13.   Immigrant Visa Options for International Nurses:

Employment-Based Permanent Resident Petitions  for International Nurses

International nurses seeking Resident Alien Status qualify for a waiver of the Labor Certification process.   An employer can file a petition directly with the USCIS on behalf of the international nurse. It can take one and a half years to three years for the entire process to be completed, depending on backlogs at the USCIS and delays at the US Consulate in the country where the nurse resides. 

The I-140 Petition for an Immigrant Worker is submitted by the employer or prospective employer of the nurse to one of the four USCIS Service Centers throughout the United States which would have jurisdiction over the nurse’s place of employment.  The petition should include a nursing diploma, a Registered Nurse license from the nurse’s home country and a nursing license from the state of intended employment or documentation of passing the NCLEX in the state of intended employment or certification by the CGFNS.  The CGFNS is the organization which evaluates the credentials of foreign nurses to determine that they are qualified to serve as a nurse in the United States.   Additionally, various Department of Labor Forms are submitted with the petition and documentation.  The processing times for the petition vary.  Depending on the Service Center’s back logs, the petition can be processed within four to twelve months.  It may be shorter or it may be longer.

If the nurse is legally in the United States, the nurse can file for Adjustment of Status to Resident Alien Status simultaneously with the filing of the I-140 petition, which is submitted by the employer.  Additionally, the nurse can also file  an application for an Employment Authorization card.  If the nurse is out of status, but a petition was previously filed with the USCIS prior to April 30, 2001 or an application was submitted to the Department of Labor prior to said date, the nurse may qualify for Adjustment of Status in the United States, based upon section 245i of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.  The nurse will have to pay an additional filing fee of $1,000 to the USCIS.  The fee may be waived if the nurse had previously submitted said fee with the earlier petition. 

If the nurse has remained in the  United States for more than six months past the expiration of their status, the nurse is not eligible to adjust status in the United States, unless section 245i applies.  The nurse would have to return home and complete the processing in the home country.  However, if the nurse is in the United States illegally for more than six months, he/she will be barred from entering the United States for three years.  If the nurse is in the United States illegally for one year or more, he/she will be barred from entering the United States for ten years. This is known as the “three year/ten year rule.”

If the nurse’s non-immigrant status has expired less than six months from the date of filing of the petition and application for Adjustment Status, then the nurse may qualify for Adjustment of Status in the United States, providing that the case is otherwise approvable.  If the nurse is legally in the United States throughout the entire process and opts to complete the processing of the application at the U.S. Consulate in the nurse’s home country, the nurse can.    However, an Employment Authorization card will not be generated. Accordingly, it may not be practical. 

If the nurse is overseas, the nurse will have no option but to complete the processing at the U.S. Consulate.  Once the petition is approved by USCIS, the approval notice is forwarded to the employer and the visa petition is forwarded by the USCIS to the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  The NVC acts as a clearing center for the U.S. Consulates. NVC will forward a statement to the employer or the attorney on the case, requesting payment of a filing fee by money order.  Upon receipt of payment, additional forms will be forwarded to the attorney or the nurse for completion.  The applications are then forwarded either to the NVC or the U.S. Consulate. Eventually, the U.S. Consulate will schedule an interview at the U.S. Consulate designated on the I-140 petition. 

In addition to the documentation which was submitted with the I-140 petition, the nurse will have to submit various documents, including birth and marriage certificates, a medical examination completed by a physician authorized by the U.S. Consulate, and a Visa screen certificate.  Visa screen certificates  are issued to the nurse by the CGFNS.   The Visa screen certificate will be issued once the nurse has established that their education and training in the home country is equivalent to that which would be received by a nurse in a U.S. nursing school, as well proficiency in the English language, as established by the passing of the TOEFL examination.  Following are the passing grades: paper-based - 540, computer-based - 207.  Tests of Written English (TWE) - 4.0; Test of Spoken English (TSE) - 50.  The CGFNS can be contacted at (215) 349-8767.  It is strongly recommended that you go to the CGFNS web site (www.CGFNS.org) or do a word search under “Visascreen” or “CGFNS”, on a search engine.

Although not as expedient as an H-1B or an H-1C, visa status, the Employment Based Permanent Resident petition should eventually lead to the arrival of the nurse in the United States.  It is best to utilize this procedure with advanced planning, when recruiting a nurse from outside the United States.  Obviously, if the nurse is legally in the United States or has not been out of status for more than six months prior to the filing of the petition, the nurse can commence employment, upon the issuance of the Employment Authorization card by the USCIS.

Conclusion

The procedure  to  obtain the services of a nurse who is presently overseas through an Employment based Petition,  can take a while.  Additionally, very often, the nurse is being employed without the benefit of a face-to-face interview.  However, due to lack of alternative options, the employer may find that processing a nurse through this manner is a practical method for the employment of an international nurse.

Although processing times may vary by consulate, United States Department of State have announced that there may be delays in obtaining immigrant visas in this category for nationals from India and Philippines due to the demand.  The delays are expected to start in January.

Last update: December 1, 2004