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Posted
Aug 05, 2003; updated Dec 20, 2004
The H1B visa is an 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 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 classification. However,
a petitioning employer may show that a particular RN position could qualify
for an H1B 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 H1B
1) Certain types of RNs may meet these requisite qualifications for the H1B
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 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 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.
©
The Law
Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C.
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