The Impact of Immigration Policy on the U.S. Nursing Shortage
Posted Dec 12, 2003

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy was consulted as an expert on U.S. immigration for the Fall 2003 issue of Good Nursing Magazine, a professional publication from Canada. For the interview, Attorney Murthy was joined by Tom Beach who is the attorney in our firm in charge of cases for foreign nurses. Entitled South of the Border, the article focuses on the desirability of relocation to the U.S. for Canadian nurses looking to capitalize on the many vacant positions for registered nurses in this country.  

Attorney Murthy says that, in the past, Canadian nurses have been encouraged to come to the U.S. by the simplicity of the immigration and state licensing procedures. She is now concerned that a recent change in law, requiring all registered nurses who intend to work in the U.S. to obtain a VisaScreen Certificate, could dissuade nurses who would otherwise help to alleviate the critical shortage of nurses in the United States. Regular readers of the MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom will recall that we reported this new requirement in our August 1, 2003 article, New Certification Requirements for Health Care Professionals, available on MurthyDotCom.

In the opinion of Attorney Beach, the VisaScreen requirement, "...means another layer of bureaucracy. We could be making it more difficult for nurses to provide their services in the U.S. We may expect to see a dip in the immigration, if they decide it's not worth the trouble and expense." He advises careful planning and allowing about six months for obtaining the VisaScreen certificate.

Attorney Murthy warns that any deterrent to nurses and other health care professionals attempting to immigrate to the U.S. could ultimately result in higher vacancies among nursing staffs which is directly correlated to increased patient mortality rates, worsening an already serious situation. "Canadian nurses don't stay that long," she says. "After four or five years, some leave. It's very serious. The U.S. is not able to hang onto their nurses." We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. are pleased to contribute our knowledge to professional publications, such as Good Nursing Magazine, which help to disseminate immigration requirements to the growing population of foreign national nurses in the U.S. health care system.