Click on the links below for detAiled information on each of the visa types.

• EB-3
• EB-2
• H-1B
• TN 
  

EB-3 Visa (Permanent Immigrant Visa): Historically, the most viable visa option for Registered Nurses has been the EB-3 Green Card (Employer Based, Third Preference). The EB-3 visa is an employer-sponsored green card visa that is applicable for qualifying individuals that have secured employment in America. However, EB-3 Visas are currently retrogressed (backlogged). Until this backlog dissipates, new EB-3 immigrant visas are not viable for Registered Nurses. Our organization has actively lobbied Congress as part of the American Association of International Healthcare Recruiters to enact legislation that will alleviate the visa backlog. See our Statement on Retrogression.

BACK TO TOP

EB-2 Visa  (Permanent Immigrant Visa): The EB-2 visa is an employer-sponsored green card visa that is applicable for RNs with advanced degrees (or the equivalent; e.g., those with a BS/BA plus 5 years of progressively responsible experience) that have secured employment in a position that requires a Masters degree or the equivalent. "Progressively-responsible" can include promotions, assumption of additional or more complex duties, and supervisory responsibilities. The EB-2 category, in contrast has no visa application backlog at all for any countries except for China and India making it a much more desirable category to qualify for.   Whether someone qualifies under the EB-2 category is complex and fact-sensitive for each applicant. EB-2 immigrant visa holders may:

• Reside permanently in the U.S
• Work in the U.S.
• Travel freely in and out of the U.S.
• Apply for dependent visas for your spouse and children below 21 years AND they can work legally in the U.S.
• No Retrogression, CAP or Lottery
• BACK TO TOP

H1-B Visas: The H1-B visa is a non-immigrant visas category established by the USCIS. (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) to employ international workers with specialized training. 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.

Certain types of RNs may meet these requisite qualifications for the H1B visa:

• Advanced Practice Nurses - 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)

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. APRNs include:

• Management and Administrative Nurses - The second category of nurses who may qualify for the H1B are those in administrative positions requiring graduate degrees in fields such as nursing education or health administration.
  
• Specialty Nurses - 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.

Forms of H1-B Visas - There are two fundamental forms of H1-B visas, Cap and Non-Cap. Both are initially valid for up to 3 years and renewable for up to 3 additional years.

• "Cap" H1B Visas - The U.S. Government has allotted 65,000 Visas for for-profit organizations. This 65,000 number is the annual "Cap" people are referring to when you hear them talk about "Cap" visas. All visa petitions must be received by the USCIS no later that April of each year. In recent years, this cap of 65,000 visa applications was reached within as little as one day. Once this date is reached a lottery will be drawn and if the petition is selected and approved, an exit interview will be conducted at the U.S. Embassy in your country. Passport USA provides all the necessary documentation needed for the exit interview along with assistance in securing an appointment date. Appointments start on October 1 of each year. We are now accepting applicants for the next H1-B filing.
  
• "Non-Cap" H1B Visas - Passport USA is also pursuing opportunities for non-cap H1-B visas which do not come under the allotted 65,000 visas per year and so can be applied for at any time during the year. However, there are a number of restrictions for non-cap visa filings. Specifically, the under-lying employment must be with a non-profit organization that is affiliated with a university or research organization. This limits the universe of potential non-cap opportunities within a given state.