much Ghillbert :) I have such a long way to go. I really need some emotional and factual support here. I even read your post several times I also figured out about the difference between profit and non profit organizations. Thank you for posting it here. Just wondering is it possible to become a member of the faculty in the University having just BSN? Some instructors in my college have BSN. Universities are non profit which makes it easier to get H1B. I found some posts in another H1B discussion about getting wound and ostomy certification that requires a BSN. The course costs about $7000. This is a way to prove you are a specialist who is taking a positon that requires a Bachelor degree. Just something else to think about

Nobody said this will be easy. I didn't think about timing for the test, thank you for that :) F1 students should try to use their CPT to receive experience in the hospital, this way when they get to the OPT they would have some connectons there (know managers, nurses etc), try to pick clinicals in the hospitals that would hire F1 student. Do some research :) You cannot just sit here and wait until the graduation to start looking for a job. There is the rule that F1 students qualify for and OPT after each degree they receive. For example they may have OPT after getting ADN, then if they go for a BSN they are eligible for another 1 year post completion OPT, the same here if they get their MSN. There is what I found about cap-gap for F1 who applied for H1b: Q. How is the cap-gap situation changed under the interim final rule? A. F-1 students on post-completion OPT maintain valid F-1 status until the expiration of their OPT. Once that OPT has ended, they are authorized to remain in the United States for up to 60 days to prepare for departure. Under this rule, the F-1 status of students is automatically extended when the student is the beneficiary of an H-1B petition for the next fiscal year (with an October 1 employment start date) filed on his or her behalf during the period in which H-1B petitions are accepted for that fiscal year. • The automatic extension terminates when USCIS rejects, denies, or revokes the H-1B petition. • If the H-1B petition filed on behalf of the student is selected, the student may remain in the United States and, if on post-completion OPT, continue working until the October 1 start date indicated on the approved H-1B petition. • The student may benefit from this provision only if he or she has not violated his or her status.

1750 hours in a year is possible to reach if you work full time during OPT. The problem is experience. I hope to have 2 years by that time. I am sure that immigration services don't use the Benner's Stages of Clinical Competence this is exactly what you said - the nursing viewpoint, not the immigration viewpoint. Of course I would agree with you here that 2 years don't make a new grad a specialist but we are talking the immigration laws here and not the nursing viewpoint. There are so many non nursing specialists from other countries with not even one year of experience who get their H1b and so many nurses who use some agencies to get the H1b (I don't think all of them meet the requirements). Here are many international students in the US who got that far. Sometimes the problem for many of them is the lack of information. I think we should try to find at least some info on the topics and not just keep saying: "It's impossible, here is the trick, there you cannot do it". Let's post helpful links here and share the experience :) By the way here is the link to the website that gives some info on critical care certifications: http://www.aacn.org/DM/MainPages/AACNHomePage.aspx?enc=9RdxXufgiNKQ0ZMRg/3r931vcMuP1eges31PhvLrQ3I=

It took me 3 semesters of prereqs and 1.5 years on the waiting list totalling in 2.5-3 years to get into the program and then 2 years of the program itself. Note, while on the waiting list I still had to remain a full time student taking 12 credit hours each semester, the wait period was very depressing. I think most colleges offering Associates Degree in Nursing have a waiting list for students. There are not enough nursing instructors and teachers in the US this is where the wait period comes from. If I went for a Bachelor degree it would take me the same amount of time but it would cost a lot of money which I couldn't afford.

I did my externship in the hospital using my CPT. Your CPT should not exceed 12 months if you want to be able to qualify for one year OPT after graduation. My CPT was 11 months. I am graduating in 4 weeks and already received my postcompletion OPT EAD card for one year without any problems. Cannot wait to start my OPT :)

PS My mom came here on K visa and they also used help of a specialist. I think this helped them a lot :)

You will need an employer to sponsor you for an H1B. You don't pay a cent. These companies usually have lawyers to do all the paperwork. I think H1b is more difficult and more complex process than K1/K3. These are two different stories. But you are right that we need to know all the info and due dates as well from reliable resources. I know some stories when the lawyers screwed up with the process. Here's what I found on the USCIS website regarding H1b: To qualify as a specialty occupation, the position must meet one of the following requirements: (1) a bachelor’s or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum entry requirement for the position; (2) the degree requirement is common to the industry or, in the alternative, the position is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree; (3) the employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position; or (4) the nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree. See 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). In order to perform services in a specialty occupation, an alien must meet one of the following criteria: (1) hold a United States baccalaureate or higher degree as required by the specialty occupation from an accredited college or university; (2) possess a foreign degree determined to be equivalent to a United States baccalaureate or higher degree as required by the specialty occupation from an accredited college or university; (3) have any required license or other official permission to practice the occupation (for example, architect, surveyor, physical therapist) in the state in which employment is sought; or (4) have, as determined by USCIS, the equivalent of the degree required by the specialty occupation acquired through a combination of education, training, and/or experience. Here is another link from USCIS: http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/NurseMemo_112702.pdf

Thank you everyone for your response. I think in my case this will be #3 critical care. I will get 2 years of experience. One year of OPT experience after my associates degree and then one year of OPT after my bachelor degree. I also used my 11 months of CPT in this hospital doing my internship as a student nurse. I will try very hard to get into cardiac ICU after my BSN which will make me a better specialist in this field. Many of us are in this terrible situation with the retrogression. We got this far and we don't have to give up. The lawyer will file I-140 for me but honestly, I don't believe that just counting on EB3 is a good idea at this time when even US nurses cannot find a job. Thank you again for your responses :)

Thank you for your reply and your time :) I am just trying to find more information and figure out the plan for myself. I am planning to work in a very good hospital. Patients from all over the world come here for cardiac surgeries, for VAD to heart translpant bridge programms. The nurses on this floor are constantly learning, they have to get their VAD certifications, ACLS etc. By the time I plan to apply for H1B I will have 2 years of experience on this floor. What is the minimum years of experience needed to be classified as a specialist? Also the BSN (I will do RN to BSN) programm will end in August. My BSN OPT will also end in August-September. You mentioned if I apply for H1b in April I will have to start working in October. The gap in my case will be only 1-2 months. Is that still a problem or I will have to maintain some status for those 1-2 months? I am planning to call the lawyer after I have my interview with the manager on the floor next week and ask all the details about H1B. I will gladly share the information with everyone :)

I understand that I can't overstay. I will go back to school to keep status current on F1 while waiting for H1B approval. My question was will I qualify for H1B or EB2?

I am completing my ADN will have one year of OPT and then planning on getting my BSN. Will I qualify for an H1B or EB2 after I complete my BSN? I am on F1 status here. My employer will start the EB3 process meanwhile, will they be able to switch me to H1B or EB2? I will get one year of experience after ADN and plus one year of OPT experience after my BSN. This hospital is a non-profit teaching hospital.

The nurses get a dangerous load of patients and in this economy it may become even worse. This is how they deal with the nursing shortage. Why pay for two nurses if one can handle for example 10 patients instead of 5.

It is sad. I also doubt the government will find any visas for nurses. US nurses cannot find jobs, especially new grads. My clinical instructor said that Nursing Shortage is a myth in this economy. Thank you for your reply anyway :)

hello to everyone :) i am reading this forum for a long time. i noticed that in some posts inspite of retrogression some people are talking about an open window when you can file a petition for a green card. others get mad and say that you have to wait in line. my question is - what is this open window that magically appears approximately in july and some nurses are in a hurry to file and some unfortunately miss it and still have to wait like others. somebody knows? here is one of some examples that i was reading: " originally posted by anfe suzanne i graduated from a us nursing school in may. wrote and passed the nclex in july 2008. i did not apply during the window in july. so again, does it even make sense to appy for the i-140 now and wait in line? for those of us just getting ready to start the paperwork, with over 300, 000 plus applicants jamming the system ahead of us, what should i do now? i am on opt till jun 2008. i am not from a high applicant country. does it makes sense paying for an attorney to start green application that is likely not going to go nowhere for ???? # of years? or should i just start the process, at the least? tks i think that you mean that you just passed the nclex exam this past july, 2007. which country are you actually from? you can send it to me in a pm if you do not wish to post it here. not sure what is going to happen with the visas by the time that you need things to be available. if fo some reason, there are none, you will need to continue with your studies to maintain the f-1 so that you can remain in the us. your visa will expire 60 days after you complete your opt, you maintain the f-1 while under the opt. if you definitely wish to work at that facility, i would go ahead with the i-140, as that has specific time requirements with it that need to be completed before the i-485 could ever be submitted, especially if they only open with a short window of time again.