Using Student Visa during Retrogression

rozmaril · Mar 1, 2007

In response to the previous speaker, my question is at what stage of the greencard petition you and your friends are. In other words, have you applied to USCIS already? If yes, as I was told by my (and not only my) lawyers, they won't issue you a student visa if they know that your final purpose is to stay in the US, and not to study. Moreover, it may jeorpardize your whole case, so that you won't be able to go at all.

And I am talking here about the student visa for the wife of the nurse, not mentioning the student visa for the nurse himself.

healthcpg · Mar 1, 2007

I was told that if you have applied for green card you may not be able to get the student visa. The F-1 visa is only being given to the nurse and not their families, that's what I was told.

healthcpg · Mar 1, 2007

If your recruiter have not filed with USCIS then you have a better chance of being able to get F-1 visa

suzanne4, RN · Mar 2, 2007

With what I heard yesterday, I think the democrats will do what they do best which is make promises to poor American communities and later do nothing about it. Come the end of the year, we will still be talking of the same retrogression story. Every party is being cautious of not side stepping or over stepping against NEXT YEAR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
MY QUESTION TO SUSAN AND LAWRENCE is HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO APPROVE 50,000 VISAS TO SOLVE THE LAST RETROGRESSION IN 2005?
Hospitals are teaming up with Universities and Colleges to find other solutions to the RETROGRESSION PROBLEM. And the consuls in various American Embassies and consulates worldwide are supporting it, by granting students visas to many nurses to study here in the US. Example is the Christian University issue with Korean Nurses.
While you all wait, lots of nurses overseas are going into US and England with students F-1 Visas from Universities and Colleges ($3500 tuition and fees for 19 weeks) which allows them to work 20hrs a week, while they are waiting for the Green card retrogression, the F-1 is renewed as needed. (http://www.foreignnurseseducation.com/files/admission/admission.php). You either wait in your country or in US legally, its your choice. Even if you did not get the student visa, you still can apply for the green card when it finally come out. I have 8 of my friends who have gone for the student visa and 7 of them got the visa. I am currently waiting for my CES from CGFNS to go for my student visa. Students get stipend while they study for their NCLEX. Affiliated hospitals pay this stipend. www.foreignnurseseducation.com. I am not trying to change anybodies mind here but if the option is there, I think we should all know about it.

And read the thread on the Korean program that is on this forum, those nurses are being taken advantage of and are not being treated like the nurses that they are working with, they do not even qualify to be covered by the union in the same hospital. And they are being paid at the rates that were paid to nurses there 3 to 4 years ago, as a new grad. Nothing for the experience.

And everyone that I have seen come over under programs like that has gotten the royal screw all the way around. Not a good idea. Anytime that you take shortcuts, it turns around to bite you on the butt.

Have seen it happen too many times.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 2, 2007

And next, F-1 visas are not automatically granted, have seen quite a few actually denied by the US govt.

And right now with all of the immigration issues going on, I would be very leary to tell someone to go that route if their goal is just to wait for the green card. One thing if the nurse trained in the US and is waiting for things to open again, but to come to the US to use the F-1 status to be able to go the AOS route, not a good thing. USCIS is really cracking down on this at the moment. And I would not advise it.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 2, 2007

The UK also has a freeze on hiring any nurses from overseas, even more strict than our retrogression, so there are not many going there currently.

They are having layoffs, and the jobs first will be offered to nurses from the UK, and then next to nurses from the EU. Even nurses from the US are having problems finding jobs there.

So your information is not up to date.

You are free to do as you want, but to recommend something that cannot be done makes no sense.

rusiba · Mar 2, 2007

dear suzanne, from your reply:

"and right now with all of the immigration issues going on, i would be very leary to tell someone to go that route if their goal is just to wait for the green card."

thanks a lot for your mission and assistance,

however we are not at the same boat now. it is easy to advise to sit and waiting for something being in the us and having a good job.

dear suzanne, please, could you answer my questions:

what is going on nursing immigration apart from idle talk? nobody knows how long does it take us lawmakers to solve that problem, moreover i am not sure that us senators are know what does "nurse" mean. so, suzanne, i cannot realize why you decide that something will happen on nursing immigration? have you any concrete facts about that? where is the nursing lobby in congress, for example?
is it possible to change a business visa (b1/b2) to student (m1) if my i-140 petition has already approved?

who is able to prohibit to study while you are waiting for the green card?

i prefer to improve my english and nursing professional skills instead of waiting for something on immigration for ages.

thank you an advance.

rsmit02 · Mar 3, 2007

Hi all,

Thought I would chip in here as I am in the USA with a student F1 visa doing exactly as you talk about. BUT it is not to be reccomended unless you have a lot of cash to live on while here.

I applied for my F1 visa for Nursing school here in NJ and the interview was very very tough!! They asked me why as a nurse would I be coming to usa as a student. I was able to say I was doing extra courses for nursing that would give me promotion here in uk when I returned and my employer gave me a letter testifying to this. I was able to take an unpaid year out of my job and prove I was not giving up employment here but had a full time job on hold for me. I was able to prove I had a pension here in uk I was keeping paying in to while I was away. The consular officer still gave us a hard time he questioned us for ages both me and my husband. The only thing that finally swung it for us was $30,000 of savings we had to prove we would not work while we were here.

The consular officer made very sure he explained the rules of working here while a student, you can work for 20 hours ON CAMPUS like the bookshop or library but these jobs ive discovered are like gold dust and impossible to get. The law says you can apply for financial hardship as an F1 student and get permission from the goverment to work outside the campus for 20 hours but you have to prove through bank records you had the money to come to usa and where it went. It is mainly for cases where say you got massive unexpected medical bills and needed money. It is also TOTALLY illegal under ANY circumstances for my husband to work. And for those that think its easy to find off the books work for cash its impossible no social security card means no work.

So we are here in the usa and our living expenses are $1100 a month and we live with my sister rent free an apartment would cost and extra $800 on top. It is working fine for us because we live with my sister and have plenty savings from selling our house in UK but we are still keeping our fingers crossed retrogression ends soon. I am doing full time school of classes like Medical terminology and anatomy and physiology that will help me pass nclex but there is a lot of homework and its hard tests are every week with 2 major exams in he 19 weeks and if you fail a class you risk being sent home.

If you plan to try this route just be aware it is difficult and you have to show major ties to your country to prove your coming home as they know your a nurse in your country and you will likey be doing this to get to usa to work as a nurse. You need your own money and you need to be sure your english and study skills are up to full time college courses to keep your visa.

Ruth x

healthcpg · Mar 3, 2007

this is a perfect example of how it can work if you try hard enough with the right documentations.

i guess there is a little difference between your program and the one above.

each candidate in the website above will get to do what is called the "curricular practical training" which simply means 20 hrs a week of externship in a hospital with stipend of $1000.00 per month paid to each nurse.

the students leave in the university rooms and board which is paid for by the hospital. nurses take about five courses for 19 weeks ($3500.00).

the truth is that if a nurse can legally come to this country, to study and train while they wait for the retrogression to be lifted, there should not be nothing wrong with it.

you are here legally! working legally! with your ss#! and work permit! i do not see what is wrong with that.

as we have seen, the interview is not easy, but we also know that denial does not stop you from applying for i-140 green card later after the retrogression.

even with the retrogression lifted, it is still a faster route to the us.

what you call a royal screw in the us may not be considered a royal screw by us outside the us. i strongly believe that if you see the conditions that many of these foreign nurses live and what they go through in their various countries, you will not be so sure that we are being screwed. as you said, working in the us is a privilege not a right, sometimes it is ok to start low and with america being what it is, we know things will get better. i guess some of us are more willing to exchange our country royal screw with america royal screw. with strong hope that with this great country called usa our salvation will have an end soon. but in our country, we have no hope of it ending in our life time.

the f-1 visa is not for everyone. i hope all of you think about your individual situation very well and make the decision that will best serve your goals.

kkalu

suzanne4, RN · Mar 3, 2007

dear suzanne, from your reply:
"and right now with all of the immigration issues going on, i would be very leary to tell someone to go that route if their goal is just to wait for the green card."
thanks a lot for your mission and assistance,
however we are not at the same boat now. it is easy to advise to sit and waiting for something being in the us and having a good job.
dear suzanne, please, could you answer my questions:
what is going on nursing immigration apart from idle talk? nobody knows how long does it take us lawmakers to solve that problem, moreover i am not sure that us senators are know what does “nurse” mean. so, suzanne, i cannot realize why you decide that something will happen on nursing immigration? have you any concrete facts about that? where is the nursing lobby in congress, for example?
is it possible to change a business visa (b1/b2) to student (m1) if my i-140 petition has already approved?
who is able to prohibit to study while you are waiting for the green card?
i prefer to improve my english and nursing professional skills instead of waiting for something on immigration for ages.
thank you an advance.

if you have gone the route of having the i-140 already approved, you are unable to go thru the student visa of f-1. the student visa was designed for someone to come the us to train and then actually to leave after doing the opt if they qualified for that. and that is per us immigration law, you can go to the website for the us state dept and look at the conditions for each visa.

expect visas to start to open up this summer, at least for some. but the issue is have you received the ds-230 yet, has the visa bill been paid by your employer? that is what is holding up many. when was your i-140 actually submitted.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 3, 2007

this is a perfect example of how it can work if you try hard enough with the right documentations.
i guess there is a little difference between your program and the one above.
each candidate in the website above will get to do what is called the "curricular practical training" which simply means 20 hrs a week of externship in a hospital with stipend of $1000.00 per month paid to each nurse.
the students leave in the university rooms and board which is paid for by the hospital. nurses take about five courses for 19 weeks ($3500.00).
the truth is that if a nurse can legally come to this country, to study and train while they wait for the retrogression to be lifted, there should not be nothing wrong with it.
you are here legally! working legally! with your ss#! and work permit! i do not see what is wrong with that.
as we have seen, the interview is not easy, but we also know that denial does not stop you from applying for i-140 green card later after the retrogression.
even with the retrogression lifted, it is still a faster route to the us.
what you call a royal screw in the us may not be considered a royal screw by us outside the us. i strongly believe that if you see the conditions that many of these foreign nurses live and what they go through in their various countries, you will not be so sure that we are being screwed. as you said, working in the us is a privilege not a right, sometimes it is ok to start low and with america being what it is, we know things will get better. i guess some of us are more willing to exchange our country royal screw with america royal screw. with strong hope that with this great country called usa our salvation will have an end soon. but in our country, we have no hope of it ending in our life time.
the f-1 visa is not for everyone. i hope all of you think about your individual situation very well and make the decision that will best serve your goals.
kkalu

i still stand by what i have said. i have travelled all over the world, and in mnay third world countries; and am quite aware of what goes on in the other countries. but the best way to get things done and not get taken advantage of are to do things the correct way and by not trying to take shortcuts. with these programs, you are being taken advantage of plain and simple. and that stipend gets taxed, it is not tax free, so take off that amount from the sum of it and you will find it hard to live on in the us. in your country it sounds like quite a bit, but when you have to pay the higher expenses of food, etc, you will have issues. i have been the moderator here for several years and have heard from many from all over that have tried these programs and wish that they never did.

if you wish to send me your e-mail address to my pm box, i will be more that happy to put you in touch with a friend that has close ties to your country and with some nurses from there that i have helped and now have all of their papers and are here in the us working. they can explain to you my reasoning where you will understand it better.

hope that this will help you. :nurse: and that is the reason that i really stand by what i have written. i have seen too many foreign nurses get taken advantage of, and it has not been pretty. it is your final choice as to what to do, but i am going to add my opinion here when you give your viewpoint. i know better and have been an rn in the us for too many years to count. do not sell yourself short.

you are under the cpt, not a work permit. you will receive the ead, which is an employment authorization document. you will also not qualify for the opt, since you will not have been getting your degree from the us.

please take the time to so some more research as to what will be required of you. and the nursing shortage is not as critical as some would make it seem. there are some areas that will not petition for an rn for a hospital anyhwhere in the state of ny, there are areas in ca that have more than enough nurses. and there are areas where no americans wish to work, but then your safety should be a concern in those areas.

things are not always as they seem, and please read the thread about the program for the korean nurses in pennsylvania, bad program and they are not being treated as professional nurses there.