|
At the present time, the immigrant visa situation for
international nurses is somewhat unclear. As of
July/August 2008, the immigrant visas (for international nurses
as for all other professions in category Employment
Based 3) are not available. At this point, we
do not know when immigrant visas specifically for nurses will become available
again. We realize this situation is frustrating.
However, our immigration attorneys monitor the situation
and we will keep you updated. We are working with
a very experienced immigration law firm that specializes
in immigration law for medial professions.
However, there is also some good news. Certain
health care facilities are exempt from quotas for hiring
international nurses under H-1B work visas if certain
conditions are met. Please contact us if you
require more information about H-1B visas.
Since immigration procedures will
change over time, the information on this website
is only intended as a guide to the overall procedures.
The actual process of obtaining the immigrant visa
should be handled and supervised by an attorney who
specializes in immigration law.
If your hospital
does not currently work with an immigration attorney
please feel free to contact Larry Needle. Larry is
a very experienced attorney who specializes in
immigration law for medical professions. He can be
reached in Columbia, SC at (803) 376-1203 and in Charleston, SC
at (843) 579-9009.
Now let's go on to the process for immigrant visas. If
your hospital agrees to offer employment you can apply
with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for
the I-140, the first step to obtaining an immigrant visa
for the international nurse and her family.
Immigrant Visas
Issuance of Employment-Based immigrant visas for
professional nurses involves the following three steps.
First, your hospital must file forms ETA 9089 together
with Form I-140 at the USCIS Service Center in Lincoln,
Nebraska. Once the Form I-140 is approved the
Immigration Service will forward the petition to the National Visa Center
(NVC). How long this will take will depend on if
immigrant visas in category EB3 are 'current' or if
there is a backlog. Once the NVC has
processed the application the international nurse becomes eligible to
apply for an immigrant visa at the US consulate in his
or her home country.
More
information can be found in the Employer Information
Bulletin 19: Guide to Hiring Foreign Nurses (www.uscis.gov/files/article/EIB19.pdf)
and by calling the employer hotline at (800) 357-2099.
Most recent updates
Following is a link to the latest visa bulletin from the
US Department of State for August 2008:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4310.html
As of July/August 2008, employment based immigrant visas in the
employment category applicable to
international nurses are unavailable.
Schedule A Labor Certification
Schedule A is a list of occupations, set forth at 20 CFR
656.15, for which the Department has determined there
are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing,
qualified and available. In addition, Schedule A
establishes that the employment of aliens in such
occupations will not adversely affect the wages and
working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed.
The
occupations listed under Schedule A include Professional
Nurses who have passed the National Council Licensure
Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX—RN) exam, or
hold a full and unrestricted (permanent) license to
practice nursing in the state of intended employment.
The prospective employer needs to apply for a labor
certification for a Schedule A occupation by filing ETA
Form 9089, in duplicate directly with the USCIS Center
in Lincoln, Nebraska - not with the Department of Labor.
Form
I-140
Classification for a
nurse will typically be in the third Employment-Based
category (EB-3), either skilled worker or professional.
A registered nurse would have to work in a position that
requires a bachelor’s degree in order for the
registered nurse to qualify for EB-3 classification as a
professional. Supporting documentation must be submitted
with the immigrant petition on form I-140 and filed with
the USCIS Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. The filing fee
is US$195.
Starting on August 28, 2006, the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Service offers Premium Processing Service
for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker for
Skilled workers and Professionals. Nurses under
Schedule A fall under these categories (www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/PremProc081806NR.pdf).
Premium Processing Service provides faster processing of
certain employment-based petitions and applications.
Specifically, USCIS provides 15 calendar days processing
for an additional fee of US$1,000. Form I-907 needs to
filled out and filed with form I-140.
With
Premium Processing Service, the entire process to get form I-140 approved should not
take more than 3 weeks total.
However, please keep in mind that I-140 petitions
will only be approved if immigrant visas in employment category EB3
are 'current' or if your application was filed before
the current priority date.
We recommend that you check the
Department of State Visa Bulletin
frequently.
We recommend that international nurses who are interested to
work in the United States obtain the state nursing
license as well as the
VisaScreen™
certificate regardless if immigrant visas are currently
available or not. This way, when more immigrant
visas become available they are ready and a potential
employer will know they are serious about coming to the
United States.
National Visa Center
Once the US Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) have approved the immigrant petition (form
I-140), the nurse will receive a Notice of Approval
(I-797). USCIS will then send the petition to the
National Visa Center (NVC).
Instructions and forms
ETA 9089, I-140 and I-907 can be found here:
http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/foreign/pdf/9089form.pdf
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/I-140.pdf
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/I-907.pdf
Immigrant Visa Processing
After NVC receives the petition, they will create a case
record and assign a case number.
As
the next step the NVC will send the international nurse an Agent of
Choice and Address letter containing the form DS-3032 (http://foia.state.gov/FORMS/visa/ds3032.pdf).
He or she must complete the form DS-3032 and follow the
instructions to continue with the visa application
process.
Once the NVC has received the completed form DS-3032 the
international nurse will receive an instruction package (http://travel.state.gov/pdf/not_applying_in.pdf)
on how to proceed.
Form DS-230 Part I (http://foia.state.gov/FORMS/visa/ds0230.pdf)
has to be filled out and send back to the NVC together
with a copy of the applicant’s passport biographic data
page.
Once the NVC has received these documents it will
complete the necessary administrative processing of the
immigrant visa application. Once this process is
finished, the international nurse is then eligible to apply for an
immigrant visa through consular processing. This
process should take around 3 weeks.
The
applicant also needs to obtain certain documents
required for the application for the immigrant visas.
These documents are listed in the package and need to be
brought to the US Consulate at the time of the
immigration interview.
Medical Examinations
Before the issuance of an immigrant visa, every
applicant, regardless of age, must undergo a medical
examination. A doctor who is designated by the consular
officer will conduct the examination. Examination costs
must be borne by the applicant, in addition to the visa
fees.
Visa
Fees
The
cost of each immigrant visa application-processing fee
(per person) is US$335 plus a US$45 Security Surcharge
for a total of US$380. Fees must be paid for each
intending immigrant, regardless of age, and are not
refundable. Local currency equivalents are acceptable.
Fees should not be sent to the consular office unless
requested specifically. The BCIS charges additional
fees for filing petitions.
Depending on the wait times at the US Consulates in your
home countries this process will take around 2 to 3
months in most Western European countries according to
the information we received from various US Consulates
in Western Europe.
Bringing Spouses and Children
International nurses
may bring their spouses and unmarried children under the
age of 21 to the US with them. This is known as
derivative status. No additional petitions need to be
filed, the family members just need to be mentioned on
the I-140 petition being filed on behalf of the
qualifying international nurse. European Medical Staffing may also be
able to help qualified spouses of international nurses to find
employment in the US.
Legal disclaimer: None of
the information provided by European Medical Staffing is
intended to be or used as legal advice.
|
