H-1C Visa for Nurses
The Nursing sing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999 created the H-1C visa for nurses to work for up to three years in health professional shortage areas. The H-1C program is authorized until December 20, 2009.
Up to 500 nurses per year can get the visa, but each state, depending on its size, is limited to 25 or 50 nurses a year. To qualify, a nurse must have a full and unrestricted registered nurse (RN) license in the country where the nursing education was obtained or received a nursing education in the United States. He or she must (a) have passed the examination given by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools; (b) have a full and unrestricted RN license in the state where he or she will work; or (c) have a full and unrestricted RN license in any state and have received temporary authorization to practice as an RN in the state where he or she will work. Additionally, the nurse must be eligible under the laws governing the place where he or she is to work immediately upon admission to the United States and be authorized under such laws to be employed by the hospital.
Facilities interested in sponsoring nurses for H-1C visas must submit Form ETA-9081, which contains a number of attestations regarding the employment of H-1V nurses, Specifically, the facility attests:
- That it is a qualifying facility;
- That the employment of H-1C nurses will not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of similarly employed nurses;
- That the facility will pay H-1C nurses the facility wage rate;
- That the facility has taken and is taking steps to recruit and retain U.S. nurses in order to reduce dependence on foreign nurses. Documentation of two recruitment steps (unless the facility can show that the second step is not reasonable) must be included in the facility’s puss file for H-1C petitions;
- That there is not a strike or lockout at the facility, that the employment of H-1C nurses is not intended or designed to influence an election for a union representative at the facility and that the facility did not lay off and will not lay off an RN within the 90-day periods before and after the date of filing the H-1C petition;
- That the employer will notify other workers and give a copy of the attestation to every nurse employed at the facility within 30 days of filing;
- That no more than 33% of the nurses employed by the facility will be H-1C nonimmigrants;
- That the facility will not authorize H-1C nurses to work at a worksite not under its control and will not transfer an H-1C nurse from one worksite to another.
The attestation is filed at the U.S. Department of Labor with a fee of $250. After the attestation is approved, the facility can then file a Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker on Form I-129 with USCIS.