visamaster

Since you are in the US under H-4 visa category, that means your spouse or parent is the main beneficiary of a work visa (specifically, H-1B). Now, what form are you referring to -- an application form for licensing or for the school? In any case, you can write next to that item: "H4 -- dependent of an H-1B visa holder, with pending H-1B visa application". But you can add only the last 5 words on the assumption that you have a pending H-1B visa application. Take note that this part is tricky if you are applying for a license, since doing so means that you intend to work. But H4 visa does not qualify you to work. I suggest that you seek advice from a lawyer.

---------------------------- I know of four applicants who had the same problem with CGFNS. I suggest you do the following: 1) Inform ICHP (that special branch under CGFNS) of your concerns via email, clearly rectifying the erroneous data. 2) Send via post office all relevant documentation, with a letter clearly identifying and rectifying your concerns. 3) This is crucial: Make sure that your letters (via email and post office) are written well -- meaning, anyone who receives and reads your letters at ICHP understands well what you have written. If you are not sure with your language, ask someone to draft the letter for you, or you ask your friends/parents to read/edit your letter. I mean no disrespect, but my item #3 is borne out of my observation from a legion of nurses who write barely understandable English... But, remember, communication is important. Regards. :redbeathe

-------------------- If you have been included in the actual immigration petition, then you or your petitioner should have requested expedited processing of your case before you were about to turn 21 -- on the assumption that your priority date is in the cut-off date for your visa category. If it is (and you turned 21 just some weeks ago), I suggest that you explore with your lawyer the possibility of some humanitarian consideration from the National Visa Center. Remember: Those guys inside NVC are also human beings, not robotic entities under Darth Vader's command. Regards.

---------------- Hi, As regards your concerns: 1) Your MSN will be definitely crucial in the EB-2 application. But it must be certified to possess US equivalency (I presume that you are a Filipino). There are academic equivalency certification firms in the US. 2) Work or immigrant visa petitions may get approved at the USCIS (where the petitioner files the I-129 or I-140 forms). But, but: In addition, you also have to apply for the actual visa at the US consulate in Manila (required for H-1B applicants, but may be done at any US consulate anywhere in the world where you temporarily live if you are an immigrant-visa applicant). Now, this consular application is the frightening part: you are at the judgment of the consular officer. If he/she thinks that you or your petitioner does not possess the qualifications for H-1B visa, then your application may get denied. Or: he/she is not convinced by your proofs or evidence -- and may ask for more or may summarily deny your application. 3) Of course, you can still apply for H-1B visa if you have an MSN. You might be referring to that special allocation of 20,000 H-1B visas reserved for foreign nationals who obtained their master's degrees from US universities or colleges (not from Philippine universities). Best wishes.

H-1B visa does not require a master's degree. Although EB-2 visa may be approved at the USCIS level on the basis of the MA degree, there is less probability of approval at the consular level. Same thing with H-1B: The visa application may be approved at the USCIS level but not necessarily at the consular level.

As a nurse who has educated himself about the ins and outs of US and UK nursing opportunities, I can offer these personal strategies: 1. Our primary short-term goal is to earn money, while keeping an eye on any nursing opportunity that appears by the roadside, hehe. 2) While you are earning (as a call center agent, for instance), never forget to earn nursing credentials -- like IELTS, NCLEX, visa screen. 3) If you have the money, go to the UK via NVQ. Enjoy your stay there and make sure that your sights are still trained on the US (or the UK) as a future nurse. 4) If the US remains an impossible dream, explore other destinations. Why not go to "hot" (literally hot, not figuratively, hehe) countries, like Saudi Arabia or Oman or UAE. 5) Enjoy life. Retrogression does not herald the end of the world.

Also, both H1-B and immigrant visa petitions require a PETITIONER (hospital, for instance) and a BENEFICIARY of the petition (the nurse). It takes two to tango. And there is the process. One does not simply fly to the US, look for a hospital or nursing home, and announce to the astonished manager (or guard?): "Hey, man, I'm gonna work in your hospital. When do I start?" It's the holidays! Ahh, what a wonderful life! :hrnsmlys:

----------------- Asking nurses "to pay for their own way to the USA" is possible or allowed by law ONLY IF the visa used is immigrant visa (or green card). If the visa is H1-B, nurses may pay for their plane tickets but not for the petition-related fees. It is the employer that must pay for petition-related expenses. Also, federal laws require employers to pay for the return tickets if the employers (usually, hospitals) terminate their services.

============= A more frank -- and accurate -- statement would be: Is the student visa a way of sneaking into the USA and trying to work illegally in the US? :imbar

========== There are requirements to satisfy. If the job itself justifies the use of the H-1B visa, and both the hospital as petitioner and the foreign RN as petition beneficiary qualify, then there is a possibility of the granting of the H-1B visa. As in all things in life, H-1B visa is not a right of the foreign RN. It is a privilege accorded on the RN, following the rules of the game.

========= By Department of Labor approval, your agency must have meant the issuance of the Labor Condition Application. The next step would be the filing of the petition at the USCIS. Let's assume that the petition has been approved. The next step then would be the visa application at the Consulate in your country. This is where the real fun begins!

========================= Bravo to your little remark that deflates the illusions of most nurses! (We feel sorry for them, though.) H-1B is only for workers whose intended work in the US requires a bachelor's degree. In this case, the only nursing work that qualifies for H-1B visa is that one which, at a minimum and among other things, requires a bachelor's degree. Take note: I say, among other things. H-1B is not for general or ordinary nursing (which does not require a bachelor's degree and may only need an associate degree). Uh-oh...

============================= h-1b requirements have to be followed in either good times or bad times -- or during shortage or no-shortage times. h-1b rules are still in place whether the actual work site is in a city or in the boondocks. consistency is the crucial element.

================= Silverdragon is correct. Just because the H-1B visa petition has been approved by the USCIS does not mean that the visa application at the Consular level will be approved as well. Petition approval by the USCIS does not guarantee visa issuance by the Embassy/Consulate.