NURSES

If you are a foreign registered nurse who would like to obtain permanent residency in the United States, please immediately communicate with our office.

Under a law passed at the end of 1998, nurses are now exempt from the need to obtain labor certification.  This means that the foreign born licensed nurse is not involved in any application to show that there is a shortage of qualified U.S.A. workers for the job offered to the foreign person.

In effect, the above-mentioned exemption means that the processing time for the green card (Legal Permanent Resident in the U.S.A.) is now approximately only 1 year instead of between three to five years if you are residing outside the United States and approximately 2 years if you are residing in the United States.

There is a very large shortage of registered nurses in the U.S.A. and the demand is growing daily. The jobs available pay well .

Also when the registered nurse obtains permanent residence the spouse and minor unmarried children under 21 years of age receive their permanent residence.

In order for a foreign nurse to be employed in the United States and receive permanent residence, there are a number of steps that must be undertaken.

1. Must have a degree in nursing from the United States or a foreign country.

2. Must receive certification from CGFNS, Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools. The certification program is a three-part program designed for first level, general nurses educated outside the United States. It includes a credential review, a qualifying exam of nursing knowledge, and an English language proficiency examination (TOEFL). In addition, most states require a CGFNS certificate from nurses that have been educated outside the United States before they can take the National Council Licensure Examination for RN's (NCLEX-RN examination). In some states, such as Nevada, the CGFNS is not required in certain circumstances.

3. There also is a requirement of a Visa Credentials Assessment called the VisaScreen. The VisaScreen is a credential assessment made by the International Commission on Healthcare Professions. The VisaScreen is primarily a submission of documentation along with passing the TOEFL Test of English as a foreign language, TSE, test of spoken English, and TWE, test of written English. The decimation consists of secondary education and all post-secondary education along with assessing nursing licenses that the nurse has held. This may include all diplomas, egress, certificates, degrees, registration, and/or licenses, including transcripts. The VisaScreen Certificate has a limited validity; it is possible for this process to be completed in concert with the CGFNS.

Lastly, our law office can provide help in obtaining and preparing the documentation for the above. There is a substantial amount of documentation that is required through the Homeland Security organization and possibly, in the future, to the Department of State. This information includes documentation from the prospective employer and employee, the Department of State along with required legal forms and assisting the nurse into legal status up to employment and permanent residency.

Note: The actual immigration requirements are not static; they constantly change and are affected by laws related to Department of State, which govern United States Embassies. The sunseting of the old immigration laws, which may, in the future, require labor certification applications through the Department of Labor and the impact of general visa requirements that are becoming more restrictive and need to be addressed in a timely manner and, lastly, address requirements and change of employment problems, etc.

There are different circumstances that may affect whether or not a person may need a CGFNS or certain circumstances a nurse can enter the United States on one type of visa and be able to receive a state approval through the NCLEX even though they have not passed the CGFNS, but still need to receive a VisaScreen. The specifics of any particular case should be analyzed through the legal office. This presentation should not be viewed as a thorough explanation of foreign nurse requirements for each individual case. Also, situations such as any criminal history, misrepresentation on prior immigration documents, and overstaying the previous visas make for a more complex immigration matter.

Not to confuse everybody, but my opinion is NOT to enter the U. S. as an H-1B. It is better to file for permanent residency and enter the U. S. as a permanent resident. The problem with the H-1B is that it is usually granted to a supervisor because a nurse is not normally a specialty occupation requiring 4 years of college. In the U.S., it is possible to obtain an R.N. through a 2-year program and immigration views an H-1B as a 4-year program. Since hospitals will hire nurses that have a 2-year degree, nurses will usually not get H-1B's unless they are processed as a "supervisor." When the nurse comes in and finds out that he/she could have obtained permanent residency, he/she wants to immediately file for permanent residency, but since he/she is classified as a "supervisor," she is not eligible for the regular permanent residence processing.

Here is a simple example: A nurse from the Philippines is brought in through a contract nursing organization. She gets an H-1B. Her husband gets an H-4. She is not eligible for permanent residency for that position she came in on because she is a "supervisor," not a garden-variety nurse. If we brought her in, we would bring her in as a permanent resident and her husband gets permanent residency also. I know this is confusing. I only put it in here because I have seen too many cases where nurses get brought in as an H-1B, their husbands can't work, and when they find out from other nurses that they could have obtained permanent residency in a very short period of time, it really hurts them when they find out they have been misled.