If you’re a nurse who wants to go work in the United States, the H-1B Visa may now be an option. The H-1B Visa is a temporary worker visa designed for non-immigrant applicants in specialty occupations, including careers focused on medicine. Because the standard required education for H-1B Visas is a post-secondary degree with at least four years of study in the specialty area, and registered nurses in the US instead needed an associate’s degree or a certificate of nursing, most nurses weren’t previously eligible.
New H-1B Visa Requirements
Now, however, a recent policy memorandum shows that the USCIS is changing its requirements to be more in line with recent trends in the nursing industry, including employer’s preferences for more educated nurses. While not all nurses are eligible, those who work with specialized patient groups (including nurses in areas including but not limited to pediatrics, genetics, addictions, cardiovascular, critical care, and the emergency room) may now qualify. Some Advanced Practice Registered Nurses may also qualify.
It’s worth checking to find out if your area of expertise is on the list (or, if it’s not, whether it might still fit the requirements—not all possible eligible fields are listed in the memorandum).
Employer-Employee Relationship
If you qualify based on your occupation, there are still some additional requirements. An H-1B Visa applicant must prove that they have an employer-employee relationship established for when they arrive in the US. A valid employer-employee relationship means that the petitioning U.S. employer may hire, pay, fire, supervise or in some other way control the work of the proposed employee. The employer must also intend to pay the “actual or prevailing wage” for the relevant occupation in the area where the applicant would be employed; proof can be in the form of past pay stubs from the company or a letter from the company stating the intended pay once the applicant is employed.
To put it simply, you have to prove that you have a valid job opportunity and that you will be paid an appropriate wage based on the standards for that occupation in the region you’d be working in. There’s a cap on how many H-1B Visa application can be successful in any given year, but this new policy opens up the possibilities for nurses and is worth exploring.
Why Hire Us to Help You With Your H-1B Visa Application?
The documentation and processes involved in successfully obtaining a U.S. work visa for a foreign beneficiary are complex and usually require legal expertise. At Visaplace, we have helped thousands individuals enter the U.S. with H-1B visas, and we can help you too! The first step towards a successful H-1B application is getting an assessment of your case. Fill out our free immigration assessment form and we will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your eligibility and options.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
