Nurses immigration on H1B Visa

The H1B visa is an immigration option available to a limited group of Foreign national registered nurses. An H1B petition For a registered nurse may be approved if the offered Position is in a "specialty occupation," which is defined In the Immigration and Nationality Act as one That requires the "theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge" and "attainment of a bachelor's, or higher, degree in the specific specialty or its equivalent." These immigration requirements pose a problem in most nurse cases, as the minimum requirement to be licensed as an RN is generally a two-year degree in nursing, rather than a four-year bachelor’s degree. Many RNs, therefore, would not qualify for the H1B immigration classification. However, a petitioning employer may show that a particular RN position could qualify for an H1B immigration by demonstrating that: a bachelor's degree or higher (or its equivalent) is normally the minimum requirement for entry into that particular position; the degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel nursing positions; the employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position; or the nature of the position's duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a bachelor's degree, or higher (or its equivalent). In determining how experience may be substituted for education, BCIS uses the formula that three years of specialized training and/or work experience is equal to one year of college-level training.

Three Categories Possibly Qualifying for H1B1) Certain types of RNs may meet these requisite qualifications for the H1B non immigration visa. The first category of nurses who generally will be approved is the certified advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) category.
Clinical nurse specialists (CNSs)
Certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNAs)
Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs)
Certified nurse practitioners (NPs) fall within this category.
If an APRN position requires the employee to be certified in that practice, the nurse must possess an RN, at least a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and some additional, graduate-level education. CNSs include Acute Care, Adult, Critical Care, Gerontological, Family, Hospice, Palliative Care, Neonatal, Pediatric, Psychiatric and Mental Health-Adult, Psychiatric and Mental Health-Child, and Women's Health nurses. NPs include Acute Care, Adult, Family, Gerontological, Pediatric, Psychiatric & Mental Health, Neonatal, and Women's Health nurses.

2) The second category of nurses who may qualify for the H1B non immigration visa are those in administrative positions requiring graduate degrees in fields such as nursing or health administration.

3) A final, more subjective group that may receive non immigration H1B approval includes those who have a nursing specialty such as critical care and peri-operative nurses, or who have passed examinations based on clinical experience in school health, occupational health, rehabilitation nursing, emergency room nursing, critical care, operating room, oncology, and pediatrics, but who are not APRNs. In these cases, the petitioner must show that the nature of the particular position is so specialized and complex that one would normally expect the person performing the duties to have attained a bachelor's (or higher) degree, or its equivalent.