H-1B For Nurses

Not all registered nurses are eligible for H-1B visas. In order for an H-1B for a registered nurse to be approved, the petition should prove that the offered nursing position is a “specialty occupation” which requires at least a bachelor’s or higher degree. It has been hard to meet this standard because the minimum requirement to be licensed as a registered nurse is a two-year associate’s degree in nursing, instead of a four-year degree. Thus, the CIS applies a restrictive standard for registered nurses, as they base their assessment on the Department of Labor’s guidelines which has determined that there is no industry-wide standard that a nurse needs a bachelor’s degree to perform the job of a professional registered nurse. 

There are several specialized positions though in the field of nursing, positions that in and of itself require at least a bachelor’s degree. 

• Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN): These nurses have more specialized skills on specific fields of nursing, obtained not only from experience and training, but also from obtaining the requisite education for such field, a specific bachelor’s degree. Clinical nurse specialists (CNS), certified nurse-midwives (CNM), certified nurse practitioners (NP), certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) fall within this category, and could be petitioned for H-1Bs.  
• Nurses in administrative positions such as nurse managers.  
• Specialized nursing positions such as operating room or critical care nurses wherein the petitioner could show that such positions are so specialized and complex that one would normally expect the person to have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher.  

If the registered nurse will perform duties identical to those in the previously mentioned categories, with extensive documentation, a thorough employment letter, and a clear brief in support of the H-1B petition, it is certainly possible to obtain an H-1B for certain types of registered nurses.