4
Proven Ways to enter the US for a Nursing Career
After you have passed the necessary exams (usually the Commission on Graduates of Foreign
Nursing Schools exam) and have been licensed by the appropriate state agency, they will
need to take the National Council Licensing Exam (NCLEX).
The NCLEX is typically taken after the nurses arrive in the U.S. with their immigration
visas, but it is possible to enter the U.S. to take the NCLEX on a visitor visa (B-1 or
B-2), and then return to the home country and wait for a green card or work visa to be
approved.
Most health care professionals, including nurses, will also need to complete a screening
program verifying their credentials in order to qualify for certain occupational visas.
I-140 - Employment-based Permanent Residency (Green Card)
The immigration method with the fewest requirements on the nurse and employer is to apply
for an employment-based green card. This allows a nurse to work in the U.S. indefinitely,
as long as the green card is renewed every ten years.
Nursing is one of the few professions that does not require a labor certification to be
filed before applying for an I-140 (unlike physicians), so I-140`s can be approved in
three to six months.
H-1B - For Positions Requiring at Least a Bachelor`s Degree
The H-1B visa can be used to hire skilled professionals that have at least a bachelor`s
degree and are filling a position that requires the same level of education.
Most registered nurses and nursing jobs do not meet this requirement, but if the US
employer is hiring foreign nurses for supervisory or management positions, or for
subspecialty areas that require a bachelor`s degree, an H-1B might be an option.
Additionally, if your facility hires nurses with bachelor`s degrees almost exclusively, it
is possible to make a case for using the H-1B to bring in international nursing talent.
Depending on where your facility is located, approval of an H-1B visa can take anywhere
from two to six months.
H-1B`s last for three years, and can be renewed for another three.
Read more on:
Difficulties in Obtaining H1B Status for RNs
Who is the employer when a consulting company sponsors the H1B visa?
Can a consulting company hire nurses on an H1B Visa stating that the minimum requirement
for the job is an bachelor’s?
See if you qualify for an H-1B
TN - For Canadian or Mexican Nurses
Registered nurses who are Canadian or Mexican citizens can work in the U.S. on the TN
visa, as long as they have a state or provincial nursing license. The TN visa typically
takes from one to six weeks to approve, and is good for one year. It may be renewed in
yearly increments an unlimited number of times.
H-1C - For Facilities in Underserved Areas
The H-1C visa was created in 1999 specifically for hospitals in areas with low primary
care physicians-to-patient ratios, typically in rural or inner-city locations. Facilities
must meet additional stringent standards, so stringent, in fact, that the U.S. Department
of Labor identified only 14 hospitals that qualified to hire nurses on H-1C visas. These
14 hospitals face additional restrictions: only 500 H-1C visas will be issued each year by
the INS, and the program limits the number of H-1C`s issued in each state to either 25 or
50, depending on the state population.
H-1C visas are valid for three years, and usually take two to six months to approve.
|
New Document
 See the Nursing Kit
|
